"Is anyone else's stomach feeling a bit weird?" Beck asks
He and Robbie had been hanging out at Cat and Jade's apartment, something that wasn't all that uncommon on weeknights when everyone but him had class the next day. They had ordered Chinese takeout and watched the new episodes of both LA and Manhattan Med. The episodes are long over now, Cat and Jade are both sitting on the floor working on their homework, and it's starting to get to that point in the night where Beck should start heading home so he can get a decent amount of sleep before his next full day of filming.
"I feel fine..." Jade admits with a shrug, looking to Cat and Robbie "You guys?"
"I'm fine."
"Me too."
"Is your stomach bothering you?" Jade asks, crawling over to kneel on the floor beside her boyfriend's place on the couch
"A bit yeah..." Beck sighs, shifting in his seat "I thought it must've been something I ate, but if you guys all feel fine..."
"There's a chance the Chinese could be disagreeing with you." Jade tells him "We're getting older, you know. Our stomachs are becoming more sensitive."
"Yeah, I can't eat more than a scoop of ice cream without feeling sick now." Cat frowns "Being a grownup sucks!"
"See?"
"Probably..." Beck nods as he starts to stand up "Whatever it is, I think I'm going to head home and try to sleep it off."
"Do you want to stay here?" Jade offers "So you don't have to deal with a car ride?"
"I'll be fine." He assures her, pressing a kiss to her cheek "I'd give you a real kiss, but if I'm coming down with something I don't want to spread it to you."
"So considerate of you." Jade smirks "Text me when you make it home, okay? Last thing we need is you passing out in the back of some random guy's Uber."
"I'll let you know..." Beck laughs "I promise."
He makes it home perfectly fine, his apartment is less than a ten-minute Uber ride away. Although spring is getting closer and the weather is starting to warm up some during the day, it's still a bit cold to walk from the dorm to his apartment at night when the sun is down. Not to mention that he isn't feeling well, so walking didn't sound that appealing anyway.
Beck has a hard time falling asleep that night, having difficulty finding a comfortable position with the pain in his stomach. He can't tell if it's gas or nausea but whatever it is...it fucking hurts. By the time he falls asleep, there's only about three hours before his alarm is going to go off. When it does, he wakes up feeling even worse. Part of him wants to call his director and fill him in on the situation, to see if there's any way he could delay his call time a few hours and try to get some more sleep, but he ultimately decides against it. He just needs to get up and move around a bit, wake himself up...then he'll be fine.
"You alright, dude?" Jack Chaplin asks
The other young actor clasps a firm hand on his friend's back, startling Beck and making him jump.
"Yup..." Beck winces "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
"I said, I'm fine."
The walk from their dressing rooms to the day's soundstage isn't that far, but Beck feels winded by the time he gets there. His stomach pain has grown increasingly worse throughout the morning, debunking his theory that he would feel better once he got up and moving.
More actors arrive and eventually the director, ready to start the scene. When everything is set and ready, they call action and the cameras start to roll.
"I doubt they'll go for it." Jack says to Beck, in character "And even if they do..."
"They'd b-be..." Beck stammers "They'd be s-s-stupid n-not-"
"CUT!" The director yells "Beck! What's going on man? Are you feeling alright?"
"He's totally sick." Jack tells him before Beck can say anything "Asked him about it a little bit ago and he-"
"I'm fine!" Beck insists
"Then why can't you stand up straight?"
It's a fair question. He had been hunched over and leaning against one of the prop chairs in the scene since he arrived on the soundstage. His character and Jack's were supposed to be having a causal conversation, so he didn't think it would matter if he leaned over a bit to ease some of his abdominal pain. Apparently, at least one person had noticed.
"I think I've got a bit of a stomach thing..." Beck sighs "But I promise you, I'm okay enough to finish the-"
He stops mid-sentence, an unpleasant wave rushing over him. It's been a very long time since he threw up for a reason that didn't involve alcohol, and it takes Beck by surprise as he reaches for one of the prop trashcans nearby to catch the vomit.
"Told you ya didn't look fine..." Jack sighs as he moves to help
"Alright everybody, take five!" The director announces "Can someone get one of the medics?"
Meanwhile...about fifteen minutes south of Beck's Central Manhattan soundstage, Jade is just getting started with her first class of the day. She'll admit, she's having a hard time staying awake. A 'Theatrical Geographies' class isn't all that exciting to begin with, let alone first thing in the morning, but it's a graduation requirement for her major so she has no choice but to show up and do the work. Thankfully it's a lecture-style class, so she's able to sit in the back of her room and drink her coffee without drawing too much attention from the professor.
Suddenly her phone, sitting facedown on the small collapsable desk in front of her, starts vibrating. She grabs it quickly and immediately silences it, hoping that no one around her heard or noticed the noise. When she flips it over, she sees that the call had been from Beck. Moving the phone beneath the table and out of sight of her professor and the TA's, she types out a quick text message.
Can't talk, in class right now. I'll call as soon as I'm done. She writes, then hits send and turns her attention back to what's left of the lecture.
Less than a minute later, she feels her phone buzzing in her lap. When she turns the screen towards her, she once again sees Beck's contact lighting up the screen with a picture of the two of them on New Year's Eve. Knowing that he wouldn't call her during class unless it was truly important and knowing that he hadn't been feeling well the night before, Jade stands up and quickly exits the back of the lecture hall to answer the call in the hallway.
"Hey." She answers "I'm in a class right now. Can it-"
"Jade?" A voice on the other end of the call says "It's Jack Chaplin."
"Oh..." Jade is surprised to hear someone other than her boyfriend speaking "Shit, is everything okay?"
She can't imagine one of Beck's coworkers calling her from his phone can mean anything good.
"Uh..." Jack hesitates "Yes and no? Beck is with one of our medics right now getting checked out, but it's looking like they're going to take him to the ER. He asked me to call you and let you know."
"What?" Jade is shocked "What's wrong with him?"
She had been a bit concerned about him the night before, simply because when he isn't feeling well he almost never admits to it...she usually has to call him out on it before he will say anything. The fact that he had brought it up at all was enough for her to continually check-up on him throughout the rest of the night and earlier that morning. Now she knows he wasn't being honest when he told her he was fine though. Being brought to the medic at work and recommended to go to the emergency room certainly isn't 'fine'.
"My opinion?" Jack sighs "He's in so much pain that he can't stand up straight, and he's been vomiting for the last fifteen minutes. Personally, I think it's his appendix."
"Shit..."
"I could be wrong!" Jack is quick to add "We're not real doctors, remember. We just play them on TV."
"Do you know which hospital they're going to take him to?" Jade asks, nervously running a hand through her hair as she paces back and forth across the hallway
"They haven't said, but based on distance I would say Mount Sinai." Jack tells her "One of the ADs is going to ride in the ambulance with him, I can have them text you."
"Alright, that sounds good. Thanks, Jack..." Jade sighs "Wait! Can you ask him if he has his insurance card?"
She's been bothering him for almost the entire duration of their relationship to start keeping it in his wallet, but she's almost positive that it's still sitting in the envelope it came in inside a drawer of his desk in his bedroom.
"He says he doesn't."
"Of course he doesn't..." Jade mumbles "Okay, tell him I'm going to get it and then I'm going to meet him in the ER."
Jade had returned to class just long enough to grab her belongings and walk out again. She immediately called an Uber to take her to Beck's apartment to get his insurance card, which is exactly where she knew it would be, then called another car to take her to the hospital. Now she's navigating her way through Mount Sinai trying to get to the emergency wing.
"Excuse me?" She says to the nurse when she arrives at the desk "I'm looking for Beck Oliver?"
"Nice try." The nurse scoffs "I don't know how you found out that he's-"
"I'm his girlfriend." Jade cuts her off
"And I'm his mother." The woman says sarcastically, rolling her eyes
With a sigh Jade presses the lock button on her phone to illuminate her lock screen, revealing a picture of her and Beck.
"I can show you a picture of the two of us at a movie premiere we went to about a month ago too, if you want."
The pictures of the two of them on the red carpet had been all over the internet in the days following Jack's movie premiere. All anyone could talk about was how attractive both of them looked both in their outfits and together. It almost made Jade feel like a celebrity herself.
"He's in the second room on the left." The nurse nods down the hallway
"Thank you."
It feels a bit like a 'do you know who I am?' kind of moment, which Jade isn't exactly proud of. She's always hated celebrities who are conceited enough to use that line to try and get what they want. On the other hand though...she is just the slightest bit proud of herself. She doesn't have long to dwell on the thought as she moves quickly down the corridor towards the room the nurse had directed her to. When she arrives, she knocks gently on the door frame and waits for a voice from inside to tell her to come in before she does so.
"Hey Liar..." She sighs sympathetically as her eyes land on her boyfriend, clad in a hospital gown and lying in the bed
"Hello to you too..." Beck chuckles a bit as Jade greets him with a gentle kiss on the lips "Why am I a liar?"
"You told me that you were fine this morning!" She reminds him "Clearly, you're not fine."
"M'fine now that you're here..." Beck smiles
"You're still lying." Jade smirks "You're not fine, you're in the hospital."
"We're waiting on the anesthesiologist to come prep him for surgery. They gave him some medication to help him feel a bit more comfortable in the meantime, though." Paul, the AD who had been sitting in the plastic chair in the corner, tells Jade "He's been asking for you non-stop."
"Not non-stop..." Beck rolls his eyes "...but maybe quite a bit."
"Well, here I am." Jade assures him "I'm going to stay right here with you until they take you back for surgery."
"I'll give you two your space." Paul says, standing up and walking towards the door "Beck, I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."
"Thanks Paul!" Beck calls after him, then turns his attention to Jade "C'mere you..."
With a small smile, Jade drops her bag in the plastic chair Paul had just vacated, then lays down in the bed beside Beck. It's a tight squeeze, but he's able to wrap an arm around her shoulders and hold her close to him because of that.
"Sorry your organs are exploding..." Jade laughs a bit, looking up at Beck "That kinda blows."
"It's just one organ." Beck shrugs "And from what I've heard, it's useless anyway."
"Have they given you any information about the surgery?"
"Just that the appendix hasn't actually ruptured yet, it's only close to rupturing." Beck tells her "And the surgery itself is 'laparoscopic', whatever that means. I dunno, they told me that the recovery isn't going to be as bad."
"Did they say how long they're going to keep you here afterwards?"
"Just a day or two."
"I'll come stay at your apartment with you until you're feeling better." Jade offers "Obviously I'll still have to go to work and to class, but I'll be there in the mornings and spend the nights so that you're not-"
"You don't have to do that."
"No, but I want to." She tells him "Part of loving each other is taking care of each other and being there when we're needed, right?"
"Yeah." Beck smiles, kissing the top of her head "That's right."
"Hey, by the way..." Jade smirks "I brought your insurance card that you promised me you would start keeping in your wallet six months ago."
"Thank you, baby..." Beck chuckles "I promise it'll be there from now on."
"It better."
"Knock, knock!" A voice from the doorway says, and both Beck and Jade look up to see a man in scrubs standing there "Hey there! I'm your anesthesiologist. I'm here to administer your anesthesia drugs so that we can get you into surgery ASAP."
"Sounds good..." Beck sighs as Jade moves to sit on the edge of his bed instead, taking his hand as she does so "Is it alright if my girlfriend stays with me until I'm knocked out?"
"I don't see why not." The doctor nods
"Thank you." Both Beck and Jade say in unison
As the doctor begins preparing the needle, Jade feels Beck's grip on her own hand tighten. She squeezes back reassuringly, a signal that he doesn't need to worry. Normally he's always the one to reassure her when she's feeling uncertain. Although she wishes that he wasn't in this situation, she's glad she's finally able to return the favor to him now.
"Can I just say..." The doctor says as he sets up Beck's IV "...I'm a huge fan of the show. My wife and I watch every week."
"Thanks, man." Beck says to him "You guys are the real heroes though, I'm just playing pretend."
"Depends on how you look at things and who you ask."
Jade feels Beck continue to grow tenser, and she adjusts herself so she's able to hold his hand with both of her's.
"Hey, look at me..." She says quietly "Everything is going to be fine, okay? You'll barely even realize that you were asleep, and the whole thing will be over."
"You'll be here when I wake up?" Beck asks her "Right?"
"Of course I will." She leans forward and kisses him again gently
"Okay." Beck nods "Thank you. I love you."
"I love you too." Jade assures him "I promise I'll be right here with you for as long as they'll let me be."
"Good because...I...I..." Beck's eyes begin to grow heavy "I'm a...little...bit..."
"Nervous, I know." Jade finishes his thought for him as he becomes unconscious, then presses a kiss to his knuckles before dropping his hand "You'll be fine, baby. Don't worry."
A few media outlets had caught wind of the fact that he had possibly been admitted and gathered outside the front entrance of the hospital, hoping to snap a picture or two of the young actor and get some information about what had been ailing him in the first place. Hospital security end up sneaking him out a back service entrance to a waiting car, and he's able to get home without anyone realizing. Eventually, everyone who had been waiting outside of the hospital disperses and chalks the rumors up to being just that...rumors.
Jade keeps her word and stays with Beck at his apartment once he's released from the hospital the day following his surgery. He's laid up in bed for the first few days, so she brings all of his meals to him in the bedroom and sits beside him while she does her homework. The only time she ever leaves is to go to work or to class, always coming straight back to him when she's done. At first, it feels a little too domestic for her liking...but then she remembers that it's not permanent and it's certainly not what he expects from her all the time. Right now he needs her to take care of him, and that's exactly what she's going to do.
At first, sleeping in the same bed is a bit hard for them both. They can't cuddle the same way that they usually do because of Beck's incisions, and they certainly can't have sex. The couple still finds ways to be close though. For the first few nights that Beck is home they fall asleep holding hands on top of the blankets.
"This is way easier with two people." Beck admits as he and Jade both place a fresh fitted sheet on top of his mattress
After close to a week of never leaving his bed, Jade had told him it was time to change the sheets out for fresh ones. She offered to do it for him, but he's been feeling much better in the past day or so and wanted to help her just so that he could feel productive again.
"Definitely is." Jade agrees with a laugh "You would think by now someone would have invented a machine that would do it for us."
"Wouldn't that be nice?"
They finish making the bed, then collapse backwards onto it holding hands. Beck is a bit tired, it's the first time in almost a week he's put forth that much energy, after all. Jade turns her head towards him, smiling as she squeezes his hand.
"You okay?" She asks him
"Yeah, just a bit tired."
"Are you sure you're ready to go back to work?"
"Yeah, I am." He nods "I just need to get back into the routine of like...moving around again."
"Alright." She sighs "Just don't push it too much, okay? You don't want to end up back in the hospital."
"I won't." He moves his head towards her's and pecks her on the lips quickly "I promise."
"Good."
"Thanks for taking such good care of me." Beck tells her "I dunno what I did to deserve you."
"You take care of me all the time." Jade shrugs "Least I can do is return the favor every once and a while."
"We take care of each other." Beck affirms "Because that's what couples do."
"Because that's what couples do."
"I love you, Jade."
"I love you too."
I know a lot of you are asking for the drama and trust me...it's coming, just not quite yet. Soon though. And to 'The Doctor' in regards to your last review...yes. Very briefly, a few chapters from now. ;)