She stood in the waiting room, quiet and pensive, chewing at her nails. The fluorescent lights were too bright, the chairs too uncomfortable to sit in, her mind racing too fast for her to calm down. The ambulance ride had been the worst five minutes of her night so far.
Joe burst through the door only seconds later, beelining to her side and scooping her into a hug.
"I'm here," he said into the crook of her neck. "I'm right here." She clung to him like he was her savior, arms wrapped around him, purse dangling haphazardly off of her shoulder.
When he finally pulled away, he wiped the tears off of Taylor's cheeks. "Any word?"
"No, no, not yet. I don't-I don't know exactly what's happening-something about a-a-a seizure?" Her eyes were glazed over, staring at nothing in particular. "Did you call mom and dad?"
"Yeah, they know what's happening, hey, you here?"
She nodded, somewhat breathlessly, still not making eye contact, but he took it.
When a doctor finally pulled them out of the waiting room, Taylor was a bundle of nerves. "Is she okay?" she blurted, before the doctor could even motion for them to sit.
"She will be," the doctor said with a smile. He was taller than she was, with a soft brown beard and small spectacles that sat at the end of a large nose. "She had what's called a febrile seizure, it's uh, something brought on by the fever and is actually fairly normal when a child this young gets this sick."
"We did everything we could," Taylor said, still chewing on her nails, her free hand grabbing Joe's.
"You did! You're right, you did," the doctor said. "These things are just sometimes out of our control, you know? Anyway, we put her on some medication that should bring her fever down, and you should be good to, uh, take her home in few hours?"
"Can we see her?"
"Yeah, absolutely, just follow me this way."
He led them to a room, one with softer lighting and there, in a bed as large as the gurney was Caroline, awake but drowsy, like she was going to fall back to sleep at any point. An IV was hooked to her arm and she still had an oxygen cannula under her nose.
"Hey," Taylor whispered, immediately moving across the room to grab her hand. "Hey, baby, you okay?"
"Hi mommy," Caroline whispered. "I'm sorry mommy." She started to cry.
"No, sweetheart, no, don't cry. Mommy and Daddy aren't mad at you. Not at all. We just want to make sure you feel better." Taylor stroked the tears away from her cheek. "It was pretty scary though, wasn't it?"
Caroline nodded through tears.
"Mommy and Daddy are right here, okay? You'll get to go back home in a little."
"I don't feel so yucky."
Tears pricked at the corner of Taylor's eyes, but she managed to stave them off and nod again. "That's good! That's really good, baby."
"Do you have Lambo?"
Taylor rummaged around in her back for a few minutes before turning up empty handed. "No, I'm sorry Care—" She'd forgotten anything that wasn't in her purse besides the door in her hurry to get out.
"I got it," Joe said, giving Taylor a reassuring pat on the back. "Lambo's right here."
She put her arms out for her lovey, a tiny sheep crocheted by one of Taylor's friends for her baby shower. The blanket was plush, attached to the neck so the sheep could be swaddled if Caroline so wished.
