So how about that premier guys? I need a gif with someone fainting that just says "I'M DONE," because that was my brain after I watched that episode.
I know I've said before that chapter 20 is my favorite... But it's actually 21. There's been a chapter added since I wrote that... :)
Chapter 20
Nick had to be thankful for his daughter's preschool teacher. She rattled out the hospital details before he had the chance to hang up in his panic, and he was halfway certain that he made it to his car in less than three steps. The drive was a blur; he was on edge of his seat for the first few minutes, clinging desperately to the steering wheel and resisting the urge to bear down even more on the accelerator.
There were even a few moments where he wasn't even sure that he was feeling or thinking anything. Nick didn't want to think about what he was about to walk in to... he couldn't let himself think of how much could be wrong with her. Until he was out of the driver's seat, his eyes were locked on the road, channeling every ounce of strength that he had to get to the hospital safely.
He also tried to call Jess once he calmed down, but his attempts were halted unceremoniously. He knew that the school policy was to keep all phones left off and in desks, but Jess had never listened to that rule before she had moved out on him, so Nick could only assume her compliance was because she was still new in the district. In his haste, his next option worked.
She picked up in two rings.
"Nick?"
"Cece," he said quickly, "I really need you to get a hold of Jess, I -"
"What's wrong?" She then asked, the panic in his voice now leaking into hers.
"It's Aly," Nick responded, barely able to spit out her name. His next sentence came out so rushed, it was a wonder Cece managed to understand it. "She's had an allergic reaction, and they're taking her to the hospital and..."
"Nick. Calm down. Is Jess still at work?"
Cece was suddenly serious, her tone all business. It did wonders to slow the pounding in Nick's chest.
"Yeah, she won't pick up her phone."
Nick turned on his blinker, pulling his car into the parking lot marked for the ER.
"Then I'll take care of Jess," Cece suggested, "You need to go take care of Aly."
Nick sighed. I'm trying my best here. "I'll try. Thanks, Cece."
She hung up without any further commentary. He didn't know exactly what Cece was going to do, but he trusted her. Not to mention, he wasn't finished with his phone just yet. Work was his next call, which was less of an issue as he crossed the parking lot. He was the owner, after all – he didn't exactly need to ask permission to take the night off for something like this.
Even if he wasn't the owner, he would refuse to take no for an answer.
The call ended up going to voicemail, so he left an appropriate message and hung up as he clamored up to the entrance.
Once the glass doors slid open in their most painfully slow manner, he bounded up to the first receptionist he laid eyes on, ignoring the odd stares he received from a few of the people waiting in the lobby. Strangely enough, it appeared to be the same place that he'd gone to pick up Schmidt after his little jellyfish incident. The receptionist appeared just as unimpressed.
Nick wasn't going to take that this time around.
"My daughter was just brought in," he panted. "Her name's Allison Day and she's had – "
"Identification?" The woman asked, too calmly for Nick's liking.
He fumbled for his wallet, to get his driver's license, before coming to the heart-stopping conclusion that he'd left it at home. The blood drained from his face. How could you be so stupid? In his rush, he'd just grabbed his keys and left.
The receptionist eyed his paint-stained shirt skeptically. "Sir, it's policy – "
"Just let me see her!" He groaned, curling his toes like Jess had taught him to do so long ago. "She looks like me," he pleaded, then motioned to right above his knees. "She's about this tall, dark hair, and the bluest eyes… But she frowns like this."
He pointed to his face. The receptionist wasn't having it. Just then, a voice piped up behind them.
"There you are!"
Liz appeared from a curtained off room towards the back. She motioned for Nick to follow, and he ignored the receptionist's attempts to stop him.
"He's okay, he's her father, and I can do the paperwork," Liz assured behind him as Nick made his way through the curtain.
Aly was propped up on a bed that was entirely too large for her, the stark white adult pillow almost swallowing her up. The cold metal railing of the temporary bed didn't do much to alleviate his worry, nor did the machines set up next to her. She was in a kid's hospital gown, and Nick found nothing happy about the knock-off Mickey Mouse smiling from the front.
She looked up at him, sniffing, and what he saw twisted his heart in a tight spiral.
Her hands were swollen past their typical toddler characteristic, her cheeks tinged red and her lips looked heavy and, in parts, bruised. He didn't know if the red eyes were from crying or from the allergy. At this point, he didn't care. They just had to make it better.
Nick rushed to her side and smoothed back her hair. "What happened, sweetheart?" He asked softly. The seat beside her bed was far too cold.
"I ate a cookie," she lisped, sadly. Her answer, however weak, was laced with the kind of disappointment only a bad cookie could cause a toddler. He did feel a slight lift of relief, given that she was awake and talking.
"You scared me," he replied, trying to pull her closer without disturbing the IV. She sniffled again, then gripped his hand a little tighter. "Does anything hurt?"
She frowned, poking her face with her free hand. "No. It just got tingly. But this did," she held out the little gauze patch taped on her hand where an IV ran under her skin.
"You're so brave," he responded, kissing the top of her hand, just above where the gauze ended.
A hand pulled the curtain back, and a nurse entered the room with tray. Nick had never liked needles, and the look of this tray made him relatively uncomfortable, even though he wasn't going to be the recipient.
He'd take it, though, if it meant Aly didn't have to.
"Looks like we're feeling better," the nurse smiled down at Aly, and she whimpered at the sight of the syringe.
"Just some more anti-inflammatory medicine," she explained. "It just goes in here," she held up a thicker part of the line where the IV led to the bag. "So no poking."
Still, Aly gripped Nick's hand as the nurse administered the liquid. Aly was looking away, clearly unconvinced that it wouldn't hurt.
"All done," the nurse coaxed gently, then looked at Nick. "The swelling should go down soon. She's got quite an allergy there. You're lucky that they caught it at the rash, and before her tongue or throat started swelling."
Her throat could swell? The thought caused Nick's own throat to constrict. Why hadn't they taken this more seriously? He'd read all the stuff online, he just never believed that it would happen to her so soon.
He wiped his forehead with his hand. "Do you know what could have caused it?"
The nurse shook her head; "I usually see this in peanut allergies. But if she were allergic, I would assume she would've had an episode before now."
"Hazelnuts," Nick breathed, reminded of Jess's warning on his very first night with Aly, and his recent conversation with Sam. She's allergic to hazelnuts.
She'd never eaten one.
"I'm sorry?" The nurse asked.
"Hazelnuts," He repeated, then looked at Aly, "Did you not tell Miss Liz that you're allergic?"
Aly stared at him, wide-eyed. "Momma told me not to eat them. I didn't eat one!"
"I think the doctor will be able to help you more," the nurse explained, taking her chance to leave. "It's different with every child. It looks like she touched her face after she had it in her hands, and that would explain the swelling."
Nick sighed, and looked back at Aly. "Are you sure you didn't eat one? Did the cookie maybe have nuts in it?"
"No, Daddy, it didn't!" She shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "It was just chocolate, but it was really spicy and it made my throat tingle…"
Nick delicately put an arm around her to calm her down.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, I'm not mad at you," he soothed. She whimpered a few more times, still too afraid of getting into trouble. They stayed that way momentarily, while Nick tried to hold back the fear of what she could have had such a reaction to. He never wanted to see her like that again.
The medication was helping her hands. Her fingers were starting back to their usual toddler thickness, but still maintained patches of red. Nick knew that her face would take a little longer to get the redness out of… And he'd take that. She was breathing, talking… So much better than what could've been.
There was a rustle on the other side of the curtain, this time producing a very official looking doctor, complete with white coat and clipboard in hand. He looked at Aly and gave her a warm smile.
"How're we feeling now, Aly?"
She looked up shyly. "Lots better."
"Good!" he exclaimed, tapping his pen on the sheet. He then looked at Nick. "Mr. Day?"
"Miller," Nick corrected. "But just call me Nick."
"Ah," the doctor nodded, "my mistake. I'm Dr. Fisher, I usually work up in pediatrics, but she had a severe enough reaction for them to call me down."
Before Nick could ask what this guy knew about Aly's reaction, the curtain was yanked back.
Time seemed to slow down for Nick as Jess stumbled into the room, her hair thrown up haphazardly and her purse swinging violently at her side. Her eyes were twice as large as he was used to seeing. It was apparent that she'd also been crying.
He stared at her carefully. Nick had long been familiar with Jess being upset, even when he wasn't the cause of it. He knew exactly how she liked to be comforted: an arm firmly around her waist, curled up by his side and his free hand resting on the soft curve of her cheek. This time around, though, everything was different.
Jess wasn't his, yet he knew that his heart would allow no one but Jess to settle it's shaken confidence.
"Aly," she sighed finally, relief washing over her features as she took in her daughter, awake. "I'm so, so sorry, baby, I can't have my phone in class and…"
Jess looked between the doctor and Nick, exhaling the rest of the wind she'd built up. Nick noticed her shaking hands, so he stood up from his spot next to Aly's bed and motioned Jess over. He pulled up his own chair next to that.
She smiled weakly at him, before turning to Aly. She stroked Aly's hair back, tucking thin little strands behind her ears. When she was satisfied, Jess took a seat and pulled Aly's hand into her own. Nick shouldn't have noticed the way she also reached for his hand with her free hand, but he did for all the wrong reasons. Her small fingers slid between his and held on tight.
Four years hadn't changed the way their hands fit together.
"Sorry to interrupt," she told the doctor, snapping Nick back from his thoughts. "Do you have any information? Is she okay?"
Dr. Fisher waved off her apology, giving her a reassuring smile. "Aly's going to be fine. I think we need to do some allergy testing, to narrow down the – "
Liz took the chance to pop her head around the curtain. "One of the parents just called me. It was a Nutella cookie!"
Jess's eyes widened, Nick let out a sigh, and Aly looked straight at her teacher.
"What's Nu-ella?" She tilted her head sideways.
"Hazlenuts," Nick muttered again. Dr. Fisher glanced at him and nodded.
"It's like chocolate peanut butter," Liz continued, explaining to Aly, "but instead of having peanuts, it has hazelnuts."
"Oooh!" Aly registered. Nick looked at Jess and gave her a weak smile. Her hands were still shaking, and she was still gripping his tightly.
"Well, that certainly helps my job," the doctor joked. Nick wasn't quite in the mood to laugh, but he smiled because he knew Jess was nowhere near that. Liz slid back out of the room, giving the group a bit more privacy.
"So," Dr. Fisher continued, "I would suggest we get her in with a specialist right away. They can get you two some information, do some tests, and have an official diagnosis out. We also need to narrow down exactly what she reacts to. She needs an EpiPen, at the very least."
Jess took a deep, shaky breath. "How bad was her reaction?"
"I've seen worse," he assured, "but it was still pretty severe for someone her age. There's a high likelihood that she could grow out of it. I can't make any promises, but we'll make sure to keep an eye on it as she grows up. For the time being, I would check the ingredients in the food you currently keep around the house. Keep anything with nuts - hazelnuts, peanuts, all of them - in it out of her reach... Just to be safe."
Nick shook his head, realizing that he didn't even know what was in the pantry at his house, let alone if it had any nuts in it. He knew for sure that he never even bothered to check what was in the things that he cooked. How close had they really come for this happening at home? Would he have even recognized what was happening? He didn't have much time to dwell on his own uncertainties, though, as he could still feel the tension Jess was holding onto. The least he could do was be strong for her.
"Will the swelling go down soon?" He asked, glancing at Aly. Her eyelids were clearly heavy, and he could tell by her quietness that she was fighting sleep. He caught Dr. Fisher's eye, and he nodded.
"Probably in a few hours. We'll keep her until it does, just to make sure we get it all flushed out of her system," he confirmed. "The medicine will probably leave her sleepy, too. So take it easy, and I'll keep checking in until we're sure she is good to go home."
Nick nodded, giving the doctor a quick thank you before he slipped out the door. Jess was still frozen in her seat when Liz came back in. Jess let go of Aly's hand as Liz bent down to hug her. Stuck oddly aside from the two women, Nick was keenly aware of how Jess was still gripping his hand, like she was trying to hold onto something stable. He could see that her eyes were glassy, staring straight ahead as Liz pulled away. Her face hadn't quite gotten its color back, either. Nick tried to give her hand a reassuring squeeze, but seemed to only make matters worse, as she abruptly let go and stood up.
Nick's heart sank as Jess's form continued to sink back into a cold hardness, as she took a moment to compose herself.
It clearly was not going very well.
"I need…" She said finally, her eyes flickering from Nick to Liz to Aly's sleeping form, frantically searching for words. "I just need to go to the bathroom."
Before the others had a chance to reply, she hustled out of the room. Nick was sure he saw a tear slide down her cheek before she had turned away.
The curtain was still swaying from Jess's departure as Liz looked at Nick, wide-eyed and worried. He stood up, determined.
"Liz, I – "
"Go make sure she's okay," Liz spoke, walking to take the seat next to Aly. "I can hold down the fort for a little while."
"I don't want Aly to be – "
"Nick, I have your phone number. I will call if she needs anything, I promise." Liz looked at him straight in the eye, taking one of Aly's hands in her own. Aly then turned on her pillow, her eyelids fluttering open just so.
"Go get Momma," Aly mumbled, "I'm a…" she yawned. "…big girl... I'm not… scared…" She rolled over again, this time sighing contently as she closed her eyes.
Nick didn't need any further reassurances.
With a full heart from the most admirable three-year-old he knew, he grabbed his phone and left Aly with a lingering kiss on the forehead. He started out of the room, mindlessly taking a look in both directions. He thought he saw the curtain swing right, so he darted down the hall in that direction. He wasn't going to let her go this time.
Surely she hasn't gotten very far.
With the way they'd been acting lately, though, Nick didn't have much confidence that he'd feel closer to her even if she were sitting right next to him.
Nick actually going after Jess? What is this madness?