The Wolf In sheeps clothing

Yes. I Can!

Niall was dragged  from his sleep by a fit of hard coughing. When it finally ended, he flopped back against his pillows and wiped the sheen of sweat from his forehead. He was exhausted and his chest hurt badly with every breath he dragged into his lungs. Realistically, he knew he should make an appointment to see his doctor but his stubborn nature refused. He didn't need any doctor telling him what to do, thank you very much. He was a grown man. A man who just had a bad cold, nothing more. He reluctantly pushed himself upright and slowly slid out of bed, grabbing on to his bedside table as he wobbled. Once he was sure he had his balance , he made his way into the adjoining bathroom. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. James was right, he did look like sh*t. But it's jet lag, nothing serious, he told himself. Why did everyone make such a fuss over everything? He turned away, did what he needed, then slowly went back to his bedroom and climbed back into bed. Moments later he was asleep, the tick of the clock and his ragged breathing the only sounds in the room.

"Hi  Sara" Niall spoke quietly as he entered the Reception area of  his Manager's plush LA office. "How's it going?"

"Good, Niall, thank you." Sara responded a little diffidently. Though he had told her to call him Niall and not Mr Horan, she still felt shy doing do. " James is waiting for you . He told me to send you straight in when you arrived. May I get you anything?" .

"Some water would be great, thanks" Niall responded before a bout of harsh coughing robbed him of further speech. Sara frowned. Niall looked ill and sounded even worse than he looked and that was saying something. Niall's complexion looked grey and he looked as if he barely had strength to stand. Sara stared at him then pulled her attention back to his request for water.

"I'll get you some". She turned away and Niall walked through to his Manager's office, tapping on the door briefly to signal his arrival.

"Niall, thanks for coming in at such short notice. Ah ,Sara, thank you." He smiled at Niall and then Sara as she handed Niall a bottle of chilled water. "I'm expecting someone else, please show him in immediately he arrives, would you." Sara nodded and left the two men alone, closing the door quietly behind her.

"What was so urgent, JimJam ?" Niall asked, his voice raspy from the effects of the coughing. "You said it wouldn't wait." He sat down on the comfortable looking couch James had in his office and pulled up his legs under him. He felt exhausted and really out of it.Why was James so adamant he came into to see him. Niall groaned to himself. All he wanted was too be left alone.

"It can't wait" James said, his tone suddenly serious, quite unlike his normal cheerful way. "Things are out of hand and I have to step in and control them."

"Out of hand?" Niall said , puzzled "Control what?"

"You, Niall. You.  You've got out of hand and as you can't be sensible, I'm taking control out of your hands and into mine!" James said sternly.

"What?" Niall was confused. What was James talking about? Niall tried to concentrate but his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his  small body started to shake with cold. Why was this da*ned room so cold.?Niall huddled up  even more, wrapping his arms about his body in an attempt to warm up.

"James, Niall" a new voice spoke and Niall peered up owlishly at Doctor Ward, who had just been shown into the room by a now anxious looking Sara.

"Ward, Thanks for coming. He's all yours" James said as he waved a hand at Niall's shivering form. Doctor Ward moved towards Niall and sat next to him, placing his medical bag on the floor.

"No!" Niall suddenly registered the Doctor's presence and went to stand up, only to be pushed back. "James, you can't do this"

"Yes , I can" James confirmed. " There's a small claus in your contract Niall. One that says I can act in your best interests if necessary. It might be a slight twist of the meaning of that claus but it is in your best interests you see a doctor." Niall glared at him then Doctor Ward but knew he was trapped.

"Right then, Niall" Doctor Ward opened his bag and retrieved some of his equipment. "Let's see how you are doing" And he began his examination. Niall didn't resist , he knew he was beaten and, he finally admitted to himself, he felt dreadful. The doctor's examination seemed to go on for hours but was relatively short in reality. Doctor Ward finally stood up and moved away from Niall, having a quiet conversation with James, both men glancing towards Niall as them spoke. out of Niall's hearing. Niall frowned wearily.

"Stop talking behind my ba....." A harsh fit of coughing  prevented Niall from finishing his sentence, and he hastily covered his mouth with his hankie. Niall went to put his used hankie back into his pocket but suddenly froze in fear. There were splatters of blood on the white linen. He stared at it then up at the two men, eyes wide with shock. "Blood" he whispered.

Doctor Ward hurried towards the young man and sat down next to him again. "Niall, it's OK. It's OK." He rubbed Niall's back reassuringly. "It looks scary but it's OK.. Let's get you to the hospital and get you looked after, yeah?" He helped a shaking Niall to his feet and together with James, supporting Niall on his other side, the two men walked him slowly out of the room and down to the car park where Lisa waited next to the car.

"Everything sorted, Lisa?" James asked as Doctor Ward settled Niall into the back of the Range Rover and climbed in next to him.

"Yes, your instructions have been carried out and they are expecting him. He's to be taken straight up to room 200B. Security is already there, waiting." Lisa said promptly. James had thought ahead and once he'd found the claus in Niall's contract, he'd set everything in motion.

"Thanks, Lisa. We'll take it from here. He smiled at her then got in the car next to the driver who immediately pulled away , heading for the hospital.

Time seemed to be passing in a blur. Niall felt too ill to fight anymore and he was soon undressed, redressed in a hospital gown  and tucked into bed. A portable X-Ray machine was already in the room and the technician had taken several X-Rays of Niall's chest. Once he had disappeared to process them, a nurse immediately started attaching  various monitors to Niall's small body, then setting up an iV. Niall, who hated needles of any sort, didn't even seem to notice, so out of it was he now. The nurse finished her ministrations by taping the oxygen suppling tubes to Niall's face to prevent him knocking them away. Finally she covered his small frame with a warm blanket and left the room, leaving James to sit with the semi conscious man.

A tall, distinguished looking man entered the room  moment s later and  moved towards Niall's bed, lowering the side. He examined Niall briefly, made a few notes on his chart then stood back, acknowledging James' presence with a feint smile and a courteous nod of the head.

"How is he ?" James asked.

"Not good, to be honest. He's neglected himself badly and this is the consequence. He has, as I am sure you realise,  a severe case of Pneumonia. These is evidence of Hemoptysis..... He's coughing up blood in the mucus" the doctor explained kindly on seeing James blank look ."This is  a  fairly serious  side effect of the illness. All in all, we'll manage it with antibiotics, oxygen, etc. Mr Horan is severely underweight and  has the added complication of having Lupus. All in all, I think the young man will be a patient  here for some time.

"How long?" James immediately wanted to know

. The doctor shrugged before he replied  "As long as it takes. Mr Horan is  a very sick young man who needs careful nursing. And the Lupus is a serious complication. A strange rattle sound started, caused by Niall's bed starting to shake. The doctor immediately lowered the side of the bed and pressed the alarm button.

"He's seizing" he said tersely then all h*ll broke loose.