xtremeroswellia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
xtremeroswellia) wrote2008-03-04 10:07 am
xtremeroswellia) wrote2008-03-04 10:07 am
Jericho Fic: Never Meant To...(5/9)
Title: Never Meant To…
Authors: X_tremeroswellian and Shadow_One
Fandom: Jericho
Pairing: Jake/Heather and hints of Jake/Emily
Rated: PG-13
Spoilers: Up through and including most of “Rogue River.” After that it’s pretty AU.
Word Count: 9808
Author’s Note: Title was inspired by the Coldplay song, “Trouble.”
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven-Conclusion
Chapter Five
It took Heather three minutes to get to the med center from her house, two minutes to locate April, and two and a half to get back to her house. "Hurry!" she commanded, throwing the truck into park and bolting toward her front door.
April dashed after Heather, lugging her medical box with her and into the house.
"Emily!" Her voice was panicked as she rushed into her room to find her friend cradling Jake's head in her lap, tears running down her face. She froze in the door. "What--"
"H-he's not breathing," she sobbed.
"Move," April ordered, striding across the room and to the bed. She pressed her ear against Jake's chest, listening for a heartbeat. "He's got a pulse, but it's weak. I have to start CPR."
Emily nodded, extracting herself from under Jake's still form. "Please...don't let him die."
"Breathe, Jake," April said as began to breathe into his mouth. "Emily, get in my bag and get the ambu bag!"
Emily nodded, quickly getting the ambu bag. "Now what?" She asked, voice shaky.
"Monitor his pulse," she said, glancing up at her quickly before taking the instrument from her. She placed the mask over Jake's face and began to use the bag to pump oxygen into his mouth and nose.
Grabbing Jake's wrist, she placed her shaking fingers on it and began to count the thready beats.
Heather pressed herself back against the wall, her eyes locked on Jake's still form.
After a few more hour-like minutes, Jake finally took a breath.
"That's right, breathe," April said with a strained smile. "You've got a niece or nephew on the way, and this baby needs his uncle."
"A-April?"
"It's me," she confirmed, gazing down at him as she continued to pump the oxygen to his lungs. "What happened?" She looked at Emily.
"He said that he'd gotten shot," she hiccupped.
"Shot," she repeated, stunned. "In Rogue River?" Her voice raised a little. "Jake! Why didn't you say anything?"
"Wasn't...bad..."
April scoffed. "No, you just quit breathing. You're as bad as Dad, I swear." She shot a look in Heather's direction, then glanced back at Jake, then Emily. "Emily, you see how I'm doing this?"
She nodded.
"Count it. Five a minute. I'm going back to get paramedics so we can move him to the Med Center. Can you do this?"
She sniffed and took the bag from her. "Yeah, I can do it."
She touched her friend's shoulder momentarily and hurried out the door.
Heather shut her eyes.
"Heather," April called.
She slowly stepped out the door into the hall, her face drained of all color.
Once she was in the hallway, April folded her arms. "Jake's going to need surgery."
"I know," she murmured.
"Why you didn't say anything before?" Her voice was quiet.
Heather flinched, not quite meeting her eyes. "I know it was stupid. He asked...he asked me not to," she whispered.
April shook her head. "You're going to have to learn not to listen to Jake."
"I should find his parents...they should...be here..."
She nodded. "Tell them to meet us at the Med Center."
"Dr. Green--the med center...is it...sterile enough?"
"We have no other place to do this, Heather."
She swallowed hard. "I'll go find the Mayor." She slipped past April and headed out of her house once more, dread knotting her stomach.
Running a hand down her face, April followed Heather out the door, pulling out the walkie talkie she'd taken with her. "We need the paramedics at the Lisinski residence, stat."
* * *
Not aware of the bloodstains on her clothes, Heather reached up and knocked loudly on the front door of the Green's house, her heart thudding quickly in her chest.
Gail answered quickly, a smile on her face until she saw the bloodstains. "Heather, what happened?" Her voice raised in panic.
"Jake...it's...it's bad. April's taking him to the med center. You have to go now!"
Gail's face paled. "Oh God...Johnston!"
"Gail? What is it?" He came down the stairs, looking a lot better but still moving a little more slowly than usual.
"It's Jake. Heather says it's bad," her voice began to crack.
"What happened?" He moved to her side, staring wide-eyed at Heather.
"He was shot in Rogue River," she whispered. "April says they have to operate. They're taking him to the Med Center."
Gail put a hand over her mouth. "They can't take him there."
"There's no other place," Johnston said grimly, grabbing his hat and keys from the table. "Come on."
"No, no...April said..." Tears came to her eyes. "Johnston...they ran out of sterilizing material weeks ago. That place isn't safe."
"I know." His voice was quiet. "But neither is any place else. They have power there. It's the best we can do."
"They only have power for six hours."
"I can siphon the gas from my truck. It's almost full," Heather spoke up, swallowing hard. "Other than today I've been walking everywhere. There's enough to last at least two more hours, maybe a little longer."
"Johnston..."
"Gail, he'll make it," he said firmly, not looking at Heather. "Let's go. April's already on her way."
"Okay," she said quietly, clutching her husband as he led her out the door.
Tears stung Heather's eyes as she headed once more for her truck, her hands trembling as she climbed into the driver's seat, following the Green's to the Med Center.
* * *
As the Greens and Heather arrived at the med center, they arrived at the same time as April and the paramedics with Jake on a stretcher between them.
"Oh, Sweetheart. Oh, Jake." Gail walked alongside her son as they carried him into the Med Center.
"Gail, we need to get him into surgery now."
Her eyes were watery as she looked at her daughter-in-law. "You take care of him."
"I will," she promised. And she hoped she could keep that promise.
Heather trailed in behind everyone else, her eyes haunted. "Emily...Emily...how is he?" she whispered.
"It's not good," she said quietly. "We almost lost him again."
"This is all my fault," she said almost inaudibly.
"No...Heather...You just did what you thought was right." Emily wiped her eyes and pulled Heather into a hug.
She shuddered, burying her face against her friend's shoulder. "I shouldn't have listened to him."
"No, but...you couldn't have known."
"Emily, he was shot and I knew it and I didn't insist on getting him a doctor until...it may be too late."
She shook her head. "Jake's strong."
"There was so much blood," she whispered.
Emily nodded silently, tightening her hold on Heather.
She shut her eyes tightly and held onto her friend, praying that Jake was strong enough to survive the next few hours.
* * *
Heather sat on the cold tile floor, her eyes fixed blankly on the wall ahead of her. She didn't even hear someone say "Miss Lisinski" until the third time she'd said it. Blinking slowly, she turned her head to look up at Bonnie Richmond.
Bonnie waved slightly when she got Heather's attention. "We just heard."
She tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. She nodded slightly, dropping her gaze once more.
She leaned down beside Heather. "Are you okay?"
Heather drew in a breath and turned so Bonnie could see her lips. "I'm just worried about Jake."
She nodded. "We all are."
"You think he'll be okay?"
"Jake never gives up, I think he will be."
She smiled a little at that and looked up as the lights flickered. "Oh God."
Bonnie's head shot up to look at the lights. "The generator's supposed to go off."
"It can't! Not now!" She quickly got to her feet, her heart racing.
Looking down at her watch, Bonnie shook her head. "It's time."
"No, there has to be gas somewhere else in this town. There *has* to be." Heather headed for the exit.
"Miss Lisinski! It doesn't work that way."
She ignored her and jogged down the hall. There had to be something she could do.
Stanley saw Heather running out the door and quickly followed her. "Heather!"
She didn't stop, couldn't stop. Not when Jake's life was on the line because of her.
Stanley easily caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "Heather, stop."
A tear trickled down her cheek. "Let me go."
"It's a scheduled thing," his voice became husky. "There's nothing we can do to keep it on."
"Jake's in surgery, Stanley!"
"Jesus," he whispered, running a hand down his face. "Okay. Lets get to the generator."
Nodding, she led the way to it. "I think I can override the automation."
"I don't think it's automatic..." He said, trailing off.
"What do you mean? You said it was scheduled."
"Yeah. It is. But there are people that come by to shut it down."
"Then all we have to do is stop them," she said with determination.
"I don't know if it's going to be that easy," he said grimly.
She lifted her chin. "Are you gonna help me or not?"
"I am!" He said, hurt that she would imply that he wouldn't help.
Heather offered him a faint, tense smile and headed around the building to where the generator was kept. Swallowing hard, she moved to stand in front of it.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"One of the doctors is performing a critical surgery," she said, not moving.
The man frowned. "Which doctor?"
"Dr. April Green," Heather answered, glancing sideways at Stanley, who now stood to her left.
He sighed. "Look, I don't know how long I can keep this thing on--"
"There's enough gas to keep it running for at least two more hours," she said quickly. "I know because I siphoned the gas out of my truck to keep it going."
He bit his lip. "Okay. But after that...it *has* to be shut off."
She nodded in agreement, swallowing hard. "I understand."
"Who is it that Dr. Green's operating on?" He asked tentatively.
"Mayor Green's son. Jake," Stanley answered, hesitantly putting his arm around Heather's shoulders.
"God," the man murmured. "Go and be with Jake. I'll keep this on as long as I can."
Heather hesitated.
"It's okay. Brad's a friend. I trust him," he said quietly. "Come on, let's go back in."
Nodding slightly and looking at Brad with tired eyes, she slowly followed Stanley back into the Med Center to wait.
Authors: X_tremeroswellian and Shadow_One
Fandom: Jericho
Pairing: Jake/Heather and hints of Jake/Emily
Rated: PG-13
Spoilers: Up through and including most of “Rogue River.” After that it’s pretty AU.
Word Count: 9808
Author’s Note: Title was inspired by the Coldplay song, “Trouble.”
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven-Conclusion
Chapter Five
It took Heather three minutes to get to the med center from her house, two minutes to locate April, and two and a half to get back to her house. "Hurry!" she commanded, throwing the truck into park and bolting toward her front door.
April dashed after Heather, lugging her medical box with her and into the house.
"Emily!" Her voice was panicked as she rushed into her room to find her friend cradling Jake's head in her lap, tears running down her face. She froze in the door. "What--"
"H-he's not breathing," she sobbed.
"Move," April ordered, striding across the room and to the bed. She pressed her ear against Jake's chest, listening for a heartbeat. "He's got a pulse, but it's weak. I have to start CPR."
Emily nodded, extracting herself from under Jake's still form. "Please...don't let him die."
"Breathe, Jake," April said as began to breathe into his mouth. "Emily, get in my bag and get the ambu bag!"
Emily nodded, quickly getting the ambu bag. "Now what?" She asked, voice shaky.
"Monitor his pulse," she said, glancing up at her quickly before taking the instrument from her. She placed the mask over Jake's face and began to use the bag to pump oxygen into his mouth and nose.
Grabbing Jake's wrist, she placed her shaking fingers on it and began to count the thready beats.
Heather pressed herself back against the wall, her eyes locked on Jake's still form.
After a few more hour-like minutes, Jake finally took a breath.
"That's right, breathe," April said with a strained smile. "You've got a niece or nephew on the way, and this baby needs his uncle."
"A-April?"
"It's me," she confirmed, gazing down at him as she continued to pump the oxygen to his lungs. "What happened?" She looked at Emily.
"He said that he'd gotten shot," she hiccupped.
"Shot," she repeated, stunned. "In Rogue River?" Her voice raised a little. "Jake! Why didn't you say anything?"
"Wasn't...bad..."
April scoffed. "No, you just quit breathing. You're as bad as Dad, I swear." She shot a look in Heather's direction, then glanced back at Jake, then Emily. "Emily, you see how I'm doing this?"
She nodded.
"Count it. Five a minute. I'm going back to get paramedics so we can move him to the Med Center. Can you do this?"
She sniffed and took the bag from her. "Yeah, I can do it."
She touched her friend's shoulder momentarily and hurried out the door.
Heather shut her eyes.
"Heather," April called.
She slowly stepped out the door into the hall, her face drained of all color.
Once she was in the hallway, April folded her arms. "Jake's going to need surgery."
"I know," she murmured.
"Why you didn't say anything before?" Her voice was quiet.
Heather flinched, not quite meeting her eyes. "I know it was stupid. He asked...he asked me not to," she whispered.
April shook her head. "You're going to have to learn not to listen to Jake."
"I should find his parents...they should...be here..."
She nodded. "Tell them to meet us at the Med Center."
"Dr. Green--the med center...is it...sterile enough?"
"We have no other place to do this, Heather."
She swallowed hard. "I'll go find the Mayor." She slipped past April and headed out of her house once more, dread knotting her stomach.
Running a hand down her face, April followed Heather out the door, pulling out the walkie talkie she'd taken with her. "We need the paramedics at the Lisinski residence, stat."
* * *
Not aware of the bloodstains on her clothes, Heather reached up and knocked loudly on the front door of the Green's house, her heart thudding quickly in her chest.
Gail answered quickly, a smile on her face until she saw the bloodstains. "Heather, what happened?" Her voice raised in panic.
"Jake...it's...it's bad. April's taking him to the med center. You have to go now!"
Gail's face paled. "Oh God...Johnston!"
"Gail? What is it?" He came down the stairs, looking a lot better but still moving a little more slowly than usual.
"It's Jake. Heather says it's bad," her voice began to crack.
"What happened?" He moved to her side, staring wide-eyed at Heather.
"He was shot in Rogue River," she whispered. "April says they have to operate. They're taking him to the Med Center."
Gail put a hand over her mouth. "They can't take him there."
"There's no other place," Johnston said grimly, grabbing his hat and keys from the table. "Come on."
"No, no...April said..." Tears came to her eyes. "Johnston...they ran out of sterilizing material weeks ago. That place isn't safe."
"I know." His voice was quiet. "But neither is any place else. They have power there. It's the best we can do."
"They only have power for six hours."
"I can siphon the gas from my truck. It's almost full," Heather spoke up, swallowing hard. "Other than today I've been walking everywhere. There's enough to last at least two more hours, maybe a little longer."
"Johnston..."
"Gail, he'll make it," he said firmly, not looking at Heather. "Let's go. April's already on her way."
"Okay," she said quietly, clutching her husband as he led her out the door.
Tears stung Heather's eyes as she headed once more for her truck, her hands trembling as she climbed into the driver's seat, following the Green's to the Med Center.
* * *
As the Greens and Heather arrived at the med center, they arrived at the same time as April and the paramedics with Jake on a stretcher between them.
"Oh, Sweetheart. Oh, Jake." Gail walked alongside her son as they carried him into the Med Center.
"Gail, we need to get him into surgery now."
Her eyes were watery as she looked at her daughter-in-law. "You take care of him."
"I will," she promised. And she hoped she could keep that promise.
Heather trailed in behind everyone else, her eyes haunted. "Emily...Emily...how is he?" she whispered.
"It's not good," she said quietly. "We almost lost him again."
"This is all my fault," she said almost inaudibly.
"No...Heather...You just did what you thought was right." Emily wiped her eyes and pulled Heather into a hug.
She shuddered, burying her face against her friend's shoulder. "I shouldn't have listened to him."
"No, but...you couldn't have known."
"Emily, he was shot and I knew it and I didn't insist on getting him a doctor until...it may be too late."
She shook her head. "Jake's strong."
"There was so much blood," she whispered.
Emily nodded silently, tightening her hold on Heather.
She shut her eyes tightly and held onto her friend, praying that Jake was strong enough to survive the next few hours.
* * *
Heather sat on the cold tile floor, her eyes fixed blankly on the wall ahead of her. She didn't even hear someone say "Miss Lisinski" until the third time she'd said it. Blinking slowly, she turned her head to look up at Bonnie Richmond.
Bonnie waved slightly when she got Heather's attention. "We just heard."
She tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. She nodded slightly, dropping her gaze once more.
She leaned down beside Heather. "Are you okay?"
Heather drew in a breath and turned so Bonnie could see her lips. "I'm just worried about Jake."
She nodded. "We all are."
"You think he'll be okay?"
"Jake never gives up, I think he will be."
She smiled a little at that and looked up as the lights flickered. "Oh God."
Bonnie's head shot up to look at the lights. "The generator's supposed to go off."
"It can't! Not now!" She quickly got to her feet, her heart racing.
Looking down at her watch, Bonnie shook her head. "It's time."
"No, there has to be gas somewhere else in this town. There *has* to be." Heather headed for the exit.
"Miss Lisinski! It doesn't work that way."
She ignored her and jogged down the hall. There had to be something she could do.
Stanley saw Heather running out the door and quickly followed her. "Heather!"
She didn't stop, couldn't stop. Not when Jake's life was on the line because of her.
Stanley easily caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "Heather, stop."
A tear trickled down her cheek. "Let me go."
"It's a scheduled thing," his voice became husky. "There's nothing we can do to keep it on."
"Jake's in surgery, Stanley!"
"Jesus," he whispered, running a hand down his face. "Okay. Lets get to the generator."
Nodding, she led the way to it. "I think I can override the automation."
"I don't think it's automatic..." He said, trailing off.
"What do you mean? You said it was scheduled."
"Yeah. It is. But there are people that come by to shut it down."
"Then all we have to do is stop them," she said with determination.
"I don't know if it's going to be that easy," he said grimly.
She lifted her chin. "Are you gonna help me or not?"
"I am!" He said, hurt that she would imply that he wouldn't help.
Heather offered him a faint, tense smile and headed around the building to where the generator was kept. Swallowing hard, she moved to stand in front of it.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"One of the doctors is performing a critical surgery," she said, not moving.
The man frowned. "Which doctor?"
"Dr. April Green," Heather answered, glancing sideways at Stanley, who now stood to her left.
He sighed. "Look, I don't know how long I can keep this thing on--"
"There's enough gas to keep it running for at least two more hours," she said quickly. "I know because I siphoned the gas out of my truck to keep it going."
He bit his lip. "Okay. But after that...it *has* to be shut off."
She nodded in agreement, swallowing hard. "I understand."
"Who is it that Dr. Green's operating on?" He asked tentatively.
"Mayor Green's son. Jake," Stanley answered, hesitantly putting his arm around Heather's shoulders.
"God," the man murmured. "Go and be with Jake. I'll keep this on as long as I can."
Heather hesitated.
"It's okay. Brad's a friend. I trust him," he said quietly. "Come on, let's go back in."
Nodding slightly and looking at Brad with tired eyes, she slowly followed Stanley back into the Med Center to wait.
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Fiona :D
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And Heather is feeling so guilty... waiting during the surgery is going to be her own personal hell, isn't it?