erinm_4600
in
12to32
Fic: Comfort
Title: Comfort
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Jack and Deb (mention of Maddy and Ben Randall)
Rating: G
Summary: Waiting is the hardest part, especially when you have no control.
Warning: Shortly after Tough Guys. *Written for Round Three of love_bingo. Prompt: comfort Original titles are wholly unoriginal.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to Touchstone and Beacon and Disney, as well as their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
Tough Guys Have a Heart, Too | Tough Guys Have a Heart, Two | Comfort | Fallen | The M&Ms
After the first hour in the waiting room, Jack couldn't take it any more. It was far too early in the morning, he hadn't had any coffee, and his thoughts were entirely on the seven-year-old in the operating room.
It was so early, even the attendant wasn't behind the desk yet. They were probably still at home, in bed.
After the four hundredth time Jack shifted in his seat, his wife huffed and set down the magazine she really wasn't reading. "All right," she said, reaching for his arm. "Look at me," Deb ordered, raising her eyebrows. "We need to take a walk."
Jack started to shake his head, but knew arguing with his wife was useless. Deb stood up and pulled on his hand. "Up, Chief," she ordered. "They'll find us if they need us," she whispered. As they reached the hallway, Jack stared down the long white corridor. Coming down that walk earlier had been difficult for him, because the nurses had pointed him one way, while they wheeled his daughter another way.
Without even realizing it, they reached the elevators and the doors slid open. As they stepped inside, Jack looked at Deb and shook his head. "How are you so calm?"
Deb stared at the closing doors and let out a breath. "Because you're not," she finally answered. "Give me another half hour."
Ten minutes later, the Skinners were sitting at a table in the corner, each nursing the largest cup of coffee the Children's Medical Center cafeteria could provide. When Deb moved back in her seat, Jack looked up and set his cup on the table. Deb was leaning forward, head in her hands.
"Deb," he said, moving to kneel next to her. At his touch, her head raised and tears were streaming down her face.
"God, Jack," she managed, before her breath caught. He pushed up and put his arms around her. Pressing into his hold, Deb's wall finally managed to break and she sobbed against his shoulder.
Jack swallowed his own emotions and held her tight. With a small chuckle, he shifted enough to kiss her cheek and he whispered: "What happened to a half hour?"
Deb made a face and smacked his arm, though she managed a laugh, then coughed. "Shut up," she said between breaths, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "How did this happen?" she asked. "Is this because we didn't give her apple juice as a toddler?"
Jack couldn't help but laugh as his hand cupped her cheek. "She's allergic to apple juice, Deb." He wanted to know how she'd managed to get so sick without them noticing, just as much as Deb did. But, spending all the time in the world on the how wasn't going to change the fact that Maddy's heart was just broken.
"These are the best doctors in the South," he reminded her. "They're gonna fix her up, better than ever, and she'll be back in the pool." Granted, it would be a few months before she was back to the active little girl they knew, but her doctors were optimistic that the surgery would be successful.
"C'mere," Jack ordered, moving back to his chair. He pulled Deb into his lap, not really caring if the chair would hold both their weight. "She's going to be okay and we're going to get through this." He pushed Deb's hair out of her face and smiled again. "We can't let her be tougher than us." Deb laughed and he smiled before pulling her in for a kiss.
"You just want her to wipe all Ben's records off the board," Deb said with a deep breath. Giving Jack a look, she dared him to deny it.
"Damn straight," Jack agreed, kissing her again.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Jack and Deb (mention of Maddy and Ben Randall)
Rating: G
Summary: Waiting is the hardest part, especially when you have no control.
Warning: Shortly after Tough Guys. *Written for Round Three of love_bingo. Prompt: comfort Original titles are wholly unoriginal.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to Touchstone and Beacon and Disney, as well as their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
Tough Guys Have a Heart, Too | Tough Guys Have a Heart, Two | Comfort | Fallen | The M&Ms
After the first hour in the waiting room, Jack couldn't take it any more. It was far too early in the morning, he hadn't had any coffee, and his thoughts were entirely on the seven-year-old in the operating room.
It was so early, even the attendant wasn't behind the desk yet. They were probably still at home, in bed.
After the four hundredth time Jack shifted in his seat, his wife huffed and set down the magazine she really wasn't reading. "All right," she said, reaching for his arm. "Look at me," Deb ordered, raising her eyebrows. "We need to take a walk."
Jack started to shake his head, but knew arguing with his wife was useless. Deb stood up and pulled on his hand. "Up, Chief," she ordered. "They'll find us if they need us," she whispered. As they reached the hallway, Jack stared down the long white corridor. Coming down that walk earlier had been difficult for him, because the nurses had pointed him one way, while they wheeled his daughter another way.
Without even realizing it, they reached the elevators and the doors slid open. As they stepped inside, Jack looked at Deb and shook his head. "How are you so calm?"
Deb stared at the closing doors and let out a breath. "Because you're not," she finally answered. "Give me another half hour."
Ten minutes later, the Skinners were sitting at a table in the corner, each nursing the largest cup of coffee the Children's Medical Center cafeteria could provide. When Deb moved back in her seat, Jack looked up and set his cup on the table. Deb was leaning forward, head in her hands.
"Deb," he said, moving to kneel next to her. At his touch, her head raised and tears were streaming down her face.
"God, Jack," she managed, before her breath caught. He pushed up and put his arms around her. Pressing into his hold, Deb's wall finally managed to break and she sobbed against his shoulder.
Jack swallowed his own emotions and held her tight. With a small chuckle, he shifted enough to kiss her cheek and he whispered: "What happened to a half hour?"
Deb made a face and smacked his arm, though she managed a laugh, then coughed. "Shut up," she said between breaths, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "How did this happen?" she asked. "Is this because we didn't give her apple juice as a toddler?"
Jack couldn't help but laugh as his hand cupped her cheek. "She's allergic to apple juice, Deb." He wanted to know how she'd managed to get so sick without them noticing, just as much as Deb did. But, spending all the time in the world on the how wasn't going to change the fact that Maddy's heart was just broken.
"These are the best doctors in the South," he reminded her. "They're gonna fix her up, better than ever, and she'll be back in the pool." Granted, it would be a few months before she was back to the active little girl they knew, but her doctors were optimistic that the surgery would be successful.
"C'mere," Jack ordered, moving back to his chair. He pulled Deb into his lap, not really caring if the chair would hold both their weight. "She's going to be okay and we're going to get through this." He pushed Deb's hair out of her face and smiled again. "We can't let her be tougher than us." Deb laughed and he smiled before pulling her in for a kiss.
"You just want her to wipe all Ben's records off the board," Deb said with a deep breath. Giving Jack a look, she dared him to deny it.
"Damn straight," Jack agreed, kissing her again.