Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 02:50:10 -0500
From: Dale E Wright <bwicub@hotmail.com>
Subject: "The Lottery Winner" Chapter 45

Hi everyone...

In order to accommodate people who are asking me about notification lists,
I've finally created an YahooGroup (Gods, Yahoo is like the Borg!)  to do
so: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dale_writings

******

As always, Gabriella is my main cheerleader.  Mark has also been great.
I've even inspired him!  Check out his story "Blind Date", it's also here
in the Boyband section.

I'm a bit nervous--so if people could please e-mail me at
bwicub@hotmail.com--I'd really appreciate it. I love e-mail!!

My story is hosted on another website.  Here's it is:
http://railwayshoes.net/hosted

It's partway down the site, just look for "Lottery Winner".  There's lots
of other great stories there so check them out.

DISCLAIMER: The names of the people are fictional (well, except for the
members of the group).  This is a fictional story that came right out of my
own mind. I have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or
whatever. That being said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write
me!!! (Especially write me if you're a member of the group! GRIN)

Thanks guys and gals, Hope you like it.

Dale


--THE LOTTERY WINNER...Ch 45--


Mark and Joey just sat there staring at each other for awhile.  Hearing the
door to the Emergency Room open, Mark looked around and saw Lance walk out.
He headed over to where the men were sitting.

"Okay, we need to go back to the hotel.  Mark, can you take us?"

Joey glared at Lance for a minute, then got up.  "No way Lance... not
going.  I need to be here for Dale."  He tried walking past Lance to the
door, but Lance moved to block the way.

"Get out of the way Lance... please."  Joey sounded like he was going to
start crying again.

"Joey, I'm sorry.  I know you want to be here, but we have obligations
right now.  There's nothing we can do by staying here except to piss off
people for being in the way.  The doctors have said that Dale isn't going
to wake up in the next few hours.  Once Mark picks up Dale's mom, he'll
call me and we'll see about coming back over to meet them here."

Joey looked sadly at Lance.  "Okay Scoop, you win."  He turned and slowly
walked to Mark's jeep.  He looked so defeated.  He quietly got in the
backseat of the jeep, and curled up on the seat, holding himself tightly.

Mark turned on Lance.  "Do you honestly think he's going to be any good to
you for anything group related?  He's a wreck Lance!"

Lance let out a snort.  "Gee, ya think?  He'll get the job done, if for no
other reason than we need him to.  We can't dwell on things right now.  Can
we go now?"

Mark didn't say a word, just got behind the wheel of the jeep and started
the engine.  The ride back to the group's hotel was silent.

"Joey?"

"Shut up please Mark."  Joey was staring out the passenger side window at
the cars going by.

"Hrmph.  Okay, fine."  Mark fiddled with the tuner on the radio and found
one playing an N'Sync song.  It took him a few seconds to realize that it
wasn't probably the best idea.  The station was playing "This I Promise
You", and Joey promptly fell apart.  Lance reached up from the back seat
and turned the radio off.

Before Mark's jeep had even come to a complete stop at the hotel, Joey had
opened the door and stormed inside.  Lance let out a sigh as his friend ran
inside.

"Mark.  I'm worried."

Mark laughed.  "Given the past few hours I need a little more to go on.
Joey?  Dale?  Me?  Chris?"

"Joey.  And Dale.  This is bad.  I didn't tell you guys just how bad.  The
doctors aren't even sure if Dale's going to wake up."

Mark closed his eyes.  "Dammit Lance don't you dare do that to me.  I can't
think of not having Dale around anymore.  If I start thinking about that
then I'm gonna be a fucking basket case the rest of the night and get no
sleep then look like shit when I pick up his mom at the airport."
  Mark turned around and glared at Lance.  "You're going to go in there and
spend time with Joey.  He's going to push you away but I don't care, you'll
stay with him and make sure that he's okay.  I'll go play nice with his mom
and take her to the hospital.  Do you want me to call you when she gets in
or when we get to Dale?"

Lance thought for a minute.  "We have some interviews to do at six in the
morning for the East Coast, then a couple at ten to do press for the
charities.  We should be done by noon.  Chris' plane touches down at nine
so why don't we just head to the hospital and meet you guys when we're
done.  That way Chris gets some time alone with the doctors so she can find
out what in the world is going on."  He suddenly yawned.  "Shit.  Okay, I'm
going in.  Call me when you get Dale's mom so we know she got in okay."
Lance got out of the jeep and headed in without a backwards glance.

Mark tried sleeping after he got home, but it was a long time coming.  He
finally gave in to his concerns and cried.  His sleep was fitful at best,
and full of weird dreams.  He was up about twenty minutes before the alarm
went off at seven.  He showered and headed to the airport.  It took him
extra time to get to there because of a wreck, so he couldn't grab a coffee
like he had originally planned.  He staked out a spot at the entrance to
the terminal and held up a sign that said "Dale's mom" so she'd know that
he was there.

After about twenty minutes he got to finally meet his friend's mom.  A
slightly disheveled woman came up to him and said "So since I don't
recognize you I guess you're Mark right?"

"Yes ma'am."

She slung a gym bag over her shoulder.  "I don't have any checked stuff, so
let's get going."  They started walking to the car.  "Where's Joey and the
rest of them?"

"They have interviews and stuff they're trying to get through.  Don't know
how worthwhile Joey's gonna be though.  Between you and me he was a wreck
last night."

She snorted.  "Well duh.  Love does that to you.  Those two are definitely
in love."  She pulled out a cell phone and began making a round of phone
calls as they left the parking garage.

Mark was driving slow, trying to not scare Dale's mom.  She hung up the
phone and finally looked around at the scenery.

"Mark, is there some reason you're driving Miss Daisy?"

"Huh?"

"You're driving like an old lady!  I want to get to the hospital before I
age another year.  If you get a speeding ticket I'll pay it.  Now drive
dammit!"

Mark laughed and sped up.  They got to the hospital.  As Mark shut off the
jeep he told her that he had to call Lance.

"Okay, I'll be inside."  She headed in to find out what was going on with
Dale, and left Mark to his own devices.  Mark shook his head as he dialed
Lance.

"Hello?"

"It's Mark.  We're at the hospital."

He heard Lance cover the phone and say something to someone.  "Is Chris
meeting with the doctors yet?"

"Yeah she's already inside.  She seemed to understand when I told her where
you guys are.  Call me when you get ready to come here and I'll get you the
room number where we'll be."

"Sounds like a plan.  Hang on a second, Joey wants to ask you something."
There was a clatter or two, then Joey got on the phone.

"Hi Mark."

"Joey, you sound like shit.  Did you get any sleep?"

Joey softly said no he hadn't.  "Have you seen Dale yet?"

"No Joe.  As soon as I do I'll call you.  I'm going to go catch up to
Chris.
  Want me to tell her anything?"

Joey sniffed.  "Tell her I'm sorry.  Tell her I love him."  He broke off
and Mark heard another clattering of noise.

"Hello?"

"Mark we'll talk to you later.  We have to get ready for our next interview
after we calm Joey down."  Lance hung up, leaving Mark standing there.

"Shit."  He trotted to the hospital entrance.  The old lady behind the
counter of the information desk glared at him as he walked through the
door.  "Hi.  Dale Wright's room please."

She consulted a list.  "I'm sorry sir, he's an ICU patient.  No visitors
allowed."

What the hell???

"His mom walked through here a few minutes ago.  I'm here with her.  Where
is she?"

She glared at him some more.  "I only have a list of patients, not people
who walk through the door."

"Fine, you're no help then."  He went to the phone on the wall and dialed
the operator.  "Please overhead page Chris Wright for me.  Okay I'll hold."
Mark waited for a few seconds and the operator came back on.

"Hold sir I'll connect you."

"Mark?  Where are you?"

"I'm in the lobby, the old bat in information wouldn't let me go to where
Dale is, and she had no clue who you were."  The lady behind the desk
snapped her head up as soon as he said it.  Mark just smiled and waved to
her.

"The doctor is taking me to Dale now, I'll make sure we swing by the lobby.
Be there in a minute."

Mark threw himself into the chairs and thumbed through a beat-up copy of
People.  He grinned as there was a couple of pages in the back devoted to
N'Sync and a show they did on Good Morning America.  He was nearly done
with the article when Chris came around the corner with the doctor
trailing.

"Mark.  Come on we're going this way."  He got up and followed them through
a maze of corridors, ending up outside a door that had the words "ICU
Visitor's Lounge" painted on it.  They went through that door and a
connecting door on the far wall and came out in a suite of private rooms.
The doctor went through the door marked "3-C" so Chris and Mark followed.

There, with tubes and monitors everywhere, was Dale.

Mark felt tears threaten to fall, but he bit them back.  He didn't think
Dale's mom would appreciate him crying right now.  Dale looked so pale.  He
noticed the doctor was saying something.

"... as you can see we have Dale hooked up to a respirator.  He began
having difficulties breathing on his own last night, so we put him on it so
he wouldn't have any problems.  We have stopped the seizures through
medication.  We're also keeping him sedated.  We can't have him fighting to
take out the tubes."

He led the two of them out of Dale's room, and into a private consultation
area.  "Now Miss Wright, we need to talk about Dale's prognosis."  The
doctor looked pointedly at Mark for a second, and didn't stop until Chris
told him that Mark was okay to be there.

"Very well ma'am.  Our tests show that what we're dealing with is a tumor
that has impinged the right temporal lobe of Dale's brain.  This has
probably impacted Dale's mood as well as motor skills the past few months.
Now, at this time my honest recommendation is surgical excision.  It's in a
good location for removal, and if it's encapsulated we should be able to
get the entire thing the first time."

He sat back and stared at her.  "What are your thoughts Miss Wright?"

"What're the risks?"

"Well... as with any surgery there is some risk.  This procedure is getting
performed more and more, we've reached the point technologically where it's
not entirely impossible to operate intercranially.  If we can get in and
out quickly, and the tumor is encapsulated we should be done in two hours.
I can tell you that I've performed this procedure several dozen times, and
I've only had one problem and that was an allergy to the medication used
for anesthesia."

"Dale had allergies when he was younger.  He's never had a problem with
anesthesia though."  Chris looked at Mark.  "Dale had his tonsils taken out
when he was a kid, also had ear surgery."

The doctor cleared his throat.  "I can schedule Dale to go into surgery at
two o'clock this afternoon.  Given the history of the case I definitely
advise that we go in as soon as possible and remove the tumor."

Chris didn't even hesitate.  "Do it.  What do I have to sign?"

Chris signed the papers that he produced authorizing the procedure.  When
she was done she thanked the doctor, then told him she was going to go back
to Dale's room.

"Mark, do me a favor and call the guys."

Mark went to the ICU waiting room and called Lance's cell.

"Hello?"

"It's me.  Dale's having surgery today at two."

"WHAT?"

Suddenly JC was on the phone.  "Hello???"

"JC, it's Mark.  Where's Lance?"

"He's hyperventilating.  What'd you say to him?"  Suddenly Lance was back
on the phone.

"Chris okayed surgery?  Okay, Joey and I are coming there.  The guys will
do the interviews without us.  OH FUCK OFF JUSTIN!  Joey and I are needed
there right now.  No Joey, you can talk to him when we get to the hospital.
Mark, let Chris know we're on our way.  You can fill us in when we get
there.  What's the room number?"

Mark filled them in on where the room was.

"Great."

*CLICK*

Mark quietly headed back to Dale's room.  He walked in and noticed Dale's
mom sitting at the head of the bed, holding Dale's hand.

"Joey and Lance are coming.  They'll be here in about twenty to thirty
minutes."

Chris thanked him, and didn't say anything else as Mark sat.  Suddenly she
began talking about something that Dale did back when he was a kid.  She
kept telling Mark about Dale's antics and things that he did growing up.
Suddenly in the middle of one story, she stopped.

"I miss Debbie.  She couldn't get time off work to come with me."  She
looked into Mark's eyes.  "Ever feel like you're on candid camera?  I keep
expecting Dale to sit up and tell me April Fool's or Candid Camera or some
silly shit."

She repositioned herself.  "Did Dale ever tell you that he was a preemie?
He came out almost two months early.  He nearly died, so I took to calling
him my miracle kid.  He always had such a thirst for knowledge, and a love
of life."  Mark noticed a trail of tears down her face, but didn't say
anything.

The door to the room opened, and Joey walked in with Lance right behind
him.
  Joey walked right up to her and hugged Dale's mom tightly.  They both
were crying.  Lance came up to Mark and pulled him aside.  After Mark
brought him up to speed they hugged.

"Chris are you hungry?  We haven't eaten lunch yet."  Lance got permission
for the four of them to eat in the doctor's cafeteria since it's closed off
to the public.  They spent the next few hours with Dale's mom telling the
three men all about Dale and them telling her about their lives and their
connections to her son.

Joey broke in abruptly.  "The surgery's started."  They cleaned up their
table and went to find the surgery waiting area.

Time dragged on.  At five o'clock Justin, JC and Chris showed up to lend
support to Joey and Lance and to Dale's mom.  They were all gathered in one
section of the waiting room, talking softly.  Finally someone came through
the door from surgery.

It wasn't the doctor.

"Miss Wright?"

Dale's mom stood up.  "That's me.  Who are you?"

"I'm one of the OR Techs.  We've had some complications, so things are
running longer than expected.  The doctor will be out shortly to talk to
you."

"Complications?  What kind of complications?"

"I'm sorry, the doctor will be able to give you more information."  She
turned around and went back through the doors.

Dale's mom looked around at the group.  "What the hell is going wrong?"

It was almost seven o'clock before someone came through the doors again.
It was the doctor!  Chris was out of her seat like a shot.

"What's going on?  What kind of complications?"

"Miss Wright, we had a problem.  Dale's heart stopped beating on the table
for awhile."  There were a couple of gasps from where the rest of the group
was sitting before the doctor continued.  "We appear to have been
successful removing the tumor, the problem with Dale's heart happened just
as we were starting to close up the head.  We were able to get his heart
going again relatively quickly.  We have a battery of tests that we'll be
running once he goes into recovery.  The good news is he's breathing on his
own, and we're hopeful that he'll wake up in a few hours."

He stood and stretched.  "I should warn you.  There are some patients who
have experienced temporary short-term memory loss after the procedure.  The
memories have come back relatively quickly."

"Um, okay.  Thank you doctor."

"He'll be in recovery room Twelve in about twenty minutes."  The doctor
left the room, and the group was alone again."

Chris turned to look at her son's friends.  "If you guys want to go do your
own thing I'll understand.  I'm just going to go straight to Dale's room
and wait for him to wake up."

A few hours later Dale's recovery room looked like a flophouse.  His mom
was asleep in one chair, Mark in another.  Three of the N'Syncers were
asleep sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall.  The only two
people who were awake were Joey and Lance.

"hrmp"

"I think Dale's waking up."  Lance gently shook the shoulders of Mark and
Dale's mom.  "Hey, I think Dale's waking up."

They all stood around staring expectantly down at the bed.

Dale slowly opened his eyes.  After a few minutes of looking vacantly
around the room he finally locked eyes with his mom.

"Mom?  What're you doing here?"

"Oh thank god.  Baby are you okay?"

"What am I doing in this bed mom?"

Dale's mom felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.  "Dale, don't you
remember?  You got sick and you were brought here last night."

"Oh."  Dale reached up and felt the bandage around his head.  He finally
looked at the group of six guys standing there.

"Hi."

"How're you feeling Dale?"

"Like I got hit by a Mack Truck."  Dale then looked at his mom.  "Mom, are
these friends of yours?"