Waiting Room
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned this show. Imagine all the fun I could have…
Rating: G
Spoilers: Pilot and Fallout.
Timeline: Takes place in the second episode, before they find out about the rain cloud. A conversation between Jake and Heather.
A/N: I think this may be the third Jericho fic on the site. Yay! I'm third. Joking. Anyhoo, I'm a huge Jake/Heather shipper, and while this story isn't complete fluff, it develops their relationship. Just a small drabble, I don't have a firm grasp of the characters yet, so I'm just messing around. Read on, enjoy.
Jake limped into the waiting room, rubbing his head. The painkillers April had given him were starting to take effect, and he was feeling dizzy. He spied a familiar face.
Heather was sitting to the side, flipping through a magazine, her leg propped up. She looked in his direction and smiled.
He hobbled over.
"National Farmers," Jake glanced at the magazine in her hands, "interesting choice."
"Well, I'm not much of a Cosmo girl," Heather joked, "So it was this or a Dr Seuss book."
"Kids got to it first, huh?" Jake grinned.
"Yeah," she smiled back, "I see you're all fixed."
"Just about," he glanced at her leg, "Can't say the same for you. I thought you went in after me?"
"I did," Heather answered, "but a couple of parents were worried about their children and if I didn't let them go before me, they probably would've broken my other leg."
"How's Stacie?" Jake asked, concerned.
"She going to be fine," Heather smiled, patting him on the shoulder, "After the initial shock of seeing their seven year old with a straw in her neck, the parents said 'thanks'."
"It was nothing."
"No, it was something," Heather shook her head, "like it or not, you saved the day. No one's going to forget that – I'm not going to forget that."
"I was just in the right place at the right time," Jake shrugged, "I did what anyone else would do."
"'Anyone else' would not have performed a tracheotomy on a little girl," Heather pointed out, "face it, Jake, you're a hero."
"I'm a screw-up."
"And a hero," Heather grinned, "your face is going to be on lunchboxes in no time."
"You're funny," Jake laughed, "how is it that we've never met before?"
"I only moved here a few years ago," she explained "I used to live here when I was younger, but my mother died and my Dad and I moved. When my Dad passed away, I decided to move back."
"That would explain it, then," Jake nodded.
"What about you?" Heather stared at him, a smile playing on her face, "The Army and minor league baseball, you have been busy."
"How'd you…"
"It's a small town, Jake, news travels fast," she laughed, "especially if it's about someone as famous as you."
"Infamous, more like it," Jake corrected, "Mayor Green's screwball son leaves unexpectedly and returns unexpectedly. Did you know that during elections Gray Anderson uses me as negative propaganda?"
"Really?"
"Really," Jake nodded, "Stanley Richmond once sent me a flier with my face and my Dad's on it. It read 'If Johnston Green can't control his son, then he can't control Jericho.'"
"That's hilarious," Heather grinned, "did you keep it?"
"Yeah, it was one of the few things I kept."
"I hear you're the local pool champ," Heather spoke up, changing the topic.
"Huh?" Jake asked.
"That trophy in the bar," Heather explained further, "you hold the town record for best game."
"Oh, yeah – "
"Heather, we can see you now!" April called out.
"That's me," Heather joked, standing.
Jake stood, grabbing her arm to steady her.
"We should play sometime," she suggested.
"Yeah, I'd like that," Jake smiled at her, "but I should warn you, I'm pretty good."
"You'd want to be," Heather answered, "because I haven't lost a game since I was sixteen."
Jake chuckled as she hobbled away.
Heather Lisinski. For a moment she'd helped him forget about their current situation and for the first time since he arrived back in Jericho, he'd enjoyed himself.
Thank goodness he was in the right place at the right time.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that, I know I did.
Please review, your reviews make a teenage girl smile.