"Who's up for some good news" Eric asked poking his head into the team room the boys were getting changed after Jason had had them running drills for 2 hours
"Depends who its come from" Ray answered
"Alie, Jess's fever broke overnight" Eric said with a smile
"So what about her kidneys" Brock asked as they all looked at Trent for a answer
"What is she, 5 days on the antibiotics, that means another 5 to go and then they'll start running the tests to see if she is regaining kidney function, it could take a couple of months though before there's improvement" Trent said after he paused for a second to remember the conversation he had had with Doctor Masterson about Jess's kidneys
"So what time are we leaving" Clay asked excitedly
"You can leave when the team room is squared away, and I mean squared away" Eric said firmly
"Yes sir" they all responded in unison
"Well you're certainly looking a lot better" Jason said as he walked into the ICU room that Jess had been staying in since she arrived back in the states, they had driven straight to Bethesda after Eric had let them leave
"Still feel like crap" Jess said, her voice clearly indicating she wasn't lying about it
"What you're getting ice cream already" Sonny said with a chuckle noticing the bowl sitting on the tray table that Jess had pushed of to one side
"That ain't just ice cream, that's Nona's homemade gelato, she made it without dairy so it's classed as clear fluids, tastes better than ice chips" Jess said with a small smile, she did love her Nona's gelato when she wasn't well growing up"
"Oh wow, that's amazing, think your Nona would adopt me" Brock asked scooping the bowl from the table to help himself
"Brock, leave the girls food alone" Ray scolded him in his dad voice
"Was just giving it the taste test, make sure its okay for her to eat" Brock said sheepishly as he put the bowl back on the table
"Don't worry Brock help yourself, I'll get plenty more made for me, she's already been talking to the dietitian, she won't allow her nipote to eat any of this hospital food, that's what she told Doctor Masterson anyway" Jess said
"So she didn't even ask his permission to bring you outside food in" Trent asked surprised
"One thing you need to learn about Nonna is Nonna doesn't ask anyone for permission before she does anything" Jess said with a small smile, she was still tired from running the fever for so long
"And if she finds out Brock's been eating the food she's bringing in for you" Clay asked curiously as he grabbed the bowl so it was out of Brock's reach
"She'll call him a good bambino and bring extra" Jess said
"Hah see, now gimme" Brock said to Clay holding his hand out for him to return the bowl
"Well, I have good news and bad news, mostly good however" Doctor Masterson said pulling up a seat to give his status update to Jess. Jess had been moved from the ICU 5 days ago, the antibiotics now finished and out of her system
"Jess what do you want to hear first" Eric asked looking at her, Jess was now 23 days post injury, Jay had had to make a short business trip to Chicago and considering that Jess was now out of the ICU, her Nonna had suggested to Alie that she should accompany him so she could get away from the hospital environment for a bit, and that she would stay with Jess, so this update was just Eric and Trent in attendance with Jess
"Bad news" Jess said, if it was mostly good news she would rather get it out of the way
"Your liver readings aren't improving and I'm not seeing any signs of regeneration, however scans are still showing a damaged portion is present which I think is whats stopping the regeneration process so I'm going to need to go back in and remove it" Doctor Masterson said to her
"When" Trent asked noticing the look on Jess's face, this was to be her third abdominal surgery since she had been injured, she had clearly been hoping that she could avoid more abdominal surgery for the moment
"Tonight" Doctor Masterson said looking at Trent
"So what's the good news" Eric asked picking up on Jess's change of mood upon hearing she was due for further surgery
"Your kidney function is improving, it's still not perfect but it's getting there" Doctor Masterson said with a smile, that had been the main concern at the moment that would affect Jess's ability to return to operating again
"Now that is good news right Jess" Eric said with a smile trying to cheer Jess up, her return was looking more and more likely
"Yeah" Jess said trying to sound enthusiastic, she wanted her dad back before she went for surgery
"Also Doctor James is going to do the surgery on your ear drum next week, and Doctor Keeling is looking at doing the bone grafts and reconstruction the week after, it will be done over two surgeries probably a week to 10 days apart she said" said Doctor Masterson filling the trio in on the conversation that he had had earlier today
"Discharge" Jess asked hopefully
"Still a couple of weeks away, once Doctor Keeling is finished with your leg, you're tolerating solids and able to get up and move without assistance from someone else, I'll start considering it and not a moment before you understand me Jessica" Doctor Masterson said firmly knowing that Jess was ready to break out of the hospital from frustration
"Understood" Jess said with a sigh, deep down she knew the score and how sick she had been with the peritoneal septicaemia and the fact that she potentially could have lost her leg from the infection, that her kidneys could have been killed of completely if it hadn't been for the dialysis, the fact she had developed double pneumonia while in the ICU, her bowels could have failed completely leaving her needing a transplant, the colostomy bag she currently had could have been permanent
"What about her returning to Bravo and operating again" Eric asked concerned with her current changes in mood, he knew Jess was frustrated with being stuck in the hospital and Jay had warned him of of the dangers of a bored and moody Jess before he left for his trip, when Jay got back he knew they would have to re-discuss Jess seeing a psychologist
"Its not going to happen straight away, but if her kidney function corrects itself and remains stable and her liver regenerates I don't see there being any issue, she will have to monitor her weight, be on the lookout for any signs of infection, or gastrointestinal distress and take appropriate action, remove herself from a mission if she's having any issues and contact me for advice" Doctor Masterson said to Eric
"So we won't have to cut a mission short" Eric asked knowing that factor would make a difference in Jess being allowed back to DEVGRU
"I'll need to make that call but as long as she's resting and under observation I'll just make the time to see her when she lands 90-95% of the time" Doctor Masterson said indicating it would have to be a severe emergency for a mission to be aborted
"Trent is that going to be okay with you" Eric asked looking at him, he could get quite protective if someone from bravo was sick or injured, however he also couldn't get distracted from the mission because something was wrong with Jess, he would need to be satisfied with her simply resting or sleeping in the TOC if she got sick in the field with it being either Lisa or himself being there with her. One thing Erin knew about Jess was there wouldn't be a issue if Trent or himself told her to get some rest then she would do it, she didn't fight it like the boys did when it came to dealing with medical issues, she might not like the order being given a give her own verbal opinion about how much it sucked, but she had never had to have Trent corner her to get her to take a medication or allow him to look her over for injuries, nor had he ever had to involve him to make an order official to get her to agree to receiving medical treatment, unlike the rest of the team who Trent had told them more than once that he would get him to make the order official if they didn't agree to his request to get medical treatment for something, Trent had had to call him in a few times to deal with Jason, Sonny and Clay and make a order official
"Doctor Masterson and I have already discussed it and he's going to arrange for me to carry some extra medications for use in emergencies, stronger antibiotics and that, and Jess you can have a choice of dealing with me when it comes to medical issues and observations or you can deal with Jason" Trent said to her with a smile
"You're fine thanks Trent, I'd get no peace if it was Jason" Jess said quickly in response, at least Trent would give her some space with all this where as Jason would be mother hening her the whole time
"That's what I thought you'ld say" Trent said with a chuckle
Later that day the whole team had gathered in Jess's room while she was waiting to be taken to surgery
"Its not long now before we get to spring you, get you back to Virginia Beach where we can come and pester you every day" Clay said with a smile and laugh trying to lighten Jess's mood
"Don't worry my nipote, they won't be turning up until after pisolino, Nonna will make sure of that" she said giving the boys what they had named the Nonna look letting them know that she was serious about what she said
"What time does pisolino finish" Eric asked, thinking he might have to find a way to keep them on the base till a certain time each day
"4 o'clock" she responded
"Military translation 1600" came Jay's voice from behind them as he walked into the room carrying a large box which he put to one corner so it was out of the way
"Dad, you made it back in time" Jess said relieved to have him back
"Told you I would, just had to go and meet a manufacturer of mine, pick up some stuff" Jay responded moving in to kiss her on her forehead
"Which wouldn't happen to be for a certain someone currently stuck in the hospital and is going to be returning to duty once she's discharged" Jason asked curiously, he knew there was a good chance that it was, Jay had been working non-stop and had his design department working overtime from the moment he had learned of his daughters injuries, this wouldn't be the finished product but a prototype to be looked at. Seeing as Jess would often review her dads prototypes, the rest of them would often divide them up for use as emergency backups, that was with the exception of the companies K9 items, that all automatically went to Brock for Cerbs
"Maybe, Nonna and Nonno been taking good care of you while Alie and I were away" Jay said responding to Jason and also wanting to make sure his daughter had been well looked after
"Of course, and they've been feeding Brock and Clay as well" Jess said reassuring her dad
"Let me guess gelato" Jay asked with a smile on his face
"How did you know" Brock asked surprised
"Because its the best" Jay responded
"So when do we get to see the new gear" Ray asked, when Jay's boxes of prototypes showed up it was as if it were Christmas for operators
"After Jess is out of surgery and is awake" Alie said walking into the room carrying another box which she sat on top of the one Jay had brought in, Alie's dad had followed her in behind carrying a third one which Alie sat on top of the other two
"Oh come on this is what, a 3 hour surgery and Bookworm usually sleeps for 5 hours after she's out of recovery" Sonny said whining and putting a pout on his face
"There is nothing wrong with sleeping after surgery" Trent said giving Sonny a reminder that sleeping was actually good for the body when it wasn't well
"So there" Jess said sticking her tongue out at Sonny