Petals On The Water

By Rachel

 

 

Later that evening, Grams tucked an exhausted Jen into bed. Jen softly cried into her pillow as Grams kissed her forehead and turned out the light.

“Get some sleep, Jennifer,” Grams said, caressing her hair. “Everything will be better in the morning…go to sleep.” Jen stopped crying, and stared into the darkness. Grams got up and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Jack was waiting in the hallway.

“She’ll be okay…” Grams smiled, taking him by the arm. “Jack…how are you feeling through all of this?”

“Oh…” He shrugged, but couldn’t say anything. Grams nodded in acknowledgment.

“Have you eaten anything since lunch?”

“No…”

“Then come with me. I’ll fix you something good, then you’ll call your father and tell him you’ll be spending the night here…you are far too tired to worry about anything else tonight.” She led him downstairs to the kitchen where she made him his supper.

He ate quietly while Grams sipped her cup of tea from across the table. Then Grams went to bed, and Jack called home and recounted the whole traumatic incident to Andie, who sat at the other end of the line shocked and astounded.

“Are you okay?” She asked when he finally finished.

“Yeah…thanks, sis,” He said. “Thanks for asking.”

“Jack… Don’t worry anymore tonight. Joey will be fine…Jen will be fine…Just get some sleep and we’ll talk about it some more tomorrow at school.”

“Okay, And.” He smiled for once and hung up the phone.

He watched TV for a little while before retiring to his old room.

 

Around two o’clock, Jack awoke with a jump, startled by something in a dream. He rolled over and found Jen sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Jen?” He whispered.

“Oh!” She turned to look at him. She wiped her face. She had been crying again.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“I just…I—“ She looked down at her fingers and heaved a sigh. “I just didn’t want to be alone anymore.”

“Oh.”

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

Jack stared at her for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Um…yeah.” He scooted back to make room for her, then lifted the covers. She slid beneath them, snuggling down in the warmth against Jack.

“Thanks,” She said sleepily.

“No prob.” He yawned, pulling the covers up around them.

 

It was cold in the house, and Jen felt hot against his skin. Jack held her as she dozed off. He wondered if she was coming down with something, or if she just normally ran this hot.

He could smell the clean scent of her shampoo still lingering in her hair, and he cuddled against her as she began to snore lightly.

Her body was soft and comforting, and Jack remembered what it had been like to sleep with Kate. She was the only other person he had ever spent the night in the same bed with, and although he had realized long ago that he was gay, he had found it comforting. And he had cared for her deeply, just as he now cared for Jen.

Jack yawned again. He tried to forget about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours…he tried to just relax and let it go.

Eventually, his mind grew hazy, and he too, was soon asleep.

 

 

The next morning, Dawson and Pacey were at the hospital bright and early. It was nearly 8:00 and visiting hours didn’t start until 9:00…they were going to be late for school. They didn’t care.

At 8:45, Bessie stepped off the elevator.

“How is she?”

“How’s she feeling?”

“How long is she going to be in here?”

“When can she come home?”

She was bombarded with questions by the two boys. The first thing she did was hug each of them.

“I owe you too so much!” She said with a tear in her eye. Dawson and Pacey looked at eachother then shrugged modestly.

“When can she get outta here?” Pacey asked.

“I don’t know Pace…a couple of days.” Bessie went to one of the waiting chairs and took a seat. The boys followed her, Pacey sitting beside her and Dawson across from her.

“How bad is it, Bess?” Dawson asked. Bessie looked at him with uncertainty.

“Well…Doogie Howser says she’ll be okay, but I can’t help but worry…”

“Did you see her last night?” Pacey asked in a small voice.

“Yeah…”

“What did she say?”

“Not much of anything, honey…She had all these tubes stuck in her nose and her chest was hurting pretty bad so she wasn’t up to much conversation.”

“Does she remember what happened?” Dawson asked.

“Not really…” Bessie sighed. “She was a little hazy about the details but I’m sure it’ll come back slowly.”

“This is taking forever!” Dawson growled looking at his watch. It was 8:55. He looked at the nurse’s station and saw a mean looking nurse running the front desk. He thought about trying to get in to see Joey early, but by the way the nurse glared at them when they first got there, he didn’t think it would be a good idea.

“We’ve been here since 7:30,” Pacey said.

“Oh.” Bessie smiled. “Well, another five minutes…”

 

Finally, the five minutes passed.

Bessie entered the room first. The blinds were slightly open allowing a trickle of sunshine to make its way through. There were two beds; the first was empty and Joey lay in the second, closest to the window, facing out.

“Joey?” Bessie said in a small voice, unsure if she was awake. Joey slowly raised her head and looked at her. She mumbled a whispered hello and didn’t even smile when she saw Dawson and Pacey standing behind her. “How are you feeling, honey?” Bessie asked going beside her and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Okay…” Joey wheezed. Bessie leaned down and hugged her. Joey let her, but didn’t hug back. She just slumped back against the pillow and stared out the window.

“Hey, Jo.” Pacey said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.

Joey looked at him for a moment and then looked away, back out the window, and mumbled ‘hi’.

Bessie and Pacey looked at eachother grimly, before Pacey glanced at Dawson. Dawson leaned on the bed rail staring down at her.

Bessie was right…she had tubes everywhere…monitoring her breathing, monitoring her heartbeat, the IV in her arm…

Joey also looked like she hadn’t slept much. She had dark circles around her eyes and her skin was pale. She lay staring out the window curled up in a little ball. She looked so small and vulnerable Dawson thought. He blinked as his eyes started to sting.

“Hey, Joey…” He whispered. She didn’t say anything. She just continued staring out the window blankly.

“Maybe you guys should come back after school,” Bessie said as she stroked Joey’s hand. She looked at them encouragingly and Pacey started to back out of the room. “Joey’ll be more up to talking then.”

“Come on, D-man,” Pacey said in a low voice, taking him by the arm. Dawson silently followed him out.

 

~O~

 

About the time Dawson and Pacey had left for the hospital that same morning, Jack had awoken to an empty bed. He sat up, stretching wearily and rubbing his eyes as he looked around his deserted room. Where had Jen gone?

He yawned, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and sat there and thought for a moment.

Yesterday seemed like a dream…a really bad dream. He was glad it was over.

Joey…

‘How’s she doing?’ he wondered.

 

Jack put on his pants then wandered down the hallway to the kitchen. It was empty, but there was a note on the refrigerator door from Grams saying she stepped out to pick up some milk and eggs.

She had planned on doing her grocery shopping yesterday afternoon, but then with the news about Joey she had completely forgotten.

Jack yanked open the refrigerator door and looked around. Orange juice.

That was about all it had to offer.

“Oh well,” he shrugged to himself as he took it from the fridge and poured himself a glass. His stomach was still in knots from yesterday and he really wasn’t that hungry anyway.

He gulped down the glass, and then poured himself another before putting it away and heading upstairs to find Jen.

 

Jack padded down the hallway in his socks to the last door on the right: Jen’s.

The door was closed, so he knocked lightly. No answer.

“Jen?” He said through the door. After a moment, he turned the knob. It was unlocked. He pushed the door open to a sharp, cold breeze. “Jen?”

He took a step into the dark and drafty room.

The window was wide open and the curtains were billowing. He walked to the window, abruptly closing it, then turned and found Jen curled up in her bed on top of the covers, shivering slightly and wearing nothing but the thin nightshirt and panties she had worn to bed the night before.

“Jen!” Jack said as he stepped towards her. She looked up at him, surprised as if she hadn’t known he was there. “What are you doing? It’s freezing in here!”

He pulled the covers around her as she sat up. She didn’t say anything. She just shrugged, shaking her head as if she didn’t know.

“Jen…you need to get dressed, it’s almost time for school.”

“I’m not going to school today, Jack…” She whispered.

“Why not?” He asked.

“I—I just don’t…” She didn’t finish. She just shook her head again, and lay back down on the bed, wrapped in the blankets.

Jack knew she was acting this way because of yesterday…because of the near drowning.

“Jen…” Jack said, starting to rub her back. He didn’t really know what to say.

At least when Andie would go off the deep end, she went into hysterics…that he could deal with.

But this…

“Jen…you really should go to school.”

She shook her head as her eyes started to well up with tears. But she didn’t cry. She just lay there. “Jen…” He looked her up and down, and sadly reached for her hand. “Do you want me to stay here with you?”

“I’m just going to get some sleep…” She said in a shaky, unconvincing voice. “I just need some sleep…” She repeated, pressing her face into her pillow away from him.

“Are you sure?” She nodded her head as a little stream of tear slipped down her cheek. Jack didn’t see it. “Okay…” He said. “I’m probably going to try to visit Joey today after sixth…I can come by and get you—”

“No.” Jen whispered.

“Okay…well, I’ll stop at home and get some clothes and then I’ll be back afterwards… I think I’ll stay here for a few days, if that’s okay with you?” Jen nodded her head silently. “Okay, Jen…” Jack sighed, smoothing her hair back. “I’ll see you later.”

 

“Do you think she’s still mad at us?” Pacey asked as he and Dawson headed slowly to the school.

“No…I don’t think so…” Dawson sounded deep in thought, and only half answered.

“Hmn,” Pacey thought. They absentmindedly glanced both ways before crossing the street. “She wouldn’t even look at us…” Pacey mumbled. “Neither of us…”

Dawson wasn’t listening…not really, though he nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“She’s not herself…” Dawson finally muttered.

“What?”

“She’s not herself…not really, she’s never looked that sad…never.”

“Oh…” Pacey paused. Dawson walked ahead of him before he started moving again.

 

 

“Joey…” Bessie repeated. “Joey? Are you listening?”

“Huh?” Joey asked slowly looking away from the window.

“I asked you if you were listening to me but apparently not…” Bessie pushed the hair back from Joey’s face.

“What did you say?” Joey whispered.

“Hello, Ms. Potter!” Dr. Adder said as he burst through the door. Bessie looked up, startled as he hummed to himself as he waltzed over to the side of the bed. “How are we feeling today?” He smiled cheerfully as he slipped the stethoscope over his ears. When she didn’t answer, Bessie did.

“She’s still a little out of it, today, doctor…”

“Ah, well!” He said, dismissing it with a waive of her hand. “That’s normal after a traumatizing experience like this…it’s just the brains way of coping…Now Ms. Potter, I’ll need you to sit forward…” She slowly rose up and suddenly he slipped the cold end of the stethoscope down the back of her gown against the bare skin on her back. It felt like ice. Joey started to jerk away, but he held her firmly in place by the shoulder.

“Take a few deep breaths for me…”

She glared at the air in front of her and did as she was told.

“Well!” He said too enthusiastically. “Your breathing seems to be getting better! Maybe after lunch we’ll be able to take that tube out of your nose!”

If Joey had the energy, she would’ve said something nasty, but she didn’t. She felt like she didn’t have the energy for living.

She lay back against the pillows and sighed, and Dr. Adder went over her chart with a silly grin plastered across his face. He started to leave, and Bessie asked if she could see him for a moment. Joey didn’t really notice as they went out into the hall.

She turned back to the window, and looked out…out into the distance.

 

“Doctor,” Bessie said, catching him by the arm. “She’s not acting like herself…”

“Like I said, Ms. Potter…that’s normal. Near drowning victims usually go through a slight depression…it only lasts a few weeks…”

“A few weeks!” Bessie exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm again as he tried to walk away.

“Yes…” He said, almost defensively as he pulled his arm away. “A few weeks…”

“Well, I hope that’s all it is!” Bessie said in a huff, staring at him.

“Is that all?” He asked.

“Is that all, he says…” Bessie shook her head. “I guess so,”

He smiled again, and then walked away.

“Ooh, that guy!” Bessie grumbled as she headed back to Joey’s room.

 

 

End Part 4