Hello everybody. Here I am with another one- shot. And another birthday present. This is actually the last of the birthday presents- of the ones I've got planned for the moment at least. And this one is for TamJaspie who is turning sixteen today. So to you TamJaspie- a very happy birthday. And I hope you enjoy this story.
"Tracy- you could stay home today you know. Especially if you're not feeling well." Cam told me and placed a glass of water in front of me on the kitchen table. I had- just a few minutes gotten so dizzy I had fainted- and was just lucky Cam had been right there.
"I told you I'm fine." I answered her. "I just stood up too fast." I took the glass and drank from it slowly. "Really, Cam. I'm fine!" Cam didn't answer, but that smile and the worried look in her eyes along with that she reached out and took my hand in hers spoke for itself.
"Are you sure? Maybe I should stay home just for another day so if something happens…" I sighed- Cam was going to London for the next week, for some conference and she was going a few days early to just spend the weekend in London and have a good time on her own.
"Really Cam!" I sighed and slowly stood up and went to put the glass in the dishes. "I'm okay, you need to go now so you don't miss your train." I hugged her. "And Toby's coming over for today and tomorrow which would be his birthday and everything will be fine." Cam didn't seem convinced. "I'll call you if something happens"
At that she finally seemed happy and she hugged me once more, grabbed her bag and then hurried out the door. Not until I had been standing by the window and watched her cab leave since long and was absolutely sure she wouldn't return I allowed myself to slump down on the sofa and put the tips of my fingers towards my forehead where I felt the pounding of a beginning headache.
I sat like that for a good while, before I stood up and searched the kitchen cupboard for an aspirin. I found one and took it. But didn't have time to wait for it to work before I had to grab my coat and my own bag and headed towards the dumping ground where Toby was arriving almost at the exact same time as me.
"Oh it's so nice to see you Toby." I hugged him and greeted his foster parents. "Come on in, everyone's looked forward to you coming for weeks!" I opened the door and for them it probably seemed like I was being polite and holding the door open- when it fact I was hit by another dizziness spell and had to hold on to the door not to fall.
"Hey Toby." Mike hugged Toby when I came in and then Toby just moved on with hugging Gina, and Carmen and Tee… and so it went on until he shook hands with Tyler, Rick and Jody. "Are you okay Tracy?"
I had been standing leaning against the wall in the hallway and mostly was silently self- pitying about how the headache was pounding worse and worse beneath my forehead. I didn't look up until I heard Mike say my name and played his voice over in my head to hear what he had asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied and forced myself to smile at him. Mike frowned and didn't seem convinced, but we were both interrupted when Harry came running out in the hallway, grabbed me by the hand with one hand holding onto Jeff as well. And Mike with the other and pulled us out in the kitchen where Gina had been making pizza for lunch.
"This is really good!" Jody told Gina, just barely making the words understandable through all the pizza she had in her mouth. "I wish we could eat pizza every day!" She turned back towards her pizza and shoved the rest of the slice into her mouth.
"Not if Tracy makes them!" Frank shouted. "She put banana on them!" Jody grimaced and I couldn't help but shake my head at the memories of that night. "And then I and Liam tried to se… eat them with loads of ketchup and they were disgusting." I shook my head again- carefully because it made me dizzy.
"I remember that night!" Toby was the next one to raise his voice. "It was the night Mike was put in quarantine because I thought he had Ebola." Some of the ones that had been there that night- including Toby himself snorted with laughter. When it happened it had been more or less traumatic for all of us, now it mostly seemed silly and was made a joke.
"What's Ebola?" Jody asked, Toby grimaced- he and no one else wanted to explain that disease to Jody, or any other eight year old.
"Mike can tell you." Toby said fast and turned back to his friends on the other side of the table. Mike sighed and tried to get Jody to concentrate on another slice of pizza- which wasn't hard to manage. I… well I on the other hand had to put all of my concentration to keep on eating without throwing up because with every little piece I swallowed there followed a wave of nausea.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Mike asked again and rubbed my back slightly. "You look very pale!" I took a deep breath to ease the nausea again- which it took to actually make it seem like I was telling him the truth.
Mike still didn't seem like he believed me. "It's okay Mike." I forced myself to say. "I ate before I came here though so I'm still really full. I'll go do some paper work to have that done." Oh boy- me doing paper work by my own choice. Now Mike would really know there was something wrong, although when I stood up and walked to the dishes with my plate and glass Jody called for his attention again.
Several times on the way from the kitchen to the office I had to stop and take support against a wall or a piece of furniture not to fall. And when I at last could slump down in the sofa by the window I was so dizzy I barely knew up from down. Also the nausea had gotten worse but I didn't want to stand up again- or more likely wasn't sure if I could so I reached for a trash can and put it on the side hoping that I wouldn't get any use for it.
Mike POV
When Tracy walked out of the room I wanted to walk after her and really check so she was telling me the truth when she said she was okay. But Jody started asking questions again, about Chihuahuas this time and by the time she still was asking me questions about everything between heaven and earth until suddenly Gus came walking into the kitchen and walked up to me with a distressed facial expression.
"Mike… why is Tracy throwing up in the office?" I stopped in the middle of answering Jody another question. "She should be in the bathroom or at least at home!" I froze for a second, then quickly got onto my feet and ran out of the kitchen and towards the office hoping that Gus for once in a life time would be wrong.
But of course he wouldn't be wrong and pushing the door open I found Tracy lying in the sofa by the windows with her head on the edge and the trash can placed below. For the moment Tracy wasn't throwing up, but I could see and smell that she had and now she was breathing deeply which I recognized as the way to try and ease the nausea after getting sick.
"Trace." I kneeled by her and pushed the dark tresses away from her forehead to feel it. God she was burning up! How had I been able to miss this? How I had I been able to let it go and turn to others when I hadn't missed it? "Are you alright?"
Tracy whimpered without words and looked up at me for a split second before she turned back towards the bucket and the floor and pressed her eyes shut while she slightly whimpered again. "Oh you poor thing. Come on! You can't stay in here. Let's get you to the quiet room where you can lay down for real?" I supported Tracy and grabbed the trash can with my other hand.
"It's okay, you're doing great." I said to try and give Tracy as much of both physical and mental support as we slowly made our way through the office and then through the hallway. "I'm right here, you've got nothing to worry about." Tracy moaned and leaned her head against my shoulder. "You're okay."
"What's going on?" Rick came through the hallway and took Tracy's other arm to help me support her. "Tracy are you okay?" Tracy just whimpered again and I held a finger to my lips to Rock. I had a feeling that Tracy couldn't answer because it took her all to stay on her feet and keep on walking.
I heard the other still chattering and laughing in the kitchen, and then back to Tracy and her pale expression and clammy forehead. If it would be so that I could I would have taken this all away from her and put up with it myself. I hated seeing all of my children in pain or not feeling well and would always wish that I could take it instead of them.
"Seth had caught something last week." Tracy whimpered. "I must have caught it from him. But he didn't seem to get this ill." She sunk down into the sofa and sunk into the cushions as she was too weak to hold her body upright. "Ow… Mike I don't feel well!" The hopeless, weak tone in her voice and she could just as well have hit me right in the heart.
"I know Trace. RICK" Tracy moaned when I shouted- she probably had a headache and I sat down on the table and stroke her forehead just as Rick appeared in the doorway. "Can you get the thermometer from the bathroom cupboard?" Rick nodded and then disappeared out of my sight again. "Where does it hurt Trace?"
"My head," Tracy whimpered. "My stomach, feel dizzy, nauseas." Suddenly Tracy pushed herself up and pulled herself up in my lap. "Mike… can I stay here?" I frowned- wouldn't it be better if I called Cam or drove her home myself? "Cam's in London. She won't be home for another week and I can't destroy her vacation. Please Mike, if this is what Seth had then it should be better tomorrow just please don't make me go home. I don't want to be alone."
I frowned, I wasn't exactly sure it would be good to stay here. It might catch onto the others and there was no privacy. But seeing Tracy look up at me with those pleading brown eyes and I couldn't tell her no.
"Sure you can stay here kiddo." I took the thermometer when Rick came back with it and asked him to close the door on his way out. "I'm just going to hold this in your ear for a few seconds okay?" Tracy moaned, but didn't protest and held her head still while I carefully grabbed her ear and put the thermometer in her ear.
"39,3." I read out loud from the thermometer. "Oh Tracy…" She must have been feeling really ill already before she came here. And still hadn't told me. "I'll go get something more comfortable for you to wear." I gently pushed her away from me and down towards the sofa and stood up when I realized Tracy's jeans, T- shirt and beanie were all soaking with sweat.
I, Tracy and Gina all had extra sets of clothes here- PJ's, extra pieces of clothing… And realizing that Tracy as usual had forgotten to bring anything here, I grabbed a pair of my own sweatpants and one of my T- shirts. It would be more comfortable anyway… and if she got sick again the stains wouldn't really bother me…
"Here. You had forgotten to bring new clothes here again." I handed her my clothes. "I'll wait outside for a bit. You just change, and just holler if you need me okay?" Tracy nodded tiredly while I backed a few steps and then turned around and walked out and carefully closed the door after me before I just waited right outside the door just in case something would happen.
"Mike!" Toby come by and I could guess what was happening. "What's going on with Tracy…" He had a book with him and I quickly reached for it and closed it before he had gotten way too obsessed. "…Maybe she's had bad chicken and had salmonella?" Toby looked worried and I did my best to look calm and comforting and smiled at him.
"Toby, didn't you learn anything from the last time that happened?" Toby bit his lip. "Don't worry. Just go have fun with the others. If there is any intention that this is anything worse than what Tracy's boyfriend had last week then I'll take her to the hospital… deal?" Toby nodded and seemed to calm down at least for now before he turned around and walked down the hallway again.
"Mike" Okay- time to explain this for Gus! This might not be quite as simple as making a deal with Toby. "It says…" He showed me some book. "It says that when a person is throwing up it means that there is bacteria that they need to get up…" Gus looked thoughtful. "Does that mean that when someone is throwing up that you should make them throw up more until they've gotten it all up?"
I sighed- sometimes it would always be impressive how Gus would think things out like that. It wasn't more than logic but it was just… bizarre!
"No Gus." I answered him at last. "You shouldn't make them throw up. If there is more they'll need to throw up then it will happen by itself!" I heard Tracy from inside the room. "I'll be back when I can, you go out to the others again." I opened the door and walked back into the room where I just couldn't help but smile- to say that my clothes were way too big for Tracy would be an understatement.
"Do you need anything?" I walked over and took her hand in mine sitting down next to her. She didn't answer but squeezed my fingers and leaned against my shoulder and into my lap. I carefully started playing with her hair and then just held her with my other arm and hand.
"Can I have some water?" Tracy asked. She looked and sounded so weak she would have me wrapped around her finger so much I would have let her go to the moon if that's what she have asked for. But I couldn't move because I didn't want to have her let go at this point- and even when I tried she wouldn't!
"Tracy you need to… I'll get water but I… TEE?" I had seen Tee walk by the room just a second ago so I shouted for her and I heard her steps quickly coming closer to the quiet room. "Can you get some water and a glass?"
"Yes of course." Tee turned around and out of my sight again and was gone for a moment before she came back. "Here" She put the water on the bedside table and the glass next to it. "Is there anything else you need?" I shook my head and gestured to her that it was just for her to go back to the others again. "Okay, you know where I am."
I didn't leave the quiet room much that forenoon and for the earliest part of the afternoon. It was not that I would have wanted to leave but every time I had to, to go to the bathroom or whatever. Tracy would look at me with such puppy eyes I had to force myself to look away or close my eyes to even be able to leave the room.
In fact Tracy would be half asleep most of the time, and me sitting either by the edge of the bed and stroking her hair or in one of the arm chairs with a book or today's paper. Tracy would throw up again every once in a while and I would feel helpless but force my own feelings away as I just continued doing what I could with stroking her back and telling her to take deep breaths.
For a moment I remembered once, just as Tracy had come to the dumping ground the first time and there was some stomach flu going around. Zac, Ryan, Maxy, Peter…. And so at last Tracy. The a difference between Tracy then and Tracy now was huge. Almost especially since then she had refused to let anyone close to comfort her-
Late in the afternoon it seemed to be all silent in the house. The older residents had gone out on town, the ones a bit younger were wherever and the ones left were in their rooms doing what they wanted. It was rare that the dumping ground was this quiet and usually I would have taken the moment to do paper work or work around the house, or just be glad it was finally quiet and take a nap. But right now it just didn't matter- I just wanted Tracy to get better.
"Mike." I woke up with a start when someone spoke my name and first didn't realize I had fallen asleep until I looked around and saw that it was almost one in the morning. I looked around, Tracy was asleep on the bed still so she could not have been sick again since the afternoon since that would have woken me up. But if Tracy wasn't awake- who was talking to me?
I looked around and saw Harry standing by the door, it was barely opened and most of the young boy was covered by the door. I could only see his arm holding Jeff and about half of his face before I stood up, walked over and kneeled by Harry.
"What is it Harry?" I lifted my hand and stroke away a curl that had fallen into his eyes. "Oh… Jeff can't sleep?" Harry hugged Jeff tighter towards his pyjamas patterned with giraffes but didn't answer. "Harry! You know that whatever it is that you or Jeff are thinking about or feeling you can talk to me. I won't get mad!"
"Jeff is scared Tracy's going to die!" I frowned, and then carefully hugged Harry to show him it was okay before I answered. I should have understood me not leaving Tracy's side during the whole time she was ill and not telling the others anything would have been scary on the younger kids- especially Harry since he was usually worried when someone wasn't well.
"Well Jeff." I was careful to talk both to Harry and his stuffed giraffe when I spoke again. "Tracy isn't going to die. She's just got some bug. And it will pass. I bet she will feel a lot better already in the morning." Harry nodded but hugged Jeff tightly and looked to the floor. "Can't Jeff sleep anyway?" Harry shook his head. "Do you and Jeff want me to come and sit with you until you have fallen asleep?"
At first Harry didn't answer, then he slowly bobbed his head up and down. "Okay, come on." I took a step forward and took him under the arms to lift him up on my hip. "You'll see this will be just fine. You don't feel sick or anything do you?" Suddenly the thought hit me that this bug was probably going to spread around. Harry shook his head quietly and leaned his head against my shoulder. "Good."
I carried him back to his bed and carefully lied him down onto the mattress and tucked the covers around him, sitting down on the chair that was put by the bed for us when we read him stories at night. Harry fell asleep almost right away and I tip-toed out of the room and back to the quiet room.
Tracy had been asleep when I left with Harry- otherwise I wouldn't have left her. And I thought that the worst part of her bug was over since she hadn't been sick for so long. But when I came back she sat up in bed with her arms wrapped around her stomach and tears silently dripping from her eyelashes down on her cheeks.
"Hey." I sat down on the bed and patted her foot. It maybe wasn't much- but it was what I could do for the moment. "Do you want some more water?" Tracy shook her head. "Are you going to get sick again?" She didn't answer, and I knew for a fact that in this phase that was a yes and scooted over to sit behind her and grabbed the bucket.
Tracy leaned against me and whimpered. I couldn't do else then stroke her hair and her back and try and calm her down. At the same time as it almost hurt me physically when I heard the painful dry heaving wrenching her small figure. And I couldn't help but to close my eyes and wish and beg to God about him letting me do this instead of Tracy.
I forced the thoughts away, this wasn't about me! I just had to get on with it. I wasn't sure about how long it took for the heaving to stop this time but it felt like hours to me until I could put the bucket away again and embrace Tracy tightly to just hold her again. There wasn't anything else for me to do then to just hold her tight, wipe the tears and calm her down.
I reached for the thermometer that I had put on the bedside table to have it close because I felt I needed to keep an eye on Tracy's temperature. It had gone a bit up and down, and I kept on having a weird feeling I was missing something that I should have noticed by now as I put the thermometer into her ear.
Tracy's temperature had gone up, it was almost at 39 degrees now at 38,9. I felt a gust of worry but the temp still wasn't too high so I couldn't quite figure out why it was- I just had this weirdest feeling! And I carefully held the glass up for Tracy to drink, almost forced her to do it and that hurt me too but- I knew I had to or matters would only get worse!
I sat back in the chair by the window and started riffling in some paper that lied on the table and looked through it mostly to have something to do while Trace had fallen asleep again. I couldn't concentrate anyway so I did what I could to make the time go faster- and fell asleep again.
I lost count on how many times I was woken up that night by Tracy dry- heaving again. And some time in the middle of it all I decided that if things hadn't gotten better in the morning by the time Gina came at seven I would take Tracy to the hospital.
"Mike? You okay man?" I woke up with a start once again when Gina had been coming and stood in the room. I rubbed my eyes and nodded- yeah, I couldn't say I wasn't. Tracy was asleep again for the moment and I could only hope that it would continue like that. Maybe just this time would be that time!
"I will go into the kitchen and fix the breakfast for the kids in a minute." She put a plastic tray on the small table lifting two sandwiches, cereal with milk and coffee. "I figured you probably couldn't get away from here so I got you this first."
Not until now I realized how long it actually had been since I ate something last and how hungry I was. So I quickly turned to the sandwiches and the coffee to keep me from falling asleep anything more. "Thanks Gina you're the best." I said between the bites. "Oh my… oh did you…" I hadn't finished the sentence when Tracy whimpered and started opening her eyes. "Hey."
I shot up from the chair and over to the bed where Tracy just as soon as she had woken up started pushing herself up to stand up. "I just need to go and wash myself." Tracy mumbled. "I can go on my own." I backed a few steps but kept an eye on her- which turned out to be right done as when she fell I just had the time to shoot forward and catch her.
"Tracy?" I shook her as much as was possible holding her up. "Tracy, can you hear me?" Gina came hurrying over and with her help I managed to kind of spin Tracy around so I could just lift her up. "I'll take her to the hospital." I didn't hesitate anymore- I should have taken her to the hospital hours ago when her temperature had risen over 39,5.
When I drove up in front of the emergency room Tracy had woken up, even though she was still drowsy and obviously too drowsy to protest since I knew normally she didn't like going to the hospital. Even though Tracy had tried and tell me she was fine even though it was obvious she wasn't.
"HELP." I didn't know anything else to do than to shout for help coming through the doors. Tracy more hanging on my shoulders than she was standing on her own two feet when we came. "PLEASE HELP."
After that everything just went very fast, a few nurses came running with a stretcher. Someone else was more or less lifting Tracy away from me and up on the stretcher and then pushed her away from me while I did my best to run after.
"Sir, sir." A nurse came up to me while I had explained what had been going on. "You need to leave this room now." I wanted to stay with Tracy, but still knew that leaving and letting the doctors do their job would be the best option for Tracy and therefore left the room and walked back into the waiting room where I sat down and couldn't do else then just wait.
"Sir?" A bit later someone came and spoke to me and I quickly stood up. "Are you father to Tracy Beaker?" I didn't quite know what to answer- I kind of was the closest thing but no… At last I nodded as I was afraid I wouldn't get to see her. "May I see an ID?" I quickly searched my pockets and pulled out a card, then had to explain the whole case to the nurse, wait for another good while and then I finally got to go into the room that Tracy lied in.
"She's suffering from dehydration so we're giving her fluid through an IV." The nurse told me. "We've also given her something to keep her temperature from going up now when she's here. We'd like to keep her under observation until her temperature has gone back to normal and we might keep her here over night. But she's going to be just fine. You can stay with her as long as you'd like- or well, until the visiting hours are over at four PM"
I nodded and sat down by the bed taking Tracy's small hand in my bigger. The nurse left the room and Tracy was drowsy barely awake. "Oh silly!" I stated. "Why did you need to scare me like that hey?" I had for sure gotten quiet worried when Tracy would only get worse and not better as of just a bug.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled. But I couldn't do else then tell her it was nothing to be sorry for and stroke her over the forehead to feel that the temperature might have slightly gone down since the last time I checked.
"Hello guys." I shouted through the hallway when I came back to the dumping ground. "Is anybody home?" It was quiet for a moment and then it started sounding of chairs pushed towards the floor and people running down towards the hallway where I had just come in.
"How's Tracy?"
"Why did she have to go to the hospital?"
"Is Tracy really ill?"
"KIIIIIIDS" At last Gina's shout silent all of the kids and I got a chance to talk to speak myself and more or less pushed them towards the kitchen where they sat down around the table or jumped up to sit on the kitchen bench before I started talking.
"I took Tracy to the hospital because she wasn't getting better, in fact matters got worse and she fainted and I got worried. At the hospital they found out she was very dehydrated, her body had lost loads of fluid from the throwing up and she couldn't keep anything down. But they gave her an IV, and they want to keep her for observation during the night, she talked me into going back here and yes she's going to be just fine."
There were relieved sighs and words from the kids. "So… She forced me to go back here to be here to celebrate Toby's birthday so…." I clapped the birthday boy's shoulder. "You didn't start the party without me did you?" The others answered me no and I went to get the big bag that we had gathered Toby's birthday presents in.
"Happy birthday to you…" I started singing when I came back and Gina had gotten up the birthday cake on the kitchen island and took it on a plate and had lit the candles. The other children sang, and covered their ears to close out my voice- I didn't exactly have the best singing voice of the people in here- or the five people with the worst voices on earth!
"Thanks guys." Toby bit his lip. "I only wish for Tracy to get better so she can come here and celebrate with us." He blew out the candles- all at once. And I couldn't help but smile quite sadly when I remembered what the doctor had said about keeping Tracy for observation over- night "Just in case"
"Great wish Toby." I clapped his shoulder and watched Gina cut pieces of the cake. I took one of them and searched up a small carton that I put in the fridge with a piece to give to Tracy later- on. After all- from seven to nine at night it was visiting hours as well so maybe I could sneak in then.
"Here Toby." Tee reached Toby a birthday card that she had made. "Happy birthday!" Toby happily took the card and looked over the stickers with comic- figures and the letters written "Happy birthday Toby" with stickers as well.
"Hey…" Toby suddenly seemed to have an idea. "Since it's my birthday, it would be my chance to decide what we should do right?" Toby looked questioning up at me and I couldn't do else then agree. "Well, I think we should make Tracy each get- well-card. And then… Tee have you got any ideas on how we could put them all together and kind of make them a scrapbook?" Tee nodded.
"Well… babes." Gina's voice sounded kind of distressed. "That's a wonderful idea but… Tracy's going to be just fine and remember- this is your day so… don't worry too much about her okay?" Toby shook her head and promised that it would be more fun than anything else.
"So let's get this party started." When everyone had brought everything that could be used for making cards onto the kitchen table and gotten everyone in old clothes it wouldn't do anything if they got glue, paint and glitter all over themselves on Toby started with a quote from a p!nk- song and I couldn't help but to be filled up with happiness sand pride when I saw everyone sitting around and just talk and laugh without anyone of them fighting over anything. Even Elektra sat and made a get- well card for Tracy.
"Oh this is awesome." I riffled through it with all of the children when they had somehow managed to tie the papers together. "Tracy will love this." Every single one of the cards you could see who made it on the certain details. And every single one was beautiful in its own way.
Harry's was covered with stickers of giraffes, Elektra's was done in blue, grey and brown, Carmen's was mostly pink, Jody's was a big mess of stickers and glitter and all of whatever else they had had to use. Even Gus had made one with stickers lined up in perfectly straight lines and thin, grey lines drawn in a perfect pattern over the page.
"Time for presents for Toby." Gina came carrying on the big bag we had put all of his presents in but never gone to open until now. But Toby didn't touch the bag and looked up at me and I saw that little spark in his eyes that would mean he had gotten a new idea. "What are you thinking babes?" Gina sounded distressed, as if she knew it might not be a good idea.
"Well… I wanted to have my party at, and with the dumping ground but… There's no real dumping ground without Tracy so… maybe if Tracy can't come to the party… the party will need to come to Tracy!" He looked up at me- Toby would seem only nice and kind when people first met him. But I knew him well- and there was more mischief in that boy than anyone could ever have guessed.
Toby knew that the doctors probably wouldn't like it if all of us came- all fifteen of us along with a big bag of presents came and wanted to spend time and have a birthday party in the hospital. He knew it very well! But he also knew that I wouldn't be the one to tell him no! Heck, it was worth a try!
"Everybody get in the van." I stated. "Gina take that bag. I'll get the keys." I went into the office and got my jacket and the keys and then walked out in the hallway where Gina stood and I knew what the look in her eyes meant. "No Gina, I'm not sure this is a good idea. But I don't want to give up on this without even trying."
"But please." Jody almost jumped when we stood by the reception in the ER. "We're her family! All of her family. She'd want us to come!" The woman behind the reception shook her head again. "But please."
"I'm not even sure there will be enough place for everyone to stand up in the room. I'm sorry honey!" I looked around, then lifted up Lily onto my shoulders. Sapphire lifted up Harry onto hers Tee climbed up on Johnny's, and at last Rick took Carmen on his shoulders and Gina took Jody on hers.
"How about now?" Jody turned to the receptionist who sighed and bit her lip and seemed to wonder about it.
"Okay, but you've got one hour, no more. Miss Beaker needs her rest." Jody boxed in the air. "And all of you get down onto the floor. The doctors doesn't want any accidents that I am responsible for." I lifted down Lily from my shoulders and saw the others also doing the same, although Sapphire kept Harry on her shoulders.
"Tracy." I opened the door to the room and walked in by myself holding the small carton with her piece of cake that I handed to her and still didn't say anything about the others. "How you're feeling kid?" Tracy pushed herself up and sat up, she still looked tired and sweaty but she looked a lot better than what she had done when I left the hospital.
"I'm okay." She said and took the little box and the plastic spoon that lied in it but didn't eat and just sat and pushed pieces of cake back and forth. "I can't believe I missed the party." I smiled and Tracy frowned, she didn't realize what I was smiling about. "Stop smiling like that Mike, it's not funny!"
"Well." I stood up again and took the door handle. "Not exactly" I opened the door and one after one they all came running into Tracy's hospital room and I could see that sparkle light up in Tracy's eyes. "We brought the party here. We only have one hour though." Tracy didn't seem to care about the time schedule, and almost dropped the cake in excitement.
"Happy birthday Toby." Tracy smiled at him while Gina took the bag and lifted it to Toby. "Oh, you haven't even opened your present yet." Tee reached Tracy the kind of scrapbook we had made with the get- well- cards. "Oh, thank you guys I love it!" Tracy looked at the first two cards and then only sat there smiling and looking around.
"Well… If no one says anything else… can I start opening presents now?" Toby smiled and looked to the bag and I nodded to him "Let's get this party started" He grabbed the first one- a box holding a bunch of comics from Johnny while everyone else were sitting down on the floor or in chairs or wherever they could find a place to sit.
"Mike." I felt Jody tugging my sleeve and when I looked down on her I couldn't help but seeing that she looked tired, and before she had said anything else I knew what was going on. "I don't feel well." I reached out my arms and took Jody onto my lap while I felt her forehead being slightly warmer than usual.
"Well…" I started loudly to have everyone listen to me. "If anyone's not feeling well then come and tell me or Gina. Because it seems like Jody's caught it and it is contagious." I stroke Jody's hair and hugged her tightly. "So…" I sighed. "Let's get this contagion- party started as well! No one needs to worry, just have as much fun as you can okay?"
So that's it. I hope you liked it. As I'm writing this it's just finished and I'll only need to put a final touch on it. It would make my day if you took the time to leave a review. And then one last- HAPPY BIRTHDAY to TamJaspie.