Reunited: Day Thirty
Regis and Kathie-Lee were sitting on a pair of chairs in front of an excited audience of teens and young adults. The show was in the midst of a commercial break as the first guest was escorted to their dressing room and the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls prepared to join the two hosts on the stage. The girls were to go on stage first. It was to be Melanie's first official public appearance on television since the accident. She had been introduced to Regis and Kathie-Lee prior to the show in hopes of making her more comfortable for the interview.
"How are you doing, Melanie?" Victoria asked. She wrapped her arm over Melanie's shoulders and squeezed her tightly.
Melanie shrugged, not looking Victoria in the eye. As much as they tried, they still couldn't get Melanie to converse with them. They'd kept up with making her say three words a day, but rarely got anything more than one word at a time. They could tell she hated it, but her psychiatrist had warned them that Melanie's progress and recovery would be delayed without encouragement.
"Here we go," Emma exclaimed excitedly as Kathie-Lee began introducing the girls. She squeezed Melanie's hand and smiled as Regis introduced the girls. Melanie breathed deeply and walked out onto the stage with the other girls. As they stepped out from behind the curtain, Melanie could see the hundreds of people that filled the seats in the room. When she'd been introduced to the two hosts earlier, the studio had been empty apart from a few crew members. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the crowd and she attempted to go back behind the curtain, but Emma continued to pull her toward the chairs that had been set up for them.
The girls sat on the chairs, Mel and Geri closest to the two hosts, Victoria in the middle, and Emma and Melanie furthest away. Emma linked her arm with Melanie's and interlaced their fingers, pulling Melanie's hand close.
"We're so excited you could be here, girls!" Kathie-Lee exclaimed. "I'm sure you don't need to be introduced, but just in case there is someone watching that has been living under a rock, let's get your names." Each of the girls greeted the audience and introduced themselves, smiling and waving at the camera and the crowd. Emma introduced herself and Melanie, knowing Melanie wouldn't do it herself. The girls had promised Melanie earlier that she wouldn't have to speak unless she wanted to.
Regis and Kathie-Lee did a brief speech to the camera, talking about the girls and their rise to fame, the joint tour with the boys, the bus accident, and the recovery of Melanie, AJ, and Brian. As they asked the girls questions, Melanie briefly glanced out at the crowd before quickly dropping her gaze to the floor. Emma could feel Melanie shaking and watched her closely, gauging whether she should take Melanie backstage or not.
"This is Melanie's first time in front of an audience since the accident?" Regis asked. Melanie looked up suddenly, hearing her name. Realizing Regis was looking at her, she quickly dropped her head, swung her legs nervously, and bit her lip.
"All right, Regis. We don't want to make her uncomfortable," said Kathie-Lee as she watched Melanie's reaction. She and Regis continued interviewing the girls, avoiding bringing too much attention to Melanie. Melanie glanced up at them occasionally, but kept her gaze on the floor for the majority of the interview.
"The girls are going to stay with us a bit longer," Kathie-Lee announced to the audience and cameras. "And after the break, the Backstreet Boys will be joining us and performing their latest single. We'll be right back."
"Cut!" the director shouted as the program cut to commercial. A few people in the crowd began chanting and cheering for the girls as the stage crew brought in more chairs for the boys to sit on. Melanie flinched as one of the men set a chair next to her and she quickly slid out of her chair, ducking between Emma and Victoria to get away from the man. A collective round of concerned cries was heard from the crowd as Melanie gripped Emma's hand tightly and backed against Victoria.
"It's all right," Emma explained. "They're just bringing chairs out for the lads. They're not going to touch you."
Melanie kept her eyes glued to the men dressed in black as they rushed around the stage, quickly adding chairs and setting up microphones for the boys. She caught a glimpse of Nick standing just out of the audience's eye line and he smiled and waved at her.
"Thirty seconds!" the director shouted.
Emma and Victoria coaxed Melanie back into her chair and tried their best to eliminate her fears, but nothing was sinking in. Melanie looked back at the stage crew as they disappeared backstage. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes and she fought to keep them from falling.
"They're not coming back," Emma explained, sliding off of her chair and standing in front of Melanie. "Aw, Melanie," she laughed sympathetically as she brushed the tear from Melanie's cheek and rubbed Melanie's arms. "You're ok."
"We're on in ten, nine, eight," the director announced, counting down to three then finishing the countdown silently with his fingers. Emma quickly got back in her chair and interlaced her fingers with Melanie's, squeezing her hand tightly for support. Melanie dropped her head, not wanting to look at the crowd or the cameras anymore.
"Welcome back," said Regis, reading from the teleprompter. "We've already had an amazing lineup of guests today and we're about to bring out even more. The Spice Girls have been joined by this group for a world tour that commenced last May. Let's bring them out... the Backstreet Boys!"
The crowd went wild and Melanie quickly pulled her hand out of Emma's grasp in order to cover her ears to drown out the sound. She looked back and watched as the boys entered the room from backstage and sat in the chairs that had been brought out for them. AJ sat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder, immediately noticing how badly she was shaking. The crew motioned for the crowd to calm down and Kathie-Lee began interviewing the boys, asking them about the tour, the accident, and the shenanigans they had experienced while touring with the girls.
As Brian told the crowd about surviving in the forest, AJ pulled Melanie from her chair and wrapped his arms around her torso to pull her close, resting his chin on her shoulder. Melanie remained stiff and squinted against the stage lights as she looked out at the crowd.
"My daughter and I watched the whole thing on the news," Kathie-Lee explained. "It was absolutely exhilarating when the rescues finally happened."
"Does Melanie remember anything from that time?" Regis asked. Melanie flinched and looked over at Regis. She looked over at the girls, silently begging them to take the attention away from her.
"Melanie's memory is limited to those few days after she and Brian were separated," Emma replied, looking back at Melanie and smiling. "She's still recovering, so we're hopeful things will start to come back to her, but right now we're just focusing on keeping her comfortable and building new memories with her."
Melanie frantically scanned the crowd, overwhelmed by the number of unfamiliar faces. She began breathing in quick, panicked inhalations, drawing AJ's attention.
"Hey," AJ whispered softly as Kevin and Howie answered Regis's question about the future of the tour. "What's going on? You ok?"
Simon and Sam were standing at the side of the stage, watching the two bands interact with the hosts. Simon had been keeping a close eye on Melanie, ready to pull her off stage if something were to happen.
"Shit," he breathed, looking at her with concern. "We should have pulled her during the break."
"There's three minutes until commercial," said Sam, glancing at the director's timer.
"She's not going to make it," said Simon. "See if you can get AJ to take her off." Sam nodded and waved at AJ to get his attention as Simon quietly let the director know what was happening. The director informed the camera operators about what was happening and directed them to keep their shots in close to the hosts to avoid catching AJ as he slid off of his chair and quietly coaxed Melanie backstage, heightening her panic when she realized she was the only one being removed from the set. The rest of the band members tried to keep from making a scene and continued to converse with the two hosts over the sympathetic cries of some of the audience members.
As the hosts brought the interview to a close, the show's theme music played throughout the room and the cameras moved back to Regis as he sent the program to a commercial.
The director called 'cut' once again and the girls quickly rushed backstage to check on Melanie. They found her sitting in a chair, gripping AJ's arms tightly as she struggled to catch her breath. Tears were streaming down her face and she was visibly trembling.
"Nice slow breaths," AJ instructed softly, he was kneeling in front of her with his arms resting on her thighs and a paper bag clutched in one hand. "Honey, you need to breathe or you're going to pass out. Can you try breathing into the paper bag for me?"
Melanie looked over at the girls and immediately became more distraught. She tried to stand up, but AJ stopped her and quickly tried her get her attention back as the group joined them.
"No one is upset with you," AJ explained. "You did way better than we expected. Look at me and breathe, honey."
"We're so proud of you, Melanie. You did such a good job," Geri added, kneeling next to AJ and looking up at Melanie. "That was too many people, wasn't it?"
"Did you try giving her those tablets that Sandra prescribed?" Victoria asked, pulling up a chair next to Melanie and running her hands along Melanie's shoulders.
"She wouldn't take them," AJ replied, keeping his eyes on Melanie. "We were almost starting to calm down, though. Can you breathe with me again, baby girl?" AJ started breathing in slow, deep breaths and tried to keep eye contact with Melanie. She tried to imitate him, but kept looking away whenever someone moved or when crew members walked past them. Slowly, she started to relax and she suddenly found herself exhausted from the rush of adrenaline that had coursed through her body.
"That's it," AJ encouraged. "Good girl. You feeling better?"
Melanie nodded and looked around at her friends who were all watching her with concern. No one looked upset with her and the crew that was milling around the backstage area didn't seem to be paying any attention to her.
"Everything all right?" Simon asked as he walked backstage.
"We're good," AJ replied, still looking at Melanie. She glanced over at Simon and tightened her grip on AJ's arm.
"Perfect," said Simon. "You were awesome, sweetheart. Are you ok?"
Although Melanie had become more comfortable with the boys, she was still a bit leery of everyone else. She nodded and watched Simon closely as he continued to smile at her.
"I've got to go perform," said AJ, standing up and kissing Melanie's cheek. "The girls are going to stay with you and I'll be back in a few minutes, all right?"
He set the paper bag on the floor next to Melanie's chair and smiled at her as he and Simon disappeared back onto the set. Melanie relaxed back into the chair and sighed, completely exhausted.
"We won't make you do that again until you're ready" said Emma, taking Melanie's hands and sitting on the arm of the chair. "That was a bit too much. We'll wait until you're more comfortable around people before we try doing interviews again."
The girls fussed over her for a few minutes, making sure Melanie was no longer anxious and felt comfortable being backstage. Emma wrapped her arms around her, wiping the tears from Melanie's cheek with the sleeve of her own jumper before taking her hand and pulling her toward their dressing room where the other three girls were headed. Melanie planted her feet, causing Emma to look back at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. Melanie looked back at the stage, then at Emma. "You want to stay and watch?" Emma asked. Melanie nodded and bit her lip nervously. Emma smiled and wrapped her arms around Melanie from behind. "Of course!" she exclaimed.
She led Melanie around the back of the stage and over to the door leading out to the front of the set. The two of them stood at the edge of the curtain and watched as the house lights were dimmed, the stage lights went up, the music began, and the boys sang (Everybody) Backstreet's Back.
-0-0-
Melanie was left on her own to change and she walked quickly to the green room to meet with the other girls and the Backstreet Boys, who were standing around the craft services table, grabbing a few things to eat. She approached AJ and visibly relaxed in the presence of her friends.
"Hey, you," said AJ as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to kiss her cheek. "How are you doing?" Melanie shrugged and rested her head on AJ's shoulder, hugging her arms against herself.
"So, what's the plan now?" Howie asked as he looked around the room and took a bite of his sandwich.
"As far as I know we're going back to the hotel," AJ replied. "I don't think we have rehearsal until tomorrow morning."
"We've got a radio interview at six," Geri replied as she approached the three of them. "Emma and I are going to take Melanie to the hospital first. I think the rest of you are going to do a quick interview while we're gone."
Melanie tensed and looked at Geri worriedly, thinking for a moment before looking sadly at the floor and fighting back tears.
"Melanie? You ok?" AJ asked, having felt her body become rigid against his. Melanie nodded, not looking up at him.
"I'm fine," she barely whispered. She tensed, and ducked her head as though she was going to be struck while Geri, AJ, and Howie looked at her with surprise, shocked to finally hear her speak without being heavily prompted. Geri made eye contact with AJ, both sharing their surprise.
"Would you like something to eat, honey?" Geri asked, attempting to keep Melanie talking. Melanie struggled for a moment, biting her lip nervously before sighing and shaking her head.
"No, thank you," she squeaked.
Geri pulled Melanie away from AJ and wrapped her arms around her. "Melanie, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed, squeezing her tightly. "It's so good to hear you talking. Are you sure I can't get you anything? You must be hungry. You had such a small breakfast." She pulled back and looked at Melanie, who was still slightly tense.
"I'm not hungry," Melanie replied.
Emma set her empty plate on the end of the buffet table and looked over at Simon, who was at the door signalling to her that the car had arrived to take herself, Melanie, and Geri to the hospital. She nodded and walked over to the girls.
"The car is here," Emma announced, taking Melanie's hand and squeezing it. "You're going to come with Geri and I for a quick trip to the hospital, ok?"
Melanie dropped her head and nodded. "Ok," she sighed. Emma's eyes widened and she looked at Geri, who had a huge grin on her face.
"Melanie's started talking," Geri stated excitedly.
"Oh, my gosh!" Emma exclaimed. "That's great!" She joined Geri in hugging Melanie before pulling the two girls over to the door.
"We won't be gone long," said Geri as they passed Victoria. "We'll see you at the hotel later."
"All right," said Victoria. "Bye."
The three girls followed Simon downstairs to the garage where the car was waiting for them. He opened the door and let the three of them slip into the backseat before shutting the door behind them and walking around the car to speak with the driver. The driver backed out of the garage and merged into traffic, heading toward the hospital.
"I'm sorry," Melanie whimpered, not looking at the girls. Both Emma and Geri looked at each other questioningly.
"For what?" Emma asked, setting her hand on Melanie's knee. Melanie sat silently, trying not to cry.
"I don't know," she squeaked, still refusing to look at either of them.
"Melanie?" said Geri with concern. She tried lifting Melanie's chin to get her to look at them, but Melanie pulled her face away and continued to look down. "Honey, we told you. You have nothing to be sorry for. You've done nothing wrong." Melanie nodded and quickly wiped the tear that spilled down her cheek with the back of her hand.
Emma frowned, confused, and she pulled Melanie close. "You can talk to us," she explained. "We won't get mad, I promise." Melanie shrugged and looked out the window at the hospital as it loomed in the distance.
The girls were dropped off at the staff entrance and ushered upstairs to a private room. Melanie looked around at the unfamiliar corridors of the hospital with confusion. It wasn't the same hospital she had stayed at before and they were surrounded by strangers. She sat on the edge of the observation table, shaking uncontrollably as they waited for the doctor to arrive.
"You don't have to stay," Melanie whimpered.
"Of course we'll stay," said Geri. "We want to make sure everything is ok."
"I'm fine," Melanie assured her. She looked up and made eye contact with Geri for a moment before dropping her gaze to the floor, not wanting the girls to see her cry.
"Hi girls. I'm Dr Latvia," said the doctor cheerfully as she tapped on the door and let herself in. Emma and Geri cheerfully greeted the doctor as she closed the door and sat in her chair across from the examination table the girls were sat on. She folded her hands in her lap and smiled at the girls before inquiring as to what they had brought Melanie in for.
Melanie frowned questioningly and looked up at Geri as she informed the doctor about Melanie's recurring headaches and dependence on the pain tablets they'd been giving her. Dr Latvia nodded and looked over Melanie's chart.
"When did the headaches start?" Dr Latvia asked.
"We've been giving her medication for them for the last four weeks," Emma replied, letting Dr Latvia know about Melanie's prior head injuries and their concern with constantly giving Melanie medication for them.
"Let's see if we can figure out what's causing them," Dr Latvia suggested. "Melanie, are the headaches getting worse or are they pretty consistent?"
Melanie looked at each of the girls questioningly, not seeming to understand what was happening. "Sorry," Dr Latvia chided herself. "I read in your report earlier that you don't speak. You can nod if you'd like. Are they getting worse?" She looked at Melanie expectantly.
"She was talking earlier," Emma said, squeezing Melanie's shoulders encouragingly.
"Do you have a headache right now?" Dr Latvia asked. Melanie looked at her and tentatively shook her head. "Did you have one earlier?" Melanie shook her head once more and chewed her thumbnail nervously. Dr Latvia continued questioning Melanie, trying to figure out when her last headache was and why she had taken the tablets the girls had given her if her head hadn't been bothering her, but Melanie merely shrugged and kept her gaze on the floor. Geri and Emma looked at Melanie with confusion, not understanding why she was lying. They shrugged at Dr Latvia and looked at one another.
"You can be honest with us, sweetheart," Geri coaxed. "We just want to see if there's something we can do to help you feel better."
"You're sure your head hasn't been bothering you?" Emma asked, running her fingers through Melanie's hair and pulling Melanie's chin up to get her to look at her. Melanie shook her head and pulled away to return her gaze to the floor.
"She never asks for the tablets," Geri explained, looking at Dr Latvia. "It was obvious she needed them at the time. I'm not sure why she's not comfortable saying anything at the moment. Should we be worried if the headaches persist?"
"We can't do anything today, but I can schedule her in for an MRI tomorrow and we can have a look to see if there's something going on," Dr Latvia suggested. "I wouldn't recommend giving her the pain medication over such a long period of time without looking into what's causing the pain though. We should be weaning her off them now."
Emma and Geri thanked the doctor and pulled Melanie back into the hall. They took the lift back to the main level of the hospital and Emma and Melanie sat on a few chairs in a secluded hallway near the staff entrance while Geri went outside to get the attention of their driver to bring the car to the door.
"You can go," said Melanie almost inaudibly as she played with the ring on her finger. "You don't have to stay." She was shaking uncontrollably and she didn't dare look up as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
"What?" Emma asked, shocked Melanie had spoken once again. Before Emma could question Melanie's statement further, Melanie lost her resolve and broke down. Emma quickly wrapped her arms around Melanie and squeezed her tightly. "Melanie, what's wrong?" Emma asked worriedly. "Talk to me, honey. Please."
"I don't want to stay here," Melanie sobbed. She pulled away from Emma as Geri walked back into the building and she covered her head protectively.
"Come here," Emma said patiently, pulling Melanie back into an embrace. "We're not going to leave you here. Was that what had you upset earlier?"
Geri looked at the two of them, confused, and sat next to Melanie, opposite Emma. "She thought we brought her here to stay?" Geri asked sympathetically. Emma nodded and pulled back from Melanie enough to kiss her cheek. She could feel Melanie shaking and she rocked with her, hoping to calm her down. "Relax, sweetheart," she soothed. "Everything's ok."
"We just got you back," Geri chuckled. "You're stuck with us now."