Disclaimer: Show's still cancelled and I still own nothin'
A/N: Joely Fisher (Zoe) is gonna be on Desperate Housewives this season...that could be fun.
Zoe lay in Dan's arms Tuesday night, no longer feeling guilty about sleeping with him and accepting the comfort he offered. His fingers gently stroked her back and he placed light kisses in her hair. She'd discovered the first time that they made love that Dan loved to cuddle afterwards which made her very happy because she could definitely use his arms around her, it helped her sleep. Normally guys would just roll over and go to sleep but Dan would pull her close and whisper sweetly into her ear how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. Dan was officially moved in to her place now and while the routine with all the kids was still a little rocky it was getting better every day. Earlier that day he'd signed the lease of his place over to Rebecca, excited that his little sister was coming home to stay. Zoe felt her eyes closing, adrenaline slowly draining from her and soon she was asleep.
Rebecca was anxiously pacing the length of Zoe and Dan's living room at ten am, her fiancé having just called and told her that his plane had landed and he was on his way to her. Zoe and Dan were at work and Rebecca was babysitting a sick Hannah while impatiently waiting for Mike.
"Rebecca?" Hannah called from her room. Rebecca bounded up the stairs, happy to have something to do with her pent up energy.
"Hey kiddo," she greeted the pale little girl, "How're ya feelin'?"
"A little better...can I have a popsicle?" Hannah smiled at her hopefully.
Rebecca nodded, "I'll go get it. What kind do you want?"
"Banana!" Rebecca bounced down the stairs, pausing to check on Katy who was playing with a busy box in her playpen. She returned to Hannah's room with a popsicle and sat with the little girl, inventing fairytales for her until she fell asleep. Rebecca crept quietly back down the stairs just in time to see a rental car pull into the drive, her fiancé stepping out. She threw open the door and ran to him, jumping into his arms and kissing him with all the passion she could muster.
"Hey beautiful," he whispered into her hair, "Let's go inside okay?" Rebecca nodded and led him in the house, dutifully checking on Katy and Hannah, both of whom were asleep. When she returned to the livingroom Mike was sitting on the couch and when she went to walk past him he pulled her down into his lap, "Missed you baby."
"I missed you t--...oooh" Rebecca groaned as Mike began to kiss and suck her neck, "Mike we can't..." she breathed. He stopped, Rebecca was disappointed at the loss of contact but happy just to be with him. The couple sat on the couch for the rest of the day, checking on the two girls at regular intervals and catching up on their time apart.
Taylor and Cliff were the first to arrive home, "Hey Rebecca!" Cliff called before heading upstairs to do his homework.
"Hey Rebecca..." Taylor walked into the livingroom, looking questioningly at Mike.
"Taylor this is my fiancé Mike," Rebecca introduced them. Taylor shook his hand, awestruck at the handsome man before her. She turned to Rebecca,
"No wonder you missed him," Rebecca blushed and Taylor laughed as she made her way upstairs.
"Zoe and Dan should be home soon," Rebecca told Mike, "I can't wait for you to meet them!" As if on cue the front door opened and Zoe and Dan walked in. "Hey Zoe, Dan!" Rebecca greeted them, "This is Mike. Hannah's doing better, had a popsicle this morning and some chicken noodle soup a couple hours ago and she's been sleeping most of the day."
"Well why don't you two go back to my – your – place and get settled and come back for dinner around six? I'm cooking," Dan told them.
"Sounds like a good idea," Rebecca told him, kissing him quickly on the cheek and giving Zoe a hug as Mike packed Katy up.. "See you two later!" she called over her shoulder as she followed Mike to the car. Zoe ran upstairs to check on Hannah, who was still sleeping peacefully before joining Dan on the couch downstairs. She leaned into him, her head resting on his chest,
"I could get used to this," she said quietly.
"I already am," Dan replied, kissing the top of her head gently.
It was six-thirty and Rebecca and Mike hadn't returned for dinner like they said they would. Zoe had fed the kids and she and Dan were waiting on the other couple before they ate. They sat cuddled on the couch, the family watching a movie together. Their movie was interrupted when the phone rang and Taylor leaned over to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi Taylor...is Dan there?" Rebecca asked.
"Here Mr. Lennox, it's Rebecca...she sounds upset."
"Dan..." tears were evident in Rebecca's voice, "Kathryn's running a fever of 106...we're at the hospital..." Rebecca broke down and handed her phone to Mike.
"Hi Dan. We're gonna be here a while, Kat's critical but stable for the moment, they've got her on a ventilator because she was having trouble breathing earlier" Dan could hear Mike soothing Rebecca as she cried against him, muffling her sobs with his chest.
"Okay Mike. Call back if you need anything," Dan told him.
"Thanks, bye," Dan hung up the phone, "Katy's in the hospital, she's got a fever."
"Is she okay?" Zoe asked, immediately thinking that Katy might have picked up whatever Hannah was getting over.
"Critical but stable..." Dan shut his eyes, he may have just met his little niece but she was like a child to him as much as Zoe's kids were.
"Tay can you guys go upstairs?" Zoe said. Taylor nodded and took her younger siblings upstairs. When they disappeared from view Dan pulled Zoe close to him, his body shaking. "Shh, it's okay Dan. The doctors will help her," Zoe whispered, praying she was right.
Three hours later Rebecca sat silently curled up on Mike's lap, waiting for Katy's test results. She stared at her precious baby girl, a tube down her throat to keep her breathing, an IV in her tiny arm to keep the fever from dehydrating her and wires attached to her little chest to monitor her heartbeat. Tears slid quietly down Rebecca's cheeks and she buried her head in Mike's shoulder, seeking comfort.
"Shh...it's gonna be okay honey," he whispered to her, pressing gentle kisses into her hair. Rebecca's head snapped up when the door opened.
"Ms. Lennox?" the doctor asked, all Rebecca could do was nod, wiping away her tears. "I'm Dr. Addison Shepard, it seems that Kathryn has developed a case of pneumonia." Rebecca's breath caught and she sobbed into Mike's chest, the doctor paused while Rebecca collected herself. "In the past few months has Kathryn had any colds?" Rebecca nodded,
"About two months ago, she had a runny nose and a low grade fever, it cleared up in about a week, I figured it was nothing."
"It's possible that it was an RSV infection which made her more susceptible to a lower respiratory infection like pneumonia. We're going to start her on amoxicillin..."
"No!" Rebecca interjected, "She's allergic to penicillin and amoxicillin." Mike rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her down.
"Okay," the doctor smiled, trying her best to calm Rebecca, "That's fine we can treat her with erythromycin and we're going to put her in isolation," the doctor turned to face an intern, "Dr. Stevens could you please give Kathryn a dose of EryPed?"
"Sure Dr. Shepard," the young blonde doctor said, swiftly exiting the room.
"Do you have any questions for me?" the doctor asked.
"Is she going to be okay?" Mike asked, Rebecca having again dissolved into tears against his shoulder.
"If everything goes as planned we should see an improvement over the next week. My main goal is to get her off the ventilator and breathing on her own."
Rebecca turned to look at the doctor, her voice shaking as she asked, "And if everything doesn't go as planned?"
"Then we change the treatment. Kathryn is in the best hands here, I'll do everything I can for her." Rebecca nodded and leaned into Mike, watching the younger doctor inject the first dose of medication into Katy's IV.
At four thirty the next morning Zoe was kneeling in her bathroom, trying her best to keep quiet as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She jumped when Dan placed a hand on her shoulder,
"Zoe? Are you okay?" she took a breath and nodded, letting him lead her back to bed. Dan settled her into the bed before going to get a cool cloth from the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and wiped her face gently as she fell back to sleep.
Across town Rebecca lay on a cot, staring at her baby in the crib, Mike's arms wrapped securely around her waist. She shifted against him, trying not to wake him as the tears threatened to spill again. Mike felt her move,
"Babe?" he questioned. Rebecca turned to face him, burying her face in his shoulder once again. "Shh...it's gonna be okay babe, Dr. Shepard is one of the best. Kathryn is exactly where she needs to be." He kissed her hair as she fell asleep, sending a silent prayer that Kathryn would be okay to anyone who was listening.
Two hours later Zoe was again kneeling on her bathroom floor, mind racing. She leaned back against the wall, trying to remember the last time she'd had her period. It hit her like a tonne of bricks, she was late. What if...what if I'm pregnant!
A/N2: Wow amI slow or what? Stupid university and having to do work haha. Anyways I hope you liked the update. Anyone recognize the doctors?