For the next two days, Alyssa was dealing with Michael's absence pretty well, since his condition had continued to improve after he awoke. That was, until Sunday night. On the night before, she had a nightmare that was really disturbing. Even though it was just a dream, it felt extremely real...too real to just ignore. In the dream, a doctor had given Michael the wrong pain medication and it caused his heart to stop. A team of doctors had tried everything in their power to restart it, but his condition worsened and he died. She felt the dream was trying to tell her that Michael would not be all right, that he would die soon. 'Oh no, this cannot be true,' was her reaction. After all, when she had visited him the day before, he was in very good spirits and had gotten even better. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming in her sleep. However, the thought was so distressing that for the first time since Michael was admitted to hospital, she really fell apart. She had cried in her sleep, but was careful to keep her sobs muffled so she wouldn't wake up the children.
During breakfast time, Alyssa's eyes started to get teary, which she didn't want Kai or the Jackson children to see. ‘Oh great. Now they're gonna see me crying and I would have to explain why.' "I need to be excused for a minute. I will be right back. "
"All right," said Kai.
Lissie bowed her head down so Kai and the children couldn't see how upset she was. She stood up and quickly ran up the stairs, into the bathroom. She took a look at herself in the mirror and saw that both her eyes and face were blotchy red. ‘Oh I look so horrible. At this rate I'm gonna get wrinkles.' She turned on the water, cupped her hands beneath it and started splashing her face. She then got a wash cloth, wiped her face and dried it. She didn't want the Jackson children to know she had been crying, lest they would start crying again. They had been coping pretty well, considering the circumstances. ‘Oh boy...I hope I can keep it together at work today.'
Looking quite a bit better, Lissie headed back downstairs to finish her breakfast.
"Lissie, you okay?" asked Kai. "You seemed a bit upset."
"I had a bad dream last night but it's nothing to worry about." She didn't really want to talk about it. Not in front of the children.
"Well if you care to talk about it I am here."
"All right. Thanks." She wasn't so sure if she was going to talk about it, but she was grateful for the offer. If she did take her up on it, she would do so later, like when the kids were playing outside or something.
"Of course. You have been a wonderful person to Mr. Jackson, and for that I am grateful to you."
(at the hospital)
Michael was sitting up in his hospital bed, several pillows supporting his back. It was still pretty stiff and sore even though he was just given pain medication for it. For him it felt so good to be able to sit up, considering that for the past 2 ½ days he had been laying flat on his back. It was part of his treatment for the exhaustion, to get intravenous amounts of rest. The hospital staff had been pretty strict about that. He knew it was only for the best, but lying down in that position for such a long time had become tiresome. He had gotten quite a few visits, calls, cards and gifts from his fans, family and close friends and he really appreciated it. He felt like he was blessed to have so many people showing him love, kindness and support. Even his father had visited him once, which was kind of a surprise, since he imagined it would be difficult for him to see him that way. But Joe didn't stay long, though, which was fine with him. Although for the first time the singer hadn't felt queasy seeing his dad, he wasn't going to be taking any chances.
Michael took a look at the note Abigail wrote to him. He was glad the procedure was as successful as it could be. ‘I wish I could see her, but unfortunately it is out of the question right now, since I still have to stay put.' And she wasn't strong enough to come and see him, either. All the kind words made him a little teary-eyed, they meant so much to him. They also helped him to ignore the malicious people who misjudged him and didn't have his best interest at heart. He could only imagine what garbage the tabloids and the media reported about this incident, although he didn't really care to. They could be so disgusting. He couldn't understand how people could be so mean-spirited. Oh, well. He couldn't waste time dwelling on that.
Just then, a young lady with long brunette hair entered the room holding a basket. He presumed she was another fan of his, which she was. And she was also someone he invited to Neverland many years ago. She hoped he remembered her so she wouldn't feel like she made a fool of herself.
"Hey there, Michael. You remember me? My name is Eileen," she said.
'Eileen......' The name vaguely rang a bell with the singer, but he wasn't really sure why. He couldn't quite place her because she didn't look familiar...except for the hair. "I'm sorry...your name does sound familiar, but...where have we met?" His voice was almost back to normal at that point.
‘Oh. Well at least he knows my name. That means plan B is sure to jog his memory.' "I spent time at your ranch years ago. I still have the pictures of that visit." Eileen reached into the basket and pulled out a handful of pictures. Some of them were taken of her at the amusement park, and some she had gotten to pose with him. She showed them to Michael. As he looked through them, memories of her came back to him. The visit had occurred sometime in the Dangerous era. Oh, did she look grown up now.
Eileen watched the pop star look at the pictures, desperately hoping that she jogged his memory with them. She was glad when he said, "I do remember. This was 1992. It has been such a long time."
"That it has been. Ever since that day, I have been thinking of you and keeping up with the events going on in your life. It is so good to see you again, though if I had my way about it, I would not have wanted to see you here."
Michael felt the same way, although at first he did not recognize her. "That's good to hear. I had been thinking of you as well, and wondering what you have been doing with your life."
"Oh, I am a professional artist and clothes designer now," she told the singer.
"Wow. That is wonderful. I wish you all the best." The pop king was such a sucker for beautiful art and creativity.
"Thank you so much. By the way, I am so sorry about your accident. How do you feel now?"
"I'm still hurting. But I'm dealing with it the best I can."
"Well, that's good." The brunette felt bad that he was in pain, but at least he was alive. It had taken her awhile to get over the shock and anger that came over her when TMZ said he was dead. She nearly had a heart attack when she heard that. It just didn't seem right to her that one minute the media would say he was hospitalized and minutes later he was reported as dead. Especially considering that it first came from a news source that she did not trust at all. She previously had very little respect for TMZ before and now that Michael's brother Jermaine told the truth, she had absolutely NO respect for the reporters. They were more odious than she previously suspected. "I've brought you something. Hopefully it will help cheer you up." She handed him the basket.
"Thank you so much. God bless you." Michael looked at the gifts inside the basket. Inside it was a long sleeved black shirt with sequin decorations and stuff that said things like We Love You Michael, You Are My Angel, Michael Joe Jackson Will Always Be King of Pop and some get well wishes on it, a very large card which contained signatures from numerous people, an apricot, some glazed donuts, and one of Michael's favorite milk chocolates. Michael's eyes filled with tears. This was so nice and thoughtful of her. And he especially loved the shirt. He could see how talented an artist she was.
"Did you make this shirt?" he asked.
Eileen nodded proudly. "That I did. Do you like it?"
"I love it. You did such a great job. And thanks for the apricots, donuts and chocolate."
The 25 year old decided to flirt a little. "You're welcome. Anything for my angel."
The singer couldn't help but giggle a bit at that.
"Excuse me, miss."
Eileen nearly jumped a mile at the gruff voice. She turned around and saw a doctor looking at his watch. "Your visitation is over. Mr. Jackson needs his rest."
Michael fought the urge to groan at this. The doctors were so strict. All he did was rest. He could get bored with that rather quickly. He was so glad that Lissie and his family were on the list of people who could visit anytime they wanted to.
But Eileen did not mind. She was just glad she got to give the gift to her idol. "Well, looks like I'd better get going. I hope you feel better. I love you very much. "
"I love you more. Thank you for the wishes and once again for the gifts. It was good seeing you again after all those years."
"Likewise. Goodbye. Will visit you again soon." She bent over and hugged him gently. He hugged her, just the same.
"Take care of yourself. Goodbye."
"Will do." She gave him the peace sign and with that she left the room.
(London)
Alison was on her way to her first day of work. She didn't feel much like working. She was still depressed about Michael. Although she was glad that he hadn't died, she knew the concert dates would be pushed back quite a bit, and the new date was indefinite. So it could be at least two months before they began. She had been looking forward to those concerts for a long while. And her hatred for most media outlets, which was strong enough, had intensified thanks to the stunt the reporters at TMZ pulled. So she didn't watch anymore of the news stations after that day. She turned on the radio to see what the news was saying.
'The pop star Michael Jackson is still hospitalized and is improving steadily. He has received visits from numerous celebrity friends and fans. Fans from all over the world have dedicated dance videos to him to the songs he is set to perform at the London concerts. News on when those concerts will begin is still unknown. A dedication concert is in the works by his siblings. This concert will feature many of the most successful artists as well as musicians that Jackson has worked with. Details on the date of this concert will be coming as soon as we get more information. Also there has been another interesting twist of events. One of Jackson's accusers, Jordan Chandler has come forth and apologized to the singer, saying that he lied about the allegations, and his father had forced him to accuse Jackson sixteen years ago. Jordan, now 29, has videotaped this message and it will be shown on World News Tonight. Now that he doesn't have contact with his father, he says he plans to return the money that Jackson had paid in the civil-out of court settlement. If this is true, it looks like Jackson was 100% innocent of the crime and he will be shown in a new light. If these concerts go according to plan, it looks like his name will no longer be tarnished.'
'It's about time,' Allie thought, regarding the news about Jordan Chandler. She wondered what was taking him so long. For many years she despised him and his father for ruining Michael's life. She applauded him for being out of touch with his father eventually because of the way he was abused. She mellowed a bit in her hatred, though, since Jordan was under the influence of a controversial sedative that made people blatantly tell lies. She knew there was not much he could do in that case, and it was dirty of Evan to brainwash him that way. But she also knew it took a lot for someone to break free from manipulations, and to take responsibility for what he/she did. But she was also a little bit cynical about the accuser's motive for the apology, though, because it came right after the singer had to be hospitalized. ‘He is lucky Michel survived...otherwise his apology would mean nothing. I wonder if the Arvisos will do the same. After all, they caused Michael far more pain than the Chandler have.' She thought it was really nice of Michael's family to dedicate a concert to him. She was looking forward to seeing how it would be put together and watching it, whenever it took place.
After work that afternoon, Alyssa drove straight to the hospital to see Michael. Naturally she would go home first to spend a little time with the kids and they all would visit together, but not this time. She was too worried for Michael to do that. She did, however, call Kai on her cell phone to let her know she wouldn't be home right away and to let the Paris and her siblings know, just so they wouldn't worry.
‘Oh, I hate to do this. I hope Paris and her brothers won't be too mad at me for visiting their dad without them, but I cannot help it. Michael could be dying. ‘ A terrible thought came to her that she might be too late and Michael might be already dead. The feelings that the dream left her with were too strong to just shrug off. She spent the whole time at work worrying about this...so much so that for the first time since the incident occurred, she had a hard time being alert. And she had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. Although Anastasia tried her hardest to comfort her by assuring her it was only a dream, she didn't feel much better. Luckily, Stacey was understanding and patient about it. She had even told her to let her emotions out if she had to and not worry about embarrassing herself in public. Well, Lissie brought a towel with her just in case she needed to. She had never driven so fast in her life. She usually just drove the speed limit and this time she exceeded it by 5 miles. She parked in the driveway of the hospital, and when she saw no cars coming, she raced inside, and briskly jogged through the halls. She could feel people staring at her for how frantic she seemed, but she didn't care. Once outside Michael's hospital room, she slowed down a bit. She was panting by then. She took a deep breath, dabbed at her eyes a bit, and then walked inside. She saw that Michael was lying down, not necessarily sleeping but resting. She sat in the chair next to his bed and held one of his slightly discolored hands. It was still extremely warm, but that wasn't enough to take her fears away.
"Michael....." Lissie began in a wavery voice, "I am glad your condition keeps on improving every time I visit you, but just in case that begins to change, I want to tell you something while I still have the chance. I want to thank you for all you've done for me ever since we've met. You're so much like a second father to me, and you are such a wonderful friend as well. And I was happy that I was able to help you in any way I could. When you were hurt, I was devastated. Not to worry, I will keep on helping to look after your children. I am so glad I got to know you. Nothing will change the way I feel about you. Oh Michael.........."
Saying those words and the fact that the dream kept coming back to her, not to mention his children's sadness, made her unable to fight the tears any longer. She let go of his hand, buried her head near his shoulder, and started to.......sob. She felt like she really needed to let out all the heartache. She cried so much that she could feel a headache coming on. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and she didn't want the kids to be without a father at such tender ages.
Such grief, such heartache........all of this was too much for the crooner to bear. The doom and gloom speech was bad enough, but Lissie's crying he equated to seeing a child suffer, even though she was a young woman. He didn't think tears suited her at all, especially not when she sounded so anguished. He proceeded to stroke her head, and adjusted the bed so he was sitting up. He wrapped his arms around her. She buried her head in his shoulder and wept some more. It felt so good for her to let her emotions out. ‘Sheesh, I'm so pathetic! I had better stop or my headache will get worse or I'll turn into a prune.' She did manage to calm down, sort of-at least enough so her voice would be under control. "Why are you crying?" he asked.
At this point Lissie's crying subsided a bit. She dried her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Oh, Michael, I am so scared for you," she answered, sniffling. She told him about the dream she had the night before.
Oh. No wonder she was upset. He would feel the same. But he wanted her to know he was still there. "It's only a dream. This injury will not kill me."
She wanted to believe him, but she never knew what would happen. "I hope not. I don't know what I will do without you. You mean the world to me, and you deserve to be around your children for a long time."
"It's all right. Please don't cry. It hurts me to see you this way." Michael so wanted to make her feel better, and for her to see that he was still there. He proceeded to sing his version of Charlie Chaplin's song, Smile to her.
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile
With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just...
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just...
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by...
If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile...
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
His soft, tenor voice was so euphoric. Lissie felt a little better. If only she could try to smile in a situation like this. "All right. I'll do it for you."
"Good. And know that no matter what happens, I will be with you."
"Thanks, Michael. I love you very much."
"I love you more."