DISCLAIMER
Belongs to Disney and anything else affiliated with the show. I only own the plot. I'm not sure where they're supposed to be based, so I'm just going to make up the name of a hospital.
In the wee hours of the morning, Jamie was woken by a thunk. With a grunt, he jerked awake. For a moment, his mind flashed to the nightmare he had had earlier that evening. Was their father here?
"Jamie!" Emily called. Jamie jumped up and hurried towards the bedroom, where he found his sister on the floor.
"What's the matter, kiddo? You have a nightmare and fall out of bed?" he questioned, kneeling beside her bed, and smoothing back her hair. His brow furrowed. "You're burning up," he noted, worried. The girl started to gag and he quickly lifted her up and got her into the bathroom, where she immediately upchucked into the sink. Jamie reached into a cabinet and got a thermometer, which he put into Emily's mouth once she was through vomiting.
"One hundred and one?" he questioned. Oh, I gotta get this fever down, he thought to himself. He grabbed a washcloth, ran some cold water over it, and then wiped his sister's face with it. When her situation didn't get any better after a couple of hours, he lifted the listless girl into his arms and hurried towards the phone, where he dialed a number.
"Come on, come on, come on, come on," he said frantically.
"Hello?" he finally heard a voice ask sleepily.
"Cal, it's Jamie. Emily's really sick and needs a doctor, but I don't think I can drive," Jamie reported.
"I'll be right there," Cal assured, sounding more awake. They hung up. Within minutes, the officer was there and met Jamie at the door.
"Oooh. She doesn't look so good," he noted.
"She's got a fever. I--I couldn't get it to go down," came the response.
"Get her in the car," the man instructed.
"Yes, Sir," Jamie said, and then did as he was told. "You hold on, kiddo. We're gonna get you some help," he assured her as Cal got into the driver's seat. The first thing he did was to call the hospital and tell them what was going on. Then, the man put his portable police lights on the car and quickly drove down the street, sirens blaring. Within minutes, they were at the hospital, where they were met by paramedics.
"Is this the child?" one asked as Jamie helped her out. Normally, that kind of question would've earned the man a smart remark from Jamie, but he just nodded. Jamie started to hand Emily to the man, but she made a gagging sound, so he quickly put her on her knees, where she started to vomit.
"She did this earlier too," he told them as he put a hand on her forehead.
"She feels hotter than before," he noted worriedly. After she was done, he carefully handed his sister to the paramedics, who didn't bother to put her on a stretcher, but merely ran into the halls.
"Let's get her into the emergency room," the head paramedic instructed.
"Should I get a stretcher?" another paramedic asked.
"No, not if she's vomiting. I don't know if that would cause her to choke if she needed to vomit again, and I don't wanna take that chance," came the answer. Then, they hurried into the emergency room. In the hall, Jamie paced.
"How could I miss this? I'm a paramedic," he berated himself.
"Jamie, this is not your fault. Sick kids come with the territory. You know that," the officer reminded him.
"I need a phone," the boy announced abruptly.
"There's one around the corner. Here's some change," the officer stated, handing him some coins. The boy went to the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" he heard a grouchy voice ask a few minutes later.
"Catie, it's Jamie," he said.
"Jamie, if you don't have a good reason for calling me at three in the morning, I am going to kick your butt when I wake up again," Catie threatened.
"Catie, I'm really sorry, but my little sister's sick. She's got a really high fever, and I'm at Granger County Hospital and--" Jamie began to say.
"Say no more. I'll call Val and the others, and we'll be right there," Catie told him. The next thing he heard was the dial tone. He hung up and walked back to Cal.
"I called a friend. She and the squad will be here soon," he reported.
"That's good. You really shouldn't be alone," the officer approved. About fifteen minutes later, the doors burst open. Jamie and Cal turned around.
"Jamie!" Val shouted. She and the others ran up to them. "We came as soon as we heard. Is she okay?" she questioned, hugging him briefly, and then pulling back to look at him.
"I--I don't know. They--they still got her in emergency. She--she was so hot--and she was vomiting--" Jamie answered shakily.
"Okay, just take a couple of deep breaths," Alex told him.
"Wait. I called Catie, who I assume called Val, who probably called the others…but how did you find out?" Jamie wondered.
"Tyler had gotten permission from his mother and stepfather to help me out tonight since he didn't have school tomorrow," Alex answered. "Now, why don't you take a couple of deep breaths," he instructed again. Jamie did so. "Now, have you called your parents?" the man asked.
"Mom died when Emily was little," Jamie answered.
"What about your father?" Alex queried. Everyone was surprised when their rebel friend tensed.
"He's not in our lives," was his terse answer. Before the others could press him, a doctor came out.
"How is she?" Jamie asked urgently.
"Well, she vomited once after we admitted her, but we managed to get that under control," the doctor told them.
"Oh, thank God," Jamie sighed in relief.
"However, her temperature's shot up to one hundred and three," the doctor told them.
"What?" Jamie gasped.
"We'll have to keep her overnight," the doctor stated.
"But I don't have that kind of money," Jamie protested.
"Don't worry about it, Jamie. I'll help you," Cal told him.
"Who are you?" the doctor questioned.
"Officer Calvin Richardson. I'm also Jamie and Emily's financial guardian," the man introduced himself. "Now, what could be causing Emily's high temperature?" he questioned.
"Honestly, we don't know," the doctor answered. Jamie blew out a breath and rubbed his neck nervously.
"Could the vomiting have been from something she ate?" Val queried.
"It's possible. I mean, we both had the same meal, and I didn't eat very much of it, which would explain why I didn't get sick," Jamie answered. He rubbed his neck again. "Man, my father's right: I am an idiot," he continued.
"Jamie," Cal reproached.
"How many times has he told me 'Watch it when you cook, Jamie'?" Jamie continued. The statement was usually followed by a beating, but of course, he wasn't going to mention that.
"Jamie, don't act this way," Cal said.
"Now, we don't know for sure if this is a case of food poisoning. It could easily be something else. What, we don't know," the doctor stated.
"I just don't see how I could've missed this," Jamie stated.
"Jamie, you did everything right," the doctor assured him. Jamie huffed and walked to a bathroom. The squad looked at each other. What was going on?
"Jamie's taking this pretty hard," Val commented.
"Yeah. It must be killing him to see his little sister like this," Tyler agreed. Meanwhile, Charles had finally tracked down Jamie's house. He walked up and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he knocked louder. This continued for several minutes, each bang reaching a new decibel. Finally, one of the neighbors opened a window.
"Hey, buddy! You mind?" he asked.
"I'm looking for the kids who live here. I'm their father,"
"Oh, they lit out of here a while ago. I think the little girl was sick," the neighbor told him.
"You know what hospital?" Charles asked.
"I don't. Sorry," the neighbor responded. The man left, and started dialing hospitals with his cell phone. It was half an hour before he found the right hospital. When he did so, he headed out. Hs eyes darkened. He'd make Jamie pay for breaking the rules. He had had to wait all this time, but he knew it would be worth it. Jamie would relearn the rules, he'd see to that. Finally, he was at the hospital. He parked the car and walked in. In the bathroom, Jamie splashed water on his face. He couldn't believe this was happening. How had Emily gotten so sick? How come he hadn't spotted it sooner? He couldn't let anything go wrong. Not with their father petitioning to get them back. After learning Emily's status, Charles continued his search for his children. Feeling composed again, Jamie came out of the bathroom and headed back for Emily's room. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind!
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I know 101's not usually that big of a deal as a temperature, but I figured for an eight-year girl who doesn't weigh all that much, it would probably be different.