Her hair was still wet from the quick shower, and she swiftly pulled it into a loose braid as she hurried back to the bus. She cradled her bag on her shoulder, feeling how it had grown really heavy because of the wet towel. Her clothes were wrinkly, although by now she was used to it, and her face nearly makeup free.
Traveling with G.E.O.R.G.E. had for sure forced Summer to adapt. She had to accept that she could not shower every morning, but only when they got the time and access to an actual shower. And there existed nothing as a wardrobe to hang clothes in, or an iron. She had to keep the few clothes she had in a bag, living with only that suitcase. Because they all had to share on the little space they had. Also, G.E.O.R.G.E. was not about materialistic things, and Summer had learnt to care less for them. Things were going fine though and the last four months had made her learn a thing or two about living with other people.
Summer enjoyed their work. It was fantastic. Every day they got to do something that mattered. She got to be a part of changing the world as Seth had expressed it. And she loved it.
Even if she missed a few things about home.
She missed her bed and her wardrobe, she missed tanning by her pool and having a large breakfast on the weekends. But mostly she just missed Seth. They had been able to see each other one time in these four months. And that had been Seth flying to see her after a very tearful conversation over the phone. She had missed him so much that she had called him in the middle of the night, breaking her phone restrictions. She had been determined not to cry but just hearing his sleepy voice on the other end of the phone had sent her into a long crying session. Things had not been as bad as she had made them sound then, but it all had ended with Seth crying into the phone as well and he had booked a flight to come see her the next day. She had not even cared about the air pollution that time, and Seth hadn't cared that he missed school.
It was now over two months ago, and some days she missed him unbearably. But the work was a good way to distract her from thinking about him too much. Most days she was so busy that there was no time to think about anything other than their important work.
And time passed quite fast when being busy. It had already been four months.
"Sorry, you guys," Summer stepped onto the bus and realized she was the last person entering. The others sat ready for the long drive. Some were doing research, some were blogging and some seemed to try and get some sleep. And the minute the doors closed behind Summer, the bus steered out on the road.
Summer dumped her bag and sat down in an empty seat next to Jona, who had his guitar in his lap and was probably working on a new song. "Summer, I read the inlay on your blog." Jona didn't look up from the strays of his guitar when he spoke, but Summer was used to it. He always played on that guitar and she had grown to like listening to it; it was actually kind of soothing. Jona was one of the few people Summer spent most time with. He was cool. Sort of like a brother to her. He reminded her a little of Che, except Jona had a softer appearance and would never go to the extremes Che had which lead to Summer getting kicked out of Brown.
"Yeah…" Summer was about to comment but was interrupted by her phone ringing. A smile immediately spread on her lips like every time she was allowed to keep her phone on and had Seth calling. Except the display didn't say 'Cohen' as she'd expected, but showed an unknown number. "Hello?...Yes, this is she…What?..." Summer listened to the voice for a few moments and then put the phone down, looking like she'd just seen a ghost.
"Summer? You okay?" Jona looked up from his guitar, placing a hand on Summer's shoulder.
Summer met his concerned gaze with a blank look. "My dad had a heart attack."
Jona's hand stayed on Summer's shoulder as his mouth opened in shock. "Oh my god. Is he…?"
"He's in surgery," Summer explained, still quite emotionless.
"I'm so sorry, Summer."
Summer wrinkled her forehead, swallowing hard. "It's looking really bad."
Jona started to stroke Summer's back in an attempt to comfort her best he could. "Where is he?"
"Seattle."
"You should go, Summer. It's your dad."
Summer nodded, fumbling with the phone in her hands. "Yeah. Oh my god."
Jona pulled her into a hug as a few others gather around them, placing a comforting hand on Summer's back. "Hey, guys, I'm just gonna go make a call in the back."
They all nodded, understanding, and feeling slightly uncomfortable. Sure they had all grown quite close through these four months, but they did not know a lot of personal stuff about each other. And help someone dealing with a personal tragedy like this was not really their place. "Of course, Summer."
Summer stood up and walked to the back of the bus, where she could have some privacy. She held the phone in her hand, shaking slightly while dialing his familiar number.
"Summer! I was just about to call you." Seth's happy voice was heard on the other end of the phone.
A part of her was also so very happy to hear his voice and as she remembered why she had called she just wanted him to be there with her even more. She took a deep breath and spoke. "Cohen, I got some really bad news," Summer started, wanting to get it out of her as fast as possible. She did not want to break down on the bus. Because she knew that if she did start to cry, she would not be able to stop. And she did not want to cry into some other guy's shoulder. She wanted Seth.
"What is it," Seth quickly asked with evident worry in his voice.
Summer inhaled and felt tears pricking her eyes. "It's my dad," she started and closed her eyes. "He had a heart attack," she whispered.
"No. Oh, Summer, I wish I could be there right now."
Hearing his voice was so good. And for a moment she pretended that she wasn't on this bus in the middle of the country, but with Seth. "He's still in surgery, Cohen. But it's bad. And I have to go there-"
"I'll come, too," Seth said before she could continue.
"Yeah?" She sounded somehow hopeful.
"Of course, Sum," Seth reassured her. Of course he would come. "I'll be there as soon as I can. You'll probably get there before me but-"
"Thanks, Cohen."
"Hey, don't even worry about it. I'll go to the airport right now. Okay? And I call you when I've booked a flight?"
"Yeah. I also have to-" Summer let a shaky breath out, just wishing he could be there. "I'm scared," she whispered into the phone.
How he hated the fact that she was all alone on that bus. Well, technically she wasn't alone, but he wished she was someplace where someone he knew and trusted could take care of her. Because being thousands of miles away from her stopped him from doing so. "I know, baby. But right now, just focus on getting to Seattle and we'll meet there, okay? I can book the flight for you if you want to. I'll just-"
"No, Cohen. It's fine. I'll just take a cab or something to the airport. Just meet me there soon."
"I'm already on my way," Seth said a little out of breath, revealing that he was indeed already on his way. "Hey, Sum, I love you. Everything will be alright. Okay?" Seth paused. "I'm hugging you right now."
Summer smiled sadly, the phone pressed against her ear. "See you soon, Cohen." Summer hung up and took a few deep breaths before heading back to the others.
Seth rushed through the hospital, desperate to reach Summer. He'd spent the last hours being worried sick for her, wishing the plane would go faster. She did not deserve to be alone for this. God, he hoped Dr. Roberts was still alive.
"Cohen!"
Seth turned around and finally saw her. She stood with her arms wrapped around her, her hair falling out of that messy braid hanging over her shoulder.
And Seth immediately made his way over to her, capturing her smaller frame in his arms.
She fell against him, her arms finding their way around his waist, and let a relieved breath out. He was here. "You're here," she said as she rested her face against his chest, inhaling his familiar scent while brushing her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt.
"I'm here," Seth said and kissed the top of her head, one arm tightly wrapped around her to bring her close to him while his other stroked her hair. After a few moments he spoke again, loosening his arm around her and carefully looking down on that face he had missed so much. "How is he?"
Summer met his gaze with teary eyes and realized that she had held them back this whole time. She had somehow waited for him to come. A few tears had slipped when she'd walked into the hospital to acknowledge her presence to the reception but she had not allowed herself to really cry even as she'd talked to the doctor.
A hiccup escaped from her throat and Summer stood up on her toes, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. She was not a fan of public crying sessions but she pressed herself close to him, as if hiding in his embrace, when she let a few sobs out. She released the tears that had been burning behind her eyes for the last hours.
Seth didn't say anything, only made sure to hold on to Summer as tight as he knew she needed him to. Her hands gripped his shoulders and he wished that this wouldn't be happening. How was Summer going to get through another death of a loved one? She had lost too many people in her life and Marissa's death still affected her more than she would show.
Seth saw a female doctor approach them and wondered what he was supposed to do. The doctor eyed Summer sympathetically and Seth protectively pulled Summer down against his chest, one arm holding her close while his other hand held her head against him, his thumb affectionately brushing against her cheek. He eyed the doctor uncertainly, but with an attempt to appear strong as he knew Summer wasn't in the state of talking.
"Ms. Roberts," the doctor gently said and made Summer carefully turn her face toward her. She tightened her grip of Seth but tried to compose her crying. "I just wanted to update you on your father. He's soon out of surgery and we're trying to stabilize him at the moment." The doctor took a glance at Seth. "You're family?"
"I'm her boyfriend. Seth Cohen." Seth would have extended his hand, but it was busy comforting Summer so he just gave the doctor a nod.
"Oh, okay. Mr. Cohen," the doctor said with a small smile. "Glad you could make it." Seth understood she meant to Summer, seeing a grieving daughter shouldn't be alone. "Well, Dr. Roberts will hopefully be stabile enough for you to see him soon. I just wanted to let you know that the surgery went well, under these circumstances. It could have been worse and we're doing everything we can."
"Thank you, doctor," Seth said as the doctor excused herself and Summer didn't say anything. So, at least he was still alive. That was good, Seth thought. There was still hope.
He silently prayed for Neil to be alright, for Summer's sake. She needed him to be alright.
As Seth looked down on Summer, she had stopped crying and was just pressing her face into his shirt while breathing heavily. "Come on, Sum." He led her to a seating area and sat down before taking her with him. A few chairs were pushed together and Summer sat down next to him, wiping her eyes and nose with the back of her hands. Seth reached for a few tissues that were placed on a table next to them and handed them to Summer. "Here," he said and brought a hand up to her hair, tucking some strays behind her ear.
Summer cleaned her face slowly while keeping her head bowed, her body pressed as close to Seth's as the chairs allowed them. After she was done Seth placed his arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him, head resting on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming," she said after a few moments. Her voice was a little soar and he knew why she hadn't said anything until now; Summer hated to talk while she cried.
"Yeah, I'm just glad to be here."
Summer closed her eyes and again inhaled his smell. "I've missed you, Cohen."
"I've missed you, too." Seth started to caress her arm up and down soothingly and he took one of her hands with his free one, intertwining their fingers in his lap.
She must have noticed his mouth opening and closing because she squeezed his hand and bent her neck to look up at him. "You don't have to say anything, Cohen. I know. I'm just glad you're here."
Seth gave her a small smile and leant down to place a light kiss on her lips. "I just hate that this is happening to you, Summer."
"Yeah, I know. Me, too." Summer bit her lip before leaning up to kiss him again. "I love you," she whispered against his lips, pecking them briefly again before again resting her head against his shoulder.
"I love you," Seth said back as he leant back in the chair, bringing Summer close against his side. "Is Gloria coming," Seth asked after a few moments, suddenly thinking about Summer's stepmother.
Summer was absentmindedly brushing her fingers against the sleeve of his shirt. "I talked to her before you got here. She's in Mexico."
"Oh." Since Summer's father and stepmother had moved to Seattle Seth had very little contact with them. He ever only heard about them if Summer would mention something, but seeing as they hadn't been able to talk much at all lately Seth had no idea how Neil and Gloria Roberts were. If Dr. Roberts had been stressed lately, or if his health had staggered, Seth wouldn't have known. And whether they still were together or not, he didn't know either.
Summer continued, her voice kind of sad and it actually sounded like she had a soft relationship to her stepmother who she always had subconsciously disliked for taking her mother's place. "She was really upset and I think she'll be here tomorrow or something."
Seth nodded, his hand stopping its rhythmic motions on her arm, lingering on her shoulder. "That's good."
"Yeah," Summer whispered. "Cohen, what if I lose him? Then it's just Gloria left. I-"
Seth also feared that 'what if'. He was afraid of what would happen to Summer if she lost her father who she had always been so close with. He had been her only family for a long time and her best friend. And no matter what mistakes Dr. Roberts had made throughout the years, leaving Summer to take care of herself a lot of times, he had always loved her unconditionally in a way Seth knew Summer cherished. "Hey, don't think like that, Summer. The doctor said the surgery went well and that has to be a good thing."
Her breathing was shaky and Seth wondered if maybe she would cry again. "I know. I just don't know what I would do. He's my dad."
Before Seth could say anything the doctor yet again approached them where they sat. Summer immediately sat up straight. She kept her hand clasped in Seth's and he reassuringly squeezed it and stroked her knuckles with his other hand while they stood up. Seth wasn't naturally good when it came to handling a crisis, but figured that even though he was terrified and had no idea how to act, the least he could do was to be there for Summer.
"Ms. Roberts," the doctor greeted and turned to Seth. "And Mr. Cohen was it?"
"Yeah, that's right." His voice was nervous, in a more obvious way than he would wish, and his hands were staring to sweat slightly. He wouldn't let go though, he decided, keeping Summer's smaller hand in his both.
The doctor gave them a small smile before speaking. "Well, we managed to stabilize Dr. Roberts and if you want to you can come see him now."
Summer started to follow the doctor with Seth's hand tightly clasped in hers. "He's not awake, is he," she carefully asked as the doctor opened a door for them.
"No, I'm afraid not. It will probably take a while. But there is no reason to believe that he won't wake up, Ms. Roberts. I personally know your father, and he's a fighter."
"Yeah, he is," Summer softly said and Seth could see her eyes turn glassy.
"Okay, here we are." The three of them stopped outside a room where Neil Roberts supposedly were in. "Before you go in, you should know that it always looks worse than it is. His face may look a little different and he has a few tubes connected to him. And it's always hard to see one of our loved ones in a hospital bed."
Summer nodded, showing that she understood, and inhaled shakily. "Will he hear me?"
"We can't know for sure, but sometimes they do. So you can talk to him, and you can touch him. Show him that you're here for him to wake up." The doctor was calm and spoke in a gentle tone. Maybe she was just used to do this, maybe it was the fact that she was female or maybe she cared personally about this patient.
Seth rubbed Summer's back up and down and quietly spoke. "Summer, do you want to go in alone or-"
"Come with me?" Her eyes met his, and he could tell that she was scared.
Seth nodded and then met the doctor's gaze, as if asking for permission. "It's fine. You can go inside when you're ready. I'll be back a little later."
"Thank you, Dr. Henderson," Summer said and gave the doctor a thankful smile before she left.
"You ready," Seth carefully asked, while still doing his best to comfort her with his touch.
"Yeah," Summer said after gathering herself and she let Seth open the door and walk in before her.
"I'll give you a few moments," a nurse said who was in the room when they entered. "I'll be outside if you need anything," she said before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.
"Oh my god, daddy," Summer breathed out in a whisper as she walked up to the bed where her father lay.
The doctor had been right; he looked a little different. And it was not just his face and the tubes; it was seeing him this vulnerable. Seth was used to see this man in a suit. Summer's dad had always been a little scary, possibly because he was her father and a successful doctor. But he always looked really impressive, strong and just like a really respectable man. Seeing him like this made Seth feel slightly uncomfortable.
Summer stood on the side of the bed and carefully took her father's hand in her small one. "Hi, daddy," she started and a few tears slipped down her cheeks.
Seth stood by the foot of the bed, not sure what to do. He wanted Summer to have privacy with her dad, but at the same time he just wanted to hug her and comfort her. As he listened to Summer gently speak to her father, saying how much she loved him and wanted him to wake up, Seth felt his own eyes water. He wondered if he should say something to Dr. Roberts. After all, he was Summer's dad and the last year Seth had actually spent time with him. He was not so intimidating once you got to know him, and they did have a major thing in common; they both loved Summer to death.
"Seth's here, too, daddy," he heard Summer say and he met her teary gaze, giving her a smile. "He's taking care of me, like you would want to. He's really good to me."
Seth walked up to Summer in time for her to break down in his arms.
A second part might come up if you'd like. What do you think? Will Neil survive?