A dose of adventure, with a bit of pain on the side (literally)

Trying not wince as he sat down, Jason clenched his teeth as another wave of pain through his stomach hit. He hadn't been feeling well since the night before but had hoped that he would feel better afer a night's sleep, this hadn't been the case.

"I'm not feeling well," he said, turning to face his mum who was buttering slices of toast. "Can I just go back to bed,"

Sandy snorted from where she was stood. "Good try Jase, but I think you forget that I had three others before you, I know all the skiving tricks in the book."

"But-"

"No buts," She said in a singsong voice, ignorant to the hit of pain in Jason's stomach as his brothers all chuckled around the kitchen table. "What is it? A test you haven't revised for? An essay you haven't written?"

"I'm not lying,"

"We have to hand an essay in for English today and a practice paper in history," Robbie supplied gleefully, only smirking at the death glare that was sent his way.

"And I've done the essay,"

Sandy bit her lip, sensing her son's distress. It wasn't like Jason to skive, that was always Robbie's area of expertise, but it was an important year at school for both of them. They couldn't take time off whenever they felt like it and she knew that exams were due to start in the next few weeks.

"If you still feel ill tomorrow you can take the day off, but you need to do that history paper, it'll help for your proper exams."

"That's not fair," Jason cried, pushing his plate away and leaving the kitchen quickly.

"What about your breakfast?" Sandy called after him as the others watched in shock.

"I'm not hungry," Well it wasn't a lie, as well as the constant pain and the awful headache, he felt like he was going to be sick, meaning his appetite was pretty much non-existent. As he made his way to the college, he couldn't help but think about the unfairness of the situation. If it had been Robbie (or any of the others when they were at school) they would be allowed to have the day off. All four of them always managed to get their way using charm and bribery but it never worked for him.

He was genuinely ill too, he couldn't remember ever feeling so bad and all he wanted to do was curl up into bed and sleep off whatever bug had chosen to decimate his immune system, instead he had to power through double English, Biology and History whilst ignoring the constant nausea and searing stomach pains.

Before he knew it he'd managed to make it to the school (he's really not sure how that one happened) and was sitting in registration, curling into himself to do anything to lessen the pain.

"-ason? Jason?"

"Hmm what?" Jason looked up, to see Mr McQueen and a few other classmates peering at him expectantly at him, though there's a hint of worry in all there faces.

"I'm calling the register, although it appears we haven't all woken up yet," John-Paul joked, causing Jason's cheeks to flush a bright red and the others students to start laughing. Despite his joking tone, Mr McQueen still looked slightly worried, but Jason couldn't find it in himself to care, he was just too sore.

The rest of the day passed in a pain-filled blur. He remembered vague moments of the day; he knew he failed the history test because he was too busy trying to not throw up instead of answering the questions and despite buying a sandwich from the cafeteria he remembered not even managing a bite of it.
Not that anyone seemed too worried about it, they had shot him a concerned glance and Ruby had looked like she was going to say something before Robbie had taken it, stuffed the whole thing into his mouth and successfully moved all attention onto him. When he had attempted to eat a few crisps a little while later, he had quickly thrown them back up again. He had fortunately made it to the toilets quickly enough and no-one was any the wiser.

At that point he knew he should go back home, his mum wasn't totally unfair just suspicious that he was skiving. Vomiting meant that he was actually ill and she would more than accept Jason leaving school to go lie in bed under half a dozen blankets until the pain went away.

But he had only had English after lunch and Jason needed to hand the essay in, it was already late and whilst Mr McQueen was a nice guy, he wasn't a big fan of tardiness, ready to sanction people if he thought they deserved it.

So he had struggled through the final two lessons, not taking down a single note, choosing to focus on his breathing and trying not to pass out in the middle of class until the final bell rung.

By this point, as Robbie and Jason were walking down to the garage, the pain was almost crippling.

There was no way he was going to school tomorrow, not if the pain continued the way it was, it was taking every ounce of control to make sure he didn't start crying out. He'd slowed right down, he knew that, could see Robbie pause from up the lane, turning back with an annoyed look on his face.

"Hurry up Jase!" he yelled. "Joe's gonna go mad if we're late."

"Sorry," Jason called back, trying to increase his pace, although this made him feel even worse and he quickly slowed himself down again. As he walked down the lane, he pressed a hand against his side, and nearly cried out as a sharp twinge ran through his stomach from the added pressure, not that Robbie seemed to notice.

The pair finally make their way to the garage, quickly changing into their overalls and finding a job to keep themselves busy.

As he heavily leant against the wall, once again trying not to be sick (once was more than enough thank-you), Freddie made his way round to him, lightly polishing a screw. "Are you okay Jase? You're dead pale."

"Told Mum I was sick," he muttered, trying to smile at his brother and show him it wasn't anything but he knew it looked more like a grimace.

"If you feel really bad just go home, we won't-" Freddie was cut off by Joe yelling across the garage, telling him to answer the phone. He shot Jason an apologetic smile before leaning over to pick the phone up, turning to the book and began scribbling. By the time he had written down the booking, Jason had made sure he was on the other side of the garage. He didn't need mollycoddling, he only had a bug for God's sake. One day of rest would fix him right up, but he could make it through a shift at least, he wasn't completely helpless.

He made it through an hour, maybe two (at this point it was becoming difficult focusing on time, the pain taking up the majority of his attention) at the garage before it became to much for him. He wasn't sure how it happened, one moment he was reaching down to pass a spanner over to Ziggy the next he'd doubled over as the pain returned full force.

He felt Ziggy's firm grip on his arm, trying to keep him from sprawling on the floor and sensed the others circling around him. Freddie and Robbie were talking quietly to one another, and he was gently pushed to one of the seats.

The pain decreased significantly once he had sat down and he calmed himself, though it was still gently throbbing, reminding him that he was still ill.

"You with us mate?" Joe asked, kneeling in front of him. "What happened there?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," he muttered, taking the water bottle that Ziggy passed over.

"That's not fine," Joe placed his hand on Jason's forehead, frowning in concern. "You're burning up,"

"I'm fine," Jason repeated, though as he spoke the pain comes back with a vengeance and he couldn't hold back the groan. His heartbeat rang through his ears and the room was spinning worse than ever. He'd never felt like this before, it was probably the worst thing he's ever experienced and his side was just getting worse. It felt like he was being stabbed and the pain was fiery sharp.

"We need to take him to hospital," Freddie's voice broke through.

"What? No, I'm not that bad,"

"You are definitely that bad," Joe argued back and Jason couldn't find it in himself to push the matter. "I'll drive you down, Freddie call mum, tell her what's happened."

Freddie nodded as Joe and Robbie made their way to the car, Jason leaning heavily on both of them.

"I'm coming with you," Robbie informed Joe sharply, already getting into the back of the car. "He's been ill all day, and I should have noticed at school, he may have been fine if I said something."

Joe nodded, knowing that Robbie needed to be with his twin more than anything at this point.

Jason's side continued to sear painfully throughout the whole car journey and he couldn't hold the whimpers of pure pain in.

Sandy has already arrived at the hospital by the time they've made it, pure panic all over her face. She ran over to the three, gently steering them to the reception desk. There was little waiting time and they were quickly moved into a nearby cubicle . He knew that Ziggy and Freddie entered the room at one point, but he couldn't tell you when. Sandy spent the majority of her time murmuring quiet reassurances to him, but Jason couldn't even focus on her words.

The room was still spinning and the pain only increasing, meaning it was the only thing he could properly focus on.

A nurse finally arrived (they may have had been only waiting for a few minutes, but in the bare room, there is nothing to measure time with, and it felt like hours to Jason), dressed in light blue scrubs with a clipboard in hand.

"Jason Roscoe?" When he nodded, she continued gently. "I'm Lucy. What seems to be the problem?"

"My stomach really hurts," as he spoke, pointing to his right side where the pain was the worse. Lucy nodded, scribbling down on the clipboard, before taking a thermometer and placing it over his forehead. "38.9," she said, as the numbers began flashing on the digital screen.

"Is that bad?"

"It's higher than it should be," she informed the family, placing the clipboard on the side table. "Can I take a look?" When Jason nodded, she gently pulled his shirt up and tugged slightly on his trousers so she could easily look at his side. The nurse lightly ran her fingers over his stomach, shooting him a sympathetic look when he groaned lightly. She placed her palm lightly on his stomach, slowly moving from the left side to his upper abodmen, and okay, he tried to prepare himself for the inevitable pain but it was worse than he ever could imagine when she pressed fully down and he couldn't help the yelp that escaped.

The pain was so intense, going from a dull incessant throbbing to a stab wound in next to no time, and Jason couldn't stop tears from forming in his eyes.

"Is this where the pain if strongest?" The nurse asked gently, still not moving her hand away. All Jason could do was nod, scared that if he opened his mouth he'll just break down. Finally Lucy pulled away, moving to write more notes on her keyboard.

"Have you suffered any nausea or vomiting?"
"I – uh, I've been feeling sick since last night and I threw up at lunchtime," Jason said softly, ignoring the cries from his family, all asking, no demanding why he didn't tell them what had happened.

Noting Jason's discomfort, Lucy turned to the others. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside. You shouldn't really be here anyway," Once the five others had left (all grumbling slightly), Lucy turned back to her patient.
"You're going to need to change into this," she informed him, passing over a basic hospital gown. "And then I'm going to take you down for a CT scan."

"Do you know what's wrong with me?" Jason croaked, unsteadily getting to his feet.

"Looking at your stats I would say it's appendicitis, but that's what the CT is for. To confirm our suspicions. Do you want me to call your mum in to help you change?"

Jason shook his head, slowly taking his clothes of and trying not to double over every time his arm brushed against his side.

The CT scan took barely any time at all and within fifteen minutes he back in the cublicle, completely surrounded by his family (they were never very good at sticking to the rules) waiting for the results to come in. When he had been getting his scan done, Lindsey had made her way to her room, though she had been dragged back to work shortly after Jason had arrived, much to her annoyance.

Lucy and a man he didn't recognise entered the room, quietly talking to each other and looking over some papers. "I'm Dr. Swailes," he said, looking over Jason's notes still. "Well it's definitely appendicitis I'm afraid. But it shouldn't take too much hassle to admit you and you should be in surgery within the hour. There's nothing to worry about though, appendectomy is a routine surgery and you'll be as good as new in no time," The doctor gave a reassuring smile before swooping out of the room.

"He's right," Lucy said, as Jason still looked slightly worried. She pulled a wheelchair to the bed and helped Jason into it. "I'm taking you to the pre-op room now," she explained. "You'll be given an IV and get settled before being taken into surgery.

Jason nodded, unsure of what to say, or even if he could say anything through the pain. The pre-op room was bare and small and once he's been helped into the bed, Lucy quickly left leaving only himself and Sandy there.

"Your brothers are outside, there's only allowed to be one person at time in here, they don't want you to get wound up or to overexert yourself." Jason nodded, clutching his mum's hand hard. He felt like a little boy again, but this time a hug and kiss wouldn't fix it all. Only surgery would do that, and no matter how minor or routine it was, it didn't make it any less scary.

As he was hooked up to an IV and tried not to wince at all the different needles, Jason focused on the soft murmurings from his mum, promising him it would all be okay.

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The waiting room outside the theatre was tense. All the Roscoes were waiting silently, no-one daring to make a sound. Lindsey had managed to take the rest of the day off and had rejoined the family shortly after Jason had gone in. They were only waiting for an hour, but it felt so much longer for them all and every time a nurse walked through they would look hopefully, praying that someone would bring them news.

Finally a nurse entered from the surgical doors and made her way down to the waiting room. "The Roscoes I presume?" When they nodded, she continued. "The surgery went well, although Jason is still woozy from the anaesthesia but he is comfortable and will already be feeling much better. Only one person can visit at a time I'm afraid, but I'll be happy to take someone now."

Before anyone could speak up, Robbie had stood up and was already following the nurse to Jason's room. As they entered the recovery room, the nurse gave Robbie a few basic instructions before she left him be with his sleeping brother.

Robbie was instantly struck with how vulnerable Jason looked, covered in a number of blankets that made him look smaller than he actually was. A heart monitor was set up on one side of him with an IV on the other and he pulled a chair to one side, making himself as comfortable as possible as Jason slept on.

After a good thirty minutes, Jason began twitching and groaned slightly. Robbie instantly dropped his month old magazine, glad he was the only one in the room. In the last half hour, the rest of the family had traipsed in and out of the hospital room, though the only stayed for a few minutes when they were happy that Jason was well.

Robbie, however hadn't moved from his seat once, and had promised himself that he wouldn't till Jason had actually told him he was okay. As Jason cracked open an eye, a pain-filled moan escaped, filling the room. He shifted lightly, grimacing as the pain seemed to only increase.

As if summoned by a greater power, a nurse looked through the door before entering. She shushed Jason quickly, asking him a few questions and then when she was satisfied by his answers, took his blood sugar and swiftly gave him two injections. One was insulin, whilst the other seemed to be more medicine.

She lingered for a few more moments, reading over the charts, but Robbie knew that she was just making sure that what she gave Jason was effective. When he stayed quiet, she quietly left the room, nodding politely over at Robbie.

"How you doing?" he finally asked, though he wasn't really sure what to expect. For all he knew, the drugs that Jason had just received may knock him right out again. Jason turned his head, staring at Robbie with glassy eyes for at least a minute before giving him a smile. Even now he was the one doing the reassuring.

"Like crap," Jason finally whispers, wincing as he tried to move again.

"Well you look it," Robbie said, a ghost of a smirk on his face. It was true though, there were deep purple bags under his eyes, made even more prominent due to the paleness of his face. He looked even more sick and tired now, then before he went into surgery.
"Don't hold back," Jason quipped, though there was no fire behind his words.

"You should sleep, it'll do you good."

"Hurts,"

"I know bro," Robbie replied, trying to keep his voice steady as Jason closed his eyes. It wouldn't help anyone if he didn't keep calm. He couldn't let Jason know how scared he was. How angry or upset either. It wasn't fair though, he noted. Jason was one of the kindest people he had ever met, but life sure didn't make it easy for him.

He'd been complaining about his sore stomach that very morning, but no-one had taken him seriously. He'd had to go to school, strain himself and possibly make himself more ill than he was already. He'd overheard the doctor telling Sandy that they were lucky that he'd been admitted when he had. If he'd been a few hours later than his appendix would have ruptured and who knew what would have happened.

"I'm sorry Jase," he whispered, taking his brother's hand and squeezing it gently. "For being such a crap brother."

"Not crap," Jason muttered, squeezing back and startling Robbie. He'd been convinced Jason had been sleeping and told him so. "Don't need to be sorry, you didn't do anything," was his only reply as he finally drifted back to sleep.

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He wasn't sure how long he slept for, but when he woke up again, the whole family had crowded into his room. When they noticed he'd woken, they helped him to sit up, making sure not to nudge him as well as they could.

Lucy entered through the main door and smiled brightly at him when she saw he was awake, passing a tray over to Sandy before teaching him to work the morphine pump, which worked wonders.

Sandy quickly moved to the side of the bed, passing the tray over, and Jason saw that it was covered in food.

"You need something solid in you," she cooed, stroking his hair lightly. Although he complained and rolled his eyes, Jason managed to swallow his sugar-free jelly down before his family had to leave for the night, all with promises to return early the next morning.

Lucy returned a few hours later, with another nurse that Jason promptly forgot the name of as soon as he was told. The managed to get him to walk down the ward after a lot of persuasion, though it hurt like a bitch even with the morphine. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

When he woke up, the room was empty bar the two other teens he was sharing with. Both still appeared to be sleeping though quickly woke up when the nurses entered the room with breakfast in hand.

The room remained silent as all three chew mechanically, although Jason only managed half of his before he felt sick. The doctor entered the room shortly after breakfast and examined the tiny wounds on his sides before checking on his vitals, giving him a shot of insulin as he went.
When he returned from his lap of the ward, the whole family were all sat around his bed, clearly waiting for him.

"You okay love?" Sandy asked, helping him into the bed and lightly hugging him,

"I'm feeling better," Jason answered, smiling slightly. It was true though, although his side still hurt like a bitch, the pain was much less than it had been the day before. All seven talked comfortably for a good half hour before Lindsey has to leave to start her shift (though she promised to return during her breaks) and Joe, Freddie and Ziggy had to leave to set up the garage.

Once the four had piled out of the room, Jason turned to his twin. "You skiving then? Mr Blake won't be happy,"

"Blake can stuff it," Robbie shrugged, ignoring his mum's reprimand.

"Mr Blake has allowed for Robert to take the day off," she amended. "Knew it would be for the best, although you are going back tomorrow."

It's clear that the pair had talked about this before, simply judging by Sandy's tone and Robbie's eye roll and Jason can't help but smile at the familiarity of it all.

The doctor returned a few hours later, checking on the chart and stats in front of him. "You're fever's completely gone Jason and you seem to be recovering quickly."

"Does this mean I can go home?" he asked, crossing his fingers. One night at hospital was more than enough.

"You'll just need to sort through the forms, but I don't see why not." Dr Swailes smiled, handing the forms over to Sandy who quickly began scribbling. In less than thirty minutes, Jason was dressed and checked out of the hospital and was making his way down to the car with the help of Robbie and his mum.

It was a quick drive home and though he was no longer in so much pain, Jason did still feel slightly woozy and hobbled up the stairs, leaning heavily on Robbie. He quickly crashed as soon as he lay down (and seriously he'd slept for 12 hours at the hospital, he shouldn't be so tired), the sound of his mum and Robbie arguing in the kitchen as per making him feel more at home and comfortable than the hospital ever did.

When he woke up a few hours later, everyone has returned home and Sandy was pushing painkillers into his hand as soon as he entered the living room. He took them gratefully and made his way to the kitchen table where Lindsey and Freddie were setting up.

"Now I know you can have solids now, but I don't want you eating too much and getting sick," Sandy told him, placing a bowl of mashed potato on the table.

"Don't think there's much chance of that," Freddie muttered, causing Lindsey to splutter suddenly. She excused herself when she noticed Sandy looking on curiously, and both Freddie and Jason shared an amused look.

He managed to eat about half the food on his plate before giving up (an achievement on any night when his mum was cooking, never mind when he'd just been in surgery) and after dinner both Joe and Ziggy helped him with some simple exercises.

He was still tired (God knows how) and as he found himself drifting off on the sofa, surrounded by his family; all laughing and talking with one another, he knew there was no better place in the world.

H20xSpelboundfanx I hope you enjoyed this! Next chapter – Cliché Meetings - Joe and Lindsey meet for the first time.