W00t! Jericho! This takes place at the beginning of the series just really morphed to fit my character in. Yeah.
The girl stopped at the screen door to pat the friendly dog, Ranger. She gave him a small kiss on the forehead before standing up and walking in. She stopped when she heard Johnston and another man's voice.
"When are you going to realize I'm thirty-two years old?" Was the strange mans voice.
"When you do." She heard Johnston's.
She saw Johnston walk over and start up the stairs as the man started to follow him, slightly yelling, "Can I talk to my mayor, then? Huh?" Before he turned and realized that she was standing there in the doorway. "Who are you?"
"I could ask you the same thing." She responded. "But, before we get into that argument, I'm Meghan Storm." Meghan responded, with humor. She could feel the tension in the room. "Do you happen to know where Gail is?"
"In here, honey!" Was the call that came from the living room. Meghan gave a small smile to the stranger before slipping into the living room, where she saw Eric and Gail. "Well, I see you have met my older son." Gail said.
"Oh! This is Jake?" She asked, turning and pointing to Jake who was standing behind her. She stuck her hand out in a shake and said, "They've told me so much about you." As Gail nodded. Jake took her hand and shook it politely.
"Jake, this is Meghan. She moved up here right after you left. She's friends with the whole family." Gail explained as Meghan came over and stood behind Johnston's chair.
"Course, I just moved up to L.A. a couple of months ago. I came back to visit." Meghan explained. "Which brings me to the point," She said, turning to Gail. "I better get going. Peter is at home waiting for me. Do you think you can give me a lift to the Station?"
Jake just stood there, not really sure what to make of this.
"I'm sure Jake can." Gail said, turning towards Jake.
"Uh…I-" Jake started, but Gail cut him off.
"Of course he can. For now, why don't you come with us to go visit Jakes' Grandfather." Gail insisted. Meghan opened her mouth to argue, but she knew better of it. She kind of didn't want to have a total stranger give her a lift to the train station. Even if she felt like she knew him from all of the stories she has heard about him. Even some of those made her question Jake's moral stature.
Gail instructed Jake to help carry Meghan's luggage, but Meghan argued. It was only one bag and it was perfectly light. She ran up and got it out of the guest room and hauled it downstairs again as Gail and Jake walked out the door.
She placed it in the trunk of Jake's car. Gail tried to insist that Meghan drive in Jake's car, but Meghan insisted that she wanted Gail and Jake to catch up. So, Meghan drove Gail's car. That way Gail would have a way to get home when Jake and Meghan went straight from the graveyard to the station.
She drove behind them all the way, while she remembered all of the stories she had heard of Jake. She had always wanted to meet Jake, but never thought she would get a chance. They forgot to mention how handsome he was, Meghan reflected.
She glanced in the mirror to see silver eyes framed with loose curls of black hair. The mirror didn't reveal her chocolate brown freckles and that her hair made it three inches past her shoulders.
She was brought back to reality when Jakes' car parked by the graveyard in front of her. She pulled in behind it and got out. She waited till Gail and Jake got out and made their way over to Jacob Eric's grave before going and sitting in the shotgun of Jake's car. She watched them for a moment before looking out at the view.
Finally Jake got in the driver's seat of the car. "Mom, one more thing." He gestured Gail closer. She leaned in to hear. "You have clumsy hands." Jake said with humor as he got the money she had put in his pocket out and gave it back to her.
"I love you." She said, leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She said her last goodbyes before Jake started driving away.
The inside of the car was silent for about five minutes in before Jake piped up with, "So, they told you stories about me?"
"All the time." Meghan replied.
Jake chuckled. "I'm sorry."
"Actually, I found them interesting." Meghan confessed.
"Yeah, right." Jake joked as he leaned forward and turned on the radio. Meghan listened to the speaker drabble on for a few seconds before becoming bored with it. She could never grasp on to what he was saying, with such a dull tone in his voice.
When it just turned to static, Jake shut it off. She didn't blame him. About a minute after that, as they were making a turn, Meghan let her eyes wonder out the window. They looked out, not really observing anything, in till they landed on a mushroom cloud in the distance. Her mouth opened in astonishment, but she could say anything.
The next thing she knew, there was a strong impact and her head hit the dashboard. Everything went black. When she woke up, she had a splitting pain on her cheek. She brought her hand up and pressed it against the pain. When she brought it back down, it had blood on it. She looked over at her left upper arm to see a deep gash and her navy blue jacket ripped and bloodied. Same with near her left wrist. Her whole body felt sore.
Then she realized Jake. He was still unconscious. "Jake. Jake." She said. She gave a very small jolt as he began coughing. He sat up and examined his leg. She glanced over at his leg and saw a deep cut. "You okay?" She asked him.
"Yeah." He said with a hoarse voice. "You?"
"As far as car accidents go." She said. She unhooked her seat belt and concentrated on trying to get the door open. Finally after her eyes concentrated long enough to find the door handle, she opened it and got out.
Jake got out and limped over to the other car. She watched him lean in and check the man and the woman. When he emerged with a sigh, she didn't need an answer. "What now?" She asked him.
He looked over at her for a moment before replying, "All we can do is walk." He said as he started walking down the road. Meghan sighed and followed him a few steps behind.
They had been walking for about a half an hour. Well, more like limping. Jake stopped and cocked his head. "Did you hear that?" He asked Meghan.
Meghan starred at him. She listened and heard a faint 'help' being called by a little girl. "Yeah."
The little girl kept calling for help while Jake and Meghan looked around. Meghan looked up at a small dirt road where a little girl and boy were running towards them. "Jake, look!" She said. Jake looked up at the children and started hastily limping towards them, Meghan following at his side.
"What? What is it?" He called to them.
"Mister he-e-elp!" The girl cried as she and the boy ran up to them.
"I think-I think they're dieing." Said the boy to Meghan as he pointed down the road. The little girl pulled at Jakes' hand and the four of them started running, or limping, down the road.
When it started getting late, the little boy turned on his flashlight. Meghan finally saw the glimmer of the bus. "The deer went crazy and started running all over the road!" The girl said, who was holding hands with Jake.
"Alright, just don't look at it." Jake told them. There was a bloody deer wedged under the tire of the bus. Meghan grimaced. Jake pushed open the bus doors and pushed the bus driver up in his seat.
Meghan comforted the kids outside the bus. "Is he alive?" She heard a woman's voice from inside the bus.
"Yeah, you alright?" He asked her.
The little girl looked up at Meghan. "I'm scared." She told her.
"It's okay. Everything is going to be okay." Meghan comforted her.
Jake started limping down the aisle of the bus. The little girl and boy followed him on, and Meghan followed them on. She looked over at Heather. "You alright, Heather?" She asked her.
"My leg is broken." Heather informed her.
Meghan sighed. She leaned up against the small pole in the bus and watched Jake go to help a little girl.
"What's wrong?" He asked the boy. Meghan came up beside him and saw the little girl lying in the seat, clutching her throat.
"When the bus stopped, she went like this." The little boy informed Jake.
"It's okay. Just let me see, let me see it." Jake said as he reached in and gently took her arms, pulling them away from her throat. Jake looked over at Heather. "Do you have an ice pack?" He called over to her. "We've got to stop the swelling now."
Heather looked to the little boy. "Lucas, the first aid kit is under the seat."
Jake went back to examining the little girl while he waited for Lucas to bring him the pack. Meghan looked at the little girl. She was so tiny. She hoped she would be okay. Lucas handed Meghan the box.
Meghan opened it and took out the ice pack and quickly handed it to Jake. She watched as he folded it and placed it under the girls chin, all the while comforting her. "It's okay, you're going to be okay."
"Please…" The little girl said.
"Calm down." Jake said. "Hey. Hey, Stacey!" The little girl slowly closed her eyes and stopped breathing. "No, no, no, no." He bent his ear down next to Stacey's nose. He slowly brought his head up and looked down at the little girl.
Jake closed his eyes. "Think. Think." He whispered to himself. Meghan watched with worry. Jake stood up. "Alright! I need everyone's help right now. Now, who has a pen? Does anyone have a pen?"
"I have a pencil." The little boy piped up.
"No, no, I need a tube. Um..Something hollow. A…a straw! Anyone have a straw?" He said, looking around.
"I have a straw." The little girl, Julie, raised her hand.
"Let me see it, let me see it. C'mon!" Jake demanded.
"Are you planning some sort of tracheotomy?" Meghan asked him.
"Yeah. I need to open her throat. Let her breath." Jake explained as the little girl handed him her juice box. "No, it's too thin." He looked up. "Does anyone else have a juice box?"
"I do!" Almost all of the kids raised her hands.
"Alright, get them out. Get them out!" By watching Jake, she realized he wasn't that good with kids. He treated them like adults. Probably didn't know what to make of them. "Alright. Get some band aids out. Give all your straws to Meghan. Okay?" He said, pointing to Meghan. "Okay? Hurry! Quick!"
They immediately started giving them to Meghan. Meghan bunched them up into a circle and used the band aids that Lucas handed her to make them stay together. Jake used a small cloth to sterilize his pocket knife. He instructed a little boy in the other seat to hold down her head in case she wakes up.
He made a small slit in her neck. "Here." Meghan said, handing him the straws when he turned towards her. He slid them down the cut and began breathing into them lightly. Finally the little gasped a breath and opened her eyes. Jake smiled as he breathed lightly into the straws a few more times before sitting up and sighing.
"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Meghan asked Jake.
"Military school." He explained to her.
"Were you a soldier?" Asked Lucas, fascinated.
Jake chuckled. "No, a screw up."
Meghan lightly smiled at him. "Now you're a hero." She said. Jake looked up at her for a second before standing up and picking Stacey up. She stood out of the way as he carried her down the aisle and sat her in the seat behind Heather.
"How is she?" Heather asked.
"We need to get her back." He informed Jake.
Meghan carried the bus drivers seat as Jake carried him and placed him in the empty seat. "Right here." He huffed. The bus driver was heavy and it was hard to carry him with her arm.
Meghan followed Jake as he limped his way back to the bus drivers seat. He plopped down in the seat and silently groaned at the pain in his leg. Meghan could relate with the pain in her left arm as she clutched it. She stood up for a second and placed Jake's jacket on Stacey, for it was getting a little chilly.
He turned towards the wheel. "Alright everyone sit down." He instructed. Meghan was already sitting in the seat behind Jake. He began to back the bus up.
"You know how to drive a bus?" She asked him with raised eyebrows. The kids began talking excitedly. "Hurry." She urged him as he shifted it into drive.
About ten minutes in, she heard Jake whispering, "Stay awake. Stay awake." To himself.
She used her right arm and reached over, placing her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
He glanced back at her for a second before looking over to Heather. "This bus have a gas can?" Heather opened her mouth and shook her head, shrugging. "The bus – If it stops…" He said to Meghan and Heather.
Meghan looked back to the kids. "Listen," She said to them. "If the bus stops, We're going to need you to walk back and find help."
"I don't know where we are!" Lucas complained.
"When you get to the stop sign, take a left. A left." Jake instructed.
"Which way's left?" Lucas asked.
Meghan looked back and watched Jake drop his head, sighing, and exasperated. He lifted his head back up and continued watching the road.
"Hold up your hands. Now stick out your thumbs." Heather instructed them. "See the hand that makes the 'L'? That's left."
A few minutes later, Meghan sighed as they entered town. She half smiled as Jake continued to honk the horn. He opened the door and yelled, "Help them! Help 'em!" Meghan rested the back of her head on the ice cold window while the kids were getting off the bus. She hoped she never had to do that again.
Gail rushed up to the door. "Jake." She breathed. Jake stood up and Gail was immediately at his side, helping him out. Meghan followed them out and wiped the sweat from her brow. Gail looked back at Meghan as Eric and another man helped him to the ambulance.
"Are you okay?" She asked her. Meghan nodded. "Thank you for bringing Jake home." She said.
"I didn't bring anyone home. It was all Jake." Meghan explained as a paramedic rushed you off to an ambulance. Gail followed them and hopped into the back of the ambulance with Jake and helped Meghan in. Meghan sat down next to Gail and closed her eyes.
She didn't listen as Jake had a few words with his father before the ambulance doors were shut. "Thank you Jake." She breathed.