Chapter 2

They made a very uneasy Sportacus lift her out of the tub and wrap her in a towel. So, as Sportacus held her in his arms and she dripped all over the floor, the Mayor and Dr. Feels Good decided what to do next.

"You should do it. You're her Uncle." The doctor said.

"Oh no. You do it. If Stephanie ever found out I did it she'd never speak to me again." Mayor Meanswell protested. They went back and forth for about ten minutes and all the while Sportacus' arms were getting tired. Finally, Sportacus laid Stephanie gently on the floor and interrupted the argument.

"Why don't we call Bessie?" Sportacus suggested. The Mayor and Dr. Feels Good agreed that was a good idea and Milford made the call. Bessie came right over. She entered the bathroom and pushed everybody out. Bessie carefully pulled off the wet pajama and undergarments. Then she put the dry ones on and rubbed Stephanie's hair dry. Then she called Sportacus into the bathroom.

"You can take her to bed now." Bessie told him.

"Thank you Bessie. You wouldn't believe those two. They were trying to decide which one of them should do it. I was afraid that they make me do it." Sportacus laughed nervously. Bessie smiled and was going to make a crack when she thought better of it. Bessie had seen the look on Stephanie's face when Sportacus was around. She had wondered what Sportacus would have done if they had made him do it. At that thought Bessie laughed. Sportacus looked at her and she said,

"I just can't picture you trying to do that." Bessie smiled. Sportacus' cheeks turned red and he started to laugh. He took Stephanie to her bed and tucked her in. The Mayor, Sportacus, and Bessie thanked the doctor as he left. Then the Mayor told Sportacus he unfortunately had some business to attend to at Town Hall that couldn't be avoided. He promised to come back as soon as possible. Sportacus said it was ok and that he didn't mind having the first watch. The Mayor thanked him and left with Bessie. Sportacus pulled a chair up to the side of Stephanie's bed. However, true to his form Sportacus couldn't sit still. He paced the floor, did some sit ups, and stretched. After about an hour, he decided to try to sit down. Taking Stephanie's hand in his, he hoped that she would get better. Her skin was cooler than before and Sportacus decided to take her temperature. It was down to 99.5. Her temperature is almost normal but not quite, Sportacus thought. Suddenly Stephanie began to thrash about in her bed.

"Stephanie! Its ok. Calm down." Sportacus tried to sooth her but she continued to thrash. Sportacus scooped her up and held her close. She stopped thrashing and snuggled up to him. Sportacus rocked her back and forth and kept telling her it would be all right. About half and hour later, Sportacus put her back into bed and went downstairs. He called up the doctor and asked him about the thrashing incident. Dr. Feels Good said it was possible that she was having a bad dream or that she just needed someone to tell her everything was all right. Sportacus thanked him and went back upstairs. Stephanie was sleeping peacefully and Sportacus realized that the Mayor had been gone a long time. The sedative would be wearing off soon. Sportacus heard a noise and he looked around the room. He heard it again but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It stopped and he sat down next to Stephanie and felt her forehead. It was cooler than before and he used the thermometer again. This time it read 99. Sportacus smiled and glanced at his watch. Only about thirty more minutes and the sedative would be out of Stephanie's system.

The Mayor was trying to finish the business at hand but he couldn't seem to focus. He was worried about Stephanie. Bessie could sense that he was nervous and she told him not to worry.

"Stephanie is a strong girl. She'll come out of it. I'm sure that Sportacus will let us know as soon as she does." Bessie reassured him.

"I know I just…" Mayor Meanswell started.

"You're just a big worry wart and you can't help it." Bessie smiled. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Milford blushed, picked up his pen, and got back to work.

To Be Continued…