My notes: Like I promised, Jess is still alive. He is in some kind of coma, but he's still breathing. In this chapter - Rory's reaction. It's very emotional, so hope you like it. Enjoy reading!:)
Story: Four years after Philadelphia, Rory and Jess meet again. (In my story that night ended different. Keep that in mind.)This time in Stars Hollow for Luke and Lorelai's wedding. Each of them keep a secret. Secret, that can change a life.
Chapter 29 Between Life And Death
Jess could not wake up. Rory felt her heart in her throat.
'Jess?' she called him quiet at the beginning.
No reaction.
'Jess?' her voice raised up.
No reaction.
'Jess?' she yelled at the end, already knowing that he did not wake up. His face was calm, but so pale. Rory tried to find his pulse. It was almost bearable and his skin was so cool. Her hands started to tremble.
'Jess, no…' she whispered and desperately tried to find her phone. She found it on the cupboard and dialed John's number.
'Rory…' she heard Paris' husband voice loud and clear from the next side of the line. 'What…'
'It's Jess…' God, even her voice sounded panicking. She felt the tears. 'I can't wake up him… I can't…'
'Okay…' John said and she heard how he dialled another number. 'I will send you a helicopter to New York and I am going to call Doctor Smith. We have connections there. The helicopter should be there after five minutes…'
'I don't know what to do…' Rory's voice continued to tremble.
'Listen to me!' John said. 'You have to be strong! You have to think! You have to call someone – your mother, your sibling…'
Rory nodded.
'Yeah, yeah… I can do that…' she sobbed.
'Okay… I will call to make the arrangements and we will meet in New York.'
'Okay…' Rory closed the phone and then dialled her mother.
'Hi…' she heard voice of her mother. 'I'm just coming to you…'
'Jess is bad…' Rory said and tried not to cry again. She failed.
'What… Rory?'
'How far is you?' Rory interrupted her.
'I'm just crossing the street…'
'Good.' Rory closed the phone and looked back at Jess. He was motionless. Rory knelt beside the bed and stroked his hair.
'You can't leave me…' she whispered, knowing that he couldn't hear her. 'You can't leave me…' she repeated. 'I love you…'
Lorelai came in at the same second.
'Rory?' she went to her daughter and tried to lift her up, but Rory pulled back her hands. 'Rory, you need to take care for your daughter…' Lorelai tried again, but Rory just could not move.
'I have to take care for him, mom…' she watched his face. 'Please, you take care for Annie… I have to stay with him…'
'Rory…'
'Mom, please..?' Rory could not move her eyes from him.
The helicopter arrived and Lorelai could not answered. Finally, she nodded.
'I take care for Annie and we'll meet you at the hospital…'
'New York.' Rory said and passed to her mother one small piece of paper. 'In this hospital. We'll be there.'
Rory was at the helicopter with Jess. She could not leave him. John really was make arrangements. Without any problems, paramedics allowed her to leave with them. She held his hand in almost all the way to New York. Her face was blank, with no emotions, but inside she's crying. Her thumb rubbed his palm. His skin was still cool. She listened the constant sound of the machine, which read his heartbeat. It was slow, but paramedics told her that is normal for his condition.
The flight was only ten minutes, but for Rory that was whole eternity.
In the hospital, she met one of the Doctor Smith assistants. Until she watched, how they transported Jess into the ER, Doctor Wraith introduced to her.
'Mrs. Mariano?' she herd quiet voice behind her.
Rory turned around.
'Yes?' she saw tall dark man in his middle ages, forty – forty five maybe?
'I'm Doctor Benjamin Wraith. I am one of Doctor Smith's assistants here. He will be here after thirty minutes.'
'Thank you…' her answer was not strong than whisper. She turned back into the ER window. She could not see anything. The doctors and the nurses pushed her away and now she stood in front of the milky-white window.
'What happened?' she asked Dr. Wraith, who still was behind her.
'Probably the internal bleed caused by the aneurysm…' he answered. 'It happens; there is nothing we can do to prevent that…'
One of the nurses showed her head from the door. Her face was worried.
'Dr. Wraith, we need you…'
'What? What happened?' Rory felt that something was wrong. The nurse sounded panicking.
'I'll be back in a minute!' Dr. Wraith rushed into the ER, without answering her.
Rory slid down on the near bench. She covered her face with hands and started to cry. She could not do more than that. The only thing left for her at this moment was praying.
'How can I live now…' she whispered in empty corridor. '… without you…'
She did not tell him her little secret. He did not know. She buried fingers in her hair and tried to breathe. Just like yesterday. When everything was okay; when they were one happy family; when their daughter turned four; when he told her that he loved her. And she decided to tell him tomorrow…
The door of the ER opened and Dr. Wraith sat beside her. His face was worried even more than before. She looked at him, already knowing that the news was not good.
'I was right.' He said and took a hand on her back. 'I'm sorry, it was an internal bleed. We almost lost him back there and…'
'And?' she fought with the tears.
'That will complicate the entire procedure…'
'What do you mean?'
'We'll have to wait couple of days and I'm not sure that we have them…'
Rory stood up and desperately tried to breathe, but somehow she could not. Not enough time… Not enough time…
'You… have… to… help… him…' she inhaled after every word. Doctor Wraith grabbed her and took her down on the bench. 'Please… I cannot loose him now… Please… He is my life…' her eyes were full of tears.
Doctor Wraith waved to one of the nurses for water. He handed the plastic cup to Rory.
'Calm down now…' he said and rubbed her back. 'I didn't say that we won't try… I said that there are might be complications and it could be very dangerous, but still there is a chance for him…'
Rory sobbed one more time and gulped the water.
'You love him…' he said and smiled at her.
Rory nodded.
'More that I thought I could… We have one beautiful little girl and…'
'Rory!' she heard her mother's voice and turned back. Lorelai and Luke rushed through the corridor.
Doctor Wraith stood up and she looked back at him.
'He'll be transported into the Reanimation. Doctor Smith said that you might want to be with your husband, so he arranged single room with extra bed.'
Rory nodded.
'You have to know that this is an exception for this hospital.' Doctor Wraith continued with light smile. 'You have a powerful friends …'
'Thank God I have them…' Rory answered and tried to smile back, but she couldn't.
'Be careful for you, okay?' he said before he turned back at the ER.
'Rory!' Lorelai hugged her and Rory just stood there.
'How is he?' Luke sound concerned.
'Not good…' Rory sobbed again. 'Not good at all…'
They sat on the bench. Luke and Lorelai sat beside her. Lorelai took her hand and squeezed her.
'Dr. Wraith said that it was an internal bleed and… Mom I can't loose him!' she burst into tears.
'Sh-hh…' Lorelai rubbed her back and exchanged worried look with Luke. 'You're not going to loose him, you'll see… Just calm down…'
Тhe door of the ER opened and they went out with Jess on the stretcher. Rory stood up and went to them.
'You are Mrs. Mariano?' said one of the nurses.
Rory nodded.
'You come with us.' She had a nice calming voice. 'Doctor Wraith said that you'll stay with your husband.'
'Yeah… yeah…' she said, but her eyes were on Jess. He had a tube under his nose, which helped him to breathe. Rory took his hand and walked along with the medical team. 'How is he?' she asked the same nurse, who told her to follow them.
'Was not good at the beginning, but we stabilized him for now…' she answered.
Rory did not answer, just continued to hold his hand and walked.
'You have to wait for awhile…' said the nurse, when they reached the Reanimation. 'You have to wear the appropriate clothes. Everything here is sterile so…'
Rory nodded and bent down to kiss Jess' forehead.
'I'll be here in a minute…' she whispered and watched how they entrance him inside.
'Rory?' her mother and Luke walked to her. 'What's now?'
Rory rubbed her forehead.
'They'll bring me appropriate clothes for there and I'm going to stay with him until the surgery…'
Lorelai and Luke nodded.
'How is Annie?' Rory asked with concern in her voice.
'She's good. We left her with Paris.'
'Paris is here?'
'Yeah, she came with her husband and her lovely son. She is with the children in their house here.'
'Good… good…' Rory calmed a little. At least Annie was good. 'Did she know about…'
'She heard the helicopter, but we told her that you and Jess going on the trip and we'll follow you later.'
'Thanks mom…' Rory tried to smile, but then turned serious again. 'What about Jess' mom? She has to know!'
'I told her…' Luke said with sadness in his eyes. 'She told me that she has to take care for her little daughter and we have to call her when everything is finished… Damn! Why Liz is not here? He is her child too! Damn!' Luke hit the wall and walked far from them.
'He is in pain…' Lorelai said and followed him with eyes.
'We all are…' Rory whispered and her mother looked at her. 'Jess is between life and death now and we have to be with him… I need to be with him…'
'Mrs. Mariano?' the nice nurse showed up from the Reanimation. 'We're ready for you. Please, follow me…'
'Okay…' Rory said and then threw one last look at her mother. 'Pray for us…' were her final words before she entered inside.
After couple of minutes, Rory sat beside Jess' bed and caressed his hair.
Life and death, she thought. And he even didn't know… She let the tears falling…
'Please wake up, please… I have to tell you something...' she whispered, but no one answered her. She heard only the beep of the machine.
