Chapter 4: Illness

When Brandy woke up it was slightly after three in the morning. Austin was crying loudly in the baby monitor. Recently he'd been doing a bit better at sleeping through the night, but it wasn't unexpected for him to get up from time to time with a need for a feeding or change. His cries however didn't sound like normal. These sounded more ragged and pained. It was clear that this wasn't the typical demand for a fresh nappy or a drink. Brandy quickly got out of bed and went across the hall to the nursery.

"Austin… What's wrong?" She asked, picking up the screaming tot from his cot. As she held him she felt his forehead bump against her shoulder. It was hot. Brandy quickly used the back of her hand across the babe's forehead, it confirmed the earlier touch. "Okay, it'll be okay…" She said as she gently carried him into the bathroom to get the thermometer. She quickly checked his nappy, it was clean-mercifully-and gently put a smidge of Vaseline on the tube before inserting the thermometer. Needless to say, Austin didn't like the arrangement.

"It's okay, I know it's uncomfortable. It's the best way for me to take it…" Brandy rubbed his back gently as the thermometer read. A minute later it beeped, indicating it was ready to remove. She pulled it out.

Normal body temperature ranges between 38.3 and 39.2 degrees Celsius for dogs. So when Brandy pulled out the thermometer and it read a hair above 40 degrees she knew it was a concern. "Shit… Come on, where'd I put it?" She muttered, rummaging in the cabinets until she pulled out a bottle of purple "Infant and Children's Fever Reducer" she'd gotten shortly before she'd given birth-it had been one of the things that Trixie had advised, she stated how much of a panic it had been when Muffin had her first fever and Stripe had had to drive to the chemist in the middle of the night.

After reading the back label for dosage she filled a small syringe with the correct amount and held open Austin's muzzle before squirting the medicine in the back of his throat. She followed it with a quick rinse of water and picked him up, rubbing him as she rocked back and forth. "I know it hurts, I know you don't like being sick… I promise I'm going to help you feel better soon." She swayed back and forth, attempting to dull his screams, but it was clear he was in too much pain for it to do much at the moment.

***MH***

An hour later and it seemed like the medicine hadn't done anything. Austin was still hot to the touch and Brandy was worrying. His nose was dry and his eyes were starting to get glassy.

Shit, shit, shit… I thought that the fever reducer was supposed to help fight this? She gently placed Austin back on the counter as she used the thermometer again. After a moment it beeped, this time it was 40.5 degrees. "Oh God…" Brandy quickly fumbled and dialed on her phone. "Please pick up…"

"'Ello?" Chilli asked, a clear tiredness in her voice.

"I'm sorry I'm calling at 4 in the morning but I'm seriously panicking and I don't know what I need to do and Austin's sick and I'm really worried!" Brandy was on the verge of hyperventilating.

Chilli sat up in bed. Bandit squinted at the light from the phone and movement beside her. "How is he sick?"

"He's got a fever. It was 40.1 an hour ago and now it's 40.5. I gave him kid's Tylenol but it didn't do anything. His nose is dry and his eyes are starting to get glassy…" Brandy choked back tears. "What should I do?"

Chilli bit her lip. "I'm going to conference in Trixie. She's a nurse, she might have an idea. Give me a minute."

"Okay, yeah."

Two minutes later Trixie was on the line. "Brandy, I need you to check something for me." She instructed.

"Yeah, okay."

"Open Austin's mouth. Where is his tongue?"

Brandy pried open her son's muzzle and saw his tongue. It was stuck to the roof of his mouth. "It's on the roof of his mouth."

"Get him to a hospital. Now." Trixie said, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"What? Okay." Brandy replied, grabbing her purse and Austin, quickly heading toward the elevator.

"It's a sign of serious dehydration that he isn't producing enough saliva. He needs fluids. The fever's draining him right now and he needs a doctor to help him with that." Trixie paused. "What hospital are you going to?"

"Um… I don't know. Fuck, why don't I know?!" Brandy whimpered as she rocked her son in the elevator, looking down with an immense sense of worry. "Christ, I should know where the closest hospital is… God, what am I doing?!"

"Calm down. Chilli, look up the closest hospital and send Brandy the address." Trixie instructed.

After a few taps Chilli replied, "Looks like it's Brisbane General."

"Okay, I know some people in the emergency department there." Trixie replied. "I'm going to tell them you're on the way so they'll be ready as soon as you get there. Brandy, listen to me. You're going to be fine. They are going to do everything they can to help Austin."

"It's a seventeen minute drive from your house." Chilli added. I'm texting you the address so you can use your phone to get there. "I'll meet you there in a bit. I need to let Bandit know what's going on then I'll be on my way."

"Same with me. Let me just tell Stripe so he can watch the girls." Trixie added.

***MH***

The next twenty minutes were a blur for Brandy. She got to the hospital and was immediately greeted by nurses who took Austin and moved him into a room where they hooked him up to an IV and started a bunch of medications she couldn't pronounce or identify. His pulse was steady, which was good, but they were concerned about his fever. A collie named Brenda pulled her aside.

"Brandy, I know this is hard. Believe me, I have three of my own and I've had plenty of close calls myself." She placed her hand on her shoulder. "Trixie told me about you, you're a good mum and we're doing everything we can to help Austin. Right now the best thing for you is to rest. He's being watched over by some of the best pediatricians in Brisbane and we're doing all we're able to do to help him get better." Brenda nodded as she gave Brandy a firm hug, then went off to tend to another patient.

Brandy nodded numbly. She felt a buzz in her purse. It was a text. She slowly pulled out her phone to look at it.

Chilli: Trixie and I are here in the waiting room. When you're ready we're here for you.

Brandy arrived in the waiting room a few minutes later. Before she could even say anything she broke into tears and grabbed onto her sister and sister-in-law. The three women stood together in the middle of the waiting room, the younger red heeler and grey heeler both comforting their sister. After a few minutes Brandy started to pull back and they released the hug.

"I never thought about losing him… I couldn't handle that… I can't handle that." Brandy whispered quietly.

"I know Brandy… I know they're doing everything they're able to help him." Trixie said, comforting her with a small pat on the hand.

Brandy looked up at Chilli, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Chilli furrowed her brow. "Why are you sorry?"

"I… I know about Baxter."

Chilli's breath hitched a moment. Trixie looked at the two sisters.

"Bandit accidentally told me when I visited with the onesies, he didn't mean to, I swear." Brandy stated. "I… I can't imagine the pain that caused. I had no idea, and then now… I wasn't even thinking about it when I called you." She paused. "I shouldn't've brought you into this, I've hurt you enough. I don't want to remind you more of the hurt you've felt." She shook her head, "God, I just can't do anything fucking right…"

Chilli shook her head, her eyes glistening. "You aren't hurting me. I want to be here. I want to be here for you right now. What happened… it happened. But right now I want to be here for you and help you through this." She embraced her sister. "You are a good mum and a good sister. And I promise that I'll be by your side until this is through."

"I will too." Trixie added, joining the hug.

"Thanks." Brandy mumbled, trying not to snort as she attempted to stop the runny nose that her profuse tears were causing.

***MH***

The next 24 hours were easily the most stressful of Brandy's life, and easily in the top ten most stressful for Trixie and Chilli. The three women stayed together in the waiting room, at least one always awake in case some news came. Because of Austin's condition he wasn't allowed visitors until the fever was gone. It took nearly a day, but it finally dropped to normal. The fluids worked, as did the fever reducers, and by the end of the second day he was ready to be off the IV. After a third day for observations he was cleared to go home.

Brandy embraced her son tighter than she ever had before as she looked in his brown eyes as he stared up at her, unaware of the stress his illness had caused. "I love you so much, don't you ever do that to me again!" She kissed him on the forehead, glad for it to be its usual temperature.

"Ready to go home?" Chilli asked her sister.

"Definitely, this little one and I both need some rest after all of this."

"If anything ever starts up again, feel free to call me. I don't mind-I'm used to being up at weird hours." Trixie said, tickling the tot's tummy.

"I will." Brandy replied. She smiled, blushing slightly, "Thanks again, for being there for me. I don't really feel like I deserved it."

"We're family." Chilli smiled.

"Or close enough." Trixie shrugged.

"It's what we're here for."

***Author's Note***

Hello! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to give a bit more drama here beyond the usual fluff. Don't worry, Austin was never in any real danger. I'd never kill a kid (in this fic). If you are into more scary or violent fare I'm working on "Society" at the moment, my sequel to "Outbreak" and am cowriting "Project New Era" with Kodiwolf321 (thought that one isn't too violent, to be honest). In any case, please review if you liked and I'm open for commissions-if you would like to talk you can always DM me. Thanks again!