A/N: As he was very firmly eleven by the time Alan actually did evaluate and talk to him the first time in a previous set...

Week 1 - UDC 1 - How three weeks turned into six...

1. beginnings

She wasn't sure what to expect when her husband entered her hospital room with their foster son, but hugging a textbook and the silent tears running down his cheeks hadn't been on the list. Juliana motioned him closer and took the textbook, exchanging it for a box of tissues, which Pete stared at, then tried to give back to her. "Blow your nose, Pete. For me? And then we'll talk about whatever it is that's upsetting you."

Pete stared at her, then silently demanded to see both of her hands. "Not red and peeling." It was confounding that he also lifted the blanket at her feet and stared at them until she wiggled her toes. What was he looking for? "Not red..." Back to her again, now with a hand on her forearm, still frowning. "Not hot... you're not yellow... your eyes look normal. You're you and not confused. Why are they keeping you for observation?"

Juliana felt, rather than saw, her husband tense up at that, as she inwardly tried to puzzle through all those symptoms. It was no wonder that he was crying, then, if that's what he'd been thinking about. "Because doctors are picky and pregnancy can be complicated, Pete."

Pete glanced up at Will, then looked at her again, then finally blew his nose. He stared at the tissue for a moment before Will plucked it out of his hand and threw it away. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Making you faint."

Juliana caught his chin and made him look up at her again. "None of that. You and the boys didn't make me faint, kiddo. The baby and my anemia did. With Isaac? I fainted three or four times before they caught it, and this time they're also worried about a few other things because I'm older." Over the top of his head, she noticed one of the floor nurses peaking in and smiled at the intrusion. "Is that right, Lillian?"

Nurse Blake nodded. "It's routine to be cautious." Her eyes flicked to Will and then back to her. "Pete, why don't you come with me, huh? We'll get you some water and maybe something to eat."

Pete stared at the nurse, then returned his attention to her and she nodded. "But-"

"Go on. It's not good to be upset on an empty stomach and you should drink something."

2. middles

She waited until their foster child was safely out of the room before picking up the textbook and studying the cover. "Why does he have Isaac's textbook, Will?"

Will slowly sank down into the chair next to the bed with a heavy sigh. "Isaac let him borrow it when he wouldn't come out of the closet after breakfast. Jules, I don't think we can keep him. I really don't, even if I was talked into three more weeks by the new social worker. It isn't fair to you, and it's not fair to Pete."

She slowly put the book down and turned to look at him, noting how tired he appeared. She put a hand out and he took it. "New social worker? What happened to Harry?"

Will sighed again. "The new one took exception to Harry parking Pete with a different case worker while he was upset, I think, and Harry is moving to the main office in Arlington. You'd like the new one, though. Reminds me of your Dad." With his free hand, he pulled a business card out of one of his pockets and handed it to her.

Juliana nodded slowly as she read the card. "This is a decision we should be making together, Will. It's not solely your call, on weather or not we keep him. You know that, and yet you took him with you to social services anyway."

"You're mad."

She motioned to the door. "Did you talk to Harry about his failed placements? I did, and I do not want him even more traumatized than he already is. What was he checking me for just now, Will? With all those symptoms?"

Will froze, staring at her in realization as she pointed to the biology textbook in her lap. "And usually, he's stealing Isaac's math book instead, isn't he?" She nodded. "I'm an idiot."

"No, just tired and at your wit's end." She kissed his hand. "I love you, but did the boys tell you that we're planning a surprise party for the third of July? Also, both of our mothers will be flying in to help me while you're gone. Mom wanted to meet the birthday boy, Will."

"You... I'm not going to win this argument, am I?"

She leveled a glare at him. "No, you're not, because you're going on deployment with a police action in which the child in our care has an MIA father, no matter what the circumstances are. Our own children are probably acting out more than usual because they're young and this is scary. Exactly how much do you think they'll be able to get away with, with both our mothers and myself watching them like hawks?"

3. ends

Later, during rounds, she brought up the oddness of a ten-year-old checking her over to her doctor and he frowned in thought. "Peeling hands, red feet, a fever, jaundice, and confusion? That's... all of that together would be worrying, certainly."

"Was also concerned about my eyes," Juliana offered.

"But you're fine, and we don't have any patients on the floor with multiple organ failure..." Doctor Blake trailed off when she stared at him in confusion. "The peeling hands could be desquamation, and the jaundice points to liver problems. Add in the mental deficit of confusion and a fever, combined with red feet, which might be macular erythroderma, and you have most of the criteria for something specific, minus hypotension, which a ten-year-old wouldn't know about."

Juliana processed through all of that, trying to make sense of it while she rubbed a spot on her developing belly. At four and a half months, it was still small enough that standing most people wouldn't notice it if she wore a flowing top.

4. first

The man that arrived in her hospital room after her call to social services took one look at her and shook his head. "My apologies Mrs. Carpenter, but were you aware that this kid was pulled from a placement because of colic less than a year ago?"

Juliana nodded. "You must be Alan Jenkins. Please sit? We have things to discuss, you and I, before I let you uproot a child from us just because my husband didn't discuss it with me first about how to proceed."

Alan moved to sit in the chair next to her bed. "Ma'am-"

"Julie," she interrupted, glaring at him. "Harry really transferred to Arlington?"

"He did."

"Hmmm... how much of Pete's file have you been able to review? Also, does Social Services let older widowers be foster parents?" She handed a scrap of paper to him. "Because I've got a few suggestions for you to investigate if so."

Alan stared at her. "How-"

"I'm a clerk and a mother, Mr. Jenkins, and this is a boy with needs. Particular ones, and Hank, the first name on that list, also likes to fiddle with cars and things."

Alan nodded and slid the paper into the file he was holding. "I'll take that under advisement, and yes, I've gotten to review it, but haven't pulled this kid into the office again yet to evaluate him myself. I also peppered Harry with lots of questions to get a feel for the situation and plan to consult with a therapist."

Juliana smiled. "Is it possible I could talk you into six weeks instead of three?"

5. last

The question gave him hope and Alan nodded. "Yes, but maybe we should be having this conversation with your husband present, Ma'am."

Juliana shook her head. "Will and I had this discussion already, Mr. Jenkins, and eventually he agreed with me on this aspect. I did not tell him that I'd be suggesting possible placements, but..."

Alan nodded. "But he's also shipping out on deployment."

"Exactly." She worried her lip momentarily. "When Will brought him in here to see me, Pete checked me over for things, including peeling on my hands and jaundice."

"He did?"

"And as you are now his social worker, you should know, sir."

"Tell me a bit more, then," Alan said as he pulled out a pen. "I like to be prepared."