Disclaimer: Lizzie ain't mine folks. If it were, it'd be on my broadcast
tv more now that I don't have cable for the summer!
Another Way - Chapter Three By: Taygeta
"Gordo," greeted Larry.
"Tudgeman, how are things going with you?" said Gordo as he walked into the house.
"Good. Life is good," he replied. "Miranda and...um...Lizzie will be right down. They're getting Michelle's things."
"Oh, okay," said Gordo with a weak grin.
Larry glanced at him, "You okay?"
"Yea...mostly."
They heard the jingling of baby things from upstairs. Miranda handed Lizzie a bag as she held Michelle.
"Are you okay, Lizzie?" she asked as she glanced downstairs.
Lizzie had avoided looking at the figures downstairs.
"Yea...kind of."
Miranda gave her a supportive smile, "It'll be fine."
They walked down the stairs and two people saw each other for the first time in five years.
Lizzie observed that Gordo had grown more handsome than she last remembered. He looked fit and put together. He matched the self-assured image she had carried of him all these years.
Gordo's eyes took in Lizzie as she walked down the stairs. She looked tired and thinner than she should have been. Despite all the animosity he had held against her in these past years, he felt concern for her. Yet, she was still beautiful. Lizzie McGuire was always beautiful.
It was Lizzie found the courage to speak first, "Hi Gordo. How are you?"
He nodded, "Good. I'm doing very well. Yourself?"
She smiled, "A little worn from today's travels, but doing well."
There was a silence between the two that was quickly broken by Michelle who was crying.
"Well I think that's a sign that it's time for dinner," said Miranda cheerfully.
They walked out of the house and Miranda had another thought, "Well, all of us in Larry's car would be quite a sardine-can situation. Why don't you take Lizzie in your car and we'll just meet you guys at the restaurant? If I had known I would have just told you to meet us at the restaurant, Gordo."
Gordo gave his old friend a wary look, "Well, Miranda, so much for hindsight."
She smiled. When Miranda glanced at Lizzie she saw that her best girl friend was turning a bit pale. Her smile faded.
"Lizzie?"
Gordo glanced over at his former best friend and moved to steady her unbalanced figure.
"Lizzie, are you okay?" he asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I'm just - "
For Lizzie, the world went black. She fainted.
Gordo caught her.
~ * ~ * ~
He sat in the room watching her.
It had been a few hours and she hadn't woken up yet. He had volunteered to be at the hospital. Miranda had to take Michelle home after awhile and Larry had a meeting in the morning. He told them he had nothing the next day so that they would leave without concern, but he had a meeting in the morning too. He called Mr. Gessler and told him the situation. Mr. Gessler told him that he'd be fine in the meeting and that there was no need for concern about missing it.
So Gordo sat in the room waiting for her to wake up.
After a few tests, the doctor had said that she was fine. She was probably just exhausted and that it would be best to just keep her at the hospital until she woke up.
Gordo sat in the room watching her. He felt unsettled at the fact that he could probably have sat there watching her sleep forever.
~ * ~ * ~
The light was bright...too bright.
Lizzie winced when she opened her eyes. Her wince turned into an expression of surprise as she saw Gordo sitting in a chair in the room. She half-wondered if it was a dream, but then she realized what had happened.
She had fainted. All other details were blurry.
"Lizzie, you're awake," he said with a smile.
She nodded. Her mouth felt dry and she somehow managed to croak, "What happened exactly? I just remember blacking out."
"You fainted," He explained. "The doctor said you were probably exhausted."
"Oh..." she looked around. "Where are Miranda and Larry?"
Gordo glanced at his watch, "They left hours ago. They had to take Michelle home and Larry had a meeting that he couldn't miss in the morning."
"Oh," she said. Then she paused, "Hours? What time is it?"
"Almost three," he replied.
She looked at him, "Why are still here?"
He looked surprise, "We couldn't just leave you here to wake up by yourself."
"I would have been okay," she said as she tried to get off the bed and finding that her body felt like lead.
Gordo walked over to her and stopped her from trying to move further, "Lizzie, maybe you shouldn't get out of bed so quickly."
She tried to get up again, "I just - I don't want to be any more trouble." Finding the entire process exhausting, she stopped her efforts to move and said, "You can go, Gordo. I'll be fine. I'm sure you have work tomorrow too."
He shook his head, "I called my boss a few hours ago. He knows I'm not coming into the office tomorrow."
Lizzie said softly, "You didn't have to. You could have gone. I'm okay."
Gordo gave her an incredulous look, "Lizzie, you can't even get out of bed. This reminds me of when we were eight and you got the stomach flu and you couldn't go to our museum trip. So you snuck over to my house to sneak into my mom's car, only to give me the stomach flu."
She smiled at the memory. "All the more reason for you to have gone home. I might be contagious."
"Somehow I doubt exhaustion is contagious."
A nurse named Sheri walked into the room. She grinned, "I see the patient's awake. Had a nice nap, dear?"
Lizzie smiled, "I think I could use some more nap time."
"That's the spirit of things," said Sheri. "You wore yourself out. You need to slow down and get rest. Your boyfriend here tells me you're here to visit him for a week. I suggest you spend that time sleeping instead of, well...you know what I mean..." The nurse gave her a wink and gave her a shot. "That should help you out a bit."
All the while Lizzie gave the nurse a silent nod while her eyes glanced at Gordo expressing, "What the hell is she talking about?"
When the nurse left the first words out of Lizzie's mouth was, "Gordo, what the hell was she talking about?"
"Well...they wouldn't let me stay on the reason that you were a friend from out of town, so when the next shift nurse came by and told me to leave, I told her you were my long-distance girlfriend and you had just flew in from out of town," he said.
"Oh," she said. She felt herself grow drowsy and rested her head on her pillow.
"As long as Gretchen doesn't get wind of the story, I figure, no harm and no foul," he added.
"Gretchen?"
"My girlfriend," said Gordo, surprised. He thought Lizzie knew about her.
She smiled. So he did have a girlfriend. She knew Miranda had been evasive about that question for a reason. It had a valid person behind it.
"She won't know," said Lizzie finding herself more and more tired.
Before she fell into another spell of sleep, Gordo heard her say, "She's a very lucky girl...Gretchen."
He looked at Lizzie and saw her breathing become steady.
He wondered what Gretchen would say if she knew where he was. She had already heard the Lizzie McGuire story and Gretchen didn't like the title character of the story all that much...more like, not at all.
Gretchen wouldn't have liked that he was standing there. That he had been sitting watching another woman - Lizzie McGuire of all people - sleep for hours. She especially wouldn't have liked to know that he hadn't wanted to leave the entire time.
There was always something about being by Lizzie McGuire's side that almost felt natural to him. He had been there beside her for so many years of his life.
And even after a five-year absence, he somehow found himself back there again.
Another Way - Chapter Three By: Taygeta
"Gordo," greeted Larry.
"Tudgeman, how are things going with you?" said Gordo as he walked into the house.
"Good. Life is good," he replied. "Miranda and...um...Lizzie will be right down. They're getting Michelle's things."
"Oh, okay," said Gordo with a weak grin.
Larry glanced at him, "You okay?"
"Yea...mostly."
They heard the jingling of baby things from upstairs. Miranda handed Lizzie a bag as she held Michelle.
"Are you okay, Lizzie?" she asked as she glanced downstairs.
Lizzie had avoided looking at the figures downstairs.
"Yea...kind of."
Miranda gave her a supportive smile, "It'll be fine."
They walked down the stairs and two people saw each other for the first time in five years.
Lizzie observed that Gordo had grown more handsome than she last remembered. He looked fit and put together. He matched the self-assured image she had carried of him all these years.
Gordo's eyes took in Lizzie as she walked down the stairs. She looked tired and thinner than she should have been. Despite all the animosity he had held against her in these past years, he felt concern for her. Yet, she was still beautiful. Lizzie McGuire was always beautiful.
It was Lizzie found the courage to speak first, "Hi Gordo. How are you?"
He nodded, "Good. I'm doing very well. Yourself?"
She smiled, "A little worn from today's travels, but doing well."
There was a silence between the two that was quickly broken by Michelle who was crying.
"Well I think that's a sign that it's time for dinner," said Miranda cheerfully.
They walked out of the house and Miranda had another thought, "Well, all of us in Larry's car would be quite a sardine-can situation. Why don't you take Lizzie in your car and we'll just meet you guys at the restaurant? If I had known I would have just told you to meet us at the restaurant, Gordo."
Gordo gave his old friend a wary look, "Well, Miranda, so much for hindsight."
She smiled. When Miranda glanced at Lizzie she saw that her best girl friend was turning a bit pale. Her smile faded.
"Lizzie?"
Gordo glanced over at his former best friend and moved to steady her unbalanced figure.
"Lizzie, are you okay?" he asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I'm just - "
For Lizzie, the world went black. She fainted.
Gordo caught her.
~ * ~ * ~
He sat in the room watching her.
It had been a few hours and she hadn't woken up yet. He had volunteered to be at the hospital. Miranda had to take Michelle home after awhile and Larry had a meeting in the morning. He told them he had nothing the next day so that they would leave without concern, but he had a meeting in the morning too. He called Mr. Gessler and told him the situation. Mr. Gessler told him that he'd be fine in the meeting and that there was no need for concern about missing it.
So Gordo sat in the room waiting for her to wake up.
After a few tests, the doctor had said that she was fine. She was probably just exhausted and that it would be best to just keep her at the hospital until she woke up.
Gordo sat in the room watching her. He felt unsettled at the fact that he could probably have sat there watching her sleep forever.
~ * ~ * ~
The light was bright...too bright.
Lizzie winced when she opened her eyes. Her wince turned into an expression of surprise as she saw Gordo sitting in a chair in the room. She half-wondered if it was a dream, but then she realized what had happened.
She had fainted. All other details were blurry.
"Lizzie, you're awake," he said with a smile.
She nodded. Her mouth felt dry and she somehow managed to croak, "What happened exactly? I just remember blacking out."
"You fainted," He explained. "The doctor said you were probably exhausted."
"Oh..." she looked around. "Where are Miranda and Larry?"
Gordo glanced at his watch, "They left hours ago. They had to take Michelle home and Larry had a meeting that he couldn't miss in the morning."
"Oh," she said. Then she paused, "Hours? What time is it?"
"Almost three," he replied.
She looked at him, "Why are still here?"
He looked surprise, "We couldn't just leave you here to wake up by yourself."
"I would have been okay," she said as she tried to get off the bed and finding that her body felt like lead.
Gordo walked over to her and stopped her from trying to move further, "Lizzie, maybe you shouldn't get out of bed so quickly."
She tried to get up again, "I just - I don't want to be any more trouble." Finding the entire process exhausting, she stopped her efforts to move and said, "You can go, Gordo. I'll be fine. I'm sure you have work tomorrow too."
He shook his head, "I called my boss a few hours ago. He knows I'm not coming into the office tomorrow."
Lizzie said softly, "You didn't have to. You could have gone. I'm okay."
Gordo gave her an incredulous look, "Lizzie, you can't even get out of bed. This reminds me of when we were eight and you got the stomach flu and you couldn't go to our museum trip. So you snuck over to my house to sneak into my mom's car, only to give me the stomach flu."
She smiled at the memory. "All the more reason for you to have gone home. I might be contagious."
"Somehow I doubt exhaustion is contagious."
A nurse named Sheri walked into the room. She grinned, "I see the patient's awake. Had a nice nap, dear?"
Lizzie smiled, "I think I could use some more nap time."
"That's the spirit of things," said Sheri. "You wore yourself out. You need to slow down and get rest. Your boyfriend here tells me you're here to visit him for a week. I suggest you spend that time sleeping instead of, well...you know what I mean..." The nurse gave her a wink and gave her a shot. "That should help you out a bit."
All the while Lizzie gave the nurse a silent nod while her eyes glanced at Gordo expressing, "What the hell is she talking about?"
When the nurse left the first words out of Lizzie's mouth was, "Gordo, what the hell was she talking about?"
"Well...they wouldn't let me stay on the reason that you were a friend from out of town, so when the next shift nurse came by and told me to leave, I told her you were my long-distance girlfriend and you had just flew in from out of town," he said.
"Oh," she said. She felt herself grow drowsy and rested her head on her pillow.
"As long as Gretchen doesn't get wind of the story, I figure, no harm and no foul," he added.
"Gretchen?"
"My girlfriend," said Gordo, surprised. He thought Lizzie knew about her.
She smiled. So he did have a girlfriend. She knew Miranda had been evasive about that question for a reason. It had a valid person behind it.
"She won't know," said Lizzie finding herself more and more tired.
Before she fell into another spell of sleep, Gordo heard her say, "She's a very lucky girl...Gretchen."
He looked at Lizzie and saw her breathing become steady.
He wondered what Gretchen would say if she knew where he was. She had already heard the Lizzie McGuire story and Gretchen didn't like the title character of the story all that much...more like, not at all.
Gretchen wouldn't have liked that he was standing there. That he had been sitting watching another woman - Lizzie McGuire of all people - sleep for hours. She especially wouldn't have liked to know that he hadn't wanted to leave the entire time.
There was always something about being by Lizzie McGuire's side that almost felt natural to him. He had been there beside her for so many years of his life.
And even after a five-year absence, he somehow found himself back there again.