Four hours later, Jen sat in an uncomfortable chair beside CJ's bed, staring into space. David sat on the other side of the bed, flipping through channels on a nearly muted TV.
Both of them jumped when CJ spoke, his voice scratchy and low. "You're both still here?"
"Hey," Jen said, scooting her chair closer to the bed. "Do you want some water?"
He nodded, letting David help him sit up a little while Jen poured a small amount of water into a plastic cup. She placed a straw in the cup and held it his lips. He drank thirstily until the cool liquid was gone.
Sitting the cup on the night stand, Jen saw CJ yawn out of the corner of her eye. "Are you still tired?"
"Yeah," he murmured, his eyelids already drifting shut. Jen shot a panicked look at David who was trying hard not to laugh at her expression.
"He's fine," her friend reassured her. "I was like that too. The drugs haven't worn off yet."
"Oh," she sat back in her chair, frowning.
"Hey, guys." Jack greeted, entering the room. He laid a hand on David's shoulder. "I just got your message a little while ago."
"Yeah, I meant to call you sooner." David said, standing up and gathering his coat.
"It's okay." He turned his attention to Jen. "So, how is he?"
"He'll be okay in a couple of days." Jen responded, looking over at CJ's sleeping form.
"Are you okay? David said you were freaking out." He chuckled lightly, picturing her running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.
"I was not that bad," she replied, giving David a dirty look.
"Uh-huh," David said. "Listen, call me if anything changes. You have my cell number, right?"
She nodded, "Yeah. Be careful on the roads."
Jack walked over to give her a quick hug. "Call me if you want a ride home later."
"Sure." She said to appease him, knowing that she would be taking the bus back to Grams' house, if she decided to go home.
"Night, Jen." David and Jack exited the room, leaving her alone with CJ.
A little while later, Jen looked down at her watch, seeing that it was a little after eleven o'clock. Reluctant to leave his side, but needing to call Grams and let her know what was going on, Jen quietly slipped from the room. She didn't want to disturb him with her phone call, so she made her way to the payphones at the end of the hall.
Even though it was late, Grams picked up on the third ring with her cheery, "Hello?"
"Hey, Grams, it's me."
"Why, hello, dear. It's late. Are you staying out tonight?"
"Yeah. Well, CJ's in the hospital."
"Oh, my. He's the charming young man from the first day of school, isn't he? Is he all right?"
"Yeah. He had to get his appendix taken out though. I think I'm going to stay here with him tonight."
"Aren't there rules against such things?"
"Yeah, but I talked with the nurses and they agreed to let me stay. CJ was a little nervous about staying in the hospital."
"Oh, well, that's nice of you, dear."
"Yeah. I'd better get back to him. I just wanted to let you know that I wasn't coming home tonight."
"Thanks for calling."
"Good night Grams."
"Good night Jennifer."
Jen hung up the phone and decided to go in search of the snack machines when her stomach growled it's emptiness at her. She peeked into CJ's room when she passed by and saw that he was still asleep.
CJ's eyes fluttered open as consciousness returned once more. His gaze swept around the room and he realized that he was alone. Disappointed that Jen had apparently gone home for the night, he sighed and shifted slightly on the bed to find a more comfortable position. He thought he heard the door opening as his eyes closed and sleep overtook him again.
Jen returned to the room, carrying a can of Sprite and a sandwich from the snack machine. She had thought about buying chips until she remembered how loudly the wrappers crinkled when a room was silent. Instead she had opted for the freshest looking sandwich to quell her hunger.
She quickly finished her food and curled up on the chair beside his bed with the pillow and blanket the nurses had given her when she asked if she could stay over night. The events of the day caught up with her and she fell into a deep slumber.
She awoke around two a.m. and was dismayed to discover that she was unable to fall back to sleep. Afraid to bother him with the TV, she found herself watching CJ sleep. His hair fell across his forehead and gave him a boyish aura. She smiled and watched his chest rise and fall evenly. He was very handsome, especially now that she had this opportunity to watch him openly.
He stirred as he started to awaken; his head moving back and forth slightly on the white hospital pillow. Jen was smiling at him when his eyes opened.
"Hey," said Jen, sitting up and wincing as the chair squeaked.
CJ turned toward her voice. "You're still here," he said in awe.
"You didn't think I would leave you all alone here in the big, bad hospital, now did you?"
CJ smiled lightly, taking her hand. "To be honest, I thought you'd have gone home by now."
"I didn't want you to be here alone." She replied, averting her eyes to stare at the floor, a blush rising on her cheeks.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." She noticed how awake he seemed to be. "You're awfully bright-eyed and bushy-tailed now."
"Yeah," said CJ trying to stretch, but grimacing at the pain. "I guess the stuff wore off."
"Do you want your glasses?" She asked, noticing that he was squinting a little. "David got them from your house earlier. I didn't know that you usually wear contacts."
"No, that's okay. I don't really like the glasses, hence the contacts."
She nodded, watching him wince again as he shifted restlessly on the bed. "I know you've heard this from me a lot today, or yesterday or whatever. But, how do you feel?"
"Better, I think."
"That's good to hear."
CJ smiled again, but there was a look in his eyes that told Jen something was wrong.
"Are you sure you're okay now?"
"I guess so."
"Do you want me to get a nurse?" She wasn't buying it.
"I'm fine Jen," CJ sighed, feeling as if he'd said that very line before.
"Why don't I believe you?" She raised an eyebrow, starting to rise from her seat.
"Because you're a suspicious person by nature?" he joked.
"I'm going to go get a nurse." She tried to walk away, but was stopped by his grip on her hand. She had forgotten that he was even holding her hand.
"Jen ... it's nothing physical, 'kay?"
She sat back down, her face marred with concern. "What is it then?"
"I'm just... not comfortable here."
"What did you mean before when you said that you didn't have fond memories of doctors or hospitals?'"
"When I was young, I was sick quite a bit. It was constantly in and out of the hospital," CJ said shuddering.
"Sick how?" Jen leaned forward, sensing that he needed her support.
"My immune system wasn't all that great, so I'd constantly have flus, colds, and anything that you could catch easily."
"You seem fine now, except for that bout with flu the last couple of weeks. And this." She gestured to the bed he lay in.
"It got better as I got older. I played sports and took the right vitamins."
She nodded, smiling at him. "It's been a while since you were in a hospital, hasn't it?"
"Oh yeah. Once I hit school age, it didn't happen as often, and not as serious."
"I'm glad that it got better." She replied sincerely.
"Thanks," CJ said smiling a little
"So," she said, deciding to change the subject, "what kind of sports did you play?"
"A little football, rugby, soccer, hockey. You name it, I've probably played just a little."
She grinned, "I was a cheerleader once."
"Wow! Never saw that one coming."
"Yeah. Well, it started out as a joke, but I actually made the squad. It was an interesting experience."
"Ah."
"We have a lot more in common that I ever thought we would."
"I guess so. Only, you don't have the annoyingly rich parents to deal with."
She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. "My parents are just as annoyingly rich as yours."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, Theo and Helen Lindley are the epitome of Fifth Avenue wealth. It's really sickening when I think about it."
"Why so sickening?"
"It's just that they were too busy with their country club dinners and business trips to know that I was getting deeper into the partying scene. Drinking, doing drugs, having sex." She shuddered, realizing how bad that sounded.
CJ didn't really know how to reply to that. Instead, he just lay their quietly, listening.
"But it all ended that night they found me on their bed with my flavor of the month getting all hot and heavy. I'm actually glad they found me that night. As much as I resented it at the time, I think moving to Capeside was the best thing for me." She smiled, remembering the move to Capeside like it was yesterday. "So what about you? Any deep revelations that caused you to change your bad boy ways?"
"Nothing that profound," he said. "Grandmother's death changed me mainly 'cause I lost the only person that ever truly cared for me."
"What about that night of being 'the one who told your friends all the things they didn't want to hear?'"
"That was after her death. I just completely lost it and had to re-evaluate everything."
"What made you stop drinking?"
"Again, my grandmother. She went into a bypass surgery, but due to complications involving her health, she..."
"Hey. We can talk about something else if you want?"
"No... it's ok," CJ said wiping his eyes. "Grandmother used to drink a lot. The doctors suspect that it may have contributed to her surgical complications."
"I think it's really sweet that you and your Grandmother were so close." She told him, squeezing his hand.
"It was nice." He commented. "So, after hearing that from the doctors, I decided it was probably not a good idea to drink so much. She wouldn't want me to have the same fate as her. And I questioned my own mortality and decided that it wasn't worth it to drink myself to death."
She nodded. "One of my close friends died one night after we had been drinking heavily. That was the turning point for me. I didn't completely stop drinking, but I don't drink nearly as much any more. It's just not worth it to me."
"I guess we both learned something despite the tragedies."
"Yeah," she tilted her head, looking down at her watch. "You know, it sucks that you're going to be in here for Valentine's Day."
"I guess," he replied. "It's not like I really had plans."
She glared at him. "So dinner with me doesn't constitute as plans?"
"I never said that. But who says we can't have dinner here?"
"It would definitely be a memorable evening. Should I sneak in something from a decent establishment?"
CJ laughed. "If you think that's best."
"I've never been very fond of hospital food."
"I don't think anyone is."
"I'd have to agree with you there. It's almost as bad as the high school cafeteria food." Jen shuddered at the thought.
CJ chuckled. "Nothing can be as bad as hospital food."
"You obviously never attended Capeside High." She smiled, listening to him laugh again. "This is nice."
"What is?"
"This. Us being able to talk without all the tension from before."
CJ smiled. "If you weren't always so hostile..."
"If you weren't always so defensive." She shot back
"Ok, ok. I give up," CJ chuckled before yawning and blinking his eyes.
"You're getting sleepy again." She said, watching him closely.
"A little."
"Do you want me to go and let you get some sleep?"
"No. Don't go," he said gripping her hand even more.
"Are you sure you want me to stay?" She hoped that he would say yes. She wasn't ready to leave him just yet.
"Yes."
"Well," she pretended to think it over, "I guess I could stay a little while longer." She smiled to let him know that she was only joking with him.
"Thank you," he said sincerely.
"Anytime." She replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
CJ slowly closed his eyes, not wanting to sleep fearing that this would've all been a dream.
She watched slumber slowly take him over, keeping a grip on his hand so that he would know that she was still there with him. Resting her head against the pillow propped up on the back of the chair, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, hoping that this whole experience was a huge step in having a relationship with CJ.
~~! To Be Continued !~~
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and who will review. Feedback is much appreciated since CJ fics don't have a very big fan base. Please let us know what you think of CJ and the story!