Chapter 4

Justin quickly rose to his feet.  “That’s me.”  They walked down the hall a bit for privacy.

“I’m Dr. Hanover.  I have some information for you on Nicole.  It’s not definite, but it’s a start.  The good news is that she’s relatively stable.  She was unconscious for a considerable amount of time.  She finally regained consciousness, but we still need to do some tests to check for any brain damage.  She didn’t know who she was, today’s date, but that can be common in situations like this.  Once we rule out other brain injuries, we can diagnose better if she is still having memory relapses.”

“Can I see her?” Justin asked.

“Yes, but be warned she might not know you.  That’s ok for now, but it might be a while, if ever, before she does.  From what I hear, seeing the accident can be traumatic in and of itself.  Seeing her in this state might be worse for you.  Maybe bringing your friends could help you.  She’s in the ICU for observation, room 304.”

“Thank you,” Justin said, taking it all in.  He regurgitated the information to JC and Heather.

“You sure you want to see her right now?” JC asked.

“I can go in first and bring you in later,” Heather offered.  “A little less threatening to not remember a friend than a fiancee.”

“I guess you’re right.  Let’s go with that then,” Justin conceded.

They walked onto the elevator, Justin pushing the button for the third floor.  They entered the ICU, seeing the room Nicki was in.  Heather slowly walked in.  JC put his hand on Justin’s shoulder in support as they stood just outside the door.

“Hi,” said Heather.

“Hi,” said Nicki, half awake.  “You look familiar.  Do I know you?”

“I’m Heather.  A friend, your roommate.”

“Oh, ok.  Sorry, everything is fuzzy right now.”

“What DO you remember?” Heather asked.

“It was dark, then a flash of light and a loud noise.”

“Yeah.  You were in an accident.  You’re doing fine, all things considered.  Do you remember having dinner tonight, who you were with?”

Justin was listening intently to the conversation.  He waited with bated breath, nervous what she would say.

“No.  Was there someone with me?  Are they hurt?”

JC’s hand squeezed Justin’s shoulder.  “She’ll get there, man.  It’s all so new.”

Heather poked her head out, nodding for them to come in.

“Before I introduce them, do you recognize either of these two?” Heather asked, motioning to JC and Justin. 

Nicki shook her head.  “Again, familiar, but no.”

Justin’s heart sank hearing his fear realized.

“This is my brother JC, and this is Justin.  He’s a friend.  He was with you earlier tonight.”

“Why aren’t you hurt? I’m glad, but confused.”

“We took separate cars.  I saw the accident,” he sighed.  

“I’m sure that was scary.  What were we doing earlier?”

“We had dinner at our favorite restaurant.”

“Like a date?” she asked, hesitation in her voice.

“Something like that, yeah…” he said, running a nervous hand along the back of his neck.

“Did I have a good time?”

“I think so, yes,” Justin started to smile.

“Sorry to ruin your night,” Nicki sighed.

“I’m just glad you’re ok.  That’s all that matters.”

“I’m feeling a little tired.  Thanks for coming to see me.”

They left the room, closing the door behind them.  JC and Heather started walking towards the elevator.  They got down the hall before they realized Justin wasn’t with them.  He was on the floor, next to Nicki’s closed door, curled with his knees to his chest, holding back tears.

JC slid down the wall to sit next to him.  “She’ll remember, eventually.”

“What if she doesn’t?...” he asked, his voice desperate.  “What if she never remembers?” 

“Then we make NEW memories,” Heather stated.

“I love her so much, what if I lose her?”  Tears welled up in his eyes, his voice almost choking on the words.

“She fell for you once, it can happen again.  Your birthday is coming up, throw a party.  You guys met at a party, remember?  It was for JC, but a party is a party.  Stick around town for a while, I’ll have you over more when we have friends over so she sees you.  There’s one plus side to all this, though…”

“WHAT?” Justin asked.

“For now, she’s never heard of *NSYNC.  You’re not a celebrity to her.  You can just be Justin.”

“What about the pictures of us she has in her room?  Won’t that confuse her?” Justin asked.

“How about you come over tomorrow and we’ll go through stuff.  Anything romantic, you keep for now.  If her memory comes back, we explain things.  If not, and she falls in love with you all over again, just tell her they’re from before the accident.  Tell her the stories behind each picture, letter, whatever.”

“She’s smart,” Justin said, looking at JC.

“Don’t I know it,” JC said, smiling at Heather.