Two weeks later

After the high of their engagement at Christmas, Steve and Kate started the New Year with a very big low. Ava caught a virus which they initially thought was nothing but gradually got worse over 48 hours.

Kate was up with her all night as she was very grizzly and would not settle. She was not feeding well either which was most unlike her daughter. By the morning it looked as if she was having trouble breathing and Kate managed to get an emergency appointment at the doctors.

"I don't want to panic you," the doctor said after examining Ava, "but I'm going to call for an ambulance. I want the paediatricians to look at her. Her oxygen levels are very low,".

"Oh my god," claimed Kate, terrified as she hugged her daughter close. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked the doctor, her insecurities about being a terrible mother instantly back when she thought she was just about getting the hang of it.

"Not at all," the doctor said trying to comfort her. "You've done exactly the right thing by bringing her here. There's lots of this virus going round at the moment,".

"I better phone Steve, my partner," she said tearfully as the doctor called the hospital and told them she was sending in Ava by ambulance.

"Hey," said Steve as he picked up Kate's call. "Is everything ok?" he asked when he heard a few sniffles down the phone.

"The doctor wants Ava to go to hospital," Kate explained. "She's calling for an ambulance now. I'm so sorry, Steve," she apologised, still thinking it was her fault.

"It's not your fault, Kate," Steve replied as he got to his feet. He would be leaving to go see his partner and daughter immediately.

"Which hospital are you going to?".

"The Infirmary," Kate replied.

"I'll speak to the Gaffer and meet you there,".

"Ok," Kate replied. "Thanks,". She would feel a bit better when Steve was there beside her.

Steve spied his boss in his office and knocked on the door. "Enter!" was the usual summons.

"Hi sir," Steve said as he entered.

"What can I do for you, Steve?" Ted asked. His DI looked troubled about something.

"Umm, I've never had to do this before but I'm asking if I can leave work immediately. Ava is unwell and the doctor wants her to go to the hospital. I need to be with her,".

Ted would never have thought that the man in front of him would become a family man, yet here he was doing a very good job at being one.

"Of course," Ted replied. It was fortuitous that Steve didn't have much work on at the moment. "I hope Ava is ok and give Kate my best wishes,".

"Thank you, sir," Steve replied before he took his leave.

Steve found Kate in a room in the Children's Emergency Department. Their daughter was on a small bed beside her with an oxygen mask on. She looked exhausted and making small grunting noises as breathing was becoming such hard work.

Although she loved her mother, Ava was a daddy's girl. Whenever Steve walked in to a room he would get a big smile from her. There was no smile today. Steve could see Ava had a line in one hand that was all bandaged and some fluid going through it. Kate caught him looking at the fluid.

"She's too breathless to feed," she explained, "and they don't want her getting dehydrated," Steve nodded. "She didn't even flinch when the needle went in," Kate continued, getting teary. It had broken her heart when she had watched.

"Hey, come on," Steve said as he took a seat beside Kate. "Ava is a fighter, just like her mum. She will get through this. We all will,".

The paediatrician entered the room shortly afterwards to chat with Kate and Steve. They thought Ava had caught bronchiolitis.

"We will continue the fluids," the doctor explained. "We will also put a small tube in to her stomach from her nose so she can have some milk. Are you breast feeding?". Kate nodded. "We will get you to express some so we can give it to her down the tube,".

"Ok,".

"We are going to have to give her some more oxygen," the paediatrician then informed them. "The mask isn't giving quite enough so we are going to give her a special type through some tubes up her nose and see if she responds,".

"If she doesn't?" Steve asked.

"I'm afraid we would have to sedate Ava and put her on a breathing machine for a little while until she gets over the worst of it,".

"Oh my god," Kate said, as more tears started to fall. That thought was beyond terrifying.

"When would we know whether she needs to have that?" Steve asked, preparing himself for the worst.

"In the next couple of hours,".

The nasal prongs were attached to Ava and once again she didn't complain. Once they were on, Ava was admitted to the ward. Steve and Kate sticking to her bedside like glue until evening when only one parent was allowed to stay.

"I'll stay," Kate immediately volunteered.

"You're sure?" Steve checked. "You were up all night with her last night,".

"I'm staying," Kate replied adamantly.

Steve wasn't going to argue with his fiancée when she was in this mood. "Ok," he said before he kissed both his girls good night. "I'll see you in the morning," he told Kate. "Should I bring anything back for you when I return?".

"I forgot Piglet," Kate said, beating herself up that Ava was going to be without her favourite toy that night.

"Ava will be fine for one night without him," Steve promised. He looked at his daughter. She was so exhausted that she wasn't going to realise her toy was absent. "Ring me if anything happens overnight?".

Kate nodded. So far Ava was doing ok but she still wasn't out of the woods yet. Although Steve would be at home in their bed, he wasn't going to get much sleep with Kate and Ava in hospital.

For the second night in a row, Kate hardly slept. She kept a close eye on her daughter and if she did doze off was frequently disturbed whenever a nurse came to check on Ava.

Morning arrived and they hadn't had to sedate Ava. Steve arrived with Piglet to take the day shift in staying by Ava's side except Kate had other ideas.

"I'm not leaving her, Steve," Kate told him.

"Mate, you're exhausted," Steve replied. "You need some rest. Ava will be fine with me. I promise I'll let you know if anything happens,. She is going to need her mum to be fully rested when she gets better".

Kate eventually conceded and headed home. Despite being sleep deprived she didn't sleep well, constantly waking and checking her phone for messages from Steve. There weren't any.

She showered and headed back to the hospital. Not feeling hungry, she skipped eating. Ava was sleeping on Steve's chest when Kate entered the room. It was her favourite sleeping spot, just like Kate.

"How's she doing?" Kate asked.

"Still the same," Steve replied. "They've managed to come down a little bit on her oxygen which is good. They've started some antibiotics as well,".

Kate kissed her daughters head gently at the news.

"You ok?" Steve asked. He didn't say but Kate still looked exhausted.

"Yeah," Kate said. "I'll be better when we are all back at home,".

Steve stayed a bit longer with Kate before he headed home and Kate prepared herself for another long night. The bed wasn't comfortable but somehow she did sleep for a few hours. When she awoke, Ava was amusing herself by chewing on Piglet's ear. She looked a lot better. She even gave her mother a smile when she saw Kate was awake.

"Hi Ava!" Kate said, so happy to see her little girl more like her usual self. She couldn't resist picking her up and smothering her in kisses. Ava smiled in delight. "We better FaceTime daddy," she announced.

Steve was just as overjoyed to see his daughter had turned a corner and quickly made his way to the hospital for some hugs with his little girl.

The medical team noted Ava's improvement as well on their ward round. She was much more alert and interested in what the strangers in the room were doing as they examined her. She was a little wary of them but looked to her parents for reassurance that they weren't going to hurt her.

"I think you might be well enough to go home," the consultant said as he tickled Ava's tummy. She screeched with delight.

"Really?" Asked Kate, bursting with happiness that home might be just around the corner.

"We'll see how she does this morning with feeding and wet nappies. If they are all normal we can remove all the lines and tubes and let you home this afternoon,".

"Can I try feeding her now?" Kate asked. Her breasts were feeling quite full as she hadn't expressed in a while and was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable.

"Of course. I'll leave you to it and let a nurse know how she gets on. I'll pop back and see her later,".

Once alone, Kate removed her sweater and bra. Ava knew what was happening and reached for her mother from Steve's lap. She hungrily latched on and started drinking as much as she could.

Kate sighed in relief as her breast pain eased. "Better?" Steve asked. Not just about her boobs but the news they had just received.

"Much," Kate replied.

The family left the hospital that afternoon and headed home where a familiar looking car greeted them in their driveway.

"My parents wanted to help out," Steve explained after Kate looked questioningly at him. He had phoned his mum and dad one evening to let them know about their granddaughter.

They had arrived earlier that day whilst Steve was at the hospital and let themselves in to the house.

The amazing aroma of lovely home cooked food met the noses of Kate and Steve as they entered the house. Kate's stomach growled in response as she remembered it had been a very long time since she had eaten anything, surviving on hospital coffee whilst Ava was ill.

"How is everyone?" Steve's mum asked as she appeared out of the kitchen, apron on.

A quick glance at her granddaughter revealed her to be quite chirpy, smiling and babbling as she caught sight of her grandmother. Her son and partner hadn't fared so well.

"Ava's fine," Steve replied as he watched his mother lift Ava up and give her a cuddle. "We've got some antibiotics to finish but otherwise she should recover well,".

"Why don't you leave Ava with me and your dad and you two go and get some rest? We can look after her for the afternoon,".

"Thanks mum. We might just do that," Steve said. A quick look at Kate showed she was about ready to drop with tiredness.

Taking Kate's hand he led her to their bedroom. Sex hadn't been on their minds when they had agreed to rest but once in each others arms in bed, the need for intimacy and comfort following a horrible couple of days overcame them and they made love before settling down for a well earned sleep.