Princess Love - Chapter 5
 
        The dinner in celebration had occured a year ago and it left a lasting relationship among the friends that had come together for the joy of Timmy coming home from the hospital.  Jasmine and AJ had gotten together and had been seriously seeing each other for six months.  Kim and Kevin had also been getting serious, dating for a year.
 
         Jasmine had been happy with her new relationship with AJ.  She had never thought that she would be able to get serious with a man in her line of work.  She was always busy and she was afraid that the man that she would fall in love with would want her to stop her job and be with him, which was selfish.  AJ wasn't like that at all.  They had fun together, going to clubs or movies whenever they had the chance.  Jasmine thought that AJ deserved more of her time so she shortened her hours, but she would never be able to give it up.  It was the greatest thing that could have happened to her.  It had always been her dream to be a doctor, always forgetting that she didn't have a love in her life.  Now she did.
         "Jaz?" She heard someone call behind her, she was deep in her thoughts and forgotten where she was.  She was sitting at the nurses station, just staring into space.
         "Sorry about that Jane." Jasmine said as she stood up and stretched. She looked down at the nurse, who was rather short.
     "No problem, we have a four year old down in room 6.  His parents are there and I really don't like what I am seeing." The nurse and Jasmine nodded, she was used to this.  She walked down the long carpetless hallway, her heeled shoes making a rhythmic patter as she walked towards room six.
         She looked up at a tall black man with a shiny-smooth head and clothing that looked like it hadn't been washed in a while.  Jasmine looked over at another person, a woman.  She looked as if she had just taken something, Jasmine wasn't sure what.
         "Hello, Mr...?" Jasmine asked and stuck her hand out at the man, looking over her shoulder at a little boy on the bed.
         "Jackson." The man said, the woman not even looking at Jasmine in the eye.
         "Well, what seems to be the problem today Mr. Jackson?" Jasmine asked and looked at the little boy.  He looked extremely sick and Jasmine had a suspision that she knew what it was.
         "He just hasn't been himself lately." The father said, the mother not making a single noise.
         "Okay, I will be right back with him." She said and lifted him over her shoulder and brought him to another room.  She looked down at the chart, his name was Mark.
         "Hey there Mark, you not feeling to good, are you?" She asked patiently
         "No." He said in a little voice and Jasmine lifted his shirt and took a needle out of the container; taking the plastic off.
         "This won't hurt at all, just look over there." She pointed to the door and he did as he was told.  She quickly drew the blood as he squirmed and she soothed him.  She took the needle out and put the vial in the tube holder.  She took the needle and threw it in the little box, feeling a little
pinch but not thinking anything of it.  She returned the boy to his parents and told them that they would get a call soon.  Jasmine wasn't the doctor on the case, she was just helping out, so she would never know the results.
         She left with a smile on her face and went home to get ready for her date with AJ.
 
          Valerie walked into the restaurant and sat down at the table, waiting for her new friend Kim to arrive with her entourage.  She sat there, looking out at the clear blue California sky.  She stirred her cup of coffee and looked around then looked at her watch. "Where are they?" She asked herself.  She looked up and saw a group walking towards her.  She stood up and smiled.
         There were five guys standing near Kim, all of them were pretty tall.
         They all wore hats and sunglasses and Valerie couldn't figure out who they were.
         "Let's go Valerie." Kim said and walked back to the door, the five guys walking behind her without saying a word.
         "Where?" Valerie asked and followed her to the van.  She walked behind the guys, looking them over.  They were all wearing cargo pants, 3 were blue and 2 were black. They were all wearing jerseys, for different teams.  Valerie was still looking at them when Kim nudged her to get in the van.
         "What is this all about?" Valerie asked, in confusion, sitting down.
         "Uh! Finally!" She heard a voice say behind her and turned around, meeting the glance of a pair of huge friendly eyes. "Hi, I'm Howie." He said and extended his hand, which she shook.  They had all taken their glasses and hats off and she could see five friendly faces looking at her.
         "Am I supposed to know you are something?" Valerie asked in confusion and one of them laughed, Valerie glared at him.
         "Sorry." He said. "I am AJ."
         "Ok... but am I supposed to know you?" She asked again.
         "All I Have To Give... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." Brian counted and they all sang an excerpt of "All I Have To Give." Valerie smiled in response.
         "Ok... now I know who you are, that song is always on the radio." She smiled.
         "I am Brian." Brian introduced himself.
         "I am Kevin." Kevin said.
         "And I am Nick." Nick said last.  Kim was in the front, driving, and she pulled into the driveway.
         "We are here!" She announced and Kevin opened the door and they all got out of the car.  "Let's go down into the basement." Kim suggested and they all walked down into the finished basement.  She has a pile of CD's on a table in the corner of the room, next to a stereo.
         "So, what are we going to do?" Kevin asked and sat down on the couch in the middle of the basement.
        "I have to pick out a song first." Valerie said and Kim nodded and went over to her CD player and put a CD in and turned it on, skipping a couple of tracks.  Nick's voice ran through the air and Valerie nodded with a big smile.
         "Now this is perfect, what is it called?" She asked.
         "It is called 'Missing You.'" said.
         "I love it! I already have ideas for it, but it is going to take me awhile to get this whole thing planned out." She said, standing up and looking excited.  "How long are you guys going to be here?" She asked.
         "A week.  We just came to meet up with Kevin and AJ's girlfriends and let Nick be with his family for a little while." Howie said, looking at Valerie.
         "Ok... Let's meet here again next week." She said and they all nodded.  "Let's go to lunch!" Valerie said and smiled.
         "Yeah, let me call Jazz and we will see if she can come." AJ said and went upstairs to call her.  Five minutes later he was back and nodded.  With that, they went out to lunch.
 
         "Elizabeth, mother wants to speak to us." Sean said as he stood up, wearing a tweed suit and his hair slicked back.
         "Okay, very well then." She said and stood up, wearing a casual dress.  They had been married for only a couple of months, but they were happy.  Sean had his moments when he got frustrated or he became a bit snobbish, but he was a great guy and a wonderful husband.
         They stood up, leaving Sean's office and went to the west wing of the palace to see the Princess.  Sean was the grand-son of the queen so he had awhile before he would come to rule.
         "Hello Mother." Sean said and bowed his head and Elizabeth did the same and then they sat down in the sitting room.
         "I just wanted to tell you that we will be having a royal performance for the Queen.  There are going to be some musicians and performers to keep her happy, it will be next month." She said.
         "Really? Who is invited?" Elizabeth asked, she got along very well with the Princess.
         "Let me see..." She said and pulled out a sheet of paper.  "Dave Mathews Band, Sir Paul McCartney, the Backstreet Boys, Aerosmith, some other people too, I haven't even heard of half of these people before." She commented and Elizabeth smiled, Princess Vanessa didn't get out much.  The names had sounded vaguely familiar to Elizabeth.
         "They have all accepted their invitations?" Sean asked and Vanessa nodded.
         "Yes, it is going to be a good show I think." She said and Elizabeth wondered to herself how it really would be...