A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates this weekend. Yesterday marked 8 years since my wife and I had our commitment ceremony. We've been together 11 years and I love her more everyday. :o)
At the first holler Emily is awake. By the second she is almost to the nursery. Henry had been sleeping through the night for a while now so it's unusual to hear him in the middle of the night. And Emily recognizes the cry as his "I feel bad" cry. Her heart is pounding.
"Hey, Henry," she says calmly as she enters the nursery. She flips on the lamp instead of the overhead to protect his eyes. "Hey, Little Man, how you doing?" She feels his head and he is burning up. "Oh, Henry, you are not well. I'm so sorry for you, Champ."
His jumper is soaked with sweat. She carries him over to the changing table and gets it off of him. She changes his diaper, noting the nasty diarrhea. "What's going on with you, sweetie? Geez."
Henry had had sniffles before but he had never seemed this sick. Or maybe it's because JJ isn't here it just seems worse. Emily places her lips against his forehead, an old time way of checking his temperature. She shakes her head and looks at the still fussing boy. "Nope, you are definitely sick. Let's see what we've got."
She heads to the bathroom and looks in the cabinet. She sees 4 different medicines for sick kids. "Damn, Jen, which one do I use?" She reads each box and, as far as she can tell, they all do about the same thing. "Well, hell, that doesn't help me." She looks at Henry. "Do you have any ideas?" He just cries. "Yeah…didn't think so."
She finally picks the one she is most familiar with. "Well, we'll give you a small dose of this and plan to see your doctor tomorrow morning, okay?" She fills the dropper with the correct amount of liquid and squirts it into his mouth. His cries choke off as he scrunches up his face and glowers at her. She smiles. "I know, it wasn't fair to wait until the apex of your cry but it worked, right?" She kisses his forehead. "Come on, Henry. Let's go see if we can get you back to sleep. I know I won't be sleeping again tonight."
She grabs her phone on her way back to the nursery. Sitting in the rocker with the calming tot, she calls and leaves a message with the pediatrician's service saying they need an emergency appointment. Emily rocks the chair gently, singing various songs to Henry: lullaby's, disco, pop, anything that comes to mind. He seems fine with all the choices. She is glad to see he is able to rest a bit after the medicine. She just wishes his temperature would go down. She reaches to the dresser beside the rocker and takes out the ear thermometer. She uses it and sees he is at 101. She winces. It just seems so high!
"We'll be at the doctors when they open, Henry, okay?" She kisses him again. "Yep, we'll be waiting for them, Champ. Just try to rest a bit, okay?"
As he fusses some more, she grabs for a nearby bottle of water and offers it to him. He drinks greedily. Emily's heart just breaks for him. She hates she can't just snap her fingers and make him better.
"It's times like this, Henry, when I'm reminded all the damn money in the world is pointless. I'd trade it all just to make you feel better."
Just after 7 a.m. JJ's phone gets a text alert. Sleepily, she reaches for it, assuming it's a good morning from Emily and Henry. She's sort of right. She sits up suddenly.
"MOM!"
Sandy jumps, nearly falling off the cot she sleeps on. Alan also starts, sitting up on the futon he used overnight.
"What's wrong? Are you bleeding? Having trouble breathing?"
"No. Something's wrong with Henry." JJ is already on the phone. "Emily? What's wrong? Why are you going to the doctor?" She can hear Henry crying in the background.
"Jen, he woke up in the night with a fever and diarrhea. I gave him some medicine and he got a bit better. We're meeting the doctor first thing this morning. I'm on my way already hoping they'll let us in early."
"He still has a fever?" JJ is concerned that the Lexus hasn't put Henry to sleep. Normally he falls right back to sleep as soon as they are on the road.
"Yes, but it's down to 100 from 101 so I'm focusing on that. No diarrhea this morning which was also a good sign, I hope."
"Oh, our poor baby."
"Yeah. Look, I'm at the doctor's office now and see his nurse heading in. I'll call you as soon as I know something."
"Okay, Em. Give him a hug and kiss for me. I love you both."
"Love you, too, Jen. Talk to you soon."
As they disconnect, JJ looks at her mother. "How soon can I check out of here?"
Sandy smiles. "Your father's already gone to see. He'll be okay, sweetie. Emily is taking good care of him."
JJ nods. "I know. Just need to make sure myself." She closes her eyes. "Geez, Mom, how the hell did you handle worrying about 3 little kids? It's hard enough to worry about 1!"
Sandy smiles. "You'll figure it out, Jenny. Of that I have no doubt."
"Mrs. Prentiss, good to see you again, though I wish it was for just a check up," Henry's doctor says kindly.
"Me, too."
She stands to the side as the doctor reviews the readings the nurses took earlier and then checks Henry himself. After a few minutes he nods and makes a few notes on Henry's chart.
"The good news is it's just a virus and we'll get him some medicines that will knock it out. Bad news is, it will be a few days of unhappiness for Henry and you."
Emily smiles. "I'll take the bad news as long as the good news holds."
The doctor chuckles. "Good way to look at it. I'm afraid you and Jennifer are in for a few sleepless nights."
"Well, I am at least. Jen just had major reconstruction surgery on her nose. I'll be watching over both of them for a few days. Thank God for coffee! Right, Henry?" He just sucks on his fist. She nods. "I'll take that as a yes."
The doctor smiles at the bond the woman shares with the little boy. "I'll get the prescriptions called in for you at the CVS you normally use. I'll send the nurse back to get you when you can go."
"Thanks, Doctor." After he leaves, Emily looks down at Henry who has finally fussed himself to sleep. "You scared the heck out of me, Henry. Maybe this is why Mother only had one child. What am I going to do when I have to worry about two or more?" She kisses his forehead and smiles. "I'm willing to find out."
Once they leave, Emily puts her Bluetooth in and hits redial. As soon as her wife answers, Emily gives the report. "He's going to be fine. Picking up some meds for him and heading home."
"Oh, thank God."
"Yep, he's going to be cranky for a couple days but the doc is sure he'll be fine. I'll just plan on nursing both of my favorite people this weekend instead of nursing one and playing with the other."
JJ smiles. "I could maybe ask my parents to stay?"
"That's up to you and them, Jen. I sure won't mind having them around but don't make them feel they have to stay. Francesca and Garcia are just a phone call away if I get in a bind."
"Okay. Well, I'll let you know. The doctor said I can leave in about an hour. I can't wait to see you two. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby. We'll see you at home."
She disconnects and glances in the rearview mirror. "Mommy should be home just after us, Champ. I know she'll make you feel better. And I know you'll make her feel better, too." She hits another number on her phone.
"Hotchner."
"Hey, Hotch. I know I'd planned to come in this afternoon for a couple hours but Henry is sick."
"Henry? Have you taken him to the doctor?" the chief asks with concern.
"Just left. Having to pick up some medicine for him and get him home. I'm sorry, Hotch. If he and Jen are feeling better on Sunday I can maybe get in for a couple hours to catch up on paperwork."
"Don't worry about it. If Straus hadn't insisted on JJ getting this surgery you wouldn't have missed yesterday. And if she says a word about your reports being late I'll point that out to her," he states with an edge of satisfaction in his voice.
Emily laughs. "Glad I can give you something to throw back at her."
"Me, too. So, take care of your family, Emily. And if you need anything please feel free to call. I still remember when Jack got sick that young. I don't think I slept for 48 hours and that was with Hailey able to help out."
Emily smiles, touched by the offer. "Thanks, Hotch. I'll call you if I need to. I really appreciate it."
She disconnects as she pulls into the CVS parking lot. She gets Henry out and heads inside, groaning as she sees the first few flakes of the expected snowstorm starting to fall. "Let's hope we can get in and out quickly, Champ. I sure don't want to have to keep you out any longer than necessary."
As she waits for the prescription to be finished, she stands, slowly bouncing Henry as it helps keep him calm. An older woman smiles at them.
"He's adorable."
Emily smiles and kisses his forehead. "Yes, he is. Thank you."
"First big illness?"
Emily nods. "Yep. I guess it's my first heart attack of many," she jokes.
"Most definitely. He's so blonde. Your husband must be, too."
"Actually, my life partner is. He looks just like her."
The woman's smile fades from her face. "Oh."
Emily's stomach turns. She sighs inwardly. It's not often they run into homophobia but it looks like she's smacked right into it this morning.
"Well, maybe if you and your 'life partner' lived a less morally bankrupt life he would be okay," she says with derision. The woman starts to mutter to herself, though it's obvious she is saying it loud enough for Emily to hear. "The authorities ought to save that angel from those devils."
Emily has to bite her tongue not to respond. She is more than a little relieved when the pharmacist signals to her that the prescription is ready. As she leaves the store, she kisses Henry's head.
"Henry, there is a whole lot of ugly out in the world and I will do my best to shield you from it. You have my word. I love you, Champ."
