Chapter 6: A learning Curve

Author: zeusfluff.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blue Bloods characters. They belong to CBS. But I do own a few originals. Date Started: 7/22/23. Date Finished: 7/23/23. Enjoy!

"Ok, set date and time. Check. Insert portable hard drive stick. Check. Confirm patient name and details. Check and check. Mmm. Ouch."

Eddie paused what she was doing setting up her machine and sat down on the bed. Lifting up the bottom of her shirt she carefully peeled back the tape and the gauze over her catheter and looked at the skin under it. She winced and looked at it.

"Son of a bitch."

Jamie furrowed his eyebrows as he came into the bedroom, taking his watch off.

"What's wrong babe?"

Wincing Eddie managed to motion for Jamie to sit next to her on the bed. He gave his own wince as he watched her cover the site back up. Closing his eyes and then opening them, Jamie gave his own conclusion.

"Peritonitis. You know that this can kill you. Its the only space in the body that has absolutely zero antibodies to fight off infection. You're going to have to do a manual drain and fill tonight babe. Your doctor gave us a few vials of Ciprofloxacin. Do you want me to help you with that later?"

Eddie nodded her head.

"Yes please. You bought a couple of gallons of distilled water didn't you? I need to make a mixture of saline and the distilled water mixed with some salt. To get the redness and the swelling to go down around my site. Well that would explain why my stomach hurts."

Jamie shook his head at Eddie.

"Why didn't you tell me your stomach was hurting babe? We could've taken care of this sooner. Your stomach is really distended."

Eddie groaned in frustration.

"I don't need ascites on top of all this."

Helping her put her shirt back down, Jamie grabbed for Eddie's hands and kissed them.

"Hey, look at me sweetheart. This is just a small bump in the road up the mountain. We've got this. I'm right here."

Eddie nodded and gave a small semblance of a smile.

"Your right. If I let every little thing bother me, I'll go crazy. Do I really have to go to the doctor next week so they can check my clearance? I don't want to. We all know what the tests are going to say about my kidney function. They've been functioning at 10% for a while now. The farther it goes down, the longer I'll have to spend on that machine over there."

Eddie pointed to the machine next to her side of the bed for emphasis.

"Yes, but the upside to it, is that you feel better with it. You have energy, you can still work, even if it is desk duty for now."

Eddie provided a counterargument.

"We both know that eventually I'll be spending between 15 to 18 hours a day on that machine, unable to leave this room. Take all my meals in here. That's when I won't be able to work anymore. I'll be sleeping all the time. You'll be hovering over me all the time. In that annoying way you do it. By then I'll probably be on 65 different medications."

Jamie kept his hands on Eddie's and kissed them again.

"What did you just get done saying? That if you worried about every little thing it would drive you crazy. Everything will work out ok? I'm right here."

Eddie nodded and leaned into Jamie's arms. He knew he still had to be strong for her. He rocked her and kissed the crown of her forehead. She was falling asleep in his arms. Later that night, Jamie sat next to Eddie as she emptied the last of the fluid from her side. She winced and moved uncomfortably for a few seconds.

"Ow. Felt that 'foot' kick me again. But in two places. In my ribs and the other farther down…"

Jamie put a hand up.

"I get the picture. I always wondered why the fluid was clear when it goes in but comes out that color yellow. It looks like…"

Now it was Eddie's turn to look at Jamie.

"Yes, I know what it looks like. What did you think? Besides it's that color because of the sugar. It mixes with the waste that's building up and it turns that color after its drained."

Jamie nodded and looked at the bag.

"You only put in 1500 milliliters every day, but you've been getting a lot more out. I think almost 7,000 is a record. You should be feeling great."

Eddie nodded and then looked at the vial of Ciprofloxacin on her black wooden foldable tv tray.

"I would be if my stomach didn't hurt so bad. I say its my stomach but its really not. The infection is in my Peritoneum. Ok, I'm ready to fill again. You've got the cipro?"

Jamie nodded and carefully popped the cap off the vial. Then carefully uncapping the syringe in his right hand, plunged it into the vial. Turning the vial upside down he pulled the plunger on the syringe back filling it with 10 milliliters of the antibiotic. Running an alcohol wipe over the bottom of the bag of dialysis solution where a rubber stopper was, he quickly let it dry. Then slowly, he inserted the syringe and pushed the plunger watching as the antibiotic went into the bag. Taking the syringe out, he recapped it and put it down on the tray. Removing the bag from the iv pole, he moved the bag from side to side gently. He spoke trying to explain what he was doing, but Eddie already knew.

"Trying to make sure there's an equal amount of antibiotic throughout the whole bag. We don't want it to settle on the bottom."

Eddie rolled her eyes.

"No duh genius. I already knew that. At least I don't have to inject it into myself."

Placing the bag of solution back on the iv pole he nodded to Eddie, and she went about her routine. She discarded the things she didn't need anymore. Once everything was put away, Jamie took his mask off. He knew how important it was to use universal precautions when doing this. Which made him wonder how Eddie had even gotten Peritonitis in the first place.

"Hey babe, how do you think you got Peritonitis in the first place?"

Eddie shook her head.

"I don't know Jamie. The tape from over my catheter site could've come undone. I could've bumped it on the bottom drawer of my desk that sticks open sometimes."

Jamie frowned and then kissed the side of her neck.

"Babe, you've got to be more careful. I know this is your least favorite part of the night. But I need to give you your Heparin shot."

Eddie groaned and threw and arm over her face.

"No… I don't want it…"

Jamie gave her a sympathetic look.

"I know you don't babe. But if I don't give it to you, you could get a blood clot."

Eddie relented.

"I know. It's because I'm sitting all the time at work."

Jamie reached for another smaller syringe on the tray on the other side of Eddie's dialysis machine.

"Ok babe, I'll be quick. Ready? One, two, three. Ok. All done."

Eddie frowned and looked at her bruised abdomen.

"My abdomen is starting to look like a railroad of bruises thanks to the stupid Heparin."

Jamie had already disposed of the syringe in the sharps container in the bathroom and lie down next to Eddie facing her. He ran a gentle hand over the bruises and then placed a tender kiss to them.

"There. Better?"

Eddie nodded and closed her eyes. She felt his lips brush against the bruised spot a few more times before be pulled away and turned the lights out.

"Love you babe. Thanks for being there for me."

She felt Jamie pull her closer to him, holding her close. She sighed. She loved being in his embrace, it made her feel safe.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, do you guys think Eddie should've told Eddie about her dangerous stomachache before it got really bad?