"Rinse and spit, let the fluids do the work cuddle bug, you want a cold face cloth, or I can get one of your headbands" Luca said as he helped Jess take some sips of water after she'd finished throwing up before grabbing the bag she'd used so she could spit it back out, the emptier she kept her stomach, the less she could physically bring up when she was sick, Jess shook her head slightly and moved her body so she was fully foetal why Luca rubbed her back, Jason quickly grabbed the used bag and took it into the ensuite that was attached to her hospital room to dispose of it
"She going to be okay" Jason asked Luca concerned as he reappeared as Jess looked to be on the verge of tears and potentially running a fever as she was sweating, he'd never seen her being sick to this extreme, usually Trent would handle this level of nausea on his own because Jess didn't want anyone else around her or touching her, but as they'd come to realise, Luca was the exception to most of the rules on physical contact
"Cramps can make her feel feverish as well as the nausea they cause when they're severe, I can't give you another antiemetic injection yet Cuddle bug, it's only been 5 hours since your first one, need to wait another 3" Luca said softly explaining the situation as Jess shifted her head up towards Luca and looked at him, he could tell that the pain in her abdomen was really bad and she wanted it to stop, unfortunately there was nothing that could be done to ease it yet
"Can she use her heating pad" Jason asked curiously, the heating pad was usually Jess's go to for relief when she was cramping
"Not with the nausea making her feel feverish, best we can do is keep her body temperature as cool as possible and keep her still, they get to bad she can get really light headed and pass out" Luca said quickly grabbing the thermometer that had been left on the stand beside Jess's bed to confirm whether Jess had an actual fever or not, low grade fevers were a common side effect from chemotherapy, and she could be given medication with her fluids if she had one, seeing her temperature was 100.1, Luca pressed the call button to get the nurse to come to the room, Camden who was the senior nurse on the gastrointestinal ward entered the room within a few seconds and Luca showed him the thermometer, he quickly checked everything else he needed to before disappearing from the room without saying anything else to get the pain reliever medication to try and lower Jess's temperature
"Thank heavens for the little fans Aubree had on the list and the headbands" Jason said as soon as Camden left to get the medication, Luca was now looking through the pile of gifts that had been brought in by Bravo the day before, there had been a clip on adjustable fan that could be added to the head of the bed and adjusted to blow some cold air over Jess's head and face, he quickly spotted it and noticing it was battery operated, he immediately started looking for the rechargeable batteries that was carried in his wife's hospital bag
"Everything you lot brought in will help a lot, you didn't have to stay anyway Jason" Luca said to the master chief who had been initially wary about him on their very first meeting, but Luca had promptly realised it was only because he was protective of Jess, something Luca was forever greatful for
"You are" Jason promptly reminded Luca that he had stayed put himself instead of going to the hotel
"She's going to need someone who can tell what she's going through without her being expected to talk, her body is going to go through absolute hell these next few days" Luca said as he walked back towards his wife's bed, Jess hadn't said a single word this whole time, but Luca could tell exactly what was going on, he always could tell, even when she was younger, same as Jess had learnt to read Luca, it could nearly be classed as telepathic, even when they tried to hide their feelings from each other
"You can't be expected to bear the burden of this on your own however, you need sleep for starters" Jason said realising that Luca intended to stay put and do whatever it took to look after Jess, even if it meant ignoring his own needs, he'd seen Luca do it a few months ago, but Jess had been discharged before they returned from Syria, they'd never witnessed how he'd acted while Jess was in hospital
"So do you, I'll crash when Jay gets here tomorrow" Luca said as he carefully moved Jess's blanket back of her to try and get to her abdomen to flush her feeding tube as the pump started beeping
"Everything okay" Jason asked noticing that Luca had a small look of concern on his face
"She's got a bit of diarrhoea, that's all, can you pass me a flush syringe" Luca said noticing the colostomy bag Trent had suggested putting on was now holding a small amount of thickish brown liquid, it was no where near enough to warrant changing the bag yet, but Jess had flushed her bowels 5 hours ago, the fact there was something there was worrying to say the least, Luca didn't want to say anything about it however that might upset his wife as she'd closed her eyes again with the fan circulating some cool air on her face, hopefully this was a once of, as he quickly flushed the line and reconnected everything as Camden re-entered the room with a syringe in hand that he quickly injected into her bag of fluids before leaving, after everything was done Luca moved the IV pole so it was on the left hand side of the bed so he couldn't get tangled up in the various tubings that were coming from it and running the various liquids into Jess, he then positioned his body on the bed so he was pressing against her back and managed to wrap his arms around her sleeping body so she knew could tell he was right there without needing to ask where he was if she woke up suddenly
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"Jessica, how's the side effects going" Doctor Masterson asked as he walked into her room the morning after she'd started induction therapy, he'd checked with Camden and reviewed her readings when he arrived at the hospital, but now he wanted to hear from Jess herself how she was holding up
"Not to bad" Jess said with a strong hint of fatigue in her voice, she wasn't completely with it, which Doctor Masterson had suspected to be the case, and that she'd be sleeping fairly consistently over this next week, or trying to at least, Jess slept the best in her own bed and he knew it, even if his ward had become a second home so to speak, there were to many noises and interruptions for deep and restful sleep to consistently occour
"Well I got another present for you, it's a good one hopefully, it's just turned up, help manage the potential for any accidents in the future, once there's a certain amount of pressure behind it, there's a folded up bag in there and it will release to hold the faecal waste, it's air tight so that's not a issue and we'll still use the irrigation technique, make sure you don't end up with blockages, this will just be an extra backup" Doctor Masterson said producing the new stoma cover he'd just been sent to trial for his patients for Jess to look at, her current model she used looked like a squishy mushroom, with the bit that looked like the stalk actually sitting inside the stoma to help absorb any loose liquid and then the top adhered to her abdomen, this cover didn't have that bit that sat inside, instead it had two pieces, Jess quickly worked out that the second piece was a base plate, she'd seen people use them before, they helped the bag attach to the skin better, they were made of a soft plastic and this was no different, it would sit over her stoma to provide an anchor point for the collection device, the collection device
"Sounds good, how does it attach" Jess asked trying to work out how the collection device was held to the base plate as there was no adhesive part to it
"Like so, it's a click connection, which helps make it waterproof and air tight, and you'll be able to tell if it comes loose without needing to check it physically" Doctor Masterson said explaining the benefits of the new device over what she was currently using
"You want some help changing it over cuddle bug" Luca asked now checking the device over himself, he knew that Jess was uncomfortable with wearing the collection device when she had diarrhoea, or was at high risk of developing it, the plastic ring may be uncomfortable for her, but it was fairly flat and would be an alternative for the just in case moments instead of resorting straight for the bag
"After, wanna sleep some more" Jess said letting out a yawn, she didn't feel like getting out of bed yet, which she'd have to do to change the device over completely
"You go right ahead then and sleep some more then Jessica, I'll be back to check in on you this afternoon" Doctor Masterson said letting her know it was okay that she wasn't jumping up and running to the bathroom to change things over
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"Jason, how'd she go last night" Eric asked as soon as he spotted Jason raiding the vending machine that was on gastrointestinal ward, the remainder of Bravo team followed closely behind him
"She vomited twice and has some diarrhoea sir, but there wasn't a lot in it, nausea and cramps seems to be the worst part of it, it's making her feel feverish and light headed, and she's pretty exhausted, wanting to sleep mostly" Jason said filling Eric in on how Jess had been through the night
"That's actually pretty good considering the amount of medication that she's on, Luca still here" Trent said surprised, she was 12 hours in which meant that the medication was now fully working it's way through her body for a good few hours now, so this would be where the severe symptoms would be kicking in
"Jay sent him back to the hotel to get some sleep as soon as he arrived, he didn't sleep at all last night and he had a couple of jobs Jay's asked him to do" Jason said informing the group that Luca wasn't there and had not slept last night, he was looking considerably stiff and hunched over when he left this morning, Jay had told him to leave as soon as he saw the state Luca was in
"Can you blame him, bet you didn't get any either brother" Ray said with a small smile, if their positions were reversed, and it had been Naima in Jess's position and he in Luca's, he would have stayed as well, Jason on the other hand, well he'd seen Jason spend many a night sitting in the plastic hospital chairs beside a bed that contained one of his brothers who was sick or injured, Ray had been concerned about Jason staying last night as he had control issues when it came to making sure everything was fine with his team and they were going to be okay, Jess's outcome was still up in the air at the moment and Luca was not the type of person to relinquish the position of power in looking after Jess when things were tough, Luca was clearly at the top of the list in that situation, even bypassing Jay which they'd previously thought to be impossible before they'd met him
"What type of jobs is he doing" Jason asked, ignoring Ray's comment about him not getting much sleep either
"WST are looking for a new 4 legged addition for their workplace and to help promote some of their products" Brock said, Jay had spoken to him about the search for another dog to join their family
"Sharing the limelight with Cerbs huh" Sonny asked Brock curiously, Cerbs had featured in 2 photo shoots already featuring Jay's products since he'd retired
"Maybe a little bit, think it's more that the staff miss Cerbs being out there now Zah's settled into school" Brock said smiling as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Jay as he'd asked Brock's opinion on looking for another dog and how Cerbs would accept another dog living in the house full time
"So you think it will come from a rescue" Clay asked curiously
"Don't think Luca would choose anything else, especially if Laura has a say in it" Brock said smiling at the mention of his girlfriend and how passionate she was with her chosen line of work
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"Luca, you make any progress in looking for a dog" Jay asked the moment he saw his son in law enter the hospital room, Jess had been taken for a couple of scans and a physio appointment about half an hour ago, she hadn't wanted anyone to accompany her insisting that they could be collected if she needed them, he was holding a couple of manilla folders which Jay hoped meant that they'd found a couple of suitable candidates, Luca was certainly moving a lot better than what he had been when he arrived at the hospital this morning, his hair was still damp indicating that he'd showered, he was also carrying a grocery bag from the dollar store near the hospital, they sold the anti-nausea lollies that Jess enjoyed, Luca clearly had taken the time to look after himself for the day, instead of focusing solely on what was happening at the hospital, which Jay was extremely proud of him doing
"Found one, but I need to wait till Laura has reviewed his medical history, he's a former fighting dog that was seized when owner was arrested, loves other dogs, cats and kids, he's attended some expo's with the organisation and done really well with the crowds and getting pets from random strangers" Luca said handing the folder over to Jay to read
"So what's stopped him getting adopted, sounds pretty ideal for a dog" Sonny asked curiously
"He's a pitt bull, a lot of insurance companies don't allow them in properties or charge excess premiums, and he's got a few long term medical problems, that's why I want Laura to go through the history, see if there's any issues she can foresee that will cause quality of life issues or be to difficult for us to manage, then it will also depend on how Cerbs and Pepper take to him" Luca said explaining the situation, what would normally be a problem for owners looking for a dog like raised premiums because of the breed or chronic medical issues weren't a problem for them, they could easily cover the raised premiums, and they had a vet living in the house, so paying for appointments wouldn't be an issue, it would only be the cost of supplies used, Jay handed Brock the file to look at for his opinion of the dog
"If Cerbs accepts him, Pepper will as well as Cerbs is the Alpha of the house" Brock said happy that Jay was considering Pepper's needs as well in this decision, even though she didn't officially live there, she was clearly seen as part of the family
"You see any other possible issues Brock" Jay asked eager for his opinion, he wanted the right fit personality wise, the financial cost wasn't the problem here, and he knew that Brock would be capable of noticing problems others may miss due to his experience
"Behaviour sounds spot on for what you want, medical problems may mean the dog isn't suitable for being left alone, but if he's going to be going to the office, that's really not a concern" Brock said giving his opinion before looking at the profile picture of the dog, he had the stereotypical pittbull look about him, his ears had been cropped of, which Laura had pointed out was done by the owners to limit the other dogs ability to get a decent hold of their dog in a fight, and the dog was usually held down by people why their ears were hacked of with sharp knives or scissors, this dog had clearly been through some stuff, rough stuff, he was a fighter
"They also have this little girl, she's been evaluated as having potential to be a working dog, but it's finding a training program to take her, I didn't know if you had some contacts, I know shepherds are the preferred dog for the Seals" Luca said handing another file to Brock for him to look at, the photo showed a dog clearly under a year old with black and white markings, her ears were intact unlike the previous dog he'd seen, she was the type of dog that people would look for if breed wasn't an issue, young, healthy, no scars, had been in the rescue for only a few months, where as the previous file, he was older, had been at the rescue for 5 years, had a host of medical issues, had been made to look scary and had some scars, his options for a new home were considerably less than the other dog due to no fault of his own
"Best option would be to go into the private sector, pitbulls are currently banned from living in base housing as they're deemed dangerous, but I do have a couple of trainers I can pass the file on to" Brock said reading the other file and behavioral assessment, this dog was deemed to have a high prey drive, which meant that she'd be unsuitable around young children without proper training and supervision, and was weary of strangers, something the other dog had no problem with, yet appearance wise meant she was more adoptable, which made Brock suddenly realise how unfair life could be when it came to these situations
"Aren't they dangerous, pitbulls and being a fighting dog" Ray asked concerned about the possibility of his children getting injured visiting Jess and Luca's house
"Not with the right training, handling and environment, it's all down to the personality, Cerbs and Pepper could be dangerous and attack if they wanted" Brock said trying to satisfy Ray's concern that the new dog would be safe around his kids
"They wouldn't be capable of doing that unless they were provoked or defending themselves or someone else" Trent said defending the dogs, yes they were trained to take down a suspect, that night at the horse auction they'd sunk their teeth into a kill buyer who'd pulled a knife on Tahlia Cameron was in his thoughts, the kill buyer could have tried to be difficult and called the cops as the dogs had bitten him, but they were only defending Tahlia and he'd have to explain why he'd pulled the knife
"Exactly, a dog won't attack without reason, whether it's self defence or prey drive, that's why it's important to be temperament tested and matched to the right owner and family environment, just like when matching any animals, and from what I've read, it's often the ex fighting dogs who are more suitable for family pets and can be so gentle and loving over dogs that have come from other enviroments, you going to do a meet and greet" Brock said explaining the situation as he saw it, fighting dogs were starved and beaten, then chucked in a ring with another dog and a piece of meat or a small animal, they fought to survive, nothing more, once that need to fight was replaced by love and affection, they would sometimes struggle to get enough of it because it made them feel good
"We'll have to yes" Luca said sensing that Brock would want to come along
"If I'm home, I'll tag along, test both Cerbs and Pepper with him, give him a behavioral assessment" Brock said volunteering himself to attend the meeting with Luca
"We should hear in a few days when we can go and meet him if we proceed with the adoption, just waiting on Laura to give her opinion on the medical care he'll need" Luca said, he was mostly waiting to hear from his sister whether she could handle the majority of the dogs needs or whether they'd need a specialist vet, whether the dog still had, in her opinion the capacity for a good life, or if he'd be struggling, all valid questions in Luca's mind
"They say what his problems are" Jason asked curiously
"He's got diabetes which has caused some kidney trouble because his previous owner didn't treat it, he also has a sensitive stomach and there's an old injury to his back leg that makes him a little stiff at time" Luca said explaining the dogs medical issues
"Sounds like he'll fit right in with the family Luca" Eric said laughing at the list, he already had Jess struggling with her blood sugars and kidney issues, both her and Zalie had sensitive stomachs, and Zalie had had leg and hip issues which had required surgery and time in a double hip spica cast, so the family could already relate to the dogs medical issues without an issue
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"Doctor Leighton, you have some good news for us I hope" Eric said as the young oncologist entered the hospital room with a folder in hand and smile on her face
"I do, there's no sign of any complications from the chemotherapy and your kidney readings are still improving, you're anaemic which we was expecting to happen, and the low white blood cell counts, your platelets are low as well, Poppy said that you had 3 blood noses today" Doctor Leighton said pleased with the results, everything was proceeding like it should be
"Yeah" Jess said letting out a yawn
"That's completely normal and to be expected under the circumstances" Doctor Leighton said assuring everyone in the room that things were going as planned
"This dozing off and being fatigued all the time" Eric asked concerned about how tired Jess was all the time, only other time she'd been this bad was when she was dealing with the double pneumonia after her injuries in Yemen and the peritonitis
"Considering what Jess has been through and going through, getting loads of sleep is actually extremely beneficial for her at the moment, the mono would be making her tired, the chemotherapy would be making her tired, the anaemia would be making her tired, currently I'd be more focused on getting Jess back eating food of some degree, and I'd also be watching the O2 levels then how much she's sleeping, they're lower than we'd like, Jess, how do you feel about trying the oxygen cannula for a few hours, see if it gives you a bit more energy" Doctor Leighton asked looking at Jess, the oxygen would help ease some of the stress on her body, which would hopefully increase her energy slightly, the anaemia and low white blood cell count, they couldn't really do anything about until her cycle was finished, but Jess could help herself by attempting to start eating some proper food, get some extra energy that way as she could only get so much from artificial sources
"Okay" Jess said agreeing to try using the oxygen to see if it helped her
"Okay" Doctor Leighton said immediately unhooking the nasal cannula from the wall beside the bed and placing it on Jess's face
"But she's going to be okay" Ray asked sensing their CO's concern
"Hopefully with time, and plenty of rest, keep stress levels to a minimum, Jess will fully bounce back from this, I'll be back to monitor your progress later" Doctor Leighton said not wanting to give a definite answer to Ray's question that Jess would fully recover, it was still to early for them to tell
"Thanks Doctor Leighton" Luca said as the doctor left the room, Jess grabbed her tablet from beside her bed and opened up her emails to check them before she fell asleep again
"Which means, no paperwork or reports Bookworm" Sonny said taking her tablet from her not realising she was in her email account
"I was checking my emails, nothing stressful about that" Jess said protesting against her tablet being taken away
"Really, who's Tali Janner" Clay asked seeing the name on the email
"A friend, from Israel" Jess said getting more annoyed by the second
"Really, well if she's a friend, then she can wait" Jason said taking the tablet from Sonny for safe keeping
"Give me back my tablet Jason, don't make me ask twice" Jess said with a clear aggressive undertone present in her voice, she didn't have time for these childish games from her brothers
"Who does she work for" Trent asked, Jess had contacts in different militaries and intelligence agencies around the world, Trent got the opinion that this may be one of those friends
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you" Jess responded sarcastically but the aggressive undertone was still vary much present in her voice
"She Sayeret Matkal" Eric asked curiously
"Not anymore, she's a spook, now give it back Jason" Jess said, Israel had no issues with women in special forces units, where her friend had started while doing her compulsory military service, she'd now moved onto Mossad, and was a part of the kidon unit that handled assassinations of Israel's enemies
"You heard the girl, she told you to give her tablet back" came a female voice from behind Jason, they hadn't heard anyone else enter the room, the first indication they had that the newcomer had joined them was Jason flinching as he realised his wrist was now restrained and pulled into a position behind him where if he struggled against the person, they could have easily broken his arm and potentially seriously injured his shoulder with very little effort on there behalf
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