Friends?
Jo carried Katie into the apartment and laid her in bed. The little girl whimpered as her mom unwrapped her arms from around her neck. "I'll be right back baby. Just a minute," Jo soothed on her way to the bathroom. She measured out some children's Tylenol, grabbed the thermometer, and returned to her sick baby girl. "Open up, sweetie," Jo coaxed and pried Katie's lips apart pouring the artificially flavored grape medicine in her mouth. She quickly put her hand over the girl's mouth so she couldn't spit it back out. "Nuh uh, swallow," she demanded. When she was sure the girl had swallowed, she moved her hand. She then gently placed the thermometer in the girl's ear and pushed the button. 102.0. "Shit," she mumbled quietly. "Katie," the little girl looked up at her mommy with wide eyes, thumb securely in her mouth, and blanket clutched tightly in her hand, "Does anything hurt? Do you have an owie?" Katie just stared up at her with her glazed eyes and flushed cheeks. Jo looked in her mouth and ears examining her, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Katie crawled up in her mom's lap and laid on her chest. Her fingers traced the collar of Jo's shirt as she drifted off to sleep. Jo reached for the book tossed carelessly on her bedside table and opened it to the page she had marked with a bright pink highlighter. She laid it next to her on the bed and quietly studied as her daughter slept.
Jo carefully laid Katie down and went to the kitchen. She opened a couple cans of soup and put them on the stove to heat up. She made some toast and butter and poured some juice for Katie and grabbed a bottle of water for herself. Katie was just starting to stir when she went back to the room to check on her. She immediately felt the girl's head noting it was still quite hot. Once again she took her temperature. 102.6. "What is wrong?" Jo wondered to herself. She made a move to get up and Katie cried out for her. Easily lifting the girl into her arms she carried her into the bathroom and retrieved the children's ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet. "Here, let's try this," she said repeating the process from before. "Do you want some soup?" Katie shook her head. "How about some toast and juice?" again the girl shook her head.
Jo stooped down to the bathtub and ran some lukewarm water. "You have to at least drink some juice or water after a bath, okay baby girl?" Katie just put her thumb back in her mouth and rested her head on Jo's shoulder. "No, baby, we have to get you in the bath," Jo said as she sat the girl in her lap to undress her.
Katie began to cry in protest as soon as Jo lowered her into the water. "I know sweetie, but we have to get this fever down," Jo cooed. She was trying not to let Katie pick up on her anxiety, but she was really worried. Katie had never really been sick before and now she had two unexplainable fevers within three weeks of each other. The first time the fever had resolved itself within a few days, but it was still unsettling.
After the bath and the second round of medicine, Katie's temperature was still high. Jo debated with herself what to do, coming to the only logical conclusion. She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her purse, "C'mere," she said scooping Katie into her arms. She carried her to the car, strapped her into her car seat, and drove back to the hospital.
Jo got Katie into the ER and filled out multiple papers to register her. After several minutes of waiting, with Katie curled up on her lap, they were called back. Jo explained to the nurse who was getting Katie's vital signs exactly what had been going on. Again, she explained the recurrent fever not relieved by medications to the doctor who came in to examine the ailing girl.
Dr. Carson ordered lab tests and a corticosteroid shot. "Is she eating and drinking?" he asked.
"Not much today," Jo admitted. With that answer, Dr. Carson also ordered a bolus of IV fluids to hydrate Katie. Jo held her daughter close and talked in soothing tones to her as the nurse administered the shot and started the IV. Jo was not familiar with any of the staff caring for Katie; she was a surgical intern and this was not a case a surgeon would consult on.
After the steroid, Katie's fever broke. Dr. Carson returned with her lab results, "It looks like she has a virus."
Jo cut him off before he could say anymore, "What is it? What virus? Because just three weeks ago.."
He held up his hand blowing her off as an overly worried mother, "The fever is down now, so I'm going to let you take her home. Be sure to make her drink plenty of fluids..." he rambled on. Jo wanted to snap at him that she was not only a mother but a doctor herself and she knew how to take care of her daughter.
Logically assessing the situation and the lab results, Jo's doctor brain agreed it was probably a virus, but somewhere in the back of her mommy brain was a nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. Pushing the thought down, she took Katie home. She slept restlessly that night, checking on Katie multiple times. The girl's fever didn't return and she seemed to be feeling better the next morning. Having just worked a 36 hour shift, well most of it anyway, until she got the call from the daycare, Jo was off the next day and could stay home and look after her daughter. It eased her mind somewhat to see Katie's appetite and energy return.
The virus, or whatever it was, seemed to have run its course and by the time Jo was scheduled to work again Katie was back to herself. Jo ran into Callie, like she often did, while dropping their daughters off in the daycare before their shifts started. "Dr. Torres?" Jo approached the older woman, "I was wondering.. I don't really know anyone here in Seattle, except here at work, and I just thought.. since you have Sofia. Do you know anyone, that you trust, to watch her? I mean if she's sick or.. or she just can't go to daycare?"
Callie gave her an understanding smile, "Sure, I have a list of babysitters we use. I'm sure any one of them would be happy to watch Katie for you. I'll get you the info." Then concerned, "Is everything okay? Is Katie.."
"No, no. She's okay now, but she had a fever a couple days ago. I had to take her home early. She's been without fever for over 24 hours now though," the intern rushed to explain. "I just.. I can't afford to miss any work."
"I'll get you my list," Callie said patting Jo on the shoulder as she turned to go.
Jo was once again assigned to peds with Dr. Karev. After rounds, he stopped her in her tracks, "Hey, Wilson?" She turned with a questioning look. "How's your daughter?"
She was taken aback, stunned he remembered, "Umm.. She's fine now, I guess. I couldn't get her fever down and brought her back here to the hospital. They gave her steroids and fluids and said it was a virus… But I don't know.." she trailed off, and then, "She seemed to bounce back quick; she's back to her old self."
He quirked an eyebrow, "Who'd she see?"
Jo shrugged, "Some Dr. Carson that was working the ER. Arrogant. I'd never met him."
He chuckled at her assessment of the man. He was a young hotshot that thought he was God's gift to medicine. He didn't want to be bothered with anything but the most extreme cases. Alex had only dealt with him on a few occasions, when taking over a surgical case from him, but he didn't have a high opinion of the man. "I'm glad she's feeling better."
Two weeks later, Jo groaned when she was again paged to the daycare. Katie had a high fever. She brought her home and was not surprised when the Tylenol and ibuprofen she gave the child didn't help. Scared, she packed her daughter up and took her back to the ER. She knew something wasn't right.
This time, knowing that Dr. Karev was working, she had him paged. "Wilson?!" he said in surprise when he saw her sitting on the bed with Katie.
"Look, I know this isn't surgical, but I know you, I trust you, and this is my baby. I have to find out what's wrong."
"Okay, okay, it's fine. What's up?" he asked leaning against the counter and studying Jo's face creased with worry.
"She has a fever again. It was 104 last time I checked, and just like last time nothing is bringing it down. She has no other symptoms. She doesn't act like she's hurting; she just doesn't feel good. This is the third time in a month and a half that she's had fever." He nodded as he followed her story. "She doesn't get sick. She doesn't have any medical history. It's not a virus; it's not. Something is wrong I…" she went on and on, growing anxiety coloring each word.
"Wilson. Wilson!" Alex tried. "Jo," he said firmly but calmly forcing eye contact with her. The compassion in his voice finally breaking through her ramblings and shutting her up instantly. "I'm gonna figure out what's wrong. We're going to make her better, okay? It's going to be okay." He spoke with gentle confidence noting in Jo what he had seen in so many other worried parents, and he knew now was not a time to interact with her as a doctor but as a mother.
He turned his attention to Katie, "Hey there sweetie, what's your name?"
"Katie," she whispered around the thumb ever present in her mouth and buried her head in her mother's chest.
"Well, Katie. I'm Dr. Karev, and I'm going to make you feel all better. Does that sound good?" She peeked out at him and gave a small nod. "Good. But I'm gonna need your help. I need to look at you, okay? You're eyes and ears and in your mouth. Can you help me out?" Again the girl nodded and turned to face forward in Jo's lap. "Good job. You're being a big girl. How old are you?"
Finally finding her voice, Katie piped up, "I two," and held up two fingers.
Alex widened his eyes, "You're two, wow. You're doing such a good job for a two year old. I don't usually like two year olds; they cry and scream and they try to bite me," he exaggerated making faces as he entertained the girl. A fit of giggles bubbled up out of Katie and while she was distracted he drew blood and started an IV. She never even felt the needle.
Jo watched mesmerized by how well Alex interacted with her daughter. She had seen him with other children and she knew he was great with them, but to see it with her own kid was different; it really put her at ease as a mother. Now she understood how the parents could ignore his sometimes gruff attitude with them. It was so obvious that that kid in front of him was his total focus, and he would do whatever it took to make them well.
"We will get her admitted and moved up to peds. I'll run all the tests. We're going to figure this out, Jo. Don't worry," Alex left the cubicle to give his orders. Soon after, Jo and Katie were escorted to a room on the pediatric floor. After a dose of prednisone and a battery of tests and scans, Jo tucked an exhausted Katie in for the night. She pulled the cot provided for her right up next to the bed and settled in herself. She turned the lights down and grabbed her reading light and textbook. She was only halfway through the second page of reading before her eyelids slid shut and she was sleeping.
Unbeknownst to Jo, Alex stopped by to check on them before heading home for the night. He quietly slipped into the room and lifted the heavy book off of Jo's chest. He shut the book and turned the little lamp off. He gently covered her up with the blanket that was folded up at the end of the cot, looked to Katie, checked her vital signs, and snuck back out of the room.
Katie and Jo both slept surprisingly well considering their environment. Jo was just getting around and brushing her teeth when Alex and a group of doctors entered the room. One of the interns stepped forward, "Katie Wilson, 2 years old, admitted last night with fever of unknown origin following a similar episode 2 weeks ago. Treated…"
"And an episode 3 weeks before that," Jo interjected.
Alex nodded as the other doctors scribbled notes. The first intern continued, "Treated with steroids. Labs show an inflammatory response, but no infection. Spiked a fever overnight but temperature this morning is normal and all other vital signs are stable."
"Plan?" Alex looked at the faces before him. When no one answered he rolled his eyes, "Repeat labs, continue to monitor temperature, and anticipate discharge when Katie has been afebrile for 24 hours." Alex dismissed the interns and turned to Jo, "Look, I know you've said you can't afford to miss work, so go get ready. I'll catch you up on rounds."
"I can't leave her," Jo argued.
"We've got her, Wilson. You're on my service; you'll be around; I'll be around. It's gonna be okay. And you won't miss a day."
She thought about what he said and debated within herself before finally giving in. "Hey baby," she said sitting down beside Katie. "Mama's gonna go work a little bit, okay? I'll be right around here and the nice nurses will be here with you and check on you. Can you stay right here and be a good girl for me?" She was nervous to leave her alone.
Katie snuggled against her mom for a second, "I good girl, Mama." She laid back and hugged her blanket to herself sticking her thumb in her mouth. Jo turned cartoons on the tv and hesitantly left the room.
"Are you sure about this?" Jo asked Alex when she met up with him at the nurses station.
"Yeah, it's gonna be fine. We have kids all the time here for extended periods whose parents can't stay. You know that." He gave her a run down on the patients she would be caring for that day and headed off to get ready for an umbilical hernia repair on a five month old. This was one day Jo wasn't upset to miss a surgery. She needed to be close to her daughter.
On one of her rounds to check on Katie, Jo stopped short seeing Alex sitting on the bed next to the little girl. They were coloring together and appeared to be deep in conversation. Stepping closer, Jo heard Katie telling him all about the different Carebears. "Oh yeah, which one is your favorite?"
"Mmm.." she put her crayon down a thoughtful look on her face. "I yike Funshine Bear cause I yike hers yehyo and I yike Baby Hugs cause her has a bankie yike me." She resumed her coloring.
"You like yellow, huh?" The little girl nodded. "That's why your blankie is yellow?" he observed using Katie's word. She nodded again concentrating on her picture. "And your picture has lots of yellow. You're doing a really good job on that."
Finally, she turned her attention back to the doctor, "What Carebear you yike, Doctor Awex?"
He scrunched his face up giving the impression he was deep in thought, but before he could answer Jo walked in, "I think his favorite is Grumpy Bear," she smirked.
"Haha," he turned to Jo with a sarcastic glint in his eyes. "And your mommy's favorite is Princess Bear," he said stressing the hated nickname. Jo rolled her eyes.
"No pincess bear; pincess pony!" Katie corrected.
Jo giggled at the confused look that crossed Alex's face. "There's not a princess Carebear, but there are princesses in My Little Ponys," she explained. "And you call yourself a pediatrician. You should know all about these things," she teased. Alex stood up allowing Jo to get to her daughter. She kissed the girl on the head and looked down at the picture she had been coloring.
"You've got a great kid there," Alex complimented, and then became serious, "I'm going to keep her overnight again. Everything is coming back negative, so don't worry. I can't find anything wrong with her. It looks like it's just an inflammatory response."
Jo listened closely, "But why? What's causing it?"
"Honestly, I don't know, but she looks good; she's healthy. We'll keep an eye on her." With that he left to check on his post-op baby.
It wasn't lost on Alex that Jo had been anxious and worried the rest of the afternoon. He decided to swing back by Katie's room one more time before heading home for the night. The little girl's temperature had stayed down all day, and she was lying next to Jo asleep; she looked the picture of health. Alex could still see the stress clearly written on her mother's face, however. He hovered in the doorway trying to decide if he should go ahead and go on home or stay. He had learned a long time ago there was something to be said for a mother's intuition and if Jo felt like something more was wrong who was he to argue. That was a big part of the reason he was keeping her another night.
Jo caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, "What?" she addressed him.
"Nothing, just checking up on her," he shrugged. He shuffled his feet and cleared his throat, but didn't move from the doorway.
"We're fine; you don't have to stay," Jo dismissed him.
He blushed slightly, "I'm not; I just.. My hernia repair baby isn't bouncing back from surgery like I expected and I can't trust you idiot interns to catch it when he starts to tank," he feigned an excuse for staying the night at the hospital.
She snorted, "Well if you're gonna hang around, at least pull up a chair and quit stalking in the doorways. It's creepy." He paused momentarily and then grabbed a chair turning his attention to the tv hanging on the wall.
They awkwardly watched tv together in silence until Alex finally grabbed the remote and said, "What are you watching?" and changed the channel to a late night talk show.
Jo shrugged, "I don't know I just left it there. I'm an intern I don't have time to watch tv. And I'm a mother to a two year old, when I do get to watch it's always cartoons, so I don't even know what's on this time of night."
"Yeah, okay, I get that." They fell quiet again. When commercials started playing Alex opened up, "I've always liked late night tv. Ever since I got out of juvie.."
"What?! You were in juvie?" Jo's eyes widened and she whipped her head around to study him.
"Shh," he glanced at the sleeping child by Jo's side. "We weren't allowed to watch tv… Well for 2 hours on Saturday afternoon we could if we were on good behavior, so I was never allowed to watch tv. When I got out, I would wait until everyone was asleep and sneak out of my room and watch late night tv. Or sometimes in different homes I would play video games if they had 'em."
"Wait," she stopped him, "Different homes? Were you in foster care too?"
"Yeah, seventeen families in five years. You're not the only one with a crappy childhood, Princess."
She rolled her eyes exasperated, "I never said I was." She narrowed her eyes at him, "But at least you always had a roof over your head; I moved into the car I stole when I was sixteen," she challenged.
"True, I did. I also had a drug addict dad that got his kicks out of beating the shit out of me and my crazy mom that went after my baby brother with a steak knife," he met her challenge with a brash smirk.
"Okay, okay," she gave in, "Aren't we quite the pair," a trace of sadness evident in her voice. He met her eyes and a look of understanding passed between them. She shifted uncomfortably in the bed and turned her attention back to the artist singing on tv.
After a quiet moment passed, "You stole a car?"
"Five actually," she said seriously.
"Five," he mouthed silently, "You're messing with me now."
She sighed, "No, I'm not."
He could see the truth in her eyes. "I just stole fifty cars in one night! I'm a little tired, little wired. And I think I deserve a little appreciation!"
Jo laughed and shook her head, "What?"
"Gone in 60 Seconds. Haven't you ever seen that movie?"
"No. I never have."
"It's a good movie. One of my favorites…" he paused thinking through the wisdom of what he was about to offer, "you should come over sometime and watch it. We could order pizza, have a beer." He looked away out into the dark halls.
She studied his profile before tentatively, "Umm… Yeah, that'd be great." She wondered, were they friends now? She wasn't sure where his mind was on the subject, but she could use another friend.
The next couple of hours passed quickly as Alex and Jo laughed and joked together. Glancing at his watch, Alex rubbed his face, "Man, it's getting late. I gotta get outta here."
"Yeah it is," Jo agreed. "Don't forget to check on your hernia repair," she teased with a wink.
Katie remained afebrile overnight and Alex had discharge papers ready for her early the next morning. "I just don't understand what's causing this. Somethings not right," Jo expressed her concern to Alex.
"Everything has come back normal. You've seen all of her test results, Jo."
"And you think I'm crazy too, just like everyone else who says I can't just let it go," she said defeated.
"No," he argued, "I don't think you're crazy. You know your kid and if something doesn't feel right, you would know," he assured her. "But I think it's a stress response. She's had a lot of changes recently. New home, new daycare, mom at work all day. I think her body is responding to the stress," he explained his theory. "Take her home, spend the day with her, and come back to work tomorrow. You're a good mom and a good doctor, if something comes up you'll know and you'll page me. We're right here, Jo. We'll be here to take care of her."
She sighed trying to calm herself down, "Okay, thanks, Alex."
He walked her to the elevator. "Bye bye, Katie," he waved.
She pulled her thumb out of her mouth, "Bye, Doctor Awex."