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"Argh!" came the shrill and hysterical scream of Mia as it exploded through the hallway of the house that Sunday morning.
I froze in the kitchen for a moment; thoughts crossing my minds of all sorts. What could she be screaming at? Derek had been at the hospital all night, and was still there now; I was alone with the kids. Needless to say, should there be an intruder or burglar of some sort, I had a feeling that I was going to have to rely on Riley's baseball bat for defence.
Letting my feet take control of my thoughts, I ran frantically upstairs.
"Mia!" I yelled desperately.
I heard Mia scream again; this time the scream was louder than the first. As I picked up my pace, I drew in quick and sharp breaths while my feet hit the stairs in thumps as my desperation grew tight in my throat. I ran past Charlie's room causing her to look up at my panicked dash.
"Mom!" Charlie cried as she frowned. She jumped up and followed me quickly to Mia's room.
It was empty.
Okay, now it was time to panic.
Where could she be?
A third scream sounded from the bathroom, clearly indicating where Mia was. This scream triggered a million thoughts in my mind, wondering why my nine year old daughter was screaming from the bathroom. As I passed Riley's empty bedroom, I snatched up the baseball bat.
"What's that for?" Charlie cried.
I edged closer to the bathroom door; letting my feet touch the timber floor as quietly as I could, not daring to make a sound and scare the possible intruder. At the same time I was desperately seeking an answer to why Mia was screaming in the bathroom. I lifted the bat shakily, higher and higher into the air as I held the bat as tight as I could over my head.
As a final shrill and horrific scream erupted from the thin layer of the door to the bathroom, I reached out with my left hand, still holding the bat in my right, and twisted the doorknob quickly. I flung open the door and proceeded to somewhat swing the bat through the air; the scene before me, however, was less than what I anticipated.
"Mom…" Mia cried.
I almost laughed at the very funny sight that was completely unlike the scene I had pictured in my mind. Mia was standing in front of the long, bathroom mirror dressed in nothing but a small pair of ballet shorts and a singlet. The singlet was hoisted up around her ribs and she was staring into the mirror, horrified; spots covered every single inch of her little body.
"Oh…" I sighed and managed to chuckle slightly at the melodramatic personality of my youngest child. "Oh, honey…"
"What is this?" Mia exclaimed.
Charlie burst out laughing.
"Charlotte Grace Shepherd, don't you dare laugh at this! It is not funny!" I warned.
"Chickenpox…" she spluttered.
"Chickenpox?" Mia yelled.
Riley wandered into the bathroom to serve his curiosity surrounding the commotion that occupied his house.
"Who has chickenpox?" he asked as his eyes travelled around at the three girls in the bathroom; he then focused on Mia and laughed. "Well, it certainly sucks to be you then, doesn't it?"
"Riley James!" I cried as my hand quickly reached out for his little arm where I shoved him into the hallway.
But before he walked away, I started laughing.
"Riley, honey…" I sighed through my giggles.
Riley whipped around.
"Honey…what are those spots on your neck?" I asked.
Riley gasped.
"What?" he yelled in shock as his hand reached around to his neck. He ran over to the mirror, shoving Mia out of the way. "You germ infested little brat!" he shouted at his little sister.
"Riley James Shepherd!" I exclaimed.
Charlie groaned.
"Mom…have I had chickenpox?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"No babe, not as far as I know…"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously,"
"What about school?" Mia asked.
"Usually about ten days off school, I'm afraid," I replied.
"Ten days?" Mia yelled.
"I'm sorry," Riley said quickly in the usual sarcastic and bitter tone he seemed to have inherited from me. "I must have been dreaming because I thought you said ten days…"
I shook my head.
"Mom…please…I can't be stuck in this house…in that small living room…with Mia for ten whole days!" Riley exclaimed.
"Sorry buddy…" I sighed.
Riley turned around and flashed an angry and resentful glare at Mia before he turned on his heels quickly and stormed out of the bathroom. I walked over to Mia and sighed heavily as I pulled her singlet back down over her stomach and patted her back gently.
"Go and hop into bed…" I said softly as I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead.
Mia shrugged slightly and hugged my back gently before she turned and walked into her bedroom. I turned around and looked at Charlie with a sigh as I shook my head at the situation.
"Keep your eyes out for spots babe, I think it's really only a matter of time now…" I told her.
She groaned resentfully and put her arms around me as she rolled her eyes. I giggled and walked with her downstairs back into the kitchen where she perched herself onto a bar stool.
"So mom…you'll have fun next week with both Riley and Mia at home for ten days!" Charlie said.
I laughed.
"Yes, I can't wait for all of the TV fights…it will be the collision of Hannah Montana and baseball play offs!" I answered. "Yeah, it will be really fun!"
Charlie giggled and reached over for her cup of tea. The phone rang and she reached over to snatch it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey honey,"
"Hey dad!"
"How is it going in Shepherd Central?"
"Crazy stuff, dad,"
"Crazy? How so?"
"I'll let mom explain…"
She handed me the phone.
"Hi honey," I said.
"Charlie said that it's chaos at home!"
"Well, Mia and Riley have the chickenpox!"
"Chickenpox?" Derek cried with a chuckle. "Ha, I remember when I had the chickenpox! I got it in fourth grade and gave it to all of my sisters…or so they said; I gave it to Nancy and she gave it to the other girls! But yet, they still hated me for it!" he laughed.
"Well, Riley is blaming Mia for it," I told him.
"Are they okay though? Any fever?" he asked.
"Oh, they're fine honey…Mia is in bed, probably reading her new book and Riley is watching some baseball on cable," I answered. "I'll check for a fever at lunch,"
"What about Charlie?" Derek asked
"What about her?"
"She's never had chickenpox…or as far as we knew…" Derek reminded me with a chuckle.
"She'll probably get it Derek," I told him as I eyed Charlie and ran my fingers through her hair. "But she'll be able to help me look after the little kids then…"
"No I won't!" Charlie shot back.
I smiled at her.
"Well, I'll see if I can be home by lunch…I have a pretty light afternoon; it's a quiet board today," Derek said.
"That would be nice if you could come for lunch," I said.
"Okay, I've gotta go,"
"No worries, I love you…"
"I love you too,"
"Mom!" came Riley's voice.
"Just wait a second honey!" I called back.
I carried the two plates into the lounge room where Riley and Mia were both curled up on the lounges; they both looked a little weaker than they had earlier in the morning and new spots were forming everywhere.
"Here you go," I handed them both toasted cheese sandwiches. "Are you feeling okay darling?" I asked Mia as I noted her flushed cheeks under a mask of spots.
"My head hurts…" Mia groaned.
I shook my head and ran my hand across her forehead and felt her skin boiling under my touch.
"Baby, you need to go and lay up in your bed…" I told her with a gentle smile and a comforting hand.
She nodded and allowed me to take her upstairs where I pulled the covers back and let her climb under them. As I tucked the blankets in around her she frowned for a minute and looked up at my face.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
Her hand reached out and touched my forehead and then touched my cheek, and finally she touched my neck.
"Mia…"
"Mom…you've got spots…" she whispered.
I gasped and jumped up to look into the small mirror on Mia's wall.
"Crap…" I cried.
"Mom…" came Charlie's voice as she entered Mia's room.
"Yeah…" I turned around to look at Charlie; giggling slightly. "Oh…"
Charlie was covered in spots too.
This wasn't good…
Derek wandered into the bedroom just after lunch that day and started to laugh as he saw both Charlie and I in bed; our faces red and starting to fill with spots.
"Oh dear…" he sighed as he walked over and kissed us. "What happened to you?" he asked.
"Honey, I was a child of a surgeon…I spent most of my time in a hospital and clearly not enough time in school to get chickenpox!" I cried.
He laughed and looked at Charlie and I sympathetically.
"I have a craniotomy tomorrow at eight…how am I going to do it?" I cried.
"I'll push it a few days…or I might just get another neuro attending…Bishop can do it," Derek replied.
I smiled and looked at him.
"Still love us?" I asked.
"Even with your spots!" he answered as he kissed Charlie and I once more.
I guess this was the, in sickness and in health, part.
I think this chapter would be really funny to see. Meredith would not have had the chickenpox, she's just unlucky like that.
REVIEW please!!