Chapter 10: The Bedside Vigil
"There, a cap of this stuff should make you feel a whole lot better." Molly said, handing the medicine she had acquired over to the sickly looking Randy. He took the remedy, and spluttered as he swallowed it.
"Yuck! That was gross…" he moaned, hating the taste of it. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"And why would I want to do that to my precious honey bun?" Molly said, as she settled down into an armchair situated in Randy's room. "After all, who would I have to take me to the next football game then?"
"Don't look at me…" Randy didn't want to be reminded of the game; it had been worse than a trip to the dentist. The sort of trip which involved a complete rearrangement of teeth… The only redeeming feature had been getting to spend time with Molly, even if she spent most of the three hour duration on her feet cheering her team on.
"I know, I know… I'm sorry for dragging you along Randy." she apologized.
"It's okay… at least that kid was kind enough to let me use his coat, otherwise I would probably feel ten times worse right now."
"You're telling me… you really made his night after the game didn't you?"
Molly's question went straight over Randy's head, as he was too busy daydreaming about what had happened after they had left the event. Molly had taken it upon herself to drive them back to the hotel, because Randy was feeling tired. The lasting impression he had was of her singing along to a song that was playing on the radio.
From glass alabaster she poured out the depths of her soul.
O foot of Christ would you wait if her harlotries known?
Falls a tear to darken the dirt.
Of humblest offerings to forgive the hurt.
She is strong enough to stand in your love.
I can hear her say… I am weak.
I am poor, I'm broken Lord but I'm yours.
Hold me now…
Hold me now…
Her angelic voice had mesmerized him, it was a wonder to behold. As she reached the high notes during the chorus, he wanted nothing more than to 'hold her now'…
"Randy!" Molly shouted, trying desperately to bring him back into the present.
"Huh, did you say something?" he said, snapping out of his reverie.
"It doesn't matter… But something that does matter is the shows this weekend, there's no way you are going to be able to perform in your condition." she pointed out.
"I'll be fine…" he said bravely, it took a lot to keep him down. Since his long lay off a couple of years previously, he had kept himself relatively fit and healthy and attended each and every show. He was as dedicated to his profession as Molly was.
"I insist Mr. Orton. Nurse Molly will be looking after you this weekend." Molly said, continuing her shtick. Randy was too sick and too tired to fight back and tell her to stop treating him like an invalid. He just had to go along with her wishes. "I'm going to call Dean Malenko and tell him you won't be at the shows this weekend, he owes me a favor… I have this weekend off, so we are going to be on the first flight back to Minnesota. You can stay at mine and convalesce there, where I'll be on hand to cook your meals and attend to your every need. Okay?"
"Doesn't sound like I have much choice." he said, resigned to his fate. "You sure you won't mind me hanging around your place? I can be a nuisance you know…"
"Yes you can…" Molly said light heartedly, before setting his mind at ease. "Just kidding, it'll be my pleasure… it might even be fun." she said, almost seductively. Randy was beginning to notice her coming out of her shell; yet another long passionate kiss exchanged outside his door the night before, was further confirmation of that. She gave the impression of being at ease around him, which made Randy feel more relaxed and able to go with the flow.
"Where've you been all my life Molls?" he asked.
"I've been around… waiting for that ego of yours to recede, you know?" she replied, skirting with the truth. The one thing that had impressed Molly about the past few days with Randy, had been how he managed to shelve his arrogant nature and be a gentleman around her. She felt guilty about him having to endure the football game with her, yet felt so heartened that he would willfully stay with her despite hating it.
"Can I ask a favor?" Randy asked politely.
"Sure."
"I'm starving… any chance of ordering me some room service? The phone in here is broken…"
"You're kidding me? What would you like?"
"Just order me a bowl of soup, something that won't require much effort. And some water would be nice, I couldn't seem to find any around here earlier. My throat is dry as hell."
"Aww, you poor thing… consider it done." she said, dashing off to organize some service for him.
'Could get used to this…' he thought to himself, being thankful for Molly's assistance.
Molly decided to make her way down the stairs to the restaurant to order Randy's soup and to buy him a bottle of water; she was not one to take the lazy option of using an elevator. She was reveling in the role of playing nurse to Randy, she always felt at ease when she was helping others. The fact it was Randy Orton made it even sweeter.
"Hey Molly." Trish said, intercepting Molly on her way downstairs. "I was just going to come and check on you."
"Oh? Don't trust me hey Trish?" Molly said, humorously.
"Well…" Trish replied, sitting on the fence. "No, actually I was just going to finalize our plans for this weekend."
"Ah… About that…" Molly said delicately; the shopping trip had totally slipped her mind. "You see…"
Trish knew what was coming, and didn't like it one little bit. "Orton. He's really taken control of you hasn't he?"
Molly groaned, she felt awful about letting Trish down. "I'm really sorry T, but you should see him… he's so ill and I want to make sure…"
"Forget about it." Trish cut her off, as cold as ice. "I should have expected this…"
"Please don't be like that Trish, I'll make it up to you next weekend okay? I promise we can spend the whole weekend together… go shopping… then back to either yours or mine for a big slumber party, what do you say?"
"Fine." Trish said, moving past Molly without any fuss. "Have a nice weekend."
Molly watched on as Trish continued to ascend the staircase. 'I guess I deserve the cold shoulder treatment…' she conceded.
Once Trish was out of earshot of Molly, she decided it might be an idea to take up the invitation that she been given earlier in the day. "Matt… it's Trish… can I still come along this weekend?"
"There you go." Molly said, handing a bottle of water over to Randy, who was propped up in his bed watching television.
"You were gone a while." Randy called attention to the fact she'd been away longer than he had expected.
"Sorry… miss me?" Molly said in response.
"Of course…" Randy said, trying to sound perky as he continued to battle his chesty cough.
"I've just been sorting everything out for this weekend. I called Dean… he said he would sort out the time off for you. And I booked us tickets to fly back to Minneapolis tomorrow morning."
"How am I ever going to repay you for this?" he asked, scratching his head as to what he could possibly do to make it up to her.
"Hmm…" Molly tried to think of something; though really she didn't consider that she needed to be repaid for doing what she was doing. It clicked, there was something she wanted, and the time seemed right to ask. "Let me see… how about we say that I am your girlfriend, and you are my boyfriend?" she asked hopefully.
That came as a bolt out of the blue to Randy, as he had not really considered making their relationship that serious. He'd just been going along with things, and was generally having a good time doing it. Commitment was something that had scared him in the past, but with Molly it was different… 'I need to be with this girl…'
"Well…" He paused, keeping her on tenterhooks. "Yeah, I think I can handle that."
Molly's face lit up as he accepted her proposal. She went over to him and very nearly suffocated him with a big hug. "Oh Randy! I'm so happy!"
Randy shrugged, as Molly allowed him to breathe again. "Me too Molls… me too." He replicated the smile that was plastered across her face; the thought of being committed to somebody like Molly was one that didn't frighten him at all.
"So we're all set for the weekend then?" Randy asked, as Molly attempted to calm herself down from the high of officially becoming his girlfriend.
"Yes, everything is arranged… though I did sort of have a little problem when I went out just now."
"A problem?"
"Yeah… Trish reminded me that we were supposed to be going on a shopping trip this weekend. I totally forgot about it." she said, biting her lip. "I don't think she was best pleased."
"Oh well… She'll live." he retorted; Trish's state of mind was the last thing he was concerned about. He was thinking about the weekend ahead, and trying to imagine exactly what he would be getting up to with his new girlfriend. 'I think I might feel better by the end of this weekend… Heck, I think I feel better already…'
The lyrics used in this chapter are from the song 'Hold Me Now' by Jennifer Knapp – one of Molly's favorite singer/songwriters.