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| Dec 15 2008, 5:53 PM EST | Mrs.NicholasJ.Jonas |
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Heyy, fellow Jonas lovers!!!This is the sequel to my "Nick Fic", 'The Merciful Grace of God'. This one is a little bit longer, so I'm going to post it in sections, rather than post it all at once. I hope you really enjoy it!!!*Before you read*: While it is not as cheesy as its prequel, the story does contain the same religious aspects. Actually, it contains more references to religion and God than the prequel does. If this is a problem for anyone here, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to shove religion onto you or anything like that.*One more note*: When I wrote this story, I was just aiming for drama. The story's third section contains events that I'm not entirely sure could actually happen. The tragic aspect of the story is just something that I decided to write about because I find it to be a meaningful subject that people should be educated on as much as possible. I am not wishing anything bad upon Nick (I would NEVER do that!!! Lol). Anyways...enjoy!!!UnpredictableA Fan Fiction Story By Sarah PeguesStarring: Sarah Pegues, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Frankie Jonas, Demi Lovato, Alyson Stoner, Denise Jonas, and Paul JonasSECTION ONEThe glowing red numbers 10:47 were displayed on the face of the digital clock when my loudly-ringing cell phone roused me from a deep, dreamless sleep. It was highly unusual for me to be in bed so early on a Saturday night, but after a long, trying day of baby-sitting for three extremely rambunctious kids from my church, I was just so entirely exhausted that I had barely been able to keep my eyes open long enough to drive myself home and get ready for bed. With a tired groan, I rolled over and lifted the phone from its holder, which sat next to the clock on the bedside table. Glancing at the small screen and wincing at the bright light that radiated from it, I saw that the call was coming from my boyfriend Nick's mother's cell phone. I flipped the phone open and brought it to my ear. "Hey, Denise," I said. I still felt a little weird about calling her that. At the start of my relationship with Nick, I had just called her and her husband, Paul, Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, as any respectful teenager would have done. After about the first month, however, they had insisted upon me calling them by their first names only, telling me that there was no need to be so formal and that I was basically a part of their family.The sound of weeping was the only response I got at first. "Oh, Sarah, it's terrible!" she choked out through her sobbing a few moments later. Her breath came fast and heavy, and it sounded as if she couldn't gain control of it. I feared that she was about to pass out over the phone."Denise...what is it?" I asked, pulling myself into a sitting position. Exhaustion and sleep were now the furthest things from my mind. My heart jammed itself into my throat, and I felt my blood run cold in my veins as goosebumps rose along my arms. "Is everything okay?" Stupid question, I scolded myself. I mean, she just told you that it's terrible. And she sounds like she's having a panic attack. Of course everything isn't okay."Nick was in a car accident," she wept. "He was working late tonight, and when he was on his way home, a drunk driver hit him. The woman wasn't wearing a seat belt; she was ejected from the car and lost her life instantly. They've got him in the operating room right now. From what we've been told, he's in pretty critical condition.""Oh, my God!" I cried, tears springing to my eyes. My mind was racing faster than the speed of light. Is this really happening? I wondered in shock. Am I really hearing this? I pinched myself on the arm; felt the sting of it. "Is he in the Medical Center or Memorial?""The Medical Center," Denise answered with a sniffle. "We saw him for a few seconds before they made us leave and go to the waiting room. It looked like he got hurt pretty badly. His face was all pale and bruised and cut up. He hardly even looked like himself.""Oh, my God," I said once again. What else was there for me to say? As the tears continued to pour down my cheeks, I drew in a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Somehow, I managed to choke out the phrase, "I'll be there as soon as I can," before flipping the phone shut.With a sob, I leapt out of bed, switched on the small lamp that sat on the bedside table, and slipped my feet into the first pair of flip-flops that I saw. I grabbed my car keys, which were next to the lamp, and bolted out of my bedroom and down the dark hallway, then through the kitchen and the living room and out the front door. Once outside, I jumped into my car and sped off toward the hospital in Nacogdoches, which was about twenty minutes away from my town of Alto, Texas. I didn't care that I most likely looked terrible or that my parents didn't know where I was going. My appearance was among the last things on my mind at that moment, and I would call my parents when I arrived at the hospital."Fate and grace," I whispered as I drove along, trying not to exceed the speed limit. I had switched on my emergency flashers so that anyone that I happened to encounter would know that I had a reason to be driving fast, but still, I wanted to be as careful as I possibly could to make sure that I, too, didn't end up in an accident. I breathed deeply and slowly, trying to calm myself down. "When life gets unpredictable, trust in God. By His merciful grace and a simple twist of fate, everything will turn out okay." that was Nick's and my philosophy. We've always said that fate is really what brought us together. That, and the merciful grace of God, of course.Nick and I had been dating for about a year and six months at the time. We got together when he was sixteen and I had just turned seventeen. I'd first seen him when I was looking at our best friend Demi's (who had gone to the same school as Nick from kindergarten to eighth grade) top friends on her MySpace page. As totally cliched as it's going to sound, it was pretty much love at first sight for me. I asked Demi about him, and she and our other best friend, Alyson (who had been attending the same school as Nick since kindergarten), set out to bring us together. We sent each other friend requests and started talking on MySpace, and after about two weeks, we exchanged phone numbers. The first time we ever met and talked in person--which was also the night we became a couple, said our first I-love-you, and shared our first kiss--was at Demi's New Year's Eve party, at which he and his two older brothers (who have a band called the Jonas Brothers) played a show. It might seem crazy how we got together after talking for such a short amount of time (it was a little under two months), but it didn't take long at all for us to get to the point where it was like we were the back of each other's hand. Soon, we had one of those relationships where we could always tell what the other was thinking and even finish each other's sentences. We were the typical couple--we'd fight sometimes, but we would always realize how stupid we were being and make up automatically. We were so close--despite the fact that we lived in different towns (him in Nacogdoches and me in Alto)--that we could even see marriage as a definite possibility in our future. He was my first boyfriend, but I just automatically felt like he was really and truly "the one".I can't believe this, I thought, sniffling and wiping at my eyes. After searching for all these years, I've finally found the guy I want to be with up until the very last breath I take. Now, I might be losing him. This isn't fair. I mean, why him? Out of all the billions of people in this world, why did he have to be the one to get hurt like this?"God, please," I choked out through my tears. "Don't take Nick away from me. I love him, God, with all my heart. You know I do. And think about his parents and his brothers. Think about his friends. Think about the band. There's no one else in this whole entire world who could ever take his place in any of our lives. We all love him, Lord, and we need him. Please don't take him from us; none of us are ready to let him go. Please help him make it through this, dear Jesus. And please give all us of the strength and the courage that we need throughout this ordeal. It's in Your Holy Name I pray this, Heavenly Father. Amen."Soon, I reached the hospital. Parking the car, I ran into the building as fast as I could and found Nick's parents and brothers (twenty-two-year-old Kevin, twenty-year-old Joe, and eight-year-old Frankie) in the waiting room. "Have you heard anything?" I asked as I hugged them all in turn."No," Denise sniffled with a shake of her head. "As far as we know, they've still got him in the operating room." she paused for a moment, her eyes filling up with tears. "God, I hate this," she choked out. "I can't even find out if my little boy is going to live to see the morning. And I can't be there with him when he needs me the most. Mothers are supposed to be there when their children need them, and I can't be there." she buried her face in Paul's shoulder, and he held her tightly as her sons all comforted her."I'm sure he'd understand," I told her, my own cheeks wet with tears and my heart breaking because I, too, couldn't be there at Nick's side. I had always promised him that I would be right there with him whenever he needed me, and now, I was being forced to fall short on that promise. "After all, it's not your fault that you can't be with him. He knows you love and care about him and would be there beside him if you could.""I just feel so guilty," she responded, wiping at her eyes. "I know you're right, but...I just can't help it. I want to be there with him. I want to know that he's okay and that he's going to make it through this. And I want to see it for myself...not just be told by some doctor.""You have nothing to feel guilty about," I said, hoping to sound more comforting and reassuring than I felt. I knew that what I was saying was true, but at the same time, it was hard to convince myself of that fact. "I know exactly how you feel, though. I feel like I'm failing him right now, too."Just then, Demi and Alyson rushed into the waiting room, their cheeks wet with tears. "We got here as soon as we could," Demi panted breathlessly as she and Alyson hugged everyone. "Luckily, Alyson was sleeping over at my house, so that saved at least a little bit of time. I ended up getting pulled over for speeding, though. The officer let me off the hook when I told him about the accident. How's Nick?""We don't know yet," Paul answered. "They haven't told us anything. As far as we know, they're still working on him." he wrapped his arms more tightly around Denise, who was still resting her head on his shoulder. At that moment, a tall, lanky man in a doctor's coat strolled into the room. Seeing him, all of us--as well as the few other people in the waiting room--fell silent and turned our attention to him. "I'm looking for the family of Nick Jonas," he stated after clearing his throat. All of us stood up, and he made his way over to us. "Hello, I'm Dr. Hughes. Mr. Jonas was just taken from the operating room to the intensive care unit. You may each go in and see him briefly, one at a time. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the ICU waiting area.""Is he alright?" Denise asked as we walked with the doctor. "Is my little boy alright? Is he awake? Is he going to make it through this? Will he have any permanent injuries?" her every question voiced my every thought."Well, at the time, everything checks out," Dr. Hughes replied. "He's still unconscious, but he did suffer some mild head trauma, so that's not really all that unusual. At this point, the main concern is just to stabilize him and keep him comfortable. We're going to keep him in the ICU for the night so that we can keep a good eye on him. If all goes well, he'll be moved to a regular room in the morning.""How badly did he get hurt?" I asked. Next to me, Alyson joined hands with Demi and I. Denise was clinging to Paul, Kevin was holding Frankie, and Joe was just staring tensely at the doctor through a veil of tears."Well, the accident was a pretty bad one," the doctor reported. "He broke several bones and suffered quite a bit of blood loss. He underwent a blood transfusion, and we had to do a little bit of reconstructive plastic surgery on the left side of his face. At this point, he's breathing on his own. He didn't suffer any internal injuries, and as I said before, the head trauma he sustained was pretty mild--just a slight concussion. So far, we give him a high chance of making a complete recovery. However, only time will tell."We reached the ICU waiting area, and Dr. Hughes gestured to one of the nurses at the nearby station. "Nurse Dawson will show you to his room. If you have any questions, talk to her." with that, he shook hands with us all formally and left."He's in room twelve," said Nurse Dawson, a young, pretty blond in a pink uniform as she walked over to us, deep sympathy written on her face and in her eyes. "If the first person going in to see him will come with me, I'll show them where that is.""Why don't you go first, sweetheart?" Denise suggested, wrapping her arm around my shoulders and hugging me tightly. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, which were red-rimmed and bloodshot from all of the crying she'd been doing."Oh, no, you can go first," I told her, wiping at my own eyes, which probably looked exactly like hers--and everyone else's for that matter. None of us had been able to stop crying since we had gotten to the hospital. "I mean, you're his mother. You should be the first one to go in.""No, honey, you go," she insisted. "You're his girlfriend. He thinks the world of you. It seems like all we ever hear is Sarah this, Sarah that, oh, my gosh, I'm so in love with Sarah." she smiled through her tears, hugging me once more and kissing my cheek. "You go ahead.""Thanks, Denise." I returned her gestures, then looked to Nurse Dawson. She put her arm around my shoulders, and we walked out of the waiting area and down the hallway. "I'm so sorry to hear about the accident," she told me sympathetically. "Hopefully, everything will turn out okay.""Yeah, hopefully, it will," I agreed, sniffling and wiping at my eyes once more. "Nick's pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to me. He's my first boyfriend, but still...I really love him. I don't know what I'd do without him.""I'll wait outside and let you know when it's time for you to leave," she said when we reached Nick's room. "I hate to have to do that. I know it must be frustrating to be on a schedule of how long you can see him and all that.""It's not your fault," I told her. "I guess it's good to limit the amount of time people stay in the room. He's been through a lot; he needs his rest...even though he's unconscious." she agreed and then held the door opened for me. Smiling through my tears, I thanked her with a hug, which she returned.When I walked into that dimly-lit room and saw the love of my life lying there in that hospital bed--pale, motionless, and hooked to an EKG machine, several IV lines, and one other device that I couldn't identify, with his right leg in a cast and suspended a little bit above the bed with traction weights pulling on it, his left arm in a cast and traction as well, his nose in a splint, his left cheek bandaged up, and his face speckled with livid bruises and scratches--I felt my heart shatter all over again. Tears blurring my vision, I slowly made my way over to his bedside and just stood looking down at him for a moment. As lame as it may sound, I was afraid to touch him. He just looked so weak; so fragile...like even the slightest little brush of someone's hand would cause him pain. Drawing in a deep breath, I reached out and cautiously took his hand in my own."Hey, baby," I said to him softly, my voice thick with tears. It's a proven fact that unconscious people can still hear things that are going on around them, so I didn't feel weird about talking to him. "I just want you to know that I love you so much." I paused for a moment, biting my trembling lower lip as my tears continued to flow. "Please survive this, baby," I begged him. "Please. I need you in my life. I'd be completely lost without you."A tear slipped down his pale cheek. With a choked sob, I reached out and gently wiped it away. "Don't be upset, sweetheart," I whispered to him, stroking his face. "Don't worry about me at all. You just worry about yourself; worry about getting through this. I know you can do it." I paused for a moment, sniffling. "Fate and grace," I whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "When life gets unpredictable, trust in God. By His merciful grace and a simple twist of fate, everything will turn out okay."Just then, Nurse Dawson opened the door and poked her head into the room. "Um...it's time for you to leave now," she said in a soft voice, her eyes full of sympathy as she looked at Nick and I."Okay." I turned back to Nick, leaning down and kissing him softly on the forehead. "I love you, sweetie," I whispered. "I'll be back in to see you as soon as I can." with that, I reluctantly followed Nurse Dawson out of the room and back down the hallway to the waiting area."How is he?" Denise asked me nervously. She rose to her feet shakily, her face almost as pale as Nick's had been. Looking at her, I felt my heart break once again. This was hard on me and everyone else, but I imagined that it must have been hardest for her. After all, she was Nick's mother. She had carried him inside of her for nine months, worked hard to bring him into the world, and cared for him all his life. Having to see him this way must have been tearing her apart."Well, I don't want to upset you any more than this whole thing already has, but then again, I don't want to lie, either," I responded. "He looks pretty bad. Like the doctor said, he's still unconscious. He can still hear you when you talk to him, though; I know he can. I was talking to him, and a tear rolled down his cheek.""Aw, if he does that when I'm in the room with him, I know I'll be bawling," she told me. "I can't stand to see him cry." she hugged me tightly and then turned to Nurse Dawson, who had been standing there patiently all the while. "I'm ready," she said. The nurse wrapped her arm around her shoulders the way she had done me, and the two of them walked off.I walked over to the far side of the waiting area and took out my cell phone. After calling my parents to let them know what was going on, I returned to the group and sat down next to Joe, sighing and massaging my throbbing temples.Joe just sat staring down at the floor for a few moments, then spoke. "Gosh, I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me or to somebody I was close to." he sighed, a tear slipping down his cheek. "All my life, I've heard about it happening to other people, and I've always sort of thought that it wouldn't ever happen to me or to anybody I knew. It's never seemed real to me until now.""I know what you mean." I bit my lip as my eyes filled with more tears. "I just hate knowing that there are people like the woman who hit him out there on the road. Just think about how many innocent people get killed or injured or have those things happen to their loved ones every day; every second...all because of people like that. It's not fair.""No, it isn't," Kevin, who was sitting on the other side of Joe and still holding Frankie, agreed. "I think more should be done to keep intoxicated people off the road. Sure, there's groups like M.A.D.D. and things like that, but that just doesn't seem like enough. I say alcoholic beverages should just be banned completely. Nothing good will ever come from someone getting drunk."Denise returned to the waiting area, and Paul headed down the hallway with Nurse Dawson. "It's so hard to see him like that," Denise said to all of us, taking the seat next to mine. "I hate knowing that he's having to go through all of this.""Yeah, I hate it, too," I answered, and the others nodded their agreement. "We were talking about how more should be done to keep intoxicated people off the road. Alcohol causes too many accidents. So many lives get screwed up because of it. And the sad thing is, all of this could be prevented really easily.""It's a terrible thing," she agreed. "And what's sad to me is that people seem to do it without a care. I mean, it's not like they're thinking about the consequences of driving drunk. If they were, they wouldn't do it in the first place. The roads would be a whole lot safer if people would just stop and think about all of the problems that can be caused by drunk driving.""I just hope he makes it through this," I sniffled. "Even if he leaves here with a brain injury that makes him forget me forever, I'd be okay. That would be better than having to stand in the cemetery and watch him be put six feet under.""I know how you feel," she responded. "Really, all we have to do is pray. God will come through for us." she took my hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Why don't we pray for him right now?" she suggested. Everyone else completed our circle, and we all bowed our heads and closed our eyes. We took turns praying for Nick, each of us asking God to bring him through this and give us all the strength and courage that we needed. After Paul returned to the waiting area, the remaining people took their turns in the room, and all of us sat around talking, crying, continuing to pray, and laughing as we reminisced about times we had shared with Nick until we all managed to drift off to sleep.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SECTION TWOThe next morning, the waiting area quickly filled up with all of Nick's close friends. Demi, Alyson, and I had called them, and they had all rushed up to the hospital as soon as they could get there. When the ICU visiting hours began, they all took their turns in the room. There wasn't a soul that returned to the waiting area with dry eyes. Seeing Nick that way was extremely hard on all of us. We all cried openly, holding each other and praying for him. Really, having them all there made me feel a little bit better. It was good to know that I wasn't going through this alone.About half an hour after the last person had been in to see Nick, Nurse Dawson came into the waiting area. Seeing her, everyone fell silent and turned their attention to her as she walked up to me. "You're Sarah, aren't you?""Yes," I responded, feeling my heart begin to pound as I shakily rose to my feet, chewing nervously on my lower lip and trying to force myself to remain calm. Despite my efforts, I couldn't help but feel a little panicky. "Is there something wrong?""Oh, no, everything's fine," she said quickly, flashing me a reassuring smile. "Mr. Jonas has just regained consciousness. Your name was the first thing he said. Actually, it was pretty much the only thing he said. I asked him questions about how he was feeling and things like that, and his response to everything was that he wanted to see you.""Aw!" I exclaimed, along with pretty much everyone else. I felt relief surge through my body; relief that the next time I went into that room, I wouldn't have to see him lying there unconscious. Seeing him that way was, by far, one of the most horrifying sights I'd ever seen in my life. "That is so sweet! Can I see him?""Of course," Nurse Dawson laughed in reply. "I promised him I'd bring you right in. You guys can also go in and see him in small groups now, if you wish to do so.""Well, we'll give Sarah some time alone with him first," smiled Denise, winking at me. "I remember how it was back when Paul and I were dating and finally got to be together after spending time apart. I didn't want to share him with anyone!" we all laughed as the two of them hugged tightly."I know how that is, too," said Nurse Dawson. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders the way she had done the first time I had been preparing to go into Nick's room. "Now, let's get back down the hallway before your man goes insane, shall we? He seemed very eager to see you.""Okay," I laughed. We walked out of the waiting area and down the hallway to Nick's room, my heart racing all the while. No matter how long we had been apart, I always got so excited whenever I knew that I was about to get to be with him again.When we reached the door, I smiled and thanked Nurse Dawson with a hug, which she returned. She held the door open for me and then closed it softly behind me once I had stepped into the room.Nick's eyes lit up when he saw me. "Hey, babe," he said, his voice sounding somewhat hoarse. He gave what looked to be a lopsided smirk. I realized that he was trying to smile...something that must have been difficult for him due to his broken nose, not to mention the splint that had been taped over it."Hey," I responded with a smile, leaning down and hugging him, being careful not to hurt him all the while. I kissed his cheek gently, then sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully took his hand in my own. "How are you feeling?""Okay, I guess," he responded with a slight shrug. "I'm pretty sore, but I guess that's just to be expected. The nurse gave me a shot of pain medication before she went to get you, and it's kind of starting to kick in." he paused for a moment, his deep, velvety brown eyes seeming to probe the very deepest realms of my soul as he stared into my eyes intently. "You're upset, aren't you?" he asked softly.I felt my eyes begin to sting with tears and a lump rise in my throat as I nodded. "Of course I'm upset, Nick," I told him. "Who in their right mind wouldn't be after their boyfriend was in an accident that very well could have killed him?""You shouldn't be," he replied. "I don't want you to be. I'm going to get through this, Sar. It might not really seem like it right now, but everything is going to be completely fine in the end. I promise you that. Just wait and see.""But what if it's not?" I blurted, my eyes brimming with more tears. "What if something happens? Things do happen, you know. What if they have to do some kind of surgery, and it goes all haywire? Doctors don't always know what they're doing. And sometimes, they try to hide the fact that things are worse than what they're letting on. What if..." I trailed off. The lump in my throat had grown so much that I couldn't talk anymore. I felt my body begin to tremble as tears spilled from my eyes."Oh, Sarah," he breathed, taking me into his arms. Well, actually, he could only hold me with one arm since the other was in a cast and traction. He kissed the top of my head softly and stroked my hair as I cried onto his shoulder."I'm just so scared," I wept, my voice slightly muffled by his shoulder. "I mean, seriously...what if something happens? I love you, Nick, and I don't want to lose you. I couldn't handle that; I really couldn't. You mean the world to me. I need you in my life. I'd never survive without you.""Baby, look at me," he said, lightly placing his hand on my shoulder and holding me at partial arms' length in front of him. He reached out and gently wiped away my tears with his thumb, looking deep into my eyes all the while. "You don't have anything to worry about," he told me, his voice soft and reassuring. "You're not going to lose me. You will never lose me. I'm going to get through this, Sar; I promise you that. Everything's going to be fine." he paused for a moment, brushing my hair back from my face. "Fate and grace," he said quietly. "When life gets unpredictable, trust in God.""By His merciful grace and a simple twist of fate, everything will turn out okay." I finished out the old familiar philosophy, managing to smile through my tears. 'I love you, Nicky," I told him softly, kissing him."I love you, too, Sar; more than any words could ever say," he responded, returning my kiss. We hugged, then parted and gazed into each other's eyes. "Gosh, you're so beautiful," he said to me with a smile, runing his fingers through my hair."Thanks." I smiled back at him. I could feel my cheeks grow hot, as they always did whenever he told me that I was beautiful or said something really sweet like that. "So are you."He chuckled. "I probably don't look all that beautiful right now," he said. "Not with all these bruises and scratches and this huge bandage on my face. Shoot, I probably look like Frankenstein's monster or something like that.""No, you don't," I laughed. "You look like my sweet little Nicky-Bear." Lame nickname, I know, but I wanted to come up with something other than just the traditional little "baby" or "babe" or something like that."And you look like my sweet little Sawah-Boo," he replied with a laugh of his own. Then, his face took on a serious expression. "Seriously, Sarah, don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. I promise you that with all of my heart."I leaned in and kissed his lips softly, smoothing his chocolate curls as I did so. "I believe you," I whispered, placing my head on his chest. He wrapped his good arm around me tightly and kissed the top of my head, then rested his cheek against my hair. I laid there listening to the sound of his heart beating and his breathing becoming even with sleep before drifting off along with him.The next thing I remember is waking up to the sound of Demi and Alyson's giggles. "Aw, look at them," Demi's voice said. "Now, if that is not completely adorable, I don't think I know what is.""Yeah, I know," Alyson's voice responded. "This would make a really cute picture." I heard the sound of her rustling around in her purse, and a moment later, a bright flash went off. I stirred and opened my eyes, feeling Nick stir as well."Hey, sleeping beauties," Demi said with a grin. "We though you two had run off or something. It seems like you guys do that a lot." her words were true. Any time we're with a group, Nick and I usually end up sneaking off to have a little time to ourselves. We love hanging out with our friends, but we also want to spend time alone with one another every chance we get."No, we just fell asleep," Nick laughed. He turned his head away from us momentarily as he yawned. "It's weird. After I spent all that time unconscious, you'd think I wouldn't be sleepy. I guess it's because of that pain medication I took earlier."Alyson's eyes filled up with tears. "I never thought I'd be standing here with one of my friends," she said softly. "I didn't think anything like this would ever strike so close to home for me." she paused for a moment, biting her trembling lower lip as the tears began to slip down her cheeks. "I hate having to see you like this, Nick," she choked out, leaning down and hugging him tightly as she began to weep softly. Demi and I, our own cheeks wet with tears, hugged both of them."Hey, don't worry about me," he said in a soft voice, holding her tightly. "It's like I told Sarah earlier--I'm going to get through this. I know it's not going to be instantaneous, and it probably won't be completely easy, but I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it for you guys and for my family and for the rest of my friends. I'm going to walk away from this as good as new.""You're so strong," I sniffled, wiping at my eyes. "If I was in your situation, I don't think I'd be able to pull off that amount of strength." I smiled at him through the tears. "That's one of the things I admire most about you," I told him. "You're always keeping an optimistic attitude and holding on to your strength.""And do you know what I admire most about you?" he asked me in return. I shook my head, and he continued. "It's the fact that you care so much. I've gone out with a few girls before, but I don't think I've ever had anyone care about me as much as you do.""Well, those girls didn't have a brain in their head," I chuckled. "How could anyone not care about you? You're really and truly the perfect boyfriend, Nicky. And I'm really glad that I have the honor of calling you mine."He smiled at me. "I love you," he said. He wrapped his uncasted arm around me tightly and kissed my lips softly. "I love you guys, too," he told Demi and Alyson. "You two are the best friends I've ever had.""Aw!" Demi, Alyson, and I exclaimed together. The three of us hugged him tightly. Our tears still fell, but now, they weren't tears of sadness or worry. No, these were tears of happiness; of pure joy that this guy we were hugging had been placed into our lives; of relief that he wasn't about to be taken out. I speak for all three of us when I say that, in that moment, we all sent up about a million silent thank-you's to the good Lord above; the One who had given us the precious gift of Nicholas Jerry Jonas.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Heyy, guys!!! Sorry it's taken me so long to update--my Internet connection has been down, and...it's not a really very pretty story...lol. Anyways...here's some more of 'Unpredictable'!!!*Before you read*: This is the section that contains the events that I'm not sure could actually happen. When I wrote this, I was really just aiming for drama. Completely absurd or not, I hope you enjoy it!!!SECTION THREEThat night turned out to be a rough one for poor Nicky. At first, it had looked like everything was really and truly going to be okay. Upon examining him, Dr. Hughes reported that Nick was in good enough condition to be moved to a regular room. He was in some pretty serious pain due to all of his broken bones--his right leg, his left arm, his nose, and five of his ribs--but then again, the doctor said, that was just to be expected. All of us rejoiced as we accompanied Nick to his new room.As they day wore on, things began to go downhill. By the time the sun went down, the collective pain from all of his broken bones wasn't the only thing he was faced with. His stomach started to hurt, and it wouldn't stop. He was running a fever as well. He tried to sleep, but only ended up tossing and turning restlessly. Twice, he woke coughing up blood. Denise and I were in the room with him, and we both cried with worry as he rested his head on my shoulder and fought for sleep. "I'm calling the nurse, Nick," Denise said, reaching for the call button."No," Nick responded weakly. "I'm fine. Really." no sooner had these words left his mouth than he was coughing, choking, and spitting blood into the wastebasket for the third time that night. After a few moments, he dropped the wastebasket on the floor and placed his head back onto my shoulder, moaning, his stomach heaving all the while.I put my palm up against his forehead, which was damp with perspiration, and gasped. "Nick, you're burning up!" I exclaimed in alarm. In the beginning, his fever hadn't really been all that high, but now, it felt like it was really something to be concerned about. At my exclamation, Denise also placed her hand to his forehead. "Oh, my gosh, you are!" she told him, alarm in her voice as well."Really? Because I'm actually freezing." he moved closer to me. I could feel his body trembling and looked at his mother, who was looking back at me with wide, terrified eyes. "I'm calling the nurse, Nicholas," she told him firmly. "No matter what you say, you're not fine. You need help." she pressed the call button and then wrapped her arms around her son, tears streaming down her cheeks.Hurry, hurry, hurry, I silently begged the nurse, my own tears falling as I, too, held Nick tightly. Something was very wrong; I could sense it. He needs help right now. Come on--hurry up! Please, hurry up!A few moments later, the door opened, and a brunette in a blue uniform walked into the room, taking long, quick strides. "Is everything okay in here?" she asked, her face tight with concern as she made her way over to the bed."No," I answered tearfully, still holding Nick. On the other side of him, Denise was stroking her son's hair and whispering into his ear softly, and he was nodding his head against my shoulder to her words. "He's been coughing up blood, his stomach's still hurting, and his fever's gotten higher. He's burning up--but he says he's cold." Nick's whole body was still trembling, and there were tears leaking from his tightly-closed eyes and trickling down his pale cheeks."Oh, no!" the nurse gasped. She ran to the door and opened it. "We need a gurney in 318!" she yelled down the hallway. She came back over to Nick's bedside, and her eyes grew wide as she placed her palm to his forehead. "We're going to have to take you in for surgery," she told him."What?" Denise asked in shock. "Surgery? Why?" next to her, Nick had raised his head from my shoulder and was looking at the nurse with fear in his eyes. I tightened my hold on him as I stared at her with my own fearful eyes. "What's wrong with him?" I asked.Before she had a chance to respond, the door burst open, and two other nurses rushed in with a gurney. They got Nick onto it and whisked him out of the room and down the hallway before Denise and I could see much of him."Is he going to be okay?" Denise called afer them frantically. "What's the matter with him? Why do you have to do surgery?" we got off the bed and ran to catch up. Both of us had tears cascading down our cheeks, and neither one of us could catch our breath."Mama!" Nick's voice called weakly. "Sarah!" tears were continuing to slip from his eyes, and his body was convulsing violently. His breath came fast and heavy, and beads of sweat mingled with the tears on his face."It's okay, baby, we're right here," Denise said to him in a soft, soothing voice when we caught up to the gurney. She took his hand in her own and ran her free hand through his hair. Since the other hand was in the cast, I just stroked his arm as opposed to trying to hold onto it. We all crowded onto the elevator and headed down for the ground floor.Nick winced, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "Ow..." he moaned. "Make it stop! Please! Kill me if you have to--I don't care! Please, just make it stop!" he clung to his mother's hand, more tears flooding down his cheeks."Hang on, baby," Denise encouraged him as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor. "Just hang on. You're going to be okay. I know the pain's hard to deal with, but it won't last much longer. You're almost to the operating room.""I can't breathe," he wept. He started to cough, and when he managed to raise his head slightly, a wave of bright red blood poured from his mouth. After a few moments, he fell back weakly, still holding fast to Denise's hand.Soon, we reached the operating room. The nurses whisked him in, leaving Denise and I out in the hallway. I heard him start throwing up again, and the sound caused my tears to fall even harder. I could tell that the same was true for Denise. I collapsed against her, and she held onto me tightly as we both sank to the floor, sobbing out of control."How can this be happening?" she choked out, her body trembling vehemently with her crying. "And why? Nicky doesn't deserve this. He's never hurt anyone. Why is this happening to him?""I don't know," I responded. It was a lame response, I know, but in a crisis situation like that, thinking clearly wasn't exactly something that I was able to do. "It's not fair. Everything seemed to be going so well. Why couldn't it have stayed that way?"She didn't say anything, just kept on crying. Burying my face in her shoulder, I continued to cry as well. God, please don't take Nick away from us, I silently prayed. Please, Lord, bring him through this. Have mercy, God. Oh, have mercy...After what seemed like an eternity, the operating room doctor came out into the hallway to talk to us. Apparently, Nick had suffered a very rare and very serious allergic reaction to an antibiotic that he had been started on that day. The medication had caused everything--the fever, the chills, the vomiting blood. His appendix had ruptured and had to be removed. There would be a little bit of added pain in his recovery, but no permanent damage had been done.A few moments later, the nurses brought Nick out of the operating room on a gurney, and Denise and I accompanied them back to his room. He was still out from the anaesthesia; they predicted that it shouldn't last much longer. Once they got him back into his bed, they hooked him to a morphine pump so that, if needed, he would have pain medication close by when he came to, gave him a shot so that the drug could get into his system before the anaesthesia wore off, told us to let them know if any more problems arose, and left the room.Nick woke up about thirty minutes later. "Hey," he said groggily with a yawn. He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. Denise pushed the button on the side of the bed that would raise the upper part, then fluffed up her son's pillow. "Thanks, Mama," he said with a tired smile as he leaned back. "You're welcome, sweetie," she responded, smiling in return as she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, smoothing his hair. I took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How are you feeling?" I asked him."Pretty lousy," he answered. "I feel like there's no strength left in my body." he paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, you guys. I never intended to make you worry any more than I already had before.""Sorry?" I echoed. "Nick, you don't have anything to be sorry for. I mean, it's not like this is your fault. None of this is your fault. It's not anything you need to apologize for. These things just happen sometimes; there's not really anybody to blame for them.""I know," he replied. "Still...I just hate knowing that you guys are upset. I don't want either one of you--or any of my other family members or friends, for that matter--to worry about me anymore. I'm going to get through this. I'll be fine--I promise you that.""Well, you might as well just get used to people worrying about you, hon," his mother told him with a chuckle. "Because knowing us, we're all going to worry ourselves crazy up until you get to come home. We'll probably still be worrying after that, too.""Well, you shouldn't," he insisted. "I'll get through this. I'm going to work as hard as I have to and do whatever it takes to make a full recovery. I know that I have all you guys supporting me. I have the will to do this. And most importantly, I have God. With Him, there is nothing I can't do." he smiled at me. "It's like we always say...right, Sar?""Right." I smiled and nodded. I joined him in the old familiar philosophy that we'd recited so many times; the one that had helped us both through countless hardships over the past year or so of our lives. "When life gets unpredictable, trust in God. By His merciful grace and a simple twist of fate, everything will turn out okay.""That's a really good outlook to have, you two," Denise said with a smile. "I'm so proud of both of you. I know that you kids are going to grow up to be wonderful people. You already are." she hugged us both tightly, and we reciprocated."Well, I think I'm about to go to sleep," Nick yawned. "I'm really tired. I'll see you guys in the morning. I love you." he kissed us both on the cheek, then placed his head on my shoulder, moving closer to me and putting his good arm around me. Wrapping my arms around him, I leaned my head on his, stroking his hair. Smiling, Denise kissed us both on the cheek, turned off the small light above Nick's bed, and then walked over to the other bed in the room. I closed my eyes and prayed that God would keep Nick safe and help him make a full recovery, then drifted off to sleep.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Heyy, guys!!!Well, this is it. This is the finale of 'Unpredictable'. Thanks SOO much to those of you who have read and given feedback; I really appreciate it. I hope you've enjoyed the story, and I hope you'll come back whenever I manage to get my next story posted (I'm working on that one; it will hopefully be really soon). Again, thank you for checking out the story, and I hope you enjoy the final section!!!SECTION FOURThe next morning, Denise had to leave for work, so Nick and I were left alone in the room. I woke up before he did, and not wanting to disturb him by moving around, I just sat there holding him in my arms, stroking his hair as he slept on my shoulder, his breathing soft and even and his face consumed by an expression of complete peace. He looked like an angel lying there, rays of early-morning sunshine peeking in through the window blinds and landing upon his handsome face. I smiled as I lovingly gazed at him. I was so lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend; I knew it. I hoped that we would be together for the rest of our lives.A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," I called softly. The door opened, and Demi and Alyson walked in, smiling. "Hey," they said, keeping their voices low when they saw that Nick was asleep."Hey, you guys," I said quietly, smiling at them in return. They sat down on the bed that Denise had slept in the night before. "How did he do last night after the whole allergic-reaction thing?" asked Demi. Aside from the rest of Nick's family, she and Alyson were the only ones we had told about what happened, and they had spread the word to everyone else."He did good," I answered. "He felt pretty lousy, but it didn't take him long at all to fall asleep. I was glad of that. I mean, I didn't want him to be kept awake because he was hurting or anything." I paused for a moment, a shiver running down my spine as I recalled the previous night. "It was so scary to have to see him like that," I said. "He couldn't stop shaking. And he was crying and couldn't catch his breath, and he kept throwing up blood. That stuff must have really messed him up.""I don't see why they even gave it to him in the first place if they knew what the outcome could be," Alyson said. "They should have stopped giving it to people after the first time it happened to someone. What are they going to do--just keep on dishing it out until they kill somebody with it?""Doctors can be pretty stupid sometimes," Demi responded. "Gosh, what were they thinking? I mean, I understand that it was a really rare reaction and all, but still...they shouldn't have used it anymore after the first time. That stuff could kill someone one of these days.""I'm just glad he's okay," I told them, gazing at Nick, who was still sleeping peacefully on my shoulder. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost him. I need him in my life. He means the world to me.""You mean the world to him, too," Alyson smiled. "Trust me--I've seen his notebooks and folders and textbook covers. Your name is all over them. And your picture is all over his locker. And, like you already know, it's all over his bedroom and set as the wallpaper and screensaver on his cell phone and the desktop background on his laptop."I laughed. "Well, it's good to hear all that," I replied. "I have his name all over my notebooks and folders and textbook covers, too. And his picture is all over the same places that mine is."Demi smiled. "You really love him, don't you?" she asked. I nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I do," I answered, smiling down at him. "It might sound really lame, but..." I paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Do you remember how, when you were a little girl, you would always imagine what your Prince Charming would be like?" with smiles on their faces, they nodded, and I continued. "Well...as cheesy as it's going to sound...Nick is exactly what I always imagined. He's completely perfect in every single way...and I don't ever want to be with anyone else but him.""Aw!" they cried in usion, dreamy expressions coming onto their faces. "That is so romantic!" Demi exclaimed, and Alyson nodded her head in agreement. "I'd give anything to be in a relationship like that. You guys are so lucky.""Yeah, we are, aren't we?" Nick's voice asked at that moment. He pulled himself into a sitting position and hugged me tightly. "I've been awake listening to what you guys were saying for about five minutes now," he told me. "You are so sweet. I love you.""I love you, too," I responded, hugging him in return. "And every single thing I said is true. You really are my Prince Charming. You're the one I've been dreaming of for my whole life; the one I'm destined to be with forever.""I feel the same way about you," he told me, stroking my hair. "And I always will--no matter what." he kissed my cheek, then brought his lips close to my ear. "We're going to be together for the rest of our lives," he said softly.I felt my eyes begin to sting with tears; tears brought on by the overwhelming joy that this guy next to me was my boyfriend. I'd done that several times over the duration of our relationship--cried from pure happiness. "Oh, Nicky," I breathed as the tears began to slip down my cheeks. "I love you so much!""I love you, too," he answered. We gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, and then, he kissed me, gently cupping the side of my face in his hand the way he usually did whenever we kissed. I heard Demi and Alyson start to squeal about how adorable Nick and I were, but it sounded somewhat faint. Everything just seemed to fade away, leaving Nick and I alone together, totally and completely lost in each other's arms and each other's kiss.I knew then that everything was going to be okay.
