Apple Doesn't Fall Far (Duskwood Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

Trigger warning: hospitals, needles, and various medical procedures.
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Jake's P.O.V.

Little Dan runs up to us and says that Gracie is sick. I look up just in time to see her collapse.
"Gracie!" Mara and I both scream as we rush over to her.
"Gracie, wake up." I scream and start to shake her.
"Gracie, baby, please wake up," Mara says, trying but slowly failing to hold herself together.
"I've called for help!" Lily says as she runs over to us.
After a few moments, Gracie's eyes flutter open, and she looks at us just as the paramedics rush to her. They start checking all of her vitals. One of the paramedics starts asking questions about medical history and medications, and Mara tries her best to answer them, panic evident in her voice. The other paramedics get Gracie on the gurney.
"Can I ride with her?" Mara asks.
"For safety reasons, we can't have anyone in the back except the patient and medic." The paramedic says before turning to me. "We're going to start an IV, and it's going to take a few minutes before we leave. If you want to run get your car, you can follow behind us." He says as they start wheeling Gracie towards the ambulance. Marabella walks beside them, holding Gracie's hand, and I run to get the car.

I get my car and pull behind the ambulance. Mara steps away from the ambulance, and they close the doors. She gets into the car and immediately loses it. The ambulance pulls out, and I follow behind it. I look over and see her crying. I reach over, put my hand on her leg, and squeeze it gently.
"She's going to be alright," I say, not sure if I'm trying to convince her or myself.
"Stop. Don't give me that shit." She snaps at me. "You don't know that. You have no clue if she's going to be okay. That's my baby, my whole world. I don't know what I would do without her."
I want so desperately to argue with her and assure her that she's going to be okay. The truth is Marabella is right; we don't know that for a fact. What if she's not ok? She has to be. I refuse to lose her.

The ambulance pulls into the ambulance bay, and we see them unload Gracie and take her in. I quickly find a spot to park. and Marabella jumps out of the car before it's even completely stopped and starts rushing towards the door. I jog to catch up to her and follow her into the hospital, where we are ushered into a surprisingly empty waiting room. I sit down, trying to calm myself while she paces back and forth across the room with tears streaming down her face. I get up and walk over to her. Without saying a word, I grab her, pull her close, and wrap my arms around her, causing her to cry even harder. I struggle to maintain my composure, but I know I have to be strong for her; I can't break.

I see the doctor walk in. I release Marabella from my embrace and turn to face him as he walks up to us.
"Are you Hannah Carter's parents?" He asks.
"We are." I manage to say.
"How is our Gracie? Can we see her?" Mara asks.
"She is responsive, though she is showing signs of a stroke." He says, shocking me.
"A stroke? She's only 12! This has to be a mistake!" She screams at him.
"Although it is extremely rare, it's not completely unheard of for someone her age to have a stroke. They had to sedate her to keep her calm. They have taken her for a CT scan, and you can see her when she gets back to her room. I will have one of the nurses come get you when it's time."

Marabella leans up against the wall before sliding down it into the floor and sobbing. I sit down beside her and put my arm around her, pulling her to me so she is leaning on me for support. We sit there like that for a few minutes.
"My baby, our baby, had a stroke, Jay. Do you know how serious that can be?" She says.
"Listen, we don't know anything for sure yet. There could be some other explanation, so let's not go jumping to the worst-case yet. Look at me." I say, touching her chin and lifting her head to look at me. "Whatever happens, Gracie is going to get through this, and we are going to get through it together. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be right here to face whatever this is with you both."
"Thank you." She whispers.