Sick as a Dog
By Lady of Spain
Disclaimer: The characters herein are the property of S. Meyer.
Jacob Black had a really bad headache. What the hell . . .? He never got headaches. His stomach was queasy, too. He had let the guys at the rehab center know that he was leaving work early. His friend Ryan promised to cover for him, and Jerry, his boss told him to get better soon.
When Jacob actually got in his car to return home, he was wishing he had a chauffeur. His head hurt so bad that it was affecting his eyesight. He could barely see the road.
Thank God, he made it home safely, but he practically staggered into the house. Dropping his car keys on the kitchen counter, Jacob made his way to the bedroom. Man that bed was going to feel so good.
When Bella got home from the high school, she had been surprised to see his car in the driveway. That was strange—he very seldom came home that early.
"Hey, Jake," she yelled as she entered their home. There was no response. He wasn't in the living room. The kitchen was empty and the backyard, too. She walked to their bedroom to change her shoes and found him stretched out on top of the bed. She sat down next to him and stroked his hair.
"Must be nice to leave work and come home to nap, you slacker."
"Not so loud, Bells, my head hurts."
Leaning in to kiss his cheek, she was stopped by his shocking declaration. "Oh god, don't shake the bed. I feel like I'm gonna throw up."
Speaking softly, Bella said, "Well, this is really odd. I thought werewolves didn't get sick."
He answered in a tired voice, "That makes two of us."
Bella stood up carefully, trying not to jostle the bed and went into the bathroom. She returned with a wet washcloth and placed it on his forehead. Was it her imagination or did he feel warmer than usual?
Jake grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bark at you like that, but I feel terrible."
"I can tell. You're much hotter than usual—and I mean really hot. I think you've got a fever."
"Look out!" He sat up suddenly, nudging her out of the way and ran to the bathroom, barely making it in time to vomit into the toilet. She was at his side immediately to hold back his hair and wipe the fluid from his lips. They'd been married for 2 years and she'd never seen him sick before. He'd always been in perfect health ever since the first time he had phased, some five years ago.
Bella handed him his toothbrush and toothpaste to clean out what remained in his mouth. She noticed his hands shaking as he walked back to the bed. She pulled the covers down and helped him take off his work clothes, leaving his white tee shirt and boxers on.
After Jacob got settled in bed, Bella went to the medicine cabinet and got out the Tylenol. She returned quickly with the medicine and a glass of water. From previous experience, she also left a good-sized plastic container at the bedside—just in case.
He downed the tablets readily and rested his head on the pillow. His color was ashen, not the beautiful russet she was used to. His eyes looked kind of funny, too. They appeared to be glassy, and the color was less vibrant. What on earth was happening?
She went outside to the back porch and took down the temperature gauge. She removed the thermometer from its backing and brought it to the kitchen to clean it off. What else could she do? A regular thermometer wouldn't register a temperature that high.
He was asleep when Bella took the thermometer into the room. She didn't want to startle him, so she lightly stroked his arm and whispered, "Jake . . . Jake . . ." She patted his arm until his eyelids fluttered open. "I'm going to put this thermometer under your arm. I need to know how high your fever is."
"Mmnn, hmmn," he mumbled softly.
Placing it under his arm, she waited three minutes and then checked it. It registered 112.4 degrees. Bella remembered hearing that an underarm temperature was actually one degree lower than if it was taken orally. He definitely was burning up.
She put the thermometer aside and walked to the kitchen to get him some juice. Feed a cold to starve a fever, wasn't that the saying? In that little amount of time she could hear the sounds of vomiting again. Bella knew that a high fever plus vomiting equaled dehydration.
Trying to help her husband, she took a pan of cold water with her along with the juice. He was back in the bathroom again. She peered into the room to check on him. He was sitting on the commode, and the look of disgust in his eyes said it all. "Great—just what I needed now—the Hershey squirts."
Bella was getting a little worried. Vomiting and diarrhea was never a good combination. Maybe it was a 24-hour bug and would pass as quickly as it came. Something inside her said that this wasn't the case, though. She couldn't shake the gnawing fear assaulting her stomach. She'd been too happy these past several years. Some mishap was bound to happen—after all, this was Bella Black's life. Her magnetic pull for all things dangerous was probably still in full force. Only this time it had spread to someone she loved. She left the glass and the basin outside the bathroom and helped him return to bed.
She leaned over and offered him the glass. "I brought you some juice. I want you to take a few sips at a time, maybe that'll help keep it down."
"What's the basin for?"
"You can't keep the Tylenol in your stomach, so I have to bring your temperature down some other way."
With some effort, he replied, "I haven't had a bed bath since I got the bad end of that newborn."
"And I was scared to death of hurting you—you were so busted up. I guess you won't be enjoying this one either."
Bella proceeded to apply the cool water to his heated skin. She got another washcloth and placed the two under his armpits. After waiting five minutes, she resoaked the cloths and switched them to his groin. With the cold bath completed, she retook his temperature. It had come down two degrees.
After refusing dinner, Jacob continued vomiting and having diarrhea. Bella continued to worry.
The night was no better; he was vomiting up dark green fluid, and leaving watery liquid in the toilet. Even sipping at the juices Bella gave him—he just couldn't keep anything down. She was busy all night long, emptying out the basin, forcing juice down his throat, helping him in and out of bed, and cooling him down with icy-cold water.
Bella was in no shape to teach in the morning, so she called the school to let them know what was going on. She would not be in. She called the rehab center and repeated her message to them as well.
At midmorning, Jacob started shivering, moaning her name. Bella took his temperature again, it was down to 104. How was that possible? "I'm cold . . . Why is it so cold in here?" he muttered.
She had pulled the covers off of Jacob earlier to keep him cooler, but now she was tucking them all around him. He continued shaking, so she slid in beside him snuggling up to his shivering body. She stayed by his side until he began kicking the covers off.
By early afternoon, he was talking out of his head and getting harder to arouse. She made up her mind to call on Carlisle for help.
She went into the kitchen to get Carlisle's phone number when she heard a crash in the bedroom. Jacob was on the floor, mumbling incoherently.
Racing to his side, she tried without success to help him up. She picked up the cell phone on the nightstand, and called Sam and Emily.
Emily answered the phone. "Emily," Bella shouted in her panic. "Send some of the guys over here quick. Jacob's ill and he's fallen on the floor. I can't move him; he's too heavy."
"Oh my gosh. I'll tell Sam right away."
"Thanks, Em. I'm calling Carlisle right now; I'm really scared. I've never seen anyone as sick as this before."
"Listen, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call us."
As she was talking to Esme, Embry, Quil, Paul and Sam rushed into the house. They found Bella kneeling beside Jacob, still conversing on the phone.
Esme promised to pass on the message to Carlisle. She would let him know this was an emergency.
Paul crouched beside Bella and asked, "Where do you keep your blankets?"
"They're up in the closet."
Paul opened the door to the closet, reached up and pulled down two blankets. He doubled them together and held them while the others rolled Jacob over. He slid the blankets under Jacob and his buddies rolled him in the opposite direction, yanking on the remaining half of the makeshift stretcher.
When the blankets were securely underneath him, each of the pack members rolled up the edges until it was taut. Sam yelled, "On the count of three. One. Two. Three." At three, the pack stood up, lifting Jacob as they did so. They moved, carrying him to the foot of the bed.
"Bella, I need you to trade places with me," Sam explained. He handed her his handful of the blanket and then he hopped onto the bed. He pulled the top of the blanket, dragging Jacob with it until half of his shoulders were lying on the mattress. Paul joined Sam on the bed. "You can let go now, Bella," Sam said.
Bella let go, and Sam and Paul slid Jacob the rest of the way. They rolled him back and forth once more, removing the blankets.
Sam climbed down from the bed and walked to Embry, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Jake, so this doesn't happen again."
Embry nodded his head, accepting the assignment. "Hey, no problem."
He turned to Bella next. "I'll have one of the guys here at all times to watch him. Is there anything else you need before we leave?"
Being so exhausted, she had to think hard as to what supplies she would need to take care of him. "Um . . . Can someone bring me a urinal and a bedpan?"
"I'll have them here pronto."
Twenty minutes later, Quil came back toting the things she had requested. Embry stood up from the chair he was sitting on and extended his hands. "I'll take those." He held up the urinal. "I think this is what he needed when he fell."
Bella waited two long hours for Carlisle to arrive. He examined Jacob and listened intently to Bella as she described all of the symptoms. Meanwhile, her sweetheart was thrashing about restlessly in the bed.
"I have my suspicions as to what's causing his illness, but I want a blood sample to confirm it. Can you come over here and hold Jacob's arm for me?" He cast his eyes in Embry's direction. "Would you mind holding his other arm?"
Carlisle obtained the blood sample quickly. "I'll get this to the lab and run the tests stat. I should have the results back within the hour. Before I leave though, I'm setting up some IV fluids. He's really dehydrated. When was the last time he urinated?"
"I don't know. He was using the toilet by himself before he fell."
Embry interrupted. "I just emptied the urinal about an hour and a half ago."
"How much was in it?"
Embry put up his thumb and forefinger horizontally, indicating the amount. "About this much," he said.
Bella noticed the concern in Carlisle's golden eyes. "And what color would you say it was?"
Shrugging, Embry answered, "Kinda like tea, I guess. He was also passing some blood into the pan there."
Carlisle shook his head and commented, "That's not good." He set to work laying out the supplies for the fluids.
"Bella, you need to pay close attention to what I'm doing right now. Watch how I insert this spike into this bag. You can do that, can't you?"
Bella's eyes were carefully trained on the bag of fluid. "Seems easy enough."
"Okay, I think I'll need a clothes hanger to suspend the bag, too." Embry retrieved one from the closet and Carlisle hung the bag on it. He slipped the hanger over the post of the bed. After the IV fluids were ready, Carlisle motioned to Bella. "I'm leaving three bags of fluid here." Pointing to a line on the bag, he instructed her, "When the first bag gets down to this mark, you should change it. Just roll this little clamp to shut it off and spike the next one. Hang it up on the clothes hanger, and unclamp it.
"Alright, now I need you both to help me again. Hold his arms still."
Carlisle left, promising to return as soon as he had the test results.
Bella didn't want to leave Jacob's side, but she knew Embry was probably hungry. She reluctantly went to the kitchen and fixed something for the two of them. They took turns eating, so one of them would always be there to watch Jacob. It was a constant battle keeping his hands still. He kept reaching for the IV, trying to remove it.
His tongue and lips were bone dry. His lips in fact, were cracked and peeling. Once or twice, Bella used a cloth to wet his mouth, and especially his tongue. The task wasn't very successful though, because Jacob kept clenching his teeth.
She had just hung the second IV bag when Carlisle walked into the room, looking grave. He carried several more bags of IV fluid.
"It's exactly what I expected." He paused, peering directly into Bella's eyes. "Jacob has parvo."
Embry jumped up off his seat. "You've got to be kidding! I thought only dogs got that disease."
Bella's mouth was hanging open. This was a shock. She didn't say a word as Carlisle explained.
"He has the wolf gene, and I'm afraid that is a canine relative. Some of the wolves in this state have contracted the virus. Jacob probably picked it up from the forest floor. He got the parvovirus on his paws when he was phased.
Bella, you need to wash down the floors and bathroom with bleach, and let the rest of the pack know to clean off the bottom of their shoes and wash their hands thoroughly anytime they're in this room.
"That's fine; I can do that. What do we need to do about Jake, though? Is there some medicine I should be giving him?
"That's why I came back in person. I wanted to tell you myself." He took Bella's hand and stated in a low voice, "There's no cure for parvo. I'm so sorry, Bella."
"What exactly does that mean?" Was he saying that Jacob was going to die? No, that couldn't be. He was only 21; he hadn't lived his life yet. He wanted a family—a family with Bella, his wife. He couldn't die, he just couldn't.
"Jacob's in critical condition; his kidneys are shutting down. I can only pray that the fluids I'm administering will resuscitate him. I need to let you know that you should hope for the best, but at the same time be prepared for the worst."
It was true then—Jacob might not recover. "How long does he have?" she rasped, choking on the words.
Carlisle spoke so softly she almost missed what he said. "If he doesn't rally by tonight—48 hours, maybe less."
Bella nodded in affirmation, but her heart wouldn't accept the facts. "Thank you for being truthful with me." The tears hadn't started yet; she was still trying to process all the information.
"He can still hear you, even though he's not responsive. So, stay close by—talk to him. Tell him how much you love him. Sometimes love is the best medicine."
Patting her hand, Carlisle left.
Bella felt the world around her crashing into nothingness. She was numb. She didn't even notice when Quil came into the room, pushing Billy in his wheelchair. She finally turned in their direction when he set the chair close to the bedside. Her knees weakened as Billy leaned over and stroked Jacob's cheek. "Nayeli, Jacob," he whispered.
Quil pulled Bella aside and told her that the tribal elders were coming to give him a blessing. Embry was still there, standing by her side, supporting her weight as Quil spoke to her. She was gaining a new respect for Jacob's pack members. They were such a tight-knit group, always there to assist one another.
She sat down next to Billy, with one hand on his shoulder and the other tightly clenched around her sweetheart's hand. Her heart broke with the soft grunts and whimpers that accompanied each of his ragged breaths.
The elders came in about fifteen minutes later, along with the pack, and surrounded Jacob in a prayer circle. Bella stepped aside to make room for them. Old Quil anointed his head, and Billy gave the blessing. They all took her hand and nodded as they left one by one.
An hour passed and Quil took Billy home. Embry placed his arm around her and said, "Jake's a fighter. He won't let this tear him away from you."
"I'd like to believe that—I really do." Then she added, "Do you think you could leave me alone with him for a few minutes? He needs to hear what I have to say to him."
Embry walked to the door and looked back at her. "Come get me if you need anything. I'll be getting a drink in the kitchen."
Bella took Jacob's hand and gently rubbed her thumb across the top of it. The contact wasn't enough. If he was leaving her, she wanted every last second to count, so she slid into the bed. She placed her head on one shoulder—her arm wrapped around the other one. With her free hand, she stroked his face, whispering to him all the while.
Jacob's restlessness seemed to calm somewhat at her touch, and his breathing appeared to be easier.
"I know you can still hear me, so I want you to know how much I love you. I'm sure you already know that, but I need to tell you again. Please . . . you can't leave me now. I was going to surprise you this Friday, but now that might be too late."
She was having trouble speaking. There was a huge lump in her throat, and the tears started falling. "Remember how you said that you wanted a family? Well . . . you got your wish; you're going to be a father, Jake. I'm going to have your baby. So, you see . . . you can't leave now . . . you can't. I want this baby to love you like I do.
"You've never backed down from a fight before. Please, I need you to fight for us. I don't want our baby to live without his father. Do you hear me—don't stop fighting! You have to live. I don't want to go on without you."
She moved to get up when Jacob's hand reached out and grabbed her about the wrist. Was that a good sign, or his last attempt to hang onto her? Bella wasn't sure, but a little hope began to surface in her heart. His hand finally relaxed and slumped down to the mattress. She called to Embry and snatched up her phone.
She traded places with him, walking into the kitchen to phone her mother first, then Charlie. While giving her mom the bad news, Embry called out to her. She said goodbye, and raced to the room, dreading what awaited her.
Embry had a big grin on his face as he told her, "He says, and I quote, 'Tell Bella I need a drink of water; my mouth is so dry.'"
Bella helped Jacob eat a little dinner, and this time, it stayed where it belonged.
Jacob was still a bit weak. He was able to turn to Bella that night though, and with tears in his eyes, asked, "Was I dreaming or did you really say that we're going to have a baby?"
"It's a dream come true—but yeah, you're really going to be a daddy."
Jacob's heart leapt at her words, and a sob escaped his lips. "I'm going to be a father," he repeated between sobs. Kissing the top of Bella's head, he tucked it under his chin.
"You know, I saw my mother. I wanted to go with her, but she said my mission on the earth wasn't completed yet. She told me I had a wife and a baby to take care of. She said I had to leave; I couldn't stay with her.
"Bells . . ." He hesitated. "I'm so glad to be back."
Bella squeezed him tighter, and grumbled, "Don't ever do that to me again."
"Don't worry," he replied. "I don't ever want to go through that again either. Damn, I was as sick as a dog." And he was—literally. Apparently, no one had told him that yet, huh?
AN: When people get a deadly infection throughout their whole body, their organs shut down, usually the kidneys first. To save the person, the doc will order IV fluids and have them run in as fast as possible. The professional terminology for this medical procedure is— Fluid Resuscitation, not to be confused with cardio pulmonary resuscitation or CPR.