Emergency
The next day they went in to visit Aaron again. They'd been told they wanted to keep him in for another two days for observation. Aaron had groaned when he heard the news but Emily had managed to placate him assuring him he'd be out of hospital soon enough. He groaned under his breath not soon enough though.
Emily was alarmed to find Aaron had taken a turn for the worse when she arrived. He was clearly running a fever, groaning and there was a foul smell coming from him. She feared his stitches had infected and his stomach was in trouble again. He was also sweating profusely.
"Emily," he groaned. "Something's wrong. I feel terrible.. Emily, I think I'm going to be sick.."
She quickly picked up the sick bowl while asking Jessica to urgently get a doctor. She ran out to do so while Aaron threw up in the bowl. He was right something was clearly wrong. He seemed to making a good recovery yesterday now he was really sick.
"Emily," Jack asked worried. "Is dad going to be alright?"
Aaron looked up at her vulnerably while his eyes asked the same question. He'd never felt so terrible before even when he and Jack had had the flu. He felt incredibly sick, clammy, his stomach hurt like hell and the stench coming from it was simply awful. He was terrified his wounds had become septic. He felt so ill and vulnerable.
"Of course he is," Emily assured them both playing with Aaron's sweaty hair and kissing his clammy forehead. "You're a fighter and you'll keep fighting. I know you'll get better soon. We just need to find the cause."
He nodded vulnerably and hoped the doctor would come soon. He usually hated doctors and hospitals but he just felt so terrible he wanted their help. He never wanted to feel like this again.
Soon Jessica and the doctor came in. He went over to the patient and said, "Don't worry, Agent Hotchner, we'll get to the root of the problem as soon as we can. When was the last time the nurse came in to check on you?"
"I've never seen a nurse. Only you," he answered.
The doctor tried to keep his anger in check not wanting to distress his patient. He'd implicitly asked for a nurse to clean Hotchner's dressings yesterday and clean his wounds as they'd looked slightly dirty. He feared the smell coming from his stomach indicated the wounds had become septic but he knew he had to take a look before he rushed him back to surgery.
"Agent Hotchner, this might hurt a bit but I need to take a look at your stomach," he warned.
He nodded and answered, "Do it."
Emily turned Jack into her worried what they might see and said gently but firmly, "Don't look, buddy."
The doctor took off the dressings while Aaron gritted his teeth as it stung like a bee. The smell became overpowering and made almost everyone in the room want to gag. Aaron in fact did throw up over the side of his bed after taking one look at the mess. The woman covered their mouths and noses as they saw his stomach. It was yellow and pus was oozing out of each stab wound.
Suddenly everything went into chaos as he was rushed straight into surgery with the doctor informing them there wasn't a moment to lose. Emily followed them with tears in her eyes at how bad his state had turned overnight. She knew septicaemia had settled into his wounds and she was scared but she resolved she'd be strong for the boy who was currently hugging her legs shaking.
She got down by him and hugged him close to her. "Buddy, everything's going to be alright. Dad's going to make it. You know he's a fighter..." He nodded looking down. "They're just taking him to surgery to make him all better."