Disclaimer: Don't own much. If you recognize it I don't own it. Plot's mine. I'm not dissing Midwest people. (I am one) It really is no fun having snow on the ground six months outa the year and it still being too cold to tan for another three months. Is there a point to these? Okay I'm watching the Homecoming episode of IAHB and I blame Hank for Tyler's not asking Val to the dance. Just got another story idea G2G.
Chapter One
"Race you to the water." Challenged Hank. He, Tyler, Val, Jamie, Caitie, and Brooke were taking advantage of the warm June day, two weeks before school ended. Val set her beach bag down and took out her towel. She spread it out on the sand and sat down.
"Not a chance Hank. I'm just gonna sit here and work on my always fabulous tan. Go on ahead of me." Everyone dropped their bags and raced to the water. Val took out her CD player and put in her Savage Garden CD, she poured some sun block into her hand.
"It's gonna be kinda difficult to talk to you with you listening to your CD player." Said Tyler, setting his towel down next to hers. Val jumped in surprise.
"Tyler, why aren't you in the water?"
"Why aren't you?" He counter, taking off his shirt and helping himself to her sun block.
"Didn't feel like it. Now answer my question." Said Val. Wow. I like.' Though Val, letting her eyes travel along his well defined chest.
"I'd rather just sit here with you and tan too. I never have a chance to get to the beach, I don't wanna look like some person from the Midwest during the winter"
"You definitely don't look that white." Said Val, fighting the blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Neither do you." Replied Tyler. No you definitely don't.' Thought Tyler. Val was looking at him expectantly. "What, my girlfriend's not swimming so what fun will I have?" Asked Tyler, faking innocence. He started rubbing sun block into Val shoulders.
"You know you'll get a funny tan line." Pointed out Val.
"What?"
"Your armband. Why don't you take it off."
"No, it's fine." Replied Tyler suddenly defensive. Val let the subject drop.
* * *
"Hey Val. What happened?" Asked Tyler referring to Val's arm. "That's a nasty bruise." It was two weeks later.
"I'm not sure, I think I hit my arm at cheerleading practice yesterday, we were stunting." Explained Val, She hadn't noticed the bruise until Caitie pointed it out to her that morning before school. She was running late and didn't have time to change into a long sleeved shirt to hide it. Plus it was almost summer and who wanted to wear long sleeves when it was warm?
"Val! Tyler! You both owe me paperwork!" Called Brooke.
"How does she know who it is who's here?" Marveled Tyler.
"She's super human." Replied Val with a small laugh.
"No, I just happen to have a pair of eyes. Everyone has em." Replied Brooke, coming into the station common room and hearing the last bit of their conversation. She had a stack of paper work in both hands and set a stack in front each of them.
"Are Jamie and Hank here yet? I've got paperwork for them too. You should feel lucky, theirs is twice as big as yours"
"Nope, not yet. Jamie and Caitie are at a movie for another half hour." Replied Val.
"When did this happen?" Asked Brooke.
"When did what happen?" Tyler was, as usual, clueless.
"Jamie finally got a clue and asked Caitie out." Said Val as if speaking to a small child. "He asked her this morning. He figured she'd still be too much asleep to realize what he'd asked her and she'd say yes just so she could go back to sleep."
For the next twenty minutes the only sounds were of Val and Tyler filling out the paperwork. Val paused every once in awhile to yawn.
"I'm gonna make some coffee, anyone want any?" said Val standing up after her third yawn in five minutes.
"Sure. We're not even officially on duty for-" Tyler checked his watch- "Seven minutes, thirty two seconds, and we've already caved in to the coffee."
Brooke pounced on Jamie as soon as he walked in. "Hey Jamie, a kiss after a date is okay but even I know making out after one date." Jamie didn't let her finish. He just took the stack of paperwork from Brooke, lightly hit her over the head with it, and started to fill it out. Val drained her cup of coffee and poured herself another.
"Spill, You know I'll get all the details from Caitie anyway." Ordered Val. "I know something happened."
"Is that some sort of female intuition or something?" Demanded Jamie.
"Nope, I picked up on something too." added Tyler.
"Fine, I'll spill. We went to a movie. What clued you in?" said Jamie, still hiding something.
"What movie did you see?" Said Hank, coming in.
"I don't know." Replied Jamie.
"I knew it. You spent the whole time making out." Cried Val pumping her fist in the air.
"How?"
"Well you were in too good a mood, you took paperwork from Brooke with out complaining." Said Tyler.
"Remind me to mention to Caitie that the next time she plans on kissing anyone not to wear black lipstick." Hinted Val handing Jamie a mirror. He had faint smudges of black lipstick on his face.
"Damn, I thought I got it all." Cursed Jamie.
"Val, Are you okay? It's only five o-clock and you're already on your third cup of coffee." Asked Tyler as Val stifled another yawn. "Have you been sleeping okay?"
"I should be, on nights off I've been going to bed at about nine and waking up at nine. At least on weekends." Val didn't have time to finish her last cup of coffee before the alarm rang.
That call was the only call they had in three hours. "Hey Val. Do you wanna go out tomorrow night?" Asked Tyler coming up behind her and putting his arms around her. They had been officially going out for two weeks.
"Sure, that sounds great." Replied Val yawning again.
"You wanna see a movie?" Said Tyler grabbing the paper.
"No." Said Val.
"What have you got in mind?" Asked Tyler sounding confused.
"Movies." Replied Val.
"What?"
"You asked if I wanted to see a movie. I said no, I wanted to go to a movie."
"A repeat of mine and Caitie's date." Teased Jamie hearing Val.
"Only I'll have lip gloss instead of black lipstick." Replied Val, matching Jamie's tone.
"Val want a ride home?"
"Sure Tyler, but I forgot I've got to go talk to Alex first."
"Come on in." Called Alex when Val knocked on his office door.
"Alex, Is it okay if I come in tomorrow a half hour late? I've got to get a physical for cheerleading camp, and Saturday morning was the only day I could get in."
"Sure. Try to get here as soon as possible."
"Thanks. Tyler, I'm Ready to go!"
* * *
"Val, You're late." scolded Hank when Val walked in a half an hour late the next day.
"That's not gonna hold up against Alex. He gave me permission to be late today. Physical." Explained Val. "Cheerleading Camp. Evil doctors took too much blood." Val rubbed her arm where a small bruise was already forming.
"Oh poor baby. You can give blood in an emergency but not have blood drawn for a physical." Asked Jamie in disbelief.
"So what, Any calls today?" The alarm want off.
"Yep." Replied Hank as they were running out to the ambulance.
"Hey Val, want a ride home?" Asked Tyler when their shift was over for the day.
"Yep. I can't wait until my car gets outa the shop." Said Val climbing in through the door that Tyler held open for her.
"When's that?"
"They said maybe by Tuesday. Just in time for school to end."
"This year went really fast, don't you think?"
"Yeah, but I'm ready for a break, Just hanging out and saving lives, you know what I mean Tyler."
"Yep, but next year we're gonna be seniors."
"And to quote the Pink Ladies we're gonna rule the school." Added Val.
"The who?" asked Tyler.
"No The Pink Ladies. The Who was in music. The Pink Ladies were in Grease." By now they had reached Val's house. "You wanna come in and wait while I get ready for tonight?"
"Sure. Brooke and I can watch TV for a while." Agreed Tyler. Val dragged Tyler to the room she and Brooke shared. The phone rang but Val ignored it. Both her parents were home and would answer it.
"Hey Brooke, I've been sent to watch TV in here. Joked Tyler.
"I see enough of you at the station and now you have to follow me home." Returned Brooke. "Where's Val?"
"Bathroom, getting ready to go out. What're we watching?"
"TRL." Replied Brooke.
"And what are you studying? Asked Tyler eyeing the book and notebook in front of Brooke.
"Math." Replied Brooke, stabbing her eraser with a pencil.
"Problems?"
"Many, Review packet, two hundred questions."
"You know that's not what I meant. What's wrong? If looks could kill that book would be a pile of ashes."
"No, I've just got to remember what I've forgotten. My teacher sprung a final us at the last minute."
"Get used to em, you'll get em next year and all through the rest of high school."
"Val?" Asked Mrs. Lanier, poking her head into Val and Brooke's room. "Brooke, have you seen Val? Hello Tyler."
"Hey Mrs. Lanier."
"Val's in the shower getting ready for her date." Explained Brooke.
"No, now I'm in my room, grabbing some clothes, and going back into the bathroom to get ready for my date. What's up?"
"Oh, I just needed to talk to you. Come with me to the kitchen, I've got to take dinner out of the oven."
"You could have just talked to me there you know." Stated Val when they had reached the kitchen and the timer still had ten minutes on it."
"Val, Doctor Markstone's office called. They said they wanted you to come in and have some more tests taken."
"Why? I don't think the forgot to do anything."
"They didn't say why. Now go upstairs and get dressed. There's a great guy upstairs. Trapped in a room with Brooke trying to study for a math final."
"I'd better hurry then. The black or purple?" Val held up two shirts and her mother pointed to the purple. "Thanks." Val hurried up to the bathroom and quickly dried her hair, got dressed, and did her make-up and curled her hair.
"Two for Summer Catch." Said Tyler. The guy selling tickets gave Tyler a pitying look. Val had picked it out, she thought it seemed like the perfect movie. Sports for Tyler, romance for Val. "Val, You're quiet. What's up? Normally I have to tell you to be quiet because the movie's starting, and then tell you to shut up every five minutes."
"I'm not sure. Remember when my mom said she needed to talk to me?"
"Yeah, she also had to take dinner out of the oven."
"That was a lie. She said that Doctor Markstone's office called and said they needed to do some sort of tests. I have to go in on Tuesday. And honestly, I'm scared."
"Val it's okay, they probably just messed up a blood test. Do you want me to come with you?" Tyler and Val were sitting in the back row of seats. Tyler put his arm around her shoulder and Val rested her head on his shoulder.
"Sure I'd like that. It's at four."
"I'll be there. I promise." Said Tyler as the opening credits of the movie appeared on the screen. They both sat, lost in thought, thinking about nothing.
* * *
Val's mom was picking up Val and Tyler after school on Tuesday. Val's mom had given Tyler permission to come, although he knew he would have gone anyway. When Val was called, her mom and Tyler followed a nurse along twisting hallways. The nurse chatted with all three of them while she took Val's blood pressure. She also took a vile of blood to be sent to the lab.
"Follow me please." Requested the nurse. All three of them got up and went through more twisting hallways until they reached another room. "I'm sorry patients, parents and authorized personnel only." Said the nurse, stopping Tyler from walking in.
"I am authorized." To prove it he took out his EMS certification card that all EMT's had to carry.
"Alright." Replied the nurse, doubting the card's authenticity. "Val you need to lie perfectly still for about five minutes." Said the nurse. "We're gonna do a spinal tap and take a sample of bone marrow just to rule out a few things." She handed Val a gown and asked Tyler to leave while Val changed. He decided to go and buy himself something from the vending machine.
He got a candy bar and a few Tylenol. He was sorta glad that the nurse had asked him to leave just then. He hated to leave Val, but the room was suffocating him, he needed to get out for a minute.
I will not break down.' He promised himself. He made it to the end of the hallway and turned back around. Knocked on the door and Val's mom let him in. Val was lying on the bed, not moving.
"Hey Tyler. You missed a lot." Val gave him a weak smile which he returned.
"Sorry, didn't know when I was allowed back in. You okay?"
"Really bad headache. The less I move the better." Tyler walked over to her and pressed four Tylenol into her hand.
"Take these, it'll help." Val gratefully accepted his offer, wincing as she moved to take a sip of water and pop all four in her mouth at once. An hour later when Val's headache subsided, her mom dropped Tyler off at school to pick up his car. When they reached their house she helped Val upstairs who promptly fell asleep
AN: I just can't get enough of these can I? Few things to say. 1. teachers are evil. 2. Please review, it doesn't really take that long. 3. Feel free to e-mail me, I love getting mail. 4. I have no life after five o-clock, when everyone leaves my house. 5. I wrote this while I was supposed to be listening to assorted teachers. 6. Some parts will not make sense because I've rewritten parts four times, if I don't post this now it will be completely different from the way it originally was. 7. This is the first of four parts (I think) If I don't get reviews then I won't post the next part. I hate it when authors do this, but I've already gotten this finished plus a sequel, so I will have peace of mind even if you don't.
-Bye friends, I'm psycho.
I'll post the next part on Monday, September 24, 2001. It takes forever to show up though, plus I'll only post when I get five reviews. (See not that many.)