Adopted

Chapter 29

Mom woke me up when whoever went to the pharmacy came back with the medicine for my thrush. It was a liquid that I was supposed to swish around in my mouth and then spit out. It tasted vile.

I got back into bed, and Mom sat down beside me again.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said.

"I love that you're calling me Mom," she smiled. "But don't apologize. Getting sick happens. And I'm here to take care of you."

We heard a bit of commotion at the front of the bus.

"Just give me some time, Zack! I'll be out in a little while. I want to check in on Jess," Dad was coming up onto the bus. He came back to my bunk and knelt down beside me.

"How're you doing, kiddo?" he asked, feeling my forehead and grimacing. "You're still pretty warm."

"She's got thrush and she just did the mouthwash thing the doctor prescribed. I don't think her fever's gotten higher, but we picked up a thermometer at the pharmacy, and I'll check her in a little bit. She's mostly just been sleeping and resting."

"Good. Sorry you're feeling so crappy kiddo," he said.

"Sorry I'm going to miss your show tonight, Dad," I said.

"Plenty of shows left before the end of summer. You getting better is what's important, okay?"

I nodded.

"Has the doctor called back yet?" he asked Mom.

"No, not yet. But I wasn't expecting to hear anything from him before at least six or seven tonight, if at all."

"Okay," Dad said.

"Did you have soundcheck already?" I asked.

"Yep, just finished. I thought I'd come check on you, and then update the fans, because I might have posted something about you not feeling well..." he said.

I picked up my phone and checked Instagram. He'd posted a picture of me asleep in my bunk with my cheeks rosy red from my fever. The caption was 'Poor kiddo came down with a fever. Rest, fluids and sleep are the doctor's orders. Feel Better, my young one.' @sarahurie @JessB

"You posted that?" I frowned.

"I couldn't resist. You just looked too cute," he said.

I read through the comments below the picture.

"Feel better, Jessie!"

"Sick on tour? That sucks! Get well soon, little Urie!"

"Is B still performing even though his kid is sick? That's dedication!"

Most of the comments were really nice, wishing me well, and telling Mom and Dad to tell me to rest up and feel better.

"Little Urie," I said. "I like that. Think I could change my last name?"

"Are you sure?" Mom asked, tears springing to her eyes.

"Really?" Dad asked.

I nodded.

They both bent over me and hugged me tightly.

"My god, you're warm!" Dad said.

Mom got out the thermometer and put it in my mouth.

"103. It's actually gone down a bit. I'm going to get you a bottle of water, okay? You need to stay hydrated, too."

"Do you really want to change your last name to Urie?" Dad asked as Mom went to the fridge.

"I do. Really," I said. "I've been sick what, twice since you adopted me, and you've both been better than the orphanage could be, and I bet my first mom and dad would approve."

Dad had tears in his eyes.

"I'm really, really honoured that you want to take our last name. We'll get the paperwork started, okay? I'm not sure we can do it while we're away, but we'll look into it, and we'll get everything started."

"Okay," I said. I heard a phone ringing at the front of the bus. Mom answered her phone.

"Hello? Oh, hello Dr. Sherman," she said. Dad looked up, looked at me and indicated he'd be right back. He went to the front where Mom was and they spoke quietly. I couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Okay, okay, thank you. Alright, we'll talk in a couple of days. Thank you," Mom said coming back to where the bunks are. She had tears in her eyes.

"Okay, kiddo. So, he's still waiting on your urine tests to come back, because he's got it culturing to see if you have a bladder infection - well, he told you that when he was here. But he doesn't see anything significant in your blood work. He said your white blood cells are a bit up, but that's not unexpected if you're fighting an infection. He said they should be higher, but considering you're an AIDS patient, he's not concerned."

"So why are you crying?" I asked.

"It's relief. I was so worried we'd have to take you to the hospital again, and the thought of you being so sick so soon after just getting out of the hospital, well, I was scared it could have been something bad. If it is a bladder or kidney infection, he'll put you on an antibiotic, and have us follow up with him by phone or with Doc when we get back to LA."

"We have a lot to celebrate today," Dad said. "Our kid isn't as sick as we worried, and she wants to be a Urie."

"We'll have to immortalize this day on social media. But not until you're feeling better, little Urie," Mom said, smiling and handing me the bottle of water finally. I took a few sips. It didn't make my stomach feel too bad, and felt good on my throat. And got the taste of that really gross medicine out of my mouth.

"Alright little one, I have to get back to do press and get ready for the show. I'll try to come back and check on you before I go on, but you just rest, relax and keep Mom company. I like how that sounds," he said, hugging Mom before leaving the bus.

"Want to get out of bed, come out to the lounge area and hang out on the couch? We can watch a movie or something," she said.

"Okay," I said. I climbed out of my bunk and she grabbed my blanket.

We settled on one of the couches, and she covered me with the blanket while I sipped on my bottle of water. We watched a couple of movies. Kala came in a little while later with a couple of plates.

"Hey you two. How're you feeling, Jessie?"

"Okay," I said, pulling my blanket around me more. "Thanks."

"I brought you two some dinner, if you're hungry," she said, putting the plates down on the table in our eating area.

"You're a saint, Kala," Mom said. "I'm starving and I completely forgot to eat."

Kala handed her the plate and a fork. It was pasta and salad.

"You want anything, sweetie?" she asked me.

"Not just now, thanks," I said.

Kala put her hand on my forehead and kissed my forehead.

"Hmm. You don't feel quite as warm as before," she said.

"Her fever was down to 103 when I took it a little while ago," Mom said.

"Good news. Well. I'm going to go back and watch the show. You rest up, okay?" she said to me. I nodded.

We went back to watching the movie, during which I fell asleep.