Jason blinked against the blinding white of the hospital ceiling, his body aching as he lay on what he perceived to be a very hard hospital bed.
Wait, why was it so hard… Oh… He was not in some private room like before. Damn it, why did he have to think of it again?
His first sensation that he felt after coming out of his reverie was the pain… it was sharp in his ribs especially. Every breath he took, and tried to take at times, was something of a problem. That was why his breathing was shallow at that moment.
Jason felt like he had been run over by life itself at that moment. His mind was foggy, but that disgusting sterile alcoholic scent was keeping him completely awake. And the rhythmic beeping coming from his left from the ECG's display was telling him all he needed to know about exactly where he was.
"Jason?" a soft voice called from nearby. Who was this, thought Jason as he turned his head slowly, again aggravating his ribs and wincing as the movement pulled at his chest.
It was a nurse in pure blue clothing that was the theme of this hospital. She stood there wearing big glasses, that had no real magnification, and only had a blue tint that reflected light. They were blue light blockers, and they framed her face perfectly as she stood there, with a blush on her cheeks.
This nurse with brunette hair stood at the foot of his bed at that moment. Her eyes were flickering over his lower half and midsection in a way that was not fully professional.
Jason now understood why she had a blush on her cheeks. He also understood why she was looking everywhere but into his eyes at that moment. She must have been looking at things she was not supposed to. And funnily enough, her calling Jason was her getting herself caught out.
For a moment, the two just stared at each other, with both not really knowing what to say to the other. The nurse soon looked away, but Jason continued staring at the Nurse, admiring her beauty. She was pretty attractive. Maybe an 8 out of 10. A strong eight for sure.
Right before Jason could say something, the nurse yelped out loud first, backing away. This startled Jason, as he barely managed a smirk. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, " he said, his voice hoarse.
The nurse stammered out an apology before rushing out of the room, leaving Jason in there to smirk and lean his head back against the pillow he was on. He fought off the urge to laugh despite the pain in his ribs.
At least something never changes.
Even when everything else in his life was falling apart, it seemed his looks and build were something that he could say was a gift. And while Jason never really paid much attention to it, it occasionally made the situation more amusing for him.
Just like this time. The Nurse had been admiring the outline of his Body through the patient's outfits. Jason had six-pack abs and he was packing as if he was going on vacation soon, so it made total sense for her to look for so long.
Anyway, Jason was feeling himself at that moment, even whale he felt the pain in his chest. That was when moments later, a doctor entered, his expression much more composed than the flustered nurse who was nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. Cross… I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck before. And now, Like I am getting sat on by a fat lady," Jason said almost to himself, blinking as the man got to work checking his vitals with the cold stethoscope he had wrapped around his neck.
The Doctor nodded, saying, "Well, considering you took such a nasty fall, that's not far off." The Doctor then turned to Jason, and in the manner of a whisper he said, "And trust me, when a fat lady's sitting on you, it's better if she's sitting on your face. Trust me…"
What?!
The DOctor got up and adjusted Jason's chart landing such a bombshell. Doctors were something else, thought Jason as the man continued speaking. "You have three broken ribs… one of which was dangerously close to puncturing a lung. You were lucky."
The Doctor paused, his eyes seriously looking at Jason. "If you had been hurt any worse, then you might not be here right now. If you're religious, this might be the best time to start thanking your God. Or Goddess. Or whatever you kids pray to nowadays."
Jason exhaled shakily, ignoring that last part. He was not religious. His parents were though, but they were thoughtful enough to give him his space when it came to things like that. And Jason appreciated them even more for doing something like that.
Anyway, Lucky wasn't exactly how he felt, but the Doctors hammered in the reality of his situation. He had been one wrong move away from not waking up at all. Jason had been called lucky before for all sorts of reasons, like being handsome or being a Cross. But at this moment, he felt well and truly lucky.
"Thanks, Doc," Jason said, his tone more subdued now. "What's the damage?"
The Doctor smiled sympathetically. "Well, you will need some time to recover. And as for the Bill. We'll discuss that later. No need to add stress on top of your already bad situation. Wouldn't want to give you wrinkles at such a young age of 19."
Jason chuckled dryly, again wincing in pain as the Doctor gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, turning to leave. "Try to rest. You'll need it."
Rest? Sure.
As if Jason could rest with everything crashing down around him. His landlord was probably ready to toss his stuff out by now. And even if he made it out of here in one piece, the medical debt would eat at him, and it would follow him like a shadow.
Jason groaned internally. He was feeling a pain in his body, in his mind and his soul. Now he was feeling another pain in his pocket too.
What else could go wrong?
As his thoughts spiralled, something strange caught his eye… What was that? It looked like a faint blue glow in the corner of his eye's vision. Jason blinked, thinking it was a trick of the light, but the glow remained.
And then, as Jason sat there on the bed, his frustration soon turned into something resembling curiosity. As he turned his attention to focus on the thing, he soon realised something.
It was a small blue box at the corner of his eye, glowing ever so gently at the edge of his sight.
What the hell is that?!!