Jess had really, really hoped the dreaded 's' word wouldn't come up at the doctor's office that day. Kayla had done so well all day, but it happened. Their usual pediatrician was out of the office that day, and a different doctor had taken his place. A doctor that didn't know not to use that dreaded word.
"No shots, mommy!"
"Honey, you need to have this shot. It'll be over quick, I promise." Jess said, trying her best to be soothing.
Kayla, trying to be brave, said, "You'll be right here?"
"I will be right here. I swear. And if you sit still, we'll get ice cream after we leave."
Jess felt like a terrible mother resorting to bribery, but she was desperate. She wanted Kayla to have a flu shot, but it was proving harder than she thought it would be. Hopefully, though, after the flu shot, Kayla would be back to normal and the entire shot fiasco would be behind them.
Hopefully.
The doctor came inside with the needle, and Kayla did well enough. Sitting in Jess's lap, she only cried a little when she was stuck. After some cuddles from mommy and a sticker and a lollipop from the nurse, Kayla seemed okay. Then the doctor dropped the bad news.
"I'd like you to take Kayla across the street."
"Why? Is everything okay?" Jess asked.
"It's just a precaution, but you mentioned that Kayla's had a poor appetite and has been more tired than normal lately. I'd like to test her iron to see if she's anemic."
"And if it is?"
"We'll put her on an iron supplement and hopefully that'll be enough to help her to feel better." the doctor explained.
Great, Jess thought. A blood draw. Just what I need.
An impatient Kayla spoke up from the chair next to the door of the exam room. "Mommy, can we go for ice cream now?"
"Not yet, honey. I'm afraid we have to go visit another doctor." Jess said.
"But what about ice cream? You promised!" Kayla said with a pout.
"We will, sweetie, I promise. One more stop, okay?"
"Okay." Kayla said reluctantly.
"That's my good girl." Jess said. "Come on."
Jess walked across the street with Kayla, hoping and praying she'd have a better reaction to the blood draw than she'd had to the flu shot. She was waiting until the very last moment to tell Kayla she'd have to deal with more needles. There was a bit of a wait for the blood draw, so Jess and Kayla played a game of twenty questions in the waiting room. Kayla giggled when her mother couldn't guess that she was thinking of a single blue lego on the table in the children's play area. Just as Jess was about to concede to Kayla, the nurse came out.
"Kayla Winchester?"
"Mommy, what's this doctor for? Am I okay?" Kayla asked.
"You are gonna be just fine." Jess assured her as they stood up. "This doctor's just making sure."
"Okay." Kayla said, taking her mother's hand and walking back with her.
The two were led to a small exam room, where there was a nurse and an IV technician. Jess asked if it was okay to hold Kayla while they did their 'test', and the nurse agreed. Jess pulled Kayla into her lap, and prepared herself for the coming onslaught.
"Listen, kiddo, you're here for another shot."
"What? No!" Kayla whined.
"Shhh. Listen. The nurse here needs to take a little blood from you so they can test it."
"My blood?" Kayla said. "I need my blood. They can't have it."
"I promise they're only gonna take a little." Jess said. "Just close your eyes and lean against mommy and it'll be all over soon, okay?"
"No…" Kayla said, pulling her arms toward her chest, trying to keep it away from the nurse and the technician.
Jess seriously considered calling Sam or her mother to come to the hospital. She hated seeing Kayla upset, and knew that getting Kayla to sit still for the blood draw was going to be taxing. Jess kissed the top of Kayla's hair, something she'd done when Kayla was a baby that would calm her when she was upset or sick. It worked now, at least temporarily.
"I'm scared, mommy."
"I know. Mommy's got you, okay? Lean back and close your eyes like I said. You want me to sing to you? Like Daddy when you can't sleep?" Jess asked.
"Okay." Kayla said. "Yes, please."
"Okay. Come on." Kayla leaned back and Jess put both arms around her waist. "It's okay. Mommy's here."
Kayla felt the nurse take her arm, and she started shaking. Kayla felt terrible. She was hot, was getting a headache, and her insides felt like they were shaking. The needle this time hurt a lot more than the one at the first doctor's office. But it didn't stop there. The nurse stuck her three more times. Despite what mommy had told her, Kayla snatched her arm back and refused to let them touch her again.
"Stop sticking me! It hurts!"
"Kayla, I promise it's almost over, sweetheart." the nurse said. "We're gonna try your other arm now, okay?"
"NO!" Kayla screamed.
"Kayla, stop. I know you're hurting, but we have to do this." Jess said. She tried her best to be stern, but she just didn't have it in her at the moment. Jess took a hand and wiped at Kayla's face. "Come on, it's almost over."
"Hurts, mommy." Kayla whimpered, taking her mother's heart and shattering it into a million pieces.
"I know. I know it hurts, baby, and I'm so sorry. Just, please, for mommy, be brave and let's finish this, okay? I promise, the second it's over we'll go get that ice cream."
"No ice cream. Just wan' my grandma."
"Okay. We'll go see grandma as soon as this is over. I swear. Just please, honey, let them finish. Okay?" Jess begged.
Miraculously, Kayla complied, and after two more sticks, the blood was drawn and a miserable Kayla wouldn't let Jess go or stop crying. She had to pry Kayla off her waist to get her in the car and into her seat, and Jess decided to call Leslie and ask that she go to their house rather than taking Kayla to hers. By the time they arrived, Kayla was a mess-shaking, crying, and complaining of a massive headache.
"What in the world is going on?" Leslie asked as she met them outside. "What happened to you?"
"We've had a rough day." Jess said. "She got a flu shot at the pediatrician's office, then had to go across the street and get a blood test. They couldn't find a vein and she got stuck six times."
"Oh, you poor baby." Leslie said, reaching in to pick up Kayla. "Jess, she has a fever. A high one, from what it feels like."
"The doctor said it was a side effect of the flu shot. That she could basically have a mini flu for a couple days."
"Gramma!" a sobbing Kayla said, crying so hard she started to cough.
"She's been begging for you since we were at the doctor's."
"Shhh, grandma's here, Kayla bug." Leslie said. "Come on, let's put you to bed."
"Where's Daddy?"
"Daddy's still at work, kiddo. You want me to call him?" Jess asked.
"Want my daddy." Kayla said. "Want daddy."
"I'll call him, baby."
"Come on. I'll put you in a warm bath while mommy calls daddy. That'll help you feel better." Leslie said.
"Thanks, mom." Jess said.
Leslie headed to the bathroom with Kayla hanging onto her, singing softly to her as she dug out fresh pajamas. When Jess heard the bathtub running, she picked up her cellphone and dialed Sam.
"Hey, you. What's up?"
"Hey. When you coming home?" Jess asked eagerly.
"Is everything okay?" Sam asked. "How did Kayla's doctor appointment go?"
"Not good. They gave her a flu shot and she had to go across the street to get some blood drawn."
"Blood drawn? What the hell happened?" Sam asked, worried.
"It's a long story. But look, she's having some bad side effects to that flu shot and she's begging for you. When should you be home?"
"Umm, I'm almost done here. I was going to catch up on some paperwork, but I can do that later." Sam said. "Do I need to bring anything home?"
"Um, something for kid's fever. I think we gave her the rest of it the last time she was sick."
"I'm on it. You okay until I get there?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Mom's here giving her a bath. I was gonna fix her some soup."
"Good thinking. I'll finish up here and be home in an hour." Sam said.
When Sam got back, he heard Kayla before he saw her. He could hear her crying from the front door, and walked inside to find her sitting on the couch, already ready for bed, weakly refusing to eat any more of the soup Jess tried to coax into her.
"Daddy!"
"Hey, bug." Sam said gently. "Mommy says you're not feeling too good."
"They gived me a bunch of shots and they hut a lot and now I feels sick." Kayla whimpered pitifully.
"Oh, I know." Sam said. He put the bag from the pharmacy down and walked over to the couch. He kissed her forehead, partially to comfort her, partially to gauge her fever. "I'll be right back."
"Where you goin'?"
"I'm gonna give you something for your headache. It'll help you sleep too."
"Can I sleep with you? Please?" Kayla asked.
"Sure, honey. Be right back." Sam went into the kitchen and prepared a dose of the medicine for Kayla to take. "Here you go, baby."
Kayla saw what was in her father's hand and cried all over again. "No!"
"Kayla, come on, honey, this'll help you sleep…"
"No! You said no more shots!" Kayla said.
"Honey, this isn't…" Sam started to say, then realized why she was afraid. He was giving her the medicine in a syringe. "Sweetie, it's not a shot. See? There's no needle. It's just to help you take the medicine. That's it."
"No shot, Daddy. No shot."
"Kayla, it's not a shot. Look." Sam stuck his finger on the tip of the syringe and showed it to her. "It's not a shot."
"No shot." Kayla repeated, shaking her head.
"Kayla, do you want us to put it in a spoon?" Jess asked. "Or in the cup that came on the medicine?"
"Cup." Kayla said. "Please. No shot."
"Okay." Sam said. "Hang on." Sam transferred the medicine to the small plastic cup that came with the bottle and Kayla took it with no protest. "There you go. Good girl, Kayla."
"Daddy, you sleep with me now?"
"I sure will, honey. Come on." Sam picked up Kayla, who was already drifting off to sleep. "Say goodnight to mommy and grandma."
"Night, mommy. Night, grandma."
"Goodnight, baby." Jess said. "Love you."
"Night, honey. I'll come check on you tomorrow." Leslie said. "I love you."
Kayla murmured something that was indecipherable, slipping deeper and deeper into sleep. Sam started to carry her to her bed, then decided against it. He laid her down in his and Jess's bed in case she woke up during the night sick. He didn't have to keep his promise now to sleep with her, since she was already dead to the world, but he laid down with her anyway. After a few minutes, he realized he was still in his work clothes. Carefully sliding off the bed, Sam found Jess in the living room crying softly on the couch.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"It's just been a bad day." Jess said. "I should've called you earlier."
"What happened?" Sam asked. "I thought she was just going in for a flu shot?" When Jess gave him the whole story, Sam was shaking his head. "Wow. Poor kid."
"I just keep hearing her scream. She was so scared." Jess said.
"Hey. You had to do it. You did good, I'm proud of you." Sam said comfortingly. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll start going with you if she'll need shots."
"Yes. Definitely. Did you see the way she reacted to the syringe?"
"I hope today didn't give her a phobia of needles." Sam said. "But if it did, we'll figure that out too."
"Yeah. Why don't you get out of your work stuff? Let's spend a little while together. I have a feeling she'll wake up sometime in the night."
"Yeah, me too." Sam said. "I'll be back." Sam changed quickly and checked on Kayla. Her fever was going down, and she was sleeping soundly in her mommy and daddy's bed. "I love you, my little Kayla bug. Daddy's here if you need me."