Close Encounters - Chapter 8
This story is coming to an end. The next chapter will be the last one. I hope you all have enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks so much for reading!
Title: Close Encounters
Rating: PGish
Disclaimer: Not mine and thank God cause it sucks now, lol Not my characters either, I only borrowed them. What I write is in no way associated with GL (that should be obvious in that Coop and Ashlee are in it....together, lol) And I'm not getting any money for this cause, well nobody would pay me for it, lol Purely for entertainment.
Summary: This is about narrow margins. Those times when something happened at a certain point in time that you just missed, either before or after it happened. What would have happened if it hadn't been Beth that Coop ran into? This story begins on that fateful day. This is alternate reality. Coop and Ashlee don't know each other...yet.
Dedication: This is for J, who writes and writes and writes for us and has asked nicely *browbeat me, cough* to write her something. Only for you would I put myself through this, lol Here you go sissy. *hugs and love*
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Ashlee was so tired. Five hours in the emergency room, the shot of Demerol they had given her for the pain and the steady hum of the tires in the quiet of the car was lulling her, enticing her to close her eyes, just for a moment. That was exactly what she did. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. And then her senses were overwhelmed.
With her eyes closed and her head laying back against the headrest, her other senses took over. He smelled male and his cologne was clean and fresh with a hint of woodsy and sexy in it. When had his breathing become an erotic sound to her, causing her nerve endings to tingle with yearning? The heat she felt from his body was warming her. Yeah, she thought, you just keep telling yourself that. His heat was not what was warming her. She didn’t realize she had giggled out loud until he spoke.
“You ok over there?” he asked, an obvious smile in his voice.
Rolling her head towards him without lifting it from the headrest, she opened her eyes. “Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good. Except I feel funny. You know what I mean?” she slurred slightly.
His bark of laughter made her smile. Even that was sexy, she thought.
“Yeah I bet you’re feeling pretty good. Demerol has a tendency to do that” he pointed out, grinning and glancing at her. “And yes” he said, reaching over and pushing her hair back “I know exactly what you mean.” He felt pretty funny himself but it was for an entirely different reason. He hadn’t gotten a shot of Demerol. He’d only gotten a shot of Ashlee. But she was enough of a drug for him. He took a deep breath, breathing her in, and let it out slowly, reluctant to release her essence.
Four hours in the emergency room, after much protest from her of course, an x-ray, a shot of Demerol and ice to take down the swelling of her ankle some and they were told that it was broken. Well, actually it was a fracture. But it required a cast nonetheless. Another hour to get the cast and get released and now they were on their way to Ashlee’s. Glancing to his right, he saw that her eyes were still closed and a smile lingered on her lips. Then he glanced down, smiled and shook his head. The cast had been an experience. He had never before in his life seen a pink and purple tye dye cast, but he had now. The cast was as unique as Ashlee was, and that really was a good thing.
Pulling into the Beacon, Coop turned off the car, got out and went around to her side. Opening the door, he bent down and paused, once again taken by her beauty. Softly, he brushed her hair back behind her ear. Sliding one arm behind her head and the other under her thighs, he lifted her in his arms. She stirred, her arms coming around his neck of their own volition and her head lay on his shoulder. Whispering sweet reassurances to her, he closed the door with his hip and made his way to her room.
The elevator ride was excruciating. The slight up and down of her bottom against his front caused a reaction that he couldn’t control. Softly sighing, her face founds it’s way into the crook of his neck and her warm breath wreaked havoc on his overheated skin. By the time he had reached her door, his breathing was labored and not from carrying her. A light sheen of perspiration covered his body. He didn’t know if he felt more turned on or more guilty. She was hurt and knocked out from the medicine and he was turned on.
Managing the door, he kicked it shut with his foot harder than he meant to and she jumped. “Shhhh, it’s ok” he soothed. Moving towards the bed, he gently laid her on it and propped her foot on a pillow. As much as he wanted to remove her clothes, it surely wouldn’t be when she was passed out so instead, he took a blanket that he had found in the top of her closet and covered her with it. His eyes lingered on her face, so angelic in sleep. His heart warmed.
Checking the length of her body to make sure she was covered, he saw her tye dye cast peeking out. It was way too tempting to ignore, so he scrounged around in her school books sitting on the desk and found what he was looking for. Wielding the black marker, he was careful not to wake her up as he used it.
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She tried to hold on to the comfort of sleep. The slumber that was surrounding her felt like a blanket keeping her cozy and warm. She resisted the dawn of another day for as long as she could, but it was forcing it’s way into her subconscious. Stretching her arms high above her head and twisting her lower body, she winced. It took her a moment to rewind and realize why her foot was throbbing. Tripping, x-ray, Demerol. Coop. That was what came back the quickest and most vividly.
Humiliation washed over her. She was used to tripping. She was somewhat of a klutz. But there she was, trying to make her way over to him to talk with him and she tripped. On nothing at all. She groaned.
“Ash. It’s ok” said a familiar deep voice, only it was husky, as if sleep roughened. Cracking her eye just a smidge, she saw the handsome man that belonged to the voice. He was here. In her room. She felt disoriented, probably because of the medication, but he smiled at her and a warmth spread through her that melted her insides.
“You-” she croaked, then cleared her voice and tried again. “You stayed all night?”
“Yeah” he said softly, rising from the chair and sitting on the edge of her bed. “I wanted to make sure someone was here in case you needed something. Besides” he grinned “since we didn’t get back here until almost three, I don’t know if that counts as all night.”
She groaned. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. How’s your ankle feeling?”
Gingerly, she tried to move her foot and found that although it was tender, it didn’t hurt as much as last night. “Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel too bad. It‘s just throbbing a little”
Cocking his head to the side and raising his eyebrow, his look clearly said that he wasn’t sure if he believed her.
“Really. I promise. I’m not so much about the pain, so I’d let you know if it was bad.”
“Fair enough” he conceded. “So, what’s first? Are you hungry?”
“Umm” she stalled as a familiar fear stabbed at her. “Look Coop, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But you really don’t need to stay. I have to learn how to do things on my own anyway and now is as good a time as any.” She didn’t really want him to go, but she didn’t really want to be his next project either.
“But I can help you-” he started.
“No Coop” she said harsher than she had meant to. “I don’t need your help. I don’t want you to rescue me. I don’t want you here right now.” When her outburst finished, it was met by silence. Guilt immediately assaulted her. The look on his face was as if he had been sucker punched. She wanted to retract her words. She hadn’t meant them but she didn’t know how to get that niggling fear to leave her. That fear that whatever he felt was because she was vulnerable.
Clearing his throat, he stood. “I didn’t umm” he said, nervously rubbing his brow. “I guess I’ll be going then.”
She felt sick as she watched him turn to leave. Pausing at the door, he turned back towards her, unable to meet her eyes. “If you need anything” he said, the sentence trailing off then he left, softly closing the door behind him.
She couldn’t have been any more ungracious had she tried. And she couldn’t have any more regrets if she tried. She watched him close the door and fell back on her pillows, throwing her arm over her closed eyes dramatically. Maybe once she got her cast off, she could go to him and see how things went. That is, if he ever spoke to her again. What a mess she’d made of everything, she thought, as a tear slowly leaked from the corner of her eye. Suddenly, she felt very much alone.
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Later, much later, when the tears had subsided and she finally had the energy to try to drag herself from her bed, Ashlee had fumbled around. Like a foal on newborn legs, she worked to control the crutches she was now forced to use. Frustration seeped out of every pore she had as once again, she knocked the lamp on the table over. “Damn it” she swore, righting it again.
Even the simplest tasks were difficult for her to maneuver and she regretted for the hundredth time sending Coop away. Then she sighed, telling herself, again for the hundredth time, that she had had to. Fortunately for her, she only had to wear this cast for three weeks. After that, she’d have to wear a brace for a couple of weeks, but at least she’d be able to walk on it then. Patience she told herself.
Finally giving up, she made her way over to the chair and plopped down, gently lifting her casted foot on the stool in front of her. She had been so irritated with how uncoordinated she was with it that she had avoided looking at it. But now that she had it propped up in her line of sight, she glanced at the colorful cast and smiled. She really did love the colors. Turning her foot a little to the side, she noticed her name written in black marker. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out when someone would have been able to write on it. It hadn’t been done at the hospital because she would have remembered it, and the only other person who had been around her was Coop.
Curiosity peaked, she sat forward in the chair, bringing the cast closer for inspection. The writing was upside down, but she was still able to read it. It read ‘Ashlee is…’. As she turned her leg this way and that way, tears welled in her eyes and it took her breath away. Randomly placed on her cast were the words ’beautiful’, ’funny’, ’intelligent’, ’sexy’, and ’amazing’. Twisting her body as best she could, she found on the backside of her cast one last message. It read ‘Ashlee is love’. She wasn’t sure if the shuddering sigh was because her heart was pounding so hard in her chest or her lungs didn’t seem to be functioning properly.
Realizing that he must have done it when she was sleeping, she chastised herself for being the complete ass that she was. He was being sweet and romantic while she was passed out, trying to make this humiliating experience not quite so bad for her, and she had woken up and promptly kicked him out. And she wasn’t even nice about it.
Maybe clarity came with making a complete ass out of yourself because now she finally knew that Coop wasn’t trying to rescue her. Ava had been right. She hadn’t been in need of rescuing when they’d met and now, she had to find a way to fix things. Find a way of undoing whatever harm she had done. Running her fingers along the words that he had written, she smiled small as an idea took form. Maybe she did need rescuing and she just hadn’t realized it. She needed a hero and she knew just which hero she needed.
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Title: Close Encounters
Rating: PGish
Disclaimer: Not mine and thank God cause it sucks now, lol Not my characters either, I only borrowed them. What I write is in no way associated with GL (that should be obvious in that Coop and Ashlee are in it....together, lol) And I'm not getting any money for this cause, well nobody would pay me for it, lol Purely for entertainment.
Summary: This is about narrow margins. Those times when something happened at a certain point in time that you just missed, either before or after it happened. What would have happened if it hadn't been Beth that Coop ran into? This story begins on that fateful day. This is alternate reality. Coop and Ashlee don't know each other...yet.
Dedication: This is for J, who writes and writes and writes for us and has asked nicely *browbeat me, cough* to write her something. Only for you would I put myself through this, lol Here you go sissy. *hugs and love*
________________________________________
Ashlee was so tired. Five hours in the emergency room, the shot of Demerol they had given her for the pain and the steady hum of the tires in the quiet of the car was lulling her, enticing her to close her eyes, just for a moment. That was exactly what she did. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. And then her senses were overwhelmed.
With her eyes closed and her head laying back against the headrest, her other senses took over. He smelled male and his cologne was clean and fresh with a hint of woodsy and sexy in it. When had his breathing become an erotic sound to her, causing her nerve endings to tingle with yearning? The heat she felt from his body was warming her. Yeah, she thought, you just keep telling yourself that. His heat was not what was warming her. She didn’t realize she had giggled out loud until he spoke.
“You ok over there?” he asked, an obvious smile in his voice.
Rolling her head towards him without lifting it from the headrest, she opened her eyes. “Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good. Except I feel funny. You know what I mean?” she slurred slightly.
His bark of laughter made her smile. Even that was sexy, she thought.
“Yeah I bet you’re feeling pretty good. Demerol has a tendency to do that” he pointed out, grinning and glancing at her. “And yes” he said, reaching over and pushing her hair back “I know exactly what you mean.” He felt pretty funny himself but it was for an entirely different reason. He hadn’t gotten a shot of Demerol. He’d only gotten a shot of Ashlee. But she was enough of a drug for him. He took a deep breath, breathing her in, and let it out slowly, reluctant to release her essence.
Four hours in the emergency room, after much protest from her of course, an x-ray, a shot of Demerol and ice to take down the swelling of her ankle some and they were told that it was broken. Well, actually it was a fracture. But it required a cast nonetheless. Another hour to get the cast and get released and now they were on their way to Ashlee’s. Glancing to his right, he saw that her eyes were still closed and a smile lingered on her lips. Then he glanced down, smiled and shook his head. The cast had been an experience. He had never before in his life seen a pink and purple tye dye cast, but he had now. The cast was as unique as Ashlee was, and that really was a good thing.
Pulling into the Beacon, Coop turned off the car, got out and went around to her side. Opening the door, he bent down and paused, once again taken by her beauty. Softly, he brushed her hair back behind her ear. Sliding one arm behind her head and the other under her thighs, he lifted her in his arms. She stirred, her arms coming around his neck of their own volition and her head lay on his shoulder. Whispering sweet reassurances to her, he closed the door with his hip and made his way to her room.
The elevator ride was excruciating. The slight up and down of her bottom against his front caused a reaction that he couldn’t control. Softly sighing, her face founds it’s way into the crook of his neck and her warm breath wreaked havoc on his overheated skin. By the time he had reached her door, his breathing was labored and not from carrying her. A light sheen of perspiration covered his body. He didn’t know if he felt more turned on or more guilty. She was hurt and knocked out from the medicine and he was turned on.
Managing the door, he kicked it shut with his foot harder than he meant to and she jumped. “Shhhh, it’s ok” he soothed. Moving towards the bed, he gently laid her on it and propped her foot on a pillow. As much as he wanted to remove her clothes, it surely wouldn’t be when she was passed out so instead, he took a blanket that he had found in the top of her closet and covered her with it. His eyes lingered on her face, so angelic in sleep. His heart warmed.
Checking the length of her body to make sure she was covered, he saw her tye dye cast peeking out. It was way too tempting to ignore, so he scrounged around in her school books sitting on the desk and found what he was looking for. Wielding the black marker, he was careful not to wake her up as he used it.
_____________________________________
She tried to hold on to the comfort of sleep. The slumber that was surrounding her felt like a blanket keeping her cozy and warm. She resisted the dawn of another day for as long as she could, but it was forcing it’s way into her subconscious. Stretching her arms high above her head and twisting her lower body, she winced. It took her a moment to rewind and realize why her foot was throbbing. Tripping, x-ray, Demerol. Coop. That was what came back the quickest and most vividly.
Humiliation washed over her. She was used to tripping. She was somewhat of a klutz. But there she was, trying to make her way over to him to talk with him and she tripped. On nothing at all. She groaned.
“Ash. It’s ok” said a familiar deep voice, only it was husky, as if sleep roughened. Cracking her eye just a smidge, she saw the handsome man that belonged to the voice. He was here. In her room. She felt disoriented, probably because of the medication, but he smiled at her and a warmth spread through her that melted her insides.
“You-” she croaked, then cleared her voice and tried again. “You stayed all night?”
“Yeah” he said softly, rising from the chair and sitting on the edge of her bed. “I wanted to make sure someone was here in case you needed something. Besides” he grinned “since we didn’t get back here until almost three, I don’t know if that counts as all night.”
She groaned. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. How’s your ankle feeling?”
Gingerly, she tried to move her foot and found that although it was tender, it didn’t hurt as much as last night. “Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel too bad. It‘s just throbbing a little”
Cocking his head to the side and raising his eyebrow, his look clearly said that he wasn’t sure if he believed her.
“Really. I promise. I’m not so much about the pain, so I’d let you know if it was bad.”
“Fair enough” he conceded. “So, what’s first? Are you hungry?”
“Umm” she stalled as a familiar fear stabbed at her. “Look Coop, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But you really don’t need to stay. I have to learn how to do things on my own anyway and now is as good a time as any.” She didn’t really want him to go, but she didn’t really want to be his next project either.
“But I can help you-” he started.
“No Coop” she said harsher than she had meant to. “I don’t need your help. I don’t want you to rescue me. I don’t want you here right now.” When her outburst finished, it was met by silence. Guilt immediately assaulted her. The look on his face was as if he had been sucker punched. She wanted to retract her words. She hadn’t meant them but she didn’t know how to get that niggling fear to leave her. That fear that whatever he felt was because she was vulnerable.
Clearing his throat, he stood. “I didn’t umm” he said, nervously rubbing his brow. “I guess I’ll be going then.”
She felt sick as she watched him turn to leave. Pausing at the door, he turned back towards her, unable to meet her eyes. “If you need anything” he said, the sentence trailing off then he left, softly closing the door behind him.
She couldn’t have been any more ungracious had she tried. And she couldn’t have any more regrets if she tried. She watched him close the door and fell back on her pillows, throwing her arm over her closed eyes dramatically. Maybe once she got her cast off, she could go to him and see how things went. That is, if he ever spoke to her again. What a mess she’d made of everything, she thought, as a tear slowly leaked from the corner of her eye. Suddenly, she felt very much alone.
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Later, much later, when the tears had subsided and she finally had the energy to try to drag herself from her bed, Ashlee had fumbled around. Like a foal on newborn legs, she worked to control the crutches she was now forced to use. Frustration seeped out of every pore she had as once again, she knocked the lamp on the table over. “Damn it” she swore, righting it again.
Even the simplest tasks were difficult for her to maneuver and she regretted for the hundredth time sending Coop away. Then she sighed, telling herself, again for the hundredth time, that she had had to. Fortunately for her, she only had to wear this cast for three weeks. After that, she’d have to wear a brace for a couple of weeks, but at least she’d be able to walk on it then. Patience she told herself.
Finally giving up, she made her way over to the chair and plopped down, gently lifting her casted foot on the stool in front of her. She had been so irritated with how uncoordinated she was with it that she had avoided looking at it. But now that she had it propped up in her line of sight, she glanced at the colorful cast and smiled. She really did love the colors. Turning her foot a little to the side, she noticed her name written in black marker. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out when someone would have been able to write on it. It hadn’t been done at the hospital because she would have remembered it, and the only other person who had been around her was Coop.
Curiosity peaked, she sat forward in the chair, bringing the cast closer for inspection. The writing was upside down, but she was still able to read it. It read ‘Ashlee is…’. As she turned her leg this way and that way, tears welled in her eyes and it took her breath away. Randomly placed on her cast were the words ’beautiful’, ’funny’, ’intelligent’, ’sexy’, and ’amazing’. Twisting her body as best she could, she found on the backside of her cast one last message. It read ‘Ashlee is love’. She wasn’t sure if the shuddering sigh was because her heart was pounding so hard in her chest or her lungs didn’t seem to be functioning properly.
Realizing that he must have done it when she was sleeping, she chastised herself for being the complete ass that she was. He was being sweet and romantic while she was passed out, trying to make this humiliating experience not quite so bad for her, and she had woken up and promptly kicked him out. And she wasn’t even nice about it.
Maybe clarity came with making a complete ass out of yourself because now she finally knew that Coop wasn’t trying to rescue her. Ava had been right. She hadn’t been in need of rescuing when they’d met and now, she had to find a way to fix things. Find a way of undoing whatever harm she had done. Running her fingers along the words that he had written, she smiled small as an idea took form. Maybe she did need rescuing and she just hadn’t realized it. She needed a hero and she knew just which hero she needed.
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