Behind the Scenes-A Whose Line Fanfic

The Show must go on

I wake up a few times during the night when nurses would check my vitals, but I slept pretty well.  At 9:00, I wake up to find Jeff staring at me.  "Good morning, sleepyhead!  You look adorable when you sleep by the way," he says smiling.  "Thanks I think," I laugh slightly.  This makes me cough a bit and Jeff looks at me, his eyes full of concern.  "I'm okay," I assure him.  He looks like he doesn't fully believe me.  "I'm being serious," I say.  "I know.  I just want you to get well soon," Jeff replies.  "Thanks!  I appreciate how much you guys care about me," I smile.  "Of course we care about you.  We're your family," he says pulling me into a gentle hug.  A nurse walks into the room.  "Good morning, Jennifer.  I'm going to check your vitals and then I can bring you breakfast," she says.  "Awesome," I reply.  She checks my heart rate, blood pressure, and the various monitors.  "It looks like you're doing much better than you were yesterday.  I'll be back in a few minutes with your breakfast.  Doctor Jacobs should be here within the hour to examine you," the nurse informs us before leaving the room.  She brings a tray of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fruit.  The food was pretty good for being hospital food.

Someone knocks on the door and then opens the door.  "Hi Jennifer, my name is Doctor Jacobs and I'll be taking care of you during your stay.  Can you explain to me what happened yesterday?" he asks sitting down on a chair near my bed.  "Well, earlier this week I had a horse riding accident.  I blacked out for a minute.  I went to the emergency room and they said that I bruised my ribs and gave me some pain medicine.  Yesterday, I was performing in an improv show and I had to play some pretty physical games.  It started to aggravate my ribs.  The thing that really messed it up was when I was shoved into the ground.  After that, I vomited some blood and had trouble breathing.  I continued the show, but then I collapsed backstage.  The paramedics said that my left lung collapsed, so they put the tube in my chest and then took me here," I explain.  "It's been a crazy week for you.  I'm going to order some tests.  You'll get an x-ray and CT scan of your lungs and you will also get the same tests for your skull.  I want to make sure that you don't have a concussion or anything from your head taking two hits to the ground in a relatively short time," Dr. Jacobs says.  A radiologist takes me for all the tests.  They take a little over an hour.

When I return to the room, I see Ryan, Colin, and Greg with Jeff.  "Hi Jennifer, how are you?" Ryan asks.  "I'm doing a little better.  I can breathe a lot better than I did last night," I answer.  "That's good.  You scared us pretty bad, darling," Greg replies.  "It even scared me pretty bad compared to the other life-threatening things that have happened," I laugh.  The doctor walks into the room.  "Well Jennifer, I've looked at all the test results.  Your collapsed lung hasn't healed all the way yet, so we're going to give you oxygen to see if that will help.  If not, we might need to do surgery.  You have no head injury which is great news.  For right now, we can give you some pain medicine," Dr. Jacobs says.  "Awesome!" I reply.  He gives the nurse some instructions and leaves the room.  The nurse places an oxygen mask on my mouth and props me up with pillows.  She inserts and IV into my arm and puts the pain medicine in it.  "When do you guys have the shows today?" I ask dad.  "We have an afternoon show at 3:00 and an evening show at 8:00," he answers.  "I wish I could join you guys, but that probably wouldn't be the best idea," I say.  "It's okay.  You getting better is the most important thing.  We're sorry that Drew and Wayne aren't here, but they'll get crabby if they don't get enough sleep," Jeff replies.  "That's fine.  All of us had a late night yesterday," I say. 

A few hour pass and the radiologist takes me to get more images of my lungs to see if I need surgery or not.  Dr. Jacobs walks into the room and says, "Your lungs have healed up nicely.  You won't need surgery unless anything changes.  We'll just keep you overnight to monitor you and then you should be able to go home tomorrow."  "That's great news.  Thank you so much," Colin exclaims.  "I should be able to be in the shows tomorrow," I say.  "You probably can.  We're just not going to let you be in games that are very physical," Ryan replies.  "That would be a good idea.  I don't want to get hurt again and end up back here," I sigh.  Lunchtime arrives and a nurse gives me a turkey sandwich, a side salad, fruit, and water.  It's not a very flavorful meal, but it's okay.  Jeff, Colin, Ryan, and Greg keep me entertained with stories from the early Whose Line days before they have to leave to get ready for the afternoon show.  "Are you going to be okay with no one staying here tonight?" Colin asks me.  "I'll be fine.  I have my phone with me if we need to talk.  I can give you a call when I know what time I can go home," I tell him.  Everyone gives me gentle hugs and leaves the hospital.