DISCLAIMER: I, GWLP93, DO NOT OWN THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER...NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT, DESPITE ALL MY WISHING...

A/N: So this is my first SLOTAT story...tell me what you think about it and if I should continue...I have some dramatic and exciting stuff in store for this story, so if you want more please tell me...now, onto why you're reading this in the first place...

The hot water running over her tired muscles felt heavenly. Amy was just glad that the long day was over. John had been fussing needlessly all day and had demanded to be held at all possible times. Ricky had left a while ago, and it had taken her almost an hour to calm John down after his father left. After he finally calmed down she had jumped in the shower for some much needed relaxation time. Now she was just standing under the hot spray, already having washed her body and hair.

Amy was just wondering how long this peace and quiet would last when she heard John start crying in her bedroom. Sighing, she turned off the hot water and quickly stepped out of the shower. She secured her towel around her chest and ran into her room.

"What's wrong, baby? What do you need?" she cooed as she picked up a screaming John. She held him close and rocked him back and forth, but that didn't soothe the troubled baby. "Alright, let's try some food," she said, sitting down on her bed and pulling her towel down. John latched on for a few seconds, but then let go and resumed his crying. Starting to get frustrated, Amy pulled her towel back up. "Maybe you just need to be changed." She stood and walked over to the changing table, setting John down. He continued to cry as she unsnapped his onsie and removed his diaper. "A clean diaper! What is it that's got you so upset?" Amy quickly put on a new diaper, snapped his onsie, and picked him up. She was really getting frustrated now.

Amy reached for her phone and was about to dial her mom's number when she remembered her mom was on a date with David. Her mom was staying over at his house and had left her cell phone at home, saying that if there was an emergency Amy should just call George. So she dialed her dad's number and waited while it rung. John was still crying when she got his voicemail. She hung up the phone, now incredibly frustrated. Her dad and Ashley must have gone out to dinner, and now when she really needed some help, no one was around. She rocked John back and forth, humming absentmindedly as she wondered what to do next. It was almost midnight, and she had school tomorrow. She was exhausted and just wanted some sleep.

As John's cries increased in volume, Amy was almost in tears herself. She then decided to call Ricky. He might be able to calm John down. She quickly dialed his number and waited impatiently as it rang.

"'Ello?" A groggy voice said on the other side.

"Ricky?" Amy said in a small voice, trying to hold back her tears.

"Amy?" Ricky said, suddenly alert. "What's wrong? Why is John crying?"

"I don't know," Amy said desperately. "I tried to feed him, but he wouldn't eat, and I changed his diaper, and I tried everything I could think of but he won't calm down. And my mom's not here, and I don't know where my dad is, and I don't know what to do!" By now the tears had started to fall down her cheeks as she explained what was going on.

"Ok, Amy, just calm down," Ricky said, trying to soothe her. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes and then we'll figure this out, okay?"

"Okay," Amy sniffed, grateful that someone was finally able to help.

"I'll see you soon. Bye," and with that, Ricky hung up the phone.

Amy sunk down onto her bed, still rocking John back and forth, trying to comfort him. She tried to come up with a reason for the baby's incessant cries, but could think of nothing. She kissed John's forehead, humming a lullaby, when she noticed that he was a little warmer than usual. She became even more worried and quickly got up to look for the thermometer. She searched throughout her bathroom with no luck. Going down the stairs to the kitchen with John still cradled in her arms, she began looking in all the cupboards.

There was a knock at the door as she was searching through the kitchen. She would have laughed in relief if John wasn't still crying. She quickly rushed to the door and opened it, revealing a haggard looking Ricky. She pulled him into the house and closed the door. His eyebrows rose as he looked her up and down.

"Let me guess: you were showering when John started crying?" he stated, almost amused. Amy blushed when she realized that she was still in her towel; she had been so occupied with taking care of John that she had forgotten to put clothes on.

"Yeah," she murmured, handing the crying baby to Ricky. "Take him while I go change."

She then ran up the stairs and quickly pulled on sweats and a T-shirt, carelessly pulling her damp hair into a messy bun. As she turned toward her bedroom door, she suddenly got dizzy and had difficulty breathing. She grabbed onto her bedpost to keep from falling over, but the dizziness passed as suddenly as it came, and she was able to gain control of her breathing. She shook her head to clear it and told herself that the dizziness was probably because of lack of sleep. Hearing John's crying quiet a little, she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. There she found Ricky rocking John, who was only fussing now.

"I think he has a little fever," she stated walking into the kitchen and continuing her search for the thermometer.

Ricky pressed his lips to John's forehead and then nodded in agreement. "What are you looking for?"

"The thermometer, I know I just had it, but now it magically disappeared," Amy said, frustrated.

Ricky looked thoughtful for a second before replying, "I think I saw it in the silverware drawer, next to the spoons."

Amy's head snapped up in surprise. She walked over to the drawer mumbling, "Why would a thermometer be in the silverware..." Her sentence stopped as she opened the drawer and saw the thermometer laying next to the spoons. "Oh," she said, surprised. "Thanks."

Ricky nodded in reply. Amy carried the thermometer over to the table where Ricky was standing holding John.

"The doctor said that we should take his temperature rectally for the first couple of months," Amy said, avoiding eye contact with Ricky. "I think you're going to have to do it, I don't think I can."

Ricky looked hesitant for a moment, but then he handed John to Amy. "Alright, I'll do it, but you get diaper duty for tonight."

Amy nodded quickly and took John into her arms, sitting down at the table to unwrap his blanket and unsnap his onsie. She removed his diaper, relieved to find that he was at least still going pee. That had to mean that he wasn't terribly sick, right? She gently laid him on the table on top of his blanket and lifted his legs, holding his thighs against his chest so that Ricky could take his temperature. She didn't look as Ricky inserted the thermometer, and she cooed at John as he started to cry in discomfort. They both tried to soothe John as they waited for the beep from the thermometer. The device finally beeped and they both sighed in relief as Ricky removed the thermometer and looked at the reading.

"100.1," Ricky said, reading the display screen. Amy put a fresh diaper on John and snapped his onsie into place.

"That's not really bad, right?" she asked with relief in her voice as she picked John up and cradled him in her arms.

"No, I don't think so," Ricky replied. "But I think we should call his pediatrician to make sure."

"Alright, well I'm going to try to feed him again now that he's more comfortable," Amy said, putting the blanket over her shoulder to cover her exposed breast while John nursed. Ricky nodded and picked up the phone while she pulled up her shirt and got John to latch on and start nursing.

"Is he eating now?" Ricky asked while dialing the pediatrician's number.

"Yeah," Amy replied, relieved.

Ricky waited patiently while the phone rang, watching Amy as she nursed John. A woman groggily answered the phone.

"Dr. Greening?" Ricky asked as Amy tried to listen to what was being said. "Hi, this is Ricky Underwood, John Juergens' father, and I was calling because my son has a bit of a fever, and we're not sure what to do."

Amy assumed the woman asked what John's temperature was because Ricky said, "100.1...Yeah, he's nursing right now, and he just needed a diaper change...Okay, is there anything else we need to do? ...Alright, well thank you so much...Trust me, I won't forget...Okay, bye." He hung up the phone after thanking the woman again and turned to Amy and his nursing son.

"The doctor says that it's probably nothing to worry about, and that we should monitor his temperature all night to see if it goes up. She said that if it goes down during the night and stays down then he should be fine to go back to daycare by Friday." Ricky relayed the news given to him by the doctor as he leaned against the counter. Amy sagged in relief and nodded.

"Is there anything we can do to make him more comfortable in the meantime?" she questioned, wondering if anyone was going to get any sleep tonight.

Ricky nodded, saying, "She said we could give him a sponge bath in lukewarm water and keep him in light clothes and blankets."

"Okay," Amy replied, "we can give him the bath after he's done nursing and then put him in his lighter clothes." Ricky nodded in agreement and slumped down into the chair next to Amy. They both looked exhausted, but they knew that the night was far from over.

So please tell me what you thought...even if you didn't like it.