Chapter 13, enjoy! Yes, I'm manic, yes you get the fruits of this mania and no, can't stop, won't stop...until I pass out! :U

Warning: Angst, foreshadowing that you already know about!

Nurse Me

Chapter 13

Make a Wish: PT. 2

Carlos almost said no to the trip to Las Vegas. He had put his foot down, gave Dr. Jeanne a long look and said, in a low voice, "You want to take three very ill children, my daughter included in this group, to Las Vegas."

"…Y….es…." Jeanne said, her hands on her hips, looking at Carlos, "It'll be for about five days."

"Five days, you want to take three very ill children to Las Vegas, for five days?" This time, Carlos asked the doctor before him, "Was that the right question you asked me?"

"It was," Jeanne said, nodding her head, sitting down in her office chair, "Mr. Manoso-"

"Are you on drugs?" Carlos finally asked the woman, placing his hands on her desk, "You want to take my child, who has brain tumors, that are medicine resistant, to Las Vegas, for five days for what? Please tell me it's because there's a cure out there."

"Not a cure but-" Jeanne started but Carlos held his hand up and gave the woman a look over.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't call the fucking ethical board of this hospital on you, right now, for what you just asked of me," Carlos sat down in the chair before Jeanne's desk, crossing his ankles, "I hope you come up with a very convincing story, Dr. Barrows, because right now? I'm tempted to make you disappear for what you just asked me to do."

Carlos had to admit, the woman didn't crack under the pressure he placed on her, she got brownie points for that. However, he was going to make sure she never practiced medicine in any developed nation, if her reason why was not off the wall.

A knock on the door to Jeanne's office had them both turning. Jeanne looked at the door and said, "You can come in now, Brittany."

Carlos raised an eyebrow as Brittany walked in, dressed in thick pajamas a scarf on her neck. Carlos had noticed, in the days leading up to and past Christmas, the girl had been wearing more layers, looking a little more tired and was more aloof in the Blue Room. Why was she in here, did Jeanne need to make sure someone saw her? She needed witnesses?!

"So, before you bite off Gina's head," Gina? Carlos watched as Brittany tucked her hands in her pajama pockets, "She doesn't want to take Diesel and Heidi to Las Vegas, I do…"

"You? Brittany, you are sick?" Carlos stood and crouched before the frail girl, gently grabbing her shoulders, "What's going on in your head? Why would you risk all of you for a trip to Las Vegas?"

Brittany gave him a half shrug and smiled at him, a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "HIPPA won't let Gina tell you the reason but I can, cause it's about me, and I'm an adult."

The girl's shoulders slumped under Carlos's hands and she gave him another small smile, "Hey, Heidi's taking my slot, for the trials, I heard their experimental treatments for brain tumors are pretty radical and shit…"

"Brittany," Carlos started, "Is this because you're leaving the hospital and going home? Is this celebration trip?"

"I-I…uh, I'm not going home," Brittany said, in a small voice, her eyes watering, making Carlos rub her shoulders, "I'm not in the trials anymore because um, I'm under hospice care now…"

Fuck. Carlos wished the girl had told him she was going home and to fuck all hospitals. He felt his heart thud as Brittany sniffled and whimpered, "I only have about 3 to 6 months left, 6 months being a very generous number. I'm rich, I've been around the world twice, I don't have any last wishes, so-so I thought, at least for Heidi and Di-Diesel-fuck, who's going to take care of that hapless fool, when I'm gone?"

The broken sob that came from Brittany had Carlos's resolve cracking. "Come here, Querida, come here, Brittany," Carlos sat down in the chair and pulled Brittany in his lap and held her tight to his chest, letting her cry in his neck. He looked over to Jeanne and found her looking at her hands, which were trembling on the desk, her throat working itself hard, as though she was trying to hold back sobs herself.

"I-it's not for me," Jeanne said, looking up at Carlos, "It's for Brittany, we'll be close to a hospital, with a very nice cancer ward, taking-um…a medi-jet to Las Vegas, Stephanie and Lula will be with us, you can invite Tank and Lester as well, it'll only be for about five days…"

Carlos rubbed Brittany's back and then nodded his head, "Alright," he lifted Brittany's head up, looking in her tear filled eyes, "Alright, we're going to Vegas," he wiped away her tears and muttered, "I like you better, when you're spitting acid at the adults, not crying."

"I-I'm trying to be my old self, Mr. Manoso, but it's been hella hard," Brittany whispered, wiping at her tears, "I think this will make me happier, making my friends happy and spending some good time with them. I've done everything I wanted, I want to do things for them now."

"So, underage drinking and gambling?" Carlos asked the crying girl, who nodded her head, "Well...I suppose, when I was your age, I was doing worse…"

"Weren't you shooting up people in the middle east, or jungles?" Brittany asked Carlos, earning a smirk from the man.

"More like getting my ass kicked in a undisclosed area, in extreme temperatures," Carlos said, earning a smirk from Brittany, "There we go, I like that face better than the crying one."

Carlos gently clipped her chin with his knuckles and said, "If you're gonna go out, go out with a bang…right?" Brittany nodded her head, "And on your parents' dime too."

"Yeah, killing three birds with one stone, spending their inheritance, making some wishes come true and dying," Carlos smiled, there goes that dry, almost dark humor, "Tonight, we're leaving tonight, around midnight, Grandpa got it all set up for me, he's coming too, wants to spend as much time as he can with me, you know?"

"Oh I know, I'm glad you invited me, I want to spend as much time as I can with you too," Carlos said, kissing the top of the girl's head, as Brittany slid off his lap, "So, I'll make sure Heidi has a packed bag, and you just say the word and I'll be in the car with you all heading to Vegas."

"More like a limo, we're going in style, every car will be a limo, private jets, private rooms, we're gonna live it up like the heiress I am! extravagant wealth that is utterly disgusting and anti-anti consumption!" Brittany gave him a true smile, before leaving the office, "Gina, pack something sexy, or I'll buy you something sexy!"

Brittany gave Carlos a look and said, "I think Nurse Jackie is packing a thong, I bet you'll like that, Rico Sauve," before leaving and closing the door to the office, the silence left her wake thick enough to cut through.

"….I'll deny I ever said this, Dr. Jeanne but: sorry I bit your head off, earlier," Carlos said, leaning back in his chair, suddenly tired, "three months?"

"If that…" Jeanne whispered, a long tear dropping on her nose, "She doesn't deserve it but…"

"None of them do," Carlos reached out and grabbed the doctor's hand, squeezing it, "Dr. Jeanne..,"

"Yeah?" The doctor looked up at Carlos who sighed and closed his eyes,.

"Who in the hell is Nurse Jackie?" The question made Jeanne laugh out loud, "What?"

"It's Ms. Morelli, go on and pack, I have to make some calls to Vegas and to Diesel's parents," Jeanne let out a cracked laugh as Carlos stood up, "You've been in and out of this ward and didn't know?"

"Nurse Jackie and a thong.." Carlos shook his head but left the office, 'Not a bad image…honestly.'

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"You didn't hear this from me," Tank muttered to Carlos, sitting beside him on the private jet, as they made their way to Las Vegas, "But I heard Ms. Stephanie caught her husband at the store and he…uh..wasn't alone, if you know what I mean.."

"How'd you get that info?" Carlos asked softly, looking around in the cabin of the Medi-jet. Everyone but him and Tank were asleep, great, it was a good time for gossip, even Carlos enjoyed a cup or two of tea.

"First hand account," Tank said, softly, looking over to Lula, "Lula was there right beside Stephanie, told the 'burg Joe got the clap from the woman he was cheating around with."

"Sounds like Lula," Carlos cracked a smile and leaned back in his seat more, "Still, Morelli…ran into him a few times at the cop shop, when I needed to relieve some tension with some FTAs. Looked like a cheater…From what Ms. Stephanie said, he hasn't been home since Thanksgiving. You think he was shacking up with someone else since then?"

"Shacking up…making a house, call it what you will, Lula-bear said he was buying tampons and razor kits with the woman, ain't no married man out here 'bout to buy tampons with just any old woman, Lula's words not mine…"

"Hold up…Lula-bear?" Carlos asked, raising an eyebrow, "Really? That nickname is…uh..interesting."

"Tch, enough about my stellar love life," Tank hissed, when the Rangemen wanted to, they could as catty as the best of them, "She's about to divorce, she'll be single and to be honest, a good woman like that, there's no justice in the world, if she's single."

"Pierre," Carlos looked over to Stephanie's slumbering form, which was nestled beside Brittany, "Do you really think she needs a widower making the moves on her?"

"You already did, you're just continuing what you started," Tank replied, stretching and standing up, "Okay, you were in dire straits, but you're not as bad now and let's be real here, the both of you could use a good fucking, Lulas' words, not mine…"

Tank made his way back to Lula's form and Carlos let out a noiseless sound, looking over to soon to be single woman and then out the window of the Medi-Jet. It had been ages since he thought of sex or having sexual relations with anyone. He doubted Stephanie needed someone trying to hit on her, not when she just dealt with a scummy husband and was now in charge of three very ill children, who would most likely try to get in as much trouble as they legally (and illegally) can in a city known for over indulgence.

That cop was a fucking fool, Stephanie had never strayed and had stopped anything from happening when that kiss happened between him and her. Carlos hoped it was worth it for the man, because Stephanie wasn't going back. He had some inkling as to how the 'Burg worked, it was cut throat, with the expectations for 'Burg women, stuck in a misogynistic time warp. Your husband can and will step out, if you don't behave properly…Jesus fucking Christ, who thought like that?

Oh well, for a few days, all thoughts of New Jersey were still in that state, but the small group wasn't. They would be soaking up the winter Sun and the atmosphere of Las Vegas. It might do the kids some good to be out of the hospital, anyways.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

The kids didn't wake, when the jet landed, nor did they wake when they were carried off the plane and over to a waiting limo. Any medical equipment attached to the children, under the careful watch of Lula, Stephanie and Jeanne were properly secured and protected from contamination. Their limo driver wore a mask and the kids were fitted with medical grades face masks as well as they slept. The excitement of leaving the hospital and spending four days on a vacation must have been too much for them.

When the children were safely tucked in the limo, under warm blankets, their mode of transportation was, heading down the strip, which was bright, flashing neon lights and signs. Fountains were going off in rhythmic patterns and the strip was full of tourists, despite the early morning. There was hope the children didn't want to go to the super crowded places, that would be an illness waiting to happen.

"Let's go see that French Circus show at that hotel," Lula said, looking out the window with Stephanie, pointing to a sleek resort, "I also heard they had an amazing 24/7 breakfast buffet too."

"Sounds like a date!" Stephanie nodded to Lula and she pointed up the roof of a building, "Look, there's a fucking roller coaster up there!"

The two nurses chatted happily to one another, as the limo made its way down the desert road and away from the busiest part of the strip. No one in the limo had heard of the resort they were to spend their vacation in, no one but Brittany, but she was almost dead asleep, and wasn't about to wake up soon.

Stephanie looked up the information of the resort and found that it was a place that the ultra-wealthy, those with old money went to. A room there would set you back almost 50K a night for a basic room. How did Brittany's grandfather manage to book the whole resort? It most likely the man paid over seven figures for the four nights!

The resort was hidden behind desert friendly plants and wrought iron gates and tall terracotta fences, in an area in Las Vegas that screamed wealth. The resort itself was a rather small, one-story compound, that blended in with the desert background. The walls were made of desert colored terracotta material that absorbed the heat but kept the inside of the resort cool, windows were stained with bright colors to reflect the harsh desert sun and the floors were of cool tile and some woods. The furniture was also desert theme with a mixture of tasteful dark and bright colors, desert themed paintings lined the walls and the plants in polished clay pots were cacti and heart desert plants. Priceless artifacts were on stands and side tables and tasteful drapes hung from the ceiling , some going out along the outdoor walkways to protect people from the was a pool, a spa, all the facilities a resort could ask for, along with a casino, two restaurants, one a steakhouse and the other a fusion of South American and Southwestern USA cuisine. A place separated from the busy Las Vegas life but part of it still.

They were placed in three rooms, each room having three spacious bedrooms and a spacious living area to entertain guests in. They were all furnished differently, but tastefully, the beds were ultra plush and comfortable and with 24/7 staff, they would not go without.

All three children were placed in the 'Desert King Penthouse,' in the same room, where three king sized beds waited for them, with the blankets turned down and their medical equipment waiting for them. Even on vacation they would not be without their treatments, save for their radiation therapy, which would done by the exclusive cancer center beside the resort.

Brittany's grandfather had called and told the adults he would be there later on in the day, but to have fun and that everything was on him. He didn't want them to spend a dime, per Brittany's wishes. If they wanted to do activities, go shopping, she shows, eat at Michelin starred places, he would pay for it.

Being a billionaire had its perks, it seemed!

With the children tucked into their beds, and hooked back on to their IVs, the group of adults, jet lagged and a bit tired from the excitement of their trip, went to their assigned rooms to sleep as well. Vegas could wait, sleep was important.

Brittany was the first to wake, with the winter sun beaming down on her through stained Tiffany glass windows. She let out a sigh and opened her eyes, seeing not the blue walls of the hospital, but polished terracotta walls that were a dark orange color and desert themed draperies and art. She licked her dried lips and turned, seeing Diesel and Heidi asleep in their own beds, in the huge room they were in and smiled broadly.

She really did it, she managed to get the adults to get them to Vegas! They were going to have a blast, but first…

Brittany got out of bed, wheeling her IV stand along with her and walked over to Diesel's slumbering form. He let out a snort of surprise, when she hit him on the head, with a pillow and cracked open his eyes to snap at her but stopped short, seeing that they were not in the hospital.

"Okay, I thought-I thought I dreamt last night, you know, side effect of some meds, but shit," Diesel croaked, sitting up in his bed and looking around, "We're here, you crazy son of a gun, Brittany, you got us to Las Vegas."

"Yeah, I did," Brittany smiled and sitting in the bed with Diesel, "Look at this fucking sunrise, amazing, isn't it?"

The two children stared out the window at the rising sun and Diesel turned to Brittany and asked, in a soft voice, "Why'd you do this? I know you like to do impulsive things, but this is…over the top, why'd you fly us out here on a vacation?"

"Why not?" Brittany asked, leaning back on her elbows, "I mean, we have jack shit to do for New Years, let's spend it here, in mild climate and opulent wealth, come on, you berk, stop asking questions and enjoy the atmosphere! Grandpa had to pull major strings to get this whole resort during peak vacation season!"

"I guess you're right," Diesel leaned back, looking out the window, "S'nice place, and no snow, I like it…I like it a lot," he looked over to Brittany, "What are we going to do first?"

"Get baked so we can pig out on breakfast, heard the steak house does a mean tomahawk steak and egg breakfast and if we're on vacation, damn it, we're going to eat like it too!" Brittany said, digging around in her jacket pocket, "Hmm…."

"I hope you're not gonna get us high on coke…" both Diesel and Brittany turned to see Heidi walk over to Diesel's bed and to sit beside them, "I honestly don't think coke makes you get the munchies."

"Nah, we got old Mary Jane for that," Brittany took out a joint and her lighter from her pocket, "Perks of flying private, no TSA to shake you down…" she felt Heidi get comfortable beside her and lay her head on her shoulder, Diesel doing the same, "So, let's light one up, here's to hopefully one hell of a vacation."

"You're gonna smoke with all the adults in rooms next to us?" Heidi asked, turning her head slightly to look up at Brittany, who had the joint dangling from her mouth, her lighter close to her face.

"Yeah? Why not, shit's legal and I'm grown, besides, I need to get hungry," Brittany responded, lighting up her joint and taking a long drag from it, holding it in for a while before exhaling, "Gonna nark to Papi?"

"No," Heidi crinkled her brow and took the lit joint and took a long drag herself, holding it in and then exhaling, feeling light headed quickly, "I'm in too deep anyways, why would I tell on myself?"

"God, you're still a stick in the mud, Manoso," Diesel chuckled, taking the joint and smoking it himself, "To-" he exhaled smoke and sighed, tossing his head back, "To vacations and the munchies!"

"And to good weed and better company," Heidi said, looking over to other two, "Brittany…thanks for making this happen, I thought I was tripping last night when you woke me up for this."

"Yeah?" Brittany pulled a baggie out of her jacket pocket and smiled, "You'll be tripping tonight for realsies, I got a treat from some new age dispenser, "I always wanted to trip on LSD…"

"Oh jeez," Diesel laughed and took another drag from the joint, "Brittany, what is going on with you?"

"Nothing much, just…we're on vacation, let's live like we're going to die soon," Brittany shrugged, "Sin city and we ain't sinning. Nonsense!"

The three teenagers giggled and laughed, quickly finishing their joint and airing out the room before the adults came in to check on them.

They could cut loose on a vacation!

TBC...

What do you think, drop a review if you want. See ya! l:U