Jenny and Jethro were having a debate in the bullpen. More of an argument, a very heated one, about what type of approach to take on the current case. Their team sat by idly, in fear of stepping into the wrath of wither if them in their current state of fury.
They continued to yell as the phone rang, and finally Jenny answered her desk phone, her anger still evident as she picked up, "Hello!"
"Yes, it is.." jenny suddenly sobered. Jethro picked up on this.
She took a breath and exhaled it slowly and loudly. "How high?"
"One of us will be right there. Thanks, and make sure that no one gives him any medicine!" Jenny hung up quickly.
The 'no-medicine' gave it away to the entire team. They had all babysat the kids at one point or another and an important fact Jenny had beat them to death with before she left was that Tony was allergic to aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and a lot of meds .
"What happened to him, Jen?" Jethro asked, his brows curled in concern.
"Tony is sick, he's got a high fever." Jenny was putting her coat on already.
"How high?" one of the team mates asked.
"One oh one." Jenny said grimly. "I will go get him, you stay and finish up this case. The right way..." with that she grabbed her purse and left the bullpen, her eyes making a statement as she gave her final peace over the argument they had just been having.
"Hey, Dad. I cant find Tony!" Kate informed her dad as he picked the group up from school in the usual meeting spot.
"He went home sick, it's okay." With that they all continued to get into the SUV. "We have to go pick him up some soup for dinner after we pick up the twins from daycare, Mom says he's pretty sick." Jethro frowned as he pulled away from the school.
Abby and Tim were three, and Tony a kindergartener at five, Kate in the second grade at seven.
Jethro walked into the house, one arm full of a bouncy Abby, the other holding grocery bags and a slobbery Timmy. "Jenny! We're home!"
He set Abby down and began to walk towards the unused living room where he thought he heard some humming coming from.
He dropped the grocery bag on a table in the front hall on his way to the usually dormant living room.
He walked in to see Tony sitting up sleepily on the blanket covered sofa in his power ranger pajama pants only. His tiny chest and tummy exposed, and in the gentle light of the small table lamp luminating the room, Jethro could just make out a few pink blisters on his abdomen. Jenny was humming a soft tune as she ran her gloved hand across the bumps applying some sort of cream.
Jethro approached the two.
"Hey, how ya feelin, Bud?"
"Hey, Daddy." He sounded sleepy. Rather uncharacteristic for his usual rabidly hyper five year old self. "Im fine. Im am jus'... real cold." He could see the boys shivers.
"No, your not." Jenny sounded worried. "Look at these..." Jenny pointed to the arrangement of blisters forming across his small belly. "I think it's chicken pox."
"Well, I will have Ducky stop over, alright..." Jethro picked up his cell phone and the ME said he was just in the neighborhood and would be there shortly.
"I brought some Chicken Noodle soup for you to have for dinner tonight, Tony. Want me to go whip some up?" Jethro asked.
"That's okay, im not hungry." he sounded so small.
"Alright.. But your gonna have to eat some later." Jethro reached forward and put his hand on Tony's forehead, pushing the spiky brown hair, that was sticking to his clammy forehead back. "Your burning up, Bud." he was shocked at the heat radiating off the smooth forehead.
"No, I am cold.." Tony whined softly.
"I know it," Jenny sounded agitated. "The stupid thermometer isn't working, and I don't know how high it is. I was going to find another one, but then I saw him itching and found the spots so I just put the cream on and ..."
"It's okay, Jen. Ducky is almost here." Jethro knew that Jenny got really worried when someone was sick, especially Tony because of his allergies to fever reducing meds which tended to make them much more dangerous than with anyone else.
Jenny took a breath to relax herself. "Okay, Tony, all done. Now just lay back on the couch and rest for a minute until Ducky gets here."
The small boy nodded exhaustedly, and scooted back on the couch and curled into a ball on his side, eyes closing at once. "Can I please have a blanket, Daddy?"
"No, Tony your too hot." Jethro rubbed a palm gently over his back, the heat emanating off the smooth skin.
Jenny stood up and met Jethro's eyes. "Chicken pox. I know it..."
"I think so too." Jethro said. "We gonna give it to the other kids?"
"I think that's the best idea. Unless the twins are too young, you know?" Just then they heard the front door open.
"Knock, knock!" they heard Ducky announce himself.
"In here, Duck," Jethro summoned.
Ducky walked in, his medical bag in tow.
"Ahh, little Anthony has caught something, has he?" Ducky took a kneel next to the suddenly sleeping form.
"We think it's the pox," Jethro informed him. "Spots on his stomach, there..." He pointed.
Ducky gently shook the little boy by his shoulder. "Anthony, my boy?"
Tony opened his eyes sluggishly. He moved to sit up, and he began to shudder, chills setting in more than ever.
"Yes, those are some nice spots you are getting there, Anthony." Ducky noticed the spots. "Definitely chicken pox! Are you cold, son?"
He reached out and touched the boy's forehead. "Oh, dear me. You are on fire Tony."
Ducky looked startled. He knew a dangerously high fever when he felt one. "Jethro, go and fetch some frozen peas or ice packs." Ducky tried to keep his voice light for Tony's sake.
"Tony, stay awake my boy." Ducky tapped him under the chin. Tony had begun to droop as though he was falling asleep. "Im going to stick this in your ear, now."
He stuck the probe in Tony's ear. It beeped and he read the number.
"One oh two." Ducky said. "What was is earlier?"
"One hundred and then one oh one." Jenny answered.
"Mhm, okay Tony." He patted he brown hair.
"I would suggest you get him out of those pants, and in something a bit lighter... and soon. His fever is still rising, and we need to make sure it doesn't get any higher."
"Okay..." Jenny turned to run upstairs and try and find something, passing Jethro on his way in with frozen items.
"Tony, it is very important that when these start itching you do your best not to itch them, okay?" Ducky advised the small child, who was beginning to feel very uncomfortable.
"Okay..My head hurts, Ducky. Can you fix it?" He whined gently. Those eyes could really do damage when they made that face.
Jethro came and sat next to Tony on the couch. "Here, buddy. These will help, just lay back."
"Daddy s'cold. No, pwease." Tony was weakly protesting from his prone position. He began to whimper "No" He fought the descending hands pathetically. Tears began to form along with the pitiful whimpers and sad eyes. The fever making him emotionally agitated as well.
"Anthony, these are going to help you get better. You can do it," Ducky assured the upset and dazed five year old.
"Here Tony, you hold this one on your forehead," Jethro handed it over to Tony.
He slowly and shakily put it on his forehead.
"There ya go?" Ducky patted his thigh. "It will be a bit chilly, but this one is going on your chest."
Tony shuddered at the ice pack. His teeth painfully chattering.
"Okay, now you just relax Anthony." Ducky moved the hands from the ice pack on his forehead to the boy's side.
Tony was shivering bad. "Oo-okay, D-Ducky."
"Okay, everyone. Time for bed, follow me upstairs, your all sleeping up in my bed." Jethro walked into the family room cradling a hot and sleeping Tony.
"Yay!" Abby screeched as she tottled over to stand by her mom who was picking up a sleepy Tim from the kitchen table.
Kate followed the entire family up the stairs, and they walked all the way down the hallway to the door at the end. All of them filing in.
Jenny pulled back the covers of her king sized bed, and Jethro strategically placed Tony in the middle of the large bed. Then they allowed the rest of the kids to fill in around him on the bed.
"Good night, me and your mom are sleeping in Kate's room tonight." Jethro kissed the snuggled in four kids on the forehead, and Jenny did the same.
A few hours later.
Kate awoke to the thrashing and moaning of someone next to her. It took the seven year old a minute to remember that they were all in her mom and dad's bed. She saw that Tony next to her was rolling around in the bed, and kicking down covers, and whimpering.
"Tony, stop. Your ruining the covers!" Abby said as she sat up, her 'r's still sounding like 'w's.
"Tony? Are you okay?" Kate tapped the sweaty little brother next to her.
"Timmy," Kate looked over to the boy on her left that was sitting up confused at the ruckus. "Go and tell mom and dad."
Timmy did his best version of a mad dash for the door at three, and to the next door on the right down the hall and approached the bed that held his sleeping mom and dad.
He chose to wake up his mom. "Momma?" He touched her shoulder.
"Tim? What's wrong, bud?" Jenny allowed her eyes to adjust. Jethro sat up next to Jenny, awoken from the conversation.
"Kate said to come and get you," Tim answered truthfully.
Jenny and Jethro slowly got up, and immediately their ears were assaulted with the soft cries coming from the room down the hall.
Jethro immediately picked up the pace, and crawled onto the bed next to the twisting and turning Tony.
"Jenny, go and get that thermometer from Kate's room. I put it in there.." Jethro said calmly to his wife, who turned and complied.
"Tony? What's wrong, bud?" He touched the squirming kid on the chest to try and still him. It was hot beneath his hand. "Tony!"
Tony continued in his mumbling and thrashing state, until Jethro heard the thermometer beep. He looked at the digital reading, and had to do a double take.
He hurried and dropped the thermometer, and scooped Tony up into his arms.
Jenny didn't like the looks of that. "What was it Jethro?" The other kids stared in the dark a bit startled.
"One oh five, six." Jethro stood with the whimpering Tony huddled against his chest. "We are goin to the tub." he said sternly.
Jethro walked briskly to the tub and set Tony down in it gently, and then he turned on the water, full throttle on cold and began running the cold water over Tony who was in a semi-conscious crying state.
"Its okay Tony," jenny and Jethro tried to calm him, but he was pretty incoherent.
"Get Ducky on the phone, I don't know what to do," Jethro continued to splash the little boy with the water, and talking with him to try and get him to come around.
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"Mommy! It's so itchy!" Abby whined as she sat on the couch and tried not to itch the bumps covering her body.
"I know it is, baby. Just try not to itch them, okay?" Jenny replied.
"Mom, can we watch something different?" Kate asked as she sat on the couch next to Tim and Abby. All of them had successfully contracted the chicken pox from Tony and were stuck home from school with Jenny.
"In a minute Kate, this is their favorite show.." Kate felt a little old for the Sesame Street.
Tony was in the other living room sleeping. The high fever was really taking a toll on his little body. After two trips to the emergency room already, if Tony didn't get better soon then the hospital was planning on admitting him.
"You guys ready for lunch?" Jethro came in carrying a tray with bowls full of soup.
The answer was a unanimous 'yes' and soon they each were seated at the coffee table slurping the soup obnoxiously. They had a fair amount of spots covering their bodies, Tony was definitely covered in the most, since he was the one who originally contracted the virus.
"Daddddd," They heard Tony weakly cry from the other room.
Jethro abruptly left. "What's going on, bud?" he asked as he walked in the room.
"I don't feel good," Tony's face crumpled and he began to slowly cry.
"I know you don't, Tony. I know it," He picked Tony up and allowed him to cry over his shoulder. He ran a hand over his spotted back, and rocked the warm boy while he walked back and forth. "It'll get better, I promise. Your doin good, buddy."
Tony continued to cry softly as he rested his head on his dads shoulder.
"Jethro, how's the boy doing?" Ducky's voice came from the doorway.
"I don't know, Duck. Not very well, I think the same as a few days ago...." Jethro turned and continued soothing the back of the sniffling five year old.
"Right, very well. Let's have a look shall we?" Ducky walked over to the couch and sat down, patting his knee, to which Jethro gently sat Tony upon.
"Good morning, Tony." Ducky said in a cheery voice. "Your not itching these spots are you?"
Tony sniffled, and the crying appeared to have subsided. "No, Ducky."
"He's been too tired to scratch, I think." Jethro informed the doctor.
"Yes, well you've had such a high fever the last few days that is of no surprise." Ducky patted the child's knee. "It is quite a predicament you can not take anything for it. Something we will have to live with for many years to come." Jethro nodded how crappy that was, not because it was such a hassle to care for the delusional kid, but because it was just plain frightening.
"Temp is one oh three." Ducky shook his head. "Jethro has he been drinking enough water?"
"We've been trying," Jethro sighed. "He just is sleeping most of the day and..." Jethro hadn't been enforcing the water as much as he should of.. He had kind of been forgetting to be honest. His kids had never been sick like this before, and all four of them at once was rather over bearing.
"Yes well I am sure his stool is not quite right, which means he is most likely very dehydrated. And that is not conditions for fighting a fever on one's own. Hospital Jethro." Ducky peered strongly above the rim of his glasses, locking eyes with Jethro.
"Alright, Tony. I'm going to get you some clothes, we are going back to the hospital, okay?" Jethro kneeled and took Tony's drooping head in his hand.
Tony protested weakly, "No, Daddy, please. I'm fine... I don't wanna go back." He whimpered, tears starting to spill.
"Anthony, it's alright. They are going to make you better?" Ducky pulled the boy into his arms and rocked him in a hug. Jethro took his cue and left the room.
"Please, Ducky. I don't like it there ..."
"There there, Anthony. You will be fine..." Ducky stood and held the boy on his hip, as he placed another ice pack concernedly on the child's neck.
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