She felt arms grab her before she could fall, then everything went black. That was all Nicole could remember, as she awakened.
"Is this the reason you're so hesitant to marry my daughter, Mr. Lee?" a surly voice questioned. Nicole's head ached, she attempted to open her eyes but the sunlight coming through the windows kept them shut. She recognized the voice that spoke next.
"With all due respect Mr. Johns, I'm not obligated to tell you that." he said in a tone just as surly as the first.
"You had better watch yourself, Mr. Lee. This hospital pays for your research."
"And my research promotes this hospital. I don't want that to change." Jin said.
"Which is why this merger is so imperative! We could seal the deal." Mr. Johns replied.
"This merger is ridiculous. I had no idea arranged marriages were still in fashion."
"That's because you're not used to this world Mr. Lee. Once you realize the power of society and status, I'll be waiting for you to accept my offer." Mr. Johns challenged. He left the room, slamming the door shut behind him with no regard for the sleeping woman on the hospital bed.
Ouch. Nicole's head ached.
Jin still stood at the door, letting Mr. Johns' words absorb. Was he being foolish? Was he passing up a lucrative business opportunity? He couldn't stand Iris, but what if he was letting his feelings stand in the way of his success?
Jin crossed the room and sat down on the couch that sat underneath the window sill. Placing a hand behind his head, he stretched out on the couch. He wondered if Mr. Johns would let his daughter know of their conversation. Or worse, let her know where Jin was. At the slightest inclination of Jin's whereabouts, Iris was there in an instant. Jin estimated it would take about 45 minutes, before Iris would be here, bopping around the place like a whac-a-mole.
Nicole hoisted herself up in the hospital bed, alerting Jin to her consciousness.
Still squinting her eyes for fear of being blinded by the sunlight, Nicole finally sat up despite the pounding in her head.
"Hi..." she smiled slightly.
"Hi." Jin responded. He stood and went over to her bed side. "Do you remember what's going on?"
"Uh..." Nicole struggled for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut as if to make herself remember. "Adrian!" she gasped. She jumped from under the sheets, attempting to pull the IV out of her arm.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Jin said grabbing her arm before she had the chance to yank it out. "First of all, that doesn't work like in the movies, so let's wait for the nurse to come take it out. And second, his mother is fine. She's still sleep and he's with her now. Give them some time."
Nicole exhaled, a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." As she sat back down on the hospital bed, she realized that she felt a slight breeze from behind.
She gasped, covering herself with the sheets. She was now in a skimpy hospital gown, the kind that didn't allow you to cover yourself completely in the back. "How did I get changed?" she interrogated.
"The nurse got you changed." Jin was quick to inform her. "Don't get ahead of yourself."
Nicole rolled her eyes, until they landed on the white board ahead of her. It covered the wall across from her hospital bed. Although residue of erased words covered the white board, the only words that were legible were the ones written simply in the middle: "Concussion caused by blow to the head. Attending Physician: Dr. Bradford Johns"
"Bradford Johns..." Nicole read aloud, as if trying to recall something. "Johns... Isn't... Isn't this Johns General Hospital?"
"Yes." Jin acknowledged.
"Well then wouldn't that make Bradford Johns the owner of this hospital?!" she exclaimed.
"No. That would be his uncle, Micheal Johns." he remarked impassively.
"Even so! Why would he attend to a minor concussion?" Nicole asked, dumbfounded.
Jin eyed her carefully before speaking. "Do you not know who sponsors The Public Health Center?" When Nicole's lost expression continued to rest on her face, Jin sighed. "I wanted to make sure you were alright, so I asked Brad to come take a look at you."
He sat at the foot of her bed, resting his leg beside hers.
"Oh..." was all she could manage, before the door opened and Tony stepped into the room.
Upon seeing Nicole's black eye, Tony immediately rushed to her bedside and dramatically got down on his knees, ignoring the chair that sat right next to the bed. He apologized profusely, taking Nicole's hand in his as he did.
Before he witnessed anymore of the scene in front of him, Jin stood up from the bed and straightened his suit. To Nicole he said, "Don't worry about coming in to work tomorrow. I'll let Hugh know what happened and be back to pick you up when the doctor clears you."
Nicole began to protest reasoning that there would be no need for him to come back. She was not his responsibility. Jin, however, paid no attention to her protests and began to walk towards the door. He stopped just before reaching the door and turned to Tony, slitting his eyes. "You would do well to watch your temper." he said before closing the door behind him.
"I... really am sorry Nicole. I can't even - I really can't even begin to ask your forgiveness. How could I do this to you?" Tony whispered, reaching out to caress her face and slightly grazing the bruise he'd left near her eye.
"It's fine. Really." Nicole smiled. "You didn't mean for it to happen. Its not the worst thing you've done." she'd only realized the depth of her words after she'd said them.
Tony was silent and they sat there avoiding each other's gaze.
"I guess your boyfriend wasn't too thrilled about me holding your hand, huh?" he finally spoke, getting up from his groveling position on the floor and sitting in the chair he'd initially passed by.
"How's your mom?" Nicole interjected, quickly changing the subject.
"She'll be okay. The doctor said it'll take about 6 weeks for her to recover."
Nicole smiled softly, "I'm glad it went well. I'll come back to visit her after I'm discharged."
The two sat and engaged in small talk, it had never been so awkward between them. Tony, though, was stubborn and refused to give up on his attempts to converse with Nicole.
"How's work?" he started.
Before Nicole could give a generic answer, the nurse emerged through the door. A lively young thing she seemed, as she entered the room. "Miss Pearson?"she questioned.
"Yes." Nicole smiled, thankful to escape her little chat with Tony.
"How're you feeling this morning?" she said, showing both bottom and top teeth as she grinned.
"I'm... good. Thank you."
"Great! The doctor will be in to see you in just a sec, but until then, I'm gonna have to ask you to fill out the rest of this paper work. Your boyfriend filled out most of it, but I guess there were a few things he wasn't sure of."
"My... boyfriend." Nicole's eyes slid over to Tony, realizing she needed to continue this front while he was around. "Right." she said as she held her hand out for the clipboard of paperwork.
Nicole examined it once the nurse handed it over.
Wow.
He really had filled out most of it. Name. Address. Phone. Email. Emergency Contact. Medical History. He'd even filled out her Insurance Provider information.
After filling in the blank spots, Nicole asked Tony to bring her paperwork to the front desk.
"And go check on your mom too, please. I'm fine, awake, and healthy. It's your mom who needs you right now."
Tony gazed at her. "And I need you. I can't ever imagine you being completely out of my life. Thank you for being such a wonderful human being." He leaned down, kissed her temple, and whispered "I love you." heavily. His lips were soft, moist, and she suddenly remembered the feel of them on hers.
She wanted to protest to his sudden expression, but the shock of his lips and the quick pace at which he rushed out the door prevented her.
About 30 seconds after Tony left, the doctor entered, checking her IV, asking her how she was doing, and finally sending her home.
"I'll let Jin know you're ready to be picked up." he smiled.
"Thank you. For doing this. I know you probably have a lot more important things do."
"Honestly, this is a welcome break from the chaos." Dr. Johns laughed. After he left, Nicole began to change back into her clothes.
Man, I really wanna get home and into the shower.
After shimmying her way into the skirt she had been wearing last night and pulling over her top, she turned to face the door, ready to grab her bag. That is, until she saw Jin standing in the doorway, face flushed red.