A/N: I want to address a couple of anonymous reviews I've gotten.
The first one is from this story. It is a request to finish Never Say Never Again. That is the plan. I can't stand to see a story unfinished, so I promise that at some point I will pick that one back up again. I can't say when. It could be years from now. But I will finish that at some point in the future, barring death or natural disaster preventing me from doing so.
The second is from my previous story, Numbers and Letters. It is from guest Lexie Lou and reads as follows:
Aww what a sweet but sad story I hope Jared dosent do that to his kids in real life ! This remindse of always being compared to my older sister she was smatet & prettier than me & everyone said how much she looked like my Mom while I always felt ugly & dumb ! Still do !
There's a lot to this one, so I'll address it piece by piece. First, I don't know how Jared Padalecki relates to his kids in real life, but I would imagine it's better than this. HOWEVER, even the best parents screw up sometimes. As another reviewer said, family relations are frustrating things, and all of us mess up. The important thing to do is apologize and move on and try again later.
As for the second part, sweetie, listen to me. Don't let anyone make you feel inferior in any way. We all have strengths, we all have weaknesses, and all of us are beautiful in our own ways. I don't know you face to face, but I am sure you are a lovely person and a joy to be around. Don't ever doubt that, please. I'm sorry if you're reading this and it embarrasses you to be called out (like it would me LOL) but I couldn't just let this go, and you don't have an account so I couldn't send it to you privately. I hope you're doing and feeling a little better about yourself now xoxo.
Finally, one of my favorite authors sometimes uses the same characters across different stories. I decided to try the same thing here. See if you can spot him ;)
Enjoy!
They had been at the hospital for exactly twelve hours. Abby's test results had not come back, but since her fever had not gone down, even with medication, Dr. Hart had decided to admit her. Abby hadn't woken up at all, which Sam found more unsettling than her crying. He found himself watching to make sure her chest was rising and falling, and he was sure that if the heart monitor hadn't been beeping loudly, he would have been checking her heart to make sure it was beating.
Jess, for the time being, was the trooper. She made sure that Sam ate, that he talked to and comforted Kelsey when she called, and she talked to Sam's boss at the law firm, who was surprisingly understanding and agreed to give him a week off with no questions. She asked Dr. Hart every two hours about Abby's test results, and her persistence paid off later that night.
"Okay, guys. I won't lie. Abby's seriously ill, and she'll be here for a while."
"Is it meningitis, doctor?" Jess asked.
"Yes."
Dr. Hart detailed his treatment plan for Abby, which was basically IV antibiotics to treat the infection and steroids to prevent haring loss and seizures. The mention of the possibility of seizures finally caused Jess to lose a bit of her bravery.
"She could have seizures?"
"That's a possibility." Dr. Hart admitted reluctantly. "But we're going to do everything in our power to stop it."
"How long will she be in the hospital?" Sam asked.
"At least a week." Dr. Hart said. "Possibly ten days to two weeks. I want to try to make sure she's symptom free when she leaves, and I want to monitor and try to prevent any complications." When Jess and Sam said nothing, Dr. Hart tried to comfort them. "Listen. I know this is scary. I won't tell you not to be worried. But from what I've seen so far, Abby is strong. And I promise you, she is not alone. There's a whole team of doctors here who are fighting for her. If you guys will be there for her, we'll be here for all three of you."
"Thanks, doc." Sam said. "Do you think it would be dangerous to let our other daughter come and visit? Is there a chance Kelsey could get this too?"
"There's always a chance. But meningitis is less contagious than a cold, so the chances that Kelsey will get sick too are pretty low." Dr. Hart explained. "A word of caution, though. I would wait until Abby's feeling a little better. She'll probably sleep a lot the next couple of days, and trying to make her talk to visitors may actually hinder her healing."
"We'll remember that, Doc. Thanks, again." Sam said, offering Dr. Hart his hand.
"It's been nice meeting you guys. I just wish it could have been for a different reason." Dr. Hart said. "I'm here the rest of the night. If you have any questions, have the nurse page me."
"We will. Thank you." Jess said.
When Dr. Hart left, the reality of the situation hit Sam and Jess both. The room they were in was going to be Abby's home for at least the next few days. They needed to figure out how not only to help Abby, but to take care of Kelsey too.
"How do you want to do this?" Sam asked.
"What do you mean?"
"We can't both stay here for a week." Sam said.
Jess sighed. "I know."
"Look, let's do it this way. I'll stay here tonight with both of you, and during the day while Kelsey's at school. I'll go home with Kelsey at night and get her to school in the morning. If she's here longer than a week, and I have to go back to work, we'll talk about it then."
"Works with me." Jess said.
"Mommy?"
Jess ran to Abby, whose eyes were opening slowly. "Hey, little one. How do you feel?"
"'m tiwed." Abby said.
"I know you are, sweetheart."
"Daddy come back?" Abby asked.
"I'm right here, baby." Sam pulled up the chair next to the bed and sat down. "I'm sorry I left earlier."
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
"What are you sorry for?" Sam asked.
"I heard you tell mommy it made you sad that I was crying. 'm sorry."
Sam swallowed thickly and took Abby's hand. "It does make me sad that you're sick and hurt. But it is not your fault that I ran away, and I'm so sorry about that, baby. You have nothing to be sorry for. Okay?"
"'Kay." Abby said. "Where are we?"
"You're in the hospital, sweetheart. You're gonna be here a few days." Jess explained, trying to keep her voice level and calm so Abby wouldn't panic.
"You gonna stay wif me, right?" Abby asked, her voice slurred slightly from the sedative.
"We're both staying tonight. Daddy's gonna go home starting tomorrow night to put Kelsey to bed and take her to school, then he's going to come back until it's time to pick up Kelsey."
"'Kay." Abby said again. "What this?"
Abby's hand had been on the stuffed cat Sam had bought her earlier. Sam pulled it closer to her. "I found him earlier. He's for you. What do you want to name him?"
"Squish." Abby answered.
"Squish? Why Squish?"
"'Cause he feel squishy." Abby said.
Sam chuckled. "Okay, sweetie. Squish it is." Sam checked the clock again. "Listen, I'm gonna step in the hallway and call uncle Dean for a second. Then I promise I'm coming right back."
"Daddy? My back hurts. I don't want to lay down on the bed. Will you hold me?"
"Your back hurts?" Jess asked. "Is it bad?"
"No. Jus' hurts a 'itlle. But I don't wanna way on my back."
"I'll hold you in the chair, honey. I'll be right back." Sam said. He stood up and kissed Abby's forehead. "Daddy loves you so much. You know that, right?"
"Know." Abby mumbled.
Sam stepped into the hallway and updated Dean. Dean agreed to take Kelsey to school the next morning, and even offered to take care of her for the entire time Abby was in the hospital. Sam declined, and promised to call back the next day and talk more. When he went back into the room, he found Abby sitting in her mom's lap, ear against Jess's chest, listening to her mom's heartbeat.
"She's waiting for you."
Sam placed the phone on the bed, and carefully took Abby from Jess. "Come here."
Sam leaned back in the chair provided by the hospital, gently rubbing Abby's back. Jess wrapped the two of them up, and laid down on Abby's bed after giving her a kiss. Sam sat up long into the night, keeping a hand on Abby's upper back and feeling for the rise and fall of her breathing. Her fever still raged; Sam could feel the heat through her hospital gown. But being tucked in Sam's lap seemed to comfort her, so as Abby fell asleep listening to Sam's steady breathing, Sam fell asleep to hers.
