Interlude Part One -- Jeff

It took her a few seconds to realize that she wasn't asleep. It was a few more before she realized there was someone sitting next to her, on the chair her mother had pulled up next to the bed.

He was her age. His short hair had been dyed blonde and stood up in spikes. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and jeans.

His head was in his hands.

"Jeff?" she asked quietly. The hands lowered an inch, then he sat up quickly, a smile spreading across his features. His eyes, which had looked sad at first, were bright now.

"Hey!" His voice was soft, as if he was still afraid of waking her up. "I guess I'm here a little early. I was up so I thought I'd come over," he said, pulling the chair a little closer. "I hope I didn't wake you. You were sleeping so soundly, I thought I'd just wait."

Cassie's smile widened. "No, I'm sorry I wasn't awake when you got here." She shifted the bed into a sitting position. "Nobody told me you were coming home." She felt like laughing.

Jeff is home!

"Yeah. We got in late last night. You were first on the list of people to visit," he said.

"I'm glad."

They smiled at one another for a few seconds. Slowly, Jeff's expression turned serious. His eyes glanced across the hospital bed then back up at her.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"Oh, about as well as you'd expect," Cassie shrugged. It was a question she got a lot, though Jeff asked like he meant it. "I have my bad days, but I'm getting better." She paused before continuing. "I've got surgery scheduled at the end of the week. They tell me I may eventually be able to walk again. You know, after the operation and lot of physiotherapy. Which is better than the alternatives." She forced a smile.

"Aww, Cass--" Jeff looked like he wanted to say something comforting, but wouldn't.

"No, really," she said, forcing a smile. "It's a good thing. It's just that it hurts sometimes--" Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence, and she was crying.

It hurts so much. But I didn't want you to know.
I should be stronger than this.

Jeff didn't say anything. He took her hand and passed her a kleenex from the bedside table and waited quietly until she'd finished.

He must think I'm such a little idiot.

"I'm sorry," she said, eventually. "You're here and I'm so glad. I don't mean to be upset."

"It's okay. Really." Jeff squeezed her hand.

"Anyway," she said, and sniffed. "Tell me about the tour. How was it?"

"Oh, exhausting. The usual." He rolled his eyes. "A day and a half in each place with not enough sleep and too many interviews until you're not really sure what city it is any more. Kenny drank and womanized. Derek tried to keep up and couldn't. Catherine broke up with Frank, what, at least three times? Her hair is green now, you know, so don't freak out or anything if she comes to visit." He paused and smiled ironically. Catherine's hair was a different colour every time Cassie saw her. "Let's see...what else..."

"What about you?" Cassie asked lightly. "I suppose Kenny has you out with him and Derek?"

Jeff shook his head. "He tried," he admitted, dropping his gaze, "but I'm not there yet."

"Okay." Cassie nodded and dropped the subject, feeling just a little bit sorry she'd asked.

Why don't you just prod the wounds, there Cass?

"How's the album coming?" she asked, after a pause.

"Oh, great. We recorded some of it on the road, but we're home for a month to finish it up. I should've told you that when I came in!" He grinned. "I'll be able to visit as often as you can put up with me."

"That's wonderful! Last time I talked you were recording it out of Toronto."

"Well, Catherine kind of insisted we do it here. I think her dad's not well again. You know, she won't say anything, but she wanted to be home for a while."

"Poor Catherine. Tell her I send her my best, will you?"

"Of course. You can probably tell her yourself, though. I imagine she'll be in to see you. I know Kenny is planning on coming."

"How is Kenny, anyway?"

"He's alive." Jeff rolled his eyes. "He can thank God for that, because I don't know why I haven't killed him yet."

"Aww, Jeff, not again..." Cassie shook her head. It was always the same story.

"It's just being around him all the time for a long time." Jeff shrugged. "You know how it is. He's just never off. And you can't have a conversation with him. He just talks right over you. And you know what he's like. He's never wrong about anything. He makes all the decisions, like he owns the band or something. And everybody else just goes along with it. I can't stand it!”

"I hope you're taking a few days off before recording starts."

"I'm going to try, at least. Kenny's keen on a little break himself," Jeff said. "It'll be nice to be away from one another for a while. We've got a big dinner at Mom and Dad's tonight though, so I don't know how that's going to go."

"They're glad to have the boys home, I imagine."

"Yeah. I expect a lecture on how I never call. Oh --" Jeff's eyebrows raised and he grinned. "I almost forgot. I got this for you." He picked up a plastic bag that had been laying next to him on the floor. "I hope you don't have it already."

Cassie took the bag curiously. It looked distinctly like it came from an airport book shop. She grinned and opened it. Most people brought flowers to the sickbed. She had three african violets on the bedside table, and various bouquets..

Flowers, schmowers. Jeff knows I want books.

"The new Tom Malkin! I didn't even know this was out yet!"

"Oh, good." Jeff looked relieved. "It was on the new releases stack, and I didn't know if your mom would have snatched it up for you or not."

"Nope. Mom never gets the right books when I ask. Oh, thank you." She hugged him as best she could over the side of the bed, then put the novel on the table beside her. "I've been short of good reading material." She sat back up and readjusted her pillows. "I get -- oh hey!" She waved at Jack, who had just appeared in the doorway. He was one of the other patients, and usually stopped by in the mornings to bring the gossip from the rest of the hospital. Which nurses were fighting with which doctors, who was having a baby, who'd worked a 72-hour day, which patients had been admitted to long-term care, who was being released altogether. Joseph waved back..

Jeff turned around and looked at the doorway, then back at Cassie with a puzzled expression on his face.

"That's Joseph. He brings me all the news from around here. Joseph! I have to introduce you to..." The confusion and then alarm in Jeff's expression made her trail off.

"He's not really there, is he?" she asked quietly. Jeff looked again, then looked back at her and shook his head.

Joseph not real? But we talk every morning.
Oh God.
I sit here and chat with myself every morning.
Oh. God.

"I'm sorry. They--I--they tell me it's a reaction in the medication I'm taking. Something conflicting with something else. I see--" She was dangerously close to crying again.

"Cass, it's all right," This time, Jeff's expression clearly said the opposite.

"Good morning, Cassandra!" And here was a figure that was absolutely real. Dr. Davies, wearing stethoscope and wielding clipboard, come in for the morning checkup. "How are you this morning?"

"Um...good. I'm good," Cassie nodded.

"Would you mind leaving us for a few minutes?" he asked Jeff. "You can wait in the hall."

"Oh. Sure. I'll see you in a bit." He smiled reassuringly at Cassie, then nodded at the doctor.

"Handsome fella you got there. Who's he?" He heard the doctor say, over the sound of the curtain pulling across. Jeff smiled and shook his head. He and Cassie had been friends practically since birth, and they'd long since gotten used to jokes about how they made a "cute couple". Still, it amused him a little to hear it here. Some things just never changed.

He walked out into the hallway. One of the nurses walking by looked at him a little curiously, that don't-I-know-you-from-somewhere glance. He smiled and nodded in her direction. She smiled back and wandered away, looking a little confused. A few minutes later, he was slouched on the couch outside Cassie's room, his head thrown back and his eyes closed. He really hadn't had much sleep the night before.

"Proposed to her yet?"

Jeff didn't even open his eyes. "Fuck you, Kenny."

***

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