Catherine's heart sank deep into her stomach as soon as she laid eyes on Jackie. Her entire face was swollen and bruised. Gauze was covered the majority of her forehead and an oxygen mask was covering the rest. Her right arm was bandaged in a sling and her right lower leg in a cast.
"I know it's a lot to look at but she's going to be fine. The leg was just a fracture, but she's still going to be off her feet for several weeks."
Catherine felt his hand on her shoulder.
"You can go and sit with her. She should be up in about an hour or so. I'll be back later to explain everything to her."
"Thank you," Catherine replied softy, unable to say anything else.
She walked over and stood above Jackie, closely studying her injuries.
"Oh Porcupine..." She whispered.
She leaned down and gently kissed Jackie's forehead, before pulling the chair over to the bed and taking her hand. She kissed it gently, not wanting to cause her anymore pain.
"I'm so sorry."
Why had she let such trivial things get between them? Jackie did so much for her and Catherine let her fear of other people's opinions get in the way of their happiness. From taking a beating from classmates to going against her PR team, Jackie had always put herself on the line for Catherine.
A nurse suddenly entered the room and interrupted Catherine's thoughts.
"Don't mind me Sweetie. I'm just coming to get her vitals."
Catherine just looked up and smiled politely.
"Is she your sister?"
"No, she's my girlfriend," Catherine said softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry Honey. I shouldn't have assumed."
"Don't be. It's going to take some time for me to get use to saying that myself."
"Everything looks great. You give this button a push when she wakes up, okay Sweetie?"
"I will, thank you."
****
Jackie woke up to a loud beeping. She was incredibly drowsy. Her body and face felt heavy and weighted down. Everything was tingling yet aching and her head was pounding. When she tried opening her eyes, they wouldn't open all the way. Everything was blurry but she could see the swollen features of her face crowding her vision.
When her eyes began to focus some, she looked around and started to notice the machines and tubes consuming her body. She was in a hospital. Frightened, her breathing began to increase and she stared to feel like she was suffocating.
She saw her hot breath fogging the oxygen mask that was covering her nose and mouth, so she lifted her arm to remove it but it wouldn't move. She twitched her other hand but it too was weighted down. The beeping of the machines increased as she began to panic, watching her chest raise up and down as she struggled to breathe.
Suddenly she saw the outline of a person hovering over her and her hand was finally freeing. She brought it to her face and grabbed the mask to remove it.
"Jackie, shhh... You're okay."
The voice was comforting and familiar.
"It's Catherine. I'm here. You're going to be okay."
Catherine was here. What happened? Where were they?
"Nurse!" Catherine shouted as she banged on the buttons of a remote.
A nurse ran in and placed the mask back on Jackie's face as she struggled with her to take it off again.
"Honey, you need this to breathe. Take nice slow breaths," she said as she held it down on Jackie's face.
Jackie looked at Catherine with desperation and grabbed her arm. She could see the fear in Catherine's eyes, even through the fogginess.
"Can't she take it off for a minute? Please, just until she calms down?" Catherine asked the nurse.
The nurse finally agreed and Catherine gently caressed the side of her face as Jackie tried to slow her breathing.
"Do you know what happened, Honey?" The nurse asked.
Jackie slowly shook her head. No.
"You were in a car accident but you're going to be just fine."
Jackie glanced down at her bandaged body and felt her tears slip down her cheeks, as she tried to steady her breathing. She was terrified of her unknown condition.
"Hey," Catherine said softly.
Jackie looked at her.
"You're okay, nothing too serious. I promise," Catherine said as she wiped her tears.
"How is your pain level? Would you like some medicine?" The nurse asked.
Jackie shook her head. Yes.
The pain in her head was unbearable and the aching throughout her body was quickly sharpening.
The look in Jackie's eyes, when the nurse was pressing the mask down on her face, broke Catherine's heart. She was terrified and grasping for Catherine to help her. Once her breaking began to regulate, the nurse went to retrieve the pain medicine and left them alone.
"I am so sorry Porcupine. I should have been there."
Jackie squeezed her hand.
"Here you go Sweetie," the nurse said when she returned. "This is going to make you drowsy so you're probably going to fall back asleep."
"Water," Jackie tried to say, but her voice was scarce.
"I can't give you water yet but I can get you something to help alleviate some of the dryness."
She removed a stick with a small sponge at the end of it from a wrapper. After dipping it in water, she applied it to Jackie's dry and cracked lips.
"You can do this for her as much as she wants. Just don't let her swallow too much water. I'll leave you two alone," the nurse said, placing the mask back on Jackie's face. "Page me if you need anything else. Get some rest, Sweetheart."
Jackie could feel the medicine quickly kicking in. Her eyes began to feel heavy as the tingling increased, rushing through her veins. She looked up at Catherine, wanting to know the whole story, but she was too tired to try and speak. Her drowsiness heightened, jumbling her thoughts and dragging her back into unconsciousness.
She felt Catherine taking her hand and whispered how sorry she was again. Trying to fight the affects for a little longer, she reached up to lift the mask but Catherine placed her hand on it.
"You need to keep it on. I know it's uncomfortable. I'm sorry."
Jackie pointed to her heart but Catherine didn't understand.
"Does your chest hurt?"
Jackie slowly shook her head to tell her no. Then pointed to the mask again.
"Just for a minute. Just so you can tell me what's wrong," Catherine said as she gently lifted the mask from Jackie's face.
Jackie swallowed and tried her hardest to speak.
"I love you," she whispered, hoping Catherine could understand before allowing the drugs to completely consume her.
"I love you too Porcupine," Catherine said as she kissed her hand once more.
Jackie's eyes were hardly opening now.
"You can go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."
Jackie's thumb weakly rubbed her hand until it finally stopped moving, causing Catherine to completely break down for the first time.
****
"Honey, there are family rooms that you can stay in down the hall. Why don't you go and take a nap?" The nurse said as she came in and woke up Catherine.
"I'm fine," Catherine replied, rubbing her eyes.
"I can wake you when she wakes up again," the nurse insisted.
"Thank you but I don't want to leave her."
****
An hour later, Catherine grabbed a quick coffee from the waiting room. When she returned, Jackie was whimpering in her sleep. Sweating and trembling. Catherine set the coffee down and sat on the bed, placing the back of her hand on Jackie's forehead. She was burning up.
Jackie slowly opened her eyes and looked at Catherine.
"Are you in pain?" Catherine asked.
Jackie shook her head. Yes. Her swollen face wincing.
"Okay, I'll call the nurse."
After the nurse administered the medicine, she raised Jackie's bed slightly.
"The doctor is on his way to come and talk to you."
Catherine grabbed one of the sponges and slowly drug it across Jackie's lips. She then picked up a cool wash cloth and carefully dabbed Jackie's forehead. When she glanced down at her, their eyes met.
"I'm beginning to think you just really enjoy me taking care of your poor head."
Jackie attempted a smile and Catherine kissed her forehead before a knock was on the door. It was the doctor and he entered. Catherine slid off the bed and held Jackie's hand.
"Well, hi there Miss Kirk. I'm your surgeon, Dr. Jones, and I'm here to talk to you about the extent of your injuries. Are you aware that you were in a car accident?"
Jackie shook her head. Yes.
"Do you remember the accident?"
Jackie let go of Catherine's hand and slowly moved it sideways.
"Okay well, you were a passenger in a vehicle that collided into a telephone pole. You dislocated your shoulder, which needed to be operated on, as there was a tear in your ligament and some glass from the window that needed to be removed. Everything looks good though from that standpoint, but you will need some physical therapy to help regain full mobility of it. You also fractured your leg, which was casted as you can see, and have a few bruised ribs that will be tender for a while. The windshield also shattered, which resulted in lacerations to your forehead. So you have several stitches but not to worry because the scaring will be very minimal. Now, do you have any questions for me?"
Jackie stared forward in shock and shook her head to tell him no.
"Okay, well, we want to keep you in for a few days for observation. So I will be back daily to check in, in case you think of any questions later."
As soon as he left, Jackie lifted her hand up to feel her face but Catherine stopped her.
"The swelling will go down. You're still beautiful, don't worry."
"You have quite the girlfriend here. She stayed by your side the entire time," the nurse winked. "I'll give you two some privacy. I do have a treat for you though. The doctor gave the okay to move you up to ice chips," she said as she placed the cup down. "Next will be getting you off the oxygen mask, which I'm sure you're looking forward to."
Jackie didn't respond. Still just staring straight ahead and trying to absorb everything. After a couple minutes of silence had past, Catherine stood up.
"Ice?" She asked, shaking the cup and smiled.
Jackie nodded and lifted her hand to remove the mask but struggled.
"Here, let me," Catherine said as she set down the cup and gently removed it.
Jackie placed her hand on Catherine's arm and looked at her through her swollen face. Catherine smiled and softly rubbed her finger on her cheek.
"Tommy?" Jackie whispered.
"He's okay. Just stitches and a sprain. I know it's hard but try and rest your poor voice. It sounds so painful."
After her first bite, Jackie spoke again.
"Girlfriend?"
Catherine smiled.
"Yes. You know, you didn't have to go through such great lengths to get me to stop being so stubborn."
Jackie smiled but they were interrupted when Rachel bursted through the door.
"Jackie!"
"Careful," Catherine warned.
"You're up! I'm so happy to see you. Look at you, you poor thing. Are you in a lot of pain?"
"She can't talk well yet. The nurse just came by and gave her some pain medicine, and the doctor just left."
"Oh, so she knows what happened?"
"Yes."
"Man, it sure didn't take long for the media to get the scoop. It's all over the news and the paparazzi are lined up outside, waiting for the police to come and take Tommy."
Catherine winced at Rachel's remark when she saw Jackie's reaction.
"Shit. Did I say something that I shouldn't have?" Rachel asked.
"Cops?" Jackie whispered hoarsely.
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸