Hey babes! Back again with a new fic for ya! This is probably one of the quickest turnovers I've had for a fic before, and I am so glad about it. Saw a post from someone on Tumblr about what if EJ had actually been there when Gina got hit by the basketball, and so naturally, I got inspired.

This combines a few different ideas I've seen floating around before, as well as a couple of mine, so I hope you all like it!

Enjoy!

Tugging on the bottom of his color war shirt, EJ breathes deeply as he makes his way across the camp grounds, more than ready to join up with his friends and teammates. He appreciates Miss Jenn coming down on such short notice to help him out with his directorial debut, he really does, but the number one thing he wanted to do this summer was enjoy camp with his friends. And even though he has a lot on his plate, he is determined to at least enjoy some part of color war.

Thankfully, Miss Jenn had been more than understanding when he'd told her the situation, even if she had wanted him to stay and keep taking lessons from her. But she agreed to let him duck out a little early, making him promise to put in some extra effort with everything she's taught him.

He thinks she was a bit more willing once he'd mentioned wanting to spend as much time with Gina as possible, a sort of misty look in her eyes, but he's not one hundred percent sure. She had smiled pretty brightly after he mentioned it, though, so he's willing to bet on it.

Picking up his speed to a light jog, EJ moves closer to the basketball court, eager to find what he hopes will be nothing but pleasant surprise on Gina's face when she sees him. He knows he's already let her down many more times than he ever wanted to, but he's hoping he can earn some points back by showing up to this event. She wants them to win side by side, and he intends to make it happen.

EJ spots Gina almost immediately once he's within a decent view of the basketball court. She's standing on the concrete surrounded by other campers and Mr. Bleu, looking just as amazing as she always does. His smile grows a little wider the closer he gets, raising a hand in the air and opening his mouth, ready to call out her name and get her attention, preparing himself for whatever reaction she's going to have.

He stops short when he sees a basketball flying fast across the court. And it's heading right for Gina. Before he has a chance to warn her, it hits her square in the side of the head, sending her straight to the ground.

He reacts immediately, breaking out into a run and shoving his way through the crowd of campers to get to his girlfriend. "Gina!" he calls out even though he knows she won't be able to answer him if she's been knocked unconscious. "Hey, let me through," he says to a couple of campers who are pressed closely together.

Once he breaks through, his breath catches in his throat when he sees Gina lying on her side on the concrete with her eyes closed. He rushes to her side and falls to his knees, his hands immediately finding her head and cradling it gently, checking the side of her head for any sign of a bruise or lump starting to form.

He glances up at everyone else gathered around. "Who threw the ball? You shouldn't be throwing it at someone who isn't paying attention. That's how really serious injuries happen." He doesn't even bother finding out who threw the basketball at Gina, too focused on making sure she's actually okay at the moment. He glances up to see Kourtney and Carlos standing particularly close, and can see the worry clear as day on their faces.

"Does someone have a jacket or something we could put under her head?" he asks no one in particular, looking back down at Gina. "It'll be a lot better than her arm."

There's some shuffling around him and then a jacket appears in his view, which he gratefully takes. He carefully lifts Gina's head off of her arm, moving the appendage out of the way, and then places the bunched up jacket in its place, setting her head back down. His worry for her wellbeing grows with each second that passes that she remains unconscious.

"Someone should alert the nurse," he says without taking his eyes off of his girlfriend. "It might not be as serious as it could be, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"I'm on it!" someone shouts from behind him, followed by the telltale sound of shoes against pavement.

EJ frowns as he rests a hand on the side of Gina's head, being careful of the place where she was hit. "Come on, Gina, wake up. I know you can do it."

Mere seconds later, Gina begins mumbling, her lips barely moving with the sound. But it doesn't sound like normal talking that can sometimes happen when someone gets knocked unconscious. It's different. It's…

"Hang on," Kourtney speaks up. "Is that…is it just me or does anyone else hear…singing?"

"Uh, I think it's coming from Gina," Carlos remarks.

EJ's brows furrow tightly as he focuses his attention on Gina, shuffling a little closer to her and leaning down so he can try to hear. Sure enough, she's definitely doing some sort of singing under her breath while unconscious. He just chuckles quietly and shakes his head. "Leave it to you to perform even when you're not awake."

It carries on for only a minute or so, Gina's mumbled singing, and the entire time he doesn't stop worrying about her. And wondering what's taking the nurse so long to show up. How long does it take to get the nurse?

He stumbles back a moment later when Gina gasps awake, her eyes flying open and her arms reaching out.

EJ immediately moves closer, grabbing Gina's closest hand and resting his other on her back to help her sit up. "Hey, take it easy. You got hit in the head with a basketball. Give yourself a second."

She looks over at him. "EJ?"

He offers her a small smile. "Yeah. You okay?"

"I think so."

"Can you stand?" he asks, shifting into a squatting position, ready to help Gina up the moment she says so.

She nods. "Yeah."

"Good." He carefully helps her get on her feet, keeping his hand hovering at her back in case she's unsteady. Once she's up, he keeps hold of her hand and uses the hand at her back to reach up and brush her braids back again, keeping his hand on her head and looking into her eyes. "How you feeling?"

Her brows furrow slightly. "Um, okay, I think. Just a little groggy."

"Well, that's to be expected," a familiar voice drifts into the space.

EJ turns in time to see the camp's nurse making her way through the crowd, a medical bag in hand. "Nurse Smith, it's about time."

"Sorry," the woman says, "I was busy dealing with some first time campers who found the poison ivy plants by mistake."

EJ grimaces. "Ooh. Are they okay?"

"They will be. Now, let me get a look at you," she says, stopping in front of Gina and pulling out a small pen light, shining it into her eyes. "You got hit in the head with a basketball?"

Gina nods. "Apparently. And I was unconscious."

"Any dizziness?" Nurse Smith asks, putting her pen light away. "Do you feel like you're going to be sick?"

Gina shakes her head. "No. My head is a little…groggy but no dizziness or nausea."

Nurse Smith takes a deep breath. "Okay. Well, I don't think you have a concussion, but I'd still take it easy just to be safe. No excessive movement for the next few hours. And if you start to feel sick or pass out again, I want you to come and find me immediately."

EJ nods. "We'll make sure to. Thank you, Nurse Smith."

"Yeah, thanks, Nurse Smith."

Nurse Smith smiles. "It's what I'm here for. Take it easy, I mean it." She levels them both with a look and then turns to walk off the court, taking her medical bag with her.

EJ watches Nurse Smith leave for a moment and then turns back to Gina. He releases her hand to rest both of his on her shoulders. "Hey, you're sure you're okay?"

She nods. "Yeah, I'm okay." She looks up at him and smiles softly. "You're here."

He smiles back just as softly, gently rubbing her arms. "Of course I am. We were gonna win Color War together, weren't we? Team Wonderstudy?"

She laughs quietly. "Yeah, Team Wonderstudy."

He takes a deep breath and shifts on his feet. "So, do you want to keep playing?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," Gina admits.

"If it helps, you can still be the hero," Kourtney says with a smile. "We just need one more basket."

Gina looks around at everyone and then nods. "I'll do it."

Carlos steps forward then. "For the record, the yellow team is about to win, unless you can make one shot from the three point line. Good luck, bestie."

"This would be very helpful for the documentary if you succeed," Corbin interjects.

"You got this," Ricky tells her, holding out a blue basketball. "Probably."

EJ takes a few steps back to give her some space to shoot and then smiles encouragingly at her. He watches with bated breath as she concentrates on the ball in her hands and the basket in front of her. Even though it's a summer camp, there's still quite a lot of pressure on her, given that this moment is being filmed, and he just hopes the pressure doesn't get to her and that she'll make the shot. Of course, he knows he'll still be proud of her even if she doesn't make it.

He clenches his fists together as he watches the ball go up, sail through the air…and then sink right into the basket. Nothing but net.

EJ breaks out into a grin as the entire blue team begins to cheer. He turns toward Gina the same second she turns to him, stepping forward to scoop her up into a hug. He wraps his arms tightly around her and carefully spins her around so he doesn't risk agitating her head and making it worse.

"You did it," he says as he sets her feet back on the ground, keeping his arms around her. "I'm so proud of you."

She's beaming up at him, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. "Thanks. I'm really glad you were here, EJ."

"Me too. And I'm…I'm sorry, Gina. For not being around this summer as much as I wanted to be, and for not telling you about the letter when I got it. I was just…"

She shakes her head. "Hey, none of that right now. We can talk about it later. Right now let's just celebrate this win."

He lets out a breath. "Yeah, I think I can do that. And I'm really, really glad you're okay. I was pretty worried there for a minute when I saw you go down."

Her face softens. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me," she tells him with a small smile.

He smiles a little wider. "No one else I'd rather be stuck with."

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

EJ absolutely would have been in ultimate protective boyfriend mode if he'd been there, you can't change my mind. And why did no one mention getting a nurse? I'm just gonna assume it was done off screen.

No matter what happens in the next episode, you can bet your butt I'm still gonna be shipping Portwell. I've been through much worse, I can handle this.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!