AN: Ok, just to clear up any questions, the other man was the one that shot
the second man; he was trying to shot Jess, but missed and killed his
partner. Jess got grazed by the bullet. Also, Jess didn't stab the man; he
hit him with the butt of his knife. Ok, just wanted to clear that up. Thank
you so much for the reviews, some of you absolutely make my day, even if
you don't realize it, you do! I know I am slow, but hey, I try…
Chapter 11: Blood, Needles and Doctors- Oh my!
Rory stirred in her sleep, warm and content. Then she felt an arm wrapped around her, felt a body behind her, and nearly jumped out of bed.
"What the…" Jess almost cursed in surprised, then settled down sleepily rubbing his eyes with one hand.
Rory sighed, now remembering where she was, and who she was with. But with this remembrance, last nights event couldn't help but make a painful appearance as well.
"Sorry, I just forgot where I wa-wa-was…" Rory said not managing to stifle the yawn at the end of her sentence.
"Don't worry about it." Jess said and flopped back down on his back.
"How's your arm?" Rory asked, crawling over to him as he struggled to sit up again.
"Uh, it…" He said as he turned his arm to look at the bandage
"Still really needs stitches." Rory finished for him, her eyebrows wrinkled in concern.
Despite the massive amounts of gauze she had used, the blood had seeped through, and now, though the tape made it look like a pool of blackish red.
"Yah." Jess said agreeing. He looked up at Rory and smiled weakly at her. "Don't worry, I will be fine. But how are you?" He asked the sensitive question carefully
"Ok, I guess…" Rory trailed off. "Hey," she continued "don't you think it would be a good idea to call the cops or something? I guess we just forgot last night…" Rory said
"Oh, um…ok." Jess said awkwardly
"What does that mean?" Rory asked suspiciously
"Well, I'm sure someone heard the gun shots, or saw the, ah…well, I'm sure someone heard the shots and called the cops." Jess finished looking away
"Jess, we just can't assume that." Rory said a little unsure if she was hearing Jess right.
"Look Rory, I just don't think calling the police is the greatest idea…"
"What! Jess, why wouldn't we call them?" Rory asked shocked
"Why? Well I'll tell you why Rory. The second you call the police, the second the questions start. The second the questions start, the second it leads back to me, then I get in trouble." Jess said staring at her
"What do you mean, you get in trouble? How can you get in trouble for being attacked?" Rory said in disbelief.
Jess sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
"Rory, I'm on probation. That means I'm not even to so much as step outside my front door past nine o'clock, and I hardly think being out past twelve can constitute as that. Then comes the question of how the, uh, man, got hurt in the face, and then why I had a weapon-yes even if it is for self protection-" Jess said as Rory opened her mouth to protest "and then knowing my kind-hearted probation officer, why my mother wasn't home. Then she gets in trouble, consequently I get in trouble from her, and then more questions come. Like 'what were you doing out so late in the first place?' Next thing you know, I end up in the hospital, taking a drug test, and, I really don't want to discuss what could come next. See Rory, calling the cops really works out well for me." Jess finished sarcastically
"Oh." Was about all Rory could muster. "You've had experience…"
"You could say that." Jess shrugged
"What if we leave a miscellaneous call?" Rory asked as she was stuck by the idea.
Jess nodded, "Yah, if we call at all, we should definitely do that."
"But what are we going to say at the hospital?" Rory suddenly realized after a moment of silence
"What?" Jess asked coming out of his own thoughts
"What are we going to tell them at the hospital? You need to get your arm fixed, so what do we say when they ask what happened?" Rory said, worried all over again
"I don't think we'll really have to worry about it. It's not a distinguishable gun wound. I mean, I did only get a deep graze, and it's not like they have to go fishing for a bullet or anything." Jess said
"So you mean we should just make up something that happened?" Rory asked
"Got any ideas?" Jess asked back with a guilty shrug.
"Come on; well figure it out on the way over." Rory sighed and stood up, searching for her clothes
Jess watched her gather up her clothes, her body slumped and her face distant and forlorn
"Rory…" Jess said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She stopped as he got off the bed and stood in front of her. He looked deeply into her eyes; they were filled with such sadness, confusion and regret. He gently took the clothes from her hands and dropped them on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her into him. She didn't resists, but welcomed the embrace. Her hands tingled slightly as she felt his bare back under her touch. Rory didn't know what to feel. She was grateful and delighted for having Jess, confused, angry and saddened at what she had experienced, and nervous and anxious at what was to come. Her many emotions frustrated her, and she felt her eyes begin to water as she gripped on to him tighter, his soft skin warm against her body and touch. Jess pulled her away and wiped her face softly with his hand. She smiled weakly and kissed him gently on the lips, thanking him. Jess shook his head sadly as he watched her make her way to the bathroom to change, he couldn't think of the start to a better relationship in worst conditions. But, hell, what didn't kill them would only make them stronger.
After the two had dressed and made the call to the police station, Rory helped Jess pack up his things, which didn't take very long. Jess left a note for Liz on Rory's request. Very contrite and cold, all it said was that he was going back to Stars Hallow and to send the things he couldn't fit in his bag ASAP. After they left, they made a pit stop at a coffee shop and had breakfast and four cups of coffee for Rory alone, though she did allow Jess to convince her to make the last one to go. His arm was pulsating painfully and he felt a bit light headed, though he decided it best not to mention anything. After the phone call and her breakfast and coffee fix, Rory was already feeling a bit better. They pulled up to the hospital parking lot and made their way to the information desk.
"Hi, I…" Rory stopped as the women held up a finger to silence her, picking up the ringing phone with her right hand and prodding at the flashing button with her oversized nails.
"North Manhattan Saint Mary's Hospital, this is Gena speaking, how may I help you?"
Rory sighed and looked at Jess
"A Mr. Jemmins? No, Jenkins. Robert? Ok, hold on one moment please while I look up his room number…"
"Come on…" Jess said grabbing her arm.
As he pulled Rory away she couldn't help but notice the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Sighing she followed.
Jess led Rory back out side and turned, heading for the big read doors that read EMERGINCY above them.
"Oh, no Jess! Are you crazy? You can't just…"
"Why not, I've got blood, and that's just about all of an entrance fee they need." He said smiling despite the seriousness of the situation and the now increasing pain in his arm.
Jess walked in, Rory a little hesitant, followed him. They walked up to one of the nurses, who looked a little puzzled at their casual entrance.
"Can I help you?" She paused and asked them curtly. Cutting Jess off before he could respond with some sort of remark that probably would either be considered rude or sarcastic, Rory spoke instead.
"My, um, friend here," she said looking sharply at Jess to shut up, "he hurt his arm and it needs stitches pretty badly. Do you think you could help us out?" Rory said as nicely as possible.
"No." Rory was shocked "Not until you fill out all the forms first." The woman started to walk away.
Rory couldn't believe what had just happened. Before she could think she was already blurting out
"Being an emergency room, I believe it's your job to help us out. He. Is. Bleeding. Can you not see that? The paperwork can wait, right now; we need you to get us a person compatible with a needle and thread." Rory said her face a bit flustered in annoyance.
Jess stood back, impressed, but also thankfully. He gripped onto the wall to stay standing, his head was spinning dangerously. The sooner he got it fixed, the better. He looked back down at the bandage and realized that it had leaked completely through the gauze, now that he had been moving his arm around. During the night it hadn't bleed much as he had been still, but now, the deep color was oddly foggy through the massive amounts of scotch tape, the red had crept along so that it was almost to where the 'bandage' ended above his elbow.
The nurse stared at Rory for a moment, and then said reluctantly,
"You know, usually we don't even talk to people that aren't on a gurney, but… it's a slow day. Follow me." She motioned to them, sighing and muttering under her breath as she walked away quickly, her impatient ness evident.
"Thank you." Rory breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to Jess who stood smiling at her.
"Didn't think you had it in you." He said
"Me neither." Rory replied smiling. It left her quickly though, and she paused as Jess didn't move. "Aren't you coming?"
"Oh, um, yah…" Jess trailed off and slowly let go of the wall, walking towards Rory. He didn't get far before he almost collapsed. She grabbed him before he fell and helped him stand.
"Jess, are you ok?!" She asked in shock. He had seemed fine a minute ago.
"Yah, just a little dizzy." He said shaking his head. "Come on, we better not loose Miss. Sunshine." He said, another attempt at lightening the situation
"Ok…" Rory said apprehensively. She guided him down the hall, but by the time they had reached the end, his head was slumped and she was practically caring him.
"Jess, come on Jess, were almost there." She said straining under his weight, practically begging him. Another doctor walked by and spotted her holding Jess.
"What are you doing young lady?" He said, taking her by surprise
"Trying to… help him… get to the room… that the nurse was showing us…" She grunted out
"Forget that, come, on help me get him into the wheel chair." The doctor said as he grabbed one inside the nearest room.
"He's lost a lot of blood. Do you know what blood type he is?" The doctor asked worried.
"No…I don't have a clue." Rory said equally concerned.
The doctor sighed and quickly wheeled Jess towards a room. Rory looked behind and noticed what the doctor must have seen earlier. There was a small trail of little dark puddles leading from around the corner they had turned to get into the hall. She turned back and followed after Jess, trying to ignore the guiding spots.
Rory watched as the doctor, with the help of Miss. Sunshine Nurse (she had come back after realizing they hadn't followed her) laid Jess on a bed and hooked up an IV into the crook of his arm. Then, while the nurse took a blood sample, the doctor started to unwind the soaked bandage. Jess groaned slightly but then lye still, his eyes half closed. The nurse left the room quickly with the sample, and Rory watched as the doctor began to clean out the wound. It looked even worse than it had last night, and Rory hadn't thought that could be possible. The doctor sterilized it with a clear liquid and then held gauze onto his cut with one hand, the other groping around in the drawers for materials. Sighing, he looked questionably at Rory, and then looked away again.
"Do you need me to help with something?" Rory asked, sensing he did
"Oh, well, yes. Could you go out and find another nurse and tell her we need stitching material as soon as possible? Say doctor Straplin needs it." The doctor added
"Be right back." Rory said without pause and left the room, taking one more quick glance at Jess before she left.
"Excuse me, ma'm? Yes, hi, the doctor, uh, doctor Straplin," she now had the nurses attention; "yes, him, he said he needs stitching material for room, um," Rory craned her head to look, "room, 87, ASAP." She said all very quickly
"Ok, I'll bring it right over." The nurse said as she turned and left.
Satisfied, Rory headed back towards Jess room. She went in and noticed Miss. Sunshine there, she held another large bag, identical to the IV bag, only it was filled with thick red blood. Rory shivered as she watched her hook it up to the hanger and insert another large needle into the vein in the top of his hand. She saw him involuntarily flinch and squint his eyes as the nurse inserted it. She then inserted another needle connected to a long tube into the top of the protruding needle top already in his hand. Then she fitted the end of the tube to a slot in the bag and turned a small valve. A second later, Rory watched as a thin trail of red proceeded down the tube and into his hand like a thousand red fire ants hurriedly scurrying along to their burrow.
For the next half an hour, she watched nurses come and go, and the doctor carefully sew up Jess's cut. When he was finished constructing Jess's fresh new bandage, he turned to Rory with a solemn look on his face.
"Young lady, I would like to speak to you outside please." He motioned with his head and walked out of the door, expecting her to follow. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He just needs to rest." He added at her hesitation
With a lump in her throat, she did follow, growing more nervous each step. They had forgotten to talk about what they were going to say had happened to Jess on the ride over. She didn't know what to say had caused the cut.
"Wait, first just let me say thank you…" Rory said uncomfortably, but still with the intent of hoping to win his favor, or at least his sympathy. "I'm sure you had a lot of other work to do, and it was really great of you to stop and help us." Rory smiled weakly
"It was my pleasure." He said smiling at Rory. He seemed to be somewhere in his mid sixties, his hair was a dark brown, but flecks of gray were embedded here and there. He had a soft lean face and round glasses. His eyes scrunched a little when he smiled and Rory's panic ebbed a bit.
"Now, come on, walk with me over to the information area. Yes, you still need to fill out the paper work." He said before Rory could even ask.
He turned to her serious again as they made their way down the hall. "I'm not too sure what to think when I see two teenagers walk in, one of them with a serious cut from God knows what, wrapped up in scotch tape and gauze. Care to explain?"
"Um…" for a moment Rory faltered, considering telling the truth. Then remembering what Jess had said earlier, Rory began to improv instead. "We were cooking-"
"Cooking?" The doctor asked with disbelief
"Yah, cooking," Rory continued "last night. We were making, uh, chicken, and his mom had one of those big knives-"
"His mom?" He cut her off again
"Yes, his mom was there, she was doing most of the cooking, we were just getting in the way…" Rory said getting a little caught up in the lie, "anyway, like I said, we were cooking and his mom slipped on some of the gravy I had spilled earlier and accidentally cut Jess, uh, the guy you were helping…"
"I figured so much. Go on."
"Well, it looked pretty bad, but it was already past twelve-"
"You were making chicken past twelve?" Doctor Straplin asked in disbelief
'Crap Rory' she thought "Um, yah, our family is a little spontaneous like that. Actually it was meant for tomorrow's dinner, and none of us could sleep so we decide to get a head start."
"Oh, so you're family?"
"His cousin." She lied again, "I'm staying with him for a few days."
"Ok, so why didn't you go last night to the hospital, and why isn't his mom with you now?" The doctor prodded further, making Rory falter
"Well, uh, it was really late like I said, and we didn't think the cut was too bad, so we made that bandage you saw earlier," He nodded rolling his eyes, "yah, that one, and we thought he'd be fine till the morning and we'd just take him in then."
"Fine, but his mom isn't here because…" He prompted
"Work. We told her not to worry about it, she had a huge meeting she had forgotten about and couldn't be late." Rory finished
"Look, I know you're completely lying to me, but I can also tell you aren't going to tell me the truth. However, I must complement you; that was one of the better lying sprees that I've heard in a while." He doctor smiled, surprising Rory
"Thanks." She said smiling back, not denying it.
Two hours later, Rory sat in a chair, exhausted from trying to go over all the paperwork with the desk lady, Edna, and having to figure out how to pay for all the medical costs. It was a good thing Jess had stolen Liz's credit cards and wallet a while ago, and as hard as it was to admit, for once his bad habits had paid off- literally. Jess was now feeling a lot better, and was practically being force fed by Miss. Sunshine.
"No, I don't want any, I'm not hung-" she muffled him with a large spoonful of yogurt. Rory smiled and Jess looked over at her, his eyes silently pleading for help.
Just then, a loud beeping started sounding, and Rory jumped before recognizing it. Her beeper. Color suddenly drained her face as she pressed receive button with a trembling hand. 568- 9034. It was Lorelai.
Please Review, you guys are so great at it! There is a lot of R/J coming up, but first they need to solve the problems at hand. Hope you understand. Also, for all those of you who were wondering, yes, the rating will most likely change to R -soon…
Breanna- oh, and great season finally huh!
Chapter 11: Blood, Needles and Doctors- Oh my!
Rory stirred in her sleep, warm and content. Then she felt an arm wrapped around her, felt a body behind her, and nearly jumped out of bed.
"What the…" Jess almost cursed in surprised, then settled down sleepily rubbing his eyes with one hand.
Rory sighed, now remembering where she was, and who she was with. But with this remembrance, last nights event couldn't help but make a painful appearance as well.
"Sorry, I just forgot where I wa-wa-was…" Rory said not managing to stifle the yawn at the end of her sentence.
"Don't worry about it." Jess said and flopped back down on his back.
"How's your arm?" Rory asked, crawling over to him as he struggled to sit up again.
"Uh, it…" He said as he turned his arm to look at the bandage
"Still really needs stitches." Rory finished for him, her eyebrows wrinkled in concern.
Despite the massive amounts of gauze she had used, the blood had seeped through, and now, though the tape made it look like a pool of blackish red.
"Yah." Jess said agreeing. He looked up at Rory and smiled weakly at her. "Don't worry, I will be fine. But how are you?" He asked the sensitive question carefully
"Ok, I guess…" Rory trailed off. "Hey," she continued "don't you think it would be a good idea to call the cops or something? I guess we just forgot last night…" Rory said
"Oh, um…ok." Jess said awkwardly
"What does that mean?" Rory asked suspiciously
"Well, I'm sure someone heard the gun shots, or saw the, ah…well, I'm sure someone heard the shots and called the cops." Jess finished looking away
"Jess, we just can't assume that." Rory said a little unsure if she was hearing Jess right.
"Look Rory, I just don't think calling the police is the greatest idea…"
"What! Jess, why wouldn't we call them?" Rory asked shocked
"Why? Well I'll tell you why Rory. The second you call the police, the second the questions start. The second the questions start, the second it leads back to me, then I get in trouble." Jess said staring at her
"What do you mean, you get in trouble? How can you get in trouble for being attacked?" Rory said in disbelief.
Jess sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
"Rory, I'm on probation. That means I'm not even to so much as step outside my front door past nine o'clock, and I hardly think being out past twelve can constitute as that. Then comes the question of how the, uh, man, got hurt in the face, and then why I had a weapon-yes even if it is for self protection-" Jess said as Rory opened her mouth to protest "and then knowing my kind-hearted probation officer, why my mother wasn't home. Then she gets in trouble, consequently I get in trouble from her, and then more questions come. Like 'what were you doing out so late in the first place?' Next thing you know, I end up in the hospital, taking a drug test, and, I really don't want to discuss what could come next. See Rory, calling the cops really works out well for me." Jess finished sarcastically
"Oh." Was about all Rory could muster. "You've had experience…"
"You could say that." Jess shrugged
"What if we leave a miscellaneous call?" Rory asked as she was stuck by the idea.
Jess nodded, "Yah, if we call at all, we should definitely do that."
"But what are we going to say at the hospital?" Rory suddenly realized after a moment of silence
"What?" Jess asked coming out of his own thoughts
"What are we going to tell them at the hospital? You need to get your arm fixed, so what do we say when they ask what happened?" Rory said, worried all over again
"I don't think we'll really have to worry about it. It's not a distinguishable gun wound. I mean, I did only get a deep graze, and it's not like they have to go fishing for a bullet or anything." Jess said
"So you mean we should just make up something that happened?" Rory asked
"Got any ideas?" Jess asked back with a guilty shrug.
"Come on; well figure it out on the way over." Rory sighed and stood up, searching for her clothes
Jess watched her gather up her clothes, her body slumped and her face distant and forlorn
"Rory…" Jess said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She stopped as he got off the bed and stood in front of her. He looked deeply into her eyes; they were filled with such sadness, confusion and regret. He gently took the clothes from her hands and dropped them on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her into him. She didn't resists, but welcomed the embrace. Her hands tingled slightly as she felt his bare back under her touch. Rory didn't know what to feel. She was grateful and delighted for having Jess, confused, angry and saddened at what she had experienced, and nervous and anxious at what was to come. Her many emotions frustrated her, and she felt her eyes begin to water as she gripped on to him tighter, his soft skin warm against her body and touch. Jess pulled her away and wiped her face softly with his hand. She smiled weakly and kissed him gently on the lips, thanking him. Jess shook his head sadly as he watched her make her way to the bathroom to change, he couldn't think of the start to a better relationship in worst conditions. But, hell, what didn't kill them would only make them stronger.
After the two had dressed and made the call to the police station, Rory helped Jess pack up his things, which didn't take very long. Jess left a note for Liz on Rory's request. Very contrite and cold, all it said was that he was going back to Stars Hallow and to send the things he couldn't fit in his bag ASAP. After they left, they made a pit stop at a coffee shop and had breakfast and four cups of coffee for Rory alone, though she did allow Jess to convince her to make the last one to go. His arm was pulsating painfully and he felt a bit light headed, though he decided it best not to mention anything. After the phone call and her breakfast and coffee fix, Rory was already feeling a bit better. They pulled up to the hospital parking lot and made their way to the information desk.
"Hi, I…" Rory stopped as the women held up a finger to silence her, picking up the ringing phone with her right hand and prodding at the flashing button with her oversized nails.
"North Manhattan Saint Mary's Hospital, this is Gena speaking, how may I help you?"
Rory sighed and looked at Jess
"A Mr. Jemmins? No, Jenkins. Robert? Ok, hold on one moment please while I look up his room number…"
"Come on…" Jess said grabbing her arm.
As he pulled Rory away she couldn't help but notice the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Sighing she followed.
Jess led Rory back out side and turned, heading for the big read doors that read EMERGINCY above them.
"Oh, no Jess! Are you crazy? You can't just…"
"Why not, I've got blood, and that's just about all of an entrance fee they need." He said smiling despite the seriousness of the situation and the now increasing pain in his arm.
Jess walked in, Rory a little hesitant, followed him. They walked up to one of the nurses, who looked a little puzzled at their casual entrance.
"Can I help you?" She paused and asked them curtly. Cutting Jess off before he could respond with some sort of remark that probably would either be considered rude or sarcastic, Rory spoke instead.
"My, um, friend here," she said looking sharply at Jess to shut up, "he hurt his arm and it needs stitches pretty badly. Do you think you could help us out?" Rory said as nicely as possible.
"No." Rory was shocked "Not until you fill out all the forms first." The woman started to walk away.
Rory couldn't believe what had just happened. Before she could think she was already blurting out
"Being an emergency room, I believe it's your job to help us out. He. Is. Bleeding. Can you not see that? The paperwork can wait, right now; we need you to get us a person compatible with a needle and thread." Rory said her face a bit flustered in annoyance.
Jess stood back, impressed, but also thankfully. He gripped onto the wall to stay standing, his head was spinning dangerously. The sooner he got it fixed, the better. He looked back down at the bandage and realized that it had leaked completely through the gauze, now that he had been moving his arm around. During the night it hadn't bleed much as he had been still, but now, the deep color was oddly foggy through the massive amounts of scotch tape, the red had crept along so that it was almost to where the 'bandage' ended above his elbow.
The nurse stared at Rory for a moment, and then said reluctantly,
"You know, usually we don't even talk to people that aren't on a gurney, but… it's a slow day. Follow me." She motioned to them, sighing and muttering under her breath as she walked away quickly, her impatient ness evident.
"Thank you." Rory breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to Jess who stood smiling at her.
"Didn't think you had it in you." He said
"Me neither." Rory replied smiling. It left her quickly though, and she paused as Jess didn't move. "Aren't you coming?"
"Oh, um, yah…" Jess trailed off and slowly let go of the wall, walking towards Rory. He didn't get far before he almost collapsed. She grabbed him before he fell and helped him stand.
"Jess, are you ok?!" She asked in shock. He had seemed fine a minute ago.
"Yah, just a little dizzy." He said shaking his head. "Come on, we better not loose Miss. Sunshine." He said, another attempt at lightening the situation
"Ok…" Rory said apprehensively. She guided him down the hall, but by the time they had reached the end, his head was slumped and she was practically caring him.
"Jess, come on Jess, were almost there." She said straining under his weight, practically begging him. Another doctor walked by and spotted her holding Jess.
"What are you doing young lady?" He said, taking her by surprise
"Trying to… help him… get to the room… that the nurse was showing us…" She grunted out
"Forget that, come, on help me get him into the wheel chair." The doctor said as he grabbed one inside the nearest room.
"He's lost a lot of blood. Do you know what blood type he is?" The doctor asked worried.
"No…I don't have a clue." Rory said equally concerned.
The doctor sighed and quickly wheeled Jess towards a room. Rory looked behind and noticed what the doctor must have seen earlier. There was a small trail of little dark puddles leading from around the corner they had turned to get into the hall. She turned back and followed after Jess, trying to ignore the guiding spots.
Rory watched as the doctor, with the help of Miss. Sunshine Nurse (she had come back after realizing they hadn't followed her) laid Jess on a bed and hooked up an IV into the crook of his arm. Then, while the nurse took a blood sample, the doctor started to unwind the soaked bandage. Jess groaned slightly but then lye still, his eyes half closed. The nurse left the room quickly with the sample, and Rory watched as the doctor began to clean out the wound. It looked even worse than it had last night, and Rory hadn't thought that could be possible. The doctor sterilized it with a clear liquid and then held gauze onto his cut with one hand, the other groping around in the drawers for materials. Sighing, he looked questionably at Rory, and then looked away again.
"Do you need me to help with something?" Rory asked, sensing he did
"Oh, well, yes. Could you go out and find another nurse and tell her we need stitching material as soon as possible? Say doctor Straplin needs it." The doctor added
"Be right back." Rory said without pause and left the room, taking one more quick glance at Jess before she left.
"Excuse me, ma'm? Yes, hi, the doctor, uh, doctor Straplin," she now had the nurses attention; "yes, him, he said he needs stitching material for room, um," Rory craned her head to look, "room, 87, ASAP." She said all very quickly
"Ok, I'll bring it right over." The nurse said as she turned and left.
Satisfied, Rory headed back towards Jess room. She went in and noticed Miss. Sunshine there, she held another large bag, identical to the IV bag, only it was filled with thick red blood. Rory shivered as she watched her hook it up to the hanger and insert another large needle into the vein in the top of his hand. She saw him involuntarily flinch and squint his eyes as the nurse inserted it. She then inserted another needle connected to a long tube into the top of the protruding needle top already in his hand. Then she fitted the end of the tube to a slot in the bag and turned a small valve. A second later, Rory watched as a thin trail of red proceeded down the tube and into his hand like a thousand red fire ants hurriedly scurrying along to their burrow.
For the next half an hour, she watched nurses come and go, and the doctor carefully sew up Jess's cut. When he was finished constructing Jess's fresh new bandage, he turned to Rory with a solemn look on his face.
"Young lady, I would like to speak to you outside please." He motioned with his head and walked out of the door, expecting her to follow. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He just needs to rest." He added at her hesitation
With a lump in her throat, she did follow, growing more nervous each step. They had forgotten to talk about what they were going to say had happened to Jess on the ride over. She didn't know what to say had caused the cut.
"Wait, first just let me say thank you…" Rory said uncomfortably, but still with the intent of hoping to win his favor, or at least his sympathy. "I'm sure you had a lot of other work to do, and it was really great of you to stop and help us." Rory smiled weakly
"It was my pleasure." He said smiling at Rory. He seemed to be somewhere in his mid sixties, his hair was a dark brown, but flecks of gray were embedded here and there. He had a soft lean face and round glasses. His eyes scrunched a little when he smiled and Rory's panic ebbed a bit.
"Now, come on, walk with me over to the information area. Yes, you still need to fill out the paper work." He said before Rory could even ask.
He turned to her serious again as they made their way down the hall. "I'm not too sure what to think when I see two teenagers walk in, one of them with a serious cut from God knows what, wrapped up in scotch tape and gauze. Care to explain?"
"Um…" for a moment Rory faltered, considering telling the truth. Then remembering what Jess had said earlier, Rory began to improv instead. "We were cooking-"
"Cooking?" The doctor asked with disbelief
"Yah, cooking," Rory continued "last night. We were making, uh, chicken, and his mom had one of those big knives-"
"His mom?" He cut her off again
"Yes, his mom was there, she was doing most of the cooking, we were just getting in the way…" Rory said getting a little caught up in the lie, "anyway, like I said, we were cooking and his mom slipped on some of the gravy I had spilled earlier and accidentally cut Jess, uh, the guy you were helping…"
"I figured so much. Go on."
"Well, it looked pretty bad, but it was already past twelve-"
"You were making chicken past twelve?" Doctor Straplin asked in disbelief
'Crap Rory' she thought "Um, yah, our family is a little spontaneous like that. Actually it was meant for tomorrow's dinner, and none of us could sleep so we decide to get a head start."
"Oh, so you're family?"
"His cousin." She lied again, "I'm staying with him for a few days."
"Ok, so why didn't you go last night to the hospital, and why isn't his mom with you now?" The doctor prodded further, making Rory falter
"Well, uh, it was really late like I said, and we didn't think the cut was too bad, so we made that bandage you saw earlier," He nodded rolling his eyes, "yah, that one, and we thought he'd be fine till the morning and we'd just take him in then."
"Fine, but his mom isn't here because…" He prompted
"Work. We told her not to worry about it, she had a huge meeting she had forgotten about and couldn't be late." Rory finished
"Look, I know you're completely lying to me, but I can also tell you aren't going to tell me the truth. However, I must complement you; that was one of the better lying sprees that I've heard in a while." He doctor smiled, surprising Rory
"Thanks." She said smiling back, not denying it.
Two hours later, Rory sat in a chair, exhausted from trying to go over all the paperwork with the desk lady, Edna, and having to figure out how to pay for all the medical costs. It was a good thing Jess had stolen Liz's credit cards and wallet a while ago, and as hard as it was to admit, for once his bad habits had paid off- literally. Jess was now feeling a lot better, and was practically being force fed by Miss. Sunshine.
"No, I don't want any, I'm not hung-" she muffled him with a large spoonful of yogurt. Rory smiled and Jess looked over at her, his eyes silently pleading for help.
Just then, a loud beeping started sounding, and Rory jumped before recognizing it. Her beeper. Color suddenly drained her face as she pressed receive button with a trembling hand. 568- 9034. It was Lorelai.
Please Review, you guys are so great at it! There is a lot of R/J coming up, but first they need to solve the problems at hand. Hope you understand. Also, for all those of you who were wondering, yes, the rating will most likely change to R -soon…
Breanna- oh, and great season finally huh!