Chapter 10
It had been four and a half hours since Carlos was rushed into hospital. Logan and Stephanie had gone in the ambulance with him, the others following behind in complete shock. Logan had recalled that Carlos had hit his head the day before during a nerf gun fight between the lads and BTR's band and notified the paramedics.
Charlie was asleep, taking up the small sofa, her head in James' lap. Jo and Camille sat either side of a distraught Stephanie, holding her hands, her head tiredly resting on Camille's shoulder. Kendall was pacing by the door, while Logan had gone to see if he could find any information on the condition of their best friend.
The last update they had was three hours ago. A snotty old nurse had informed them that Carlos was going into surgery as the bang to his head caused a hemorrhage resulting in a hematoma and left without fully explaining everything to the scared group. Fortunately, Logan knew enough to simplify it for them. 'Carlos' brain is bleeding, causing a blood clot, which is dangerous if not treated. It could deprive his brain of oxygen and cause a stroke'.
It was quarter past three when the surgeon came in to tell them the surgery was a success. He patiently answered all of their questions, telling them they could see him soon and left them feeling hopeful.
'Pregnancy can really take its toll on a girl.' Jo nodded towards Charlie as the doctor shut the door.
'I'm gonna take her home.' James said. 'There's nothing we can do but at least we know he's okay.'
'Yeah, we'll come with you.' Kendall said after sharing a silent exchange with Jo.
'We'll come back later on with some stuff for him.' Jo said giving Stephanie a hug.
Stephanie nodded, giving Kendall and James a hug too. 'Thanks guys.'
James attempted to wake Charlie up, but she couldn't get her eyes to open all the way. He told her that Carlos was okay, smiling when she mumbled 'good'. He gently picked her up bridal style as Kendall held the door open for him.
Charlie woke up to the familiar comfort of her own bed. Slightly confused as to how she got there, she stumbled out towards the sound of the TV.
James, Kendall and Jo were sat on the sofa watching the news, which was showing the most recent BTR stories; Big Time Rush finishing a successful U.S tour, James Diamond getting engaged and becoming a father and somehow, the most recent, Carlos Garcia rushed into surgery.
'Our thoughts are with those closest to him at this difficult time.' The news reader said before the TV went blank.
'What a load of bull...' Kendall had started to say.
'I hope you don't use that kind of language in front of the baby.' Charlie said smirking, raising an eyebrow as they all turned to face her, Kendall grinning sheepishly.
'I wouldn't dream of it.'
'How's Carlos?' Charlie asked almost fearfully.
James got up off the couch and wrapped his arms around her. 'Stephanie called 10 minutes ago. He's awake and communicating.'
'When did we leave?' Charlie asked, the small smile disappearing.
'Around half three.' Jo said standing up. 'The doctor told us his operation went well. We're going back up to the hospital with some of his things as soon as you're ready to go.'
Charlie glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was almost 10 o'clock. Charlie's stomach growled and she groaned.
'Get dressed; I'll make you some breakfast.' James said, giving her a quick kiss, before heading toward the kitchen.
'Rice Krispies please!' Charlie called behind her as she ran to her bedroom.
When the four of them got to Carlos' room, they met Stephanie and Camille who were sitting in chairs opposite his door. Logan however, had his ear pressed against the door.
As Jo, Charlie and James said good morning to Stephanie and Camille, Kendall sneaked up behind Logan
'Logan, what are you doing?' Kendall asked, trying not to laugh at the way Logan jumped up in surprise.
Before Logan could even trip over his words, the door opened and the grumpy nurse from last night glared at them before pushing past Logan and Kendall.
'Charming.' Kendall said, holding his head high in exaggeration as she turned to glare daggers at him. Jo slapped his arm, giggling with everyone else.
Stephanie walked to the door, where the doctor had appeared. 'Well?'
'Mr. Garcia is doing incredibly well. He is showing no signs of permanent damage. His speech has already started to correct itself. It should be back to normal soon.'
'Thank you.' Stephanie smiled as the doctor nodded and walked briskly away.
She turned to enter Carlos' room, but stopped when she felt two hands grab her shoulders. She turned around and found herself face to face with James and Kendall.
'And you didn't tell us about the speech impediment, because...?' James asked, eyebrows raised.
'Because, one, we didn't know how bad it was going to be until the exam and two, you have enough things to worry about.'
'You still should have told us.' Kendall said softly.
'I know.' Stephanie sighed. 'I just didn't want you guys to worry until it was absolutely necessary.'
James pulled Stephanie into a hug. 'It's okay.'
They walked into Carlos' room, expecting the Latino to be lying down and looking his worst. Instead he was sat up in the middle of his bed, shouting at the hockey players on the small TV screen attached to the wall. Stephanie rolled her eyes and sat on the small sofa in the far corner, grabbing a magazine from the bedside table.
Logan sat next to Carlos as Camille sat next to Stephanie, smiling at Carlos as she walked past. Kendall, Jo, James and Charlie stood in the door way, staring at the bubbly boy. The bandage wrapped tightly around his head was the only sign that he was sick. He looked up and goofily grinned at them.
''Ey guyth. Are you comin' in? Or are you juth 'onna thand there all day?'
He laughed as James and Kendall dove onto the bed next to him, all three quickly becoming engrossed with the hockey game. Charlie and Jo sighed.
'We're going to the canteen.' Charlie said, but only Stephanie and Camille acknowledged it. As the four guys were perched on the edge of the bed yelling at the TV, the four girls slipped out unnoticed.
Stephanie, Camille and Jo stared at the tray of food in front of Charlie. It was full of little tubs of ice cream, chocolate bars and mini sugary donuts. Charlie looked up at her three best friends and looked down at her tray.
'I'm gonna get fat aren't I?' She said, sighing.
'Yeah.' Said Stephanie sympathetically, patting Charlie's arm. 'But you'll bounce back in no time.' She added when Jo elbowed her in the ribs.
Charlie laughed.
'At least you're not craving anything disgusting. Everything's normal and yummy...' Camille started.
'For now.' Jo interrupted, winking at Charlie.
They sat in the canteen for a while, talking, laughing, and enjoying the company of each other. Eventually, Logan and Kendall had wondered in and brought them out of their bubble.
'Hey, there you are.' Logan said. 'We've been looking everywhere for you.'
'We did tell you where we were going.' Jo said, standing up to dump their rubbish in the bin. She turned to face Kendall, jabbing him in the chest as she spoke. 'But you were too busy watching the game to hear us.'
'Sorry. The game finished an hour ago. Then we realised you weren't there.' Kendall said sheepishly, while Logan rubbed the back of his neck.
'We've been looking for you for the past half hour.' Added Logan.
The girls laughed, standing up and walking with them back to Carlos' room.
James stood outside pacing; the worried look on his face was the first thing everybody noticed. He didn't notice the others speeding towards him until he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his waist, effectively stopping his pacing.
'What happened?' Stephanie said, voicing everyone else's' thoughts.
'I don't know.' James said as Charlie let go, stepping to the side slightly. 'He went to the toilet and when he didn't come out, I got worried, so I went in and he was unconscious.'
'Why didn't you go with him?' Stephanie yelled, panic, worry and anger taking over.
'He said he was fine.' James shouted. He turned his head slightly, eyes closed as he rested it on Charlie's forehead. He sighed in frustration and she squeezed his hand.
'Even if James did go in with him, what could he have done?' Logan said calmly, standing in front of Stephanie. 'He needs a doctor. Besides nobody could have predicted he would collapse.'
'Well then maybe you should have stayed with him instead of James.' Stephanie said coldly before turning around and walking back the way they came up. James kissed Charlie's forehead, before running after Stephanie.
He turned the corner and didn't have to look far. She was sitting on the floor, back leaning against the wall, head resting on her knees as her shoulders shuddered with every sob she emitted. James slid down the wall next to her.
'I'm.. s...sorry I took it out on you. It... It wasn't your f... fault. Or Logan's.'
'It's okay.' James said.
'I'm so scared.' Stephanie said looking up, eyes wide. Her tear-streaked face showed how scared she felt. 'I can't lose him, James.'
'I know. None of us can.' James said grabbing her hand. 'He's a part of all of us.'
When Stephanie's tears had subsided, James suggested they head back to Carlos' room. Stephanie wiped her tears away with the sleeves of her jacket and stood up, James following suit. Stephanie gave him a hug.
'Thank you.'
'Anytime.'
As they rounded the corner, everybody stood still. Stephanie walked over to Logan.
'I'm really sorry.'
'It's fine.' Logan smiled. 'The doctor should be out soon.'
As if on cue the doctor came out of the door. He looked slightly taken aback as everybody surged towards him.
'Is he okay?'
'What's wrong with him?'
He held his hand up and waited until the questions stopped before briefing them all on Carlos' condition.
'Mr. Garcia is fine. The surgery was a success, but it has left him incredibly weak. He needs to take it easy and have total bed rest. He should be supervised whenever he needs to get out of bed. We'll monitor him for a couple of days and if all is good he can go home.'
'Can we see him?' Stephanie asked.
'Yes. He is awake and asking for you. However, I'm only going to permit one of you to see him.' The doctor shook hands with Stephanie, James and Kendall before leaving them to it.
Logan nudged Stephanie towards the door.
'You stay with him tonight. We'll swing by tomorrow morning.'
She hugged Logan, 'Thank you.'
He smiled as she pulled away. After hugging everybody else she quietly went into the room.
Three weeks later everything was back to normal, well as normal as it could be with Christmas less than two weeks away.
Camille and Jo sat on the living room floor, next to the tree they put up the week before, wrapping presents as Charlie and James walked in.
'Don't look!' Shouted Camille, jumping up and running towards them, promptly putting her hands over their eyes as Jo hurried to wrap the last present.
'Okay. They can look now.' Laughed Jo. Camille removed her hands and sat back on the floor to help Jo move the pile of presents under the tree.
'We've wrapped up your prezzies and Carlos, Stephanie's, Kendall's and Logan's.' Camille said proudly.
Jo and Camille smirked at the couple as they took a seat on the sofa.
James looked around before asking where everybody else was.
'Kendall, Carlos and Logan have gone shopping,' Said Camille. 'Stephanie has gone to lunch with her dad.'
'He's in LA for a business meeting.' Jo added.
'Ah.' James nodded.
'So, how did the scan go?'
James and Charlie beamed and handed Jo a black and white image. She handed it to Camille after.
'The nurse said baby is fine.' Charlie said affectionately, rubbing her little baby bump as Camille stuck it to the fridge along-side the 8 week scan. 'Everything's how it should be.'
'At least people can't confuse the bump with eating too many mince pies.' Joked James, placing his hand on hers.
'Hey!' Charlie hit his arm, pretending to be offended. She smiled when he kissed the bump, and then kissed her on the lips.
The door crashed open and Kendall, Carlos and Logan tumbled in, hands full with bags. Logan dumped all the bags on the table before going back to close the door. As soon as the door connected with the frame, it opened, making Logan stumble backwards.
'Sorry Logan.' Laughed Stephanie, holding out a hand to help him up. Logan took it and dusted himself off, laughing as he picked up the bags and followed Kendall and Carlos in to Kendall's room.
Stephanie went to the fridge, admiring the new scan before getting a drink.
'Anybody want anything before it starts?' She shouted. The drama series' new season was about to air. It was an hour Christmas special and Charlie's last episode. The guys will finally find out what Charlie decided to do regarding the show and acting.
'No thanks.'
'Ice cream. Please.'
Stephanie sat on the floor next to Camille and passed the ice cream behind her to Charlie's waiting hand. Charlie grinned.
'Thanks.' She said before digging in, laughing when James' face appeared right next to hers, mouth wide open. She shoveled a spoonful into his gob, making sure to get some on his nose. She laughed as he tried to use his tongue to get it off. She pulled his face towards her, sucking the ice cream off his nose then giving him a passionate kiss. They pulled apart as the guys made their presence known, each carrying a pile of presents.
'Presents all wrapped and...' Logan started.
'Eww. Come on you two. Give it a rest.' Kendall said, hitting James on the back of the head after dumping his pile untidily under the tree.
Carlos and Logan walked around the front and sat on the other side, throwing smirks at the blushing couple opposite them.
'Oh, it's starting.' Squealed Camille. Effectively drawing everybody's attention to the TV. Kendall grabbed a blanket and sat next to Jo on the floor. The eight of them always watched the girls' show. Part of the reason is to support them; the other reason is because they love it. However, this time the guys didn't know what to expect and normally they looked forward to that aspect.
The show started off warm. The four girls had just come back from separate holidays and had met up at a cafe to catch up. After sharing a couple of stories of beach romance and humiliating accidents by the pool side, the show started to darken. It wasn't voted best teen drama for nothing. It always kept its viewers on their toes.
Three quarters of the way through, everybody was sitting on the edge of their seats. After having lunch at the cafe the foursome had gone to the bank to change their money back to dollars. But that turned out to be a disaster. They got held in a hostage situation. Jo and Stephanie's characters had managed to get out and were now waiting behind the police tape for the fate of their best friends as the show came back on after its last advert break. The screen flew inside the bank, skimming past the frightened hostages, finally focusing on Charlie and Camille's characters scared faces.
The eight of them watched as three criminals paced up and down between the hostages, keeping away from the windows, with bated breath. They watched as Charlie's character gripped Camille's hand tightly as one of the men walked over to them, raising his gun in a threatening manner. His head snapped round as a baby started to cry. He briskly walked towards the panicked mother, who was desperately trying to comfort the distraught infant. The other hostages gasped as the man harshly told the mother to 'shut it up' or he would make sure it would stay quiet. The man raised his weapon but was jumped on by one of the security guards they had disarmed earlier. He hit the officer in the head with the butt of his gun, shooting him in the chest as he took a swing at the offender. Several screams echoed around the bank as people shielded their eyes. The baby cried harder, making the leader focus his attention on it again. Charlie's character stood up, making the lads in 2J gasp. James unconsciously held his girl tighter as the leader aimed his gun at her instead. Two gun shots rang out from the TV and everybody sat quietly as the police burst onto the scene. They watched as the gunman and Charlie dropped to the floor and the other two criminals put down their weapons in surrender, clearly out numbered.
The leader was pronounced dead as he had been shot in the heart by snipers outside. Charlie cautiously stood up. She had only been shot in the arm. Around the room, the lads let out breaths of relief, but the girls smirked. The hostages were lead outside and Charlie and Camille were reunited with the relieved characters of Jo and Stephanie, who threw their arms around the two girls. They parted as a dark car squealed around the corner, passenger window rolled down. A police officer shouted 'gun', getting the people closest to him to duck as the perpetrator opened fire at the small terrified crowd, before the driver sped off.
The show ended minutes later as people stood up to find multiple casualties and two fatalities. Charlie's character and a police officer had died at the scene.
Everybody stared as 'To be continued' and the credits rolled by.
Logan broke the silence, 'Why did they open fire? Who were they?'
Camille stood up and sat on his lap. 'Everything will be revealed after Christmas. Who they were, why they did it and how they are involved.'
Charlie looked up a James, who still had his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
'You're a great actor, scarily good.' He said, looking down at her, knowing she knew what he meant. Charlie just nodded and nestled into him.
'So you're done with acting?' Kendall voiced everybody's unspoken question.
'For now.' Charlie said, lifting her head up a little. 'Maybe, when the baby's older, I could find little projects to work on. It just depends on how I feel about acting when the baby is actually here.'
James hugged her, resting a hand on the bump. 'No matter what you decide, I'll always support you.' He kissed the top of her head, as if to seal the promise.
'We all will.' Added Stephanie, to which the others nodded.