Author Note:
* * * Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It's much appreciated! * * *
Disclaimer: What's mine is mine; the rest is Josh Schwartz and Cecily von Ziegesar's property.
…
"This is insane!" Blair fretted angrily. The surrounding officers eyed the petite brunette warily.
Chuck rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Shut up, Blair!" he warned carefully, "You'll only make things worse."
"He didn't do anything," Blair spat, as she ignored Chuck's warning.
Chuck sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
…
Nate tightened his grip around Serena's phone. He could hear her sputter words of disbelief and shock, but his mind couldn't comprehend a word of it.
He collapsed onto a nearby chair, stoically.
Serena was immediately at his side, "Chuck couldn't have done this."
Her words went right over his head. Nate looked up at her; his expression blank, "She called me and I hung up."
Serena's eyes raked over his face, "What?"
"She wanted me to save her," Nate whispered; the tone of his voice was heartbreaking. "I hung up on her? ... I hung up on her. … I hung up on her."
He repeated the words over and over again, an unending litany of denial. The words grew more frantic with each passing breath.
Serena wrapped her arms around him in an attempt to console him. She had never seen him act like this before; it scared her to death. Nate had always been the most grounded person she knew. He was always in control of his emotions. Sure he had suffered his occasional bouts with his temper, but to cry?
She felt his body shake with grief; the sound of his shallow breath made her numb.
"She'll be okay," Serena whispered; praying with all of her might that that would in fact be the case. She rubbed his back, soothingly. "She'll be okay."
…
Dan stole a glance at the electrocardiogram. The action of doing so stole a year off of his life. The fear of seeing it flatten into one straight, distinct line made him cower with terror.
He couldn't bring himself to look at her. The image of her lying on the stretcher when he had first seen her was forever burnt into his mind.
Dan took a shaky breath; nothing could possibly be worse than what he had stumbled upon earlier. If anything, she should look better than the state in which she was brought in.
He finally mustered the courage to look at her.
His heart sank.
She lay their lifeless, like a statue. Medical equipment surrounded her; while numerous tubes ran like vines across her limp form.
The door to the room he was seated in opened. Vanessa poked her head in cautiously, before stepping inside. "I'm still trying to get a hold of your mother, but I just got off the phone with Rufus," she explained.
Dan buried his face in his hands at her comment. His father was probably going out of his mind.
"The earliest they can get here is by tomorrow morning," Vanessa informed grimly.
Dan nodded; his face still buried in his hands.
"She'll be okay, Dan," Vanessa comforted lightly.
Dan let his hands fall from his face. "No, she won't," he replied, his face contorted into something unexplainable. "She'll never be okay."
…
"You're free to go," a burly officer informed as he stepped into the room Blair and Chuck were seated in. The officer was followed by one of the many Bass attorneys'.
Blair got up and shot Chuck a demanding look, "When we get in the limo, you are going to explain everything to me."
Chuck nodded, "Fine. But, we're not going back to the penthouse."
Blair furrowed her eyebrows at him.
"We're stopping by the hospital," Chuck explained.
…
"Jenny," Vanessa choked. She had done her best to keep up a brave front, but now that Dan was out of the room – she couldn't keep the façade up anymore.
"Jenny, please!" Vanessa begged, "You've-You've got to open your eyes."
She didn't expect to receive a response from Jenny. Heck, she wouldn't blame Jenny for ignoring her plea. But to say she wasn't praying for a miracle was a lie. It was sad how far apart they had drifted, but ever since she returned from Spain, she had managed to bridge the gap between them somewhat. She hated to admit it, but she knew that she had been partly responsible for Jenny's fall from grace year earlier.
Vanessa let her eyes skim across Jenny's pale face. The young girl's complexion rivalled the sickeningly white walls of the hospital. Vanessa tore her eyes away from Jenny's face and fixated her gaze on the bed. The bed sheets were also white. Curse this place! she thought, with distress.
…
His heart felt heavy. Every step he took felt like he was walking in cement.
Vanessa had managed to convince him to get some air. He wasn't sure why he had agreed. Watching Jenny's lifeless body felt like being smothered with a pillow.
He found himself gasping for air as he stepped out of the hospital room. Had he been holding his breath? It sure felt like it.
He leaned against a wall, he was seeing dots. His vision blurred, and he slowly slipped to the floor. How could this have happened? His sister didn't deserve this.
He buried his head in his knees; unsure of how long he had stayed there. It wasn't until he felt arms coil around him; that he finally looked up. Serena and Nate looked down at him with concern.
No one said a word; Dan found the silence deafening.
Serena helped him back up to his feet.
"Vanessa's with her right now," Dan informed with a shaky breath. "You can go see her if you want. The doctors have graciously allowed more v-"
Nate's stiffened as Dan silenced himself.
Serena followed Dan's gaze cautiously, only to find herself in the middle of a stare down between Dan and Chuck.
…
Chuck took a brave step towards Dan. The action soon turned into many steps; he watched Dan cautiously as he inspected the emotions that played across Dan's face.
Blair followed Chuck, vigilantly.
Dan's fists immediately clenched at his sides; his body went rigid.
Nate quickly ran in front of him, "I doubt that having you both thrown out of the hospital will make matters better. Jenny needs you Dan, so don't lose your cool."
Dan frowned. He hated to admit it, but Nate was right. Beating Chuck to a bloody pulp wasn't going to help Jenny. Sure he'd suffer a moment of gratification at Chuck's expense, but at what cost? Nate was right. Jenny needed him. If he started a fight, he was bound to be thrown out by security.
"What are you doing here?" Dan questioned through clenched teeth.
"I came to finish the job," Chuck stated bitterly. Blair squeaked with surprise.
Dan lost his cool. Nate grabbed onto him and pulled him away.
"Chuck! What the hell!" Serena fumed.
"Damien was brought in here," Chuck explained, "and I'm going to kill him."
"You said you'd come here to explain yourself," Blair reasoned. She hated when Chuck went on a rampage; there was no way anyone could reason with him; that was until his ill emotions were out of his system.
Nate balled his hands into fists. He began to tremble. Damien! he thought; as clarity came to him, Of course! His face slackened, while his fists shook harder. His stance looked threatening. "What room?" Nate seethed.
Serena and Blair yelped.
"Nate have you lost your mind?" Blair yelled, "What happened about being there for Jenny."
"If that little-" Nate began angrily.
"Not if," Chuck interrupted, lividly, "he did."
Dan exhaled in frustration, "Explain yourself Bass."
"I went back to the house to pick up some business files," Chuck explained. "Only when I got there, the elevator stalled. It was weird. Every other floor worked except for ours."
Dan furrowed his eyebrows at him as he listened, "So I went to the doorman, and told him what was going on. He was just as confused as I was."
"Get to the part about Damien, Chuck," Serena droned.
"I'm getting there," he informed. "Anyways. There are these keys that are being manufactured in Japan; they aren't available in the US yet, but because of my connections…" he trailed off, as he pulled the said key from his pocket.
Dan frowned, "I'm not following?"
"These keys interfere with the perception of high spatial frequencies," Chuck explained, "their use is basically to keep unwanted visitors out. The only way to override the initial action is to use another one of these keys."
"So…"
"I used this," Chuck explained as he motioned to the key, and I was able to activate our floors. Only the rich have access to these, and not many people know about them."
The group eyed him anxiously.
"That's how I realized something was wrong," Chuck continued, "So I called the cops before I headed up,"
Chuck frowned, "I got up to the foyer," he stated with a sullen tone, "and-"
Dan didn't like the way Chuck silenced himself. He prepared himself. It was bad. He knew it. Nothing ever spooked Chuck Bass.
"Chuck?" Nate whispered despite himself.
Chuck swallowed hard. "I got up there and he was…he was on her."
Dan paled.
Serena shook her head; stifling a sob.
"He was- he was," Chuck continued; sputtering in the process, "…I lost it!" he declared after a moment, "The little perv didn't know what hit him."
"So when you were being hauled off in handcuffs earlier," Dan rationalized, "it was because you attacked Damien?"
"He was booked for manslaughter," Blair revealed.
"I swear I would have killed him Humphrey, if it weren't for those cops arriving when they did…" Chuck established, with disdain.
Dan began to hyperventilate, "Which room?"
Chuck met his gaze, they shared rabid stares; "My people have yet to get back to me about that."
"Stop it," Blair begged, "Both of you!"
"I say we raid every room in the meantime," Nate offered, "How bad did you rough him up?"
"He should be in the intensive care unit," Chuck theorized.
"Well that narrows things," Nate noted.
Serena grabbed his hand, "You are not going anywhere! None of you are! I highly doubt having Jenny wake up to find all three of you in prison will cheer her up!"
"Intensive care unit?" Dan repeated; ignoring Serena. "Is that just talk or fact?"
"Fact," Chuck replied; "I threw him into the fireplace while it was lit. He's got to have second degree burns at the least."
"Wait?" Serena questioned, "How are you here? Damien's father is bound to be out for blood?"
"Damien's got quite the case against him," Chuck informed, "I got off on self-defence."
…
"We examined Jenny. There was no trace of semen or signs of forced ingress," the doctor informed Dan. "She's very lucky that your friend arrived when he did."
Dan nodded and flashed the doctor a weak smile. Friend? Is that what Chuck was? He certainly owed him his gratitude for saving Jenny, when he did. If it weren't for him his sister's renewed innocence would have been stolen by Damien. That fact was an incongruous commentary in and of itself.
"However," the doctor continued, "I can't determine Jenny's emotional wellbeing until she wakes up. She did suffer quite a traumatic experience, as most victims of abuse do."
…
Dan made his way back towards Jenny's room. He found Chuck standing alone, in front of the door.
Dan eyed him expectantly as he approached.
"I can't bring myself to see her," Chuck admitted. "It's hard to see her like that."
Dan sighed and nodded. "Um…" he began while scratching the back of his neck tentatively, "I-um…Sorry."
Chuck arched an eyebrow confused.
"Sorry about punching you earlier," Dan explained, nervously.
"Oh," Chuck breathed, "um-yeah. It's okay," he dismissed. "Can't say I blame you. Hell if I were in your position, I'd have punched me."
…
Nate watched as Vanessa coiled herself into a ball; upon the chair in which she sat. She buried her face into her knees; peering up occasionally to shoot cautious glances at Jenny.
Though he had been seated in her room for more than twenty minutes; he hadn't looked at Jenny once. He couldn't bring himself to. Guilt washed over him, and he bolted from the room in search of the nearest restroom. God willingly, it was empty.
He grabbed onto each side of a nearby sink; before he finally looked up at the mirror which hung before him.
He couldn't even look at himself anymore. He had let her down. And that fact made him sick to his stomach.
It took him a while to realize that he was shaking. He turned on the hot water from the tap, and let it smolder his hands. In a quick movement, he splashed the warm water onto his face, in an attempt to calm himself.
He took a deep breath.
He had to see her. He couldn't keep avoiding it. He needed to face her; even if by doing so destroyed him.
…
Nate rubbed the side of his temples as he approached Dan and Chuck in the hallway.
"Some men we are," Chuck commented as he caught sight of Nate, "All the girls are in there, and we're hiding out here."
Nate blinked, unsure of how to respond.
Dan simply exhaled heavily in response, and opened the door to Jenny's room. He paused slightly at the doorway, "What's wrong?"
Chuck and Nate flinched at his words and peered over his shoulders.
Vanessa shook her head, "I don't know. I think she's waking up."
The boys quickly scampered into the room; joining Serena, Blair and Vanessa around Jenny's bedside.
Saying that her face was pale was an understatement. Her complexion rivalled a ghost. Nate winced at the image.
She looked like a defeated rag doll. Battered, cut and bruised. Damien had sure done a number on her.
Hot angry tears bubbled, but Nate didn't dare let them fall. He gripped on to the handlebars of her bed.
Jenny stirred lightly; a glint of hope erupted in his heart.
In a movement that surprised everyone, her head suddenly swung from side to side in a violent spasm.
Her voice came out as inaudible whimpers.
Vanessa went rigid, "I'll go get a doctor."
The whimpers soon turned to screams.
"Stop!" she screamed; the group inched away from the bed, as she began to thrash. "Get off of me!"
Dan was immediately at her side. He patted her hair, trying to comfort her. "Jenny," he pleaded, "its Dan."
"What's wrong with her," Blair cried. Chuck put a protective arm around her, speechlessly.
"Get off of me!" she continued to scream.
Serena bolted from the room in tears.
"Somebody help me!" Her screams ripped through their ears; the look of pure agony on her face made Chuck turn away in horror.
Jenny was obviously reliving her nightmare.
Nate paled. If he didn't know any better he would have thought that his heart had stopped beating. Jenny's desperate screams shattered the last of his defences.
"Get off!"
Her screams rung in his ears, so loudly he thought his brain was going to explode.
"Somebody help me!"
Nate's eyes grew vacant, he would never forgive himself.
"Somebody help me!"
And he was positive Jenny wouldn't either.
…
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Clarification: For those of you who didn't catch it. Damien didn't rape Jenny. He was in the process of doing so, but Chuck saved her.
