A/N: I want to thank all my regular readers of this story. It's been quite the emotional week for me. Long story short, I haven't felt very important to my family these past few weeks, and you guys have helped me feel appreciated again. Thank you.

Also, this story's been a bit out of my comfort zone, but I like the way it's turning out. I did do research about the typical symptoms and treatment for meningitis, but that's not really the focus here. I wanted to focus more on the difficulty of having a child in the hospital with one more at home, and the emotion behind it. That's the basics. Thanks again, and enjoy!

The clock was striking three, and Sam had been dreading leaving. Abby was slightly better, but was still miserable. Her fever was down to 102, and she was sitting up watching Sesame Street. Sam finally stood up and walked over to Abby's bed.

"I have to go, sweetie."

"Why, Daddy?" Abby asked pitifully.

"It's time for me to go pick up Kelsey."

"Can I see her after you pick her up?" Abby asked.

Sam looked to Jess, who had been sitting on the bed next to Abby. It looked like it pained Jess, but she shook her head.

"Not tonight, sweetheart. I'll bring her to see you in a couple of days."

Abby's eyes filled with tears. "But she my sister. Why can't I see her?"

"You need to get to feeling better first, honey." Jess explained gently.

"Please?" Abby begged.

"How about this, sweetie? When I get Kelsey home, I'll call you and let you talk to her. Then when you're feeling better later, I'll come bring her by." Sam suggested.

Abby frowned and slumped over in defeat. She was too tired to argue with them. "I guess."

"Baby, I know you want to see your sister. And I promise, if in two days, you're doing better than you are right now, I will bring her. But right now you need to rest." Sam insisted.

"Okay." Abby pouted.

"Abby? I'm sorry, sweetie. I really am. But I promise. Two days. If you're feeling better, I'll bring Kelsey." Sam said. When Abby didn't respond, Sam asked, "Honey? You hear me?"

"I hear you, Daddy." Abby said, still without looking at Sam.

"Can Daddy have a hug?"

Abby looked up, the disappointment from not seeing Kelsey gone and replaced with pure sadness. "I can't. It still hurts a little to reach around."

"It's okay, baby." Sam assured her. He cupped one hand gently on her neck and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Daddy loves you."

"Love you too."

Though his feet seemed to be made of lead, Sam finally dragged himself out of the room. Dr. Hart came in to check on Abby immediately after Sam's departure. Sensing the tension in the room, Dr. hart decided to try and cheer Abby up rather than ask about it directly.

"Sesame Street, huh? Who's your favorite character?"

"Oscar." Abby said.

"Oscar?" Dr. Hart asked. "He's pretty grouchy, isn't he?"

"Just 'cause he's grouchy don't mean he's not nice." Abby explained.

"I guess that's true." Dr. Hart agreed. "Can I ask you a couple questions, Abby?"

"Sure."

"How are you feeling? Is your back still hurting?"

"Kinda. It hurts to reach up." Abby said.

"Can you lay down on it?"

"Don't like to."

"Okay. That means you're getting better." Dr. Hart said. "That's a good thing. How about your head? Does it still hurt?"

"No. But it feels weird. Kinda heavy."

"That's the medicine." Dr. Hart said.

"Do you know yet how she got sick?" Jess asked.

"We're still looking into it. But the really important thing right now is her getting better."

"I just don't want my other daughter getting sick too, or any other kids." Jess explained.

"This may not make you feel better, but the chances of kids getting the form of meningitis Abby has are very slim." Dr. Hart said. "I can't promise it won't happen, of course, but I'll be very surprised if anyone else comes in with the same symptoms."

"Dr. Hart?" Abby asked.

"Yes, ma'am?" Dr. Hart answered with a bright smile.

"If I asked you a question, you promise you tell me the truth?" Abby asked.

Dr. Hart, struck by Abby's seriousness, asked, "I promise, sweetie. What is it?"

"I feel like I been sick for a really long time. Am I ever gonna get better?"

"Can I sit next to you?" Dr. Hart asked. Abby nodded, and he took a seat next to her on the bed. "I know you may not feel like it, but you are better today than you were yesterday. In that needle right there," Dr. Hart explained as he pointed to one of the three IVs going into Abby's arm, "is the medicine that's fighting the germs that are making you sick. This one is trying to keep you from getting sicker. And this one, is giving you the good stuff your body needs to stay strong so it can fight the germs. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. It does. So I'll get a little better every day?"

"You should, sweetie. As long as you get plenty of rest." Dr. Hart said. "And I'll be here to check on you along the way."

"Okay. Thank you." Abby said.

"You're welcome, sweetie. I'm gonna head out now. I'm off tomorrow, but I'll see you Thursday."

Once Dr. Hart left, Jess turned back to Abby and had been thinking about trying to cheer her up. But Abby was looking down on the bed, holding Squish in her lap and picking at his hair. Jess ran her hands through Abby's hair for a few moments before asking,

"Hey. What are you thinking?"

"Nuffin." Abby said quietly.

"You sure?"

"Not thinking anything. Feeling stuff." Abby said.

"What are you feeling?"

"Sad." Abby said simply.

"Will you tell me why?" Jess asked, still working her fingers through Abby's hair.

Abby looked up at her mother with tears swimming on the edge of her eyes. Her plea was so simple, so sincere, and so heartfelt that Jess's heart was broken too. Abby let the tears fall as she explained,

"I don't wanna be sick no more, mommy."

"Oh, sweetheart. I don't want you to be sick anymore, either. I wish mommy could take it from you." Jess said.

As Sam pulled up to the school, he spotted Kelsey sitting on a bench looking out into the crowd of parents. Sam wasn't surprised she didn't spot him right away. He picked her up sometimes, but the majority of afternoons, it was Jess she'd be waiting for. Sam decided to park the car and walk up instead of honking the horn for her to come to the car. Sam was almost to Kelsey before she noticed him.

"Daddy!"

The smile felt foreign to Sam, like it had been years since he'd done it, but Kelsey's joy at Sam coming to get her lifted his spirits. She jumped into Sam's arms, and Sam easily lifted her up and held her for a moment.

"I missed you, Daddy."

"I missed you too, baby." Sam said. It had been almost two days since he'd seen her, and he'd been so focused on Abby he hadn't realized how much he actually had missed her.

"Daddy, how's Sissy? Is she home yet?"

Sam swallowed hard. "We need to talk about that, baby. Come on, sit down."

Sam placed Kelsey back on the ground and walked over to a small stone bench on the outside of the school. Kelsey followed, and waited nervously as Sam decided what to tell her.

"Daddy? Where's Sissy?"

"Sissy had to stay in the hospital, sweetheart. She's going to be there for a few days." Sam said.

"Why?" Kelsey asked. "What's wrong with her?"

"She has something called meningitis. It's like a really bad flu. And it'll take her a while to get better."

"How long will she be in the hospital?" Kelsey asked.

"At least a week." Sam said.

"When can I see her?"

Please don't beg like Abby did, Sam thought to himself. "I'm going to take you to see her on Friday."

"But it's Tuesday!" Kelsey protested. "Why so long?"

"Abby needs to get better before she can have visitors, honey." Sam explained.

"I can't see her at all?"

"We'll do a video call with her when I get you home." Sam said. "We'll do the same thing tomorrow and Thursday night. Then when I pick you up from school Friday, I'll take you straight over to the hospital."

"When do I see mommy?" Kelsey asked.

Damn why didn't I think of that? Sam wondered. "I'm gonna stay home with you after school this week. Mommy's gonna stay with Abby. You can call her anytime you want, and you can see her when I take you to see Abby Friday."

"Okay."

"Hey." Sam said, lightly grabbing Kelsey's chin to make her look at him. "I know you want to see Sissy. But she really needs to rest first. I promised her, and I'm promising you. Friday, if she's doing better, I'll take you to see her."

"I just can't help but think that she's so sad." Kelsey said. "I just want to help her feel better."

"I know you do. But the best way for her to get better is for her to get her rest. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." Kelsey said. "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Home. I want to talk to Sissy." Kelsey said.

"Okay. Let's go."

Jess had attempted to cheer up Abby, but it was only moderately successful. She giggled a little when Jess tickled her side, but kept her eyes on Jess's phone waiting for the call from Kelsey. Jess's phone lit up with a text, which she checked quickly. It was from Dean.

Figured I'd check first. Is it okay to come see Sprout tonight?

Jess sighed. She actually didn't completely agree with keeping Kelsey away from Abby. She hoped that visitors would cheer Abby up, maybe even make it easier for her to heal. Jess quickly responded.

I would love that, and she would too. But do NOT tell Sam. If he asks, or Abby tells him, you came over and I didn't know anything about it.

Deal, Dean responded. I'm on my way.

Give me a couple hours. Sam's gonna call and let Abby talk to Kelsey first. Can you come around 6?

I'll be there. Can she eat yet or is she still on an IV?

I'll check with the doctor and make sure it's okay, but she doesn't really have a huge appetite, Jess responded. Mommy could use some real food, though :)

You got it. See you soon

Later xoxoxo

Almost as soon as she finished talking to Dean, the ringtone came up for Sam. Abby perked up, knowing right away that the sound meant that Daddy was calling. Jess handed it to Abby and smiled.

"Go ahead, baby. That button right there."

Abby pressed it and smiled for the first time in nearly a week. "Kessy!"

"Hi, Sissy."

"I misses you." Abby said.

"I miss you too. But Daddy said you need to rest first. I'll come see you soon."

"'Kay." Abby said. "Kessy? Will you take care of Oscar for me? I don't want him to get lonely."

"I will."

"Hey, Abby?" Sam said in the background, and Kelsey turned the phone towards him. "I can bring Oscar to you tomorrow if you want."

"No, Daddy, leave him home. Let Kessy take care of him."

"Alright, sweetie." Sam said. "I'll be back tomorrow in the morning, okay? I love you."

"Love you too, Daddy." Abby said.

"I gotta go, Sissy. I got homework." Kelsey said. "Bye."

"Bye, Kessy."

Jess talked to Abby for a minute, and promised to call back before Kelsey went to bed. When Jess hung up the phone, Abby pouted. Jess tried to keep her upbeat, make her laugh and make her feel at least a little better. Jess found and checked with Dr. Hart about Abby being able to eat, relieved with the answer.

"She can eat whatever she feels up to, just don't overdo. Tell her to let you know the second she starts to feel full and do not eat anything else after that."

Finally, at six on the dot, there was a knock on the hospital room door.

"Who's that, mommy?"

"Let's find out." Jess walked across the room and opened the door to let Dean in.

Abby gasped. "Uncle Beanie!"

Dean handed the food bag to Jess and walked over to an ecstatic Abby. "Hey, Sprout. How you feeling?"

"Still feel yucky." Abby said. "But I's glad you here."

"Me too, Sprout. Me too." Dean took the bag back from Jess. "There's something in here for you."

Abby took her present from Dean with the brightest smile Jess had seen from her all day. It was a bouquet of flowers. Four pink tulips, four pink roses, and four pink daisies. Jess knew immediately she'd made the right decision letting Dean come.

"They so pretty. Thank you, uncle Beanie."

"You're welcome, kiddo. Anytime." Dean said. "Now how about we eat some of this grub?"

Dean stayed far after Abby was asleep. He was much more successful getting Abby to laugh than Jess had been, and she finally went to sleep in high spirits.

"Thank you so much, Dean."

"You're welcome. Anytime. I mean that." When he noticed how tired Jess seemed, Dena asked, "How you doing, mom?"

Jess sighed. "I'm tired, Dean. And this is killing me. She feels so bad and so sick and she's so miserable."

"Hey. She'll get better. Sprout's stronger than she looks." Dean said. "But make sure you take care of yourself. It won't do Sprout any good if you get sick too."

Jess smiled. "I will. Thanks, Dean."

"You're welcome." Dean said. "Look, Sprout's knocked out. You want to go to my house and sleep? You can come back before Sam gets back in the morning. He'll never know you were gone."

"I don't want to leave her…"

"I'll be right here the whole time." Dean promised.

Jess took a long look at Abby, who was curled up with Squish in one arm and Dean's arm in the other. "I don't want to leave for the whole night. But I could use a nap. I'll come back around eleven."

"Take your time. I got her." Dean said.

"Thanks, Dean. For everything. I don't know what we'd do without you." Jess said.

"Long as I'm breathing, you'll never have to find out." Dean promised. "Go on."

"'Kay." Jess stood up, leaned over and kissed the sleeping Abby. "Mommy'll be back soon, sweet girl. I love you so much."

Jess left the room, feeling exhaustion in every part of her being. As she set her alarm to wake up in an hour and a half to get back to the hospital, she noticed a photo next to Dean's bed. When she picked it up, she remembered the day it was taken. Abby had been three years old, and Dean had taken her fishing. She held in her hand, with Dean's help, a massive fish that she'd caught. In the photo, she was vibrant, happy, and energetic, the exact opposite of the last few days. Come back, baby, Jess thought, holding the photo in her hands as she fell asleep.

As Sam tucked Kelsey in, he felt as if half of his heart was missing. He'd tried to stay upbeat for Kelsey, but it was hard when Kelsey kept talking about how much she wanted her Sissy. Kelsey had drawn a card for Abby and begged him to bring it to Abby the next day. He'd gotten an update before climbing into bed himself. Abby's fever was down to 101, and had been staying there ever since. She'd eaten a little that night, and her headache and backache were mostly gone. With Jess gone too, Sam thought he understood, at least a little, how lonely Abby was feeling. Come back home, baby. Daddy misses you.

Kelsey held Oscar in her arms. She missed Abby a lot, and it didn't feel right not having her in the house. She missed her mommy too. It was hard to go to sleep without both her parents in the house. She knew Daddy was there, and she knew she was safe, but Kelsey didn't want to go to sleep. She curled up with Oscar, and for a few minutes, just long enough for her to drift off, Kelsey felt like her sister was home.

Dean looked at Abby and wondered, not for the first time, just how in the hell he could come to love another little kid as much as he did Abby. She reminded him so much of Sammy that it felt like he was getting a second chance to help raise another kid. The possibility of something happening to Abby hurt Dean as much as it had with Sammy. Dean carefully took his arm away from Abby and wrapped her up.

"I'll be right by the window, Sprout. Love you, kid."

Dean walked to the window, took another look at Abby, and flipped open his phone. It rang six times, and Dean was just about to give up when there was an answer.

"Hey, Dad. We need to talk."