Chapter 2

Jim had been having a nice day till he had seen none of his wife's best friends run over to the garage looking for him.

Bet seemed to have had a terrible shock.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Jim, its Katherine, you have to come quick." for the caring and warm father that was all he had to hear. If she was in trouble her had to be there. Not even bothering to look for Kevins permission he tore off over the road to his house.

"Where's Jim going?" asked Kevin as he came out from round the back.

"It's Katherine. I think something happen to her. Liz asked me to get him for her."

"Fair enough." he said to her. If something had happened to Rosie he would want to be with her. He hoped she was ok.

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Having taken off his work overalls outside the door, so he was just in his clean jeans and t-shirt as quick as he had been able to, Jim got in to number eleven in record time. Please… he thought. Don't take her now…not when she had made it home. She had to live.

As he run in to there living room, the first thing he saw was his wife crying over their baby girl's seemingly lifeless body.

Taking the infant from Liz as quick as he could he knew he had to do some thing. He would not just let his wee girl go, not when she had been fighting for life for so long.

"Katherine?" he asked. "Come on Katie, it's your daddy. Sweetheart wake up." he said as his hand moved to her tiny chest. Never before had he felt such fear. He wouldn't let her go, if he lost her she was never going to forgive himself. Pressing gently down on her chest, not so much to hurt her, never to hurt her, just to get the air moving through her, he prayed to god it worked.

Wake up baby.

The next thing he heard was music to his ears, Katherine was crying. He had got her back.

"Thank you baby, thank yer." he said as he held her close. Liz who had been convinced she had lost her child, let out a shriek of joy.

"Jim." she cried as she walked over to join her husband and daughter in their tears, and he more than willingly held her close to him.

"We have to get her back to Weathy general I think love, just for a check up yes?" he said to her and she nodded.

"why don't I take her one my own?" suggested Jim. Liz was exhausted and an emotional wreck already. The last thing she needed was to go back in to the hospital they had brought their baby back from just two days ago.

"If you thinks its best." she nodded, as she leant gently in to him, looking at Katie's tiny screwed up grace. As long as the girl was with her father then she was going to be ok, wasn't she? So far he had kept true to his promise, about being a more hands on parent and she had to say he was doing great from some one who had found it so hard when they had had the twins first time around.. She remembered when they had been talking when she had been pregnant and he had told her how much he had wanted to be their for her so much more when the twins had been young and yet with his job there had just been no time. This time he had plenty.

"Just rest, I'll come back for you later if you want, I will." he said as he moved to get his daughter's pink blanket and Liz helped him wrapped her up.

"Come on then my wee lass." he said to her, but before he and Katie left he turned to his wife's friends and simply said to them "Look after her," god knows some one had too.

"We'll stay as long as se needs us, don't worry Jim. Go." said Deirdre as she put her arm round a shaken Elizabeth. Why had that happened? She had been fine when Liz had put her down. It had just been five minutes so she had been able to get going on the house work that had been building up whilst she had been in hospital and she had to get it done then because Jim wouldn't let her do anything but rest when he was home.

Thank god he had been so close. If he had been further away god knows what would have happened to there little daughter.

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Jim had hoped to never have to see his infant girl in a incubator again but just two days after she had been let out of one, she was back in and this time she was not laying quiet, but screaming out for her father or mother to come and comfort her.

Ever since they had got her home, it had been very rare even when she had been sleeping for Katie to be put down. Every one had been making such a fuss of her, wanting to give her comfort and smoother her with love and affection but now he had been told he was not aloud to hold her, only touch her through the little hand holes. It wasn't enough, not for either of them. For the past two nights, she had slept in his arms, he had held her…now that had been taken from them both. It hurt…

"Come on Katherine." he begged her. He couldn't stand seeing the child so distressed. "Shh sweet heart, I am here." he promised her.

"Please, let me give her a hug, just for a minute. Let me settle her." he said to one of the nurses tending his daughter's illness, what ever she had. "She needs me."

"I am sorry sir, but she is wired up to the machine now and we can't risk it being knocked out of place just yet." she said pitying the father who obviously just wanted his little one in his arms so much.

He was glad he had not brought Elizabeth; in the state she had been in when she had got to the house it would have just served to upset his wife further. She had just given birth. She needed rest.

"Mr McDonald." he heard a deep male voice come in to the room. This was the part of the job he hated. telling parents there new born were so severely ill. "It would seem after analysis's of Katherine's results, that she has meningitis. "

Jim felt as if he might collapse. Meningitis? His little girl… no…..it couldn't be true. It just couldn't be.

-

At two in the morning, Jim got back. He had to change, tell the others what was going on and then get up the hospital again. He didn't want to lose her., not for a minute. When she had been at home it had seemed to him Katherine had begun to grow in size in to a healthy baby but when she had gone back in early that day. she looked so tiny all over again and it had really unnerved him.

Opening the door to his home, Jim went in to find the twins, their mother and Bet, as well as Deirdre were all up, though probably only cause they had been so dosed up on caffeine.

As she saw her husband return, Liz jumped up a nd run in to his arms. "How is she?" asked the scared mother.

"Hanging on in there as ever." he promised and he looked at his sons who looked as pale as their mother, it must have been a shock for the lads to find there sister so ill, because when they both gone out she had been fine. Jim reminded himself in those moments he had two sons who needed him there for them, not just a daughter. No matter what they said…

"What have the doctors said dad." asked Andy as he looked at him. Bet and Deirdre were listening to him as closely as the members of his own family were. They were true friends.

"I want your mother to sit down first." he said as he guided Liz to the sofa where she sat down as she had been told too. Any thing to find out what was going on with her baby sooner.

"Now it sounds worst than it is." he said to her, "I want you to understand that. They've caught t in the early stages so there is only a tiny chance she won't recover, and a ninety percent chance she will."

"Jim, stop with the sugar coating. What's wrong with our child?" asked Liz bluntly.

"She's got meningitis." he sighed and she begun shaking her head in denial and he heard the other two women in the room bit back gaps. "but listen to me love. They have caught it in the very first stages, she will get better." he said reminding her of what he had just said.

But Elizabeth was distraught.

"Jim, why her? Why us? Why can't she just be ok?" she asked and wrapping his arms round her and laying back against the sofa he shook his head and felt tears come to his eyes. That was a question he didn't have an answer too.

"I wish I knew love." he said. He really did.

He knew it was cruel, but he didn't know if he could bear to go back to his daughter, it wasn't her fault she had got so sick and she shouldn't bee left alone. But her crying was going to aught him forever. All she had wanted was to be picked up and given a cuddle. She needed him to be strong for her, but he didn't know if he could be.

"When aware you going back in dad?" asked Steve..

"After I get a bite to eat and shower." he told them. Or just showered. How could he eat right now?

"Want me and Andy to come in with you?" he asked knowing his father was struggling to keep it together. He had never seen him so distraught before.

"Not unless you want too." he said to the boys as he looked back to Liz. "Do you want to come?"

"Yeah." She said to him. "I'm going to get ready. Why don't you two get off?" she turned to her friends. "The boys don't need sitters and Deirdre, don't you need to get back to Tracy."

"She's with ken tonight, but I guess I might if your sure." She said and Liz nodded, before seeing her and Bet out.

With in half an hour the twins and their parents were backoff up the hospital to be with Katie.

As the got to the intensive care unit Katie seemed to have clamed herself down from her crying at last, and as her father familiar touch reached out for her she shut her eyes sleepily. It had been a very trying day for all of them, her included.

Putting his other hand over her tiny one, Jim try too lull his daughter to a complete slumber. If she was in any pain god forbid that way she was not going to fell it if she was asleep. Wrapping her finger weakly round his Steven saw her hand was so tiny it didn't even stretch all the way round. Till now he had not really looked at her. He felt bad about that now.

"Go to sleep Katherine." whispered Jim as Liz leant in to him praying that they were going to be strong enough to pull her through this.

The next week were going to be hard.

"She's so tiny." Liz said. It was as if she had never seen her before. So she had noticed it too, thought Jim remembering what he had thought when she had gone in there too.

"What treatment is she going to have to have dad?" asked Andy. Just like the rest of them he just wanted her home.

"Well, they said they were going to have to put her on a set of drugs and then if they don't work another … I didn't follow it all but I don't like the amount of drugs they had to use. What if her body can't take it?" he worried for her.

"They're doctors Jim." said Liz. "They have to do what's best for her." she said.

"I know, I know. I just want to make it better for her and I would if I could." rather him than her, he had lived his life. She was so young. She was a baby. She was his baby.

Please don't take her god…

"I know you would." said Liz as she looked at her husband proudly. He had done all he could and yet he was so eager to do more. What she would do with out him, she some times wondered. Then she shut the thoughts away. She didn't want to think on what she would do without him. They were together, and they always would be. He was so important to her.

They had a few long weeks ahead of them, and they'd get through them together as they always did.