Our Bella

30. Sick

Third pov

Elizabeth rushed to her daughter, catching her just before she could hit the concrete floor face-first.

"Bella! Bella!" Elisabeth yelled her name trying to wake her up.

"I will take her to the hospital thank you for calling me" With that Elisabeth left with Bella in her arms. 

She put Bella in her car seat and put a pillow on her shoulder so she wouldn't hurt her neck. Elisabeth then opened the driver seat and started the car. On her way to the hospital, she called Vincenzo again; this time, Vincenzo answered by himself.

"Hello love, is something wrong?" Vincenzo asked.

"First, you need to fire your assistant. Miss Honey and I have been attempting to reach you, but she answered and said you were busy before hanging up. Secondly, Bella requires medical assistance; I'm currently on my way to the hospital" Elisabeth explained the situation.

"I'm on my way," Vincenzo exclaimed before hanging up the phone and heading straight to his car. He decided he would deal with Daisy later.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Elisabeth began searching for Dr. Hart. Holding Bella in her arms, she scanned the area. After five minutes, she approached the receptionist for assistance. She informed her that he was busy attending to another patient and that they would need to wait.

Elisabeth began to feel overwhelmed with stress, uncertain of what was happening to Bella but sensing it was serious. "My daughter has fainted; we need help immediately!" she exclaimed to the receptionist.

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" The woman stood up and dialed a number on the phone to her right. "Yes, a child. They were looking for Dr. Hart," she said, then covered the mouthpiece with her hand so the person on the other line couldn't hear her. "What is the child's last name?"

"Russo. And I am her mother," Elisabeth stated quickly, her voice tinged with clear worry.

The woman obviously knew who the Russos were, as she began speaking even faster than Elisabeth. After another minute or two, Dr. Hart arrived to assist them.

" Now Mrs. Elisabeth what can I help you with today?" Dr. Hart asked while putting on some gloves.

" Bella fainted at school and she's burning up" Elisabeth explained Bella's symptoms.

Dr. Hart took Bella from Elisabeth and entered the emergency room.

Elisabeth was halted on her way into the emergency room and instructed to sit and wait in a designated area.

Elisabeth settled in the hallway, waiting, when suddenly her husband burst in, his chest heaving up and down, clearly out of breath.

Upon spotting his wife, Vincenzo rushed over and greeted her with a kiss. "What happened?" he inquired.

"She's burning up and fainted" Elisabeth explained with a sign.

Vincenzo sat down beside Elisabeth and drew her close to his chest. "She's strong. She'll get through this. I'm sure it's nothing too dangerous," Vincenzo reassured her.

Elisabeth closed her eyes for what felt like a second but turned out to be ten minutes.

Vincenzo saw that Elisabeth seemed tired so he let her rest for some minutes before Dr. Hart came up to them.

"I have another patient coming, so I'll make this brief. Bella has a high fever and needs rest along with some paracetamol," Dr. Hart explained. Just then, a nurse approached and whispered something to him. Dr. Hart nodded and relayed the message. "Bella is awake and ready to go home. You can collect the medicine in the lobby." With that, Dr. Hart excused himself, and Elisabeth and Vincenzo rose to walk to Bella's room.

"Mama?" Bella asked looking at the door where Elisabeth and Vincenzo just walked through.

Elisabeth rushed to her daughter and hugged her, relieved that she was not dying. "It's me, I'm here," she said.

"It's cold," Bella mumbled, nestled in her mother's embrace.

"It's because you have a fever, princess," Vincenzo said to Bella as he came into her view.

"Daddy!" Bella exclaimed, hugging her father, surprised to see him there.

"Let's get you home," Elisabeth said as she picked Bella up and carried her to the car.

~

Elisabeth and Vincenzo drove home in two separate cars. Elisabeth took Bella home, while Vincenzo picked up his sons from school a little earlier than usual. Initially, the boys were thrilled to be leaving early, but their excitement soon turned to confusion. They wondered, why they were allowed to go home early and were even more confused when they didn't see Bella in the car with their dad. In the end everyone somehow got home around the same time. Only that Elisabeth and Bella arrived home maybe five minutes sooner.

"Mom, is Bella alright?" Matthew asked as he walked into the living room.

"Matt!" Bella exclaimed excitedly from beneath the pile of blankets on the couch. About a week ago, Bella devised nicknames for her brothers. Everyone thought it was adorable when she used them, of course. And now, those nicknames are all she uses. It's as if their given names at birth never existed.

"Hi Sorelina how are you feeling?" Matthew sat down beside her on the couch.

"I'm cold and tired, but aside from that, I'm feeling good," Bella said, giving her brother one of those smiles that revealed the adorable dimples on her cheeks.

"Bella, baby, the bath is ready. Come on," Elisabeth announced as she entered the living room once more.

Bella nodded and attempted to rise, but Matthew halted her efforts and lifted her in his arms. "I don't want you fainting again," Matthew expressed, his voice laden with worry.

Matthew carried Bella upstairs to her bathroom, with Elisabeth walking beside them. But as Matthew was walking into Bella's room on his way to the bathroom, Rocco approached them, barking and whining, evidently sharing his concern for Bella.

Elisabeth got Bella out of her clothes and put her inside the warm water. Elisabeth let her get used to the water before starting to wash her hair and body getting rid of all bacteria.

Rocco was lying on the floor beside the bathtub, while Matthew had to go down to the kitchen to have dinner with the rest of the family.

Elisabeth lifted Bella from the bath and dressed her in blue pajamas adorned with blueberries. Together, they walked to the bed. Bella snuggled under the covers while Rocco lay beside her, careful not to disturb her. Elisabeth sat at the foot of the bed, gently stroking Bella's hair until she drifted off to sleep.

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Thank you so much for 80K reads! I did not think I would get this far but here we are.