Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:03:39 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 14 If you're under the legal age or it is illegal in your country/principality/SAR then read no more. If the thought of two men together is also offensive, read no more. Disclaimer: I dont know Jake, and I don't claim to know him or his sexual preference, he's pretty and all, but really, it's his own business. This work is entirely fiction. Chapter 14: Jake managed to rearrange his schedule so he could see Maggie, as well as attend the baby shower with Chris. He left for New York Tuesday morning. Tuesday night Jake had spent at dinner with Maggie and Peter, and the next day Jake completely opened up his feelings to his sister and best friend. He had told her everything, from the supposed rumors of dating Reese, down to meeting Chris after witnessing a crime. Finally, Jake opened up to her about being in the beginnings of a relationship with Chris. The afternoon after opening up to Maggie about Chris, Jake planned to fly back to Los Angeles. "I really hope you find what you're looking for. I don't want to see you hurt." Maggie whispered as she hugged Jake at the airport. Jake hugged her tighter and kissed her on the cheek, "I think I might have, as soon as I can get him over here, I want you to meet him." "I'd love to meet him," Maggie continued. "What do you think Mom and Dad would say?" Jake paused and thought, "I'm not sure. I think they'd be okay with it. I want them to meet Chris too. I love him Maggie." Maggie let out a tear from her eye, "I'm happy for you Jake." Finally, the announcement came over the public address system, informing Jake that his flight was now boarding Rows 1-18. He quickly hugged his sister once more before joining the line to board the aircraft. He passed the threshold and headed down the jetway, smiling at the fact that in a few short hours he would be back with the man he loved. He boarded the plane and took his seat. After shoving his carry on bag under the seat in front of him, he buckled his seatbelt and stared out the window. It was a rainy and overcast day. Jake couldn't even see more than a few aircraft stands away due to the severity of the showers. He closed his eyes and listened to the pleasant hum of the air- conditioning system. Suddenly remembering his cell phone was on, he quickly switched it off and shoved it back into his bag. Finally, after a short delay the plane began to pushback and made its way along the taxiway to the runway. Being late in the afternoon there was already a long delay of aircraft waiting to take off. After half an hour of sitting in the queue, the plane was granted clearance to takeoff and began to roll its way down the runway. Becoming airborne, the plane began to climb and turned to the west on its way back home. Jake put on his headphones, closed his eyes and pushed the seat back so he could make himself more comfortable. Jake groaned as he heard the announcement of the film about to play on the main movie channel. It was Zodiac. It was one thing Jake didn't like about the movie industry. He always felt embarrassed watching his own movies. "What else have we got." Jake whispered to himself as he began fiddling with the buttons on the armrest. He finally settled on a music channel and leaned back to stretch himself out for the flight. His daydreaming session was soon interrupted by the middle-aged man sitting next to him. "Sorry, but is that you on the screen?" Jake opened one eye and looked at the movie the man was watching, "Yeah, it is." The man extended his hand to shake Jakes, "Nice to meet you, my name's Frank." Jake shook his hand before once again turning his head to look out the window; he then closed his eyes again and thought of Chris. He couldn't wait to get home and take his man back into his arms. A short time later while the plane was over the Midwest, the flight attendants hovered around the cabin dispersing the various trays of food. The young woman placed the small tray on front of Jake before excusing herself to serve the next row. "Thanks," Jake replied as he sat up slowly. As the flight was getting a little bumpy, he moved the seat so it was upright before examining the mediocre salad and pasta meals in front of him. Picking up the fork, Jake slowly picked up a piece of pasta before bringing it to his lips. Putting it in his mouth, he chewed for a few moments began swallowing it. "Yuck." He muttered to himself as he pushed the cold and undercooked pasta to the side. He turned his attention to the salad and managed to eat a small portion before pushing that aside as well. When he was finished he picked up the bottle of water and rested it on his lap before pushing the seat back into the recline position. Jake closed his eyes and leaned his head on the corner of the leather headrest. Managing to snooze for a while, Jake was suddenly aroused by the sensation of the plane banking. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked out the window to see the sun setting over the ocean. Realizing he was back in the same time zone as Chris caused Jake to smile like a Cheshire cat. A voice came over the intercom system, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are approaching Los Angeles International Airport, please ensure your seats are upright and your tray table is securely fastened." Pulling his seat back to its original position, Jake noticed the tray of revolting food was now gone. He then folded the tray up and locked it in its holding place. He then looked out the window as the plane made another turn as it approached the runway. Hearing the rumbling of the landing gear emerging from the lower deck of the aircraft, Jake continued to look out the window spotting familiar sights around the area. The plane got lower and lower, allowing Jake to see things more clearly. After an even descent, the runway became visible from Jake's window. There a significant shudder felt throughout the cabin as the wheels finally touched down, followed by a large rumbling of the engines slowing the plane down. After the rumbling stopped, the plane slowly made its way off the runway, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Los Angeles International Airport. The local time is 7:35PM, on behalf of the cabin crew; I would like to thank you for flying with us this evening." As the plane began taxiing the flight attendant continued with her announcement, "We would like to remind passengers to remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop at the gate." Jake sat in his seat watching the passenger next to him reaching under the seat to fish out his bag, ready for a quick escape from the aircraft. He smiled at the hastiness of some people when in reality it would just mean this man would be waiting longer for his luggage. As the plane arrived at the gate, there was a sudden commotion as passengers began standing up to pull their belongings from the overhead compartments. Being near the front of the plane, Jake stood up after the first rush of passengers made their way out of the door. He picked up his bag and filed his way up the jetway en route to the baggage collection hall. As he approached the carousel, he could see a large group of people milling around a television that was screening a news service. Curious as to what they were looking at, he inched his way closer and listened in. "For those that are just joining us, there has been a large explosion in the Los Angeles County Crime Lab, several people have been taken to nearby hospitals but at this stage we are unsure of any fatalities." Jakes face went white. He stared at the screen, motionless as he watched footage of group of ambulances outside Chris' work. He could see people sitting on the sidewalk holding cloth to their heads, obviously trying to stop bleeding. Jake quickly reached into his bag and pulled out his cell phone. He switched it back on and immediately dialed Chris' number. The call immediately went to voicemail. "Fuck," Jake muttered as his lower lip began to tremble. He felt sick to his stomach. He then listened to the voice on the television again. "At this stage it appears to be an accident rather than an act of terrorism..." Turning to pick up his luggage, Jake continued to make phone calls to Chris' mobile, every time going directly to his voicemail. Grabbing his two bags, he stuck the smaller one on top of the larger one and wheeled it towards the exit. As he drove to the airport, he quickly made his way to the parking lot and unlocked his car. Jake threw his bags into the trunk before dialing Chris' number once more. As he expected, it had gone to the voicemail. Jumping behind the wheel, Jake started the engine and made his way out of the parking lot. Once past the tollbooths he made his way back to his house. As he sped down the freeway, Jake turned the radio onto the local news broadcast. "We have a report coming through of 2 male fatalities from the accident earlier today. We will try and get more to you when the information comes available." Jake winced with emotional pain, he was sure something had happened to Chris. Continuing down the freeway, it suddenly dawned on Jake that he still had Chris' apartment keys in his centre console. The best way to find Chris would be to search through his apartment to try to find the number of a friend, Amy, Terry, Will or Sarah. Quickly merging with the adjacent lane, Jake exited the freeway and sped down the street. Arriving outside Chris' apartment, Jake jumped out and made his way quickly up to the gate. He unlocked it and ran through the garden and up the stairs. "Shit." Jake muttered as he dropped the keys while trying to unlock the door. Eventually getting it open, he pushed the door open and was greeted by his dog. Chris had agreed to dog-sit Boo Radley while Jake was in New York. "Oh not now boy." Jake said as he tried to get past the dog jumping up and down. Rushing towards the small table where Chris' phone was, Jake opened a drawer and found a small black address book. "Great!" Jake exclaimed as he picked up the cordless phone and made his way into the bedroom. Jake sat down on the bed and pulled Chris' pillow close to his body. It smelled of Chris' shampoo. Letting a tear out of his eye, Jake began flicking through the address book trying to find a name he recognized. As he got to the tab indicating surnames beginning with F, Jake began to slowly go through the lists of numbers. Finally, he found the name he was looking for, Amy Foster. Jake picked up the phone and dialed the number. After a short period of ringing, the call was finally answered, "Hello? Amy here." Jakes heart skipped a beat. He needed to speak to Amy, but at the same time, he didn't want to hear that Chris was one of the fatalities. "Hi, Amy. It's Jake." "Jake, we've been trying to call you. You need to turn your phone on." Jake grimaced, "My flight didn't land until a short time ago." He paused for a moment before finally biting the bullet, "Is Chris okay?" "He's fine. They want to keep him in hospital for a few more hours just to make sure though." Jake sighed in relief, "What hospital did they take him to?" "The one near the lab, you pass it as you come off the freeway. Do you need someone to get you?" Jake hugged the pillow tighter and flopped onto the bed, "I should be fine, I'll get there as soon as I can." Amy replied, "Okay, we're in the waiting room of the Emergency Department. Drive safely Jake." "Thank you Amy, tell Chris I will be there soon." Jake replied as he ended the call and stood up. He made his way out of the bedroom and headed back out the door to his car. After getting behind the wheel, he quickly drove towards the hospital. It took Jake longer than expected to get to the hospital. Spotting a group of news reporters standing outside the emergency exit, Jake pulled into the parking garage and found a parking spot near the secondary entrance. Jake made his way through the large glass doors and into the hallway of the hospital. He then followed the signs directing him towards the Emergency area. After getting lost twice, he finally entered the waiting room. Surveying the room, he searched through the large numbers of people, searching for a familiar face. He spun around slowly trying to find Amy. "Jake!" Amy yelled from the far corner. She then briskly made her way over through the crowds of people. "Amy, thank god I found you." Jake said softly as he hugged her. "Where's Chris? Can I see him?" Leading Jake back to the group of friends, Amy motioned for him to sit down in the spare space between her and Terry. "The doctor is with him now. They said they would let one of us see him when they were done." Jake crossed his arms and leaned them on his knees, "What the hell happened?" "Some kind of explosion in one of the labs," Terry whispered. He then gently placed his hand on Jakes trembling shoulder. "They just think it's concussion, but they wanted to be sure before allowing anyone to see him." Jake trembled as he started at the floor. He knew Chris' friends would want to see him first, however, deep down he wanted to see Chris as soon as possible. About an hour later, a doctor wearing a white lab coat approached the group of friends, "Are you here for Christopher Salter?" "Yeah, how is he doc?" Amy asked, rising to her feet. The doctor addressed the whole group, "He's got some pretty bad cuts from the flying glass. He's also got some bruising from the force of the explosion, but the good news is he hasn't broken anything." Jake breathed a sigh of relief. "He did hit his head pretty badly though, he has a fairly moderate concussion. Nothing life threatening, but we want to keep him in for a while longer." The doctor explained, "Which one of you is Jake?" Jake lifted his arm up, indicating himself. "He's been asking for you for a while. If you want to follow me, I will show you to his bed." Jake paused, "Shouldn't you go first?" as he pointed to Sarah. Sarah quickly shook her head, "He's asking for you, go see him Jake." "Okay thank you." Jake said softly as he nervously got to his feet and followed the doctor through the waiting room. As he turned to walk down the corridor, he quickly looked nervously over at the group of friends sitting close to each other. Following the doctor down the corridor, he then entered a large room full of beds partitioned off by light green curtains. The doctor then came to a stop near a curtain, "He's in here, but he's looking a bit beaten up." He then slid the curtain open and stepped through. Nervously, Jake stepped over the threshold and caught sight of Chris for the first time in days. As he looked at Chris, a small stream of tears began to form under his eyes. Sitting in the bed was Chris, covered with cuts and bandages on his face; he also had a large white bandage around his head. Chris smiled as he saw Jake, unfortunately the pain killers were preventing him from sitting up any further. "Chris, Jake's here." The doctor announced in an obvious manner before he excused himself from the area. "How do I look?" Chris asked as he held out his hand. Jake immediately grasped Chris' hand and brought it up to his lips, being careful not to pull out the IV line. "You've looked a lot better." Jake croaked, "But still as cute as ever." He then softly leaned in and kissed Chris on the lips, not caring about the open curtain. "How long have you been here?" Chris asked in a groggy manner. The effects of the painkillers were really playing with his sense of time. Sitting softly on the bed, Jake gently stroked Chris' cheek, "Not long, as soon as my flight landed, I saw the news, and then went to your apartment to try and find Amy's phone number. She told me to get here as soon as I could. And here I am." Chris closed his eyes before whispering in a sleepy tone, "Oh okay." Jake smiled as he continued to lightly stroke Chris' hand. It felt cold from the solution that was pumping into his blood. He sat for a moment before disturbing Chris once more, "Did you want me to go? I'm sure the others want to see you." Slowly opening his eyes once more, Chris looked at Jake, "Stay. I want you here. Tell me about your trip." Jake spotted the chair next to the bed and softly sat down, pulling it up close to Chris' upper body. Once again taking Chris' hand in his, he explained, "I guess she was a little shocked, she was worried about me being hurt." Stroking his hand lightly again, Jake continued, "Then I told her about you." Chris smiled while still keeping his eyes shut. "What did she say?" Shifting the chair once more so he could lightly brush Chris' matted hair away from his forehead, Jake continued, "She wants to meet you. She really wants to meet the guy who stole my heart." "I want to meet her too," Chris murmured as he began to surrender to the effects of the painkillers. Jake continued to brush Chris' face with his hand watching him sleep. After making sure he was completely out of it, Jake then slowly stood up. He kissed Chris on his scarred cheek before slowly heading out of the area. Looking around for a nurse, Jake finally spotted one behind a desk and approached her. "Excuse me, when can Chris go home?" The nurse quickly looked at the notes on the computer, "It looks like he needs to be monitored for another 5 hours, then he can go home." She then looked up at Jake, recognizing him instantly, but maintaining a professional decorum, "Does he have someone who can look after him? We usually don't let patients out this soon if they're on their own." Jake leaned on the bench and said softly, "I'll look after him." The nurse smiled and looked at Jakes tired eyes, "Take a walk, I'll let you back in. Chris should be out for at least an hour." "Thank you." Jake said as he smiled weakly. As he turned towards the corridor, he looked over at Chris sleeping on the hospital bed. He then headed back to the waiting area. "How is he?" Sarah asked as she walked up to Jake, stood on the tips of her toes and hugged him. Letting go of Sarah, Jake made his way over to the rest of the group and sat down, "He's covered in cuts and bandages, but he's still adorable. He's in there sleeping right now." "We've been so worried about him." Terry said as he stood up. "I really need to get back to Will though." He quickly hugged Jake, "Can you tell him I'm thinking about him?" "Sure." Jake replied. With that, Amy and Terry left the waiting room and headed back to continue with their night, leaving Jake and Sarah together in the waiting room. Sarah sat down on the seat next to Jake and immediately rested her head on his shoulder. "I should probably go too, I have work early tomorrow." "You're not staying?" Jake asked, slightly concerned by the fact Chris' friends were deserting him so soon. "I'll stay until he wakes up," Sarah explained, "But something tells me you want to be the one looking after him." Jake smiled and nodded in agreement. He then lowered his voice, "I love him." Sarah scoffed, "We could all see that when you were at the dinner party. The only one who couldn't see it was Chris. He's usually oblivious to those things." Continuing to nod his head, Jake replied by laughing slightly. "How do you know Chris anyway? You seem so close." "We went to high school together." Sarah replied, "We've known each other since Year 9." She then stood up and motioned for Jake to follow her. "Friends ever since, it was just lucky we both ended up with jobs in the same country." Jake walked by Sarah's side down the corridor towards a small cafeteria, "What do you do?" "I work in television." Jake paused as he pulled the door of the large fridge containing drinks open. "That's great, what do you do there?" He asked as he picked up a bottle of water for himself. Sarah picked up a bottle for herself and they made their way to the register. "I work in production, of a kids show." After a while of talking, they slowly made their way back towards the waiting room. As it was just the two of them, they then made their way into the main observation room. Jake slowly stuck his head around the corner of the curtain to see Chris was awake. "You're awake," Jake said as he leaned in and kissed him lightly. Chris smiled, "Barely," he then looked to see Sarah at the threshold of the curtains, "Hey lady." "You Lady," Sarah whispered as she stepped closer to the bed. "You okay?" "I can't feel much," Chris said in a groggy tone. "Lucky," Sarah replied, "I thought I would come and see you before I left. I have work tomorrow." Chris smiled and lifted his hand up, to which Sarah grabbed, "Thanks for stopping by." "I will speak to you two later then." Sarah announced as she made her way back out. After she had left, Jake softly sat on the bed close to Chris. Jake kissed Chris' hand once more before wiping some dry blood off his cheek. "How you feeling?" Maintaining his groggy tone, Chris tilted his head into Jakes hand, "Better now you're here with me." Jake continued to sit on the bed for a while before the doctor finally came back in. Not caring what the doctor would think, he remained holding Chris' hand until the doctor requested Jake moved so he could examine Chris. He then sat down on the end of the bed and gently rubbed Chris' left foot through the white blanket. "You're looking good," The doctor commented as he examined Chris' eyes. "We can probably discharge you in an hour or so." He then wrote something in the notes, "I'll prescribe you some antibiotics and some stuff for the pain. Is there any medications you're allergic to?" "Not that I know of," Chris commented. "Great, well I assume you will be the one looking after Chris." The doctor asked Jake. Jake nodded and stood up to look the doctor in the eye, "Is there anything I need to know?" The doctor stepped out of the cubicle, followed by Jake, "Because of the concussion he may be forgetful for a few days." He then crossed his arms, "The bandage around his head is more of a padding thing to cover the bruise. Once he's home you could probably remove that, just be gentle with his head." "Okay, is there anything else?" Jake asked. "Well, the pain killers we're prescribing are strong, just be careful not to take more than prescribed, you will also need to make sure he is sleeping, and not unconscious." Jake put his hands in his pockets, "Okay thank you doctor." The doctor excused himself to continue on his rounds, while Jake made his way back into the cubicle. Once again, he sat down on the bed and stroked Chris' hand. He continued to stroke Chris' hand while he drifted back to sleep again. A little over an hour later, Jake was continuing to hold Chris' hand while losing all sensations in his legs. Suddenly the curtain twitched and the nurse from earlier entered with a bag full of drugs. She gave Jake the instructions and methodically explained when and how to use the various medications. After dosing Chris up with another dose of painkillers, she removed the IV and allowed Chris to get dressed. "You okay?" Jake asked as Chris slowly stumbled to his feet. Noticing Chris becoming weak in the knees, Jake quickly put his arms around Chris' waist and sat him gently on the bed. "I don't know, I feel funny." Chris muttered as he clutched onto Jakes shoulders. Jake carefully removed the hospital gown off Chris' body. He then noticed the various scratches on his chest. Seeing Chris cut and bruised caused an amalgamation of tears under Jakes eyes. He then helped Chris back into his torn and tattered pants before wrapping Chris' shirt around his body. "Come here," Jake said softly as he gently pulled Chris into his embrace. "I was so worried about you." Chris rested his head against Jakes chest, "All I could think about was you, I think I kept asking where you were. Where were you?" Jake smiled nervously at Chris' temporary amnesia. As he was about to reply again, the nurse finally reappeared with discharge papers and an orderly pushing a wheelchair. Jake quickly signed the papers and helped Chris into the wheelchair. The trio made their way to the door leading into the parking lot; then quickly Jake sprinted to his car and drove it back to the door. He then jumped out, leaving the engine running and made his way to the passenger side. Pressing the button to allow the chair to move back completely, he then helped Chris in and buckled his seatbelt. Once secure in the seat, Chris leaned his head on the doorframe and closed his eyes. Jake then made his way back and jumped behind the wheel. He buckled his seatbelt and closed the door. Jake then accelerated slowly out of the parking lot. After a fairly long drive along the lower streets Jake finally pulled up in the driveway for Chris' building. He fished around in the centre console and found the remote to open the garage door. Once the door was open, Jake pulled into a parking spot near the steps. He helped Chris out and sat him on the stairs while he parked his car. Jake quickly returned to find Chris leaning against the wall, barely conscious. "Come on, let's try and get you upstairs." Jake said as he tried to pick Chris up. "You're too heavy," Jake exclaimed. "Thanks, you just called me fat." Chris muttered. "I should be able to walk." Jake helped him up and put Chris' arm around his neck. Slowly they inched their way up the stairs. Once at the door, Jake fished around for the keys and unlocked the door. ---15 soon--- Alrighty then, I hope you enjoyed that chapter and the direction I'm taking with it. I'd like to apologize for not updating this earlier. Some stuff came up, had assignments that needed finishing. As a result I went and charged myself some happy. My poor poor credit card, I think it melted today. I love hearing from you guys still! Love talking to you guys, especially awesome people like yankeeboy, Joshy, David and such. Alas, I don't know what the hell it wrong with my msn address, its not delivering some emails, not sending some, and others, well they're just coming in days late. Feel free to drop me a line at chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com it's good to hear from you, when they come through. If all else fails, there is msn. Anyway, I shall probably update this towards the end of the weekend! Hope you liked it! Chris.