When she jerks into consciousness she's in her bed, lying on top of the covers with the lamp on, in the middle of the day. She groans, realizing the book she was reading is lying on her chest. She marks her page, and places the book on the bedside table. She glances at the clock, and crosses the room to the basinet. She peeks inside, and finds a sleeping baby. She watches closely for a moment as his chest rises and falls. She grabs the baby monitor, and takes the rare opportunity to collect all of the dirty clothes from the hamper in the bathroom. She races down the stairs to the living room, through the kitchen, down another flight of stairs into the basement. She quickly sorts the clothes, and tosses them into the washer.
She climbs back up the stairs, and grabs a drink of water in the kitchen. She peers down at the watch on her wrist. She exhales, and trudges to the living room, towards the stairs. She quietly maneuvers the stairs, being certain to skip the squeaky stair entirely. She returns to her room. Instinctively she returns to the basinet. She stands perfectly still, silently debating whether to pick him up, and feed him now, or wait ten minutes until he wakes back up on his own.
She lifts the little boy out of the basinet, and situates herself on the bed. She feels more tired than usual. She nearly drifts to sleep while feeding him. She looks down, and realizes that he's stopped. She readjusts him, and lies him in the middle of the bed next to her. He still doesn't stir. She inspects him closely. His cheeks are rosier than usual. She kisses his forehead, using her lips to check his temperature. Without warning an alarm starts going on.
Frantically she lifts the baby off the bed. She heads to the hallway to turn off the smoke detector. She looks up, and finds that the smoke detector is utterly silent. She heads down the stairs holding the baby close to her. She grabs the diaper bag off the coffee table, and moves towards the alarm in the kitchen. That's when it hits her. She smells the gas, and she turns to head in the other direction. She grabs a blanket on her way out the door, and places it over her son.
She pulls her cell phone out of her pocket as she heads to her car. She pulls her keys out of the pocket of the diaper bag, and unlocks the doors. She tosses the diaper bag on the floor of the car, and places the baby in his seat. She dials the fire department as she attempts to wake the baby up. He breathes in, and out, but he doesn't rouse no matter what she tries. She does a sternal rub, and he remains unresponsive.
Her instincts kick in as she fastens the baby into his seat. She dials her phone, and jumps into the drivers seat. She talks to the fire department as she drives towards the hospital. She arrives at the hospital in half the time that it usually takes, despite the lunchtime traffic. She parks in the fire lane without a second thought. She tries not to panic as she lifts the obtunded infant from his car seat. She slams the door, and races to the All Saint's entrance.
She doesn't even stop at the patient registration desk. She rushes through the E.R. doors. Zoey is standing at the nurses station when she makes it through the doors. Zoey takes one look at her face, and instantly rises from her chair, and drops what she's doing. She leads Jackie to an empty E.R. bay.
"Dr. Cooper," Zoey calls out, "I need you over here, now."
Jackie places Caleb on the stretcher. Coop moves towards them from across the E.R.
"Jackie what's wrong? Why are you here?"
"He slept all afternoon, but I didn't think anything of it. We were both tired, and then the carbon monoxide detector started to go off..."
"Thor I need you to get me a non-rebreather mask," she shouts across the E.R.
Within seconds Thor, and Dr. Cooper both enter the bay.
Hours later Jackie finds herself in the N.I.C.U. Caleb remains asleep despite hours of oxygen therapy, and multiple lab, and diagnostic tests. She hears footsteps coming towards her as she sits in a dark corner of the N.I.C.U., in a rocking chair, holding Caleb. She looks up, and actually feels relieved to see Cruz standing in front of her.
"I came as soon as you called. What happened?"
"Apparently there was a gas leak in the house. I don't know for how long. The carbon monoxide detector started going off, and..."
He cuts her off, "I am amazed that you actually have a carbon monoxide detector."
"This is all my fault. I should have known something was wrong when he slept all afternoon."
"Jackie this is not your fault."
"If you had him this wouldn't have happened. I..."
He stops her in her tracks, "That is only because I don't have gas in my building."
"We've been here two hours, and he hasn't woken up yet."
"Did they do an EEG?"
"Not yet."
"It's going to be okay."
"What if it's not? He was perfectly healthy until today, and now..." she trails off, on the verge of tears.
"Why don't you go outside, and get some fresh air?"
"I just want to stay here."
"I can hold him just the same as you can."
"I don't know, he likes boobs."
"Jackie, please," he begs.
Reluctantly she rises from her chair, and trades places with Cruz. She places their son in his arms. She leaves the N.I.C.U, and heads for the elevator to get a breath of fresh air. She's standing at the elevator, waiting for the door when she hears an overhead page.
"Code Blue, N.I.C.U. Code blue, N.I.C.U."
Her heart drops into her stomach, and the color drains from her face. She turns, and runs down the hallway back towards the N.I.C.U.