Ch. 8 Broken

Lex stared at Lexie. She was asleep in her crib, the fever not yet broken. She was hot and shaking with chills. In the middle of the night she would wake up and let out loud cries. Lex had no time to think about anyone else but his niece. Nathan and Daley were in too much pain, but whenever Lex asked for their help they immediately gave it. The others were (wisely) staying out of the way so that Lex could heal her. Abby sometimes came in and visited, which Lex greatly appreciated. He still hadn't asked her out yet. Now he didn't know if he ever would. Did it matter when life was on the line?

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was distracting sometimes. The sniffles and sobs of the two people behind him. The hovering of the people outside. The confusion in his own brain over what to do with Abby. So many things. So little time. He didn't really know what was happening anymore.

Lex stared at Lexie as she flung around in the crib. Lex felt so sorry he couldn't do anything more for the poor baby lying there sick, but this was all he could do for Lexie.

Suddenly, Lexie let out a loud cry, "MAAMAA!" Lex sighed as Daley came rushing over.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked, tears spilling in her eyes.

"Don't worry," Lex sighed, picking up Lexie and rocking her. He pressed a wet cloth to her forehead and checked her fever.

"Oh wow," Lex murmured softly.

"What, what?" Daley asked frantically. Nathan was watching worriedly from the bed.

"The fever's gone way down. She's almost at normal temperature," Lex murmured, removing the wet cloth and unwrapping some of the clothes around her. Lexie cried out again.

"MAAMAA!" she cried. Daley forcefully took Lexie from Lex and rocked her.

"I'm here, baby," she murmured, rocking her gently, "don't worry, baby, I'm here. Don't cry," she murmured softly, holding her close.

Lex stared for a bit, then shook his head furiously to clear it, "Daley, can I see her for a bit?"

Daley reluctantly handed Lexie to him. She immediately began to cry loudly again.

"MAAMAA!" she screamed, punching Lex with her small fist. Lex quickly placed the back of his hand onto Lexie's forehead.

"Here," and Lex smiled for the first time in a week (that's how long it had been).

Daley stared at him, confused, and took Lexie. Lexie snuggled up against her and began to fall asleep. Daley stared in shock as she didn't fling around or even fidget.

"What...?" she asked confused.

"Congratulations, Day," Lex grinned, "her fever's broken. I suggest you let her sleep peacefully, and when she wakes up feed her and give her some water. By then she'll be tired again. Let her sleep, and keep this pattern for a day or two. She's on the home stretch, but bad things can happen on that strip of road anyway if you don't drive it properly. Got it?" Lex grinned.

Daley nodded, tears of relief spilling out of her eyes as she held Lexie close to her. Nathan got up and hugged them, crying out of happiness himself. Lex grinned and left the cabin, and stretched. Jackson, Melissa, and Abby came running (hobbling) over.

"What happened?"

"Is Lexie okay?"

"How are Nathan and Daley doing?"

Everyone bombarded him with questions till he raised a hand.

"Her fever's broken," Lex grinned.

Everyone breathed sighs of relief, and Melissa murmured, "thank God."

"But let them be for a while," Lex continued, "they've been through enough as it is."

Everyone nodded and walked back to their different activities, except for Abby.

"Lex," she began, "you were really resourceful back there."

"Yeah well," Lex blushed and shrugged.

"We were all talking back there," she continued, "and we decided that you should be the official doctor. If you don't know something for someone, then we'd ask if anyone else knew. If no one did, then it would be up to you to improvise based on other, similar situations. Do you think you can handle that sort of thing?" Abby smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah," Lex nodded while grinning, "Yeah, I think I can." I can handle it more than I can handle other things, Abby. Like, for instance, asking you out.

"Cool," Abby nodded and grinned, then walked away.

Lex wanted to hit himself.

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Melissa and Jackson were talking as Eric and Taylor danced around in celebration for Nathan, Daley, and Lexie.

"So, are you still worried about whether our baby will be okay or not?" Jackson asked while smiling at her.

"A little. Not as much as before," Melissa nodded and smiled.

"I would normally say 'don't worry,' but you never know what might happen," Jackson nodded.

"Always expect the unexpected," Melissa laughed.

"So true," Jackson smiled and pulled Melissa into a bear hug. Melissa grinned back and stared into his eyes for a second, then kissed him. He broke away reluctantly.

"Come on," Jackson murmured, "let's go fold baby clothes again."

Melissa grinned and got up with him.

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Nathan held Daley protectively as they watched Lexie sleep peacefully in her crib. She was sleeping like a rock, but also looked healthy for the first time in a long time. Both had tears shining in their eyes from happiness.

"I'm so happy right now," Daley murmured softly.

"Me too," Nathan turned to face her, and was smiling through his tears.

Daley lifted her arms around his neck and began to kiss him passionately. He groaned softly and wrapped his arms around her waist. Not worrying about anything anymore, they began to be horizontal on the bed…

(946 Words) Sorry for the short chapter guys, but I had to end there:-(