I Think I'm Dying
A/N: This is just a little something I came up with based on the prompt, exaggerate an illness. The following story you are about to read, is based on my husband's reaction to this exact ailment.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, just borrowing. They'll be returned to the proper owners at CBS in relatively good condition.
She quickly unlocked the front door to their brownstone in Queens. The baby, Salvatore, Sammy as they called him was getting impatient with being held, and as his mother struggled to get the key in the lock while balancing the fourteen-month old on one hip, as well as the diaper bag, her purse and some take out from her husband's favorite restaurant, the boy began to cry.
"It's alright honey, just one more minute and we'll be inside," she cooed, the lock finally giving way and letting them into the tidy living room.
Quickly, Lindsay Messer went to sit her son on the ground before he went into a full blown tantrum, dropping the three other bags in the process.
"Damn," she swore under her breath as she carefully bent to clean up the mess. From somewhere behind her came the quite but very clear sound of a toddler's voice. "Damn," Sammy repeated his more-than-flustered mother's expletive perfectly.
Turning around to be eye-to-eye with the boy, Lindsay spoke firmly, "Sammy, we don't use that word in this house."
Or we shouldn't.
One of those "do as I say, not as I do" parenting moments her mother had told her about when Lindsay had gotten pregnant. She allowed herself to muse over this line of thought as the little boy helped with the mess, by getting into the diaper bag and spilling the contents onto the floor. Deciding she was too tired to deal with that at the moment she turned her attention to something else.
"I wonder where Daddy's at," she mused, picking up her son and carrying him over to his play pen, where he could be contained with his treasures from the diaper bag that he had stubbornly refused to let go of. Too drained to take the items back, she left him to play with the spoon and diaper. One thing she'd learned so far as a mother, was to pick your battles. She'd also learned that same lesson as a wife.
It figures the one day Dan calls in sick, all hell breaks loose, doesn't it? She thought offhandedly as she reached the bedroom.
Upon opening the door, she took in the sight of her husband laying in bed, looking much worse than when she'd left him that morning. Obviously he was in a lot of pain and it smelled as if he'd been vomiting recently.
"How ya feeling cowboy?"
"I'm dying," he moaned pitifully.
"And what led you to this particular conclusion," she asked, not able to hide her amusement at his over dramatization of the situation.
"Blinding back pain is a pretty good indication, don't you think?"
"Blinding back pain, huh? Is that it? You have back pain so you come to the logical conclusion that you're dying?"
"Smart ass," he muttered, knowing she needed more evidence than that, " I've also puked and have a temperature of...really high," he reached for the thermometer to show her, but his hand fell short and dangled off the bed.
He sounds really sick. Maybe I should take him to the emergency room.
Sitting on the bed gently, Lindsay reached over Danny for the digital thermometer in order to check it's last reading of his temperature. Just reaching over him, she could feel the heat radiating off his body. Once she turned the device on, what she saw on the display shocked her.
Holy crap! 103.2?!?! We're definitely going to the emergency room.
"Hey Dan?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm gonna call Amanda and see if she'd be able to come up here and watch Sammy for awhile, because you really need to see a doctor for this."
"Mmkay," he mumbled half asleep again.
Half an hour later, Lindsay helped Danny into the Emergency Room at Forest Hills Hospital. Thankfully the wait wasn't too long, and they were back in a treatment room within half an hour. Once Danny was changed into a gown and settled on the uncomfortable gurney, there was nothing to do, but wait for a doctor to come in.
A few minutes later, the doctor, a tall Indian woman, who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties entered the room.
"Mr. And Mrs. Messer, I'm Dr. Chapal," she introduced herself, as she simultaneously looked Danny over, "What seems to be the problem tonight?"
"Ah, some back pain, a fever, and a bit of vomiting. It's probably just a virus, nothing serious," Danny spoke up for the first time.
Dr. Chapal looked over at Lindsay for confirmation that her patient was playing down the severity of his symptoms and being macho.
"So, is the pain just one side of your back or both?"
"No, it's just on the lower right side. Kidney infection maybe?"
"I'm not sure yet. Can you sit up so I can look? I'm just going to push on your lower back to see where the problem is."
When she put slight pressure on his right side, where his kidney was at, Danny jumped and groaned in pain.
"On a scale of one to ten, how bad would you rate that pain right now?"
"Twelve," he groaned laying back down.
"Okay, well I'm going to have a nurse draw some blood, give you some Tylenol for the fever and, start an I.V. I'd also like a urine sample as well. I'm also going to order a CT scan, just to make sure you don't have any kidney stones. Those can be extremely painful. Would you like something for the pain," when Danny nodded, she continued, "I'll have someone bring that in with the I.V. We should get you fixed up and out of here in just a couple hours Mr. Messer," and with that, she was out the door.
There was a couple minutes of silence in the room, as Lindsay decided if she really wanted to say what she was thinking or not. Finally, deciding to say something, she spoke up.
"So, I come home after a grueling 14hr shift, a cranky toddler in tow, and you tell me you're dying. However, when a doctor asks you; it's not that bad, probably just a virus?"
"Come on Montana! Cut me some slack here! I don't feel well and I hate hospitals," Danny complained.
"That's why you should tell them exactly what's going on instead of playing macho."
"I don't play macho."
"Sure you do. Remember the Irish gang at the warehouse?"
"How could I forget," he replied, looking down at the wedding band that hid the scare on his finger.
"Well, remember how when we got home you refused to take the pain medicine because, 'it wasn't that bad'," she asked, doing air quotes at the end.
"I suppose you have a point with this train of thought?"
"My point Messer, is that by the time you admitted you were hurting then, you couldn't move for three days because the pain was so bad! I can tell you've been feeling a bit off for a couple of days, but I was hoping you'd say something before it got this bad," she said, her eyes suddenly tearing up.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's with the tears? Come over here and talk to me Lindsay."
He called her Lindsay. He only calls her that when it's really serious. She made her way over to the bed and sat down next to him.
"I just can't stand to see you this sick or in pain, knowing I can't fix it," she said as he pulled her down on the bed next to him.
"I know, I feel the same way when it comes to you. I guess that just comes with the territory of loving someone, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she replied kissing him lightly just as a nurse came in to start his I.V.
Once the I.V. was in and the pain medication administered, it didn't take long for a blissfully drugged look to appear on Danny's face.
"Better," Lindsay asked, smiling at the serene look on his face.
"Much better."
"I'm glad. Now close your eyes and rest before they take you down for your scan," She told him sweetly as she took a seat in the chair next to him and tried to ignore the throbbing of her back and the aching of her legs.
Another hour later, Danny was back from his scan and he was reduced to waiting in the stark room with his visibly exhausted wife.
"You alright there, Montana?"
"I'm fine, Dan," she replied in a more irritated voice than she intended as she pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned against the wall.
"Oookay, just checking," he replied cautiously, at the sudden change in her mood.
"I'm sorry Danny. It's just been a really crappy day and I'm tired is all."
"You wanna tell me about it?"
"Just more of the same. Mac giving me a pile of paperwork as tall as I am to work on, and Stella constantly pulling me away to help with stuff in ballistics, reconstruction and the A/V lab. Working overtime and Sammy's tantrum didn't make things any better either. I just want to go home and sleep for the next week," she vented everything that was bugging her at the moment, while he patiently listened.
"Baby, this isn't going to last forever. You'll be back in the field before you know it."
"I know, I just hate not being allowed to work in the field right now. If it was my decision it'd be easier, but Mac gets to call the shots on this one, so for now, I'm basically an over qualified lab tech that can't even do much lab work!"
Danny tried to be as understanding as he could. He knew Lindsay hated being stuck in the lab, she hated it last time too. He just had to keep reminding himself that her foul mood would pass soon enough, and things would go back to some kind of normal.
Another minute later, Dr. Chapal came back in, with Danny's test results. She took a seat on the stool and looked at the report to gather her thoughts.
"Well, it looks like your blood tests came back fine, but the urinalysis did show a slight infection," she explained.
"I knew it couldn't be anything too serious. But, is a slight kidney infection supposed to hurt this bad? Cause it really feels like something is trying to come out of my body!"
At this, Lindsay chuckled, having intimate knowledge of what that particular type of pain was like, and having an idea of what the older woman would say next.
"No, a kidney infection doesn't hurt that bad. But you're scan also showed a small kidney stone in your right kidney. That's why you hurt so bad."
"Well, what do you do about a kidney stone?"
"It's a small one, so you should pass it on your own in a day or so."
"So, until then, what do I do about the pain; suffer through it?"
Dr. Chapal smiled at Danny then Lindsay before moving her attention back to Danny.
"Mr. Messer, I can say one thing for certain. The pain your having now is the closest you'll ever get to knowing what labor pain feels like. I'll write you a script for the pain and prescribe a course of antibiotics for the kidney infection."
"Thank you," Danny sighed in obvious relief that he wouldn't be in pain while he was passing the stone.
Hearing this, a giggle bubbled out of Lindsay before she could stop it. No one knew it but her, but for all his bravado, there was only so much pain even Danny Messer was willing to tolerate; and his current state surpassed that marker by a long shot.
Shooting Lindsay the most stern look he could muster to give that pixie face, he retorted, "Seriously, you have no idea how much this hurts, Montana!"
Not even bothering to suppress her chuckle, Lindsay locked eyes with Danny and, while rubbing a hand up and down her rather prominent baby bump, retorted dryly, "Nope, not a clue."
The doctor, whom the couple had forgotten was in the room, as happened so often when they had these kinds of conversations, addressed Lindsay, "How far along are you?"
"Twenty-two weeks."
"First baby?"
"No, we have a fourteen-month old at home."
"Well, I'll just leave you two alone and get those prescriptions and the discharge papers ready for you," and with that, she left the room.
As soon as the door closed, the stupidity of his comment hit Danny like a Mack truck.
"Uh, Montana?"
"Hmm?"
"Is there any chance that we can just forget I just asked you that?"
Without missing a beat, Lindsay replied, "not a chance Messer." But seeing as you're not feeling well and I love you so much, I guess I can be nice and not mention this little incident to Flack or Stella."
"You wouldn't dare!"
An arched eyebrow and smirk was her reply. It was her way of asking, "you sure about that," without saying a word.
"Montana," that pitiful whine again, "have a little pity on the guy in the hospital bed will ya?"
"Oh, I suppose I can let this slide. Just remember, I'm only doing this because I love you," and she leaned down to kiss him.
"Thanks. I love you too," he returned her gentle kiss.
Twenty minutes later, the couple was on their way down the corridor that led to the lobby. They stopped to thank Dr. Chapal and the nurses on final time. Before they got out of ear shot, the doctor heard Lindsay say, "I know you're in a lot of pain Dan, but can you do me a favor and at least try not to act younger than your son?
In response, Danny pulled Lindsay flush against his side and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. "I can try," he replied, that cocky Messer smirk playing on his lips.
As the couple rounded the corner, the doctor watched them walk away and mused about the couple she'd spent the last several hours with. Danny and Lindsay Messer were certainly one of the more entertaining couples she'd dealt with this week. If you didn't get the chance to see them interact, just by looking at them, you'd think that they'd be a most unlikely couple. In fact, they seemed to go together very well. He wasn't afraid to let his bravado go in front of her and risk acting or sounding pitiful, and she wasn't afraid to let him know straight up that, while she loved him and would take care of him, she wasn't going to totally baby him. After all, she had a baby at home that needed babying, and soon enough there'd be another Messer baby that totally relied on her, relied on them. Once you really got to know them, you realized they were the yin to each other's yang.
Yup, those two are as close to a perfect couple as you can get, the doctor thought as she picked up the chart for her next patient.