Of Insects and Illness Ch. 8
Disclaimer: See chapter one
Author's Note: Once again, sorry for the long wait.
Previously: 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.
Once they had reached the Pediatric Intensive care Unit, Kyrano stayed with John, Gordon and Virgil, while Scott went with Onaha to visit Alan. Only two people were allowed to visit at a time and it was obvious to everyone that Scott desperately needed to see his baby brother. The oldest Tracy son was becoming thoroughly agitated and was starting to snarl at his younger brothers over trivial things.
Walking into Alan's room, Onaha gasped at seeing all the wires attached to the youngest of her charges, but the sight that caused her to blanch the most was seeing the tube coming from Alan's mouth. "Oh my heaven's, Alan." She whispered reverently as she walked over to Alan's bedside. She knew the young one was extremely sick, but still was unprepared for the sight of him being on a ventilator.
Hearing Onaha's gasp, Jeff glanced up to see the Malaysian woman and his oldest son walking into the room. He felt a large measure of relief knowing that she and Kyrano were now there to watch over his other boys so he could focus on Alan.
Placing an arm around Onaha's shoulders to offer comfort once she stood by his side, Jeff said, "I know Sprout looks pretty bad right now, but Robert thinks he's starting to respond to treatment within the last hour. Alan's starting to trigger the vent on his own every so often and the iron supplements they've been giving him are working on the anemia. Now, if they could just get his blood and platelet counts to come up, Allie would have a fighting chance."
"What about the Malaria Mr. Tracy, have they been able to treat it effectively?" Onaha asked as she brushed her fingers through Alan's blond locks.
"Not as of yet, they've recently started Allie on a new treatment involving intramuscular quinine though. Robert said the drug has shown promising results in other cases and he's hoping it will be the same for Alan." Jeff answered as he straightened the sheet over Alan's small form lying so still on the bed.
"I'm sure that it will. Alan is such a special child and has so many people praying for him." Onaha replied. She couldn't help but also feel that he had his own special guardian angel watching over him in the form of his deceased mother. Surely Lucille Tracy was watching over her baby right now.
"Yes he is." Jeff replied as he thought about Alan's conception and how it had been such a surprise to both he and his wife, a surprise that he was so very thankful for. Suddenly noticing that Scott hadn't said anything, Jeff looked at his eldest child with concern to see him looking extremely pale. His cheeks seemed sunken in and his eyes were lined with dark smudges. "Scotty, are you okay son?" Jeff asked as he started walking towards his oldest.
"Dad, I…" Scott voiced weakly just before his knees buckled and his cobalt blue eyes rolled up in his head.
"Scotty." Jeff yelled as he caught his oldest son just before his head could smack the floor. "Hey, I need some help in here." He yelled through the open door.
Dr. Robert Singer was walking down the hall of the PICU making his rounds when he heard the sound of a voice calling out for help. Recognizing the sound of Jeff Tracy's voice, he raced down the hallway and entered Alan's room just in front of two nurses. Looking at the scene his eyes beheld, he was astounded to see Jeff kneeling on the floor with an unconscious Scott's upper torso in his lap. "Jeff, what happened?" He queried as he knelt down and started assessing his newest patient.
"I don't know. I had just asked him if he was alright when he all of the sudden passed out in front of me." Jeff answered worriedly.
Grasping Scott by the wrist, he checked the teen's pulse. His pulse seems to be a little sluggish and he looks a little dehydrated, but other than that, everything seems to be fine." Robert stated as he finished his initial assessment. "I think Scott is mainly suffering from a wicked case of exhaustion and his body just gave out on him."
"Oh thank God." Jeff spoke through a relieved sigh. He couldn't deal with another family member being ill.
"I'm going to have an orderly bring a gurney in here so that Scott can rest comfortably. I'm going to hook him up to an IV to rehydrate him and if it's okay, I'd like to administer a sedative to make sure he gets some sleep." Robert voiced as he looked at Jeff for approval.
"Yes, that's fine, whatever you think is best." Jeff answered as he brushed sweat soaked bangs from his son's forehead just before he felt his son start to squirm beneath his hold.
"Da'ad what 'appened?" Scott groaned as he tried to sit up but felt himself restrained by strong arms.
"You fainted son," Jeff answered succinctly as he palmed away the perspiration glistening on Scott's cheek. Robert is having someone bring in a gurney for you. He wants you to get some sleep.
"Noooo, I wanna stay with Allie." Scott cried out in panic as he once again tried to push himself up.
"Calm down Scotty, nobody is going to make you leave. Robert wants you in here where he can keep an eye on you along with Alan." Jeff intoned as he struggled to keep Scott from doing anything further to hurt himself.
"Okay." Scott sighed as his eyes closed, his body visually relaxing upon hearing the words. A few moments later he felt a slight pinch on the back of his hand and then opened his eyes groggily to see an IV being administered.
"It's to rehydrate you Scott, just go back to sleep." Robert whispered soothingly as he finished the task and then injected a light sedative in the IV port.
Scott never felt it when two orderlies entered the room and lifted him onto the gurney. He never felt it when his dad placed a blanket over him.
"Sleep well Scooter." Jeff whispered as he leaned down and kissed his first born son on the forehead.
Arriving a couple of hours later at the exclusive five star hotel where Jeff had reserved the penthouse suite, Onaha set about to get things in order. First off, she needed to make sure the boys were well fed with a homemade meal. They had stopped off at a store on the way back from the hospital and she had picked up a roast, some potatoes, and the fixings for a salad. Ordering Kyrano to take the boys down to the heated indoor pool, she put the roast in a roasting pan and then started peeling the potatoes to place around the succulent meat. Placing the roast and potatoes in the oven, she went to each of the boys rooms and picked up their clothing that was strung about on the floor, sorting it as to what needed washed, and what needed to be hung in the closets. Finishing that task, she took a few moments to rest knowing that once Gordon returned from the pool, she would have her hands full with the little bundle of energy.
As she sat down in the recliner, her mind drifted back to the events in the hospital. It scared her to think what would happen to the family she had come to love as her own if young Alan didn't survive his illness. The Tracy's had barely made it through Mrs. Tracy's death, there was no way they could survive another loss so soon.
Thinking about her oldest charge, she wondered how Scott was doing. The teen had nearly scared her to death when he passed out the way he had. She chided herself for not being there for him sooner. She knew about the special bond Scott shared with his baby and brother and should have known the boy's illness would have a devastating affect on Scott. Hearing the sound of laughter, she was drawn out of her thoughts as young Gordon came rushing into the room.
"You missed me Virgil." The copper haired boy taunted as he raced around the couch to get away from his flustered sibling.
"Just you wait fish face, you're going to pay for pushing me back into the pool after I was already dry." Virgil seethed as he darted around the opposite end of the couch in an attempt to catch his sibling.
"That will be enough out of you two." Onaha scolded as she placed her hands on her hips. "Now go get washed up, dinner is nearly ready."
"Yes ma'am" Both boys answered as the stopped their horseplay and walked to the bathroom. They knew better than to make her angry.
Smiling at the boys, Onaha thought about her own daughter Tin-Tin who was spending some time with her grandparents. She truly missed her daughter and looked forward to the time when Tin-Tin returned. Hearing the sound of the door opening once again, she looked up to see her husband and John entering the room.
"Dinner will be ready shortly." She informed the two as they sat down on the couch to rest a few minutes.
"Onaha, is there any word on Alan or Scotty?" John queried as he looked up at with his soulful aqua-blue eyes.
"No honey, I'm afraid not. I'm sure your father will call if there is a change." Onaha answered the platinum blond. She had told her husband and John about the incident with Scott earlier when Gordon and Virgil were not around. "Don't worry John, I'm sure your brothers will soon be better. Now why don't you go get washed up for dinner. We wouldn't want to worry your father anymore by having another one of his children getting ill now would we?"
"No ma'am" John answered as he pushed himself to his feet to do as told, His father already had enough stress to deal with.
TBC