Merry belated Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday and a wonderful time with your family and friends! :)
The next morning, the Stein household was as quiet as a mouse. Viktor and Viveka were sitting at the dining room table drinking coffee as they usually did. Then, Frankie woke up and came out of her room, joining her parents at the table.
"Good morning, Mom and Dad!" Frankie greeted in her usual cheeriness.
"Good morning, darling!" Viktor and Viveka greeted back. "Did you sleep good last night?" Viktor asked.
"Yup! Did you guys?" Frankie asked.
"Yes, we did!" Viveka said, smiling.
"Good." Frankie said with a nod, smiling back.
Unlike the Steins, Jake didn't sleep so well last night. He kept getting up multiple times in the middle of the night to use the bathroom again, which was a problem he for sure did not want to come back. He slowly and tiredly walked out of his room and sat at the table, not saying anything this time. The Steins took notice of this instantly.
"What's wrong?" Frankie asked, concerned.
"It happened again." Jake replied with his face buried in his hands.
"What happened again?" Viktor asked worriedly.
"I kept needing to go to the bathroom a lot last night. I feel like I didn't get any sleep at all." Jake said.
Frankie and her parents exchanged concerned glances. Now that this problem was back, they knew for sure something was up.
"Oh, Jake, we're so sorry. What can we do?" Viveka asked.
Jake mustered a deep sigh. "I wanna go to the doctor's and get checked out. They scare the crap out of me, but this needs to be done."
"Okay. That's the best option anyway. Do you wanna eat first or head straight there?" Frankie asked.
"I'll eat first. I can't go anywhere with an empty stomach." Jake responded.
"Alright. I'll make breakfast." Viktor said, and went to the kitchen.
Jake yawned and rubbed his eyes because of the tiredness. He was also upset and frustrated that this was happening to him again.
"Just when I thought it went away forever, it happens again. Go figure." Jake mused unhappily.
"Did you drink a lot of water yesterday?" Viveka asked.
"I drank almost an entire bottle of water, then I drank all my soda at the movies." Jake said.
"That's a lot of liquid. You probably had too many liquids, Jake." Frankie said.
"Maybe. But strangely enough, um, I didn't use the bathroom that much at all yesterday. I guess I got lucky." Jake said.
Viktor came back to the table. "I guess you did. It's weird that this would happen in the middle of the night."
"I know. I guess my bladder has a lot of pee left over from the day before? Who knows." Jake said.
"The doctor'll tell us when we get there." Viveka said.
All Jake did was nod. As much he hated seeing the doctor, it was the only place who could figure out his medical emergencies.
"Whatever you're going through, Jake, you're not going through it alone." Frankie reassured.
"We have your back, buddy." Viktor said confidently.
"You have our support no matter what." Viveka said.
Jake smiled knowingly. Despite his hardships, he was extremely grateful for his surrogate family's support.
"Thank you guys. That means the world to me." Jake said with a smile.
"You're welcome." Frankie said, smiling also.
When breakfast was done, Viktor prepared everything and put it on 4 plates, setting them on the table. He then poured 4 glasses of orange juice and set them on the table as well; the group began eating.
"You guys make the best eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast ever. That's not an exaggeration." Jake said, full of gusto.
Viktor and Viveka were flattered. "Thank you, Jake!" Viktor said with a smile. "We appreciate it!" Viveka said happily.
"Anytime." Jake said, giving a warm smile.
"We can't take all the credit, though. Frankie cooks sometimes, too." Viktor said.
"That's right!" Frankie said matter-of-factly.
"Really?" Jake asked.
"Mm-hmm." Frankie said.
"What do you make?" Jake asked.
"The stuff we usually have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Frankie responded.
"Nice!" Jake said with a grin.
"You sure are great at it, baby." Viveka complimented.
Frankie was flattered. "Aww, thanks, Mom!"
Viveka smiled and touched her daughter's shoulder.
"What about you, Jake? Do you cook?" Viktor asked him.
"No. I tried to learn when I was younger but I kept messing up. That's why I'm taking Home Ick this year." Jake said.
"Oh. Well, you're welcome to try again in our house whenever you feel like it." Viveka said.
"Alright." Jake said, nodding.
"I bet you could make some great food!" Frankie supportively said.
Jake giggled endearingly.
After the 4 finished breakfast, they put their plates and glasses in the sink. Then Jake and Frankie got ready and the family was prepared to leave.
"We'll take my wife and I's car." Viktor said.
"You guys both own the same car?" Jake asked with confusion.
"Yep! The payments are split equally between the two of us." Viveka said.
"Cool!" Jake said excitedly.
At that moment, Jake, Frankie, Viktor, and Viveka got in the car.
"Mr. Stein, do you have GPS on your iCoffin?" Jake asked.
"Yeah." Viktor said.
"I'll give you the address to my doctor's office so you'll know where to go. They also do walk-ins." Jake said.
"That's good. At least we don't have to make an appointment." Frankie said.
Jake told Viktor the address to his doctor's office and he entered it in his iCoffin's GPS.
"Everybody ready?" Viktor asked.
"Yeah!" Jake, Frankie, and Viveka all responded.
Viktor nodded and put the keys in the ignition, then drove off.
XXXXXXX
The family arrived at Jake's pediatrician's office within 30 minutes. They entered the building and were surrounded by humans; the Steins were the only monsters there.
"I'll do the talking." Jake told the Steins, and went up to the front desk. "Excuse me?"
"Hi! How can I help you?" the receptionist asked in a friendly voice.
"Um, I need to see Dr. Roberts, please." Jake said.
"Okay. He'll be right with you shortly." the receptionist said.
"Thank you." Jake said with a smile, and went back to the Steins. He sighed, showing profuse nervousness. "Whenever I had an appointment, I'd have to fill out a questionnaire."
"I wonder why doctors' offices do that." Frankie said.
"Beats me." Jake said.
Viveka looked at Jake and asked, "Jake, when your doctor calls you up, do you want us to go in with you?"
"Yes, please. I don't feel comfortable going in there by myself, and he might need witnesses to my situation." Jake said.
"I wonder what he'll say." Viktor said.
"We'll find out in a bit." Jake said.
For the next few minutes, the 4 patiently waited and waited, until...
"Jake?"
That voice was Dr. Andrew Roberts, Jake's pediatrician of 6 years.
Jake and the Steins stood up and followed Dr. Roberts to his room, with him shutting the door afterwards.
"Uh, Dr. Roberts, this is my friend, Frankie Stein, and these are her parents." Jake said.
"Hi!" the Steins all greeted.
"Hello! Nice to meet you." Dr. Roberts greeted politely while shaking the Steins' hands.
"You too! We're Jake's guardians." Viktor said, pointing to himself and his wife.
"I see. I heard about what happened to your family, Jake. My condolences." Dr. Roberts said.
"Thank you." Jake said.
Dr. Roberts pulled up a chair and sat down. "So, Jake, you said you needed to see me. What's going on?"
"A little over a week ago, I was having problems with my bladder, meaning that I was going a lot." Jake explained.
"How often would you say is 'a lot'?" Dr. Roberts asked.
"It'd happen in the middle of the night every couple hours or so." Jake said.
"Has this happened again since the time you said?" Dr. Roberts asked.
"It did again last night." Jake said.
Dr. Roberts grabbed his clipboard and wrote down everything his patient told him.
"Jake, what you've described is very interesting. Have you been drinking a lot of liquids?" Dr. Roberts asked.
Frankie chimed in. "He did drink a lot of water at school last week."
"And he also drank water and soda yesterday." Viktor added.
Dr. Roberts nodded and wrote down that information on the clipboard, then looked over it.
"Well, Jake, to me it looks all that water and soda caused your bladder to overfill." Dr. Roberts said.
"That's what I figured. Also, I tend to get extremely thirsty from time to time and I don't know why." Jake said.
Dr. Roberts proceeded to write that down on his clipboard.
"That could be a number of different things: dehydration, dry mouth, anything."
Jake sighed. "I need a favor from you, Dr. Roberts."
"What's that?" Dr. Roberts asked.
"Can I do a urine test to see how much sugar is in my urine, please?" Jake asked.
"Yes. Let me go notify a nurse so we can make this happen." Dr. Roberts said.
Jake nodded accordingly.
At that moment, Dr. Roberts left the room, leaving Jake, Frankie, Viktor and Viveka in there alone. They chatted until a nurse came in.
"Hi, Jake! Here's a cup so you can provide a sample of your urine. The bathroom's right down that way." the nurse said.
"Okie dokie!" Jake said. He got up and grabbed the cup, heading to the bathroom. He came back two minutes later with the cup full and handed it to the nurse, who walked away with it.
Jake sat back down and crossed his fingers, as did the Steins.
About a minute later, Dr. Roberts came back with some good news.
"Well, Jake, you don't have any sugar in your urine!"
Jake, Frankie, Viktor, and Viveka sighed with relief. They were certain that it was diabetes up until this point.
"Thank God! Oh, I am so relieved." Jake said happily.
"What are we gonna do about his bathroom problem?" Viveka asked.
"We've determined that's because he's been drinking too many liquids. So, Jake, try to drink as much water as you can to stay hydrated, but don't overdo it. Like, don't drink it all in one sitting." Dr. Roberts said.
"I think that's the problem. I've been drinking water all in one sitting and not giving it time to digest. I'll try not to do that from now on." Jake said.
"Very well." Dr. Roberts said, nodding.
Viktor chimed in. "Welp, I think we're done here so we'll be heading out now. Dr. Roberts, it was nice meeting you and thank you so much for your help."
"Of course! If you guys need anything, please don't hesitate to contact me. My door's always open." Dr. Roberts said with a smile.
At that moment, Jake, Frankie, Viktor, and Viveka said bye to the doctor and left the building.
XXXXXXX
Jake, Frankie, Viktor, and Viveka made it back home. The Steins sat on the couch while Jake just stood there, still nervous from his doctor visit.
"Are you okay, Jake?" Frankie asked him.
"Yeah, I'm just still a little amped up from my visit with Dr. Roberts." Jake replied in a fast manner. His heart was racing.
"Just try to relax, it'll be okay." Viktor reassured.
"Take some deep breaths." Viveka said.
Jake took some deep breaths in and out, which calmed him down.
"I'll, uh, be in my room."
"Okay, buddy." Viktor said.
Jake walked down the hallway and went into his room, shutting the door on his way in.
Frankie looked at her parents. "Well, at least Jake doesn't have diabetes. That's a good sign."
"A very good sign! That's the last thing he needs." Viktor said.
"I agree. He has his whole life ahead of him and doesn't need his health bringing him down." Viveka said.
Still wanting to do something to help Jake, Frankie pulled out her iCoffin and called Draculaura; she answered right away.
"Hey."
"Hey, Draculaura." Frankie said.
"What's up?"
"Jake went to the doctor today." Frankie said.
"What happened? Is he okay?"
"He's fine. He wanted to get checked out because he kept getting up to use bathroom last night." Frankie said.
"Again?"
"Yeah. Fortunately, his doctor had him do a urine test and found no traces of sugar in it, so he doesn't have diabetes or anything." Frankie said.
"Oh, thank ghoul! I was so worried something bad was gonna happen. What else did the doctor say?"
"He told Jake to drink enough water to stay hydrated but not to do it all in one sitting." Frankie said.
"Oh, okay. I'm just glad there's nothing wrong with him."
"Me too. Hey, listen, can you and the ghouls come over? Jake's still kinda feeling uneasy and I think he could use some company." Frankie said.
"Sure thing, Frankie! We'll be there in a little bit."
"Okay, thanks, Draculaura! See you soon!" Frankie said.
"You too! Bye."
"Bye." Frankie said, and hung up. She then looked at her parents. "That was Draculaura. Her and the ghouls are coming over."
"We heard. It'll be nice to see them since your mom and I haven't seen them in a good while." Viktor said.
"I know! And it's very nice of you to cheer Jake up, sweetie, with company." Viveka said, smiling.
Frankie smiled back warmly.
10 minutes later, there was a ring of the doorbell, alerting the Steins. Frankie answered the door in a heartbeat. It was Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey.
"Hey, ghouls!" Frankie greeted welcomingly.
"Hey, Frankie! We came here as fast as we could." Clawdeen said.
"Come on in." Frankie said.
The ghouls entered the house and saw Viktor and Viveka, who were quite happy to see them.
"Long time no see!" Viktor cheerfully exclaimed.
"Right back at you!" Draculaura said in the same tone.
"How are you ghouls?" Viveka asked.
"Good! And you?" Abbey asked.
"We're good, too! Just living our lives the best that we can." Viktor said.
Ghoulia spoke zombie approvingly.
"Well, we'll leave you guys be now." Viktor said, and got up, followed by his wife. The two of them went to their room and closed the door.
Frankie looked at her friends. "Thanks for coming over."
"No problem. Where's Jake?" Cleo asked.
"In his room." Frankie responded.
Speak of the devil, Jake just so happened to come out of his room where he noticed the company. He was surprised and delighted at the same time.
"Oh, hi, ghouls." Jake greeted.
"Hi, Jake!" Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey all greeted.
"I didn't expect to see you all here." Jake said with a chuckle.
"I called them up because I thought you could use some support over your bladder problem." Frankie said.
Jake smiled appreciatively. "Well, thank you. Your guys' support is appreciated!"
The ghouls gave endearing smiles.
"How are you, mate?" Lagoona asked.
"I've been better. I'm sure you know I went to the doctor earlier today." Jake said.
"Yeah, we heard. They didn't find any sugar in your urine." Clawdeen said.
"No, they didn't, thank God. But I've been told to not overdo it when I drink water." Jake said.
"Meaning?" Abbey asked.
"Meaning I shouldn't drink it all in one sitting." Jake said.
"That makes sense, not just for your bladder but also your digestive system as well." Draculaura said.
"Especially cold water. That stuff hurts when you drink it all at once." Cleo added.
"Yeah, so I'm trying to monitor how much liquids I drink. Not just water, but liquids in general." Jake said.
"That's great, Jake! We're glad you're doing that." Frankie said happily.
"I don't want this to be a reoccuring thing, you know. But anyway, enough of that, let me show you ghouls my room." Jake said.
"Oh, that's right, we haven't seen your room yet." Lagoona said.
At that moment, Jake led Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey to his bedroom. He turned on the lights for everyone to see.
"Here it is!" Jake said.
The ghouls were impressed, Frankie even more so since she's already seen it before.
"Your room looks nice, Jake!" Clawdeen complimented.
"And it look exactly like Frankie's!" Abbey said.
"Thanks! I plan on redecorating it so it'll look kinda like my old room at the foster place. That one had a lot of posters on the walls." Jake said.
"What kind of posters?" Draculaura asked.
"Um, mainly Marvel, Star Wars, Michael Jackson, and Beatles." Jake replied.
"Cool! The movie you saw yesterday was just like Star Wars, wasn't it?" Frankie asked.
"Yeah, Monster Wars: Episode VII. It's the same premise, just with monsters instead of normies and other small differences here and there." Jake said.
"We have yet to see that movie. Is it good?" Cleo asked.
"It's fantastic! Please see it when you get the chance. You won't be disappointed." Jake said excitedly.
"Okay! Just don't spoil anything." Lagoona warned in a playful fone.
Jake giggled endearingly. "I won't, I promise."
Ghoulia spoke zombie, offering Jake a suggestion.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea! I wouldn't mind buying some new posters for my room." Jake said.
"I bet it'll look voltaigious." Frankie said, grinning.
"Probably. Do you guys know where the nearest store is?" Jake asked.
"Scare-Mart is only, like, five minutes from here. You could go there." Clawdeen said.
"Alright. You guys wanna go with me or?" Jake asked.
"Sure!" Draculaura said excitedly.
Jake nodded as he and the ghouls walked out of his room. He then knocked on Viktor and Viveka's door, opened it, and peaked his head inside, telling them, "We're going to the store real quick. We'll be back."
"Okay!" Viktor and Viveka said.
Jake closed the door and walked down the hallway with his friends. They then left the house and got in Jake's car.
"Your car is really roomy, Jake." Abbey told him.
"Thanks. I wasn't sure if it was gonna fit all of you or not." Jake said, giggling.
After turning on his car, Jake connected his phone to it via bluetooth and put on Michael Jackson's Thriller album, then drove off.
Jake, Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey sang along to the first track, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', while bobbing their heads and tapping their feet to the rhythm.
(5 minutes later)
The gang arrived at Scare-Mart within 5 minutes just like Clawdeen predicted. They got out of the car and entered the building. Jake looked around to get a first impression.
"This place reminds me of Walmart." Jake said.
"Is that the normie version of Scare-Mart?" Cleo asked.
"Pretty much." Jake said.
The gang walked further down the store and into the main area.
"Okay, so, where are the posters?" Jake asked.
"Right down here." Frankie said, pointing ahead.
The ghouls led Jake to a section where all the posters were at. They were mostly movie, TV show, and video game posters with some miscellaneous stuff thrown in.
"Let's see what we got here." Jake said.
Jake proceeded to go through the posters to see if there was anything he liked. Unfortunately, nothing really caught his eye except for a Monster Wars: Episode VII limited edition poster.
"Ooh, this Monster Wars poster looks cool! I don't think I'll be buying it, though." Jake said.
"Why not?" Lagoona asked.
"I'm a little short on cash." Jake responded.
Cleo had an idea. "Don't worry, Jake, you can use one of my credit cards!" She pulled out her wallet and revealed a plethora of credit cards.
"Are you sure about this, Cleo?" Jake asked worriedly.
"Yeah! Go ahead, take one." Cleo said.
Jake grabbed the card that was on the very bottom. "Alright, looks I'm getting this poster after all!" He took the Monster Wars poster off the shelf and held it in a horizontal position.
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey were surprised that Jake was only getting one poster.
"Is that the only poster you're getting?" Draculaura asked.
"Mm-hmm." Jake said.
"You sure, bro?" Clawdeen asked.
"I'm sure. There was a lot of stuff that didn't interest me or was too expensive." Jake said.
"That make sense." Abbey said.
At that moment, the gang began walking down the aisle and towards a self-checkout.
"Do you guys need anything while we're here?" Jake asked.
"I don't. Do you ghouls?" Frankie asked them.
"No." Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey all replied.
Jake nodded as he and his friends made it to a self-checkout. He used one of Cleo's many credit cards to pay for the poster, then gave the card back to her when he was done using it. After that, he grabbed the poster and the gang left Scare-Mart.
Jake approached his car and popped the trunk open, with him putting the poster in there and closing it afterwards, followed by him and the ghouls getting in the car and heading back to Frankie's house.
(5 minutes later)
Once the gang made it back to Frankie's, the ghouls helped Jake carry his poster inside the house; he went to his room and put it on his bed.
"I'll hang my poster up later." Jake said.
The gang continued hanging out for a little while until Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Abbey left, saying bye to Jake, Frankie, Viktor, and Viveka on their way out. Jake and Frankie also thanked them for coming over, in which they were glad to be there.