Title: Lonely No More
A/N: Ta-dum! A quick update for you ladies (quick for me anyways, lol). As always, thank you so, so much for the great reviews on the last chapter. The feedback really does motivate me to want to get the next update out ASAP! I'm very interested to see what you ladies think of this chapter. So please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy :D
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The Panthers had a win. A big 'W' that they could mark down for their first game of the season.
Not only had they won, but they had pretty much desecrated the Tigers. Hell, even JD McCoy and the rest of the Panthers' second string had scored against them.
There wasn't a lot of stuff that Tim was good at other than football. No matter how dumb people thought he was, or how bad he always seemed to manage to screw things up – he always had football to fall back on.
But the struggles he had been facing trying to learn the new position at tailback had kept him feeling out of sorts lately. Almost like he was losing the one good, solid thing that he felt confident about.
But right now standing in the Panthers' locker room with excitement buzzing in the air, he was ecstatic.
After all the hard work – the grueling practices and the hours spent reading over the playbook – he had done a pretty damn good job at tailback, scoring three touchdowns and gaining a ton of yards on the field.
Coach had praised him for his performance, making Tim feel like he had truly done something great.
Billy had met him at the entrance to the locker room, pulling him into a hug and congratulating him on his numerous touchdowns and well-played game.
But his eyes had searched for the one person he was most wanting to see, but he hadn't been able to spot Julie anywhere in the crowd.
He knew without a doubt that she would be proud of him, excited that he had accomplished something that he had truly been worried about.
He owed a lot of his success to her. Without her help memorizing the plays and the overabundance of encouraging words throughout the past several weeks, Tim felt certain he wouldn't have made it.
He hoped that Julie was waiting around for him in the parking lot, and hadn't already left for the victory party.
He rushed putting his clothes on, haphazardly buttoning his plaid shirt over his damp chest before quickly slipping his boots on his feet.
It wasn't that he was hurrying because he just wanted to see her. It was almost more of a need.
He needed to see Julie Taylor.
He needed to see that sweet smile and the pride in her eyes.
He needed to feel like he had made a difference.
He needed to feel like he actually mattered to somebody.
Quickly grabbing his bag, he made his way toward the door, receiving several slaps on the back from his teammates along the way.
He exited the locker room and stepped out into the crowded parking lot, his eyes glancing around for a certain long-haired blonde.
"Tim!"
He turned, seeing Julie standing beside Coach's vehicle with a huge smile on her face, giving him a wave over the heads of others.
He quickly made his way toward her, stepping around several people who wanted to congratulate him.
He kept walking. He only had eyes for Julie. That was all the congratulating he wanted to hear.
Coming to a stop in front of her, he expected the huge smile and the words, but he didn't expect Julie throwing her arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest.
"You were awesome! Really, you were great. I am so proud of you." She said happily, her words muffled against his shirt.
Tim smiled, wrapping his long arms around her tightly and pulling her closer, taking the time to appreciate how good she felt in his arms, her small frame melding perfectly with his.
"Thanks." He stated quietly, dropping his face down against her hair, closing his eyes briefly as he breathed in the sweet scent of her.
He reluctantly pulled back after a few moments, not wanting to let her go. Not bothering to really stop and think about what that meant.
"You were like unstoppable out there." She said, a huge grin on her face as she removed her arms from around his waist, but remained standing close. "You got every single play right. Trust me, I know. I think I've memorized 'em all too helping you learn them."
"Thanks, Jules." Tim smiled. "For helping me out and all." He said, wanting to thank her for so much more, but not knowing how to put it all into words.
"Ah, you would have been fine without my help. But I'd be lying if I said I don't feel a little good about having a part in the Panthers annihilating the Tigers." She said with an almost devious grin.
Tim chuckled, taking a step back as he noticed Julie's parents walking toward their vehicle.
"Hey Coach. Mrs. Coach." Tim greeted.
"Hey, Tim. Great game tonight, hon." Tami said with a smile.
"Thanks, Mrs. Coach."
"It was a helluva game." Coach said, a grin on his face. "Well come on, Jules. We need to head over to Buddy's dealership for the victory party. Tim you need to be headin' that way as well, son."
"Uh dad, do you think I could ride to the party with Tim?" Julie asked, giving Tim a quick look to make sure that was okay.
Tim nodded slightly, letting her know that it was fine with him.
He'd take Julie anywhere.
Eric looked from his daughter, to Tim, to his daughter again, and then to his wife, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Alright." He drawled after a few seconds. "But you two are to go straight to the dealership. No moseying around town."
"Yes sir." Tim said quickly.
"Thanks, dad." Julie said with a smile. "We'll be right behind you guys I'm sure."
"Alright. See yah in a few." Eric said as he and Tami climbed into their vehicle and drove out of the parking lot.
"Let's go." Tim said, walking across the parking lot with Julie following. "Coach will probably be timing us or something."
Julie laughed. "Maybe not tonight. He's in a good mood because of the win." She said, looking at Tim curiously as he came to a stop beside an old, blue Firebird. "Where's your truck?"
"Me and Billy are changing out the carburetor. I'm using his car tonight, and he's catching a ride with Mindy." Tim said, motioning his head for her to get in.
He settled into the driver's seat, glancing over at Julie as she climbed in and closed her door, quickly putting on her seatbelt.
He started the car, easily maneuvering out of the parking lot and onto the road.
As he drove toward downtown Dillon, Tim was feeling pretty damn good. He knew that he probably had a goofy grin on his face, but he just couldn't help it.
He had a big win and hot girl by his side - a hot girl that he was beginning to care for very much. A hot girl that looked at him like she actually gave a damn, as opposed to just trying to get in his pants.
"You look weird." Julie stated, breaking the silence inside the car.
Tim glanced at Julie to find her staring at him with a smirk on her lips, looking like she was trying hard to hold back a laugh.
"That was abrupt." He drawled, causing her laughter to spill out, making him feel even happier.
God, he loved that sound.
"You know, Jules, that's really damaging to my self esteem." He said, trying to keep a straight face.
Julie snorted. "Tim you have absolutely no problems in the self esteem department, that's for sure." She said. "I meant that you look weird driving a car. You look good in your truck. It definitely suits you."
Tim smirked. "You think I look good?"
"Tim…" Julie sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. But Tim could see the slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.
Julie thought he looked good. That thought made him happier than it should have.
"Well, you said I looked good." He said playfully.
"In your truck." Julie replied. "You know, I think you get some kind of sick joy out of trying to embarrass me." She said, narrowing her eyes at him.
He shrugged, not denying the statement. He did like teasing her, to see the blush on her cheeks and the twinkle in her eye – usually the predecessors to a hard slap to his chest.
She had some strength in her, that was for sure. But the pain was worth it.
"So, Tyra told me that Billy and Mindy got engaged last night." Julie said, changing the subject.
"Yeah." Tim drawled, nodding slightly.
"Were you surprised?"
Tim shrugged. "Not really. Billy's been pretty happy, and they can't seem to keep their hands off of one another."
Julie laughed. "Yeah, Tyra said the same thing."
"It's true. And it don't matter where they are – the bar, the store – they're all over one another. Hell, they've probably done it right here in this car." Tim said with a smirk, knowing exactly what to say to get Julie stirred up.
"Eww! Tim, that's not funny." Julie said quickly.
"I'm not joking." He replied, grinning all the while. "Yeah, they probably had some hot sex in this car. Probably where you're sitting though, because the steering wheel would get in the way and stuff over here." He drawled, watching the panic come over her face.
"Gross! Tim, shut up." Julie laughed, reaching over to slap him on the arm. "Quit joking about that. That's just sick to think about."
Tim chuckled, enjoying teasing her. Hell, just enjoying being with her.
As he drove through town, passing through a green traffic light, he looked her way to tease her some more, but all words left his mind as he saw a truck running the red light and heading straight toward Julie's side of the car.
It happened much too fast for Tim to do more than press the gas pedal, trying to beat the oncoming vehicle, but he wasn't nearly fast enough.
The truck slammed into the passenger side of the car with a sickening thud, sending the car sliding across the intersection. Tim's head came into contact with the wheel, a sharp pain radiating through his head as the world became fuzzy and faded away for several seconds.
He groaned, feeling disoriented as he reached up to touch his aching head, feeling blood on his fingers. He slowly opened his eyes, hearing yelling in the distance, the realization of what had happened jolting him back to the present.
Julie.
He turned quickly, seeing her slumped over in the seat with her head turned at an odd angle, the seatbelt keeping her body in place.
"Julie. Jules, come on." He muttered, panic evident in his voice as he struggled to reach her.
Her side of the car was smashed in, having taken the greatest impact from the truck that ran the red light. And there were shards of glass everywhere, or so it seemed to Tim as he turned in his seat.
Part of him was afraid to touch her. He knew that if she had any kind of spinal injury or worse, he could do more damage than good, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.
He reached over, pushing her long blonde hair out of her face and gently pushing her back against the seat. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes resting unmoving against her pale cheeks.
"Jesus." Tim muttered, seeing blood on her face and arms. "Jules, come on. Wake up, Jules." He said, his voice getting louder as his hand touched her neck, trying to feel some sort of life coming from her still body.
Thank you God, he thought silently, feeling a pulse under the smooth skin of her neck.
He honestly didn't know what he would have done if he had felt nothing. But he couldn't think about that right now. He had to get her out of the car.
"Riggins?" Tim heard, turning to find assistant coach Mac leaning inside the car window, a few other men gathered around the outside of the car. "You alright son?"
"Yeah." Tim breathed, hardly any sound coming out of his mouth. "Yeah. I'm okay. But Jules…I've gotta get her out. She's hurt." He rambled, turning back to Julie.
"We called an ambulance, son." Mac stated. "I think I hear the sirens coming now. Is that Coach's daughter?"
Tim nodded. Oh God, Coach. Coach was going to kill him if anything happened to Julie. He had to get her out of the car and to the hospital, that was his only thought as he started to unbuckle her seatbelt.
"Riggins, come on. You need to get out of the car and let the paramedics get Julie out." Mac stated slowly, trying to break through Tim's haze.
Tim looked up. Sure enough, an ambulance was already on the scene, the flashing red lights blurring in his mind with the red blood covering Julie's body.
Everything seemed to happen quickly after that, with Tim feeling almost like he was watching it all happen from a distance, feeling detached from his own body.
He was pulled from the car, resisting at first. He had to get Julie out and make sure she was okay, but the rescue workers had assured him that they could handle it better without his interference.
He had stood beside the car on shaky legs, watching as they slowly removed Julie's body from the mangled vehicle.
God, had he ever noticed how small she was, how fragile looking?
"Sir, you need to come with us to the hospital." A paramedic said, taking Tim by the elbow and leading him toward the ambulance. "You obviously need stitches for that gash on your head, and you need to be checked for additional injuries."
Tim slowly followed the worker to the ambulance without arguing. The only reason he wasn't resisting was because going in the ambulance meant he got to stay with Julie.
And right now, Julie was all that mattered.
Tim turned, finding Mac standing a few feet behind him. "Coach…" Tim said hoarsely, unable to say more.
"I'll call Coach Taylor, son. I'll explain everything." Mac said quickly, placing a reassuring hand on Tim's shoulder. "I'll get a hold of Billy, too. Don't you worry."
Tim nodded slowly, turning and climbing into the back of the ambulance with help from a worker. He took a seat on the bench beside Julie as she laid on a stretcher, her eyes still closed.
He felt utterly helpless as he watched the paramedics poke and prod her small body, talking about things that he didn't understand. All he knew was that Julie had a good deal of blood on her, and that she had yet to open her eyes.
He was no doctor, but that couldn't be a good sign.
As the door shut and the ambulance began its journey to the hospital, Tim dropped his head and did something that he wasn't very good at.
Something he hadn't done in long, long time. Something he hadn't done since Jason had gotten hurt.
Tim prayed.
He prayed to God that Julie was going to be okay.
She had to be.
Because He didn't know what he'd do without her.
