AUTHOR (If you could call her that)'s NOTE: Wow, I'm a big big ole loser,
aren't I? It's been.what.a year since I updated? Kinda sad, don't you
think? Anyway, my writing style has completely changed and so have the
characters. So I apologize ahead of time for your confusion.
PS: Please feedback me. Tell me what you like and dislike about the story or my perception of the characters. It'll make it easier for me to write and more enjoyable for you to read.
Now. on to the fic.
****
The ride to Andy's office was uneventful with the exception of the anomalous questions Ephram insisted on asking Quinn to make sure she was a still lucid; questions that he continued to ask even as Quinn sat on one of the examining tables in his father's clinic.
Quinn sat with her legs hanging off the edge of the metal table, swinging them languidly while she held a fresh paper towel to her forehead.
Ephram sat in a chair to the right of her; a comic book lay open in his lap. "What's your favorite Monopoly piece?" He asked without taking his eyes off his lap.
Quinn rolled her eyes. Would the insanity never end? She'd seriously been questioned-out since she'd regained consciousness. At first the questions were ok. well, not ok, but they made sense. Like, 'Who's the president?' to which she rolled her eyes and said 'Justin Timberlake'. Then he asked her a bunch of crap about the first few chapters of 'The Catcher in the Rye', which apparently was the reading material in Ms. Westerman's English class. She managed to stop him momentarily when she offered to 'cliff note' the rest of the book for him.
She sighed, "The Battleship." She stopped swinging her legs and cast him a glance, "You don't need to do this."
Ephram closed his comic and looked at her innocently, "Do what?"
"This whole third degree thing, I promise I'll letcha know if I feel like passing out." As an after thought she added, "Again."
"Uh-uh. No way. Don't you remember that little episode about fifteen minutes ago? You passed out in a chair, and I almost had a panic attack?"
Quinn smirked, "Awwww, you had a panic attack? Over little ole me?"
Ephram shot her a glare and went back to his comic. He'd long since gotten over apologizing to her, mostly because Quinn didn't feel the need to play the pitiful girly victim in the whole fiasco. And when he had tried to apologize, she'd simply rolled her eyes and told him she'd had much worse. So in the end he simply opted for friendly banter and asking trivial questions to alleviate his guilt.
Quinn's smirk stayed firmly planted on her face as silence encompassed the room, pure, un-annoying, silence. Ahhhhh. After a minute she started to swing her legs again, banging them slightly on the side of the table she was sitting on.
Ephram glanced at her, "What-"
Quinn stopped swinging her legs and glared at Ephram. "No." She pointed a chipped painted fingernail at him. "No more from the human compatibility survey."
"I-"
"No!"
"But-"
Quinn was about to interject again, but Andy interrupted their little argument by entering the room, clipboard in hand. He walked over to Quinn and set his board on the countertop. "How's the bleeding?"
Quinn took the paper towel down from her head. "Just about non-existent."
"Do you still feel dizzy?"
"Not so much."
"How's the headache?"
"Nothing a few.dozen Tylenol won't cure." Quinn positioned the paper towel back on her head but couldn't hide the wince of pain that swept across her face at the pressure.
"Well we'll see what we can do about that."
The shrill ringing of a phone filled the empty office. Andy looked at Ephram, "Would you get that for me?"
"Why cant Edna-"
Andy interrupted his son, "The office is closed. She's not here."
"Oh, right." Ephram grabbed his bag, hoisted it on his shoulder and stood up, "Okay then," He smiled slightly at Quinn, "It's been a pleasure injuring you."
Quinn nodded with a smirk, "Yeah. Maybe I'll be able to return the favor."
Ephram rolled his eyes and left to answer the phone.
"Wait in the lobby for us Ephram." Andy called to his son as the door closed.
Andy turned back to his patient. He stood up and looked down at her. "Well let's see the damage."
Quinn took the paper towel down and settled her hands in her lap. She studied the pattern of Andy's plaid shirt as he gently prodded at her head. Brown and blue really didn't compliment each other. She continued to stare at the horrible piece of cloth in front until his finger brushed the still sensitive cut and she couldn't stop herself from cringing away a little bit.
"Sorry." He apologized quickly.
"No problem." Quinn resumed her previous position, "So how bad is it Doc?" She attempted to look at the cut herself, but that was kind of impossible, so she just ended up rolling her eyes back into her skull, which hurt, so she went back to studying Andy's hideous shirt.
Andy smiled down at her. "The cut needs a few butterfly bandages. And the bruise will take a week or two to heal. But I'm pretty sure you'll live."
"Thank god. I was worried I wouldn't be able to completely experience Everwood before I die."
Andy chuckled, "It's not that bad here." Off Quinn's disbelieving look, he added, "Really."
"Well I don't really have a choice in that matter, so I might as well drop the frustrated teenager act, huh?"
"It would probably help."
"Help what?"
"Everything?" He asked with a sheepish smile.
Andy started to bandage the lesion on her forehead. "So, as soon as I'm done here. We'll set you up and take you.." He prompted her.
Quinn winced as he pressed the small bandages in place. "What are you talking about?"
"Well you told me your parents are out of town. So where are you staying tonight."
"My house." Quinn said slowly.
Andy sat down in his seat across from her, "You can't stay by yourself with a mild concussion."
"Yes I can."
"No, you really can't. There's a chance you could black out again."
"Well, I don't have any relatives that live here and my Mother's out of town. So where, exactly, do you suggest I stay?"
"You know no one? No family. friends? Friends of the family?"
"My mother grew up here. But her parents moved to Florida four years ago."
"Anybody within driving distance?"
"Do you consider Illinois driving distance?"
Andy sighed. "So you're social contacts in Everwood go as far as my son and I?"
"Yeah, you should feel special." Quinn smiled.
"Then it looks like we'll be having a house guest tonight."
"Wait, are you suggesting I spend the night at your house?" Quinn looked at Andy doubtfully.
"You're my patient; I can't just leave you to fend for yourself with a minor head injury."
Quinn shrugged, "Fine, but I need to stop by my house before school." She slid off the counter and picked up her things.
"Alright then," Andy looked surprised at her compliance. "We'll make stop there on the way to my house."
Andy followed Quinn into the lobby where Ephram was draped across a row of waiting chairs, staring at the ceiling. His legs were spread out in front of him and his arms were draped over the chairs to either side, he was clicking his tongue in a rhythm and looking thoroughly bored out of his skull. He looked down as they entered. "Did you fix her?" he quipped.
" A little glue, a few staples, and I'll be good as new." Quinn replied as she took her hoodie out of her bag and slid it on.
"So, what's the plan? Are we taking her home?"
"Guess what Ephram?!" Quinn said with obviously fake enthusiasm, "We're gonna have a sleep-over!"
Ephram looked at his father, "Please tell me that's her concussion talking."
"I'm afraid not." Andy filed a few Papers at Edna's desk and turned to get his coat, "She can't go unsupervised all night. And since I'm technically her doctor at the moment.. She's staying with us."
"But.she.isn't there."
"Nope." Quinn said brightly.
Andy walked back into the waiting room, "Alright, let's get going."
Ephram rolled his eyes and got up. Quinn smiled and elbowed him lightly, "This doesn't completely freak you out, does it?"
Ephram just smirked and followed his Dad to the car.
Andy unlocked the front door and ushered Quinn inside, "Welcome to our humble abode."
Quinn walked over the threshold closely followed by Ephram. "Humble my ass." She mumbled under her breath. She let out a low whistle.
Ephram heard her comment and grinned.
The three of them made their way into the kitchen, "Would you like something to drink?" Andy walked over and opened the refrigerator.
Ephram sat at the counter and Quinn sat on the seat next to him. She pressed her hand to her head in a weak attempt to mute the throbbing. "Umm actually, could I maybe get that Tylenol?"
Andy looked up from the refrigerator with a surprised expression on his face, "I didn't give you any at the office?" He asked.
"Not unless my head injury has caused me to obtain short term memory loss."
"Gosh, I'm sorry." He took a pill bottle out of the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of water. "Here. Do you maybe want an ice pack?" He had an apologetic smile on his face.
Quinn finished swallowing the water in her mouth before she spoke, "No, that's okay. I think this'll be fine."
The three of them sat in a somewhat uncomfortable silence until there was a knock at the back door. Quinn looked up to see a pretty, blonde, woman holding the hand of a young girl wearing a baseball cap.
Andy rushed to the door and let them in, the woman kissed Dr. Brown on the cheek, "Hey Andy," She nodded at Ephram and smiled, "Ephram." Nina greeted as Delia struggled out of her coat. Then she saw Quinn, "And who's this?"
Quinn waved a little, "Quinn. Is me. I mean my name is Quinn."
Andy laughed, "Ephram gave her a concussion."
Ephram looked irritated, "It was an accident!"
Nina looked surprised, "I would hope so." She admonished. Then she smiled at Quinn, "I'm Nina, I live next-door." She jerked a thumb in the direction of her house.
Delia had finally freed herself from her jacket and was looking at Quinn in curiosity, "Who're you?"
"I'm Quinn, who're you?"
"Delia. Did your parents let you get that?" she pointed to Quinn's eyebrow piercing.
"Yup."
"Cool, my dad won't even let me get my ears double pierced."
"Well I had to wait until I was sixteen to get this." She fingered the hoop going through her skin.
"Did it hurt?"
"Like a bi-" Quinn stopped herself, "Yeah, it hurt a lot."
Andy and Nina let out a collective sigh and Ephram sat back in his chair, smiling
PS: Please feedback me. Tell me what you like and dislike about the story or my perception of the characters. It'll make it easier for me to write and more enjoyable for you to read.
Now. on to the fic.
****
The ride to Andy's office was uneventful with the exception of the anomalous questions Ephram insisted on asking Quinn to make sure she was a still lucid; questions that he continued to ask even as Quinn sat on one of the examining tables in his father's clinic.
Quinn sat with her legs hanging off the edge of the metal table, swinging them languidly while she held a fresh paper towel to her forehead.
Ephram sat in a chair to the right of her; a comic book lay open in his lap. "What's your favorite Monopoly piece?" He asked without taking his eyes off his lap.
Quinn rolled her eyes. Would the insanity never end? She'd seriously been questioned-out since she'd regained consciousness. At first the questions were ok. well, not ok, but they made sense. Like, 'Who's the president?' to which she rolled her eyes and said 'Justin Timberlake'. Then he asked her a bunch of crap about the first few chapters of 'The Catcher in the Rye', which apparently was the reading material in Ms. Westerman's English class. She managed to stop him momentarily when she offered to 'cliff note' the rest of the book for him.
She sighed, "The Battleship." She stopped swinging her legs and cast him a glance, "You don't need to do this."
Ephram closed his comic and looked at her innocently, "Do what?"
"This whole third degree thing, I promise I'll letcha know if I feel like passing out." As an after thought she added, "Again."
"Uh-uh. No way. Don't you remember that little episode about fifteen minutes ago? You passed out in a chair, and I almost had a panic attack?"
Quinn smirked, "Awwww, you had a panic attack? Over little ole me?"
Ephram shot her a glare and went back to his comic. He'd long since gotten over apologizing to her, mostly because Quinn didn't feel the need to play the pitiful girly victim in the whole fiasco. And when he had tried to apologize, she'd simply rolled her eyes and told him she'd had much worse. So in the end he simply opted for friendly banter and asking trivial questions to alleviate his guilt.
Quinn's smirk stayed firmly planted on her face as silence encompassed the room, pure, un-annoying, silence. Ahhhhh. After a minute she started to swing her legs again, banging them slightly on the side of the table she was sitting on.
Ephram glanced at her, "What-"
Quinn stopped swinging her legs and glared at Ephram. "No." She pointed a chipped painted fingernail at him. "No more from the human compatibility survey."
"I-"
"No!"
"But-"
Quinn was about to interject again, but Andy interrupted their little argument by entering the room, clipboard in hand. He walked over to Quinn and set his board on the countertop. "How's the bleeding?"
Quinn took the paper towel down from her head. "Just about non-existent."
"Do you still feel dizzy?"
"Not so much."
"How's the headache?"
"Nothing a few.dozen Tylenol won't cure." Quinn positioned the paper towel back on her head but couldn't hide the wince of pain that swept across her face at the pressure.
"Well we'll see what we can do about that."
The shrill ringing of a phone filled the empty office. Andy looked at Ephram, "Would you get that for me?"
"Why cant Edna-"
Andy interrupted his son, "The office is closed. She's not here."
"Oh, right." Ephram grabbed his bag, hoisted it on his shoulder and stood up, "Okay then," He smiled slightly at Quinn, "It's been a pleasure injuring you."
Quinn nodded with a smirk, "Yeah. Maybe I'll be able to return the favor."
Ephram rolled his eyes and left to answer the phone.
"Wait in the lobby for us Ephram." Andy called to his son as the door closed.
Andy turned back to his patient. He stood up and looked down at her. "Well let's see the damage."
Quinn took the paper towel down and settled her hands in her lap. She studied the pattern of Andy's plaid shirt as he gently prodded at her head. Brown and blue really didn't compliment each other. She continued to stare at the horrible piece of cloth in front until his finger brushed the still sensitive cut and she couldn't stop herself from cringing away a little bit.
"Sorry." He apologized quickly.
"No problem." Quinn resumed her previous position, "So how bad is it Doc?" She attempted to look at the cut herself, but that was kind of impossible, so she just ended up rolling her eyes back into her skull, which hurt, so she went back to studying Andy's hideous shirt.
Andy smiled down at her. "The cut needs a few butterfly bandages. And the bruise will take a week or two to heal. But I'm pretty sure you'll live."
"Thank god. I was worried I wouldn't be able to completely experience Everwood before I die."
Andy chuckled, "It's not that bad here." Off Quinn's disbelieving look, he added, "Really."
"Well I don't really have a choice in that matter, so I might as well drop the frustrated teenager act, huh?"
"It would probably help."
"Help what?"
"Everything?" He asked with a sheepish smile.
Andy started to bandage the lesion on her forehead. "So, as soon as I'm done here. We'll set you up and take you.." He prompted her.
Quinn winced as he pressed the small bandages in place. "What are you talking about?"
"Well you told me your parents are out of town. So where are you staying tonight."
"My house." Quinn said slowly.
Andy sat down in his seat across from her, "You can't stay by yourself with a mild concussion."
"Yes I can."
"No, you really can't. There's a chance you could black out again."
"Well, I don't have any relatives that live here and my Mother's out of town. So where, exactly, do you suggest I stay?"
"You know no one? No family. friends? Friends of the family?"
"My mother grew up here. But her parents moved to Florida four years ago."
"Anybody within driving distance?"
"Do you consider Illinois driving distance?"
Andy sighed. "So you're social contacts in Everwood go as far as my son and I?"
"Yeah, you should feel special." Quinn smiled.
"Then it looks like we'll be having a house guest tonight."
"Wait, are you suggesting I spend the night at your house?" Quinn looked at Andy doubtfully.
"You're my patient; I can't just leave you to fend for yourself with a minor head injury."
Quinn shrugged, "Fine, but I need to stop by my house before school." She slid off the counter and picked up her things.
"Alright then," Andy looked surprised at her compliance. "We'll make stop there on the way to my house."
Andy followed Quinn into the lobby where Ephram was draped across a row of waiting chairs, staring at the ceiling. His legs were spread out in front of him and his arms were draped over the chairs to either side, he was clicking his tongue in a rhythm and looking thoroughly bored out of his skull. He looked down as they entered. "Did you fix her?" he quipped.
" A little glue, a few staples, and I'll be good as new." Quinn replied as she took her hoodie out of her bag and slid it on.
"So, what's the plan? Are we taking her home?"
"Guess what Ephram?!" Quinn said with obviously fake enthusiasm, "We're gonna have a sleep-over!"
Ephram looked at his father, "Please tell me that's her concussion talking."
"I'm afraid not." Andy filed a few Papers at Edna's desk and turned to get his coat, "She can't go unsupervised all night. And since I'm technically her doctor at the moment.. She's staying with us."
"But.she.isn't there."
"Nope." Quinn said brightly.
Andy walked back into the waiting room, "Alright, let's get going."
Ephram rolled his eyes and got up. Quinn smiled and elbowed him lightly, "This doesn't completely freak you out, does it?"
Ephram just smirked and followed his Dad to the car.
Andy unlocked the front door and ushered Quinn inside, "Welcome to our humble abode."
Quinn walked over the threshold closely followed by Ephram. "Humble my ass." She mumbled under her breath. She let out a low whistle.
Ephram heard her comment and grinned.
The three of them made their way into the kitchen, "Would you like something to drink?" Andy walked over and opened the refrigerator.
Ephram sat at the counter and Quinn sat on the seat next to him. She pressed her hand to her head in a weak attempt to mute the throbbing. "Umm actually, could I maybe get that Tylenol?"
Andy looked up from the refrigerator with a surprised expression on his face, "I didn't give you any at the office?" He asked.
"Not unless my head injury has caused me to obtain short term memory loss."
"Gosh, I'm sorry." He took a pill bottle out of the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of water. "Here. Do you maybe want an ice pack?" He had an apologetic smile on his face.
Quinn finished swallowing the water in her mouth before she spoke, "No, that's okay. I think this'll be fine."
The three of them sat in a somewhat uncomfortable silence until there was a knock at the back door. Quinn looked up to see a pretty, blonde, woman holding the hand of a young girl wearing a baseball cap.
Andy rushed to the door and let them in, the woman kissed Dr. Brown on the cheek, "Hey Andy," She nodded at Ephram and smiled, "Ephram." Nina greeted as Delia struggled out of her coat. Then she saw Quinn, "And who's this?"
Quinn waved a little, "Quinn. Is me. I mean my name is Quinn."
Andy laughed, "Ephram gave her a concussion."
Ephram looked irritated, "It was an accident!"
Nina looked surprised, "I would hope so." She admonished. Then she smiled at Quinn, "I'm Nina, I live next-door." She jerked a thumb in the direction of her house.
Delia had finally freed herself from her jacket and was looking at Quinn in curiosity, "Who're you?"
"I'm Quinn, who're you?"
"Delia. Did your parents let you get that?" she pointed to Quinn's eyebrow piercing.
"Yup."
"Cool, my dad won't even let me get my ears double pierced."
"Well I had to wait until I was sixteen to get this." She fingered the hoop going through her skin.
"Did it hurt?"
"Like a bi-" Quinn stopped herself, "Yeah, it hurt a lot."
Andy and Nina let out a collective sigh and Ephram sat back in his chair, smiling
