By the time Adeline and Lance came, Melissa had called Chris' mother, Beverly and her own parents. She wasn't sure exactly what she said to them; her mind was on auto-pilot, thinking of her husband and praying that he would be okay. 'They lost him once in the ambulance. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.' She had no idea what to tell the girls, not wanting them any more upset than possible until she knew what was going on. Her eyes landed on Cameron, who was still sleeping, unaware of what had happened to his father.
“Oh god,” she breathed, swallowing the lump in her throat. She felt a pair of arms around her and the smell of Lance's cologne. Melissa allowed herself a moment to lose it on him. This wasn't happening. Her husband was supposed to be coming home in a few hours so they could grill steaks and chicken for dinner outside.
“It's okay, Mel. Let's get over to the hospital,” Lance said, looking at Addy who was trying not to cry. “I called Joey. He's meeting us over there and getting a hold of JC and Justin. Come on, while the kids are playing...” he said softly, pulling her toward the front door so they could get into his SUV.
She got into the passenger seat of Lance's vehicle, not sure of what she should be doing. Her phone buzzed and it was a text from Justin.
'Be there asap. Let me know anything.'
“Justin said he's on his way soon,” she said softly, sending out a text to him and JC. Her phone rang and it was one of her sisters in law. “Hey Molly,” Melissa answered. “I'm on my way to the hospital..They said it was bad. I don't know anything really...Addy, Lance's wife, is with the kids. I left Cam asleep on the couch.” She started crying, and took the Kleenex that Lance offered. “Lance is driving me and Joey's meeting us there. I'm not sure who all is coming... I will call you as soon as I know more. Actually it sounds bad, but a group text would be easier...” her voice trailed off. “Not for bad news, Mol. Just for updates. I wouldn't do that. I know.. Love you too.”
Lance glanced over at the woman who had her forehead leaned against the window, tears coming down. “Chris is a fighter, Mel. He won't just give up,” he said, praying it was true. As much as he didn't want to admit it, they were all older. The body didn't bounce back the way it would even ten years ago. And depending on internal injuries, his friend could be on borrowed time. Of course he didn't say that, letting out a soft curse when the light turned red.
“Molly thought I was going to send a text out if her brother died. Is she kidding me? She apologized, but...” Melissa licked her lips and shook her head. “This is a bad dream, right? I fell asleep in my chair for a few minutes.”
Her phone buzzed again and she looked down. Joey had sent a text.
'Press already here. Fuckers. Come into ER and tell them you're Kirkpatrick family. Will take u 2 private waiting room.'
Melissa sent on Joey's message to everyone who needed it and sighed. “A drunk driver, Lance. Someone ran a red light..Don't they realize he has a family. What do I do if something happens?” she asked, her voice wavering once more.
Lance knew he'd have to go have a moment later, but right now he had to be strong. And he was thanking God that Joey would be there as well. “Those types of people don't think about anyone but themselves, honey. And right now...” he reached for her hand and squeezed it, giving him a moment to swallow the lump in his throat, “ right now we just have to pray that God will be with the surgeons and with Chris. And us.”
She nodded, not saying anything more until they got to the hospital, ignoring the reporters and paparazzi that had already descended on the hospital grounds. Melissa informed the ER nurse of who they were with and they were taken up to a smallish room filled with chairs and a television in the corner in a quiet part of the hospital.
“Yeah, she just got here. I'll call you back, Mom. I'll let her know, love you,” Joey said, hanging up the phone. He got it into his pocket and pulled the blonde woman to him. “I always wanted you to myself, but I never meant like this,” he teased slightly, listening to Melissa give a slight laugh before clenching Joey's shirt in her hands and letting out a sob. He ran his hands over her back. “They came in earlier to tell us that he has a few more hours of surgery at least.”
“At least?” Lance said, raising an eyebrow, standing next to Joey, his hand on Melissa's shoulder comfortingly as she stood there, quietly crying on the other man.
“Yeah, uh..He was hit on the right side and then the motorcycle and Chris were thrown across the intersection and then skidded ten feet beyond that. The Harley landed on top of him,” one of the guys who'd been riding with Chris said, still in shock. “He looked bad when they took him...”
Melissa looked up from where she was holding on to Joey and studied the men who'd been with Chris. She'd met them half a dozen times and liked them all, some guys he knew from doing charity work that rode motorcycles. “Thanks for coming and waiting...” she said softly, letting go of Joey and going to sit down. She wasn't sure what else to do or say. The nurse had given her papers to fill out that she'd put in one of the chairs. Things she could recite by memory. Patient's name, date of birth, social security number.
She paused at one of the questions. 'Does the patient have a living will?' Wiping a tear, she checked the correct box and went on. Her mind couldn't go there; life without him. Even the eight months they were separated when she'd been taken, nothing had been in dire straights like this. Melissa finished with the paperwork and took it to the nearest desk and dropped it off.
“Thanks, Mrs. Kirkpatrick,” the woman said, the radio playing softly in the background.
'Don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me, cause you might look around and find your dreams come true with me' her husband's voice sang from the radio.
Melissa nodded, swallowing hard. “My parents and Chris' family will be coming in,” she said after a moment. “I know it may not be possible, but can we get an update even if he's still in surgery when they get here?” she asked.
“Let me call and find out down at the surgery desk, honey,” she gave her a small smile. “Chris was my second favorite after Justin. I know you don't care about that right now, but he has a lot of people thinking about him.”
Melissa gave her a small smile and listened to the woman talk, pulling out her phone. Social media had blown up with notifications to Twitter and Facebook, tagging both her and Chris. She noticed that Lance had logged into the @NSYNC Twitter account. She wasn't going to give a play by play, but it was much easier to let fans know what was going on herself than for them to speculate and believe the hype the media would come up with.
'@NSYNC: Prayers for our brother @IamCKirkpatrick, involved in a motorcycle accident.'
Pulling up her own Twitter account, she sent out a quick message. '@melly82: At hospital, Chris still in surgery. Will keep updated as can. Thnx for prayers and thoughts.' After that, she pulled up her pictures and tweeted out one of Chris and Cameron, both of them with the same expression on their face as they watched Hadley's game. 'Earlier today. Chris with his mini me, Cam. My two fave men ever.'
It got favorited and re-tweeted immediately and she put her phone back in her pocket when the woman got off the phone. “Any good news?” she asked hoping she'd be able to tell their families and friends something.
“At least five hours more of surgery. However, they got your husband's leg reset and all of the pins and screws in to keep it together. It was shattered in three different places. Now they are working on his shoulder and arm. It will take longer because his hand was crushed. A specialist is coming in as soon as possible.”
Melissa felt sick. She leaned on the desk and stared blankly for a moment before focusing back on the person in front of her. “Thank you,” she studied the woman's name on her badge, “Ashley.” Melissa gave her a watery smile, feeling better with the promise that they would be notified of what was going on. Walking back to where everyone was waiting, it felt like it had been an hour, but it had actually only been about ten minutes. She smiled a little, seeing Justin sitting and talking to Lance. Clearing her throat, all of them looked at her.
“We will get updates on Chris during surgery. It will be at least five hours longer. They got his leg fixed...” Melissa wiped a tear quickly. “Next is his shoulder and arm. A specialist is coming in to do his hand. It was crushed.”
“Fuck,” Justin muttered, running a hand through his hair. He had called in favors to get a private plane to bring him to New York from Los Angeles as fast as it could go. His manager had balked when Justin shut down recording and canceled all appearances for the next few days. Those could be rescheduled. Courtney would come in later, flying in from Memphis. Getting up, he pulled Melissa in for a hug. “Hey, Mel,” he said, giving her a smile. “I've been wanting to come see you, but not like this. Joey keeps telling me you make him cookies every couple of weeks. You should share that shit.”
“You don't ever open your mail, so why would I do that? I sent Court cookies last month for a party for her dance classes. You missed out, Timberlake,” she told him, thankful Justin was there, chuckling when he just shook his head. “I don't even get cookies at my house, so I know your pain.”
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Five hours came and went with the makeshift waiting room filling up. Melissa kept staring at the television and then at her phone, checking the time. She bounced her leg, letting a breath out. “Five hours and twenty minutes,” she murmured to herself, swiping across the front and opening it up. She went to the pictures and looked through a few of the latest ones she'd taken. A smile came to her face when she pulled up a picture of Chris reading to Kenna. The best part wasn't that, it was the fact her husband was sporting barbie pink fingernails on one hand that was showing as he held a Harry Potter book.
She scrolled to another picture of her and Chris, dressed up for a charity event. He always looked handsome, not caring if he was seen in a pink or purple shirt. He was comfortable in who he was and loved to help those that needed it. A tweet came to her phone and she saw it. Fans had flooded her feed with thoughts and prayers. It was needed. Melissa had called to check on the girls and Cameron. Addy had assured her everything was fine with five children and that she would stay and help.
A hush came over the room when a tired looking man in scrubs came in. “I need to see Melissa Kirkpatrick,” he said, looking at the group of people. “And if she wants, two others so I can give an update and you can spread the word,” he explained. “Doctor/patient confidentiality prevents me from addressing everyone.”
Melissa stood up quickly. “Beverly and Mom,” she said, deciding on her mother-in-law and mother. The three women went outside and into a small room next to where they were. The surgeon looked at them after the door was shut, his face a bit grim. X-rays were up and lit up.
“I'm Dr. Glen Chitwood,” he introduced himself. “The orthopedic surgeon is in right now, trying to repair what he can of Mr. Kirkpatrick's hand. I'm afraid the best news I have is that the patient was very lucky. His internal injuries were ones that were on his extremities and the only trauma to his head happened to his right ear and eye. He had no brain swelling or injury to his head,” he said, pointing out the X-rays, explaining the surgeries he did, repairing Chris' leg, shoulder and arm. Essentially, Chris was now part bionic man.
The thought made Melissa smirk a little and she wiped tears. She had to chuckle slightly or she would break down completely. “What about his ear and eye?” she asked when he quit talking.
“We won't know until he wakes up, but from what we can tell, your husband will be at least fifty percent blind in his right eye. And his eardrum took a major impact when his head hit the ground. I cleaned out blood inside his ear and can say with confidence that he will be partially deaf. More than likely almost fully deaf in his right ear,” he explained softly, looking at the women.
“How long will it take for him to recover?” Beverly asked softly, concerned about Chris being able to overcome all of the injuries.
“It depends on him. Some people bounce back quicker than others. His arthritis in his knees isn't doing him any favors. He will almost certainly have to use a cane the rest of his life. Or at least when he gets tired or does too much. He will be in a lot of pain. Once he's out of surgery, we are going to keep him in ICU for a couple days and keep drugs in him to let his body rest and heal. Then we will slowly wake him up,” Dr. Chitwood explained. “I know he has a lot of concerned people waiting in there, but there can only be two people in ICU at a time to visit. And it's fifteen minutes every hour...and no children under the age of fourteen. Once he gets in a regular room, he can have more visitors at one time and his kids can come see him, if you want them to,” he added.
“Will he have a private room? The media was crazy outside the hospital...” Cathie Weston asked, glad that they didn't know who she was so she walked in with no fanfare with Paul to be with their daughter to wait for word on their son-in-law.
“Yes. We will make sure that it's noted that Mr. Kirkpatrick's visitors are limited to a list you provide and updates are only given to those who you want.”
They asked a few more questions and the surgeon held Melissa back after Beverly and Cathie had headed back to the waiting room.
“You have to understand, your husband slid on the asphalt with a motorcycle on top of him. He will have some scarring on his face and arm. The nurse shaved him and we got as much of the dirt and debris out as we could. He will need you...more than anyone else in that room.”
Melissa nodded, wiping tears, thanking the doctor once more. He said it would be at least another hour before the orthopedic surgeon was done and came to see them. She was numb. Chris was alive. His internal injuries were limited to parts of his body they could fix somewhat easier than others. She was in shock he had no broken ribs or internal bleeding. Walking back into the waiting room, she sat down next to her father and looped her arm through his, not saying anything. Listening to various conversations, she had no idea what to say or think.
“Come on, Kirkpatrick,” JC held his hand out to Melissa. “Let's go take a walk and find where they have all the junk food.” He didn't like hospitals and being here was enough to freak him out, much less all of Chris' injuries and thinking about the needles. “Don't make me drag you,” he said, giving her a slight smile.
Melissa took JC's hand, telling her father she'd be back. They found the break room with vending machines, getting drinks and junk food in silence. She was glad JC didn't say anything, dumbly pressing buttons, emptying the food machine of Ho-Ho's. “You know, Chris wanted his grooms cake to be Ho-Ho's with frosting,” she told JC with a small smile, sniffling. “I told him no...” her voice got quieter. “I tell him no a lot. With some of his crazier ideas...I wish I had told him yes to some of them. They weren't all bad...I just..I didn't want to deal with the mess it would make or the fact I just thought to myself it was silly.” Her lip quivered and she looked up at JC as fat crocodile tears rolled. “I wanted him to get the motorcycle.”
JC put the two drinks down that were in his hands on the table and walked over to Melissa, giving her a hug. “You telling Chris no isn't bad. I think Steph tells me no at least five times a day,” he told her, thinking of his wife who was at the hotel just down the street with their 10 month old son, Cooper. “You did nothing wrong, Mel. We all have our own ideas on things. I'm sure in true Chris fashion, he thought of something else to do just as quick after you told him no...” he smiled as she nodded. “And the motorcycle isn't a bad thing. I was a little jealous you were as excited about it as you were... I mean, how cool are you?” JC got serious. “He loves you, Melissa. None of this is your fault... Him going out to ride or anything you did.”
It didn't make her feel any better really, but she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that JC was right. “Thanks, C...” Melissa said, pulling away from him to gather up the snacks to take back to the waiting room for everyone. It was probably going to be this way for a very long time. Hurry up and wait.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Bring some kleenex. Even after letting this story sit and re-posting the first few chapters, this one still gets me.
Story Tags: chris
