The director yelled "Action" and Peter began walking briskly from Kirsten and Sandy's bedroom. Kelly followed hurriedly a few feet behind him. Her character, Kirsten, was, yet again, cajoling his character, Sandy. Kirsten wasn't set to show her pregnancy until a few weeks so Kelly hadn't yet worn the faux belly.
She also was not wearing the usual Kirsten garb. Instead of jeans and a nice shirt, she was wearing pajama pants, a camisole, and a robe. Peter was already in his suit for the day.
He was walking into the Cohen kitchen as Kelly's line came up.
Her voice was pleading. "But Sandy…" Instead of the rest of the line, that was all Peter heard her say. After she uttered his pseudo name, he heard a loud noise radiate through the set. He figured Kelly had knocked something over. Peter was about to turn and give her a hard time about it until he heard the director and camera crews gasp and a shout of "Oh my gosh!" reverberated of the walls of the set. He turned and saw Kelly's socked feet sticking out from behind the couch.
Crew members rushed towards her and crowded around. Peter had to push his way through them all. He finally made it to her. She was knocked unconscious and there was an uncomfortable amount of blood matting her long blonde hair.
His voice caught in his throat as he attempted to rouse her. "Kelly. C'mon, Kelly, wake up." His attempts elicited a groan.
"Ow." Was all she said. Her eyes opened and slowly adjusted to the light. She saw a face and it progressively came into view. It was Peter. A small smile spread across her face but immediately she winced and groaned again.
"Someone call 911." A crew member yelled. Kelly looked up confused at Peter.
"It'll take them too long." Peter murmured, mainly to himself. Only a few heard him. "C'mon." He said to Kelly as he gathered her in his arms. She grunted as she felt herself being lifted. She wrapped her arms around his neck and groaned his name.
"Peter…" She sounded so vulnerable and a feeling of fright mixed with protection filled him.
"You can call the hospital. Tell them we're coming." He said as he made his way through the set toward the parking lot.
Ben was walking in his direction. He picked up speed as he saw Peter carrying a familiar blonde figure. "What happened?" He asked desperately.
"She fell." Peter answered hurriedly and kept walking, Ben now by his side.
"Need a ride?"
"You offering?"
"Yeah." Ben opened the door for them and they walked out into the sun.
"Where'd you park?"
"Over here." Ben led the way. He opened the backseat door of his SUV.
Peter slid himself and Kelly into the backseat. Ben took off. Peter kept her in his lap as they rode to the hospital.
"How's she doing?"
"Unconscious again." Peter said, keeping his gaze on her. "But I think the bleeding's stopped."
In about five minutes, they pulled into the emergency room entrance. Ben quickly got out of the car to get the door for them. However, Peter didn't wait for him. Instead, he popped the door open and slid out. The power doors whooshed open and Peter walked hurriedly through them. Ben was right behind him. Because they had called ahead, a team was waiting for them with a hospital bed. Peter placed her on the bed and began rattling off information.
"38. No allergies. Healthy. She woke up right after it happened but went unconscious on the way over. The bleeding stopped in the car."
One of the young men looked her over as he listened to Peter. He noticed their rings.
"You her husband?" He asked quickly, finally looking up at Peter.
"… Coworker." There was definite hesitation. Ben noticed and looked at Peter with an almost confused glare in his eyes.
"We'll take good care of her." The young man assured the two men as Kelly was rushed back. Peter watched the swinging doors until he could no longer see her.
"I better go park my car." Ben said, breaking Peter out of his trance.
"Yeah." Peter said quietly as he turned to look toward Ben. Ben was already in his car by the time Peter turned. Peter made his way toward the waiting area and sat down in the most uncomfortable seats known to man. Within a few minutes, Ben walked back in and sat beside Peter.
"I hate hospitals." He murmured.
"Me too." Peter whispered. He was hunched over, looking at his hands.
"I'm going to get coffee." Ben said, as he stood up. He was already getting shaky and he felt the warm liquid would calm him a bit. "Want some?"
"Yes, please."
It took about fifteen minutes for Ben to find the cafeteria, buy the coffee, and bring it back to the waiting room.
"Here you go." Ben said as he handed Peter the cup.
"Thanks." He mumbled before taking a sip.
Ben took big gulps of his and finished a lot earlier than Peter. With the last sip, Ben looked at his watch.
"Oh, man." He stood back up and looked at Peter. "I better head back. I've still got scenes to go. You staying?"
"Yeah. Uh, I'll call you when I know something."
"Okay."
Ben had been gone for about 45 minutes. Peter was staring intently at the coffee cup in his hands when the same young man came up to him.
"She's in room 242 if you want to go see her." Peter stood up quickly and continued to look at the doctor. As if reading his mind, the doctor added with a smile. "She's going to be fine." Peter exhaled; he hadn't even realized that he was holding his breath.
He passed room after room going towards 242. Finally, he got there and quietly peered into the room. It looked as if she were sleeping but when Peter appeared in her doorway, her blue eyes opened and she smiled at him.
"Hey." She said, faintly.
"Hey." He replied as he smiled softly. She seemed to be fine, just as the doctor had said.
He slowly walked in and sat beside her on the bed. "How do you feel?" He placed his hands on either side of her.
"They have me on pain medication so I feel really good." She said with a goofy grin. It was infectious and Peter couldn't help but grin back.
He leaned down. One hand cupped her cheek as he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"You really scared me." He whispered, his lips still brushing against her forehead.
Kelly's spine tingled at the intimate contact and her skin became covered in goose bumps. Her cheeks flushed a light pink.
Peter pulled back. He was aware that touching her like that off camera could be considered over the line. After all, he was married. They were friends. However, he couldn't deny that it had felt completely right to do.
"That floor has always been slick. They shouldn't have put you in just socks." Kelly smiled at his soft-spoken anger.
"Well, thank you for bringing me to the hospital. My hero." She gently touched his hand. Peter smiled at the tender gesture before turning serious.
"Did you have to get stitches?"
"No. It was only a tiny cut. But if I learned anything in anatomy class, the tiniest cut on the head can produce a lot of blood."
"I must agree." Peter had to chuckle as he looked down at his frightening appearance. His shirt and pants were splattered with the red substance.
"Oh my gosh! Peter!" She exclaimed. "I'll pay for the dry cleaning."
"Are you kidding?" She looked at him confused. "These are going in my Kelly Rowan shrine." She chuckled and rolled her eyes before closing them.
One of her hands touched the other and she opened her eyes upon feeling the metal residing on her left hand. She looked up at Peter and smiled reminded of the last time they were in this position.
"They survived this time." She said, wiggling her fingers.
Peter smiled at her. "I thought you were supposed to get an upgrade." He said thoughtfully.
Kelly gasped softly. "That's right!" She exclaimed quietly, her eyes widening a little.
As Kelly continued to stare at the rings, Peter looked her over. She looked perfectly fine. He noticed she was wearing a hospital gown. He couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing anything underneath it. Everyone knew it was customary to be naked under a hospital gown.
Kelly noticed his staring. "What?" She blushed underneath his gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Peter was struck speechless. Obviously, he couldn't tell her the truth that he was picturing her naked. Much to his relief, he didn't have to lie to her because just then, the rest of their co-workers walked into her room.
"Kelly!" Melinda shrieked. The way she yelled made it seem like she hadn't seen Kelly in forty years and they were about to catch up at a high school reunion rather than visiting in a hospital room. Peter stood up from his spot beside her.
"Mom, are you okay?" Adam asked, using her affectionate nickname given to her so long ago.
She smiled at the nickname. "Yes. Just a bump on the head."
"Well you made quite the mess." Adam added. They had all seen the Cohen foyer or as they had already started calling it 'the crime scene.' It had them questioning what show they were working on. 'The O.C.' or 'C.S.I.'?
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Kelly had to defend herself.
"Well, just look at Peter!" Autumn mentioned.
"Holy crap!" Willa spoke what they all were thinking.
"I always say: If you're going to bleed might as well bleed everywhere." Adam chuckled.
"I think she just did it for attention." Rachel finally spoke up. Her statement made everyone laugh.
"Yeah. That's it." Kelly agreed. "I figured with the show ending I had to do something that would stay in your minds forever. Busting my head on the floor and bleeding everywhere seemed like such a good idea at the time." Everyone smiled and chuckled.
The group was still chatting when Kelly's doctor came into the room to talk to her. Kelly's first question was when she could leave. Luckily for her, the doctor said she was clear to check out whenever she felt ready. He mentioned that her pain meds would really kick in soon and she would need someone to drive her home.
Peter opened his mouth to offer but Melinda cut in and insisted that she do it before Peter even got a syllable out. The doctor then confirmed Peter's earlier suspicious by mentioning her gown and her other clothes. He looked down at the floor tiles, trying to keep from thinking of her inappropriately.
The cast, excluding Melinda, said their goodbyes to Kelly and exited the room. As the group was about to go through the sliding doors, Peter interjected into the conversation.
"I hate to bother any of you but could someone give me a ride to my car?"
"Oh. I'll do it." Ben spoke up.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. I'd love to." Ben said with a smile and he batted his eyelashes.
Peter laughed at his enthusiasm. "Settle down, Ben. It's not a date."
The two men chuckled and walked to Ben's car.
"Peter," Ben said cautiously as he began driving. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course. Sounds serious."
"I guess it kind of is." Ben said thoughtfully. "I couldn't help but notice how you were with Kelly today." Peter gave him a kind of odd look. Ben noticed but continued. "The way you cradled her in your arms, checked on her the way to the hospital. And when that doctor asked if you were her husband," Ben looked over at Peter. He was looking down at his shoes. "It seemed like you really wanted to say yes."
Peter remained silent so Ben continued on. "I get it. You work closely with her. Maybe that's all this is. None of us have said anything to anyone, even each other, about this. But I think we all would agree that you two seem to share this chemistry. This unspoken communication between the two of you flows every time you are around each other.
"I know that this is probably none of my business." Ben paused, almost afraid to continue. "I see the way you two look at each other even when the cameras are not rolling. I know you're married and all." At this point in the conversation, Ben had already pulled up onto the lot and was stopped in front of Peter's car. Ben turned to Peter.
"And I might just be seeing things, making this all up. It could be complete innocent friendship. But if it isn't? I don't want the show to end and you feel a deep regret for never doing anything about it. Like I said, this isn't really my business. I didn't mean to put ideas into your head or anything. I just felt like I needed to bring it to your attention. And none of my suspicions will leave this car. I'll never speak of any of this again unless you instigate the conversation. Rumors can be really ugly things." He paused before adding one more thing. "And I won't ask you for confirmation that my suspicions are true. I just needed to get this off my chest."
Peter had not said a thing during Ben's entire speech. Truth be told, he had been in denial about this. A four year long denial. He looked Ben in the eyes once more. "Thanks for the ride, Ben. And the speech. I'll think about what you said. And thanks for keeping this to yourself." Ben nodded in understanding.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Peter said as he stepped out of the car.
"Yeah." Ben agreed before driving off. Peter got into his car and cranked it. He put his head on the head rest, sighed exhaustedly, and closed his eyes. "Guess I've got a lot to ponder." He said to himself before putting his car in reverse and pulling out of the lot.
Meanwhile, Melinda had managed to get Kelly home finally. The pain meds had definitely kicked in. Kelly seemed to be in limbo between high on pot and incredibly drunk. She was slurring almost all of her words and continually smiling like an idiot. Melinda started to wonder if the doctors had given her too much. Unlocking the door even became a problem.
Getting Kelly to the front door was the first crazy attempt of the night. Kelly had not said a word the entire ride over to her house. Melinda just assumed she was asleep. Later, Melinda was very thankful that Kelly seemed out of it on the ride over. If she had been as loopy as she was later on, both of them could have ended up in the hospital. Kelly probably would have hung her body out the window or grabbed the steering wheel with her feet.
Melinda parked her car in front of Kelly's home and walked toward the door to go ahead and unlock it. Halfway up the stairs, Melinda heard a smack. She turned around to see Kelly sitting in her driveway, having just tripped out of the car, laughing her head off.
First, Melinda's heart jumped into her throat. Her friend that just got out of the hospital for a head injury just fell again. How could she have let this happen?
Second, Melinda rolled her eyes at her friend's behavior. Something told her the medication was working.
Melinda raced over to see Kelly. She inspected her quickly, her eyes scanning over what they could see.
"Are you alright?"
"Me-linda!" Kelly shrieked as if she had not seen her in forever. "When did you get here?" There was a giant smile plastered on her face before she gasped loudly. "Are we having a party?" Her eyes got wide and she grinned. "P. A. R. T. Why? Because I gotta." She said with oomph while throwing her arm in the air before laughing again.
Melinda rolled her eyes at her. "Are you okay?" She asked. When it seemed that Kelly was fine, Melinda hooked Kelly's arm around her neck and hoisted her up. "C'mon." Kelly groaned and put up a small fight. "Kelly, quit!" That seemed to do the trick and Kelly simmered.
Melinda got them to the front door and leaned Kelly against the wall to keep her up. Melinda fumbled with the key and lock.
"Hey! I know how to do this!" Kelly shrieked, suddenly alive again. Her hand went immediately for the key and she started pulling and scratching at Melinda's hand for possession of the key. "C'mon! Let me have it."
"Kelly, just let me do this!"
"My house! My key!" Kelly yelled at her but she wouldn't let go of the key. "Mindy!" Kelly was fed up now. She let go of Melinda's hand and glowered at her.
Melinda was relieved once Kelly released her hand. She concentrated again on unlocking the front door. They had spent five minutes already trying to accomplish this easy task. She almost had it when she felt a sudden weight on her back.
You have got to be kidding me! She screamed in her mind. Kelly Rowan was on her back! "What are you doing?!" Melinda squealed.
"Ha-Ha! Unlock it now! If you can!" Kelly shrieked and put her hands in Melinda's face.
Melinda resisted the urge to bite Kelly's fingers that were extremely close to her mouth. This night was definitely turning out to be more than she had signed up for. She knew that Kelly was on medicine and probably dizzy. So Melinda did the friendly thing and let Kelly be crazy and completely annoying. She held onto one of Kelly's legs, holding her up, so she wouldn't fall and crack her head again.
Amidst fingers in her face, Melinda finally pushed open the front door. Once it opened up, Kelly jumped off of Melinda's back and walked into the house. "Hey! You got it open!" Kelly sounded amazed, as if it had never been done before and she hadn't just been on Melinda's back. Melinda shook her head.
Suddenly, Kelly clapped her hands. In high school, Kelly's friend had taught her how to clap incredibly loud. This, accompanied with the fact that the house had high ceilings, caused an extremely loud noise to echo throughout the house. It sounded like someone had thrown a safe on the floor.
Needless to say, Melinda was not expecting this loud noise. She jumped and her eyes got really wide. Her head whipped around and she glared at Kelly. She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Oh! I have a question." Kelly said, not at all noticing the shock on Melinda's face or the fact that said woman was practically hyperventilating. "Where is my car?" She asked, taking her time with each word.
Melinda looked at her with a blank stare for a second. Was she serious? A few more moments of staring. She was. Melinda shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Today at work you slipped and hit your head. Peter and Ben took you to the hospital and your car is still at work." Melinda explained slowly.
For a few moments, Kelly stared blankly at Melinda. Suddenly, realization spread across her face. "Oh, yeah! I remember that!" Kelly made it sound like it happened years ago rather than only a few hours. Melinda shook her head in agreement, tired of this game already.
"Let's get you to bed."
"Kay." Then the slurring really began. Kelly hopped over to Melinda and thankfully didn't fall. "Know what I just realized?" Kelly asked as they walked toward her bedroom.
"No idea." Melinda answered.
"If you take out the 'Me' in 'Melinda' you get…" She paused as if this revelation was going to blow everyone away. "Linda." She whispered with her eyes widening.
Melinda raised her eyebrows at this. "Oh my gosh, Kelly. You are totally right. I'll have to remember that." She shook her head up and down as well. Kelly didn't seem to catch on to the fact that she might as well have just said that two plus two is four.
"I'm glad I could help." She said sincerely.
They made it all the way to the bedroom without a hitch. Kelly gasped in awe when she walked into the bedroom.
"I live here." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Another pointless one, Melinda noted.
"Yes, you do, sweetie." Melinda agreed.
Kelly turned to her and made a sour face. "Don't call me sweetie. My mom calls me that. You're not my mom, Linda Larke." She said as she shook her head before turning to look at the bed. She squealed before propelling herself onto it. She flopped around on it lightly.
Melinda shook her head once more. "No, I'm not." She said mostly to herself. "Where are your pajamas?" She asked Kelly.
Kelly was too busy messing up the blankets and sheets to look up. Although, she did answer. "Middle left drawer." She said, occupied elsewhere.
Melinda was surprised when she opened the middle left drawer and it was actually pajamas. She threw them at Kelly whose attention was ripped away from the pillows by the flying clothing. She grabbed it quickly in her hands and looked them over before looking up at Melinda.
"Well, get out, Linda. I can't change in front of you!"
"Alright, fine." Melinda said shrugging. She put her hands up and exited the room. "I'll be right out here."
"Good to know. Don't understand why you want to see me naked so badly but whatever." She mumbled to herself, although Melinda could definitely hear her. She shook her head as she closed the door.
After what seemed like forever, Kelly yelled for her to come back in. Melinda was shocked to find that Kelly had actually managed to put on her pajamas correctly. She was lying in bed very civilly and looked at Melinda as if she were expecting a bedtime story.
"Well, looks like everything is okay here." Melinda walked to Kelly's side of the bed and looked down at her. "You had a big day." Melinda couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a small child. "Get some sleep and I'll come by to check up on you tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Kelly yawned. Melinda headed toward the door. Kelly started talking again. This time she spoke sleepily and she already had her eyes closed.
"That was nice of Peter to take care of me today." This got Melinda to stop. "I love him." This got her to turn and look at the body under the covers. "He's so sweet." Kelly's closed eyes scrunched as if she was picturing him. Then a smile spread across her face. She sighed once more before repeating, even more faintly than before. "I love him."
Melinda couldn't help but smile thoughtfully at Kelly's words. Perhaps it was just the meds putting ideas in her head. Or perhaps it was the meds giving her the excuse to say them out loud. Melinda believed it was the latter.
"Go to sleep." She instructed softly. Kelly made a sleepy sound and with that Melinda left. As she drove, she thought of what Kelly had said. Melinda really believed that Kelly had meant it.
On the drive to his house, Peter had thought about what Ben said in the car. He continued to think as he walked through his house. His family hadn't seem to notice his arrival. They must have been in their respective rooms. To tell the truth, Peter hadn't really been all that interested. He climbed in the shower, hoping to clear his mind so he could lay in bed and start the thinking process all over again.
He was in bed once his wife found his clothes. She shrieked and demanded to know what this bag was sitting in their bathroom. Peter explained what had happened and Paula seemed genuinely concerned for Kelly's health.
"Is she okay?"
"She's fine."
And with that, their conversation was over. Paula slid into her side of the bed and clicked her light off, sending the entire room into darkness. Soon, the sound of her sleeping could be heard. Peter was still awake, staring at the ceiling and trying to make sense of his feelings.
He thought of all these years working side by side with Kelly.
Kissing her while they were in character. Sometimes wanting the director to fall mute and never be able to yell cut.
How restricted he had felt that second year of filming. Kirsten and Sandy were fighting. Neither one was getting lucky which also meant that the actors who portrayed them wouldn't get to kiss either.
He thought about how scared he had been today when she had fallen. He worried he was as he sat in the waiting room.
He considered how protective he became over her when he picked her up. He recalled how he cradled her. How good she felt in his arms as he did so.
He remembered the feeling that swept over him as she said his name when he picked her up. In her own way, pleading with him to take care of her.
The trust she had in him. She knew that he would take care of her.
Once he felt too sleepy to continue thinking, Peter turned onto his side and stared at the back of the blonde haired woman's head. The wrong blonde haired woman.
That night, Kelly slept peacefully, dreaming a drug-induced dream with bright colors and happiness. It was a dream about a guy and a girl. They seemed familiar although she couldn't tell who it was. They were happy.
In the comfort of her own bed, cuddled up with her husband, Melinda thought of her friends, her coworkers. Thought of what Kelly had said and how Peter had acted today. He had hid it well but she still noticed. She soon slipped into slumber, despite her still busy mind, lulled by the deep breathing of the man she was wrapped up in.
Down the busy road and to the right, Ben slept uneasily, unsure of whether or not what he had said to Peter had stepped over the line.
Peter slept that night, torn. Thinking of the blonde across the bed from him and how distant she felt even though she was in the same bed. He turned over to face the window rather than her and began thinking of the blonde across town and how close she felt though she was miles away. He wasn't sure but he thought he might be wishing that she was in the bed next to him instead.
He finally went to sleep that night and dreamt. He dreamt a dream about a guy and a girl. One was brunette and one was blonde. And they were both happy.