Chapter 60: Daddy is Sick

The next morning, much to her surprise, Amelia woke up first. Usually, Owen kissed her gently as he cheerfully brought the babies in to be fed. Their mornings were often a slow and special time as they reviewed plans for the day, snuggled, and took a few moments to chat. As Amelia stretched and glanced over at Owen, she noted that his face was flushed, his brows were lowered, and his eyes were tightly closed. He looked miserable.

When the babies began to babble with one another, Amelia threw on her robe and walked down the hall. After changing them, Amelia brought the babies back to bed with her. At their ages, everything around them captivated and distracted them. Watching the dogs or seeing the trees bow in the wind outside was far more intriguing than eating. Amelia whispered gently, "C'mon girls. Time to eat." She gently nudged them, encouraging them to focus as much as 5-month-olds were capable of focusing.

When her whisper and the babies' noises woke him up, Owen grumbled. He rolled on to his side and slipped out of bed without a word. He drug himself to the bathroom and began throwing up. Amelia closed her eyes and sighed, "Damn." So much for sorting yesterday out, she thought.

When the girls had finished nursing, she set them on a blanket on the floor and headed into the bathroom. She ran a washcloth under some cool tap water and handed it to Owen. She fumbled around with a hair tie and put her hair back. As Owen continued to vomit repeatedly, Amelia wondered aloud, "How can I help?"

"Just let me be," he groaned.

Trying to cheer him up just a little, Amelia joked, "Umm… you're not… pregnant, are you?"

"That's not even funny. No, I'm not," Owen grumbled.

She continued down her mental checklist, "Do you have a fever? Do you think it's the flu?"

"I dunno, Mia. I dunno. I just know I'm barfing and my head is pounding," he moaned before losing it again.

"Want some ondansetron? I have some in my med bag," she offered, thinking an anti-nausea might be just the ticket.

"I can try. Not sure I'll be able to keep it down long enough to take effect," he responded assuming she had it in the pill form like he did in his bag.

Amelia handed him a thermometer, which he shooed away with his hand. "Owen…c'mon," she encouraged insistently. Like a little kid, he opened his mouth and let her place the thermometer in it. "I'll be right back," she assured him as she walked down to the car to grab her medical bag from the trunk.

By the time she came back, Oliver and Bronwyn were playing with the babies on the blanket. "Good morning, kiddos," Amelia expressed with joy.

"Ummm… Mommy… this is kinda yucky, but… ummm… you should know… well, Daddy, he's very crabby and he's frowing up," Bronwyn disclosed.

"I know, honey. He really doesn't feel good," Amelia confirmed.

Bronwyn added with her forearms wagging up and down, "See… I hearded him and was sad… so… ummm… then I wented in there. It was yicky cause he frowed up right when I gotted there. I tried to hug him but he growleded at me like a big, mean dog."

"Aims?" Owen moaned. Amelia excused herself and headed into the bathroom. Like the doctor she was, she scrubbed her hands and put on gloves before grabbing his washcloth, rinsing it out, and freshening it with cool water.

He half-laughed and half-complained, "It's not like I have the plague."

"Hmmm… imagine all 7 of us where you are right now. That's plague enough for me," Amelia retorted.

He threw up again and told her, "I'm dizzy and getting dehydrated. Did you find any Prova?" He leaned back against the tile and closed his eyes.

"I did," Amelia replied as she flicked the air out of the syringe. "Now let me see your darling ass and we'll get you feeling steadier."

Not finding even an ounce of hilarity in her word choice, Owen leaned to the side and pulled his shorts down enough for the injection. She rubbed an alcohol wipe over the site and quickly injected the meds. Owen whined, "Owwww…"

"Oh, c'mon, big Army Major, Trauma Superhero, you're fine," she insisted with a teasing tone.

Amelia pulled an otoscope out of her bag so she could see his throat. Before attempting to get Owen to cooperate, she put on a mask and eyewear. "Open your mouth, sickie." He opened his mouth, but Amelia was not impressed. "More than that," she commanded as she stuck a tongue depressor halfway back on his tongue.

Coughing and slightly gagging, he grumbled, "Good God, Nurse Ratched!"

"Owen…" she said with a motherly tone, then repeated herself with a warning tone, "Owen…listen. If you'd cooperate, we could be done more quickly. You of all people should know that. Now move your head to the side so I can see inside your ear."

"My ears are fine," Owen remarked. "They don't hurt anymore. They're not the problem."

"Good, then let me look and we'll check that off the list," she insisted.

Owen reluctantly moved his head and she looked in his ear, "Holy Moly, Owen. You have an absolutely raging ear infection and the membrane is ready to burst. I wish you could see this. No wonder you're crabby, dizzy and barfing."

"My ears are fine. Now leave me in peace," he groaned.

"Turn the other way. Let me see your left ear," she ordered as he complied out of resignation. "This one is worse," she assessed. "In fact, your tympanic membrane is perfed on this side. Did you notice drainage? Because ook is dripping out."

"Ook? Is that a medical term?" Owen chuckled.

Amelia responded, "Highly advanced medical term, yes. Listen, I'll run over to the hospital and get some drops and an oral antibiotic. Finley's still sleeping, but I'll take the rest of the melee with me."

Owen moaned in response as he grabbed his forehead and the bridge of his nose.

Amelia offered, "Do you want numbing drops too? Or anything from the store?"

"Yes and no," he hummed.

"Applesauce? Popsicles? Some sort of comfort food?" she suggested.

"Quiet. I want quiet. Quiet and solitude," he grumbled.

Amelia stood up and shook her head as she laughed softly, "You sure are a bear when you don't feel well. I'm seeing a whole new side to Owen Hunt this morning."

"Whatever," Owen moaned. Amelia smiled at his pathetic state and messy hair. As crotchety as he was, he was also irresistibly adorable.

Amelia told Oliver and Bronwyn that she needed to take them with her to the hospital and she urged them to get dressed. She picked up the babies, changed them and dressed them in coordinating but not matching outfits. As they headed to the Enclave, she realized the two older kids with her had not eaten. "Why don't you guys grab some fruit and I'll pour some cereal into containers for you," Amelia suggested.

"Daddy really, really doesn't like it when we try to do that on the way to school," Oliver informed his mother. "He says it makes too much of a mess in the car."

"Well, Daddy is super sick so I'm overruling him. He doesn't have it in him to stand up to me," Amelia joked as she tickled Oliver's tummy.

After parking in Owen's reserved spot, Amelia walked to the back of the car to grab the stroller. Once the stroller was set up, she unbuckled each baby and moved them from the car. After unbuckling the older two kids, she instructed Bronwyn to hold on to the side of the stroller and asked Oliver to hold her hand.

When the elevator arrived, Jackson was already in it. He greeted them, saying, "Well, hello happy Hunt family. Where's the rest of the crew?"

Bronwyn nearly dislocated her neck bending it to look up at Jackson as she shared, "Daddy… well… he's barfing bad. So…ummm… so we came for medicine."

Amelia smiled as Jackson glanced at her, "Everything ok?"

"He has a perfed eardrum and another about to burst," she explained.

"You know that I'm also an ENT, right? Want me to stop over and have a look?" he offered.

Amelia responded, "That's kind of you. I was just going to grab some numbing drops and an oral antibiotic. Is there more to it than that?"

"Well, only if the membrane doesn't heal up in a few weeks. What were you going to prescribe?" Jackson asked as the group reached the pharmacy floor and stepped out of the elevator.

Amelia cocked her head toward Jackson and explained, "I was going to pump him full of amoxicillin and fill his ears with benzocaine drops."

"Those are the standards," Jackson acknowledged as he pulled his prescription pad from his pocket and began to write. "These will work better, though. Here, aurodex and ciprodex will kick those infections to the curb. The aurodex has benzocaine and also included antipyrine, so it will numb the canal and lessen inflammation. Ciprodex is an antibiotic that includes a steroid. He doesn't have any drug allergies, right?"

"Correct," Amelia confirmed. "Thanks, Jackson."

"Sure. I'm more than happy to come by after my shift. Why don't I plan on that, just to have a quick look," he gently asserted. Amelia agreed and Jackson proceeded to his original destination. After turning in the prescriptions, she asked the pharmacist to page her when the meds were ready. Sitting in the crowded hallway waiting with 4 kids didn't sound particularly appealing.

The ER was just around the corner and she thought she'd check to see if she could squirrel away in an empty exam room while she waited. Kepner smiled when she saw Amelia, "How's Dr. Hunt? Any better?"

"Poor guy. Nasty double ear infection and a perfed membrane," Amelia shared.

Bronwyn added, "And he is super, duper, luper crabby."

"That's not fun," April responded to Bronwyn. "Are you helping Mommy wait for Daddy's medicine?"

"Mmmm Hmmm," Bronwyn confirmed. "I'm being extra good to be a helper."

"Excellent," April smiled.

"Any chance we can take over an empty room for a bit while we wait?" Amelia requested.

"Oh, absolutely. Exam 6 is open for sure," April suggested. Then she turned to Oliver and Bronwyn and asked, "Do you guys like stickers?" They both nodded enthusiastically. "If it's ok with your mom, I'm pretty sure I have some stickers over at that desk. Should we go see?"

"Mommy?" Oliver begged. Amelia nodded and mouthed a thank you to April.

At the desk, everyone recognized Oliver and Bronwyn as the Chief's kids and fussed over them. Derek stopped at the desk and garbled out oodles of medspeak to a nurse as he ordered tests and medications for a patient.

Bronwyn pretended to clear her throat to get his attention, "Um… Uncle Derrrrrrrrek," she droned.

Derek looked up from the paperwork he was approving and beamed, "How is my favorite 4-year-old, red-headed niece?"

"Mostly good," Bronwyn offered.

Derek concluded his directions to the nurse and then walked around the desk to hug Bronwyn, wondering aloud, "Only mostly good?"

"Well, see… it's like this," Bronwyn began as she flung her arms to her sides, "Daddy… he's… ummm…"

"Barfing non-stop like crazy," Oliver interjected before returning his focus to a game on a hospital iPad.

"Aaaaaaaannnnnnnddddd is hella crabby," Bronwyn shared.

Derek looked up at Kepner, who was laughing, "Hella?"

"It means very or really," April explained.

"Oh," Derek nodded. "So, Bronwyn, where's your Mommy? Or did your sick daddy just drop you off here so he could rest?"

"No, silly! Mommy and the babies are in a megsamening room waiting for Daddy's medicine to be ready," Bronwyn told him.

"Exam 6," Kepner offered.

"Oliver, let's take your sister and go find your mom," Derek offered. "You can bring the iPad." Derek led the kids down a few hallways to a nearly unused exam room hidden back in a corner.

"Hi, Amy," Derek grinned as he hugged his sister, "I hear Owen's hella barfing and crabby."

"Hella barfing? That doesn't make sense, Derek. Stop trying to sound cool," she joked as she shoved his shoulder.

Derek looked a little pouty and explained, "But Kepner said it meant 'really' or 'very'."

"It does, but it sounds weird modifying barfing. Don't go there. You'll show your age," Amy teased. "Anyway, what's your story?"

"I was just finishing up a neuro consult when these children spotted me and said hello," Derek explained. "You have time for coffee? My treat."

"That's a bit more of an adventure than I'm up for at the moment, but thanks. However, I'll take you up on that offer during my next shift. We have some things to sort out, you and I," Amelia hinted.

Derek chose to ignore his sister's comment for the time being and returned to Owen and his illness. "Is this the first time you've had to deal with him being sick? That's kind of a rite of passage in a marriage."

"Yes, it is. He's hella crabby," Amelia smirked. "The five of us will need to brace ourselves before we head back home."

"He's that fun when he's sick, huh?" Derek laughed. "In all the time I've known him, I don't think I've ever seen him sick."

"Not particularly fun and certainly helpless. I'm loving every minute of it," Amelia added sarcastically. Amelia's pager sounded as a message from the pharmacy arrived. "Looks like the meds are ready. Can you go grab them for me or stay here with the brood while I pick up his prescriptions?"

"Why don't you go settle the babies into the car and I'll bring my two assistants and the meds out to your car for you?" Derek offered.

"Thanks," Amelia smiled as she began to push the stroller out of the room.

"Yeah, sometimes I'm a really nice brother," Derek grinned proudly as he raised his voice toward Amelia as she headed down the hall. Full of little sister attitude, Amelia thought to herself, Yeah, when you aren't being a jerk of a boss you're not so bad.