Author's Note: FIRST off I would love to thank all my fantastic and supportive reviewers (Vett91, LaLaLola, and HeavenlySerenity) and my amazingly awesome BETA (Anya Dashitova) who understands my crazy, demanding, workaholic, bilingual needs and still loves working with me! SECONDLY, I have decided to change the plot to follow the show's storyline. The only thing I'm switching is that Jeremy DOESN'T shoot himself and is instead put under a 72hr suicide watch. Sooo for the sake of the story I'm going to pretend that Emmalin instead snuck into his watch room. Perhaps I will write a side one-shot that ties into this story that describes that. Thank you everyone for your endless patience and fantastic encouragement ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Army Wives...though I'm currently purchasing the paperwork that would allow me to own Richard Bryant...jkjkjk I wish!
Wide amber eyes slowly fluttered open, observing the surroundings of the hospital room in the Mercer Army Medical Hospital. Emmalin Holden gazed gently upon the sleeping figure of Major General Michael Holden, passed out from exhaustion in the plastic hospital chair next to her. Groaning the seventeen year old stretched her tired muscles and rubbed a kink in her neck, well that's why everyone complained about sleeping in a hospital she supposed. God, her head hurt. What happened? The last thing she remembered was her hockey game.
"Your awake early. It's good to see you moving around.... You had me worried." A deep, husky voice to her right chuckled. The Army Brat didn't even need to turn her head to know who the masculine voice belonged to; Private Jeremy Sherwood, her boyfriend of three months. His voice made a deep longing arise in her, she hated hospitals and needed to be closer to him now.
Slowly, as she didn't want to further hurt her already aching neck and pounding head, she turned to look at the solider. He looked good, but that wasn't out of the norm since he always did, even though fatigue was evident in his voice and eyes. His sun-tanned skin stood out vividly against the pale plastic of the hospital chair. His seat had been pulled close to her bedside and she knew that he'd been beside himself with worry.
"My head hurts like crazy. What happened?" Emmalin asked softly, not wanting to disturb her sleeping father. She smoothed her hospital gown as she spoke, an attempt to clear the pastel fabric of any wrinkles.
With every word her throbbing head felt like it was being split open with a rusty pic-ax, a wave of nausea flooded over her with every intake of breath.
"You banged your head open at a hockey game." Jeremy replied; she patted the open space of bed next to her. The seventeen year old pulled the bedding back, showing that she wanted him under the covers with her.
"C'mere....and tell me what happened" The Army Brat requested, smiling sweetly. Jeremy was anything but the "hugging type", but she knew he loved being close to her.
"You wanna play nurse, baby?" The solider chuckled, reaching for her slender hand. He laced their fingers together gently. He definitely didn't like being coddled, but he secretly loved snuggling with Emmalin. It wasn't very manly so Jeremy wouldn't admit it out loud or anything, but his girlfriend knew he liked the close contact that holding her provided. She openly loved being affectionate and cuddling was her favorite past-time, Emmalin didn't care who saw them.
"Alright, as long as we're not playing Doctor." The brunette teased, she grimaced as pain shot through her head. A slender hand went to the back of her head, shocked to find a bandage there. The same hand went to rub her temple in slow small circles.
Jeremy carefully slid into the hospital bed, Emmalin gently curled into his warm body like a newborn kitten. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck and she buried herself into Jeremy' muscled chest. Slender fingers gripped the collar of his 'ARMY' shirt as another batch of pain shot through the Army Brat's skull, she bit her lip in an attempt to stop the flow of tears. Despite the effort, a few salt water droplets leaked from the Army Brat's amber eyes.
Jeremy gently wiped Emmalin's tears away with his thumb, he laid a tender trail of kisses across her forehead. She mewed softly against the soldier's shoulder.
Their legs entwined, his arms wrapping around her waist protectively, pulling her impossibly close, he wrapped the blankets around them securely. Jeremy's coco-colored lips laid gentle kisses across her cheek and forehead. He cupped her face, pulling her lips to his for a chaste kiss. They didn't get tender moments like this all the time, so that made it all the more special, despite the awful location.
"There was thirty minutes left on the clock and this huge bitch comes ramming into you and knocks you over. She's basically tossing you across the rink with her skates and beating you with her stick." Private Sherwood paused to give Emmalin time to process all that new information, "Baby, you busted your head open on the ice and blacked out." His husky voice whispered, he gently reached around her to free her hair of the bandages, "You've got twelve stitches, a concussion, and no permanent brain damage...err, well no more than you had before. Thank God you were wearing that helmet, baby." Jeremy knew how much she hated hospitals, they made her uneasy and filled her with endless anxiety. The last time she'd been in Mercer, she had snuck into his room while he was on a 72 hour suicide watch. She shivered roughly in his arms, more from her hatred of hospitals than the cold. Regardless he pulled her tighter to him until she was practically in his lap. Emmalin smiled against the crook of his neck, basking in his sweet sandalwood scent and wondrous body heat. He gently rubbed the small of her back in slow circles, making low purrs erupt from the Army Brat.
"Mmmh. I love it when you do that." She whispered against his chest.
"I know. Makes you purr like a kitten, baby." His lips trailed down her neck, leaving a fresh hickey on the smooth skin of Emmalin's collar.
"Where's my mom?" The Army Brat asked, nipping his collar lightly.
"She and my mom went to get coffee, they'll probably be back soon." Jeremy explained, smoothing her glossy hair back from her forehead.
"I hope not. I wouldn't want them to interrupt." Emmalin whispered against the soldier's lips, starting a moist tongue battle. Jeremy eventually won dominance in their smooth tango of tongues.
"I don't know if I should really be denying your head of any much needed oxygen right now." Jeremy teased, only half kidding. He ran his long, strong hand through the ends of the seventeen year old's long hair and placed another tender kiss on her temple.
"Any idea where a nurse with painkiller is?" She sighed, stroking his buzz cut affectionately. The pounding within her skull was like a bottle rocket being set off in the confines of her cranium.
"Its 0400, they're probably changing shifts. I'll go find one if you want me too." Jeremy bit his lip, slowly untangling himself from his girlfriend.
"No! Don't leave....I can deal with it." She said hurriedly before Jeremy could pull away, the last thing she wanted was for him to leave her.
"I could just press the buzzer?" The solider offered once again. He was worried about Emmalin and could tell she was hurting right now.
"No, that'd wake Dad, and then he might make you move." Emmalin whispered, sliding back into Jeremy's lap, her back relaxing into his chest. The Army Brat could feel hard, well-developed cords of muscle against her back, even through their clothes, she was currently fighting the urge to run her hands along them.
"I know you're dieing to ask to me 'bout the final score." Jeremy accused teasingly, pulling her closer for a kiss. His long slender hands reached toward the recently abandoned hospital chair and pulled a dark jacket off the plastic back. The solider wrapped the soft black fleece around his girlfriend, a gently effort to keep her warm. Emmalin's skin was always freezing, that's one of the reasons she loved snuggling with Jeremy, because he was always so warm.
"Its killing me! Tell me, please.... Ohhh they didn't cut me out of my jersey did they!?!?" Emmalin begged. Some might say she was hockey obsessed...but she liked to think she was just extremely dedicated.
"Your coach called and said the score was 30-27, you won.... And your jersey survived the crash just fine, it's umm...your helmet that they had to cut off." He was more than reluctant to tell her the last part.
"Ughhh, I'm gonna have to replace that before next week's game." The brunette sighed, leaning even further into the military man's chest.
"Well I don't know about that. You're hurt, baby, you might need to take a small break. Let yourself heal."
"Well at least we can fool around for a bit before my mom gets back." Emmalin teased her moist pink tongue licking the Private's earlobe. She shifted in his lap so that they were facing each other, her knees on either side of Jeremy's hips. Amber eye met gold-flecked chocolate eyes, both slowly closing as their lips began to dance.
"Mmhh, sounds fun. I've never felt a girl up in a hospital bed before." He untied the first bow on the back of Emmalin's hospital gown, making the neckline plunge. Chuckling he slide apart the second bow, pulling the pale itchy gown down to her ribcage. Emmalin was left in only a sheer, lacy red bra. Jeremy's lips, tongue, and teeth danced across the newly revealed skin, the soft delicate skin tantalizing to his taste-buds.
"She's seventeen, you're not getting anything on, boy. And babydoll, I expect that hospital gown to magically readjust itself." Colonel Frank Sherwood announced from the doorway, taking a seat in Jeremy's abandoned one.
"Morning, Dad." Jeremy greeted, not releasing the Army Brat from his embrace. Private Sherwood's hands busied themselves with retying Emmalin's gown. He had never been so disappointed to see his father. Did the man have a chip in his head or something that went off every time his son got some alone time with his girlfriend? Jeremy was really starting to wonder.
"Mornin', boy. How you feeling sweetie-pie?" Frank clapped his son on the shoulder and smiled concernedly at Emmalin.
"Been better." The seventeen year old replied honestly. Her arms wrapped around Jeremy's torso and her throbbing head found a home in the crook of his neck.
"Where's Dee and Claudia Joy?" Frank asked the nineteen year old, looking around for his wife and her friend. He chuckled when Michael let out a soft snore from the chair next to him.
"Food and coffee. Here they come." Jeremy replied, gesturing towards the two women walking through the doorway.
"Oh good, you're awake, sweetheart!" Claudia Joy smiled. She approached the bed and wrapped her arms around her seventeen year old.
"Hey Mom. Hi Mrs. Sherwood. Mom could you get a nurse for me real quick...my head's pounding." Emmalin winced.
"Ohh, Claudia Joy you stay here. I'll hunt one down." Denise offered, leaving the room before she even received an answer.
"Michael still sleeping?" Claudia Joy asked, her dark eyes drifting to her softly snoring husband.
"Like a baby." Colonel Sherwood chuckled from next to Michael.
"He was worried about you Emmalin." Claudia Joy expressed to her daughter.
"Sorry, I di..." The brunette began, before being cut off by her boyfriend.
"It wasn't your fault, baby. That forward had it out for you." The solider corrected. And he was right, it was her fault this huge girl decided to beat her head against the ice.
"I'm so sorry for the delay...Miss Holden." the blonde nurse apologized entering the room behind Denise, "We weren't aware you had woken up. And we can't medicate you for at least another six hours, we need to be able to monitor your pain. If we gave you painkillers we wouldn't be able to tell if your brain was swelling." the woman reached toward the foot of the bed to swipe Emmalin's medical chart.
"Alright....um, how long until I'm released?" Emmalin asked. All she wanted right now was to go home. Bad things usually happened to her in hospitals. The last time she was her Jeremy had been under suicide watch, and the time before that her mother was diagnosed with diabetes, the time before that her mother almost died and they lost Amanda, hospitals would always be difficult for her now. Sitting in this bed with doctors and nurses and sad eyes only made her relieve losing he sister.
"I can't be sure. Your chart says you suffered a minor head injury, so in a few minutes your doctor will stop by and give you an estimation." The nurse explained, her blonde hair twirling around her finger as she spoke. The young nurse took her leave, Emmalin's medical data in hand.
"Thank you." Claudia Joy answered for her daughter. The Army Wife shook her husband awake and briefed him. Michael looked reluctant to wake up until bribed with fresh coffee.
About ten minutes later, a short doctor with grayish-white hair that was balding at the top entered the room with a friendly demeanor. The amount of coffee he must of had to be so happy at four in the morning could probably fill the ocean.
"Good morning everyone. I'm Dr. Thompson." the man introduced himself smiling broadly, his steady hand contained papers similar to the ones the nurse had carried out moments before, "Ive got a copy of your chart right here, now let's take a look...hmm it says here that your baby's just fine!"
"Baby?!?! That's not possible...I've never even..." Emmalin Holden's eyes widened as she stared at the ridiculously happy man before her. There was no way she could be with child, didn't you have to have sex in order to get pregnant?
Her eyes went to Jeremy's, begging for reassurance. Sadly, he had none to offer. All eyes slowly went to look at the teenagers. Frank's knuckles cracked, a gruesome noise in the awkward silence. Holy cow, Emmalin had never seen the Colonel so mad....and then she turned to look at her father, who was two seconds away from strangling Jeremy. She slowly realized that everyone wasn't just staring at only her, their parents were throwing accusing and dangerous glares at Jeremy.
"Ohhh wait...this is room 247 right? I'm new here...first day on the job." Dr. Thompson asked, feeling the tension that drenched the room like blood in a horror movie. The girl he had been assigned to was a two months pregnant teen who had spotting appear in the middle of the night, none of these people appeared to know anything about a baby.
"This is room 147. 247's a whole floor up." Denise corrected, she knew the halls and levels of Mercer well. She remembered them from when she had worked there.
"Whoops...well I better go tell the people in 247 that their baby's okay.... Sorry for the inconvenience." The doctor blushed apologetically. This was the third time today he had reached the wrong destination.
"Jeremy Lee Sherwood, boy, I was five seconds from reaching over and dragging your ass to the parking-lot. Bout to beat the snot outta you." Frank said relieved, he took a sharp intake of breath.
"If Emmalin gets pregnant it's a medical miracle. Cause I never touched her." Jeremy swore, she could feel the tension leave his body.
"You were worried there for a second, I could feel you tense behind me." Emmalin giggled, gripping the Army Private's hand tightly.
"I was confused. I kept thinking, well, where was I?."
"You weren't invited. I stole your little troopers and went to the clinic. It was a beautiful, life changing experience between me and my 12 gynecologists."
"Oh Lord, Emmalin Jane don't even joke that way. Don't you remember taking care of that crying babydoll?" Claudia Joy gasped, the woman still hadn't recovered from her previous shock.
"Claudia Joy he had a name! It was Mini-Michael." the General corrected, he had been so proud that his daughter named her SexEd project after him....and yes he realized how creepy that thought sounded.
"I wanna know why he wasn't named little Frank?" Frank teased, slugging his son on the shoulder playfully.
"Please, we didn't name him after the General...we named him after Michael Jackson." Emmalin laughed.
"We figured it was the best way to honor the Prince of Pop." Jeremy finished, his hand running through Emmalin's dark locks.
"Our next pretend baby's name is gonna be Elvis....Elvis Maurice Sherwood." The seventeen year old announced. She watched the grimace on her boyfriend's face, clearly Elvis Maurice wasn't a name he was fond of.
"Emmalin, sweetheart, I think the sooner we get your head checked out the better...and maybe we should see if we can't change that no medication thing?" Claudia Joy recommended, figuring that anyone who dreamed of naming a plastic baby Elvis Maurice was in desperate need of drugs.
So the morning officially began with the correct Doctor visiting, and thankfully Emmalin didn't have any permanent brain damage...or a baby. Since Emmalin wasn't impregnated, Jeremy wasn't killed. No Holdens or Sherwoods were put on medication...this time. Emmalin was disappointed that she would indeed miss her hockey game, but thankfully would be released from the hospital tomorrow. Another day, another trip to Mercer Army Medical Center, that's life in Fort Marshall alright.
Author's Note 2: Thanks for reading! Please review! Especially since I'm working on the next chapter! I'm thinking maybe a guy-bonding camping trip? People have been asking for more Frank and so I've put him in there tons! Love Riley :)