A/N: Well I'm glad you all liked my 'come-back' chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it and now the drama part of the story starts. :-)
Lukas had been sent away to Booth's parents' house for an undetermined amount of time. Temperance had tried her best to explain to her son why he was going away and what was happening to his twin sister but trying to explain life to a five-year-old isn't easy. So Lukas left for his grandparents' with the idea that his sister was really sick which worried him beyond words.
Temperance had called her boss, telling him she wouldn't be coming in until her daughter was sick and Booth had done the same. All their energy was focused on the little girl up the stairs, breathing harshly in her bed, sweating like crazy and both too hot and too cold at the same time.
She barely ate, which worried her mother. The mother barely ate, which bothered the father. Temperance was going to get herself sick if she continued not to sleep and not eating like she was doing right now but he couldn't blame her. Though he didn't starve himself like his wife was doing, he found that sleep came less and less easily as the days went on and Riley's illness got worse.
On this Wednesday morning, Booth walked in the kitchen to find his wife already up and fixing breakfast. He walked over to her, kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his arms around her waist.
" 'Morning you." He said, his voice soft.
"Hey." Temperance replied, as she leaned back against him. "Sleep well?"
"No. You?"
"Nope."
Both of them sighed.
"I'm making her breakfast. I want to see if she'll eat it."
Booth nodded as he stepped beside her. He looked down at the small tray. Orange juice filled a small blue plastic cup, a toast with butter sat in a Bugs Bunny plate and red Jell-o giggled beside it. Small breakfast, indeed but he doubted his daughter would eat all of that. She had barely eaten in the last few days. He remained quiet. Temperance was just trying to cheer herself up, daring to hope that her daughter would get better when all odds were against her. It was just how she was. It was her way of dealing with the pain and fear of losing their baby. It was a perfectly normal reaction. He had his way of dealing with the situation, she had hers. So he silently followed her up the stairs and into their daughter's bedroom.
The room was cold and Booth shivered the second he stepped inside. Maybe they should have turned the heater up a notch but Booth knew that Riley would soon complain of being too hot. A part of him doubted that a cold room would actually help her get better but he remained silent. It had been his wife's idea and she knew what she was doing... most of the time. So he just gave her the benefit of the doubt.
He stood at the foot of the bed as Temperance sat down beside their daughter, setting the tray on her knees. She shook Riley lightly, whispering her name to wake her up. A few tries later, Riley was slowly opening her deep brown eyes and staring back, eyes filled with pain, to her mother.
"Mommy brought you breakfast, baby." She said, softly. "And I put it in your Bugs Bunny plate."
Booth walked over to his daughter and sat down beside her. He lifted her slowly into a sitting position and took the tiny shaking hand into his. He guided her to the spoon.
"Jell-o!" Riley said in a groggy voice.
"And it's red!" Booth added, knowing that red was his daughter's favorite color.
"Cool." Riley replied before slowly bringing the spoon to her mouth.
But three mouthfuls later, Riley was setting the spoon back onto the tray.
"I'm sleepy." She whined, before snuggling against her father and closing her eyes.
"You have to eat more than that, Sweetie." Booth replied.
But Riley hadn't heard. She had already fallen back to sleep. Booth looked up at his wife who was already getting up and taking the tray in her hands. He gently laid his daughter back on her bed and tucked her in.
The doorbell rang, pulling both Booth and Temperance from their slumber. The two of them had fallen asleep on the couch while watching boring soap opera shows that usually aired weekdays in the afternoon.
Booth yawned as he walked to the door, Temperance quicky following him. The doctor had called them earlier that day to tell them that a nurse specialized in Febril would be coming to visit them and check up on their daughter. The couple had happily agreed to welcome her and the doctor had told them the lady would be stopping by in mid-afternoon. Booth glanced down at his watch: 3:00 pm. She was right on time.
He opened the door to find a middle-aged woman standing in front of him.
"Hi. I'm Janice Simmons. Dr. Blooms sent me."
"Yes. Hi. Come on in." Booth replied as he stepped aside to let the nurse in. "I'm Seeley Booth. This is my wife, Temperance Brennan."
"Pleasure to meet you." Janice said, turning her attention to Temperance. "I'm so sorry about your daughter."
Temperance nodded. Booth closed the door.
"I just have a few questions before I go check up on your daughter."
"Sure. This way." Booth replied as he led the woman into the living room.
Booth and Temperance took the couch while Janice chose the loveseat by the window.
"First of all, is there anything you can tell about how your daughter has contracted Febril?"
"I went to Riley's school yesterday and wanted to meet with her teacher to talk about this, actually. As it turns out, the teacher was unavailable since she herself has caught the same illness. It seems as though a young boy has brought it back with him to the US."
"Do you know where this little boy was from?"
"No. The secretary I talked to didn't mention it. I just figured he came back from Africa since this is where the illness originates."
Janice nodded.
"I worked several years in Africa, treating both children and adults suffering from Febril. I actually still do. I was called back to the US by emergency when the illness first started to develop. So if you ever have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them."
"Thank you." Temperance replied.
"But back to your daughter. What are her symptoms?"
"She has a high fever. Last we check, it was nearing 103."
"Nothing too serious yet. Febril fever can often go up to 106. Go on."
"She sweats a lot, sleeps all day, barely eats, coughs sometimes but not a lot. She's just lifeless in her bed."
Janice nodded.
"Her body is trying to fight off the illness, that's why she is sleeping so much. But the fact that she doesn't eat much worries me a bit. Could you elaborate on this aspect, please? How much is barely?"
Temperance turned to her husband, thoughtfully. Booth simply shrugged.
"For example, tell me what she ate yesterday." The nurse added, feeling the confusion in the couple sitting in front of her.
Temperance frowned, forcing herself to remember what her daughter had eaten the previous day. But her mind was clouded by tiredness and stress, making her unable to think straight or remember stuff clearly. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to concentrate. She had to remember. Her daughter's life was currently at stake.
"I got her to drink a bit of orange juice yesterday morning before her doctor's appointment. It must have been around eight or nine. When we came back, she went straight to bed and woke up only around dinner time. She ate half a toast with butter and a small sip of milk before falling asleep. She slept until this morning."
The nurse raised her eyebrows and Temperance immediately felt herself build her defensive walls around her. She prepared for an eventual attack that surprisingly didn't come. Instead, Janice got up and asked for the directions to Riley's room.
She climbed the stairs quickly and the couple immediately knew something was wrong. Obviously, not eating wasn't part of the 'normal' symptoms for Febril. Janice hadn't said anything but both of them had felt it.
Janice stopped in front of Riley's door and turned to the parents.
"Have you turned on the light ever since she first got sick?"
Booth and Temperance looked at each other, confused as to why this detail was important. Temperance shrugged in response. She couldn't remember. Maybe she hadn't, maybe she had. Who paid attention to that kind of action? Turning on and off lights was as natural as breathing. Why should she think of it?
"It doesn't really matter." Janice then said.
She walked into the room and turned on the light. Her eyes fell on the ghost white child in the bed. Dark circles stretched under her eyes like moon crescents, sheets had been pulled to the foot of the bed in hopes of cooling down. From where she stood, Janice could see the beads of sweat all over the child's body. A bad feeling snuck up on her. She walked closer to the bed.
One close look told her all she needed to know. The child's lips were chapped and, even in her sleep, Riley was desperately trying to wet them. Janice turned to the parents.
"I want you to give this child a glass of water every hour. She's obviously near dehydration."
Janice glanced back quickly at the little girl. A small whimper reached her ears.
"If you don't, I can't guarantee your daughter will make it through the night."
The room was dark when Temperance stepped inside. She could hear some moving around somewhere in the depths of the room but she couldn't see anything. Her eyes weren't getting adjusted to the darkness and Temperance found herself getting scared.
Slowly, she made her way to the sounds of movement. They seemed to come from her left and muffled by something. With her arms stretched in front of her, Temperance walked slowly. She bumped into an object she couldn't make out and the pain shot through her entire body. But she kept on walking. The sounds were becoming louder. She could make out a small, girlish voice. The voice seemed familiar even though she hadn't heard it in ages.
A ray of light suddenly appeared at her feet. She figured she had reached a door. Reaching out in front of her, she grasped a knob and turned it. The door creaked open and the voice stopped. Temperance peeked inside. Everything was white.
Frowning, she pushed the door open wider and stepped inside. Her eyes examined her surroundings.
She had walked in a white room, with white walls and a white tiled floor. There was no actually lighting but the color of the wall was so bright that it caused enough energy to light the whole room.
Her eyes detected movement on her right. Her head snapped in that direction and her eyes widened in surprise as they fell on her daughter. She looked pale, ghostly pale, and dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was thin and dirty. She was just skin and bones and her lips were purpleish. Temperance shivered at the sight of her daughter.
"Riley." Was all she was able to say.
"It's okay, Mommy. I'm fine."
The little girl stepped towards her mother and reached out for her hand. Temperance grabbed it. It was cold. Freezing cold.
"Let Mommy warm you up, sweetie." Temperance said, trying to pull her daughter towards her.
"I don't need it anymore, Mommy."
"What do you mean?" Temperance asked.
It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be.
"You can go now. Grandma Christine will take care of me. I'll be fine. I'll see you and Daddy and Lukas and Parker and Uncle Russ when you come to heaven. I'll wait for you."
"Riley!" Temperance screamed as she felt herself being pulled away from her daughter by invisible hands.
"I'll be fine, Mommy. Don't worry about me."
Temperance sat up abruptly in her bed, her heart racing madly inside her chest. Without knowing why, she was on her feet in an instant and dashing out of her bedroom and into her daughter's.
She turned on the light and walked to her daughter's bed. Riley was laying down as always, eyes closed. Temperance's eyes fell on her daughter's chest. Was she dreaming or was it really not rising at the moment?
She sat down at her daughter's side and gently shook her. She called her name a few times but didn't get a response.
"BOOTH!" Temperance cried out loudly, hoping her husband would hear it.
Taking her daughter's wrist in her hand, she immediately looked a pulse. Not finding one, she tried the neck. A very faint pulse beat under her finger.
She pulled her daughter in a sitting position and took her in her arms. As she began to rock her, she cried her husband's name once again.
Seconds later, Booth appeared at the door. Temperance looked up at him, a look of urgency apparent on her face.
"Call an ambulance." She said in a tiny voice.