A/n: In this chapter, there is a person that Jackie bumped into and her name is Sandy. She was the girl that punched Jackie in the face in the movie.
The feelings overcome Jackie once more. Relief and happiness like she had never experienced before. Her body was relaxed and the pain faded away as the drugs settled in. The small things made Jackie to create so much gratitude at that moment. Pillows propped up around her, wearing her own clothes  and most importantly, Catherine and Ethan on either side of her to supply her unconditional love.
Despite her physical ailments, Jackie was extraordinarily happy in that moment. Doing absolutely nothing, yet having everything she had ever wanted right there on that couch.
That first week proved to be a learning process. As happy as Catherine was to be home, transitioning into the role of Jackie's sole care provider proved to be more strenuous than she had ever imagined. Between keeping up with pill regimes and the spirometer, being Jackie's physical crutch, cooking, and keeping her comfortable; Catherine was left with little time for her own needs.
On top of it all, Jackie was still waking up in the middle of the night in pain and the couch was beginning to run its course on Catherine's back. Catherine yearned for a goodnight sleep up in her own bed, considering it had been weeks. She was drinking multiple cups of coffee a day just to get by, which was unusual for her, and her body was beginning to punish her. Keeping up her cheerful demeanour to keep Jackie's spirits high was an obstacle all in itself, but she was managing. She had to. She was to blame for all of this. To top it off, she currently had woken with a headache that was only increasing in pain as the day went on.
Jackie looked over at Catherine as she revealed in her happiness, but the sunlight streaming in through the windows revealed a different sight. One that was hard to see. Catherine's eye lids drooped before finally closing as she rubbed the bridge between them. Where her eyelashes ended, dark deep circles began and below them, puffy bags billowed from the tops of her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, they showed a tint of red and no longer were as big and vibrant. They used to be so full of life, as they usually were.
Jackie suddenly felt an extreme sense of guilt. Catherine had been at her beck and call around the clock for two weeks, and it just now became apparent to her that it was slowly draining ever ounce of life from her. Of course it was. How was she just now seeing this? Jackie watched as she blinked her eyes a few times, trying to wake herself up, before looking at the clock and beginning to stand.
"Where are you going?" Jackie asked.
"To fix dinner," Catherine smiled.
Her smile looked so genuine. It could deceive anyone. Obviously, since she had Jackie convinced, but that was the end of it. Now Jackie saw, really saw her.
"Sit back down," Jackie said as she patted the couch. "Let's order pizza tonight."
"That sounds wonderfully actually," Catherine sighed. "I'll go and order. Do you need anything from the kitchen?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Okay," Catherine smiled as she began to walk away.
"Catherine?"
"Yes?" Catherine replied, turning her body around.
"Are you alright?" Jackie asked compassionately.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She replied with confusion.
"You look off."
After two weeks of being told how terrible she looked, Jackie learned the appropriate way of asking someone, who obviously wasn't feeling up to par, how they were feeling.
"I'm okay. Just a headache. I'm going to go and take some aspirin and I'll be good as new," Catherine smiled.
****
When Catherine got upstairs, she looked at herself in the mirror. No wonder Jackie said something. She looked absolutely terrible. After swallowing a few aspirin tablets, she splashed some cold water on her face; hoping to look rejuvenated.
As she made her way back downstairs, she glanced at Jackie's bed. She was thrilled to be able to squeeze in a decent amount of sleep before having to give Jackie her meds.
****
Jackie woke up in excruciating pain as per usual. Her leg was throbbing, her shoulder was piercing. It was 2:30am and Catherine was sound asleep on the couch. Wanting to give her the night off, she tried lifting herself. The pain in her shoulder was tearing through her arm as she moved. Jackie was biting down on her lip to prevent from making any noise. She finally sat up and carefully swung her casted legs over the bed to bring the other with it. Then she reached for her crutch that was resting against the wall. She almost knocked it over, then froze and glanced at Catherine but she didn't even stir. She extended her arm as far as she could, leaning forward, at last she grabbed hold of it and carefully tilted it back towards her.
This was the first time she didn't have anyone helping her stand, so she took a minute to prepare herself. Grabbing the crutch she held tightly to it and put all of her weight on her left leg. Biting down on her lip even harder to subdue the pain that felt like lightning bolts flashing through her body.
The pain was unbearable and it was taking every ounce of her foot to make a peep the last few feet. Once she had the pills in her hand, she struggled to balance on the crutch while trying  to open the bottle. Frustrated, she attempted to use her teeth. When that didn't work, she squeezed the bottle as tightly as she could; sending more pain up her shoulder. She used her good arm to twist the child proof cap. Jackie felt it click but the relief didn't last long. Her eagerness caused her to lose grip on the bottle and spilled every single pill across the kitchen floor.
"Fucking perfect!" She whispered in a pissed off tone.
While trying to carefully get to the floor, she dropped her crutch. It caused both her and her crutch to slam to the floor. She let out a shriek before covering her mouth one handed to try and smother her cries.
Catherine jumped up from her deep sleep. She looked over and saw Jackie was missing from her bed. She ran towards the noise. From the living room, Catherine could see Jackie on the kitchen floor.
"Jackie!" She yelled as she rushed into the kitchen. "What happened? Are you okay?!"
Catherine began to put her arms around her to help get her up but Jackie cried out.
"No! Please, just get me the pills first."
Catherine hurried to the sink and got a glass of water as Jackie grabbed the closest pills from the floor.
"Are you hurt?" Catherine asked, closely studying her body for any indications.
"I don't think so. Just give me a minute," Jackie said as she was concentrating on her breathing.
Catherine sat next to her on he floor. She was worried and unsure of what to do. Should she take her to the hospital? As Jackie took her time to recover from the fall, Catherine began picking up the pills.
"Can we get you up off the floor yet?"
"Yeah," Jackie replied back quietly.
Catherine helped her stand but as they slowly began to walk, Jackie asked to stop at the table and sit first.
"Let me get the wheelchair."
When Catherine returned, she sat next to Jackie.
"What were you doing over there?"
"I needed my pills."
"Then why didn't you wake me?"
"I wanted to give you a night off," Jackie replied softly.
"It was just a headache. I'm fine," Catherine insisted.
"No you're not. I'm a lot to handle. I know that."
"You're not-"
"Catherine. Yes I am," Jackie stated matter of factory as she looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry it took me until today to see you."
"You could have really hurt yourself. Promise me you won't do that again," Catherine said, deflecting her statement.
That was the beginning of a change. From then on, Jackie made Catherine to lighten the load she was carrying and fight her urge to do everything for her. To compromise, Catherine would leave two pain pills and a glass of water by Jackie's bed every night, so she would no longer need to get up with her.
As much as she wanted her bed, she just couldn't risk leaving Jackie alone downstairs; especially after the stunt she pulled. She liked being close to her anyways. In a few days, they would be going back to California for a check up and hopefully would received good news. In the meantime, the extra sleep was doing wonders for Catherine. Also to her surprise, she received a phone call from Stanford about asking her to come for a second interview. She was hoping to be able to arrange having her interview after Jackie's appointment day.
****
Once they got back to California, they were able to make it to the hospital unnoticed. A smiling Rachel was meeting them there.
"You look so good! Rachel said as she embraced Jackie with a hug.
"I am. All thanks to Catherine," Jackie replied.
Catherine smiled down at her before giving Rachel a hug.
The doctor said that Jackie was healing nicely. No complications and he signed off to begin physical therapy.
"How soon until I get this cast off?" Jackie asked while knocking on her leg.
"A couple more weeks unfortunately. I'll give you a referral in Bloomington so you don't have to travel back here just for that."
Jackie was not pleased with his response.
Rachel booked a hotel room for them and would be staying with Jackie while Catherine went to Stanford for her interview. After giving detailed instructions, Catherine hugged Jackie goodbye for the first time since her accident. She was hesitant to leave her.
"Break a leg!" Jackie shouted as Catherine was walking out.
"Probably not the best thing to say right now," Rachel said, as she looked at Jackie's cast.
Catherine laughed.
"Don't have too much fun without me girls. Also, don't let that one pull a fast one on you Rachel," Catherine warned and pointed to Jackie.
Jackie dropped her mouth in offence.
"Me? Never !"
Catherine just shot her a wink before heading off to the airport.
****
Once checking in at Stanford, Catherine sprawled out on the King sized beg she had to herself. The first bed she laid on in three weeks. She turned off the light, eager to enjoy it and the eight hours of restful and uninterrupted sleep that she would be able to get. However, something happened. Something she hadn't planned. She opened her eyes and was suddenly missing the close proximity to Jackie and the luxury of knowing that she was okay.
Catherine reached for her phone and texted Jackie, just to check in.
C: How are you doing?
Jackie laughed when she saw the message notification light up on her phone.
"What's so funny?" Rachel asked.
"Catherine's already worried about me," she replied, lifting her phone and showing Rachel the screen.
"Aww, she loves you," Rachel teased.
Jackie just smiled and wrote Catherine a reply back.
J: I'm fine, stop worrying ;) I'm in good hands.
C: I know you are. Don't hesitate to call. Promise?
J: Promise. Enjoy your vacation from me :) and good luck for tomorrow. Call me after the interview.
Even though they had been joking, calling this Catherine's vacation, Catherine hoped Jackie didn't think any part of that was true.
C: I miss you Porcupine.
J: I miss you too. Now get some sleep!
"So how had it been back in Bloomington? Everything you imagined it to be?" Rachel asked.
"Yes and no. Yes for the fact that it was great, but I'm sick of being this way and having to rely on Catherine so much. I know it's beating her down."
"Honestly, it's probably helping her though. I don't think you realised how guilty she felt about all of this. It tore her up inside and probably still does. Being able to help you heal is most likely helping her heal as well."
"The last thing I want is our relationship to turn into more of a patient/nurse scenario out of guilt, rather than a genuine one."
"That's not what I meant. She loves you so much. I can see it and could see it before you guys even told me. She didn't leave your bedside the entire time you were here and it wasn't based off guilt. She just loved you so much that she couldn't bare to leave you for even a second."
Jackie just smiled.
"Yeah, you're right. I've just been feeling a little insecure lately and can't wait to get back to my old self."
****
The next day, while waiting for Catherine to return to Los Angeles, Jackie asked Rachel if they could stop by her apartment to get a few things.
"I can't get you up those steps," Rachel told Jackie.
"I know. I can wait in the car. Please!"
After convincing Rachel, she handed her a list of things and whereabouts.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Rachel said before disappearing into Jackie's apartment building and left her alone in the car.
Jackie stared out the window, dreaming about the cappuccinos they were going to get at her favourite coffees shop down the street.
It was until she spotted him. The paparazzi. He was looking closely at her in the slyest way possible, before slowly reaching for what looked like a camera. Jackie quickly looked down and was hoping she was just being paranoid.
"Jacqueline Kirk?"
She heard her name through the glass. Nope. Definitely not being paranoid. Not even bothering to look up, she dialled Rachel. Suddenly two more men showed up and they all began shouting at her.
"Jacqueline, how are you? Are you pressing charges against Tommy? Have you talked to him?"
Jackie couldn't take it anymore and was trying to tell Rachel to hurry up.
"Rachel, get down here. The paparazzi are here."
"Shit. Okay, I have a couple more things to grab."
"Forget about it. Just get down here please!"
The paparazzi wouldn't stop. They kept coming up to the window and yelling out questions.
"Jacqueline, how is your recovery going?"
Jackie didn't answer. She just kept her head down and covered her face as she saw the flashes reflecting off the windows. Finally, she heard Rachel's voice, as she was yelling at them to move when she hurried to the car.
"Jacqueline! How does it feel to single handed lay destroy Tommy's career?!"
"Those fucking idiots! Don't you listen to them Jackie!" Rachel told Jackie as she was fastening her seatbelt.
****
Rachel sped off, hoping to lose them before they reached their cars, but they caught up to them. She tried her best to weave between traffic but they stayed on her tail.
"Holy cow. They're even more relentless since you've been missing for so long. You're still a hot topic here."
Jackie's eyes were covered with her hands but she could feel the speed of the car.
"Rachel. Slow down," she whispered.
"You know a picture of you would go for thousands I bet," Rachel replied, ignoring her.
"Rachel, please slow down," she repeated, losing her breath as her heartbeat increased.
"Jacks. If I do, we would lead them straight back to the hotel," she replied, staring out her rear view mirror as she continued changing lanes.
"Rachel! Please just slow the fuck down!" Jackie yelled.
Rachel did what she asked almost immediately.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay? I don't know what to do, Jackie."
Jackie sat there and was hysterical. She was unable to breathe so Rachel called Wade and told him the predicament they were in.
After pulling into his building, security met them in a garage and took them up to his office. Jackie only sat there quietly.
Catherine saw Rachel's number pop up and panicked, considering what happened the last time she called.
"Rachel, is everything okay?"
"No really-but don't worry! I took Jackie to her apartment. She wanted me to grab a few things and while she waited for me in the car, the paparazzi spotted her. They followed us and Jackie freaked out. Right now we're at Wade's because I couldn't lose them."
Catherine made Rachel to give the phone to Jackie. Even though Jackie assured to Catherine that she was fine, Catherine could tell that she wasn't.
****
A couple of hours later, when Catherine landed in Los Angeles, she hurried to meet Jackie. Unable to get Jackie back to the hotel, Rachel went with security to gather their belongings as they snuck Jackie to the airport. Once they arrived there, Rachel met Catherine and led her to a private room that they were able to keep Jackie in until she arrived.
"She was really upset. I've never seen her like that before. I think it was a panic attack because she couldn't breathe," Rachel told Catherine.
When Catherine entered the room, she saw Jackie sitting in her wheel chair.
"Hey, are you okay?" Catherine asked, as she hugged her and kissed her forehead.
"Yeah. Just get me out of here."
****
After returning to Bloomington, things didn't go back the way they were. Jackie began seeming distant and her humour lessened. She began physical therapy on her shoulder, which left her tired and irritable, but Catherine knew it was deeper than that.
One day, when they were on their way home from Jackie's physical therapy appointment, a car pulled out in front of them and almost caused Catherine to wreck. She laid on her horn and cussed them out. Once her anger ceased, she glanced at Jackie and saw her breathing heavily but Jackie just credited her response to the shock of it.
Back home when they were eating dinner, Catherine decided to try to talk to Jackie about it; since it seemed as though she was struggling with something internally.
"I'm sorry about earlier."
"About what?" Jackie asked with confusion.
"In the car."
"It wasn't your fault. That guy cut you off."
"I know, but I could have handled it better."
Jackie just blew it off like it wasn't a big deal and continued to eat.
"Was that like what happened in LA?" Catherine asked bluntly.
"What do you mean?"
"With the paparazzi?"
"Sorta, just they're typical bullshit."
"You know, the doctor said that you would probably start to remember bits and pieces about the accident once some time has passed."
Jackie just stared at her fork before putting it down.
"I'm really tired from today. I think I'm going to go and lay down."
"Okay, do you need help?"
"No, I got it. Thanks for dinner. It was great," Jackie said before kissing Catherine on the cheek.
****
Jackie slowly made her way into the living room. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings for long, as she knew that Catherine was starting to catch on.
LA had been a disaster. Between the paparazzi scare and Wade breaking the news to her that she didn't get the part in the movie, she was beginning to feel more lost than she ever had. It seemed as though her struggle of finding a place where she belonged was becoming constant.
She left high school because was treated as an outcast, left LA because she was lost without Mark, left Bloomington because everyone constantly pointed out the fact that she didn't belong and now, when she finally felt at home in LA, she was being shut out once more.
The last thing she ever imagined was the media blaming her for Tommy's mistake, and as much as she didn't originally wanted the role, it now made her feel empty knowing it wasn't hers. She was desperately trying to grasp onto something that would make her feel whole again, but she found herself left with nothing. Except for Catherine that is. But after seeing the affects she had on her, she was trying her best not to drag her down into this hole with her; leaving her no other choice than to distance herself from her.
****
A few days later, Jackie's cast was removed and was replaced with a temporary walking one. With her spirits raised, they stopped by the store to get some celebratory foods.
"I'm going to go and grab a few things," Jackie said before parting ways with Catherine.
As she was making her way down an aisle, she stopped in her tracks when she spotted Sandy standing in front of her. The girl that punched her in the face for thinking that just because Jackie is famous, she gets whatever she wants and the perks of being in a relationship with a teacher.
"Jackie?" Sandy asked hesitantly.
She was confused to Jackie there.
"Hi Sandy," Jackie smiled.
"How are you?" She asked before looking at Jackie's shoulder. "I heard about your accident."
"Yeah..." Jackie replied. "I'm getting there. How are you?"
"I'm good. Just about to start junior year. Are you coming back to school?"
Obviously, that would explain Jackie's presence in Bloomington.
"Oh, uhh...no. I'm just here until I get better. I needed to get away from Hollywood for a bit."
As Jackie was in the middle of explaining, Catherine walked up behind her.
"Hey, do you want cookie dough or chocolate fudge-" Catherine asked Jackie, until she was stopped as she saw Sandy.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll meet you at the front, okay?" Catherine said to Jackie before she quickly walked away from them.
"Okay," Jackie nodded before turning her attention back to Sandy.
Sandy was staring at her in shock.
Jackie smiled uncomfortably as Sandy stayed silent. Obviously seeing her with the infamous Professor Stark took her by surprise.
"Well, I better get going. It was good seeing you," Jackie said before beginning to hobble away.
"I'm sorry," Sandy finally blurted out. "I had no idea you two were actually-"
"It's okay," Jackie interrupted with a smile. "You couldn't have known."
When Jackie got to the front of the store, Catherine looked at her suspiciously.
"Everything okay?"
Jackie just nodded.
"Well that was interesting," Catherine said as soon as they got into the car. "I almost grabbed some frozen peas from the freezer section. I don't see a black eye or bloody nose, so I assume it all went well?"
Jackie laughed, "I would say so. You should've seen her face when she saw you. She even apologised once the shock wore off."
"Really ?"
"Yep. Guess she thought I was just another notch in your bedpost."
****
Later that evening, they were preparing to get Jackie upstairs for the first time. Catherine was thrilled that Jackie was in a good mood all day and now they got to finally sleep in something other than a hospital bed or piece of furniture.
Jackie was equally as thrilled. Having her leg casted for over a month, she wanted nothing more than to soak her leg in the bathtub. Jackie grabbed hold of the railing, as Catherine stood behind her to keep her balanced. Also prepared to keep her from falling backwards down the giant staircase.
Before even reaching the halfway point, Jackie couldn't take it anymore. The added stress on her stiff and weak leg muscles proved to be too much.
"I can't do this. Take me back down."
"Jackie, we're half way there. Just-"
"Catherine, I can't!" She cried.
"Just stand here for a second and take a break. You're so close-"
Jackie took a minute before continuing on. After the first step, she stopped again.
"I can't-"
"Yes you can. Come on, you can do this."
Jackie screamed at every step.
"That's fine, let it out. Just keep going," Catherine reassured Jackie.
When she got to the top, Catherine handed her the crutch. Jackie looked at Catherine's door. It was still far away.
"I hate you so much right now," Jackie muttered and felt defeated.
Catherine smiled back.
"You're going to take that back the moment you get into that tub and lay on that bed," Catherine replied as she winked at Jackie.
As soon as they reached the bed, Jackie collapsed onto it while Catherine went to run the bath water for her. She must have fallen asleep because when she woke up, Catherine was kissing her neck and straddled on top of her.
Jackie opened her eyes and smiled.
"What did I tell you?" Catherine teased, as she helped her sit up and walk to the bathroom.
Catherine sat Jackie down on the side of the tub and knelt in front of her. She gently loosened the strap off her sling, before carefully lifting it up over her head and removing her arm from it.
"Are you okay?"
Jackie nodded.
Catherine then removed her walking cast and pants as Jackie began removing her shirt, wincing as she tried to get her shoulder through.
"Careful," Catherine spoke quietly, as she took control and slowly removed her shirt.
As soon as it was over Jackie's head, Jackie looked down at her scar and covered it with her hand self-consciously. Catherine took her hand and kissed it as she looked at her and smiled. She then gently ran her finger tip above the scar before leaning in and kissing softly.
Jackie looked back at her. She was full of emotions and Catherine took her face in her hands, kissing her. They hadn't kissed like that since before the accident and before their flight. Catherine stopped and pressed her forehead against Jackie's, knowing she had to contain herself.
"The water is going to get cold," Catherine whispered.
Jackie nodded. Her forehead was still pressed against Catherine's. After getting in the bath, Catherine left her there to relax.
"Don't, under any circumstance, fall asleep," she warned, before smiling and leaving Jackie alone.
When Jackie was finished, Catherine helped her up and wrapped her in a robe. She was sitting her on the bed as she brought fresh clothes.
"That one," Jackie pointed, choosing Catherine's lacrosse shirt.
"How did I know?" Catherine teased.
After getting her arm adjusted in the shirt, she flashed her a look.
"Still hate me?"
"Mmhmm..." Jackie mumbled, over embellishing her nods.
"Oh really? What about now..." Catherine said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Mmhmm," Jackie mumbled once more.
Catherine smiled before kissing her on the neck.
"And now?"
Jackie just smiled as Catherine slowly leaned her back on the bed. Without hardly even touching her, Jackie winced.
"Ow!"
"What? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
"I'm just sore. Maybe I should take my pain meds before this goes any further."
"Yeah, of course," Catherine replied, as she carefully got off from on top of her. "I'll be back in a sec."
When Catherine returned to the room, not even five minutes later, she found Jackie lying in bed sound asleep.
"Jackie," she whispered smiling, rubbing her arm.
No response.
"Poor thing," Catherine whispered to herself.
After placing the pills on the night stand, Catherine pulled the covers up over her and kissed her on the forehead, before turning off the lights and crawling in next to her.
Once Jackie felt Catherine finally drifted off to sleep, she opened her eyes and stared out into the darkness.
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¸