FicWad

Chapter Thirty Three - Crossroads


Jill watched the couple in front of her as they all sat around the table in the pub, they were so happy together and not a minute went by without them touching or looking at each other. Her heart ached as she casually looked at the empty seat beside her. One day, it had only been one sodding day since Bob had left and already she was pining away like some old fashioned housewife.

"What's with that face?" Ruth asked after studying her friend.

"What face?"

"That sad one that keeps looking at the empty chair," Ruth replied pointing at Jill and then the chair.

"She's heartbroken, her sailor has gone away," Justin laughed before Ruth slapped his leg.

"I'm okay you guys, it's only been a day," Jill said trying to reason with herself.

"A day's a lot after all that hard fucking," Justin replied watching for a reaction.

Ruth gasped and Jill scowled at him.

"You've been listening to Tenacious D again haven't you? Jill just ignore this clown," Ruth said as she finally recovered.

"I suppose I better be heading home," Jill said shaking her head at Justin who was unable to stop laughing.

"You staying at ours?" Ruth asked.

"No I better be going home, I need to get clothes and stuff," Jill replied as she pulled her jacket on.

"You sure? You'd be safer at ours," Ruth said trying to get Jill to change her mind.

"I'll be fine," Jill replied laughing.

"Here's money for a taxi to the station," Justin said stuffing some notes into her hand.

"Jus, nooo, I can't take your money," Jill replied instantly pushing the money back towards him.

"Quick Jill, there's a taxi outside," Ruth suddenly shouted grabbing her friend's hand.

Jill didn't have time to reply before she was pulled out of the pub to find herself sitting in the back seat of the taxi.

"All you needed to say was get lost," Jill said as she straightened herself up on the seat.

"You know how hard it is to get a taxi at this time," Justin replied as he leaned in and hugged her, "Take care now and phone me when you get home."

"Yes Dad," Jill laughed as she hugged Ruth.

Justin handed over the money to the taxi driver that Jill had stuck in his back pocket.

"No Jus please," Jill said as she tried to get out of the taxi.

"See you Jill, drive on," Justin shouted banding the top of the car.

Jill looked out the back window to see him waving at her with Ruth howling with laughter beside him.


Later that evening

A taxi, a train and a very fast walk along a dark road later, Jill was finally in her house. As she sat on her sofa in her pyjammas with a mug of tea, she suddenly remembered Justin would be waiting for her to phone. She picked up the phone and speed dialed his number.

"Come on," Jill sighed as the phone continue to ring out before finally clicking on to the answer machine. She left a quick message and smiled as she thought about how Justin had probably dragged Ruth to a club. Jill sent them both a text to assure them she was safetly back at home. The thought of a semi-early night seemed too good an opportunity to miss and she slowly dragged herself towards her bed. Jill threw her mobile on the bed and made her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Switching off the lights as she walked through the flat, Jill couldn't wait to just sleep. The light on her phone made her reach for it as she slipped under the covers. She couldn't help but smile when she realised who it was from.

Sorry I haven't called, so busy here. Miss U. Probably 2 late to call, dnt want to
wake U up. Txt me if ur still awake & I'll call U.

Jill dialed his number,

"Hey Jill,"

"Hi Bob," Jill replied suddenly feeling wide awake again at the sound of his voice.

"Let me call you back because this will be costing you,"

"Don't be daft, it's fine really," Jill assured him, "Did I wake you up? you sound sleepy,"

"I was dozing,"

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll let you get back to sleep," Jill told him feeling guilty for waking him up.

"You will not, I've been hoping you would contact me," Bob assured her.

"How are you and what you been doing?"

"I'm fine and we did a good show tonight so we're all feeling really happy. I'm on the bus just now as we're going to Vienna." Bob explained, "Give me a moment Jill to go through to the other room because these fuckers are all listening to me."

Jill laughed as she heard Bob grumble away to himself, she could also hear the mumbled voices of the other guys and the inevitable laughter.

"Right you have my full attention this time, I swear Jill since I've got back they've all had a great time making fun of me," Bob complained as he sat on the seat and pulled a blanket over himself.

"Awww poor Bob,"

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Bob asked remembering that she went out after work.

"Yeah I did, I just went out for a wee bit and got the usual grilling from Ruth and Justin.

Bob laughed again, "You know the attention will soon disappear once they all get bored,"

"I guess you're right," Jill replied enjoying the sound of him laughing, "But to tell you the truth I think they kind of enjoy watching me squirm.

"Frank's having a field day," Bob added.

"So when do you finish your European tour?" Jill asked trying to remember.

"Well we go back home on the 22nd and then we've got shows from the Wednesday." Bob explained, "I don't know if I'm asking too much but do you think, I mean would you like to come over next month?"

Jill sat for a minute, "You mean come over, as in visit you, in America?"

"I know it's a lot to ask and you're probably working, you don't have to if it's too much, I understand," Bob replied unable to hide his apprehension of what she might say.

"Are you serious?" Jill asked, "I would love to."

"Just let me know when you are free and I'll get it organised," Bob said, "I can't wait to see you again, I know it's only been a day but I miss you so much,"

Jill sighed slightly," I know, I was feeling a bit pathetic earlier about it all earlier, I've never missed anyone as much as I miss you. I might be able to try and get a long weekend or something. You do realise though that you'll have to cope with me totally hyper, I've never been to the States."

Bob laughed, "Ohhhh a hyper Jill just for me, I like the sound of that."

"Perv!" Jill shouted laughing back.

"Absolutely," Bob instantly reponded.

They continued to talk about their day and what they could possibly do when Jill managed to arrange her trip. Bob's attention was only distracted when he noticed Gerard looking half dead and dragging himself through to the kitchen area.

"Hey Gee," Bob whispered

Gerard looked at him slightly confused," Eh, oh, are you still on the phone?"

"It's Jill," Bob replied quietly.

Gerard rubbed his hand through his messy hair, "Did I disturb you? I mean you weren't you know,"

"Fuck off," Bob responded grinning.

"You guys are all obsessed," Jill said having over heard the conversation.

"Hey Gerard, Jill said you're a pervert." Bob told him.

"Bob, I did not,"

"She can't talk," Gerard laughed," She's the one that locked you in her flat for days and now you're exhausted."

Bob and Jill didn't say anything but Gerard just hummed away happily to himself as he walked back towards his bed.

Bob finally said something when he hear Jill yawn, "Hey Jilly, you better get some sleep."

"I don't want you to go,"Jill mumbled as she yawned again.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Bob replied.

"Okay," Jill said as she finally lay down on her bed.

"Goodnight Jill,"

"Goodnight Bob,"

Jill snapped her mobile shut and let it fall to the ground.


x------x

The faint sound of buzzing made her slowly open her eyes, "Justin if this is you phoning me in drunken haze," Jill gumpily muttered as she searched desperately for her phone.

Recognising the number, she opened the phone, "Ruth, are you guys still not home yet?"

"Jill?" a faint voice asked.

"Ruth, is that you?"

"Jill, I," Ruth started before breaking down in tears.

Alarm suddenly panicked Jill, "Ruth, what's wrong honey?"

"It's Justin, he's been attacked, please Jill please come to the hospital," Ruth pleaded.

Jill could sense the sheer terror in her voice, "Of course, I'm on my way,"

"Please hurry, I'm scared and I need you,"

Jill was already changing her clothes,"I'm on my way,"


x------x

Jill grabbed what she would need and ran for the door, flinging herself down the stairs before finally reaching the road. She stood for a moment vainly praying that a taxi would appear round the corner. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw one and before she knew it she was standing in the road hailing it to stop. Jumping into the taxi, she anxiously sat in the back hoping and praying to god that Justin was okay. She couldn't keep her hands still and she just wanted to throw up. Her stomach was churning as she thought about Ruth waiting there all by herself. The taxi eventually arrived and she threw him a pile of notes, not even thinking how much she had actually given him. Her legs just started to run towards the emergency department. She looked around the waiting room, anxiously trying to find her friend.

"Jill,"

Jill turned round to see Ruth standing in front of her. She was so pale and tired, her eyes reddened with the constant tears and Jill didn't fail to see the blood that stained her clothes.

"Oh god Ruth, what happened?"

Ruth practically fell on to Jill and burst into tears, Jill could only hold her friend as she battled to prevent herself from crying. A nurse showed Jill towards the room that Ruth had been waiting in. Jill managed to get Ruth to sit down and only then did Ruth pull back.

"How is he Ruth?" Jill nervously asked, "please, please let him be okay," she thought to herself.

Ruth looked up at Jill, "I don't know, we were just walking home and this group of guys just came out of nowhere,"

Jill could hardly breathe as she thought about what they must have gone through. Jill rubbed her hand up and down Ruth's back as she continued to sob, "They started by shouting stuff about the way we dress and all the usual bullshit. We didn't say anything Jill, we just kept walking and then they started saying really vile stuff about me. He snapped Jill, I tried to pull him back, please jill oh please believe me. I din't want him to fight."

"I do believe you Ruth," Jill assured her.

"I was screaming at them to stop and then all I heard was a sort of gasping kind of yell and they all ran off. He was just lying there Jill,"

Jill wanted to throw up and to run, to run as far away as humanly possible. This was all some sort of fucked up dream. She had just seen him not that long ago and now he was somewhere in this place fighting for his life. Jill couldn't think of anything to say.

"It was everywhere Jill, I couldn't stop it, it's all over me," Ruth said starting to freak out as she frantically wiped the blood on the front of her clothes.

"Ruth, it's okay," Jill said knowing how lame it sounded.

"He's going to die Jill, I know it, I just found him and he's going to die and it's all my fault," Ruth cried out before Jill held her close.

"It's not your fault and you listen to me, he's not going to die,"

"I tried to phone you Jill but I couldn't get through," Ruth added.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," Jill replied aware of the tears falling over her cheeks, "Do you want me to phone Justin's Mum?"

"The Police are doing that and my mum and dad are on their way," Ruth replied.

Ruth's head shot up from Jill's shoulder as the door opened and a doctor and a nurse came in.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Williams and I believe you've already met Fiona," he said pointing to the nurse who sat down beside him in front of Jill and Ruth.

Ruth nodded grabbing Jill's hand tightly.

"As you know Justin came in here very poorly, he has extensive bruising over his chest, stomach and back,"

Ruth started to cry and Jill wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"From our initial examination it would appear that he has been stabbed twice, once in the chest area which has damaged his left lung and again in his stomach. We are going to be taking him down for surgery now that we have him stabilised," The doctor advised.

"Will he be okay?" Jill nervously asked knowing that Ruth was in state to ask anything.

"He's very sick and lost a lot of blood, he's with the best people and we will do everything we can for him. The next 48 hours are going to be critical for him."

Jill nodded and glanced over at Ruth.

"Now, I have to go but we will of course keep you updated."

"Thank you doctor," Jill replied.

"There's tea and coffee over there and you can get food from the cafeteria, don't hesitate to ask us anything okay," Fiona advised.

"Thank you," Jill responded before turning her full attention to Ruth as she heard them exit the room.

"You want something to drink?" Jill asked wanting to do something to prevent her going insane.
Ruth shook her head, "I couldn't bare it Jill if I lost him."

"I know honey but he's a fighter," Jill said stroking the hair away from Ruth's face.

Jill stood up and walked towards the kettle, she felt herself breaking down as she clicked the switch on the kettle. The sound of the rumbling water gave her the freedom to cry without Ruth noticing. She looked at her watch, it had just turned 8am. She knew she would have to let Neil at her work know. Jill decided to make Ruth a cup of coffee anyway and she wiped the tears away from her face before turning back. Ruth was huddled up on the couch, her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Ruth, I think your Mum's here," Jill said looking out the window towards the nurses station and instantly recognising the couple.

"Mum," Ruth sobbed.

"Ruth, I'm going to go and let Neil know and then I'll come straight back okay," Jill said.

Ruth wasn't really taking anything in as she nodded her head.

The door opened and Ruth's mum instantly made towards her daughter and hugged her closely. On seeing her Mum Ruth burst into tears again and the sound of her breaking down ripped Jill in two.

"Thanks for being here with Ruthie," Ruth's dad said.

Jill nodded as she hugged him, "I'm just going to go and let you have some time alone."

"Don't go honey on our account," Ruth's Mum added.

"I'm going to quickly go to the office and let our boss know," Jill replied walking over and gently hugging Ruth, "I won't be long I promise."

"Will you phone me if anything changes?" Jill asked her dad as she made her way to do the door.

"Yes of course, Ruth will have your number."

Jill nodded and left the room. Noticing the female toilet to her left, she ran into it and promptly threw up in the closest cubicle. She couldn't take it in, her best friend and someone she regarded as a brother could be dying. The shock of it wracked her body as she sobbed loudly, grabbing on to her sides as the pain set in. Finally leaving the toilets she quickly made for the exit and ignored the stares of the people in the waiting room. Jill jumped into the nearest taxi and asked for him to take her to her office.

"Are you okay love?"

"Not really, my best friend is really ill," Jill replied pulling her chin down into her chest.

The rest of the journey was quiet and Jill was grateful to him when he deliberately undercharged her for the journey. Maybe there was some kindness still existent in this place.
She pulled her hood over her head and made her way into the building never feeling so scared in her life. Jill couldn't look at anyone as she entered the lift, she could them staring though and in reality she must have looked a sight. As the door opened, she could hear the familiar sound of her colleages typing away, the music blasting from all quarters of the huge open plan office and the familiar banter. Deliberately avoiding looking at the des area she shared with him, she purposely made her way to Neil's office.

"Ahh Jill, nice of you to finally join us and where are your other friends. Don't think we haven't noticed that none of you have come in from your bender last night,"
Jill looked up to see Kate in front of her.

"Nice outfit Jill, I take it it's emo meets dustbin," Kate added in her element as her voice managed to attract the attention of some of their colleagues, "You're a disgrace to the good name of this magazine."

Jill took a deep breath.

"Please tell me you didn't drug that drummer to get him to sleep with you,"

Jill could feel the tears once again burning her eyes.

"Oh no I made you cry, boohoo you whore," Kate whispered.

"Get out of my fucking way," Jill snapped.

"Step around me, it's about time you people learned your place in here," Kate retaliated.

"I said GET OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY," Jill shouted, "Do I have to say it again because believe me I will punch you out of my way if you don't move in the next 5 seconds."

Kate froze horrifed and absolutely blazing mad, "You are so fired,"

"Do I look like I give a fuck?"

Kate finally moved and stomped away from her as Jill caught the wall with her hand to steady herself. Jill ignored the slight cheer that went up around the office and was so grateful to see Neil poke his head out of his office.

"Jill, what's going on out here?" he asked bewildered.

Jill didn't say anything as she walked in to his office. He sat and listened as she told him everything.

"Of course Jill, please tell Ruth to take all the time she needs, we can manage round here and I know how highly she rates her assistant." Neil said with a genune concern for her wellbeing., "I don't know how I'm going to cope without Justin but leave that with me, maybe I might just have to get Kate to do something."

Jill sat nervously playing with her fingers.

"Jill, you don't look so good," Neil commented, "Why don't you get yourself home?"

"I'm just going to go back to the hospital," Jill replied trying harder than ever to keep herself from breaking down.

"Do you want some time off?" Neil asked

"I don't know, I'm not sure what to do."

"I haven't assigned you anything so far so I could move things about, not that it would be easy to cover you but I'm sure we could manage this week." Neil explained looking at the many papers on his desk.

"I, em,"

"Jill you've never taken a sick day, you always cover assignments for me at the last minute and sorry but you look terrible." Neil replied, "Off you go and I'll see you Monday, keep in touch though to let me know how you're all doing."

"Thank you Neil, it really means a lot," Jill said

"And Jill, just forget about Kate, I'll deal with that." Neil added, "Don't worry about your article either, it's locked now and I haven't changed anything.

Jill walked out of the office and was so grateful to get in the lift and finally out of the building. She checked her mobile and saw missed calls and messages, she couldn't face it, what if one of those messages, no she wouldn't even consider that option. Bob had sent her a message, god how she wanted to speak to him, not over the phone, but in person. She opened the message and he had sent her a picture of them both when they had been lying in bed together, Jill saw how happy she looked. Jill hailed a taxi and made her way back to the hospital.





Ohhhhhh I hope you like this one and sorry again for taking so long to update. Please rate/review if you have a moment as I love reading what people think (good or bad). It really makes a difference and I do appreciate them. Thanks to everyone who left reviews (and a rating - big cheer) for my last update.

I'm no medical expert so if I got things wrong sorry.