AN: Hey guys! I hope this is at least for reading, and I hope you like it! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats.
This starts the same day as the last chapter, so we're starting from exactly where we left off.
Chase's PoV:
I watched as Bree fell asleep. I continued to stroke her hand with my thumb as I stared at her. Adam stroked Bree's hair gently, and I could see a flood of emotion in his eyes.
"Adam? You alright?" I asked tentatively, looking at him inquisitevly.
Adam didn't answer for a moment, he just stared at Bree. "It's not fair," he said finally, "It's not fair that she got sick. And with mono too! I don't know what mono is, but it does NOT sound pleasant! I mean, she never did anything to anyone!" Tears started to leak out of his eyes, and he was quiet for a few minutes. "It's our fault," Adam whispered, not taking his eyes off of Bree's face.
"What do you mean? We didn't make her sick," I argued weakly, trying not to cry.
"We didn't make her sick, you're right about that. But we made it worse. She was out there, in the cold, while she was already sick. If we hadn't yelled at her, she wouldn't have run off. If she hadn't have run off, she wouldn't have gotten sicker than she already was. She also wouldn't have gotten mugged if we hadn't yelled at her, so there's that too. And now she's suffering. Bree's suffering, and it's. Not. Fair."
It was then that I realized that he was right. We had inadvertently made Bree sicker than she already was. It was our fault that Bree was suffering. "Listen," I said, really trying not to cry now, "You're right. I know that you're right, but right now, we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to take care of Bree. It's our fault that she's this sick, so now, we're gonna take care of Bree until she's one hundred percent better. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Adam responded, nodding his head confidently. "So, what exactly is mono?" Adam asked, looking at me in confusion.
"Mono, also known as mononucleosis, is an illness that leaves you feeling tired and weak for a time span of weeks to months. It can-" I started.
"Huh?" Adam questioned, looking thoroughly confused now.
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry. I forgot that I have to speak in small terms with you. Mono makes you sick for a few weeks to a few months. It goes away on it's own, but it makes you miserable. Bree told me that Caitlyn had it back in August, and it took her until September to feel better again. Bree said that when Caitlyn had it, she couldn't even walk on her own, and her parents had to carry her everywhere, even to the bathroom. It's contagious, but hopefully we won't catch it. I'm going to work on an immunity app for us, and when Bree's better, I'll install her's too."
"Okay, but two things. One, don't our chips already have immunity apps in them? And two, you still haven't told me what'll happen to her."
"Our chips do have immunity apps in them, but Douglas wasn't able to design them to keep every sickness at bay. My version will deflect every kind of sickness, from the most well-known sicknesses to the least known ones. As for what'll happen to her, well, these are the symptoms: high fever, really bad sore throat, swollen glands and tonsils, weakness, and fatigue. So yeah, it'll be a tough few weeks. More so for her than us."
Adam nodded sadly and glanced at me. "Do you think that she'll ever get her memory back?"
"Mr. Davenport said that it's just short term memory loss, so she'll get her memory back eventually," I assured him.
"When?" Adam questioned.
I looked him in the eyes. "I don't know."
"Hey guys, I found what I was looking for," Mr. Davenport said, walking into the living room. He noticed Bree lying on the couch and asked, "Bree fell asleep?"
I nodded in response. Adam and I continued to stare at Bree's peaceful face. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Mr. Davenport, who had his other hand on Adam's shoulder.
"She'll be alright," Mr. Davenport told us quietly, trying not to wake up Bree. His face was grim, and it was then that I realized something. Mr. Davenport wasn't just worried about Bree- he was scared. Scared that she wouldn't get her memory back, scared about having to watch his only daughter in pain. And I could understand why. Bree was my only sister, and I cared about her. When Bree was quarantined, it scared the absolute shit out of me. I might've told on her to Mr. Davenport, but I did it because I cared and I wanted her to get better. Bree might've been older than me, but I would always consider her to be my little sister. I don't know if it was because she was smaller than me, or because I was her brother, and that automatically entitled me to protect her. Sure, she could be a bit selfish at times, but she always came around. And she was always there when we really needed her. I could tell that she cared, whether she would ever admit it or not.
Seeing her like this was something that scared me too. I wished that I could just take on the sickness for her, and I knew that that was impossible; I just wish that it wasn't.
Adam's PoV:
My baby sister was sick. That was all that would run through my mind, that was all that mattered. I hated this. I hated the fact that Bree, who was completely innocent, was going to be in pain for weeks. I wish that I could take all of this on for Bree, but even I knew that that couldn't be done. I watched as she breathed in and out quietly, looking peaceful.
Mr. Davenport kept trying to assure me and Chase that Bree would be okay, that she would be in a little bit of pain and then it would be over and she'd be fine again. But I knew that wasn't the truth. She wasn't going to be in a little pain, she was going to be in a lot of pain. And the thought of that drove me crazy, because I knew that I couldn't do anything about it.
"You know, I had mono when I was Bree's age," Mr. Davenport stated, causing me and Chase to look up at him.
"And? How bad was it?" I asked.
"Oh, it was horrible! I had the worst sore throat in the world, and my glands were all swollen, and I had the most horrible migraines, and-" Mr. Davenport started, but Chase and I gave him a look and he continued, "And I was fine."
Chase and I continued to glare at him. "Hey, at least I'm being honest!" Mr. Davenport defended.
"Well, your honesty is not appreciated," Chase muttered, looking back at Bree.
"Chase," I said suddenly, "When are you going to work on the immunity apps for our chips?"
"I don't know. I don't really want to leave Bree. I'll just-"
"Go work on it now," Mr. Davenport interrupted, looking at Chase sternly. "In fact, I'm sorry to tell you two this, but both of you should stay away from Bree until the app is one hundred percent perfect. I've had it, so I have an immunity to it now. But you two, on the other hand, haven't had mono before, thank God, so you don't have any immunity to this disease."
Chase and I looked at him like he was crazy, which I figured he was if he thought that I was leaving Bree's side. "NO WAY!" I argued.
"Yeah! We're not leaving Bree's side until she's better," Chase said, backing me up.
"As sweet as that is, you two need to stay away from Bree until the app is up and working. No arguments. You're staying away from your sister and that's final," Mr. Davenport replied firmly, looking both of us in the eyes.
"WE ARE NOT LEAVING UNTIL BREE IS BETTER!" I shouted.
"Guys, please, just listen to Mr. Davenport and don't come near me until the app you're talking about is finished and installed," I heard a small voice say, and we all turned to look at Bree. I saw that her eyes were open, but it looked like she was having trouble keeping them open.
"Bree, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked softly, stroking her hair gently.
"No, I woke up on my own. Please, guys, as much as I love you being around, I don't want you to get sick. So just let Mr. Davenport take care of me until the app is up and running."
"Bree, I don't know how I feel about leaving you with only Mr. Davenport to take care of you," Chase said, looking at Bree in concern.
"Hey!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed, but no one really paid him any attention.
"Yeah," I agreed, my expression mirroring Chase's, "I really don't want to leave you while you're this sick."
"If it means that much to you, then I promise, as soon as the immunity app is finished and you're both sure that it works, you can stay with me all that you want. But until then, you need to let Mr. Davenport stay with me. He's had this disease before, he knows how to take care of me."
"Thank you!" Mr. Davenport interrupted, looking happy and sort of relieved that someone listened to him.
"Are you sure that you'll be alright?" Chase asked.
"I'll be fine."
Chase and I exchanged a look and decided to trust our sister on this.
"Alright," I relented, standing up with Chase following suit.
I looked at Mr. Davenport and said, "Take good care of her. If anything happens, come get us."
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Mr. Davenport assured me.
I nodded again, though I didn't believe a word of it. Chase and I each gave Bree a kiss on her forehead and walked to the elevator. We stepped inside and I pressed the button for the lab, watching as the elevator doors closed and the living room, but more importantly my sister, disappeared from my sight. I just hope that she'll be alright.
Mr. Davenport's PoV:
I watched as the elevator doors closed and the worried faces of my sons disappeared from view. I turned my attention back to my daughter, taking in her appearance. She was pale and slightly sweaty, and she looked exhausted even though her eyes remained open. I sat down on the couch where Chase had previously been and took my daughter's clammy hand. I stroked her hair away from her forehead and looked at her face. Bree smiled at me weakly, and I smiled back at her in return.
"I'm just gonna say this while I have the energy to do so," Bree stated, looking me directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry that I'm going to be such a burden for the next few weeks."
"Sweetheart, it's fine. You won't be a burden or anything close to it. You didn't ask to be sick, it's not your fault. You're my daughter, and I'm going to do everything that I can to make you feel better. I promise," I replied, still stroking her hair.
"Thank you so much," Bree said.
"You're welcome," I practically whispered, smiling at her again. "So," I continued, "How do you feel?"
"Horrible."
"What hurts?"
"My head, my throat, and my body is really achy for some reason."
"Okay," I said softly, "I'll see what I can do. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain in your head and your throat?"
"My head is a ten, but my throat would be a six," Bree replied, her voice sounding weak.
"So, you have a migraine?" I questioned, stroking her forehead with the palm of my hand. I could feel the heat radiating off of her forehead, and I felt bad. I didn't like seeing my daughter in pain, and knowing what kind of pain Bree would be in was even worse. I felt horrible that she had to go through this, and I just hoped that she would be alright.
"I'll be right back, sweetie," I said, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. I stood up from my place and walked into my room. Walking into my master bathroom, I grabbed a clean, white washcloth and wet it with cold water. I turned off the water and wrung out the washcloth. I walked back into the living room to find that Bree wasn't on the couch.
"Bree?" I called, looking around for where she could be. "Bree, where are you?" I decided to walk upstairs and see if she was, for some strange reason, upstairs. As I walked around upstairs, I heard the sound of someone retching in one of the bathrooms. "Bree," I thought. I ran down the hall and into the bathroom to see my daughter throwing up in the toilet and shaking. I kneeled down next to her and pulled her hair back, keeping it out of her face. With my free hand I rubbed her back soothingly.
"Shh, it's alright, you'll be fine. Just let it all out," I soothed, hoping that it helped at least a little bit. (AN: I don't know if you really throw up when you
have mono, but I had a friend who threw up when she had mono in fifth grade, so I figured it could happen. Back to the story!) A minute or so later, Bree stopped throwing up and leaned back into my embrace, still shaking.
"Bree, are you alright?" I asked, smoothing her hair back from her face. Bree shook her head as if to say "no" and clutched my shirt in her hands, making small fists. She buried her head in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her protectively.
"Do you think that you're done throwing up for right now?" I questioned. This time, Bree nodded her head as if to say "yes." "Okay," I whispered. I flushed the toilet with one hand, refusing to let go of my daughter. I picked Bree up bridal style and and carried her downstairs. When we arrived in the living room, I layed Bree down on the couch and put the cool cloth on her forehead. Her pained face relaxed slightly, but only slightly, when she felt the cloth come in contact with her skin.
"Don't go anywhere. I'm going to get the throw up pan for you, okay?" I asked, and Bree nodded her head slightly.
I ran to my master bathroom once more and grabbed the throw up pan from the closet. I ran back into the living room and was relieved to see that Bree wasn't gone this time. I placed the pan down next to the couch and saw that Bree had fallen asleep again.
"Okay," I thought, "I'll just run down to the lab and see how the app is going. Then I'll be back up here to take care of Bree." I walked to the elevator and stepped inside, pressing the button for the lab.
When the elevator arrived at the lab, I saw quite the sight. Chase was sitting at one of the computers and typing away like a madman. He kept muttering unintelligible things under his breath, and he would occasionally run a hand through his now messed up hair. Adam, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth with his hands clasped together in front of him. His eyes held a serious look, and I could tell that he was freaking out and trying to keep it together. They were both obviously freaking out in their own ways.
When they saw me, they bolted over to me and started firing off questions.
"How is she?"
"Did anything happen?"
"Is she alright?"
"She's fine, calm down!" I said, holding my hands up in front of me. "As for your questions, um, she's fine, she threw up, and she's alright."
"She threw up?!" Adam practically shouted.
"Yeah, and really badly too. But it's all part of the process," I replied, and upon seeing the upset looks on their faces, I continued, "I hate it too. But try not to let it upset you that much. Okay?"
Adam and Chase nodded solemnly. "SO," I said, trying to change the subject, "How's the app going?"
"It's going pretty well. It should be ready by late afternoon," Chase answered.
"Good. We need it ready as soon as possible," I responded. "Alright, well, now that I've checked up on you, I'm going back upstairs to take care of Bree. Good luck." And with that I walked out of the lab and into the elevator, hitting the button for the living room once I was inside.
As I rode up to the living room, I started to think. Bree missed her brothers, even though they left only thirty minutes ago. I could tell that she missed them, and that she wanted them to be with her while she was sick. They comforted her in a way that I never could, but I felt a little relief at the knowledge that I could comfort her too, in my own ways.
The elevator arrived at the living room, the doors releasing a binging sound as they opened. I cringed slightly, expecting the noise to disturb Bree. But it didn't, thankfully. I walked over to the couch and kneeled down by Bree's head. Her face looked slightly pained as she slept, and I felt horrible for her, especially since I knew what she was going through. I couldn't comfort Bree in the same way as her brothers could, I knew that. But I could damn well try.
AN: So, there's chapter four. Anyway, I hope that wasn't too shabby, and I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following, if you do! Later! :P
