Of Insects and Illness Ch. 7
Disclaimer: See chapter one
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I know I need to do better with updating this story on a more timely manner.
Previously: "I'm sorry to interrupt you gentleman, but Mr. Tracy, you are needed in the PICU stat." The nurse informed the father after having received an emergency message from the head nurse in charge of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Recognizing the urgency in the nurse's voice, Jeff knew immediately that something was horribly wrong. Pushing himself away from the table, he called out, "Scott, John, watch out for your brothers." as he started jogging away from the cafeteria. He hated leaving his boys that way, especially with the scared look on their faces, but Alan was the most important one now. Literally running down the hall, he arrived at the elevator in just under a minute. "Pressing the button repeatedly, he begged "Come on, come on." With a dire need to get to his youngest.
Slipping into the elevator as the doors slid open, he didn't apologize to the people who gave him a weird look on their way out. Waiting for the sliding door to shut, he pressed the number that would take him up to the pediatrics wing. As the elevator begin to move, he had a fleeting feeling of lightheadedness overtake him. Knowing that he needed to calm himself, he took a few deep breaths. He couldn't afford to have a panic attack now, not when his baby needed him.
He barely waited for the doors to open enough, before he was squeezing through them and making his way down toward the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He took no notice of the brightly colored murals painted on the wall that tried to give the ward a cheerful look as he passed them. Arriving at Alan's door moments later, his knees nearly gave out as he watched Dr. Singer standing over his baby performing child CPR. "Oh God. Allie." He gasped as he covered his mouth with his hands and leaned against the wall, sliding down it as his legs refused to support him anymore.
He literally began to tremble as he watched Robert's palm pressing down on Alan's chest at a fairly quick rate as he called out instructions for someone to get him some epinephrine stat. He watched a nurse scramble to do as instructed and then return a few precious seconds later carrying a vial and syringe which she gave to his doctor friend. Watching as Robert withdrew some of the medicine into the syringe, he felt the bile rise in his throat as he watched the doctor administer the epinephrine straight into Alan's chest. A silent litany of "Please don't leave us baby." became Jeff's main thought as he waited to see if the life saving measures that Robert was employing would work.
Watching as his father raced out of the cafeteria, Scott wanted nothing more than to take off after him and get back to Alan. He knew something was seriously wrong from what the nurse had said, but he had a responsibility to his younger brothers too. Taking a shuddering breath, he wiped away the tears that were building in his eyes. He couldn't afford to let Virgil and Gordon see his fears.
"Scotty, are you alright?" Virgil inquired as he watched his older brother covertly wipe the tears from his eyes. He was old enough to know that whatever was happening had scared the crap out of his big brother.
"Yeah, I'm fine Virge, you don't have to worry." Scott voiced as calmly as he could when he saw the worry showcased in Virgil's honey brown eyes, even though his heart was breaking at not being able to go to Alan. "You better eat your ice cream before it melts away."
"Scott, I'm not a baby so stop treating me like one. I know something's wrong and I want to help." Virgil retorted as he crossed his arms in front of him petulantly. He hated being treated like one of the younger crowd, he was almost a teenager.
"I know you're not Virgil." Scott replied with a tight smile. "And you are helping, just by being here. I'll need all the help I can get to keep Gordon occupied until Kyrano and Onaha get here.
Deciding to give in for now and go along with Scott, Virgil decided he would find out later just what had his brother so upset. "Okay Scott, I can help with Gordy, but we are…."
"Virgil, can you help me talk Scotty into buying me another triple fudge sundae?" Gordon interrupted as he finished off the ice cream in his bowl and swiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. It wasn't often they were allowed to splurge with such a wonderful dessert since Onaha preferred them to eat more healthy.
"Sorry Gordy, but one bowl is more than enough for you." John stated, knowing just how hyper Gordon could get if he had too much sugar in his system. The last thing they needed was the prankster keeping them awake all night tonight.
"Aw John, you're no fun." Gordon pouted as he glared at John with his steely green eyes.
"You'll thank me for it later fishface." John smirked as he reached out to ruffle his copper topped brother's hair.
"Stop it John" Gordon grumbled as he tried to move his head out of reach of John's outstretched hand causing his brother to laugh. Ignoring said brother's laughter, he turned to face Scott who was sitting opposite of him. "Scotty, can we go see Alan now?"
"Not right now, maybe later. Okay Gordo.? Scott stammered wishing that he could be there with Alan too. He had a sick feeling in his stomach that Alan was slipping away from them and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Damn it Alan, don't you do this to me, to your family." Dr. Robert Singer gritted out through clenched teeth as he performed the one handed compressions on Alan's heart to keep it beating. "Your family needs you boy." Finishing the latest round of thirty compressions, Robert stopped just long enough to take a look at the monitor. He was elated to see that Alan's heart was finally starting to beat on it's own though it was sluggish.
"Come on Sprout, you can do it." He encouraged as he kept his palm firmly in place just in case. He watched as the blips on the screen started to move more and more until Alan was exhibiting a normal sinus rhythm. "Way to go little one, I knew you could do it." He gasped as he wiped a palm across his sweaty forehead, it had been too close a call with death for him.
"Dr. Singer, I think you might have another patient." Nurse Alison informed the man as she motioned with her head towards Jeff who was slumped on the floor with his head buried in his knees sobbing. She had noticed the father wavering as they worked desperately to save his young son's life, but knew she couldn't offer comfort until Alan was out of danger.
Walking over to the sobbing father, Robert kneeled down in front of his friend. "Jeff, Allie's okay, he me made it through this latest medical crisis." He soothed as he reached out to place a comforting hand on the billionaire's shoulder to steady him.
"I nearly lost him Robert, I nearly lost my baby." Jeff cried as he looked up at the doctor, tears cascading down his cheeks. He is the last gift that Lucille gave to me, to our family, and I don't know what we would do without him.
"Well let's hope you never have to find out." Robert stated as he reached out a hand to Jefferson Tracy to help him up off the floor. "You have to have faith Jeff. Alan just showed us how much of a fighter he is, so don't give up on him. That little boy is going to need all the love and support you can give him to get through this."
"I'd willingly give my last breath for Alan if that's what it takes to get him better." Jeff informed the doctor after he had made it to his feet.
Needing to be close to his baby, Jefferson thanked the doctor and firmly shook his hand before walking over to Alan's bedside and placed a loving hand on his son's head. "I'm here for you Allie, we all are. Scotty and the others are just downstairs and they need you to fight this son. We're all waiting for you to wake up and come back to us. We can't make it without you Sprout." Jeff whispered to his baby as he stroked his hair.
Glancing over Alan's still form, Jeff wished he could pick him up and cradle him in his arms. He knew it would be more for his own comfort than Alan's, but he really needed to feel Alan in his arms right now. If only Alan wasn't still attached to the ventilator that was allowing his weakened lungs to rest. Pulling a seat up to Alan's bed, he leaned over and placed his head by Alan's small form and lay a gentle hand on his chest. "I need you Alan, please don't leave me." He whispered as he took one of Alan's small hands in his.
Arriving at the hospital after flying in from Tracy Island and stopping by the hotel where Jeff had reserved them a suite, Kyrano and Onaha stopped at the nurse's desk and inquired as to where they could find the Tracy family. Onaha had been very worried about whether or not the boys had been eating and getting enough rest after learning of Alan's illness. The nurse was just getting ready to look up the information on her computer when she saw a small red headed child running towards the Malaysian woman.
"Gordon, your not supposed to run in the hospital." John chided as he watched Onaha bend down to hug his younger brother.
Hearing John's voice, Onaha looked up to see the other Tracy boys striding towards her and her heart nearly broke at seeing the dark smudges under Scott's eyes and the weariness in his step. It was obvious that young Alan's illness was having a dramatic effect on Scott's health also.
Knowing she would definitely have her work cut out for her in taking care of the boys, especially Scott, Onaha decided it was time to take charge of the situation. First, they would check in on young Alan and see how he was doing. Afterwards, she would make sure the boys ate a healthy meal and got some rest, even if they didn't want too. No one else was getting sick on her watch.
TBC