Disclaimers: I do not own CM or its characters. I do own all OCs, including extended family members, teachers, and doctors.
Spoilers: None
Rating: T
Notes:This is a short chapter, but it is very important. The Triplets get their needed shots, and something happens to JJ. Also, we finally get some Jenny/Emmy interaction!
Emilia is speaking Italian in this chapter, except for when she is speaking directly to Jennifer. She uses Portuguese for that. Italic sentences are the English translations.
Enjoy! :)
2 days later – Friday, January 19th, 1979
*Pittsburgh Pediatrician Doctor's Office*
Today Michael is back at the Doctor's Office with the Triplets. Not to discuss them all three being diagnosed with ROP, but so they can receive their shots that are due for this age.
Juliet and Lucas have been receiving theirs since they came home in October, and Jennifer had hers in the NICU.
Michael remembers that something always happened to Jennifer when she received her DTaP, or diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, vaccine. She would have weird breathing spells, the heart monitor went crazy, and she would begin to cry, her lips and fingers turning blue.
It was scary as fuck for Michael, and he really hopes it does not happen this time.
The vaccines they will receive today are the Hib, IPV (polio), PCV13 (pneumococcal conjugate), and RV (Rotavirus), which is in liquid form.
James and Emilia are both here again. This is a ridiculous number of shots to be given, and the babies are, most likely, going to go crazy. It will be very overwhelming for Michael to try and calm them on his own.
Also, as promised, Emilia came so she can be supportive to Jennifer. She wants the little girl who is her whole world to have a friend because for herself, doing things that are scary and new is always better with a friend.
And, Emilia was there in the NICU. She witnessed what happened when Jennifer received her shots both times. And because of that, her anxiety is almost as bad as Michael's is.
"Papí," She holds his hand as they walk down the hall. James is carrying Jennifer's carseat while Michael has Juliet and Lucas. "Papí, e se succedesse di nuovo? Papí, what if it happens again?
She is worrying her lip, her brows furrowed. The anxious look does not suit her one bit, and James wishes she did not have to be afraid of something like that happening; afraid of seeing her best friend turn blue, and the monitors going crazy…
He shares a look with Michael, and sees his daughter's concerns reflected in his eyes. James sees the agreement that Michael has with Emilia – he, too, is worried, anxious about how this set of vaccine shots might end for Jennifer.
James tries his very best to reassure both of them.
"Tesoro, tutto quello che possiamo fare è sperare e pregare che non accada. Ma, se lo fa, sa solo che Jennifer è nel posto migliore per questo. Abbiamo tutti i tipi di medici e attrezzature qui per aiutare. Faremo un passo alla volta. ok?"
Sweetheart, all we can do is hope and pray that it doesn't happen. But, if it does, just know that Jennifer is in the best place for it. We have all kinds of doctors and equipment here to help. We will take it one step at a time. Okay?
Honestly, James is worried, also. I mean, he was there to see it happen. It was incredibly difficult to watch JJ go from a happy baby to her lips turning blue, becoming inconsolable, the heart monitor begin beeping incessantly, and her oxygen rates dropping significantly…
Michael was not the only one freaking out. The other parents, Jennifer's siblings, Emilia, James, himself. Everyone was alarmed by the sudden change in the health of the youngest Jareau baby girl.
So, now?
Now when they are going to be giving Jennifer shots — vaccines — that are supposed to be lifesaving, that are supposed to be protection against sicknesses?
Well, there is really no way to just forget about those incidents.
*15 minutes later*
"Alrighty," Doctor Jared Holts comes into the room after knocking. He greets James and Michael, says hello to Emilia, and then motions for his Assistant to come closer. "Mr. Jareau, this is my Colleague, Doctor Thomas Atler. He will be helping us today."
He pulls on a pair of gloves, and says, "Now, we are here for the vaccines, yes? I see here that we have quite a bit… oh, boy. Well, that is not a problem! We'll do it nice and quick, and hopefully, the babies will not feel a thing."
Honestly, he is not looking forward to dealing with these babies again but, as he is a Pediatrician, it is his job to do exactly that. So, he puts on that fake smile of his, and says,
"Who would you like to go first, Mr. Jareau?"
Michael looks to James at this. He is unsure of which baby should be first. Who would be the easiest? Lucas, the baby who cannot see properly; Jennifer, the one who requires an inordinate amount of time to be soothed and calmed down; or…
"I think maybe Juliet should go first." James suggests. "Then, Lucas. Jennifer could be last. We would need to go to my Office to calm her down."
Dr. Holts sighs quietly and asks Thomas to prepare the needles.
There are going to be four needle vaccines and one liquid vaccine, so a total of five for each baby. In all, that is a whopping fifteen vaccines being given today.
Dr. Holts waits for Michael to unstrap Juliet – or is it Jennifer? He does not care to really take the time to know the difference. Once she is out of the carseat, Michael takes off her coat and unbuttons the onesie to give access to her arm.
He tries not to roll his eyes as he suggests, politely, "Actually, Mr. Jareau, it is best if we give them in the leg or thigh area rather than the arm."
Doesn't this man have a dozen older children? Shouldn't he know this already?
He thinks, as he explains, "It is much easier to give into the thigh, and the arm is usually reserved for older children, such as 4 years and older."
"Oh! Yes… I-I'm sorry. I just forget. My youngest at home are six, and it has just been a while since, well…"
Dr. Holts holds back yet another sigh. And waits for Michael to undress Juliet down to her diaper. He makes quick work of the needles.
The first one sets off the infant: crying, screaming, and wiggling. Michael's shushing and attempts at soothing her does little to help, and by the time Dr. Holts has the liquid vaccine — Rotavirus — he is ready to call it quits.
Two more to go.
He cuts his eyes over to the other two Jareau baby Triplets. Jennifer is wailing, and Lucas does not look much better.
"And there! All done!" He puts on an over-the-top happy, enthusiastic voice. "Oh, my. It's ok. It's all better!"
Juliet is traded for Lucas, redressed, and is soothed by a bottle. Jennifer continues wailing, having started when Juliet did, and Michael looks increasingly more anxious. This always happens; Jennifer starts crying whenever one of the other babies begin.
"No, no, Jenny! Shh... È ok! Non piangere!" No, no, Jenny! Shh... It's ok! Don't cry!
Emilia's pleads are met with more crying, Jennifer now trying to escape her carseat straps. James motions for Michael to continue on with undressing Lucas, and once he is sure Juliet is safe in her carseat, he takes Jen and Emilia out of the room.
Michael listens to the heartbreaking sounds of his youngest daughter crying and wailing until, eventually, he can hear it no more.
It is now time for Lucas to get his shots. Michael's feels his anxiety rising, alone with the two older triplets.
He blows out a breath, reminding himself deep breaths, Michael. Take it one step at a time.
Lucas is stripped down to his diaper, and the same thing happens: first poke equals loud crying and wailing, and it breaks Michael's heart.
"Sweetheart, it's ok." He tries to soothe him. "It will just hurt for a bit. Lukey, shh…"
Two babies down, one to go. Lucas's vaccine of Rotavirus is given in his mouth, as well. He is immediately redressed, and Dr. Holts looks to his Assistant, Dr. Atler, as Michael begins getting everything out to… feed him?
"I am so sorry, Doctor," Michael apologizes, seeming fidgety with his words. "I just need to do this quickly, it should help calm him faster."
It takes a full ten minutes to get the formula measured out, hooked to his G-tube, then to be unhooked, and everything cleaned up. Finally, content and playing with a toy, Lucas is placed back into his carseat.
Michael goes to James's Office to tell him it is Jennifer's turn. He is happy and feels some of the earlier tension leave his body as he witnesses Emilia playing with Jennifer, the baby girl much happier than she was several minutes before.
"Fagli promettere di non farle del male, Signor Michael." Emilia tells Michael as they head back to the Exam Room. Make him promise not to hurt her, Mister Michael.
He chuckles and relays that to Dr. Holts.
Jennifer is undressed.
"Tudo bem, Jenny. Só vai doer um pouco. Isso é tudo!" Emilia says to Jenny as she sits in the chair previously occupied by Michael. It's ok, Jenny. It will only hurt a little bit. That's all!
She was promised that she could be the one to hold Jenny while the baby girl received her shots.
"Non piangere. Ok?" Don't cry. Ok?
Dr. Holts prepares the first needle shot, the IPV or Polio vaccine, while Jenny looks up at Emilia, as the older girl starts to speak in a language that she only uses around Jennifer – Portuguese.
"Nós vamos nos divertir hoje. Vou te ensinar muitas coisas, como as cores, vermelho, azul, verde..." We are going to have fun today. I am going to teach you lots of stuff, like the colors, red, blue, green…
"Here comes the first one." Dr Holts warns her, as Emilia is small and may not be able to hold her best friend still. However, Jennifer does not make a peep, and Emilia is immediately questioning it.
"Lo ha fatto?" Did he do it?
It is James, however, who answers with, "Sì, tesoro. È stato lui." Yes, sweetheart. He did it.
Then, to Dr. Holts, he says. "Prepare the next one, please."
Dr. Holts does just that. He prepares the next one, the Haemophilus Influenzae Type B, or Hib, vaccination.
Stick…
Pause…
There it is.
"Não, não, não! Está tudo bem! Não chore, por favor!" No, no, no! It's ok! Don't cry, please!
But, of course, Jennifer completely ignores her.
It goes on like this for nearly half an hour. Jenny cries and wails so much that she makes herself sick, spitting up some formula. They get through two needle shots, but have to take a break after that.
Michael is incredible stressed out, but there is only three more shots to be given, so he pushes through, thankful that he has James and Emilia, and not Sandy, because he just cannot imagine dealing with her on top of Jennifer's complete meltdown.
They have to take breaks after each needle shot; they walk around, bounce her, sing to her, and calm her down just enough for the next shot.
They get to the DTaP. This is the one that caused so much trouble in the NICU. It is the one that Michael is worried about, the one that Emilia is anxious to not get to.
Jennifer is back to being completely calm at this moment. She is looking towards Emilia, sucking happily on her pacifier, and holding the baby doll that Emilia handmade her for Christmas.
"Here we go."
Even though this has been a day which Dr. Holts hopes to never have again — a family with which he is already dreading the next visit — he still is professional enough to understand that this family has had difficulty with this particular vaccine in the past.
Jared Holts cannot afford to take this lightly; to brush it off as a child having a tantrum; to roll his eyes and sigh and wait for the crying to be over with.
"I am going to do it, then, we need to watch, carefully, for any reaction that is not normal."
Dr. Holts quickly inserts the needle into Jennifer's thigh. The baby girl has no reaction to it, though, because Emilia is singing a song and has her complete and undivided attention. However…
They wait. All of them; James, Michael, Emilia, Dr. Holts, and Dr. Atler.
It begins immediately. So immediate that it could almost be brushed off as a response to the needle prick.
If it had not been an exact copy of the last several months, one might believe that.
But they know different.
It begins with her trying to cry. It sounds as if she is not able to produce a full-on, infant crying sound.
Next is her breathing. Every adult in the room is watching for that telltale sign that something is amiss. And, it is Emilia who notices it first.
"Papí." She sounds confused, her eyebrows scrunched up. "Perché il suo naso lo fa?" Why is her nose doing that?
Jennifer's nostrils are flaring bigger than what is normal. They watching – breath in, breath out, nostrils flare. It happens five times before they hear it.
Heehhh… heeehh….
Breathe in… Heehhh...heeehhh… breathe out… Heehhh… heeehhh…
Jennifer then begins to make sounds that suggest she is struggling to breathe. Which is completely different to crying. And that is when complete chaos erupts.
"Papí!" Emilia sobs as Jennifer is yanked away from her and placed on the baby bed on the counter top. The infant's lips are already tinged blue and she would be wailing loudly, if she could.
"I need some help here!" Jared yells out as he tries to get a listen to Jennifer's heart. "No breathe sounds on either side – Get them out!" He yanks open a drawer and shoves things aside and to the floor until he finds what he is looking for.
Michael and Emilia are pushed out of the room, with Lucas and Juliet's carseats, and the door is closed. Suddenly, it is wrenched open only seconds later, and Thomas is shouting, "Call an ambulance!"
"There is no time." James states, trying to stay calm in this sea of panic. "Michael, we're taking her to the Hospital. We have to go now–"
"James, what is happ–"
"We don't have time, Michael! We are moving her to the Hospital. Now go! Go wait in my Office. Take Emilia, take the babies, go!"
The door is opened wider. His daughter now has an incredibly small oxygen mask over her face and wires from a heart monitor attached to her small body.
Michael watches, a terrified 8-year-old huddled at his side, with two more babies who are now wailing, as his friend carries his youngest baby girl down the hall and to the Lobby.
It is not until they are completely out of sight that Michael realizes…
Jennifer was no longer making noise; no crying, no whimpers, no noise at all. Almost like she was…
Unconscious.
:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/
It would not be until hours later, after they arrived at the Pittsburgh Hospital, then Jennifer was MedLifted to Philly, examined, assessed, helped…
That Michael finds out she had a severe allergic reaction to some kind of ingredient in the vaccine shot.
Her body reacted instantaneous to it. Her nostrils were flaring because her throat closed up, and she was struggling to be breathe. This caused her lips to tinge blue. Hives also popped up on her chest, arms, and face.
The oxygen mask was needed to help her breathe, though it was a near-placebo effect. She almost needed to be intubated but the Epinephrine she was given in the Exam Room opened her throat just enough that she had the lowest possible amount of oxygen entering her body.
Michael looks at Jennifer through the window of the NICU. She was brought here to make sure everything is going the way it should.
She is, once again, hooked up to a heart monitor, with a mask over her face. They are keeping her this way for the next 48 hours, because she always has a second, delayed, reaction that requires a subsequent dose of Epinephrine.
The doctors will need to do a thorough search of each ingredient of the vaccine DTaP to find out which ingredient Jennifer has the reaction to. Once that is determined, if that ingredient is in any other vaccine, she will not be able to receive it in the future. Whether this extends to food allergies will be discussed much, much later.
Michael waits until the footsteps he hears turns into a hand on his shoulder before he breaks.
"It's okay, honey," His mother soothes. "Shh… baby. It is all right."
He turns around, burying his face into her shoulder, the sobs wracking his body. He is just so, so tired of this. This never-ending, always there, fear of losing one of his babies.
He feared it the months following Lexie's and Kevin's disappearances. He feared it in November after their kidnapping, when he returned home from picking the kids to find Caleb lifeless in the boys' bedroom.
And now? Well, that fear that he thought would go away when the doctors of the NICU declared Jennifer growing and thriving… That fear is still there. It happened again today. He almost lost his baby girl, again today.
He just cannot do it anymore.
"I can't do it anymore, Mom." He sobs. "I-I just- I can't fucking do it. I'm done."
Those words, though what she hoped were her son asking for help, sends chills down her spine. Her hands falter in their soothing rubbing gesture up and down his back.
Pulling away slowly, licking her lips, Karen struggles to come up with… anything… and finally settles on…
"W-Wha-… What do you mean, you're done, Michael?"
When she receives no response, she drags out the long-mastered mom voice.
"Michael Alexander Jareau! You answer me right this minute! What do you mean, you are done?!"
Michael breathes in, slowly, deeply, deliberately delaying answering his mother. After all, the next words out of his mouth will definitely not be the answer Karen wants to hear.
"I mean," He steps back, straightening his posture. "I'm done. I-I… I can't do it anymore, Mom. I cannot go through one more day with nothing but pure, unadulterated fear that I am going to lose one of the babies. I cannot go through one more day of fighting and arguing with Sandra about her fucking ignoring them. And I cannot, for one more moment, deal with the yelling and the screaming and the disciplining and the fighting of the older kids."
He steps back, once, twice… before turning around completely and entering the disaffecting room to the NICU. She watches — distantly, not really focusing or processing — as Michael walks into the room. He approaches Jennifer's Doctor. He speaks to him, hands him some papers, and…
Then, Michael is exiting and walking down the hallway.
It is not until nearly 10 minutes later that Karen budges. She is knocked from her… shocked… state by a Nurse asking if she is all right and if she has someone in the NICU to visit.
Karen also enters the NICU after gowning up. She approaches Jennifer's doctor – David Jacobs. She asks him what Michael said to him.
His answer makes her blood run cold…
It is several pieces of paper. The first one reads:
Temporary Custody Agreement
I, Michael Alexander Jareau, the custodial parent of the following child(ren): Juliet Marie Jareau, Lucas Matthew Jareau, and Jennifer Hope Elisabeth-Ann Jareau, do hereby give temporary custody to James Prentiss & Elizabeth Prentiss, respected, trusted family friends.
I currently reside at *insert address here* and Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss currently reside at *insert address here*.
I further give my permission for Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss to care for the children in his/her home and to apply for, consent to, or otherwise obtain any medical treatment or any economical, social, educational, or other services that the children may need.
Date: January 1st, 1979 Signature: Michael Alexander Jareau
Date: January 1st, 1979 Signature: Sandra Lynn Jareau
Taken, subscribed, and sworn to before the undersigned authority this 20 day of December, 1978.
My commission expires: January 1, 1980.
Notary Public: William Smith
A second page is an exact copy, only the names are different:
I, Michael Alexander Jareau, the custodial parent of the following child(ren): Caleb Jeremiah Jareau and Gabriel Anthony Jareau, do hereby give temporary custody to Anna Prentiss & Angus Prentiss, respected, trusted family friends.
I currently reside at *insert address here* and Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss currently reside at *insert address here*.
I further give my permission for Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss to care for the children in his/her home and to apply for, consent to, or otherwise obtain any medical treatment or any economical, social, educational, or other services that the children may need.
Date: January 1st, 1979 Signature: Michael Alexander Jareau
Date: January 1st, 1979 Signature: Sandra Lynn Jareau
Taken, subscribed, and sworn to before the undersigned authority this 15 day of January, 1979.
My commission expires: January 1, 1980.
Notary Public: William Smith
The next page is similar, a "Temporary Guardianship" agreement. It has the signatures of the Prentiss families, along with phone numbers listed, contact information, and more detailed telling of when this custody "agreement" ends. Which, according to it, is laid out as "for as long as necessary, beginning on, January 1st, 1979".
The next several pages are Terms and Conditions of the custody arrangement, and many other details that Karen does not care to process and understand.
Rage courses through her body as she crumples the papers in her hand. She turns on her heal, storming towards the door and almost knocking into a family entering the room.
She is going to hunt down her son. And she is going to make him explain why the fuck he never told anyone about this. And then, then she is going to…
Well, she doesn't what she will do after that.
Karen Jareau understands one thing in this moment, and that is…
Her child is in more trouble than he ever has been.
Well… That happened. I went back and forth with this initially. But in the end, I decided that JJ is going to have an allergy which is real, serious, and life-threatening.
As of right, Michael is unable to continue caring for all his children. Right now, he is doing it alone at the moment. He has bills to pay, groceries, getting up to give the triplets their medicine and to feed them throughout the night, etc.
He is also having to care for the older siblings – up and dressed in the morning, dinner and homework every night, help Caleb with his sensory overload meltdowns, spend quality time with each of them. Plus he has to go to work every single day. He is a surgeon at the hospital so that is stressful in and of itself!
With all of this, it just became too stressful and overwhelming. He chose Elizabeth and James to care for the Triplets. Caleb has been sent to James's parents' house along with Gabriel (who wanted to go). And Emma and Roslyn stayed home alongside with Elijah.
Please review and let me know what you thought! :) Any questions, leave them in your review or PM me.
!ATTENTION:! this story is under construction. I have made a decision that changes the ENTIRE future of this story. This means updates will be frequent up to a certain point. They will then be paused again to allow me to rewrite the chapters which needs to be changed. Also, if you guys do not know already, I have lost access to my flashdrive (corrupted) which had everything for this story saved on it. This should not affect the ability to update however.