Catherine heard whimpering before she opened her eyes. Jackie was moving restlessly beside her with tears running down her face.
"What's wrong?" Catherine asked with concern.
"It hurts," Jackie moaned quietly.
Catherine carefully got out of bed and was worried that she was hurting her. She knew it wasn't a good idea to get into bed with her.
"Did I do something? Why didn't you wake me?" She asked, pressing the button for the nurse.
"No, the medicine is just wearing off. I didn't want to wake you. I know you haven't slept much."
"Jackie, you're not bothering me. I'm here to help."
"Please call the nurse."
Catherine could tell Jackie was trying her hardest to be brave in front of her.
"I did. Do you want ice?"
"No."
"What hurts?"
"Everything," Jackie said, out of breath.
It killed Catherine seeing her in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it. The nurse finally came in and was one that they hadn't met yet.
"What can I do for you?" She asked.
"She's ready for her pain meds," Catherine replied.
The nurse checked her chart and then looked up at the clock.
"She's not due for pain medication for another hour and a half."
"But she's in a lot of pain. Isn't there anything you can do?" Catherine insisted.
"I'm sorry but the earliest I can do is in an hour."
The nurse walked over and checked Jackie's vitals.
"Just try and get some sleep, Honey. I'll make sure I'm back in time."
Catherine looked down at Jackie, who was now taking fast and shallow breaths, and was writing in pain.
"What can I do?" Catherine asked, feeling heartbroken.
"I don't know," Jackie cried.
Catherine went into the bathroom. She retrieved a washcloth and ran it under cool water. She came back out and placed it on Jackie's forehead.
"Try to control your breathing. I know it's hard but it will help. Trust me."
Catherine held the washcloth on Jackie's head with one hand and softly ran her fingertips down Jackie's arm with the other. This seemed to work for a little while, but Jackie couldn't stay stronger any longer and began to moan in pain again. She began to grip the sheets.
Catherine offered her hand.
"Squeeze it as hard as you want."
Jackie took hold but hardly squeezed. That's just the type of person she was.
"You won't hurt me. Do it."
"I don't want to," Jackie shouted and pulled her hand away.
It was almost unreal that a few hours ago, Jackie was laughing and joking while Catherine laid in bed with her. Now she was in unbearable pain. Clearly the drugs had just been an illusion. In reality, Jackie was significantly injured and it was going to be a long road to recovery.
"15 minutes," Catherine said while looking up at the clock. "You got this."
Jackie squeezed her eyes shit and her face was wincing. She let go of Catherine's hand and placed her hand over her eyes.
"You don't have to be strong right now," Catherine said softly.
"It hurts so fucking bad!" Jackie cried. "It literally feels like someone is turning my body inside out. I just want to go home."
"I wish I could take it away."
Jackie unexpectedly grabbed Catherine's arm with strong grip.
"Go and get the nurse."
"You heard what she said-"
"I don't care. Great her please!" Jackie said sternly, pressing her fingers into Catherine's arm.
"Okay, okay I'll see what I can do," Catherine pressed the button and then went into the hall; rubbing her arm and noticing the imprints Jackie left.
She saw the nurse coming own the hall and Catherine waved to her to come.
"I know you said an hour minimum but she literally can't handle it anymore. If you aren't going to do anything, can you at least come and talk to her? I don't have the heart to go back empty handed."
The nurse followed Catherine back into Jackie's room.
"I know it hurts Honey, but I literally cannot give you anything for another 15 minutes," the nurse told Jackie.
"PLEASE! I will sign whatever you need for you to give me something!" Jackie cried.
"I'm sorry but it doesn't work that way. I promise you that I will be back. I'll go and get it ready now," she said as she walked out.
"Do you want the washcloth back on your forehead?" Catherine asked Jackie.
"No."
Catherine cautiously went back to the bed and began rubbing her arm, but Jackie pulled it away again.
"Please don't touch me."
"Okay, I'm sorry."
Jackie placed her arm back over eyes and breather deeply. They didn't speak until the nurse finally came back in.
"You made it!" The nurse said cheerfully.
Jackie wasn't having it. She just wanted the medication to pump into her veins as soon as possible. After she watched it being injected into her IV, she closed her eyes and hoping it would kick in quickly. Once the pain reached a tolerable level, she turned to Catherine and was feeling embarrassed.
When she looked over, Catherine was staring down at her arm and rubbing it.
"Did I hurt you?" Jackie asked.
The way Catherine looked up at her, it showed Jackie that she did but Catherine was trying to disguise it.
"No."
"Yes I did. I'm so sorry."
"You do not need to apologise. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of pain you are in. I just wish there was more that I could do."
"You being here is just enough. I'm embarrassed that I acted that way."
"I would have been much worse," Catherine smiled.
"Yeah, you would have," Jackie laughed. "Come back to bed?"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"I told you. You didn't hurt me. Come on...I know you're tired and I know that chair isn't comfortable."
"You need your rest. I'll be just fine here."
****
The next morning, Catherine was sitting on Jackie's bed feeding her jello. A few minutes later, Jackie's focus abruptly shifted towards the door.
She looked like she had just seen a ghost.
"Well hello Jacqueline."
Catherine looked back and saw a middle aged woman, who seemed quite older than Catherine, with blonde hair standing in the doorway. At first, she thought it was Jackie's lawyer.
Until Jackie spoke, "Hi mum."
Catherine's heart dropped. Not knowing what to do and decided to get off the bed.
"I'll leave you two alone," Catherine said.
"No. Stay," Jackie replied.
Catherine shot Jackie a look. The uneasiness caused her stomach to turn. She didn't even know if Jackie's mother knew who she was.
"How come I had to find out through the news that my only daughter was almost killed in a car accident?"
"Well, I've been a little preoccupied," Jackie replied back sharply, motioning to her crippled body.
"And Wade or your assistant couldn't have called?"
"I'm neither one of those people so I can't answer to them."
"It's been three days. I think you could have called."
"We didn't exactly end on good terms."
The hostility between the two of them made Catherine wish she was anywhere but here.
"Jackie, that doesn't mean you're not still my daughter."
Jackie didn't say anything and just stared at her mother.
"And who are you?" Her mother asked, finally acknowledging Catherine's presence.
"Catherine. It's nice to meet you," Catherine replied and offered her hand.
"Catherine Stark?"
Catherine looked at Jackie first and then smiled hesitantly.
"Yes that's me."
"Well that explains why you didn't call," Jackie's mum said to Jackie as she shifted her gaze back to her daughter and failed to return Catherine's handshake.
"If you're going to be rude, you can go ahead and leave," Jackie responded.
Catherine finally got the nerve to excuse herself, once she realised she was part of the issue.
"Jackie, I'll be back later. I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about. It was really nice meeting you," she said quickly, not waiting for a response she knew she wouldn't get.
****
As soon as Catherine got to the elevators, she ran into Rachel.
"Oh, thank God."
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked with worry.
"Jackie's mother just arrived. She didn't seem too keen on me so I gave them some room, but will you go? I think Jackie needs some support and I'm clearly just making things worse."
"Oh God. We didn't call her," Rachel said, covering her mouth with her hands and was mortified.
"Yeah, she's not too happy."
"Okay. I'll take care of it."
"Thanks. Can you let Jackie know that I will be back soon?"
"No problem, wish me luck."
"You need it," Catherine smirked.
****
Back in the hospital room, things weren't going any better between Jackie and her mum now that they were alone.
"Are you okay? You look awful," Jackie's mum asked.
"Thanks mum. You always had a way with words," Jackie replied sarcastically.
"Oh stop it. Is it anything serious?"
"Just a few broken bones and stitches."
"Knock knock," Rachel said as she appeared at the door.
"Hey Rachel, this is-"
"Your mother," Rachel replied, finishing Jackie's sentence. "It's my pleasure. I'm Jackie's assistant."
"So you're the one who didn't call me."
Rachel was taken aback by her remark.
"I apologise. Jackie's phone was ruined in the crash and things have just been so hectic. I called everyone's number I had."
"I should have been notified."
"I agree Mrs. Kirk. I'm very sorry."
"Could you give me a minute alone with my daughter?"
"Actually, I was just coming to tell Jackie that the lawyers would be here at 4pm."
"Well what do we have here. A party?" The nurse asked as she entered the room. "Jackie, I'm sorry to interrupt but we need to take you down to Radiology to make sure everything is still looking good. The doctor is coming to check on you in a bit and asked to provide him new X-Rays."
"Damn it. Did you hear that mum? I gotta go," Jackie said to her mum.
"I'll wait," her mother replied.
****
When Catherine returned to the hospital, Jackie's room was dark and her eyes were closed. She cautiously entered and looked around, making sure her mother wasn't there.
"Don't worry. Rachel took my mum down to the cafeteria," Jackie smiled, as she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry, were you trying to sleep?"
"No, it's okay. Just waiting for the pain killers to do their thing. The doctor is going to be in soon to check on me."
"So how did things go with your mum?"
Catherine wasn't sure how else to bring it up other than being completely blunt.
"Not good. She started hounding on Rachel for not calling her, but then I was saved by the nurse who took me down to do my X-Ray. When I came back, she was driving me crazy and my pain was increasing. So she finally agreed to go and get a bite with Rachel so I could rest."
"I'm sorry that I left. I figured you two needed some space since you haven't talked in a while. She didn't seem too thrilled to see me though. I'm assuming she knows something about me, considering her reaction."
"Hence, why we haven't spoken in almost a year," Jackie revealed.
"What did you tell her?"
"We had began getting closer for once in our lives and I confided in her, but she sent ballistic. She says I'm just going through some weird phase in my life."
"Ah."
Before they could go into it any further, the doctor entered.
"Good afternoon Ms. Kirk, how are you feeling?"
"The pain meds are starting to kick in. So am feeling okay for now."
"That's understandable. You're going to be sore for a while."
He began to unbandage the gauze around her head.
"The stitches seem to be healing nicely. Can you hit the lights?" He asked the nurse.
Once the lights were off, he shined a flashlight into Jackie's eyes.
"Good. Are you still experiencing headaches? Dizziness?"
"Yes."
"Nothing looks too concerning. Your concussion shouldn't be anything to worry about. Now let's take a look at that shoulder. Your X-Rays looked promising as expected."
Catherine watched as he removed the bandages and lowered Jackie's gown. The entire right side of her body was black and blue. Stitches lining the upper part of her shoulder. Catherine had never seen such a sight in real life. The doctor placed his fingers on Jackie's ribs and she winced.
"I know, I'm sorry. Now can you slowly lift your arm for me?" The doctor asked, as she took hold of her elbow and shoulder.
Jackie noticed the look on Catherine's face as she looked at her mangled body. Thoughts of self consciousness suddenly ran through her mind. Did Catherine still find her attractive? Would she be able to handle this? The tenderness she felt, as the doctor poked her ribs, brought her back to reality. She tried her hardest to raise her arm but it was seemingly impossible.
"That's okay, we expected this. With work, it will get back to where it is. Everything is really looking well for you so we need to start talking about discharging you. Now don't worry, we will give you the medication you need, but you can ride this out at the comfort of your own home until it's time for physical therapy."
"I just need to ask something," Catherine chimed in. "Her apartment is not ideal. She lives on the third floor and there is no elevator."
"That's why she will be staying with us," Jackie's mother said as she stormed back into the room.
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¸