This is not the dream I dreamed - Rachel faces up to the fact that her Broadway career could be over before it had chance to begin.
Rating - T
Character -Rachel (Also features her fathers, Finn, Will, Shelby, Beth and others)
A/N - Reviews/concrit are loved, and if there's anything you'd like to see happen the let me know and I'll try my best to work it in somehow.I'm from the UK, so if anything American is not quite right, please let me know and I'll fix it.
I know it's taken me a little longer than a fortnight but I changed internet providers and didn't have the interet for a while. I'm going to aim to have the next part up within a fornight again.
Shelby tried to call Will several times as she stood outside the hospital but he didn't pick up her calls. Instead she called Leroy and told him what had happened and the elder man promised he'd continue trying to get hold of Will. She hung up after promising to keep Leroy updated and tried Will twice more before giving up and sending him a text, 'Lyla's sick Will. Rachel and I are at the hospital. Rachel wants you here, call me or Leroy when you get this.' before sliding her phone back into her pocket and going back to Rachel.
Shelby sighed as she came back to find Rachel sat on the same seat Shelby had sat her on, only now her heels were resting on the edge of the seat, her arms were wrapped around her legs, hugging them tightly to her chest and her chin was resting on her knees as she stared into space, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. She looked so broken at that moment in time Shelby wished she could do something, anything to make it better. She paused to say a brief prayer to whoever was listening, begging them to let Lyla be okay, she just didn't know how Rachel would cope if anything happened to the small girl, before she moved quickly down the corridor to take Rachel in her arms and try and comfort her somehow.
Rachel shot to her feet a while later when a doctor emerged from the room, "is she okay?" Rachel asked before Shelby even had a chance to stand up.
"She's going to be fine." The doctor said with a smile, "she's got an ear infection and we want to keep her in overnight but you'll be able to take her home in the morning, we're giving her IV antibiotics at the moment to get a head start on her recovery but we'll give you a course of oral antibiotics and a painkiller when she's discharged, she'll be a bit groggy from the IV antibiotics we're giving her but give it a week and she should be almost back to herself."
"She. . .when we got here." Rachel mumbled.
"Febrile convulsion." The doctor spoke confidently,"you'd be surprised at how common they are. The simplest way to explain it is it was like when you use an old computer that overheats and shuts down to stop itself being damaged. Lyla's temperature got too high so her brain shut her body down to stop her being hurt, it was her body's way of showing something wasn't right. It looks scary but it's a baby's way of protecting themselves, I doubt she'll be the only baby that does it this week."
"We'll be moving her up to the paediatric ward soon, you'll be able to spend the night with her. You can sit with her until we move her if you like?"
"But she's going to be okay?" Rachel clarified.
"She'll be just fine. We've already got her temperature down slightly and you'll be able to take her home as soon as she's finished the IV antibiotics and her temperatures back to something more normal."
"What was it when she came in?" Shelby asked resting her hand in the small or Rachel's back.
"It was 102.8 when we started treating her, we've got it down to 102.2, she's getting there."
"She felt warm earlier, I thought she was just teething" Rachel sobbed.
"Hey" Shelby took Rachel in her arms, "she's going to be okay. Let's go and sit with her for a bit."
"She's sleeping at the moment" the doctor told them, "and if she wakes up she'll probably be a little drowsy and not quite herself, that's completely normal, once she's moved onto the oral antibiotics instead of the IV ones that will start to wear off, now I have to go and check on another patient but there'll be a nurse in there at all times, she can page me if you have any more questions."
Rachel nodded, "thank you" she whispered before allowing Shelby to lead her into the room.
It was a little after 8am when Shelby and Rachel were able to take Lyla home with a large amount of antibiotics and instructions to keep a close eye on her temperature, it was still a little high and the paediatrician had insisted they take her back to the hospital if it began to rise or hadn't returned to normal within 24 hours.
"How is she?" Leroy asked as he took the changing bag from Shelby and followed the exhausted women into the living room.
"Her temperature's still a little high, they want us to keep an eye on it, and she's got to have antibiotics and a painkiller every four hours."
"Poor thing" he sighed, running his hand gently over the sleeping child's warm forehead.
"If you don't mind" Shelby spoke, "I'm going to try and get a couple of hours sleep, are you okay to watch Beth for a while?"
"Of course" Leroy smiled, "she was up at 6, Hiram's taken her swimming, I hope that's okay?"
"She'll love that" Shelby smiled before yawning and standing from the sofa. "I'll be in my room, wake me if you need anything" she kissed Rachel's forehead before leaving.
"I can watch Lyla if you want to go to bed for a while" Leroy suggested but Rachel shook her head.
"She's settled, I might just lay here for a while with her."
"Okay" Leroy gestured for Rachel to get settled on the sofa, "just call if you need anything, when does Lyla need her medicine?"
"She had some just before we left the hospital so in about three and a half hours."
"Okay" Leroy kissed his daughter, "I'll wake you up if you're still sleeping."
"Thanks dad."
"It's okay Sunshine" he covered her with a blanket, "try and get some sleep."
Rachel did manage to fall asleep and when Hiram saw Rachel sleeping on the sofa when he came home with Beth he quickly ushered the young girl into the basement where he found Leroy watching tv and the two men soon settled down with Beth to watch a Disney film.
Rachel was woken a couple of hours later by someone banging on the front door, luckily Lyla was still out of it from the antibiotics she'd had at the hospital and hadn't woken. Rachel waited for a moment to see if one of her fathers would get it but as she heard a second knock she knew she'd have to go. She managed to lie Lyla on the sofa without waking her and stretched out her back before walking towards the door, "I'm coming" she mumbled under her breath as the person outside knocked for the third time. "Will" she gasped as she opened the door, "what are you doing here?"