Our Little Hero

𝐭𝐰𝗼 | "𝐢 𝐝𝗼𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐠𝗼𝗼𝐝, 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲"

Baby Cosette had been earth side for close to a month now. Both Hailey and Jay were still on leave from work, and Caroline was staying with them, completely adoring her baby sister. The family of four enjoyed getting to go on walks together, but it was cold out by now. It was late November, almost December, so sometimes Hailey would stay back home with Cosette, while Jay took Callie out of the house. One on one time was good for everyone involved, especially since Callie was a huge daddy's girl, she always wanted to be around him. Callie absolutely loved getting to have special time with her father. Whether they would go get lunch, hot chocolate, or even a trip to the park nearby their house, Callie loved it, and so did Jay, at that. The two would always pick a place closer to their house, so they could just walk instead of needing to drive, which was great for the both of them, especially for Callie. Callie was a very active four year old. She loved to run, jump, play, you name it, she probably enjoyed it. Which was why Hailey and Jay managed to sign Callie up for ballet when she was around the age of two. At this point, it was really just for fun, and it was a great way to help the four year old burn off some of that energy.

On this particular day, Jay and Callie had chosen the park to go to. While it was pretty chilly, it wasn't cold enough that Callie couldn't play outside. It was nearing those temperatures, but they still had a bit of time left for her to play, before it would be too cold for her to play safely. However, this day, seemed oddly different than their past park adventures. The four year old wasn't running and jumping like she tended to do at the park. She seemed tired. Which was odd enough, because Callie was never tired. But, Jay just played it off for a bit, until he saw Callie come walking back over to the bench he had been seated on. Another odd thing. Callie never seemed to come back to the bench this soon, they had only been at the playground for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, at most.

"I don't feel good, daddy." Callie stated, as she took a seat beside her father. "You don't? What's bothering you, baby?" Jay asked his young daughter. "My head hurts, and my ear hurts" she told him, as Jay took the back of his hand, and gently placed it on Callie's forehead. "You do feel pretty warm, kiddo. Maybe we should head back home, check your temperature and everything" he told the small child, as she nodded, and the two made their way back to the house. When they arrived, Jay and Callie both walked into the house, as Jay grabbed the thermometer from the cabinet in the kitchen. He placed the thermometer near Callie's forehead, as it instructed him to do, and it read the girl's temperature. "102.3. A fever, alright. Baby, why don't you go hop in the bed, okay? I'll get you some medicine to help you feel better" Jay told her, as Callie simply nodded, and off to her bedroom she went. Before he took some Tylenol to his daughter, he stopped by where Hailey was seated, and gave her the run-down of what was going on with Callie.

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Nine days after Callie had first stated she felt bad, there was no improvement. Jay had taken her to visit her pediatrician, who told them it was just an ear infection, and prescribed the girl an antibiotic to help. And it did help, but only with the ear ache and headache. Callie's fever was still pretty high. Hailey and Jay finally realized that waiting ten days for the antibiotic to fully work was simply too long for them to wait. So, on day six on the antibiotic, Hailey and Jay both escorted little Callie back to her pediatrician, baby Cosette in tow with them too.

During the visit, the fever wasn't the only thing discussed. Hailey also brought up the fact that Callie had been experiencing some leg pain, well, some aches. Her parents had just figured it was either due to the fever, or from playing. Not only that, but Callie had also been experiencing bruising. The four year old had bruising on both her legs and her arms. What managed to raise red flags with Hailey and Jay was that these bruises were not from typical four year old play, or even from ballet. Callie hadn't even fallen recently to cause any bruising. The bruises could be seen in multiple spots on her arms and legs. While the parents brought up these notices and concerns, the pediatrician simply listened. What concerned Hailey and Jay the most though, was watching the pediatrician's facial expressions change each time they brought up a different issue that Callie had been experiencing.

"As much as I wanted to be optimistic, I think it's best if we run tests. A blood panel, and some more intrusive labs." Were the words from the pediatrician's mouth, as the parents nodded in agreement. From there, the doctor exited the room, and found those who would assist with Callie's bloodwork. Like any four year old, Callie hated having her blood drawn. Of course, the little girl fussed prior to it, and cried during the blood draw. Hailey and Jay couldn't blame her though. They had to draw quite a bit of blood.

And so then the waiting game began. Hailey, Jay, Callie, and a sleeping Cosette waited in the exam room. Waiting for the doctor to return. Waiting for the results. Waiting to hear that their daughter was okay. That it was just taking a bit longer for her to recover, or that something just as easily treated would be found. But, that wasn't the case for the Halstead family.

The doctor finally came back in the room after what seemed to have been ages, though it really was only maybe half an hour. She took a seat in front of Hailey and Jay, as Hailey held Cosette, and Callie sat perched on Jay's lap.

"I need you four to go home, pack a bag or two, and go straight to the Children's Hospital." The child's pediatrician stated bluntly. "Wait. The Children's Hospital?" Hailey questioned. "Why the Children's Hospital? Callie's fine, isn't she?" Hailey asked herself. The pediatrician simply nodded. "Her lab results are indicating cancer" she told the parents. "Cancer?" Both Hailey and Jay asked, as the doctor nodded once again.

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Author's Note: Thank you all for stopping by to read my story! I hate to leave this chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger, but don't worry! I plan to have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow! Thank y'all for reading, voting, and even commenting if you do! Feel free to leave thoughts, questions, comments, anything as well!