Title: Quarantine (1/2)
Author: Romantique
Email:
Classification: Eric/Tami pairing; plenty of angst.
Rating: T for some mild language.
Summary: Straight out of today's headlines, the East Dillon Lions are quarantined.
Author's Note: This fan fiction was written before the details of the H1N1 flu were known in North America.
Disclaimer: This Friday Night Lights fan fiction occurs during the Autumn of Season 4. This fic is loosely based on a school epidemic in 2009.
Legal: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just a fan and have not made a dime. Please email me to obtain permission to post.
East Dillon High School
Practice Field
Monday, October 12
2:30 p.m.
Heading out to the practice field, Lions Head Coach Eric Taylor moved ultra slow. He had a headache he couldn't shake despite downing a second dose of Extra Strength Tylenol since lunch. It was strange. He woke up feeling fine that morning, but as the day progressed, he felt lousier by the hour. Besides the headache, he had a scratchy throat and ached all over. Pulling off his dark glasses, he scrubbed his face in an effort to ease the unrelenting pain that throbbed behind his eyes.
Later, standing next to him on the sidelines, Assistant Coach Crowley leaned over. "Coach, no offense, but you don't look so good."
"I don't feel so good," Eric mumbled in response, suddenly swaying as his aching legs began to give out from under him.
"Whoa, easy there," Crowley reached over in an instant to steady his younger boss.
Eric couldn't understand why he suddenly felt so weak. It was all he could to do stand while leaning on Coach Crowley.
"Would you help me inside?" Eric asked in a lowered voice, admitting, "I think I better lie down."
Crowley called for the nearly 300 pound Panther lineman, Dallas Tinker, to come over, and the two guys helped Eric walk back to his office and onto the couch. Then, Crowley called the main office to report that Eric had suddenly become alarmingly ill. Crowley was instructed to have everyone stay put and then informed that the school nurse was on her way.
After a time, the nurse entered the coaching offices, accompanied by some other unknown persons. All their faces were covered with medical masks. The nurse snapped on a pair of latex gloves and took Eric's temperature in his ear. It was 102.8. She then looked at his throat with her penlight and asked him a lot of questions about symptoms he answered one by one.
She then gave Coach Crowley some soap and wipes and a mask and instructed him and Tinker not to leave.
Turning her attention back to Eric, the nurse said, "Coach, I'm afraid you've probably come down with the H1N1 flu. You're now the 7th person at East Dillon High who's become ill, today. The County Health Department ordered the District to quarantine anyone with flu symptoms or who has had direct exposure to anyone with symptoms. We've set up an area in the small gymnasium. Do you think you can make it there?"
"Swine flu?" Eric uttered, connecting the dots.
Then, he tried to sit up, as he was asked. "I can't," he gasped in frustration, holding his aching head. He was still wearing his dark glasses to block the bright florescent lighting.
"That's okay. We'll get you there," she said. Then, on her cell phone, she called for a wheel chair.
When she was finished with the call, the nurse walked over to Coach Crowley who overheard most of her conversation with Eric. "You've all been exposed. None of you can leave the school without being checked over and released by the Health Department. Would you please take these Health Department employees with you and gather all your players together? Those of you who don't have symptoms will be housed in the large gym. Here are masks, some gloves, and some hand sanitizer. Go wash your hands, now. You were in contact with Coach Taylor. And instruct anyone else who has had close contact with him to do the same."
Eric suddenly remembered to tell the nurse he needed a few things from his desk: his keys, cell phone, the charger, his wallet. With her gloved hand, she carefully dropped the possibly contaminated items into a plastic bag and handed it to Eric. A wheelchair arrived with another masked and gloved Health Department employee. With assistance, Eric stood up and poured himself into the chair, and he was wheeled away to the small gymnasium.
Once at the door, he was checked in by Health Department personnel. He remained slumped down in the chair in a feverish daze. It took too much energy to sit upright. Someone took some blood, his temperature, pulse, and blood pressure, while someone else gave him some more Tylenol and juice. After he was charted and processed, a man put a wrist band on him and wheeled him to a nearby cot next to several other students where he stood for a second and then, took a seat. He was grateful to sit back down, too tired to stand upright any more. As he looked around, he could see a few of his players lying on the cots.
"Hey, Waters. Is that you?" Eric croaked, seeing his QB1 lying on the cot next to his.
"Yeah, Coach," Waters opened his eyes, surprised to see his new neighbor. "Are you sick, too?" The young man was lying on the cot, his cheeks flushed with fever and his dark hair soaked with perspiration.
Eric surmised everyone being held there was running a fever and was therefore, contagious. "Yeah," Eric responded weakly, "definitely sick." He lay down on the cot with a thud, dark glasses still on. He ached everywhere.
Eric slowly pulled his cell phone out of the plastic bag to call his wife. "Hey," he said when Tami answered the phone.
"Hon?" Tami answered. His voice sounded funny.
"I'm sick," he said. "I've got the flu. They're sayin' it's probably the H1N1."
"Oh, no," she was alarmed by what she was being told. "Eric, where are you?" As the Principal of Dillon High School, she knew the District's plan for an outbreak of the H1N1 virus.
So did Eric. "At school," he answered, still not sounding like himself. "Some of the team came down with it today. The Health Department quarantined us in the gymnasium. It's good I stay here. I don't want to expose Gracie or Julie or you."
As Eric was concerned about his family, Tami was concerned about him. "Eric, you need to see a doctor," she insisted.
"There's medical staff here from the Health Department," he tried to be reassuring. "They're takin' care of us."
Just then, a nurse handed him a cold bottle of Gator Ade with a straw. "Drink all of this. You need lots of fluids. This has electrolytes in it, too."
He took a few swallows of the orange liquid. The cold felt good going down his parched throat. Then, he put the cap back on the bottle and placed it down on the floor beside his cot. The bottle felt abnormally heavy, as he was suddenly so tired.
"Did they say how long you need to be in quarantine?" Tami asked in amazement while her mind raced.
"Depends on how long I have a fever. Could be 5 to 10 days." He rubbed his aching forehead with his free hand.
"How are you feeling?" she asked with a wifely concern.
"Like hell. I ache everywhere. My fever is 103.0." He felt as if he was talking out of his own head. "Listen, I felt fine this mornin'. It came on that fast, after lunch today," he imparted as much pertinent information as he could. And he prayed he had not infected his family.
"Well, who's your school nurse over there?" she asked, her head continued to spin.
"I don't know. Tami, no more questions," he almost begged. "Sorry. I'm tired ... can't talk anymore." He was suddenly economizing his words.
Eric was not sounding like himself at all. Tami became even more alarmed but tried to remain reassuring. "It's okay. You rest, Babe. I'll check on you later. I love you."
"You, too," he mumbled and disconnected the call. He closed his eyes, and he immediately slipped into sleep.
Tami, still at work, called the District to get the latest on the quarantine at East Dillon. She then called the East Dillon School Nurse, Janet Sanderson. Mrs. Sanderson told her that the patient load was now well over 10 people with flu symptoms and that all of them were on the football team. She then explained the quarantine and suggested that Tami bring Eric some changes of clothing for the next 5 to 7 days such as sweat pants, t -shirts, socks, underwear. All the clothing would be most likely incinerated when the epidemic was over. The Red Cross and the local hospitals were donating sheets, blankets, pillows, wash cloths and towels. The protocols being followed assumed that this was, in fact the H1N1 virus.
Knowing that Eric's family could have been exposed, Mrs. Sanderson also gave Tami the rundown on hand washing, bleaching towels, and washing all countertops, tables, phone receivers, keyboards, remote controls, and any other community used items with a mild bleach solution. She suggested washing all the sheets and towels at home that Eric had used in hot water and bleach or safer yet, tying them in a plastic bag and discarding them.
Tami asked the nurse if Eric would be given Tamiflu within 48 hours, as she knew this was part of the District's plan. The nurse said not without his own, personal doctor's prescription.
Finally, she asked Mrs. Sanderson if she had personally seen Eric. She indicated that she had and explained to Tami that Eric exhibited classic initial symptoms of the flu: fast onset of fever over 102 degrees, headache, body aches, and fatigue.
As soon as Tami got off the phone with the nurse, she called their family doctor's office and spoke directly with Dr. Morgan. She told him about Eric and her concern for Gracie and Julie. Dr. Morgan said he would call in a round of Tamiflu for the family, with the understanding that they not start Gracie unless she actually presented with symptoms, but that she would at least have the prescription for her at home, on hand.
Tami left work early and ran to their local Target to buy Eric some socks, underwear, t-shirts, and sweat pants. She asked her daughter Julie to pick up Gracie from daycare. Tami also picked up their prescriptions.
After taking her first daily dose of Tamiflu, she immediately drove to East Dillon. She was directed to the gymnasium where she met with Health Department personnel. She identified herself as the Principal at Dillon High and Coach Taylor's wife. She showed them the prescription of Tamiflu that Eric's doctor wanted him to begin taking immediately, along with his extra changes of clothes. And most importantly, she told them she wanted to see him.
They cautioned her about exposure. She explained that she'd already been exposed to Eric for days, she had begun taking Tamiflu herself, and she would agree to wear a mask and gloves or sign a release. Whatever it took, she was emphatic she would not take no for an answer.
A nurse took her temperature, and they were only satisfied when it was confirmed as normal. Then, she was masked and gloved and was led to him. The nurse handed her an ice cold bottle of Gator Ade with a straw and asked her if she could get Eric to take his first dose of Tamiflu. Eric was sleeping.
"Hey, Hon," she placed a gloved hand against his flushed face. The first thing she noticed was that he was so hot, rife with fever. "Dr. Morgan called you in a prescription you need to take," she said.
"Let's take his temperature first," the nurse said and popped a thermometer in his ear. "103.2," she said. "He needs to swallow another dose of Tylenol, too."
"It's Tami, Hon," she said a little louder, more firmly. "Open your eyes." She removed his dark glasses that were still half on.
"Huhhhhh?" he groaned, as he opened his eyes. The whites of his eyes were flushed as red as his face.
"Hey," Tami's eyes smiled at him over her mask. She sat down on the edge of his cot next to him. She could feel the immense heat radiating from his body.
"We need for you to drink and take some medicine, Hon," she tried to persuade without showing her urgent concern. "Then, you can go back to sleep, okay?"
"I have to go to the bathroom," he whispered in a panic.
The nurse said, "I'll be right back with a wheelchair."
Tami looked around the room. She was alarmed to see the other downed young men lying in the room. They looked as sick as Eric. Most were sleeping, and it was just now 5 p.m.
The nurse came back with the wheelchair, and she and Tami helped him in. She was alarmed at his level of weakness. She and the nurse wheeled him to the Men's room, where they helped him up and waited for him just outside the door.
"We'll take good care of him," the volunteer nurse said.
"I've never been away from him when he's sick," Tami said with worry in her eyes. "He's really sick, isn't he?"
"They all are. The CDC is telling us that this flu can really knock a person off his feet," the nurse said. "Did I hear you say you've got some Tamiflu for him?"
"Yes," she said.
"It will help some. It'll certainly shorten the duration," the nurse nodded.
After a moment, Eric called for help from the sink. He sounded embarrassed. "I can't make it back."
The two women hurried into the vacant Men's Room and helped him sit down on the chair and wheeled him back to his cot.
"You're okay," the nurse tried to reassure him. "You're just weak from this kick-ass flu, Coach, that all."
He could give no response. Tami was amazed at how out of it he was, but he was also very compliant. Before they moved him back to the cot, Tami had him swallow the dose of Tamiflu and the Tylenol. She encouraged him to drink more of the Gator Ade.
"We have some chicken noodle soup. Would you like to try some, Coach?" the nurse asked.
Eric wearily shook his head no. After he drank most of the Gator Ade, the nurse asked him if he wanted to lie down. He shook his head yes, barely able to keep his fever-rimmed eyes open. The nurse helped Tami move him from the chair to the cot where they covered him with a light blanket. Tami tidied up his things and placed his changes of clothing under the cot. He went out like a light.
"Please try not to worry. We'll go through this same drill with him through the night: Keep him hydrated and dosed on Tylenol. He's going to sleep a lot for the next 24 to 36 hours, and that's exactly what his body needs ... rest."
Despite the nurse's best efforts, the look of worry on Tami's face didn't change.
The nurse tried a little harder to reassure the coach's wife. "All of these guys, your husband included, were in good physical condition before they got sick. That is going to help them fight this virus."
"What should I do with the Tamilflu?" Tami spoke very low so as not to disturb Eric and the others. It's all she had that could help him.
"You could give it to me," the nurse offered. "I'll lock it up. He doesn't need to take it again until this time tomorrow, right?"
"That's right." She was hesitant to leave it there. "The school nurse informed me that I had to go and get a prescription for Eric's Tamiflu from our doctor. Why isn't everyone here being given the drug?"
The nurse explained. "They're working on it. But since drug has to be administered 24 to 48 hours upon onset of symptoms to be effective, it may not get here in time for these patients. The County has been working on a plan for flu outbreak but it arrived sooner than was projected. As you probably know as a Principal, we weren't even ready to begin administering vaccines to the general public."
After hearing this, Tami was definitely uncomfortable leaving the Tamiflu there. "Can I come back and personally give him his Tamiflu and check on him, tomorrow?"
The nurse answered, "I don't see why not. I'll be working this same shift again tomorrow night. My name is Kayla Waylen."
"Hello, Kayla. I'm Tami," she said. "Thank you for taking care of my husband." The look of worry on her face still hadn't diminished. "I'm having a really hard time with this. We have kids, and Eric doesn't get sick. I've never seen him like this."
"Well, that's good he doesn't get sick. That means he has a strong immune system," Kayla tried to remain positive. "And that's why his fever is so high. His system is fighting this thing hard."
For the first time, Tami noticed Kayla's big brown, compassionate eyes peering over her mask. "Look, Tami, if you'll leave me your number, I promise to call you if there's any change, overnight. But no matter what, I'll check in with you early tomorrow morning at the end of my shift."
"Oh, would you?" Tami asked with tears in her eyes. "I won't be able to sleep tonight. I feel horrible leaving him."
"I promise you I will personally take very good care of him," Kayla patted her gloved hand. "Now, let me take you through our decontamination procedure here. You should go home and get some sleep. You'll need your stamina because it will take awhile for Coach Taylor and the others to get over this flu."
On the way home from East Dillon, Tami called her sister and told her what happened. She asked her if she would come and help with Gracie for the next few days. She also suggested that Shelley obtain a prescription for Tamiflu for herself. Shelley told her sister she could be there by noon the next day.
When she arrived home and entered the house, she called for her oldest daughter. "Hey, Jules, I'm home."
Almost running from the back of the house, Julie asked, "Mom, what's going on with Dad? He has that Swine flu?" The look on her face was one of almost disbelief.
Tami kicked her heels off her sore feet. "Don't know for certain what he has, but they seem to be pretty sure it's the H1N1. They took blood samples to test. The County Health Department quarantined the entire team at the high school until they get the results."
"Quarantined Dad? Can they do that?" Julie was becoming upset. "What kind of a militant state do we live in?"
Tami tried hard to keep her emotions in check. "Yes, they can, and they did. I don't like it either, Julie. Your Dad told me he didn't want to be around you or Gracie while he's contagious. Unfortunately, we all may have already been exposed."
Then, Tami pulled the prescriptions out of the bag and handed Julie hers. "I called Dr. Morgan, and he prescribed Tamiflu for all of us. You need to take a dose now, then one a day for ten days. This is very important: Do not miss a dose. And the nurses gave me the whole sterilizing process and hand washing routine."
Looking at the prescription, Julie said, "Mom, I heard that Tamiflu has all kinds of bad side effects. I don't know if I want to take it or not. I feel the same way about the vaccine. I don't want to be a guinea pig."
Tami sighed, "Eric and I took our first dose today. So far, so good."
Julie exerted her control by not accepting the bottle. "Yeah, well, I don't know."
Tami looked her daughter straight in the eye. "I just left your Dad and the other team members tonight when I brought him his prescription. These guys are about your age, ant they're all so sick. These big, strong, healthy guys have been knocked on their butts."
Tami paused for a moment. When met with silence from her daughter, she went on. "I've never seen your father this sick. He was so out of it with fever ... He didn't even know I was there." Tami began to cry. "When it first came on, he called me to tell me he was sick. He said it hit him fast and hard and that he felt really bad. Now, he looks really bad. And I had to leave him there."
Wiping tears from her eyes, she continued. "I'm not going to lie to you, Jules ... I'm worried about him. And I'm worried about you and Gracie. I don't know what I'd do if you and Gracie were to become as sick as Eric." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "What happens if they quarantine Dillon High, and they won't let me come home? Can they do that? Heck yes, they can."
Tami looked up to the sky, sorry she wasn't stronger. "I'm sorry. I'm really worried about a lot of things tonight."
"Dad's going to be okay." Julie went over very calmly and hugged her mom. Then, she took the prescription bottle from her mother's hand. "I'm going to research Tamiflu on the net. I'll try and keep an open mind."
"Don't wait too long," Tami sniffled. "It's only effective when taken early. You should get the first dose into your body before you go to bed tonight."
About an hour later, Julie popped her head into her Mom's bedroom. Tami was trying to concentrate on some work files she brought home. She couldn't sleep. All she could think about was Eric.
"Hey, Mom?" Julie thought maybe she was interrupting her mom. "I decided to take the Tamiflu."
Tami looked up at her beautiful daughter. "I think you made a very wise decision."
At 5:00 a.m., Tami's cell phone rang. Only a few hours before, she dozed off. At the ring, she jumped into a sitting position in bed and grabbed her phone.
"Tami? Hi, this is Kayla," said the nurse. "I promised you an update when I got off shift. There hasn't been any change since you were here. Coach Taylor is still running a fever of almost 103.0 which seems to be the pattern with this outbreak. He's been sleeping since you left, but we're able to wake him to drink fluids and take fever reducer, and that's good."
Tami was hanging onto her every word.
Kayla continued. "He's being moved out of the gymnasium with a few others because some patients have begun to cough and sneeze. Some are sick to their stomachs and are vomiting. Your husband hasn't exhibited any of those symptoms, and he may not. So, they're isolating him and others with none of those symptoms, away from those who are spreading the virus. When you come to the school tonight, go to the cafeteria and ask for me. I'll take you to him."
"Okay. And thank you so much for calling me," Tami responded. She lay in bed awake and alone, a little while longer, worried about her husband.
Tami went to work the next morning. After a night of endless worry, she made the decision that she would not be back to work until her husband was home, safe and sound. The morning was spent making phone calls to the District and delegating pressing work and responsibilities during her upcoming absence.
At one point during the morning, her phone rang. It was Superintendent Paul Dunley.
"Hi, Paul," Tami said with a forced smile on her face.
"I heard you were making arrangements to take some time off. Tami, are you sick?" he was all business.
"No, I'm not. But I have been exposed to what I've been told is possibly the H1N1 virus. Our whole family has. Our family doctor put all of us on Tamiflu last night," Tami explained what she was certain he already knew.
"The lab tests came back this morning. It is, in fact, the H1N1 virus. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this," Paul sounded sincere.
"Do they have any idea where this came from?" Tami was trying to remain calm.
"East Dillon played an away game last Friday against South Millbank. We've gotten word that the virus appeared in South Millbank players this weekend. We didn't get word until yesterday. In all probability, the Lions probably picked it up either through contact during the game or most likely, in their locker rooms. South Millbank has been closed, just as East Dillon has been closed. The stadium locker rooms have been closed. The CDC is working with us on tracking this outbreak."
"Oh, Paul. This is very scary," she said. Remaining calm was becoming harder and harder.
"Yes, it is. Now listen to me. Not only do I want you to stay home until this is over, but I want your daughter out of school, too. I've talked to the attendance office. There are four other students in addition to your daughter who have familial connections with the East Dillon Lions team, and we will be sending those students home as well," Paul explained. "You don't need to worry about any of this. We'll take care of it. You just need to collect your things and your daughter. Go home and ride this out."
"Oh, and one other thing, I've asked the school nurse to come in and take both your and your daughter's temperatures before you leave," he ordered. "We can't take any chances."
"Okay," Tami was becoming alarmed. "Are you thinking about closing my school?" she asked, afraid of being quarantined at school. She even felt herself to see if she was warm.
"We're watching all the schools very carefully," Paul explained. "So far, there has been no reason to close any other schools, but this situation is fluid. I'm telling you things that are not for public knowledge. I know you will be the professional woman you are and not say anything to anyone to cause unnecessary panic or alarm. Because your family has been directly impacted with Eric's illness, I want you to have as much information as I have."
"I appreciate that, Paul. And yes, Julie and I will be leaving immediately," she agreed.
"You all take care ... Take care of your family. You all are in my prayers. I'll see you and Eric on the other side of this one," Paul again seemed sincere.
"Thanks, Paul. I'm sure we'll come through just fine," she said and hung up the phone.
Tami called the guidance counselor and asked that they pull Julie out of class immediately for the day and gather homework assignments for her. The counselors were well aware of the drill for Julie and the four other students. In a few minutes, Julie came into her mother's office followed by the school nurse who put on a mask and gloves. Julie's eyes got really big.
"What's going on?" her daughter asked.
"Honey, they need to take our temperature because your Dad's in quarantine," Tami explained.
The nurse took Tami's temperature in her ear first. "98.2," the nurse said and ejected the disposable tip into a plastic bag. Then, she checked Julie's. "98.6." The nurse's eyes smiled above her mask. "Well, that's good news."
"Yes, it is," Tami let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, we're leaving now. So, if anyone comes down with a virus here at Dillon High, you all can't blame Julie or me." She smiled a forced smile.
Once in the car, Tami called her sister who was waiting at their house. Julie listened to her mother explain to her aunt what had just happened. After the call, Tami decided to pick Gracie up from daycare on the way home.
"You heard what I told your Aunt Shelley?" Tami asked.
"Yeah," Julie was very quiet.
"Do you have any questions?" Tami asked.
"Are we under quarantine at our house?" Julie wanted to know.
Tami winced. "Not exactly. But once the news comes out that East Dillon was hit with the H1N1 virus and people find out that Eric has it … we'll be treated like we have the damn plague." She paused a minute. "I'm pretty sure the news will come out today. I'm guessing on the 5 o'clock news."
Tami was thinking on her feet. "I better send Aunt Shelley to the store with a list to stock us up for seven to ten days. And I'm sure Gracie will not be allowed at daycare once the news breaks, so we'll need diapers, too."
"Does that mean I can't see Matt?" she looked stricken.
Tami sighed. "As long as you have a normal temperature, you're not contagious. And that goes for him, too. But you're going to have to be careful, Honey. It's not just Matt, what about his grandmother?"
"We'll just have to be careful," Julie said.
"Until this virus scare is over, careful, as in no kissing, no mucous contact, and very frequent hand washing. Honey, when I saw your father last night, as much as I needed to touch him and kiss him good night, I couldn't," Tami shared. "You and Matt are going to have to be very adult about this, as I know you will."
After Gracie was picked up from daycare, the Taylor girls went home. Shelley had already let herself in with her key. Tami decided to go shopping with Shelly to stock them up just in case they couldn't go back to the store. After bringing all the groceries in the house and putting them away. Tami lay down for a couple of hours until it was time for her to go back to East Dillon. She couldn't believe how close she came to being quarantined at her school, separated from her family. And once again, all she could think about was Eric.