Tori is sick and Jade comes to help but Tori thinks needing help is a sign of weakness. Another Tumblr request.
Tori walked through her front door, and stumbled up to her room. She collapsed into her bed and yanked the blanket up over her head.
Jade eased the door open slowly and looked around the front room. She knew nobody was supposed to be home so she quickly kicked the door closed with her foot and made her way up the staircase. She walked through the open bedroom door and eyed the lump under the blankets. She went into the bathroom and shuffled through the drawers until she found the thermometer and returned to the bed.
"Come on, Vega, let's take your temperature." Jade said. Tori jumped and pushed the blankets down to her waist.
"Jade, what are you doing here?" She squinted in the sudden bright light.
"I'm helping you, you're sick and no one is home." She held the thermometer out to her. Tori grumbled and rolled over.
"I don't need your help." She hissed. Jade rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the sickly girl.
"Yes, you do." She said through her teeth.
"Just go home." Tori exhaled slowly.
"No. Now put this goddamn thing in your mouth and let me see how high your temperature is." She ordered. Tori turned to face her and glared.
"I do not need your help." She reiterated. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain and curled up into a ball while she groaned.
"Now, get out."
"No." Jade crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Tori. Tori's eyes opened slowly.
"What do you want? Do you want to make me seem weak? I won't let you." She stretched out her joints and grimaced in agony. "I am strong." She pushed herself up so that she supported herself on her elbows.
"No one is calling you weak. I'm calling you sick." Jade extended her hand to hold out the thermometer again. "Open your mouth." She demanded. Tori closed her eyes looking exhausted.
"Fine." She let her jaw drop open defeated. Jade pushed the thermometer under Tori's tongue and she closed her mouth. When the device beeped it revealed that Tori had a fever of 103.6.
"Good God, Tori. You should go to a doctor." Jade dropped the thermometer onto her nightstand.
"No. I am not going to the doctor." Tori refused. "I just need to sleep it off." She slid back under her covers and closed her eyes.
"Hold on, where do you keep your aspirin?" Jade asked.
"In the cabinet, above the sink, in my bathroom." Tori instructed. Jade walked out of the room and when she returned she held a small paper cup and a bottle of pills.
"Sit up." Tori groaned as she moved into a sitting position.
"Take these." Jade commanded as she pushed two pills into the girl's hand. Tori popped the pills into her mouth and took the offered water from Jade to ease them down her sore throat. After swallowing the pills she rested her head back onto her pillow.
"Do you want any tea or soup?" Jade questioned. Tori shook her head and moaned at the effort.
"Okay, well, I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Jade stepped backwards out of the room.
An hour later when Jade went to go check on Tori she found her sleeping fitfully. Her sheets were twisted around her ankles and her blanket was thrown carelessly on the floor. She was moaning in her sleep and she had a sheen of sweat over her tan skin. Jade surged forward and tried to wake Tori. She wouldn't wake up and Jade felt her skin burning with heat.
"Goddamn it!" She cursed and ran into the bathroom. She turned the shower on cold and went back to Tori who was lying dangerously still. Jade hooked her arms under Tori's neck and knees and lifted her up; she carried her to the bathroom and stepped under the water.
"Come on, wake up, Tori." Jade pleaded with the unconscious girl as the water cascaded over her head. Tori's breathing sped up and her eyes flashed open.
"What the hell?" She sputtered in the water.
"You need to go to the doctor." Jade insisted.
"No. I am not weak." Tori said in a frail voice.
"I didn't say you were! Please let me take you to the doctor." Jade was almost crying. Tori groaned out in pain.
"What hurts?" Jade asked worried. Tori shook her head.
"Nothing."
"Tell me the fucking truth!" Jade commanded.
"My stomach." Tori burst out and clutched her belly. Jade carried her out of the shower and placed her on her bed. Both girls were drenched and their clothing was soaked.
"You are going to the hospital. I am taking you. You can change before we go, but you are going." Jade informed her.
"I will help you if you want, but you seem pretty fucking against anyone helping you."
"Fine." Tori relented as she held her stomach. "I have a pair of sweatpants in the bottom drawer and in the one above it there are tee shirts." She looked over at the dresser. Jade moved quickly as she picked out a pair of purple sweatpants and a grey tee shirt. She dressed Tori as carefully as she could but the girl still protested in pain. She lifted the girl into her arms after she was dressed.
"Aren't you going to change?" Tori questioned leaning onto Jade's damp shirt.
"I'm fine." Jade persisted.
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After driving Tori to the hospital and checking her in, Jade waited in the waiting room because she wasn't of blood relation to Tori. When two hours had passed and she had heard nothing from the doctors she became frantic.
"Where the fuck is she?" Jade demanded from the nurse.
"Ma'am, Tori Vega is in surgery, you need to wait in the waiting room." The nurse informed her.
"What! She's in surgery? Why isn't anyone telling me these things?" Jade whipped out her scissors from her jeans pocket. The nurse's eyes got wide.
"Ma'am, please calm down, or I am going to have to call security." She said timidly.
"Calm down! My friend has just gone to surgery and I have no idea why and you won't tell me anything and you want me to calm down?" Jade waved her scissors in the nurse's face.
"Mrs. Vega, I'm guessing?" A doctor stepped up to Jade. Jade snapped toward the man and pointed her scissors at him.
"What?" She hissed.
"You're Tori Vega's wife?" The doctor questioned. Jade's jaw dropped.
"No. We're not married, we're in high school." Jade lowered her hand to her side and pocketed the scissors.
"We're not even dating." Jade continued.
"Oh, well, you are very protective of your friend. She just got out of surgery. I'll take you to her if you want to see her. However, she won't be awake yet." The doctor told her. Jade nodded quickly, still thinking about what he said to her before.
"Right this way." He gestured forward and started walking.
"What was wrong with her?" Jade asked immediately.
"Tori had appendicitis; which is when the appendix swells and, well, Tori's appendix burst. We had to remove it." He answered.
"Will she be okay?" Jade questioned.
"She will have to be very careful. If she would have come in before her appendix ruptured she could have had it removed and the recovery would be much faster. However, because it burst before we removed it, recovery will be slow and there is a chance she may get an infection if she is not careful." He led her down a hallway and to an open door. Tori slept, looking very peaceful in her hospital bed.
"Visiting hours are over at eight, if she doesn't wake up before that, you can come back at ten tomorrow morning." The doctor told her. He started to turn around.
"Wait!" Jade grabbed his arm, "what is your name?" She asked.
"Richard, Dr. Richard Johnson." He replied.
"Thank you, Dr. Johnson." She smiled.
"You're welcome. You are a good friend. Take care of her." He smirked. Jade blushed and nodded.
Tori didn't wake up that night and Jade had to leave when a nurse finally made her rounds.
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"Thanks, Jade." Tori sighed as she was helped onto the couch by Jade.
"No problem." She smiled. "I'm just happy that you are okay." She sat down beside the girl.
"You didn't have to do any of that. You could've left when I told you to go home; but you didn't." Tori was still staring at Jade.
"Just let it go. I'm staying here until your parents get home. Then they can help you." Jade told her. Tori frowned.
"Oh, they won't help me. To them, needing help is a sign of weakness." Tori's voice hardened. Jade glanced over at her.
"Wait, is that why you wouldn't let me help you? Because it made you weak?" Tori nodded in answer.
"Oh, Tori. Don't ever let that stop you from asking for help." Jade ordered.
"But-"
"No. I don't care, if you need something, ask. Even if you can only ask me." Jade told her. Tori sighed.
"Okay, Jade."
They sat in silence for a few minutes; the only sound in the room was the tv playing a repeat of Family Feud.
"Jade?" Tori said timidly.
"What?" Jade turned her head.
"Kiss me." Tori said.
"What?"
"Please." Tori struggled to lean forward. Jade turned her body to face the other girl and smiled.
"Okay."