After school that day, Chris dropped by the hospital to see how Jess was feeling.
He came into her ward after being taken to a different part of the building.
"Now that you're pretty much better, I guess I don't have any reason to give you these now…" He noted to her, handing her a carrier bag.
Pleasantly surprised, she peered into it. "You didn't have to get me anything…"
"Well, I mean the stuff they give you in here can't be all that nice, can it?" He sat next to her. "Unless they've said you're completely nil by mouth and they stick you on a drip all day."
"I don't know if I'm allowed to eat anything." Jess admitted, "but I'm guessing they're thinking of discharging me soon anyway."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, I had an x-ray this morning, to see if the leg's healing the way it should. After I was admitted last night, they took me straight through to have it fixed."
"I remember the doctor telling me that when he took me through to see you last night."
She nodded slowly. "Anyway I heard the nurse say that she was going to find me some crutches to use."
"So you can't weight bear?" Chris noted, concerned. "At all?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess not. Not on my injured side, anyway."
He thought for a few minutes. "Let me talk to someone. So I know just how bad this is."
"But I've already said…"
"I know," he placed a hand on her shoulder, "and I don't doubt what you're telling me. But you're still shocked, you don't seem to know yourself, and you've been heavily doped up…all good reasons for me to consult someone else."
At that moment, a doctor came in. "How are you holding up now, Jess?"
"Still feel stiff."
"How bad is she?" Chris peered up at him, noticing he was writing down something on his clipboard.
"She sustained a bit of damage to her hip when she fell." He explained. "It's not exactly broken but she chipped the crest of it – that's left her with a hip pointer."
"Sh-she fell?" He turned round to gaze at her.
"I didn't want you to get yourself involved with that guy." Jess told him quietly. "That was why I didn't wanna say."
"Jess, he did this to you on purpose." He sat closer to her. "Possibly with the intent to kill. Did he push you, was that it? And no more omitting certain truths this time."
She nodded slowly. "He pushed me down a flight of stairs."
"Well, that would explain the slight bruising to her back." The doctor noted.
"She's been keeping things from you too?" He assumed.
"She hasn't been completely forthcoming since staying here."
"Jess, this is serious." Chris placed a hand on her arm. "You're lucky you're near enough ok to come out, else I'd have a job trying to explain to your mum about this."
She shook her head softly.
"And he won't be going that far anyway, he's been reported." He noted, prompting her to gaze sharply at him. Ignoring her stare, he turned back to the doctor. "So is she ready to come out now?"
"As good as." He smiled a little. "The bruising to her back should subside within a few days, and as for the hip pointer, it might help to keep an eye on that."
"Well that's ok." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You wanna take a day or two off school so you can rest and take the weight off your leg?"
Jess shook her head dimly. "I'd feel better if I was with you."
"As long as you're sure." He warned. "Although I won't exactly know how to help if you end up feeling worse. On the plus side, you've got crutches…"
"Just take me straight to the sick room in that case."
"I'm not entirely sure you should be in at all." Chris admitted. "I don't like the idea of you being in when you're not really that well."
"But Chris…"
"Don't start that." He cut her off softly. "I'm taking you back to your mum's."
Five minutes later, Jess was given her crutches and shown how to use them; Chris stood not too far away from her in case she keeled over and the doctor reappeared with some painkillers.
"She can use these to dull the pain for the time being. There's enough there to last a few weeks, but she needs more she can get a repeat prescription."
"Ok." He turned to her slowly. "You ok?"
"I think so."
"You'll be unsteady for a few minutes, but once you get used to them, you'll be ok." The doctor reassured her.
"See?" Chris placed a hand on her back. "You'll be ok, and you've got your mum to look after you."
"But I don't want her to look after me." Jess weakly protested. "I want you."
Chris drove Jess back to Karen's. "I'm not going to stay for long."
"I want you to." She pleaded with him, gazing into his big, bright blue eyes. "Please, Chris…"
"You going to be ok getting out," he started, "or you want me to go to your side and help you?"
"I don't think I feel I can get out myself."
"Ok." He swiftly went to her side once he'd gotten out, and pulled her out, as he made sure she only put weight on her uninjured leg.
She got herself back on her crutches as he locked the car up. "Feel so achy."
"Well, the doctor said you'd be achy for a few days." He reassured her. "But you've got painkillers to help with that."
Karen answered the door; she didn't look as though she'd gotten any sleep, even though Chris explicitly told her to. "Jess…thank god you're ok." She wrapped her arms around her, aware that she was on crutches.
She peered up at the young male thankfully.
"Doctors say she'll feel a bit rough for a few days, but she'll up and about in no time." He reassured her.
"Thank you for taking the time to go and see her…and to bring her back to us."
"Not a problem."
Jess peered up at him softly. "Can you come with me?"
"If…your mum's ok about that."
"That's no problem." She smiled softly, letting them both in. "And you've done so much in keeping her safe."
The redhead managed to manoeuvre up the stairs on her crutches, with him not too far behind her.
"And no late-night surfing." He teased her, as she positioned herself on her bed. She propped her crutches up against the wall as he sat beside her.
"I don't think I feel like doing that."
"Well, I don't know if that's a good thing or not," Chris smirked playfully, "but one thing's for sure, and that's that you need to sleep." He let her peel her clothes off herself, helping her out a little when she couldn't move her leg that well. "And I'm not getting any pleasure out of this, if that's what you think."
"I didn't think you would be." Jess giggled a little, as she slipped a satiny-looking nightdress, catching his attention a little. "Are you sure there was no ulterior motive going on?"
"Absolutely." A slight smirk at his mouth told her otherwise. He noticed she seemed to be in slight pain as she tried to sit herself up. "You ok there? You want me to prop you up a little?"
"If that's ok."
"Course it is." He managed to prop her up a little with her top pillow. "I am to look after you."
"On top of us…doing things together."
He pulled the blankets over her. "Now that, young lady, is beside the point." He got up, drawing her curtains over the window, even though it was still dusky outside. "Now get some sleep and I'll drop by in a day or two."
She quickly grabbed hold of the bottom of Chris's jacket, prompting him to stop dead in his tracks.
He was surprised she hadn't lost her reflexes from the drugs. "Jess, I…"
"Please don't go." She pleaded with him again.
"I have to." He dropped himself on the chair next to her bed, gently flicking a straight scarlet wisp back from her eye. "You can always keep in touch with me by texting, if you really want that."
"But that's not enough." Jess's hands moved to his sleeves, squeezing at the firm muscle underneath. "At least stay for a bit longer."
He sighed a little. He didn't want to leave her either, but there was very little he could've done for her. He twirled a long red strand around his index finger. "I can stay till you fall asleep, how about that?"
She relaxed a little more. "Ok."