"Ohhhh," Will moaned, as he came stumbling into the kitchen, holding his stomach, hand over his eyes.
"Will, go to school," Philip boomed as Will walked by him. As Will gave Phil a look, he addressed Vivian, "Aunt Viv, I need a nighttime snifflin, sneezin, I've fallen and I can't get up medicine," Will said, as he sat in Vivian's lap and embraced her. "Will, you're burning up. Philip, he really is sick. Baby, is it your throat again?" Will nodded as he winced in pain.
"Oh Vivian, don't let that boy con you," Philip piped up, "There's absolutely nothing wrong with.." Philip stopped himself as Will opened his mouth. Deciding that she should take control of this, Vivian said, "Baby, now you know what the doctor said. One more throat infection and those tonsils have got to come out." Will blanched at her words, and certainly tried to convince her that he wasn't sick, by singing and dancing. But, that didn't last long because shortly after his little show, he whispered, "Aunt Viv? Catch me." Without any warning, Will collapsed to the floor from fever, dizziness, and pain. Vivian rushed over to his side, gently slapping his cheeks, trying to rouse him gently so he wouldn't be afraid. Will always seemed to be disoriented after waking up from unconsciousness, so Vivian wanted him to know that he didn't have to be afraid. As soon as Will came around, Vivian enlisted Philip's help in getting Will back to bed. Once Will was comfortable, Vivian grabbed a cold cloth from the bathroom and laid it on Will's forehead. Will's face scrunched up at the cold, but eventually his face smoothed out. Vivian also managed to coax a cool glass of water down Will's throat before he fell asleep again. Once Will was asleep, Vivian went downstairs to phone Will's doctor, who said that he would schedule the surgery for the day after tomorrow. The doctor also said that Vivian would need to bring Will in for a checkup, and to get settled in his room. Vivian knew that Will would be unhappy staying in the hospital, but she was hoping that Will would be disoriented with fever so that he wouldn't notice his surroundings. Fortunately, her predictions proved to be true, as Will had so much medicine in him by the time he was rolled into his room that he didn't even know what planet he was on, let alone what place he was at. Vivian felt bad because Will kept asking for his mother, but Vivian could only provide so much comfort. She also knew that they wouldn't be able to operate on Will until his fever came down, which, according to any other time that Will was sick, could be anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Vivian was really hoping that his fever broke soon, as she hated to see Will in pain like this. As his face scrunched up once again, Vivian grabbed his hand and told him that she wouldn't be leaving his side. Will seemed to relax at her statement, and finally drifted off to sleep. Vivian vowed that Will wouldn't wake up alone during his stay at the hospital, however long it was. Vivian quickly turned her head as the door quietly opened. It was the doctor, but seeing that Will was asleep, the doctor gestured for Vivian to come out in the hall. As Vivian got up from her chair, Will groaned and shifted towards her chair. Vivian, her heart breaking, resolved to keep walking toward the door, even though her instinct was to comfort Will. Vivian listened closely to the doctor, hoping that he had some good news, "Will seems to be responding to treatment, but with his fever so high, we can't be sure how the anesthesia will affect that. As such, we can't operate until his fever comes down. Also, we're waiting for a series of tests to come back to confirm Will's allergy to the anesthesia. That way, we have time to find an alternative. Now, it won't be very comfortable for Will because there aren't many anesthesia's that he isn't allergic to. But we're hopeful that we'll find something that will allow Will to have this necessary surgery. Now, I know you want to stay with Will for the night, so I will get the nurses to accommodate you." Vivian thanked the doctor profusely, and finally made her way back to Will's side. As Vivian entered the room again, Will called out for his mother, which made Vivian rush over to take his hand. As soon as she did, Will's restless shifting stopped, and he seemed to settle down. Vivian took her place in her chair again, hoping that Will would sleep through the night. However, there was no such luck. Will continued to sweat, shiver, and turn his head restlessly on the bed. Vivian grabbed a cool cloth from the bathroom, and laid it on Will's forehead, which seemed to calm him somewhat, but he was still very restless. At one point, he got so restless that he almost fell right off the bed. Luckily, Vivian was there to pull him back on the bed. Vivian watched over Will the whole night, true to her word, and towards the end of the night, Will seemed to settle down. However, his fever was still raging, and it didn't seem to want to come down. So, Vivian continued to soothe Will's fever and Will's cries. By morning, Will had finally settled down, and Vivian was cautiously hopeful that it wasn't just her imagination that Will's forehead seemed cooler. At a quiet knock on the door, Vivian turned her head, just in time to see Philip come in the door. Noticing the worry emanating off of his wife, he came forward to hug her and kiss her, hoping to soothe her worry. As Philip looked over at Will, he could tell that it had been a rough night, as the sheets were tangled around Will's legs, and a grimace was etched into his face. Philip laid his hand on Will's forehead, his own scrunching in worry when Will's fever seemed to be higher than before he came to the hospital. Another knock at the door announced the nurse's presence, who shooed Philip and Vivian out that door so that she could make all of her checks without any interruptions. The nurse's brow furrowed as she pulled the thermometer back, and the temperature was higher than what she had recorded last night.
