Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI
ER
"I am exhausted." Nick said as he climbed into bed.
"Me too." Jackie said as she reached over and turned off her lamp.
It was late and both of them had had a long day.
Shortly after laying down they both fell asleep. A few hours later they were awaken when Jasmine began to cry. Jackie was concerned as she went into her daughter's room, it wasn't like Jasmine to not sleep through the night.
"What's wrong Jazz?" Jackie asked as she clumsily reached for the light switch.
"Owie" Jasmine said pointing to her arm.
Jackie squinted as she tried to focus her eyes on Jasmine's arm but she was having a little trouble getting used to the light. She blinked a couple times to try to focus. She could see what looked to be a small mosquito bite on Jasmine's arm.
"Uh-oh a mosquito got you kiddo." Jackie said.
"Owwie" the little girl said again with a sniffle.
"Do you want a band aide?" Jackie asked.
Jasmine's face lit up and Jackie chuckled. No matter what kind of booboo Jasmine had a band aide always made her feel better. Jackie couldn't blame her for that though, Jackie herself had been the exact same way when she was a little girl.
Jackie left Jasmine's room and walked into the bathroom. She got a band aide from the medicine cabinet and returned to Jasmine's room. She put the band aide on Jasmine's arm and the little girl smiled her appreciation.
"There all better." Jackie said with a smile.
She tucked Jasmine back into bed, gave her a kiss on the head and then she started to walk out of the room.
"No mama" Jasmine shrieked, she almost sounded scared.
"What is it baby?" Jackie asked puzzled as she walked back to Jasmine's bed.
Jasmine clung to her mother's arm. Jackie picked her up and sat her on her lap.
"Jasmine what's wrong?" she asked.
"Mama" Jasmine said as she buried her face in Jackie's shirt.
At this point Jackie was more than a little concerned. Jasmine rarely had trouble sleeping through the night, and when she did wake up it was usually because she had to go to the bathroom or she wanted a drink, but she always went right back to sleep. Unlike most children her age Jasmine did not ever have a problem with being scared to sleep in her own room. What Jasmine was doing now was totally out of character for her.
"How about you come sleep with mommy and daddy tonight." Jackie said as she stood up with Jasmine in her arms.
Jasmine just laid her head on Jackie's shoulder. Jackie felt her head to see if she felt warm, Jackie figured that maybe she was getting sick and that was the reason why she was behaving so oddly, but she didn't feel hot at all. Jackie carried her into the master bedroom and set her down on the bed.
"Hi dada" Jasmine said as she climbed on top of a sleeping Nick.
Nick opened one eye and looked at her.
"Hi peanut." He said. Then he looked at Jackie "Is she ok, why is she in here?" he asked sleepily.
"She's acting really weird tonight, I think it's best if she sleeps with us." She said.
"What do you mean by acting weird?" He asked.
"I don't know, she seemed scared to sleep in her own room and that hasn't happened before." Jackie responded.
"Maybe she had a bad dream or something." Nick said.
"Maybe, I don't know, but just in case it's something more than that I want her in here with us." Jackie said.
"Ok" Nick responded.
Nick shut his eyes again and Jackie tried to get Jasmine settled down but instead she continued to climb on Nick.
"Dada pay." She said.
"No honey, daddy's tired, I don't want to play right now, we'll play in the morning alright." Nick said patiently.
Jasmine frowned at her dad but she climbed off of him.
"Good girl." Nick said with a smile.
Jackie covered Jasmine's legs with a blanket. Jasmine was just about to go to sleep when Nick started to snore slightly.
"Dada funny" Jasmine giggled.
"Yeah dada's funny. Now go to sleep sweetie." Jackie said.
Eventually both Jackie and Jasmine fell asleep.
However, Nick and Jackie were awaken not long after that by Jasmine's blood curdling cries. She screamed in pain at the top of her lungs. Jackie turned on the lamp and was completely horrified at what she saw. Jasmine's arm had swelled to twice its normal size.
"OH MY GOD" Jackie screamed in terror.
Nick's eyes grew wide as he looked at Jasmine's arm.
"I'm taking her to the emergency room right now." Jackie said.
"Ok, I'll drop the baby off at your parents house and then I'll meet you up there." Nick said.
"No, drop him off at my friend Charlotte's, I want my parents up at the hospital with us." Jackie said as she hurriedly got her shoes on.
"Alright." Nick said.
As soon as Jackie had her shoes on she scooped Jasmine up in her arms and then ran out the door. Jasmine just continued to scream-not cry, scream, because she was in so much pain.
"It's alright baby girl." Jackie said trying to console her as she quickly buckled Jasmine into her car seat.
Jackie was near tears herself. She drove way faster than she should have and arrived at the hospital in no time. She rushed Jasmine inside. Jasmine's arm seemed even more swollen now then it had been when she had woken up. A nurse quickly came and took Jasmine from Jackie's arms.
"Do you know what happened?" the nurse asked.
"She was bitten by something but I don't know what." Jackie said terrified.
The nurse quickly raced Jasmine down the hallway. Jackie ran after her.
"Mama" Jasmine cried.
"I'm sorry ma'am but you can't come back here." Another nurse said as she put her hands out to stop Jackie from coming any farther.
"Please let me go back with her, she's so scared." Jackie begged.
"We'll take really good care of her." The nurse assured her but she still wouldn't let Jackie go any farther.
Jackie could hear Jasmine screaming "Mama" at the top of her little lungs from all the way down the hallway.
Jackie sat down in a nearby chair and started to sob. Her little girl needed her and there was nothing she could do.
"Jackie" she heard a voice say just a few minutes later.
She looked up and saw her mom and dad running at her.
"Mom, dad." Jackie said as she jumped out of her chair.
"What's going on? Nick just called and said you rushed Jasmine to the emergency room."
"Something bit her. Oh mom, you should see her arm, it looks awful." Jackie said as she wrapped her arms around both of her parents and continued to cry hysterically.
"She'll be ok." Her mom said, trying to calm her down.
Jackie calmed down just slightly but not very much. It was very comforting to her to have her parents with her.
"Where's Nick?" Her dad asked.
"He's dropping the baby off at Charlotte's and then he'll be here." Jackie said.
Seconds later Nick came sprinting through the door.
"Have they said anything, how is she?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around Jackie.
All Jackie could do is shake her head as tears streamed down her face.
"It's alright, she'll be alright." Nick said in his slow southern drawl.
Nick's accent usually made Jackie relax but not now.
Nick was trying to stay calm for Jackie's sake but on the inside he was freaking out just as bad as she was. He didn't know what had bitten Jasmine but he knew by the size of her arm that this could be very serious. If someone told him Jasmine would be ok if he crawled back into his hellish coffin six feet under ground, and endure those awful ant bites again, he would do it without hesitation. That is how much his little girl meant to him, he would do absolutely anything for her.
After what seemed like an eternity the doctor came out to talk to them.
"Your daughter was bitten by a brown recluse spider." He said.
Jackie was not familiar with that kind of spider so she looked at Nick. All the color drained from Nick's face.
"Oh god" Jackie thought silently to herself when she saw Nick's pale color.
"Is she going to be alright?" Nick asked, his voice was so quiet that it didn't even sound like his own.
Jackie noticed that Nick tightened the grip on her arm as he braced for the answer.
"Yes, we expect her to make a full recovery." The doctor said.
Jackie, Nick, her mom and dad all started to cry, but this time it was tears of relief.
"Your daughter is very lucky. Because she is so small a brown recluse spider bite could have been very serious. Had you not brought her in as soon as you did she could have very easily lost her arm, it could have even been fatal."
Had Nick not been holding Jackie she would have hit the floor. She staggered backwards but luckily Nick was able to guide her to a nearby chair and sit her down before she fell over.
"We are going to keep her overnight for observation but if everything goes alright you can take her home tomorrow." The doctor said with a smile.
"Can we see her?" Nick asked.
"Yes, she's sleeping now, but you can come back and see her if you like." He said.
They followed him back immediately.
Like the doctor had said Jasmine was asleep. Nick looked at her arm and noticed it already looked less swollen than it had before Jackie had brought her in. There was a small wrap around the actual bite. All Jackie noticed was Jasmine's tear stained face and it broke her heart. She had cried so hard for her mommy but her mommy couldn't be with her when she needed her the most.
Jackie went over to Jasmine's side and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead and then traced her finger down Jasmine's cheek. For a few minutes everyone just stared at Jasmine without saying a word.
Finally Jackie looked at Nick and said "Babe, you probably should go pick up the baby from Charlotte's."
"I don't want to leave Jasmine though." Nick said.
"Well I'm certainly not leaving her." Jackie said adamantly.
Nick and Jackie turned their attention to her parents.
Her mother smiled "We'll go get Houston." She offered.
"Thank you." Nick and Jackie said gratefully.
"No problem, call us when Jasmine wakes up." She said.
Jackie assured her they would and so her parents left.
Nick sat down in a chair on one side of Jasmine's bed and Jackie sat in another on the other side. Jackie glanced over at Nick and noticed for the first time since this nightmare had begun that he was crying. He had his hands in his head and he was sobbing silently.
Jackie sighed and went over to him.
"She's going to be ok Nicky." She said as she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around him.
"I know, I just never want to see her like that again." He said.
Jackie nodded in agreement as tears filled her own eyes.
After a while they both had regained there composure so Jackie returned to her chair on the other side of Jasmine's bed.
Before long Nick fell asleep but Jackie couldn't sleep, she just kept watching Jasmine's little chest move up and down as she breathed.
Jackie was surprised and elated when she heard a tiny and weak voice say "Hi mama"
"Hi baby girl." Jackie said jumping up out of her chair excitedly.
Jackie kissed her on the cheek and grabbed her little hand. Jasmine gave her one of her infamous adorable grins and Jackie's eyes filled with happy tears.
Jasmine looked over at Nick.
"Dada seepin." She said.
"Yeah, dada's sleeping." Jackie said with a smile.
"Nicky" Jackie said trying to wake him up but he remained asleep.
"Nicholas." She said louder.
This time Nick's eyes opened and he looked at her.
"Look who's up." She said with a smile.
He looked at Jasmine and a huge smile appeared on his face.
"Hi peanut." He said quietly as he immediately got up out of his chair and began stroking Jasmine's hair.
Jasmine continued to look around the room "Houden?" she said.
"Oh sweetie Houston's not here." Jackie said.
"Uh-oh" Jasmine said.
Nick and Jackie smiled at one another.
"Wat" Jasmine said.
"You want water? Ok mommy will go get you water." Jackie said as she headed out of the room.
"Mama bye-bye" Jasmine said, and once again she began to cry.
"It's alright pumpkin mama will be right back, she's just going to get you some water. Don't cry, dada is here." Nick said as he lay a comforting hand on Jasmine's forehead.
She quit crying.
"Dada" she said with a small smile.
"Yeah dada" Nick said as he smiled back at his little girl.
Jackie came back seconds later with a cup in her hand.
She was followed by a nurse.
"Hi, I'm Crystal." She said introducing herself to Nick.
"Hello." Nick said as he shook her hand.
Jackie walked over and handed Jasmine the cup of water. She took a big drink of it and then handed it back to Jackie. Crystal walked over to the side of Jasmine's bed to get a look at her arm.
"That looks a lot better." She said looking at Nick and then at Jackie.
Both of them nodded at her with a smile. Jasmine was starring at Crystal and Crystal caught her stare.
"Hi cutie." She said with a friendly smile on her face.
"Can you say hi Peanut?" Jackie said.
"Hi" Jasmine said offering her a cute smile.
"Hi" Crystal said again.
"I have to change the gauze on your arm sweetie." She said.
"Will it hurt her?" Nick asked.
"Nope" she said with a smile.
Crystal reached for Jasmine's arm but Jasmine immediately pulled it away.
"It's alright Jasmine, I'm not going to hurt you." Crystal said patiently as she reached for Jasmine's arm again.
"Noooooooo" Jasmine wailed when Crystal finally got a hold of it.
"It's alright sweetheart." Jackie said in a comforting voice.
Jasmine was having none of it though.
"Mama" she screamed.
"It's ok baby girl." Nick said as he tried to help Jackie calm her down.
Jasmine just continued to try desperately to pull her arm away as crocodile tears slid down her face.
"Jasmine let's sing." Jackie told her.
Jackie began to sing you are my sunshine.
That didn't work either, all she did was continue to scream and pull her arm away.
"Turbo, sweetheart, it's alright, don't cry." Nick said.
To Jackie and Nick's amazement Jasmine immediately quit crying and calmed down.
Turbo was the nickname Nick had given to Jasmine as soon as she was able to crawl because she was always on the move. It also ended in an O which fit in well with Nick's own special nickname.
Jackie often joked that he should have nicknamed her tornado instead but turbo just seemed to fit.
"I'm all done Jasmine, you did so good." Crystal said after a couple of minutes.
"Yay, good job big girl." Nick and Jackie both praised her.
Jasmine loved the attention, she smiled broadly and clapped her little hands.
Jasmine then looked at the new gauze and frowned.
"Ooobie" she said.
Crystal looked confused, as did Nick, but Jackie knew exactly what she wanted. Jackie went and grabbed her purse and pulled out a Scooby Doo band aide and stuck on Jasmine's arm. She made sure she didn't put it on the actual bite but Jasmine was thrilled none the less.
"Ooobie" she said again as she clapped her little hands and giggled.
Nick grinned at his wife, nodded at Jasmine's arm and said "Good job at knowing what she wanted but I'm not even going to ask why you have Scooby Doo band aides in your purse."
Jackie grinned at him.
"A mother is always prepared." She told him.
He chuckled.
Not too long after that Jasmine fell back asleep. Nick and Jackie also fell asleep.
The next day Jasmine was released from the hospital.
Instead of taking her home they took her to her parent's house, just in case there were other dangerous spiders in their own house.
Nick helped Jackie and her parents get Jasmine settled at her parent's house and then immediately called an exterminator.
The exterminator told him they would have to be out of their house at least 72 hours. They were going to go to a hotel but her parents insisted that they stay with them.
The day Jasmine came home from the hospital she was a little sluggish and tired but the day after that she was back running around the house acting like her crazy little self. As Nick and Jackie stood in the middle of her parent's living room they watched Jasmine as she ran around in circles.
Nick laughed "it's official, Turbo is back to full strength." He said happily.
The End!
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