"Right, Finster, let's get this show on the road hey." Tim turned to paused the movie and made way for the nurse to place the bowl of soapy water on the rollaway table. "We've got lots of nice bubbles and some fluffy warm towels," he smiled at Finn who was still in his mother's arms, still grunting in pain although he was much calmer and his tears had stopped.

"Okay," Tim continued, moving to Lilly's side. "I'm gonna lift you so Lucy here can place a plastic sheet and some towels under you. We don't want to get the bed wet now do we?" He reached down and gently plucked Finn out of his mother's arms, soothing him when he cried out in pain. "Won't be long," he promised and Lilly quickly climbed down and helped the nurse ready the bed.

"Down you go," Tim just as gently placed Finn down; re arranged his wires and pulled his sheet down to his waist. He then pulled the table closer, dipped one sponge in and handed it to Lilly.

"Okay, mom you can do that side and I'll do this."

Tim and Lilly then started to sponge down the hot body, Lilly taking lead from Tim when he applied pressure to his massage and, slowly but surely Finn started to relax.

"You're doing just great, Finster," Time praised as Finn sighed in relief. The nurse knew that a soapy bath always did the sick child the power of good when bone pain struck.

By then end of the bath, Finn lay boneless on the bed, his eyes at half-mast.

Tim smiled at Lilly. "We'll just change the bed and he should sleep now," he whispered.

"Okay," Lilly whispered back and between them, they soon had Finn changed into a fresh gown and tucked up in a clean bed. And, by the time the sound of Harry and his friends doing battle with Voldemort filled the room again, Finn was snoring softly.

"I'll leave you to it." Tim double checked all of Finn's lines and then crossed to close the blinds. The day was still dull and rainy; it was time to shut it out.

"Try and rest while he does," he told Lilly and then wheeled his equipment out of the room.

Lilly pulled up the comfortable armchair, sat next to her slumbering son and, after taking note of how far they were into the movie, aimed the remote and paused it again.

There was no way she was going to watch it without her boy!

With one hand holding Finns, she rested her head back and closed her eyes. It was so peaceful and within no time, she found herself drifting off, feeling happier about her son's condition but wishing she knew more about her husband's though.

xx

Ben was aware of someone sitting at his bedside and for one fleeting second he thought it was Lilly, but after managing to open his gritty eyes, he turned and softly smiled at Daniel who was sat flicking through a magazine.

"Hey Daniel," he greeted wearily.

Daniel immediately put his magazine down and leant forward. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like crap," Ben admitted as he turned onto his side to face his friend, the action pulling his IV painfully. "I did something stupid," he sighed, moving his arm slightly to release the pressure. "I'm not used to food over here anymore," he sighed again. "Everything is so fresh on Mandana, this would never have happened there."

"Well, the good thing is that you were in the right place when it did," Daniel shrugged with a smile.

Ben knuckled his eyes, still feeling exhausted even after his long nap. "Well, I'm not much use to my family like this am I?" He grouched.

"Finn is sleeping comfortably with Lilly dozing at his side. He's doing better, Ben," Daniel assured. "And I'm just going to fetch Constance; Sam is waiting for us at the apartment and has hopefully prepared us a nice supper."

Ben groaned and rubbed his stomach. "Please Daniel, don't mention food, I beg you."

"Oh, yes, sorry," Daniel apologised and then glanced at his watch. "Listen, I've gotta go Benny. I don't want to keep your daughter waiting," he grinned.

"That sounds wrong on many levels," Ben mumbled inching down in bed and pulling his covers up to his shoulders. "Take care of my Connie boo."

"We will, don't worry. Just concentrate on getting better, buddy."

"Uh huh," Ben nodded slowly and closed his eyes, feeling so much happier that things were in hand.

Now, if he could just kick this illness, they would be back on track again.

Xxx

"Hi honey, we're home!"

Sam poked her head round the kitchen wall and rolled her eyes at Daniel's quip before opening her arms for Connie who was standing in the hallway, holding Daniel's hand. "Hey sweetie, are you hungry," she smiled and Connie instantly let Daniel's hand go and ran to her.

"Sam!" She grinned as Sam picked her up and gave her a cuddle. "Why is you here?"

"I'm here because your Papi is poorly and Finn needs your Mami. Daniel and I are going to look after you for a couple of days."

"That is so cool!"

"Yes it is," Sam nipped Connie's nose playfully and then carried her over to the stove. "Right, I've got some nice carrot soup and some good old Earth burgers cooking. How does that sound?"

"It aint like that yucky stew Papi wanted me to eat and that did make 'im poorly is it?"

"Not it's not. I've made it all myself today," Sam preened, almost feeing proud of herself. Although she knew the basics, cooking had never been her strong points, until Cassandra came into her life. Since then, she had experimented more and could now rustle up some pretty nice food if she had the time and time was one thing they had at the moment.

"Why don't you go and wash up. Food will be on the table in five minutes," Sam smiled and put Connie down. "You too, Daniel," she called over her shoulder as she turned to stir the soup again.

It was Daniel's turn to roll his eyes now as he took Connie by the hand. "Come on, little lady. We'd best do as we're told hey!"

Sam turned and smiled sweetly. "If you hurry up we'll have time for a film afterwards. You're going to love Beauty and the Beast, Connie."

"Oh, the joy," Daniel grouched as a very excited Connie then tugged him towards the bathroom.

It was going to be a long couple of days.

xxx

The night was long for one of the Ashton men.

Ben lay on his side, gripping a strategically placed bowl for all he was worth.

As the evening had progressed, his temperature had begun to climb again leaving him feeling miserable and uncomfortable.

The diarrhoea and vomiting had returned and none of the medication seemed to touch it anymore.

He just lay, watching the rain trickle down the large windows and the moon disappear then reappear from behind the clouds. The sky here on Earth looked very different than on Mandana, the fact that there was only one moon made it seem so very dark to Ben, in fact, his mood matched the blackness of the night.

Every time there was an alarm bell and activity in the hall wall, he assumed it was Finn that was in trouble. He had called out several times to check but no one had answered him and he was so afraid.

He just wanted to see his boy for himself. He wanted to make sure that he was okay. What if he was slipping away...?

He almost felt paralyzed in fear all of a sudden, his heart was racing but as he pushed himself up in bed to go to his son, awful dizziness hit. Grabbing the rails of the bed tightly, he hung his head but was helpless to stop his vision from dimming. Knowing he was on the verge of passing out, he reached for his emergency button and pressed it several times.

Knowing the following footsteps were for him, he flopped back in bed and closed his eyes to the dimming world.

The door slammed and the overhead light shone down on him.

"Mr Aston?" A nurse's voice came from a far. "What's wrong?"

"I feel f-faint," Ben stuttered and his bed was instantly raised into an upright position and his head gently eased downwards.

"Take some deep breaths," the nurse urged as she pressed the bell again. "Well done. That's it, in and out," she praised before turning to the nurse who answered her hail. "Can you fetch the duty doc, Jen? He's burning up."

Ben was aware of the other nurse running out of the room as the first nurse kept telling him to keep breathing. He felt absolutely dreadful and knew by the fact that he'd stopped sweating, he was in trouble.

"Okay, Mr Ashton," Jarred hurried to Ben's side. "What's going on?"

"He feels faint and his temperature is very high," the nurse answered for him as Ben continued to concentrate on not passing out.

"Let's get a temp then nurse, you know your job. Just try and relax Ben."

"No, no," Ben mumbled, shaking his head as the thermometer was placed in his ear. "You can't be here. You might catch it. F-fin needs you m-more."

"Young Finn is doing fine. He has the immune system of an ox now," Jarred reassured and, when the thermometer bleeped and he took it out and read the reading. "You have a very high temperature, Mr Ashton. You need me more than your son at the moment. Keep taking those deep breaths."

Jarred turned to the nurse again. "What is he having for his fever?" He asked.

The nurse picked up Ben's chart and handed it to the consultant. "Acetaminophen and Motrin piggybacked sir," she informed him.

"Well, I don't think that's working, do you?" Jarred stated as he browsed the file. "Let's get some tepid water and ice packs ready. If there is no improvement after that, I will order a cooling blanket.

"Yes sir."

"Right," Jarred read the chart for a while. "How long has he been vomiting now?" He asked.

"About 48 hours, sir."

"Diarrhoea?"

"The same."

"Okay. He is losing more fluids than we're giving him right now. Let's alter the Imodium to the max dosage and switch him to Zofran for the nausea. Also, add Cipro 250 to his antibiotic cocktail."

"Yes sir."

Jarred gently eased Ben back against his pillows and grabbed his stethoscope. "I'm just going to listen to your heart, Ben," he told him and pulled his gown down slightly. After listening for a few seconds, he eased Ben forward again and moved the bell of the stethoscope over his back.

"Okay, you're throwing a few PVC's there," he sighed, easing his patient back again.

"I f-feel d-dreadful," Ben panted as he closed his eyes.

"I'm sure you do. Just try and relax." Jarred reached for the oxygen mask, untangled the cord, placed it over his patient's mouth and switched it on. "Take some deep breaths," he urged and Ben sucked greedily on the cool oxygen.

"Right, I need a heart monitor set up stat," he turned to the nurse again. "I'm not happy about the PVC's he's throwing. Push the fluids and I'm going to add in potassium. Tepid sponge bath followed by ice packs in the groin, armpits and nape. I'll sort go to the pharmacy to sort the drug changes out myself."

"Yes sir."

Ben sat, propped up in bed; still panting in an endeavour to get enough oxygen as the room quickly emptied of medical personel and, when he was alone he turned to face the window.

The sun was just peeping through the mountains, illuminating them in a golden glow. The rain had stopped and the birds were calling to the dawn.

If he hadn't felt so incredibly ill, it would have been a truly wonderful sight.

Xxx

"Hey, you're cheating!"

"No I'm not!"

"Am too!"

Animated conversation coming from Finn's bed drew Lilly out of her sleep. She sat and stretched while beaming at the sight of her boy, sitting up playing Battleships with Polly. He looked so much better!

"Good morning," she greeted as she continued to stretch.

"Morning, Mami," Finn turned and grinned. "We're playing Battleships and Polly is cheating."

"I so am not," Polly reached and nipped Finn's nose. "You weren't watching, young Finster," she teased.

Lilly stood and went to Finn's side. "You look so much better, Finny," she smiled and placed as kiss on Finn's head, which was covered by his air force cap once more.

"I feel better," Finn nodded enthusiastically. "I'm really hungry and have been waiting for you to stop dozing so we could have breakfast together."

"You were?" Lilly grinned. "Really?"

"Yup, young Finster is correct," Polly nodded as she placed the battleship pieces back in the box. "I'll go and rustle something up for you both," she smiled. "I won't be long," she added, winking over at Lilly. "Told you he had some super duper drugs," she mouthed before putting the game away and leaving the room.

Lilly smiled as she watched her go and then sat next to her boy and pulled him into his arms. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, sweetheart."

"Me too, "Finn nodded and then reached for the TV remote. "Have we got time for some more Harry Potter?" He asked, turning to grin at his mother.

"Of course we do," Lilly nodded and rested back in bed, pulling her son with her. "Press away, Finny" she ordered and Finn pressed start and mother and son soon lost themselves in the wonderful world of Hogwarts.

Today was a bright new day.

Xxx

"Why don't you go and shower while Mr Freeman does his checks, Lilly," Polly suggested when Jarred and his team walked into the room.

Breakfast with her son had been wonderful and Lilly would kill for a shower and change of clothes. "Is it alright for me to leave?" She asked, knowing that she'd been advised not to when Finn had been so ill.

"Yes, it's fine," Polly assured. "Finn's white count is much better so we don't need to barrier nurse anymore." She demonstrated the fact by removing her own gown and cap.

"Actually," Jarred intervened as he looked up from Finn's chart. "I think your husband would appreciate a visit after you have showered Mrs Aston. He is not doing well at the moment."

"Oh?" Lilly frowned, instantly worried about Ben.

"He's had a tough night and is still most unwell this morning."

"Is it alright for me to visit, I mean, I don't want to catch his bug and pass it on to Finn."

"No, it's fine. We have indentified the source and, unless Finn eats the same chicken Mr Ashton did, he is in no danger of catching it now."

"Oh, right. I see."

"Just don't stay too long, he needs to rest as much as possible," Jarred advised and then turned his attention to his patient. "Well, young man," he grinned. "It looks like our wonder drugs have done you the power of good!"

Lilly watched the interplay between the Oncologist and her boy for a while, before going in search of a shower and some fresh clothing.

She had to now shift her concern from her little man to her big man, with a little bit left for her girl if there was any.

Xxx

"Hi, I'm Sam Carter and I'm dropping Constance Ashton off for the day." Sam handed the nursery nurse her confirming papers and stood to one side.

While she waited for the nurse to get clearance, she knelt at Connie's side and undid her coat. "Now, you've got your lunch in your bag and Daniel will try and come and see you later."

"'Kay Sam," Connie smiled, pulling her arm out of her coat.

"Have fun and we'll watch another film later."

"You promise."

"I promise."

"Major Carter?"

Sam stood and addressed the nurse again, "Everything okay?" She asked.

"Everything is fine," the nurse assured and then held her hand out for Connie. "Come on young Constance," she greeted. "You're just in time for cake cooking."

"Have a good day," Sam called and waved as Connie skipped as she entered the crèche.

"I will!" She called back and Sam stood and watched her until she was out of sight. Although she wasn't in the least maternal, having decided that her career was more important that children, she couldn't help but feeling quite emotional. It was almost as if she was waving her own little girl off for her first day at school.

The thought made her shudder a little and she wrapped her coat around her and chuckled to herself as she went to find someone to give her an update on Finn and Ben's condition.

Maybe the shudder of horror meant she wasn't as quite as maternal she thought she was.

Xxx

"Oh, Ben," Lilly gasped as she pulled up a chair and took Ben's hand in hers. Her husband looked terrible.

Her shower had been wonderful and she felt so much better for the change of clothing but, as she placed her hand on Ben's forehead the heat of the fever that poured off him made her kick herself for not coming straight to his side.

Ben was obviously very sick. The machinery that surrounded him was testament to that. She recognised that his heart rate was too fast, his fever high and even in just two days, it was obvious that he'd lost weight. Weight he couldn't afford to lose.

When Ben mumbled her name and turned to face her, she tried to flash him a reassuring smile.

"Hey you," she greeted. "I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you."

"D-don't be s-stupid," Ben muttered, reaching up to fiddle with the nasal prongs which were now providing his oxygen. "You needed to be with Finn. H-how is he?"

"He's doing so much better which is more than I can say for you." Lilly reached and ran her hand through Ben's sweaty hair. "What happened Ben?"

"I did something stupid," Ben sighed, shifting in bed slightly when his stomach cramped. "I...I..." he gritted his teeth, expecting the pain to escalated but when it didn't he relaxed back against his pillows again. "I ate some chicken that was off," he continued, rubbing his stomach, which remained unsettled.

"I don't understand. What do you mean 'off'?"

"I mean that, I forgot that here on Earth, food isn't as well cooked and persevered as on Mandana. The chicken, because it was a few days old, poisoned me..."

"Poisoned you?" Lilly frowned.

"It contained a bug that caused me to become sick," Ben bought his hand up to knuckle his eyes. He was still so tired. "It will soon be out of my system and I'll be feeling so much better."

"Well, you certainly are sick at the moment. I do believe you have more lines than our son." Lilly glanced at the readouts on the monitors. "And your temperature is much higher than Finn's, let alone you heart rate. Why are they monitoring that?" Lilly reached and traced one of the pads on Ben's heaving chest.

"Because I was dehydrated and my heart wasn't happy."

"You mean, that you vomited so much that you became dehydrated?"

"Vomiting, diarrhoea...lots of it," Ben admitted with a groan, swallowing deeply at the thought.

"So, you're saying that, even with Earth medicine, this sickness bug has been so bad that you have needed such intensive nursing. What if this happens on Mandana? Hundreds of elderly and the young would not survive such a bug."

"It won't happen on Mandana," Ben licked his dry lips and closed his eyes, feeling hot and extremely weak. "The people on Earth have contaminated their food supply because of mass production and cost so much that they have caused this hardship."

"Well, that's just ridiculous!"

"I know," Ben sighed. His head was beginning to pound and he just wanted to go back to sleep.

"What if Finn had been with you and eaten the chicken?" Lilly continued, oblivious to her husband's suffering. "If he were to have contracted this, as sick as he is, there is no way he would have survived."

"I know," Ben whispered, running one hand through his hair and the other clutching his stomach when it gurgled and cramped. "I'm sorry."

"I cannot believe this. I cannot believe that Earth people would be so stupid!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Ben rolled his head from side to side, trying so hard not to be sick in front of Lilly. Of course she was right, he had been so stupid. "Please Lilly, I'm...I'm really tired," he lied. "I need to sleep."

"Yes, well – I'm tired as well! I have been with our son, day and night, as he cried out in pain and burned with fever!" Lilly spat, running a hand through her curls out of frustration to the situation. "I just don't know why you even attempted to visit our son. Why did you come anywhere near the hospital in the first place? You knew you were ill; you could have had a contagious bug, which you would have passed onto seriously sick children. You should have just phoned in to say that you were unwell. Learn from you preaching platon Aston, that is what you taught us on Mandana. Why didn't you think?"

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"You could have put Finn's life in danger even more by your stupidity."

"I know, I'm sorry...please..." Ben felt so sick. "Please Lilly, go and see him. Tell him I'm sorry."

"You can tell him yourself," Lilly huffed as she stood. "And you can also explain to your daughter why you left her with strangers for the last two days."

"But, Lilly..."

"I-I'm so angry with you right now. I'm exhausted from caring for our son. I cannot be here, dealing with your stupidity." Lilly pushed her chair away and then stormed out of the room.

When Ben heard the door slam behind her, he reached for his bowl and sobbed as he started to dry heave once more.

Lilly was right.

He'd been so stupid. He felt awful; he could have killed their son and had abandoned their daughter, on a strange world in the hands of people she barely knew.

He deserved all he'd got.

Xxx

"Lilly?" Sam turned when Lilly ran past her, obviously very upset. "Hey wait up!" She called as she hurried after her. "What's wrong? Is it Finn?"

When Lilly stopped at the elevator, Sam caught up with her. "What's happened, Lilly?" She asked caringly, noting the tears running down her friends cheeks.

"Nothing," Lilly scrubbed angrily at her tears. "Everything, nothing – oh, I just don't know anymore." She began to openly sob and Sam pulled her in for a hug.

"Why don't we go and have a hot drink," she suggested and when Lilly managed to nod slowly, Sam steered her towards the unit's family lounge. She sat her down on one of the comfortably sofas and crossed to the vending machine to buy her a cup of sweetened tea.

"Here you go," she smiled as she handed her the plastic cup. "It's not the best but it's hot and sweet."

Lilly managed to give a shaky smiled back before taking a sip of tea.

Sam sat at her side just rubbing her friends arm until Lilly started to calm down some more. "What's happened, Lilly?" She ventured again and Lilly placed her cup on the coffee table and sat back with a heavy sigh.

"I'm just so tired," she admitted, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Sam reached into her pocket and gave her a handkerchief. "I can see that," she sympathized. "You must be so exhausted."

"I am. Finn has been so very ill and I've been on my own." Lilly dabbed at her tears and then blew her nose.

"But, he's improving now isn't he?"

"Yes he's through the worst of this complication but he's due his next round of chemo in a few days and is so weak."

"The doctor's know what they're doing, Lilly."

"Do they?" Lilly snorted. "I truly hope the doctors on this planet do, Samantha," she quickly lowered her voice low when another woman entered the room. "Because, you know what, my adorable Platon of a husband does not have a clue!"

Sam frowned. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what you mean?"

"What was Ben thinking?"

"About what?"

"Coming here, as sick as he was. He could have passed goodness knows what on to extremely ill children."

"Oh, Lilly. Come on. That's not fair. Ben was really unwell."

"Don't you think I know that but, he is supposed to be an expert, a person of great knowledge. He above all others should have known better!"

Sam rested her elbows on her knees, hung her head and sighed. "He probably wasn't thinking straight Lilly. You've both been under so much stress with Finn, leaving your world behind, balancing Connie's care. I should think that you're both absolutely exhausted. Also, I know how ill you can be with Salmonella poisoning. Ben's fever would have been pretty high and that was sure to cloud his judgements, you know that. Go easy on him; I'm sure he's as upset as you are." She turned to her friend to give her a quick reassuring smile and was horrified when Lilly's face suddenly crumpled.

"I j-just w-want to go h-home," she sobbed and Sam quickly took her in her arms again.

"I know you do, I know you do," she soothed. "Shh, shh, it'll be alright Lilly – you'll see."

She held her devastated friend in her arms and wished with all her heart that things would improved for the family soon.

They'd been through so much.

Xxx

Ben reached and pulled the heart pads off his chest, wincing in pain as he did. He then inched down the bed, grabbed his gown and was just about to remove his IV cannular when Jarred stormed into the room.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Mr Ashton!" He scolded, hurrying to Ben's bedside.

"I n-need t-to b-e with my f-family," Ben stuttered as he started to struggle into his gown.

Jarred grabbed the gown off him and threw it on a chair. "You are going nowhere, Mr Ashton. You are going to calm down and lie back down."

Ben shook his head. "No I'm not, I n-need to see m-my son," he disagreed obstinately.

"Your son is just fine, sleeping in fact and I would very much like him to stay that way." Jarred stood, with his hands on his hips, just as obstinate.

"He needs me."

"No, what he needs is a father who is fit and well not one who would fall flat on his face if he took a step. Now, I suggest you lie back down or I will sedate you!"

"No you wouldn't," Ben snorted.

"Don't test me Mr Ashton. I am a man of my words."

Ben stared at Jarred, noted the stern look and firm set of his jaw and decided that, the way he felt right now, there was no point arguing. "I'm just letting them down," he sighed as he ducked his head.

Jarred echoed his sigh. "Come on," he then soothed as he helped Ben to lie down again. "I know things are tough at the moment," he smiled gently and reattached the heart monitor as Ben flung an arm over his eyes. "But, you are going to be no good to Finn when he needs you next unless you let yourself recover and you can only do that by resting." He reached and pulled the sheet up to Ben's shoulders. "He is in good hands at the moment and is doing nothing but sleeping so you can't do much for him anyway. Infact, I'm going to suggest that your wife goes home tonight, Finn knows us all well now so it's not like he's going to be left with strangers. You both need to rest as much as possible, his next round of Chemo is a few days away and round four is notoriously a hard one. We all need to be on top form."

"I j-just feel hopeless," Ben stuttered.

"I know you do but you are unwell. Please try and sleep, we are looking after your family, please be assured."

Ben thought for a moment. He knew what the consultant was saying was right; there was little he could do so he capitulate to Jarred's urging with a heavy sigh. "Okay."

"Good," Jarred smiled and then turned to check Ben's monitors. "Just relax; I'll be back in a while with some new ice packs. Your temp's back up."

Ben nodded, knowing by the pounding headache and the aching joints that he had a fever. The only good thing was that he hadn't vomited for a while now so, fingers crossed, maybe the worse was over now.

Yes, he would rest and do as he was told. He wanted to be well enough to help his boy through his next Chemo.

"Thank you, Mr Freeman," he removed his arm and managed to smile.

"Call me Jarred," Jarred shrugged and then patted Ben's shoulder. "I won't be long, Ben," he smiled. "Try and sleep."

Ben nodded again and then closed his dry gritty eyes.

It was time to stop being stupid.

His family would need him soon and until then he was going to do as he was told.