Careless Mistake
by Kelli
Part 66
August 2006.......
Britney opened her eyes slowly. She had a huge headache. The first thing she saw was a TV on the wall across from her bed. When she turned her head to the left she saw the top of Justin's head. He was sitting on a chair next to the bed and his head was resting next to her arm. She reached over and touched his hair, which made his head jerk up.
"Brit?" he asked, startling her.
He looked terrible. The circles under his eyes were puffy and dark.
She opened her mouth but it was so dry, nothing would come out.
"Wait, I'll get you a drink of water," he said, standing up and pouring a cup of water. He leaned over her and helped her drink it.
"What happened?" she asked softly since her head was hurting.
He sat back down and took her hand in his.
"There was an accident," he said.
She felt the tears fill her eyes immediately and then she remembered the headlights. "Chase?" she asked.
"He's okay," Justin said to ease her fears. "He's had some nerve damage but they're not sure how much."
"Oh God," she said, turning her head more. "Ow," It was then that she noticed her other arm was in a sling and a plastic cast.
"I'm going to let the nurse know you're awake," Justin said pushing the call button.
"What about me....what happened to me?"
"You're fine," Justin said, kissing the back of her hand. "A mild concussion and a broken arm.....some scrapes and bruises. You just worried me when you weren't waking up."
"How long ago did it happen?" she asked, trying to find a clock.
"Last night.....about ten hours ago."
The nurse came in. "Oh our patient is awake....how are you feeling?" she asked as she stood on the other side of Britney.
"My head hurts like hell," Britney said.
"We'll give you a little codeine."
"Did you get a chance to check on Chase?" Justin asked her.
Britney's hand gripped Justin's tighter.
"He's still stable. They're keeping a close eye on him to make sure there isn't any internal bleeding. He was a lucky little boy."
"Do you have any idea how much nerve damage was done?" Britney asked the nurse.
"I can have his doctor come down and see you so he can explain it. I don't know all of the details so I don't want to give you any false information."
"That would be good.....thanks," Justin said.
As soon as the nurse finished doing what she needed to do, she left.
Britney closed her eyes and started to cry.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Hey," he said, leaning in closer to her. "What about?"
"The accident....I was just trying to surprise you...."
"It wasn't your fault," he said, gently kissing her cheek. "Don't blame yourself over this, Brit. From what I understand, some guy ran a red light."
She nodded. "I don't know what happened. I can't remember any of it."
She pulled her hand away from his to wipe the tears from her face. "Mackenzie?" she asked, suddenly realizing that her daughter wasn't there.
"Jenny took her home for me. I just checked on them and Mackenzie's sleeping."
Britney licked her lips and felt a sore in the corner of her mouth. She touched her face.
"There was a lot of flying glass," Justin said, touching her face in a couple of spots. "You're lucky that it didn't get in your eye."
"I want to see," she said.
"No Britney, it will only upset you...."
"Why, is it that bad?" she asked, trying to sit up but stopped when it hurt too much.
"No, it's not that bad but seeing any marks anywhere is going to upset you. Just let thinks sink in for a bit."
"Have you gotten to see Chase, yet?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I've spent some time in the room with him. I kept telling him how much we love him....."
"Do you think they'll let me go see him?"
"We can ask...."
"I really need to see him right now," she said, starting to cry again. "He's so tiny and helpless. Can you imagine how scared he was?"
Justin leaned up and cradled her face against his shoulder.
"Shhh, you have to quit thinking like that," he said, starting to get choked up himself. "He's going to be fine. We have to believe that."
He said it so sternly he almost believed it himself.
Within a few minutes a doctor knocked on the door and came into the room.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said. "I'm Dr. McCormick. I'm the attending physician on the pediatric floor tonight. I've been the one on Chase's case."
"I'm Justin Timberlake and this is my wife Britney," Justin said, standing up to shake the doctor's hand.
The doctor nodded quickly. "My daughter is a big fan," he said, looking at both of them.
"Is Chase going to be okay?" Britney asked. Justin sat down next to her and grabbed her hand.
"He has suffered a lot of cuts from the glass, but those will heal and leave very little scars, if any. I think you've been told that there was nerve damage," he said, looking at Justin, who nodded. "We can't really tell how much yet. Especially since he is so young and can't prove it to us by trying to walk around or move his legs when we ask him to. So, we're going to run some tests to try to see as much as we can. From what we know right now, there has been some pressure on his lower spine....."
"Could he be paralyzed?" Britney asked.
"There could be some paralyses, yes," the doctor said.
Britney's lip started to quiver as she tried to hold herself together.
"But he's young and there is a lot we can do for him as he's ready to crawl and walk in the near future. It's amazing what can be done these days....."
"He already crawled," Britney said.
"What?" Justin asked looking at her.
She nodded. "That was my surprise to you......that he crawled."
Justin touched her face and gave her a sympathetic look.
"Doctor, can I go see him?" Britney asked.
He looked at her chart. "I'll have to okay it with your physician on duty here. If they give it the okay then there isn't a problem with me for you to visit your son. He's been mostly sleeping but there have been times when the nurses have caught him with his eyes open. It will be good for him to see your faces."
"Justin, will you find out for me?" Britney asked him.
"Of course. Thank you for coming down to give us an update. I know you probably need to get back up to your floor," Justin said, standing up to shake the doctor's hand again.
"No problem. I knew the two of you wanted to be told at the same time. Good luck with your recovery. From what I understand, you shouldn't be in here long at all," he said, patting Britney's foot.
"Good. And thank you."
"Bye," he said as he left the room.
"You hungry? I can grab something after I talk to the nurses about letting you go see Chase."
Britney shook her head. "I can't think about eating right now."
"Okay, I'll be back."
When he left the room, Britney leaned over and grabbed the phone. She dialed her home number.
"Hello, Timberlake residence."
"Jenny, it's me."
"Britney....oh my God honey, how are you?" she asked.
"I feel like shit and my baby's hurt.....other than that, I'm glad to be alive."
"Aww, I know. But from what Justin says things are going to be okay, huh?"
"Well, we still have to see about Chase. They'll need to work with him......he might be paralyzed," she said, trying to hold back the tears.
"Oh no....is there anything they can do? Any kind of operation?"
"They don't know much yet. They'll have to run tests," Britney said. "Anyway, I called to check up on my other baby. How is she doing?"
"She's still sleeping. I let her sleep on the couch since she could tell something was going on. She's been asking for you all night."
That broke Britney's heart. "I miss her too. It sounds like I should be able to be released pretty soon, though."
Justin walked back in the room and sat down next to Britney, gently rubbing her leg.
"That's good news, at least. Have you gotten to see Chase yet?"
"No, hopefully I'm going to get to now," she said, looking hopefully at Justin.
"Well, I'll let you go then, I'm glad you called, I was worried about you."
"Thanks. We're going to be okay, though. I have good feelings."
"That's the right attitude to have."
"Thanks for staying with Mackenzie. We'll call you as soon as we figure out what's going on. If you need to go somewhere, just call Justin's cell phone and we can have someone else like JC come watch her."
"I'm okay for now. I do have plans tomorrow but right now getting you and Chase better are more important."
"Okay," Britney smiled softly. "Bye. Give Mackenzie a kiss for me."
"I will. Bye."
She hung up and stared at the phone for a second. She looked up when Justin rubbed her leg again.
"They're going to bring the wheelchair in in a few minutes."
She took a deep breath. "Okay." She looked down at her hand that was resting on her lap. "Justin, I'm scared."
"About what?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Everything." She shook her head. "Mostly about seeing him and breaking down. I will want to hold him and I know they won't let me."
He shook his head. "No, they won't. He can't be moved right now, baby."
"I know," she said, wiping a tear that was falling down her cheek.
The nurse's assistant brought in the wheelchair.
"Okay, we're going to take this slowly, Mrs. Timberlake," she said.
"Please, call me Britney," she said, looking up at the young lady.
"Okay, Britney....and you can call me Karen. Now, let's swing your feet around," she said, gently grabbing Britney's feet and helping her slowly turn in the bed so her feet were touching the ground while she sat on the bed.
Justin walked around to the other side of the bed. "Here, I got you some slippers," he said, bending down and putting them on her feet.
Britney touched his shoulder while he did that. "Thanks."
He stood up and stepped off to the side. He wanted to help her so much but didn't want to interfere with what the nurse's assistant was doing.
"Okay, now start putting pressure on your feet.......slowly," Karen said, holding on to Britney's good arm.
Britney took her time and stood up without any pain. She did feel a little light headed but it soon went away.
"Good. Now, turn your feet in little steps and I'll help you sit down in the chair."
Britney did just that and Justin held the wheelchair while Britney sat down in it. She smiled at her accomplishment.
"Very good. That's a good sign that you're moving around without much help," Karen said. "Now, let's go see your son."
Justin walked alongside the wheelchair as they made their way to the elevator.
"It's down this way," he said once they were on the Pediatric floor.
He found the room and walked inside it. Karen pushed Britney in right behind him. She was holding her breath, without realizing it.
Justin walked over to the crib where Chase was resting. He looked over the side and smiled at him, because his eyes were open.
"Hey there, kiddo. I brought mommy," he said to him.
"I can't see," Britney said, looking up at Karen.
"Come here," Justin said, reaching under her good side and helping her stand up. He let her lean on him as he helped her stand over the crib.
"Oh God," Britney said, covering her mouth with her hand.
Justin rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly while she adjusted to seeing him banged up and with tubes and wires attached to him. They had his body and neck in a brace type contraption so he couldn't move and cause more injury to himself.
"You okay?" he asked her.
She slowly nodded and lowered her hand. She reached over the rail and touched Chase's cheek.
"Hey baby.....I'm here and I'm not going to be far away okay?"
Chase stared up at her and blinked.
Britney couldn't take anymore and she turned in Justin's arms and cried into his chest. He held her tightly so she wouldn't slip out of his grasp as he continued to rub her back.
"This is so hard," she cried.
"I know."
Karen had pulled the wheelchair to the side of the room and stood next to it. She knew this was pop's super couple but seeing this right now made her realize what concerned parents they were as well. Her heart was breaking for them.
"Do you want to go or stay a little?" Justin asked her.
"I can't go yet," she said, muffled into his shirt.
"Okay," he said as he continued to support her.
When she was ready she slowly turned back around. Justin stood behind her and held her up as much as he could. She composed herself and tried to smile at him.
"Hey sweetie. You've got to be strong for mommy and daddy. Remember when you crawled to me? Daddy needs you to show him how you did that," she said, nodding. "He'll be as proud as I was."
Chase's eyes began to close again so Britney reached down and tucked her finger into his curled hand. She wanted him to know she was there. She leaned over as much as she could and lifted his tiny hand to her lips and kissed the back of it.
"I love you," she whispered.
She turned and faced Justin.
"Let's go back to my room," she said.
He nodded and Karen had the wheelchair there for Justin to help Britney sit down in again.
"If it's okay....I'll push her," Justin said.
Karen nodded and stayed behind them as they walked down the hall toward the elevator in silence. Both trying to soak in everything that had happened.
"Did the person who hit us get hurt?" Britney asked once they were in the elevator.
"No."
Britney closed her eyes. "Did they even catch them?"
Justin swallowed. "Yes. The police won't tell me any more than that, though. They asked me if I wanted to press charges," he gave a slight chuckle. "Damn straight I do."
Britney nodded but wasn't sure what to think of it.
"Were they drunk?"
"They wouldn't say...."
The elevator came to a stop and Justin pushed her into the hallway and down to her room. He caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye in the waiting room, so he started to push her faster.
"Justin, what are you doing?" Britney asked, holding the armrests a little tighter.
"I think I saw a photographer," he said pushing her into her room. Karen was still right behind them.
"I've got to call security," he said, picking up the phone and dialing one of his bodyguards.
Karen helped Britney get back into bed and left the room while Justin was on the phone, trying to arrange for someone to get there and make sure the media stayed out. When he turned back around he saw that Britney was asleep. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"I love you, baby," he whispered.
He walked back out into the hall and stopped at the nurses desk.
"I'm going to go home and change and check on my little girl. If my wife wakes up, can you let her know I'll be back as soon as I can?"
"Sure, Mr. Timberlake," the nurse said.
"You've got my cell number, right? Just in case...."
"Yes, it's right here," she smiled up at him.
"Okay....thanks."
He turned and took a different elevator to leave.