Note: This is the last request I will be taking of Kat getting sick. I will do a continuation of when Kat gets an infection when she got shot. But other than that I will take no more request of Kat getting sick.
Enjoy!
Song that appears in this chapter: Hey Jude by The Beatles
Prompt: Kat gets Walking pneumonia and Olivia tries to comfort her while she is sick.
Age: 16
Kat couldn't concentrate in class. The teacher was lecturing but the teen couldn't focus on what exactly he was talking about. She rubbed her temples as her head started to pound. Her headache was starting to worsen as the minutes ticked by. She couldn't wait until this class was over. She still needed three more to go.
She hasn't been feeling good the last couple of days but she felt like crap when she woke up. She was lucky enough to convince her mother that she was fine and would be able to go to school. Now regretted that decision. She sighed in relief when she heard the bell finally ring and started to get her stuff from the desk.
Kat shuffled out of class with the other students. She started coughing and could feel some pressure on her chest. Her coughs sounded harsh and could feel something traveling up her throat. She swallowed and grimace as she continued to walk down the hall.
"Kat, wait up!"
The teen stopped and turned around to see Mark rushing down the hall. He smiled at her but it faltered when he saw how tired she looked. "Hey, you okay? You are looking kinda pale and very tired."
"Yeah, just a nasty cold I guess," Kat shrugged. "I think it might be getting the flu again."
"Let me get those for you," he grabbed her folder and notebook from her hands.
"Thanks, Mark."
"Don't mention."
They both started to walk down the hall and soon arrived at Kat's locker. Joe was already waiting for them.
"It was about time!" Joe exclaimed. "We better hurry up or—oh my god what is wrong with you?"
"What?" Kat frowned, as she put the combination number to open it.
"You're freaking pale as the principal," Joe said. "Not to mention your eyes are red."
"Kinda feeling under the weather."
"No shit," Mark said.
Kat opened her locker and Mark passed her stuff. "Thanks," she mumbled, putting her stuff away.
Joe stretched her arm and touched Kat's forehead with the palm of her hand. "You came to school with a fever?"
"I don't—" Kat started to have a coughing fit. She covered her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater and winced at the pain of her throat and chest. She slightly gasped for breath when she was done coughing.
"You're really sick, aren't you?" Joe hissed.
"It was just a cough," Kat grabbed a different notebook and put it in her backpack. She then grabbed the book she will need for her other class.
"You sound like a forty year old man," Mark grimaced, rubbing her back in comfort.
"Gee thanks," Kat rolled her eyes.
"I'm taking you to the nurse office," Joe firmly said. "Whether you like it or not."
"It's just a cough," Kat slammed her locker closed. She flinched slightly at the sound, making her headache worsen. "How many times do I have to say it?"
"That was not just a cough," Mark said, still rubbing her back. "You were hacking your lungs out."
Joe took the book from her hands and backpack. She ignored Kat's protest and turned to look at Mark. "Tell the teacher I'm going to be late for class because I took Kat to the nurse."
"I will," Mark gave Kat a quick hug and a peck on the cheek that surprised both girls. "Feel better, Kat. Text me."
Joe waited until Mark was out of hearing sight before turning to smirk at Kat. "What was that about?"
"What do you mean?" Kat frowned.
"Since when does he give you a peck on the cheek?" Joe linked her arm that wasn't holding Kat's stuff with hers as they walked to the nurse's office.
"He would kiss our cheeks in elementary almost all the time," Kat frowned at her best friend, leaning most of her weight against the blonde.
"Yeah but that was years ago!" Joe whispered to her. She then gasped in surprise and looked at Kat with a big smiled. "Do you think that he likes you?"
"Likes me? We are friends," Kat said.
"No, I mean he likes you. Really likes you."
Kat's eyes widen and stared at Joe. "You don't mean…."
"Oh yeah."
The dark haired teen shook her head. She glanced down at the floor, trying to hide the blush appearing on her cheeks. Her heart fluttered and her lips curled up in a small smile. "You're delusional."
"Then why you trying to hide your smile?" Joe smirked.
"Shut up," Kat hissed but then regret it when she started to cough again. She felt Joe softly pat her back.
"We can talk about this later. Right now we have a nurse to visit," Joe quickened her steps to the nurse office. They made a sharp turn to the right and continued walking, passing a classroom door. The office was just three doors away.
"I swear if you tell him about—"
"I won't!" Joe said.
"I mean it Joe!" Kat glared at her friend.
"So do I," Joe whispered before entering the nurse's office.
The chestnut hair nurse glanced up from behind the desk when she heard someone enter. Her grey eyes widen slightly upon seeing Kat. The teen was very pale and her bloodshot eyes. She quickly stood up from the chair while she ordered Joe, "Lay her down on the bed."
Joe helped Kat on the bed while the nurse took out thermometer and stethoscope from one of the upper cabinets. The nurse glanced at Kat. "How long have you been sick?"
"It first just started with coughing that I didn't think much of it," Kat cleared her throat. It was starting to get raspy.
"But now her coughs sound harsher," Joe chirped. "And I think she also has a fever. Her forehead was hot when I touched it."
The nurse nodded at Joe and stood next to Kat. She passed the thermometer to the teen and said, "Open your mouth and place this under your tongue."
Kat did what she was told and the nurse pressed the button on it. The teen glance at her friend and noticed that Joe had put all of her stuff on a nearby chair by the door.
There was a beeping sound and the nurse gently grasped the thermometer. She frowned as she read it, "102. You should have stayed home, Kat."
"I didn't want to miss the first week of school," Kat shrugged.
"Nothing exciting happens on the first couple of days anyways," Joe shook her head. "Nerd."
Kat grinned at her friend.
The nurse tucked the thermometer on one of the pocket of the white coat she was wearing. She placed the earpieces from the stethoscope in her ears. "Can you please turn on your side so I can hear your back?"
Kat turned on her side and waited. When she felt the something touch her back she took a couple of deep breaths and let them out slowly. She turned on her back when she felt the small metal piece off her back.
"Your lungs are making a crackling sound when you breathe," the nurse walked to her desk. "What other symptoms have you been having?"
"Tiredness and I feel a tight pressure on my chest whenever I cough," Kat closed her eyes as the lights started to hurt her eyes. She started coughing again and felt the pressure on her chest again. Her breathing was making a wheezing sound as she tried to catch her breath.
"I think you have some kind of lung infection on your lungs," the nurse started to call Kat's mother. "I'm going to have to call your mother so she can take you the hospital."
Kat groaned. "Oh crap."
Joe let out a snort of laughter and sat down at the edge of the bed. "You told her that you were fine, didn't you?"
"Shut up," grumbled Kat. She slightly tensed when she heard the nurse starting to talk on the phone with her mother.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"Don't you have a class to go to?" Kat opened one eyes to glare at her friend.
"That can wait. Don't want to miss the little show," Joe smirked.
"I sometimes question our friendship."
"No you don't."
Kat smirked back and closed her eye again. "Just go to class or I will tell the nurse to make you go."
Joe let out a huff. "You're no fun when you're sick." She stood up and patted Kat's knee. "Feel better and don't come to school until you're cure. I'll text you later."
"Ok," the dark haired teen yawned. She heard her friend walk away and the nurse hang up her phone. Without opening her eyes she addressed the nurse, "Is my mom coming to pick me up?"
"She will be here as soon as possible. By the sound it she is rather upset that you didn't tell her that you were feeling this sick."
"Great," Kat mumbled.
The minutes ticked away as Kat waited for her mother to arrive. She had tried falling asleep but she couldn't. She had three more coughing fits and in the last one she had to spit out a bit of mucus. She glanced at the clock that was on the wall and noticed that almost twenty-five minutes have passed since the nurse called her mother.
Kat sighed heavily as she closed her eyes again. "I think—"
The door opened and an anxious Olivia Benson walked in the office. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on her daughter, who was sitting up from the bed.
"Ms. Benson," the nurse stood up from behind her desk. "Your daughter is very sick and needs to be taken to the hospital. She has some sort of infection in her lungs."
Olivia walked to her daughter's side. She helped Kat get off the bed. She lowered her voice and brushed some hair behind the teen's ear. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," Kat mumbled, walking towards her backpack and book.
The nurse approached the detective. "I think it might be some type of pneumonia. Maybe walking pneumonia. It's better to take her to the hospital for the doctor to give her a prescribed medication."
"I will," Olivia nodded at the nurse. "Thank you for looking after her."
"No need to thank me Ms. Benson."
Olivia smiled at the doctor and walked to her daughter. She grabbed the backpack and book from her and gently grabbed her arm as they walked out of the office.
Kat was stirred from her sleep when she felt something against her forehead. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed that her mother was touching her forehead.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Liv said.
The teen noticed the dark circles under her mother's eyes and the worried expression on her face. Her mother had rarely left her side. The doctor had told the detective that Kat had to be alone most of the time in her room because there was a great chance that the older woman might get sick as well.
Of course her mother ignored that and spent almost the whole time beside her. Cragen was informed the moment they left the hospital and he told Olivia to stay home with Kat until the teen got better.
Kat pushed the blanket off her and sat up. "Time for my medicine?"
"Yes," Olivia took the cap of the medicine that the doctor prescribed to her daughter. She poured a bit of the liquid on the spoon she was holding on her other hand.
Kat watched with a grimaced as her mother filled up the spoon with medicine. She hated taking any kind medication. But this medicine was the worst she had ever tasted. It was bitter and it made her want to puke it out the first time she tried it.
"Do I really have to take it?" Kat hoarsely said. All that coughing had made her throat raspy that it had affected the tone of her voice.
"Yes, you do," Liv raised an eyebrow. She hovered the spoon close to Kat's face. "Now, open up."
Kat hesitated for a second before opening her mouth. The moment the medicine hit her tongue she quickly swallowed it. A shiver ran down her spine as the liquid settled on her stomach. The bitterness of the medicine was still on her tongue.
"Taste like crap," Kat laid back down on her bed again.
Olivia covered the blanket over her daughter again and made sure she was tucked in. She got the temperature from the nightstand and passed it to Kat.
Kat quietly took the little item and put it under her tongue.
"I'll be right back," Liv whispered to her daughter as she left the teen's bedroom with the spoon and medicine bottle.
Kat glanced at the clock on her nightstand and her eyes widen in surprise. It read past four in the afternoon. She had slept almost the whole day.
Her mother walked in with a cloth on her hand. Liv sat down by Kat and the teen passed her the thermometer. The detective glanced down and read it. "102."
"It went down one," Kat slightly smiled. "That's good."
"Not good enough," Liv shook her head. "This goddam fever keeps going up and down. It's driving me crazy."
"It might go down—" Kat started to have a coughing fit. She quickly covered her mouth and felt her mother rub her back.
"You're going to be okay," Olivia said, wiping the sweat away from her daughter's forehead and continued to rub the teen's back in comfort.
Kat quieted down after a couple of coughs. "I feel like I'm dying."
"Don't say things like that," Olivia frowned, placing the cloth against her daughter's forehead.
"Oh that feels great," Kat sighed in content when the wet cloth was placed on her forehead. She closed her eyes at the coolness. "Thanks mom."
Liv gently sat down beside her daughter and brushed some hair back. If Kat doesn't get better in the next couple of hours, Olivia is going to take her daughter back to the hospital. Not caring that it will irritate the doctor.
Kat covered her face when she started to cough again. She didn't feel that heavy pressure on her chest anymore whenever she coughed but they still sounded harsh. She felt been moved but she didn't paid much attention as she tried to control her coughing.
Olivia wrapped her arms around her daughter as she leaned back against the headboard. She tucked Kat's head against her neck and shoulder blade, not caring that the coldness of the wet cloth on Kat's forehead. Liv made sure that the blanket was wrapped around her daughter before she rubbed the teen's back.
"Mom, you're going to get sick," Kat mumbled against her mother's neck. She could smell the familiar coffee scent that her mother always had with her. It was comforting for the teen and it relaxed her.
"I don't care," Liv said, running her fingers gently through Kat's hair. "I just want you to be comfortable."
"Sucks to be sick on the first week of school," grumbled Kat, closing her eyes as she kept a firm grip on the blanket. She cuddled closer to her mother. "First the appendicitis and now walking pneumonia. This sucks ass."
Olivia looked down at her daughter and continued to softly brushed her fingers through her daughter's hair. She didn't like seeing her daughter like this. She missed Kat's laugh and smile, hell even the smartass comments. She didn't know what else to do. She is having the same helpless feeling that she felt the first time when Kat woke them up in the middle of night and wouldn't stop crying.
James and she tried everything to make her go back to sleep but nothing work. Until James just started to sing to Kat one of his favorite songs from The Beatles. Olivia bit her lip. Maybe if she sang to Kat it would help her fall asleep. The detective knew that she didn't have a great singing voice but she will do anything to make her daughter feel comfortable no matter what.
Liv cleared her throat and lowly started to sing, "Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better."
"Mom, what are you doing?" Kat mumbled, not opening her eyes. The teen smiled slightly, despite her been very sick. "Are you singing?"
"Your dad used to sing you this song whenever you were a baby. It would help you fall back to sleep," Liv explained. The corner of her lips curled up into a soft smile as she remembered those nights. "I thought that it will work."
"It is," Kat whispered.
"Do you want me to continue singing to you?"
"Please?"
Liv smiled gently down at her daughter and continued to sing the song lowly. "Hey Jude, don't be afraid…"
And just like she was a baby, Kat fell asleep halfway through the song in her mother's arm.
Hope this chapter was okay.
Next chapter will be up next week.
Review!