Yay! I made someone cry! Oh, um...I sorry, by the way, I just proud of my self! ANYway, I told you that I'd update fast!
A/N: No, Wyatt wouldn't have found the note when he woke up, cause it's only, like, six o'clock in their time. They where just out doing...I dunno, something...
Also, I got the name "ollrich" from the name Ulrich, the last name of this guy I had a crush on in fourth grade. I just needed a name, and that popped up. (His first name? Kristofer! No, seriously...)
Also, I've only been in the hospital once, (I had a seizure in church and was there for five days.) So most of the descriptions are taken from what I know from experience, or watching TV and reading.
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"Christopher, I swear to God if you don't lay down, I'll call a nurse to come in and strap you down!" warned Piper Halliwell.
"I'm not tired, Mom! I don't wanna lay down!" he whined, acting about half his real age.
The family (excluding the Aunts, whom they hadn't gotten a hold of yet) where gathered in a small, pristine exam room in the ER, where they were trying in vane to convince Chris to take it easy while they waited for a doctor. He was sitting on the edge of a bed, swinging his legs out of nervous habit; he hated being here, he was pissed at his Dad, and he just wanted to go home.
"Come on, Chris," Wyatt wheedled, hoping to somehow get through his brothers impossibly thick skull. "The more you rest and relax, the sooner you can get out of here!"
Chris cringed at his over-optimistic tone, and was about to snap back with his usual pessimistic retort when a nurse rapped a little too loudly on the doorframe, letting herself in.
"Halliwell?" she asked, sounding rather bored. She didn't wait for confirmation, though, and proceeded to check Chris's blood pressure (too low) temperature (too high) and pulse (too fast). She scribbled on a chart, told him a doctor would be in shortly, and promptly left the room.
"Who spit in HER coffee?" Chris sneered after she left. God, he thought. I throw up, I pass out, and I get stuck with a nurse in desperate need of a Midol. Just great.
"She can probably just tell that you're going to be Hell to deal with. Now will you please lay down?" his father sighed, getting exasperated. He only earned a dark look from his son for his efforts.
"Shortly" turned out to be close to half an hour, and they where ALL getting a bit restless and peturbed by the time a doctor came in.
"Christopher Halliwell?" he asked carrying the chart the nurse had wrote on earlier. .
"Mmhm." Chris confirmed, hunched over with his chin resting on his hand. He gave the doc a once over; slightly taller then himself, with a few extra founds round the waist, used-to-be-auburn hair, that was mostly grey now, wearing green hospital scrubs and tennis shoes. Rather unremarkable really.
"I'm Dr. Ollrich," he began, looking from the paper he was studying.
"Mmhm," Chris repeated, not moving.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down on a wheeled stool across from Chris.
"I feel OK, but they tell me different," he replied, still sticking to his story like play-doh to new carpet.
"Well, what seems to be the problem?"
Chris opened his mouth to respond with "It's just a cold" or something to that nature, but his mother got to it first.
"He's been running a fever for a couple days, and it just keeps getting worse."
"And he's gotten really weak, and has trouble keeping his food down." Leo finished.
One, Two, Three, Four...Chris started counting slowly, trying to will away the humility evident in his crimson face. Reason He Hated Doctors Number 7; spilling your guts (or telling him that you did) to a complete stranger.
"If you're feeling weak, maybe you should lay down," Dr. Ollrich replied, his tone displaying what sounded like genuine concern.
"I don't need to lay down," Chris stated simply, for about the twelfth time that day.
He just shrugged, "alright. Let's just see what we got here. Um...you're going to have to take your shirt off please."
Chris cringed, groaning loudly in his head. He hated to be seen shirtless, with the exception of his father, brother, and (sometimes) mother. He'd always been so scrawny, with almost no muscle to speak of. Sighing softly, he tugged his red t-shirt over his head, ruffling his hair even more.
He hissed and shuddered as Dr. Ollrich pressed a cold stethoscope against his heated skin.
"Sorry. Just breathe slowly please... that's good...now take a deep breath, hold it..."
Reason He Hated Doctors number 15; taking orders. But he did as he was told. Unlike his parents, who would only make threats, Dr. Ollrich could make his near future Hell.
"Alright, then" he continued, pulling a small pen light from his front pocket. "Now follow the light please..."
He shone the light into Chris's eyes, who gasped and turned away as his head nearly exploded in a rush of pain.
"Alright, I'm sorry, come on," he urged, turning Chris's face towards him again. "It'll only take a second..." He turned the flash light back on again, and Chris made himself sit still.
The rest of Chris's exam went without trouble. Dr. Ollrich looked down his throat and in his ears, finally, finally got him to lay down and pressed on his stomach, re-checked his temperature (still too high) and settled down to start with the questions, reinstating Number Seven. Basic things; age, birth date, medical history, home life etc.
"And?" Leo asked when he'd finished questioning his son.
"And...I don't think it's anything too serious, probably a bad case of the flu, but I want to do a few tests, just to be sure."
"What kind of tests," both Piper and Chris asked at the same time, niehter one of them too overjoyed by the prospect.
"I'd like to do some blood work, for one thing, get a chest x-ray- your breathing sounds strained- and a lumbar puncture..."
Chris whimpered audibly at his last suggestion. "Why would I need that?"
"Headaches, muscle stiffness, sensitivity to light- all signs of meningitis."
"But I thought you said it was just a case of the flu!"
"No, I said, I THINK that's what it is, but we need to be sure. Now, I'll get a nurse to draw some blood, then we'll go from there." and with that, he made his exit.
Chris resumed his earlier position; back hunched, head laying on his hand. He was already lost in thought when he felt the bed beneath him rock a Wyatt jumped up beside him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Chris made no move to get away.
"Aw, cheer up, Chris! It can't be that bad! They'll figure out whats wrong with you, give you some pills, and send you home."
"Shyeah. Cheerful, huh? Easy for you to say. No ones gonna be sticking a needle in your back!" Chris bit, still sulking.
"Um, I think I'm going to go try Phoebe's cell phone again," Piper quipped. She got up slowly (she wasn't as young as she used to be!) And paused on her way out the door long enough to give her youngest a peck on the cheek. Though he tried to hide it, Piper could see the corner of his mouth curl up. "I'll be right back"
There was a silence in the room after she left. Not awkward, or heavy, just...quiet. Outside the door they could here bustling and beeping, sounds synonymous with a hospital.
Chris tried to relax, easing out the stiffness in his stooped shoulders by leaning (inconspicuously, he hoped) into his brothers embrace. Ever since they were little, Wyatt was always his protector. Demon attacks, violent children, that damn German Shepard next door...whenever Chris was hurt or in danger, Wyatt was there to protect him, or heal. He didn't really understand why Wyatt couldn't heal him now, though if he asked the Elders, they'd probably give him some bull like, It is written in the stars! Or Nature should never be disrupted!
He closed his eyes tightly as a queer feeling passed through his body. It was like the feeling you got when you half awoke from a dream you couldn't really remember; you where still much more in the dream then you were in real life, and it felt as though you where simply a quiet observer of yourself, not really all there...damn, maybe he should lie down...
Dr. Ollrich chose that moment to enter the room again, accompanied by a nurse (thankfuly, it wasn't the woman from earlier; this girl was younger, and looked more pleasant).
"Alright, Mr. Halliwell," he began. "Catherine here is gonna get a blood sample, then we'll..."
But Chris couldn't seem to focus on what the doctor was saying. It was like listening through one of those tin-can-and-string phones, he could only catch tidbits of what was being said. And there was that dream feeling again...
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"Mr. Halliwell? Mr. Halliwell, can you hear me? Mr. Halliwell..."
God, leave me alone...Chris thought, his head aching. He was tired, and only wanted to slee...wait. When the Hell did he go to sleep? Last thing he remembered was Dr. Ollrich talking about taking some blood, and then...
"Oh, crap. I passed out, didn't I?"
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Leo kept silent through Chris's exam. He trusted the doctor knew what he was doing, but still, this was his son they where talking about. Nothing and No one was good enough for his children. He watched with a critical eye as he checked Chris' heart, and temperature. After Piper he left, Wyatt jumped up on the bed keeping a protective arm around his brother, and Leo had to resist the urge to do the same. But he was pretty sure that Chris was still pissed at him, and his affection wouldn't be well accepted.
But something just wasn't right. Chris seemed like he was out of it. At first he just assumed it was the fever, but then again...
Then Dr. Ollrich came back into the room, this time with a nurse. He started to give Chris and his family a run-down of events to follow, But Leo wasn't listening; he was too focused on Chris. Chris's eyes had glazed over, and he kept blinking, slowly but often. Something was wrong.
A moment later, Chris swayed forward out of Wyatts arms and slid off the bed, unconscious. Wyatt and the doctor, the two closest, rushed forward to break his fall. Wyatt got him around the waist, and Dr. Ollrich tried to steady his head and shoulders.
Leo, panicked now, ran towards them as they carefully lowered Chris to the floor. Dr. Ollrich took out his flash light, gently lifted Chris's eyelids and shone the light in his eyes a moment, beofre removing it. "Eyes are dilated," he said, pocketing the light.
"Mr. Halliwell? Mr. Halliwell, can you hear me? Mr. Halliwell..." the doctor shook his shoulder gently, trying to rouse him, as the nurse propped his legs up on the pillow she'd grabbed from the bed.
Leo watched his son intently, his breathing catching in his chest. Oh, God. What was wrong with him?
Chris groaned softly, his head rolling to one side. His eyelids fluttered, but failed to open. Then, he groaned again, and said shakily, "Oh, crap. I passed out didn't I?"
Leo almost laughed at his sons outburst. It was such a...a Chris thing to say.
"Chris, son, can you hear me?"
Chris took several deep breaths before finally squinting up at the people around him. Deja vu, he thought wryly.
"Yeah, I can hear you," he croaked softly. "I passed out, huh?" he repeated.
"Yes, you did," Dr. Ollrich responded, pressing two fingers against Chris's limp wrist. "You weren't out for very long, but people don't pass out for no reason. I'm going to have you admitted."
Chris made a noise that was halfway between a sigh and a groan, then shivered slightly as Dr. Ollrich made to listen to his heart and breathing.
"Take slow, deep breaths," he instructed, and Chris obeyed silently. He still felt so out of it. He felt confused, lost, and...frightened...
"Alright, then. Do you think you can stand with help?" he asked, and Chris nodded. Dr. Ollrich and Wyatt grabbed Chris around the waist and chest, helping him to his feet, and guided him back over to bed. No one had to tell him to lay down this time.
"Catherine will stay here, help you out, and I'm going to go and get the appropriate paper work," he said, before leaving the room again.
Chris was starting to get his bearings again, and watched as Catherine started searching through a cabinet for a minute before pulling out a pale blue hospital gown.
"Do you think you could sit up?" she asked. She had a very pleasant voice, Chris thought, and with Leo supporting his back, he sat up. "You need to change, and once you do, I'll finish drawing your blood, and we'll get you into a room."
"Oh joy," Chris dead panned, as Leo tied the gown behind Chris's neck.
After Chris had changed, nurse Catherine guided him back down, tying a thing rubber strip above his elbow.
"Relax your arm," she instructed, swabbing the crook of his elbow with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol.
Chris, who hated the sight of needles, turned his head away, focusing on a glare on the tile floor. He could see Leo standing by the bed from the corner of his eye. There was a sting on his arm, and a slight burning feeling, but not much more than that. He was thankful that he didn't have the nurse from earlier. She'd be the kind to stick the needle in at random and wiggle it around till she drew blood.
"OK, that's it," she said a minute later, pressing a square of gauze over his skin. "Just lie here and rest a while."
Chris felt exhausted, in more ways then one. So he needn't be told twice. Leo sat down on a chair by Chris's bed, putting his hand tentivly on his shoulder. He guessed that Chris was more pissed then ever at him, but, for reasons unbeknownst to either of them, he didn't shy away from his touch.
'Such a fine day', he thought glumly. I throw up, pass out, get a pissy nurse and a needle in the back, plus a gown that was about two sizes two big. 'I hate omens...'
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A/N I get blood work done every month, and I ALWAYS get the nurse with the high ponytail who can never find my vein on the first try, and seems to think she must move it around to find it. Ow...
ANYway, I told you I'd update fast! Don't forget to review, and, as we say at the charmed DEATH TO THE TEENAGE WITCH!