No Control // One Direction SickFic

Louis Golf Cart Accident (2)

Paul POV
My hopes of Louis only having sustained a concussion were crushed when he said that he couldn't move. It was my job to protect these boys and keep them safe, and today I had failed miserably at that.

The next five minutes consisted of the other guards and I trying to keep Louis comfortable, awake, and talking while we waited for the ambulance.
"Louis, can you open your eyes for me bud? Just so I know you're awake" I coaxed
He opened them slowly, only for them to roll back about a second later.
"You still with us Lou?" Preston asked, shaking his leg
"Mmmm" Louis hummed
"Okay. We're gonna get you help Louis, just hang in there" I cooed
"W-w-where amm iy?" Louis murmured again
"You're at a venue. You've been in an accident Louis, but everything is going to be fine. You're doing well lad." I said, feeling sympathy for the confused boy.

Finally, after what felt like forever, an ambulance arrived, and three paramedics came over to Louis.
One asked if we had a witness of the crash, so I called Liam over.
Meanwhile, two EMTs came over to Louis' side, and began asking him questions.
"Can you tell me your name" One, by the name of Joshua, asked him
"Mmmm" Louis hummed
"Do you know your name?" he repeated
"L-L-L" he mumbled
"That's it keep going" I encouraged him
"Lou...eee" he finally managed
"Ok Louis, can you tell me how old you are?" Joshua inquired
"Mmm. I cannn't member"
"Okay, that's alright. How about...what's the name of your band?"
"Onneee D'rection" Louis said confidently.
I chuckled softly, finding it ironic that he could remember One Direction easier than his own name.
"Okay Louis. Can you wiggle your fingers for me?"
To my surprise, Louis was able to wiggle his fingers a bit, lifting a weight off my chest.
"Good. Can you move your feet and toes?"
Louis wriggled his eyebrows in a mix of concentration and frustration, and then began to cry.
"It's alright Louis. We're going to get you onto a backboard and into the ambulance" Joshua told him
Joshua and the other medic stabilized his neck, and then carefully rolled him onto the backboard. They then lifted Louis onto a gurney and rolled him into an ambulance.
Despite how much I wanted to ride with Louis and comfort him, I knew I had to be there for the other boys and sort out what was going to happen with the concert. I asked Preston to go instead, and he climbed into the ambulance.
Then the third medic closed the doors and the ambulance drove away with blue flashing lights.

Once Louis was gone, I went over to the boys and they stood up. Before anyone said a word, I wrapped them all up in a much needed hug.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Niall croaked, being the first to break the silence
"At first it was scary, he was very out of it and completely paralyzed. He definitely has a pretty bad head injury, but he was regaining some feeling in his hands by the end. He's gonna be okay boys."
"W-we can't go on" Zayn cried, thinking about the show that they were now fifteen minutes late for.
"I know, I know. I'm going to call Simon, and then I'll go out and make an announcement. It would help if one of you guys came with me to do it, just so the fans will know that things are okay." I reasoned
"I'll go," Liam volunteered.
He was somehow handling the situation the best, even though he was the one to witness the crash. He held the band together, just as much as Louis did. I didn't even want to think about what could've happened if the crash was worse.

My call to Simon was relatively quick. I told him what had happened, the hospital where Louis was headed, and that the boys were in no condition to go on stage and perform. He hesitantly agreed, but asked me to go out and make an announcement.

Liam and I went on stage and the crowd went wild. I put my hand up, hoping they would understand this as a hint to quiet down.
"Hello New York City." Liam said into a microphone. The crowd erupted into cheers, only to be silenced by me once again. "Uhm. Paul, can you talk?" he looked at me.
"Hi everyone. As you can see, I only have Liam here with me. Unfortunately there's been an incident backstage, and Louis is on his way to the hospital in an ambulance. I know you all were looking forward to seeing the boys tonight, but they are not in the right mindset to give you your money's worth. I've spoken with Simon Cowell and Modest management, and we will find a date to reschedule this show." There was some booing from the crowd as I finished.
Liam took the mic from me and began speaking, unnerved by the crowd's response. "The boys and I are very disappointed to not get to perform for you tonight. I know that it may be upsetting, but Louis was seriously injured a little while ago. The lads and I would not be able to give you guys the show you paid for if we were constantly thinking and worrying about our brother. Once again, we are very sorry. We will update you all on Louis' condition once we know more." Liam finished, turning towards me.
I wrapped my arm around him and led him off stage.

I helped get the boys safely into a limousine, then climbed in behind them. They begged me to take them to the hospital to see Louis, but I refused. I didn't know what condition Louis would be in, and they deserved a good night's sleep. I promised I would take them in the morning.
I looked down at my phone as it buzzed with a text from Preston.
He's in surgery - call Jay
How had I forgotten to call Louis' mother?
I called Jay, and she offered to fly out to NYC as soon as possible. I told her to wait until we knew more about Louis' condition, and then if she's needed she can come. She reluctantly agreed.
I dropped the boys off, and then asked the chauffeur to take me to the hospital.

When I arrived, I exited the car and was bombarded with camera flashes and questions from paparazzis. All desperate to know, What had happened to Louis Tomlinson?
I pushed my way through and made it into the waiting room, where there appeared to be more than a few fans waiting for news. I walked to the reception desk.
"Hello, how may I help you?" She cheerily asked
"I'm Louis Tomlinson's tour manager. One of his guards, Preston, is here. Do you know where he is or if there is any place that I can wait away from...you know" I requested, glancing back at the small mob of teenage girls that had formed in the waiting room.
"Of course. I believe Preston is waiting in an empty cubicle down that hall. I'll have a nurse take you there" She chirped giddily.
A male nurse led me to where Preston was. I sat beside him, and put my hand on his shoulder.
"How're you holding up?" I asked him.
"How are you holding up?" He returned, looking me in my eyes.
"It was scary for a bit" I replied simply
"I thought that he had been killed at first" Preston blatantly stated
"For a second, I did too" I admitted
"I was surprised when he woke up. And poor Liam had to witness the whole thing. How was he holding up?"
"Actually, Liam seemed to be doing the best out of all of them. I might head back to the hotel later and talk to them, they probably won't get much sleep tonight. Poor guys. What's the news on Louis?"
"At first they did a bunch of brain scans to make sure he had no life threatening injuries there. They think he's just got a severe concussion. They also X-rayed his back, and they've taken him into surgery to stabilize his spine. That's all they told me, so I'm not sure what the surgery is exactly for" Preston explained
I drew in a shaky breath

It was one of the longest nights of my life. I arrived at the hospital around 9:30pm, and a doctor finally came with news at 4:00am.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Hillcrest," a man introduced himself, shaking both of our hands. "The first thing I want to say is that Mr. Tomlinson is a very lucky young man. Hitting a cement wall while travelling at nearly 30 mph is very scary. To be quite frank, I'm surprised he didn't die on impact. That being said, he did sustain some pretty severe brain and spinal injuries."
Preston and I nodded.
"As far as I can tell, he only has a grade three concussion regarding head trauma. Although this is serious and he will be in a lot of pain, it is much better than what could have been. If he has any seizures or blindness, we will reevaluate and look for a skull fracture. He also came in with some serious bleeding around his spinal cord, causing him some paralysis, and two fractured spinal processes"
"Is he going to walk again?" I questioned when Doctor Hillcrest momentarily paused.
"Fortunately, since Mr. Tomlinson did not break any of his major vertebrae, and we got the blood cleaned up nicely surrounding his spine; I would say he has a 95% chance of having full control over his body. This could take hours, it could take months, I have no way of knowing until Louis is awake. He got out of surgery about 45 minutes ago, and I'll have my nurse take you to his room now. Do you have any other questions for me?"
"Putting my tour manager hat on," I began, "when do you think he will be able to return to stage or do interviews?"
"I can't answer with full confidence, as everyone's body heals at a different pace, but he might be able to return to stage as early as next week. We'll be able to make a more accurate estimate when he wakes up. That being said, he most likely will not be able to be very mobile while performing. For all we know, he may be wheelchair bound for months. As far as interviews go, once he is discharged, and if he is feeling up to it, he can go back to interviews right away."
"When do you think he will be able to be discharged?" Preston asked
"Best case scenario, two days time. I would suggest once he is discharged he is supervised by you, or another medically trained adult, at all times - just in case"
"Okay. Thank you so much." I said as a nurse arrived to take us to Louis.

Louis actually looked better than I had expected. He had some slight bruising on his face, and he was connected to a number of machines, but overall, he didn't look like he had just been in a potentially fatal motor accident.
"Preston, I think I'm going to head back to the hotel and check on the boys. Are you good to stay here with Louis? I imagine he's going to wake up soon"
"Of course. I'll text you if I have any updates"
"Okay thank you" I said as I turned around to leave.