Overworked {Jack Hughes}
Jack Hughes x Elaine Bennett
pots! gf au
Elaine passes out during class after overworking herself to prepare for finals
fluff
warnings: pots, passing out
wc: 2.2k
au masterlist
"Baby, when was the last time you ate or drank something... or slept for more than five hours?" A concerned Jack asked.
It was mid December and finals season for Elaine. The last few weeks had been beyond stressful and every moment she wasn't sleeping or showering, she was studying. She read even when she ate.
"Uh... yes." Elaine offered a detached answer, hunched over her laptop on the couch, typing furiously and reading with her full attention.
"That wasn't a yes or no question..." Jack muttered, and she didn't even look at him.
He exhaled. "I cut part of my finger off when I was chopping vegetables an hour ago."
"Thats nice," she hummed and nodded.
Jack thought for a moment and tried to come up with the most attention catching lie. "I slept with my mom's friend, Melissa. That lady we met in September with the botox and bad fake tan."
"...Sorry, what?" She replied after a few seconds, still not looking up from her laptop.
"Okay, Elaine please just, close the laptop for a minute." He reached over and took the computer from her hands and closed it, and she finally fully realizing he was talking to her.
"Jack!" Elaine exclaimed and reached for the laptop, which he held above his head. "Please give it back, I was just getting completely focused."
"You haven't looked away from your laptop or spoken a full sentence to me for three hours. Doesn't your back hurt from being hunched over for so long?"
"I can fix my back pain when I become a doctor. And I won't become a doctor if I don't pass my finals, and I won't pass my finals if I don't study, and I can't study until you give the laptop back!" Elaine lunged for her computer, but Jack stood from the couch and stepped away.
A side effect from her chronic illness was chronic pain. Elaine had what people called "coat hanger" pain⎯neck, shoulders, and back⎯ along side joint pain in her knees and hips.
"It's called chronic pain for a reason, Laney."
Elaine gasped and retracted her hand. "WOW! I mean, just wow!”
Jack rolled his eyes, amused. "Okay, Laney, just⎯"
"Wait what time is it?" She checked her watch, realizing she had to leave for class. "Oh damnit, I'm gonna be late!"
Elaine grabbed her laptop from his hands while he was distracted and jumped from the couch, rushing around the living room to collect all the things she needed for class.
Jack perched on the edge of the couch with his arms crossed, watching his chronically ill girlfriend rush around.
Elaine was already halfway down the hall when she realized she’d forgotten her student ID that she needed to scan to get into the Columbia building.
“Jack—” she doubled back, skidding slightly on the hardwood. “Did you see my ID?”
Jack looked up from where he was still sitting on the couch. “Laney, you just put it in your backpack.”
“Oh. Right.” She rifled through it anyway, heart racing, brain lagging behind her body. When she found it, she let out a sharp breath and immediately zipped the bag closed again. “Okay. Okay. I’m good.”
“You’re not good,” he said plainly. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m just late,” she replied, already tugging on her jacket. “That’s different.”
Jack stood and followed her to the door. “You didn’t answer me. When was the last time you ate?”
Elaine paused just long enough to think. Then she didn’t like the answer, so she opened the door instead.
“Laney.”
“I grabbed something earlier,” she said vaguely, slipping her shoes on. “I’ll eat after this class, I promise.”
He didn’t buy it. He never did. But he also knew the look in her eyes — that frantic, locked-in focus that meant there was no stopping her now.
“Text me when you get there,” he said, grabbing her wrist gently before she could leave. “So I know you didn’t pass out on the stairs or something.”
She softened just a little, letting out a playful chuckle. “I won’t.”
“Laney.”
“…I’ll text you,” she sighed.
Jack leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.
Elaine gave him a tired half-smile and slipped out into the cold December air.
By the time she reached the building, her heart was pounding and her head was already starting to ache — but she pushed through it, taking her seat, opening her laptop, and disappearing back into finals mode.
And that was how she ended up staring at a screen, under fluorescent lights, with a body that had been begging her to stop for days.
it was becoming increasingly harder for Elaine to stay focused while her professor lectured. Her head was hurting from the lights and her laptop screen. Her shoulders and back were aching and she kept having to roll her neck to try and relive some pain, but it stopped working after the second time. Not to mention, every time she stood or moved her legs, bursts of pain shot through her right knee.
"Okay, everyone get into groups of two or three." The professor said and chattering broke out while students searched for partners.
Elaine looked around the room and made eye contact with an acquaintance she had made from this class, Lara, and nodded her head, silently agreeing to be partners.
Elaine packed up her things into her book bag and stood up, her right knee immediately giving her trouble and her vision blurred while her head spun.
God-fucking-damnit.
Elaine stopped dead in her tracks, rubbing her eyes and stumbling over her own feet. She looked around the classroom that was spinning and couldn't make out the blurred faces of her classmates.
Lara noticed Elaine's state and realized what was happening and immediately started moving around the crowed class room and tried to get to Elaine from the opposite side of the room before it happened.
"Hey are you like... okay?" A random guy called David asked.
"Uhm... I⎯uh... no." Elaine put a hand on one of the rolling chairs to stabilize herself and started lowering herself to the ground slowly but then went straight down to the ground with a thud.
"Hey, what the hell?!"
"Oh shit, is she okay?"
"Is she passed out or just unconscious?"
"Are you serious? How did you get into med school?"
"Is anyone gonna help her or just look?" Lara pushed through the crowd of people the had formed around her.
Lara kneeled down to Elaine on the floor and cradled her head in her hands.
"What happened, is this normal for her?" The professor came over.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure. She had POTS."
"Okay. Is there something we need to do?"
"I uh... I don't really know." Lara shrugged. Elaine and Lara really didn't know each other that well, just in class acquaintances.
"Alright, well class, what should you do in this situation?" The professor turned to the class, wanting to make this a teaching moment.
"Uh... you would probably want to make sure she didn't hit her head and check her heart rate." A boy raised her hand.
"Correct, would someone want to demonstrate?"
Multiple students immediately raised their hands and jumped at the opportunity to get experience.
"Lets see... James you wanna go ahead?"
James took his backpack off and approached Lara and Elaine and kneeled down and was about to touch Elaine, but Lara was quick to stop him.
"Wait okay, alright back up." Lara held a hand up, stopping James. "She isn't some lab or learning experience, she is a student in this class that quite literally passed out."
At this point Elaine's eyes started twitched and stirred.
"Elaine, Elaine can you hear me?" Lara asked, brushing hair out of her face.
She moved her head around, mumbling. "Mm⎯" She reached up to rub her eyes.
"Elaine, is there someone we can call for you?"
"Mm⎯Jack."
"Jack, you want me to call Jack?" Lara confirmed, reaching her phone.
"Mhm," she mumbled.
"What's your password, Elaine?"
Elaine just grabbed Lara wrist and looked at the screen to unlock it, then immediately closed her eyes again and lolled her head to the side.
Lara opened up her phone app and dialed the number under Jack.
"Hey Laney, aren't you in class right now?" Jack answered after a few rings.
"Hey is this Jack?"
"Yes? Who's this?"
"My name's Lara, I'm a classmate of Elaine's. She's just waking up after passing out and she should probably be picked up."
“I—wait, what? Is she okay?”
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I don't think she hit her head or anything."
"I'm on my way."
Jack was there in fifteen minutes, and he walked into the room quickly and anxiously with the student that had come out to get him, eyes frantically scanning the room.
Elaine was sitting in a big swivel chair in the corner, looking exhausted and ill while the rest of the students were conversing in groups. She was just sitting and staring while bouncing her leg lazily. No phone, no book, no talking, just sitting and trying not to pass out again.
Jack was at her side the second he spotted her.
"Laney, hey," he knelt beside her chair and put his hand on her arm, stroking the exposed skin with his thumb. "Are you alright baby?"
"Jack?" Elaine croaked, finally look to him and away form the spot her eyes haven't left in ten minutes.
"Yeah it's me Laney. I'm gonna get you home, okay?"
"Okay." She nodded.
"Can you stand, do you need some help?" He stood from where he was kneeling and stood in front of her chair.
Elaine just nodded and took his hands, letting him help her stand up.
Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders and supported her while they walked.
"Where's your bag, Elaine?" He asked and she just nodded in the general direction of where it was, but someone handed it to him along with her coat.
Jack led her out of the classroom with multiple 'thank you's and to the car.
“Can we go home?” Elaine asked in her drowsy state, still very much out of it.
“Yeah baby, we’re going home.” Jack nodded, opening the passenger door and guiding her into the seat and buckling the seatbelt.
She just nodded and looked out the window. Jack’s face held an expression of concern but he covered it by giving her a tight lipped smile before shutting the door and round the car to the passenger seat.
They entered her apartment fifteen minutes later, Elaine leaning heavily on Jack. Her muscles felt heavy and a wave of nausea had washed over her after waking up that just stayed, along with feeling exhausted and just horribly cold.
“Let’s go to bed, yeah?” Jack said softly, taking her book bag off his shoulder and setting it on the floor.
When trying to walk, Elaine stumbled despite Jack’s arm around her. He of course caught her and pulled her back up.
"It's okay, it's okay." He muttered before swiftly picking her up and carrying her to her bedroom.
Jack gently laid Elaine down in her bed and covered her with the comforter.
She whimpered and turned on her side, facing Jack and curling into herself. She was shaking. Her head was pounding. She was nauseous. Most of all, her joints, neck, and shoulders hurt. Badly.
Jack sat on the edge of the bed and watched her with a troubled look and reached to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear before cupping her face and caressing her face with his thumb.
"Jack?" she opened her eyes slightly.
"Yeah, sweetheart?" he perked up immediately.
"I'm thirsty."
"Thirsty? I'll be right back." Jack stood up instantly and returned a minute later with a water bottle full of ice water.
"Here," he held the straw to her lips.
She craned her neck just slightly and placed a hand over Jack's that was holding the bottle for support and took a sip. When she tried to swallow, she promptly started coughing since she tried to swallow without sitting up.
"Sit up baby, you'll choke." He immediately panicked slightly and set the bottle down, helping her sit up.
"Are you okay?" He asked after she had calmed down, rubbing her back.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Thank you for coming to get me."
"You don't have to thank me." He placed a kiss to her head. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." she answered honestly.
"Yeah, I kinda figured." He chuckled, rubbing her arm affectionately.
"Will you lay with me?"
"Yeah, of course." He answered, kicking his shoes off and climbing into bed and under the covers, leaning against the head board.
Elaine wrapped her arms around his hips and laid her head in his lap, his hands going to her back and slipping under the hem of her sweater, scratching her back.
"Do you wanna watch Quinn play?" Jack was already reaching for the remote and she nodded.
Elaine managed to stay awake for the first ten minutes of the first period, but eventually was over taken by the heavy exhaustion.
Jack of course noticed this, and kept completely quiet and still. Well almost completely because at the end of the third period...
"LET'S FUCKING GO, QUINN!" He exclaimed and jolted in excitement when Quinn scored in the last few seconds to win the game, immediately regretting it when his girlfriend was woken.
She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him confused, whimpering slightly from the joint pain with the movement. Jack's hands flew to his mouth.
"Oh my god, baby I'm so sorry." His hands hovered over her form like she was fragile.
Jack genuinely looked like he was in despair.
"Baby are you okay? I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." He repeated, caressing her head, leaning down to pepper kisses on her forehead, repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again.
Elaine chuckled slightly. "I'm fine Jack, I promise."
"Are you sure? God, I'm so stupid. I didn't do it on purpose, I promise."
She just rolled her eyes playfully at his panicking and instead just laid back down, going back to sleep as he continued to repeat apologies.
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