A/N: Hey again! A shortie but an important one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and/or its affiliates.

"Alright Isabel, your mother is right-your weight is heading south way too fast, so sadly, we do need to give you a special feeding tube." Dr. Kershaw said to the twelve year old. JJ had called him just the other day, stating her concern for her daughter's nutrition, discovering that Isabel could no longer keep food down-and deciding that enough was enough, her daughter needed to stay hydrated and nourished.

"Will it hurt?" Isabel asked her go-to question. She was already upset about having to be back in the hospital, let alone now having to have a tube put down her throat.

"Not exactly, it's called a nasogastric-or NG-tube, and basically it goes down your nose, through the back of your throat, and into your stomach. We'll make sure it's lubricated when we have to put it in so there won't be any friction or discomfort, but it will make you gag as it goes down your throat, but once it's past the level that your tongue is on, it'll feel just…odd. You'll grow used to it, and eventually the skin in your throat will callus so you won't even feel the tube at all. We'll also give you some pain medication after it's in to help you feel better."

JJ's eyes widened at the sound of what seemed to be a torture device,

"Does she have to be awake for this? I mean…is there any other way…?"

Dr. Kershaw looked at her sad eyes,

"Unfortunately, there isn't. You see, she needs to be awake to swallow the tube-it helps it go down faster. Also if she were to be asleep we would run the risk of rupturing something, which could be deadly."

JJ nodded, then turned to her daughter,

"Isabel, you are not going to like this, okay? I wish I didn't have to make them do this, believe me, but you have got to get nourishment somehow, and IV fluids are no substitution for real food."

Isabel gulped,

"Is this because of my chemo?"

Dr. Kershaw nodded,

"Yes, and since you haven't even had the highest dose chemo yet, we can expect vomiting to be one of your most common side effects, and at the rate you're losing weight, you would not be strong enough for any further treatment."

"Well, this'll be fun." Isabel said with her mother's dry sarcasm, causing JJ to chuckle.

Xx

Isabel waited as she watched the doctors run some sort of gel over the tube.

"Alright sweetie, you ready?"

The twelve year old nodded and followed their instructions, first helping guide the tube into her right nostril.

"Hey mom, it'd be pretty funny if I had a nosebleed now, huh?"

JJ couldn't believe the humor in her daughter's voice, and it made her outright laugh.

"You are too much bunny rabbit."

Isabel seemed fine as the tube made it's way down her nose and into the top of her throat, but as soon as it was halfway down her throat, a look of discomfort came over her face.

"Just remember to try and swallow, okay?" JJ gently reminded her daughter.

Isabel nodded slightly, took the cup of water from one of the nurse's outstretched hand, and used it to aid her progress of forcing the tube down her own throat. JJ could tell the very second it was past, because Isabel's face changed from burning discomfort to overwhelming relief.

They finished up the procedure, Isabel bringing her hand to her throat as though trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle that connected the tube to the odd sensations in her throat.

"All good?" JJ asked as they made their way back to Isabel's room.

"I mean I'm not gonna turn into a walking skeleton now so I guess that's a good thing but I dunno I'm just guessing here."

JJ smiled and chuckled,

"Oh really you guess so, huh? Well I'd say that's a pretty good thing because that way you can take your meds and get out of this place!"

JJ started to tickle her daughter as they reached the hospital room that was practically a second home, Isabel's sharp ribs bumping against her fingers.

"Mom stop!"

The pair laughed and JJ gave her daughter one last little pinch as they began to settle down.

Isabel sighed one more time,

"Why exactly do I have to stay overnight?"

"So that way when they give you your new food they can see if you can actually keep that in your little tummy!"

Isabel smiled,

"Well okay then."

Sure enough, Nurse Long came in with Isabel's "dinner"-a nasty-smelling formula of pre-digested food.

"So mom, all you do is undo this clip at the end of the tube, and empty the food so it goes in, then close it up and voila, she's been fed." She instructed JJ.

"That smells so nasty, I can't believe it's actually going into my stomach."

"Hey, now it may not be your dad's steak, but it's something." JJ returned her daughter's silly yet oh-so-sassy remark.

"Yeah yeah I guess I'll just pretend."

JJ and Nurse Long laughed at the preteen's fake-sass, and JJ was happy to see her daughter's spirit strengthening as her treatment progressed.