Chapter 33: Teenage Rebellion rears its Head
Author: zeusfluff.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Blue Blood's characters. They belong to CBS. I do own all originals. Date Started: 2/4/25. Date Finished: 2/7/25. Enjoy!
Jamie knocked on Cora's slightly ajar door and opened it quietly when he didn't hear an answer. He smiled when he found her fast asleep at her computer, with her math homework strewn all over her desk. His smile quickly turned into a frown when he saw a belly button piercing peeking out from her tank top. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. It looked infected. Placing a hand on Cora's left shoulder, he shook her awake. Opening her eyes slowly, she heard her dad speak.
"Cora Rene Reagan, when did you get your belly button pierced?"
Cora confused for a moment, rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"What?"
A moment later the question clicked, and she tugged down a little on her tank top.
"A couple of days ago. It's actually really starting to hurt now."
Cora slowly got up and sat down on the edge of the bed, Jamie following suit and sat next to her. Sighing, he wasn't going to yell at her. He was going to have a calm and collected conversation with his daughter.
"Where did you get it done?"
Cora shifted her eyes back and forth for a moment.
"A friend's house."
Sighing again, Jamie shook his head.
"Which one of your friends?"
Cora bit her lip and then caved.
"My friend Stacy. You don't know her. But she's super cool."
Jamie got up and started pacing the room.
"So, your friend Stacy did the piercing?"
Cora nodded and looked Jamie straight in the eye.
"Yes. She said it was totally safe."
Jamie arched an eyebrow again and remained calm.
"Cora honey, if it were safe, you wouldn't have an infection. That piercing is going to have to be removed and you'll have to go on antibiotics. If the infection is left untreated it will get into your bloodstream and cause sepsis. Then one by one your organs will shut down and you'll die."
Cora felt her chest begin to heavy and more tears fell.
"Daddy, you're scaring me."
Jamie shook his head seriously.
"I'm sorry I'm scaring you honey, but I'm just giving you the facts. This is serious."
Eddie happened to be walking by Cora's room when she heard the back half of Jamie's conversation with Cora.
"What's serious bub?"
Jamie turned his head towards Eddie.
"Cora let her friend Stacy pierce her belly button. Now she's got an infection."
Eddie came into the room and gave Cora a hard look.
"You let your friend Stacy pierce your belly button? Why?"
Cora couldn't look at Eddie, and she began to mumble.
"It looked cool…"
Eddie strained to hear Cora's answer.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said."
Swallowing, Cora repeated herself.
"It looked cool mama."
Eddie shook her head and looked away for a moment. Then she turned her attention back to Cora.
"Look I know piercings are cool and exciting, but a lot of times girls get piercings to impress boys. I was guilty of that when I was your age. I ended up getting into a lot of trouble. I ended up getting a very serious infection and it got into my blood, I almost died. My mom and dad, your grandma and grandpa, they didn't know what was going on in my life more than half the time. They were too busy going to parties to notice. Your dad and I just want you to be careful, ok? Right now, we need to get you to the hospital."
Cora swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, ok?"
"Ok Cora, we're going to give you some antibiotics through this iv here in your arm. You're a little bit dehydrated so we're giving you some saline to rehydrate you."
Cora nodded her head and leaned back against the pillows.
"How long do I have to stay here?"
The nurse smiled sympathetically at Cora and patted her hand.
"A couple of days. The call button is just there. Let me know if you need anything else. Ok hun?"
Cora sighed and shifted in the bed. She didn't like being on the Pediatric floor with all these little kids. She was practically an adult. She looked over at the door when she saw it open, and in came Eddie with a cup of coffee.
"Hey honey. How are you feeling?"
Cora was feeling a little sleepy.
"Tired and cold."
Eddie put down her coffee on the side table and tucked the blankets and sheet over Cora a little more.
"I'll ask the nurse to get you another heated blanket."
Cora shivered and tried to get comfortable under the blanket. She was getting really cold. The same nurse entered the room and Jamie entered just behind her. She reached into a heated unit next to the door and pulled out a warm blanket. Jamie took in Cora's shivering form and frowned. He placed the back of his hand to her forehead.
"She's burning up. How long has she been like this?"
Eddie looked at Jamie a bit confused.
"About 10 minutes bub. Why? What's going on?"
Jamie swallowed the lump in his throat pushed the blankets back and looked at Cora's arms. He blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. He then looked at the nurse who had just placed the blanket over Cora.
"Amanda, Cora's going to need stronger antibiotics. This infection is spreading way too fast."
Cora looked at Jamie and tears began to spring from her eyes.
"Daddy I'm sorry!"
Jamie looked at Cora and ran a hand through her dark curls.
"Hey. Everything's going to be ok ladybug. I promise. Shh. It's ok. We're going to make you better. Have to bring your fever down."
Eddie the whole time was throwing daggers with her eyes.
"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?"
Jamie looked Eddie in the eye and kept the serious look on his face.
"The infection she has is spreading. Fast. We have to give her stronger antibiotics."
Eddie's eyes grew wide, and she shook her head. Tears were threatening to cascade down her face.
"No. I won't lose her. She's our baby Jamie. You save her."
Jamie knew there was no arguing with her when she was like this. He would do everything in his power to make sure Cora got better and thrived. He wasn't going to lose one of his kids to an infection.
To Be Continued…