Game Over: Life's Over

Temperature Pt. 2

I was getting tired the longer we waited at the doctor's office to figure out what was wrong with me. I figured it was some sort of flu since I couldn't keep anything down and my temperature was so high.

I was just hoping the Tylenol I had to take had helped get my temperature down a little bit.

Dr. Simmons came back into the room and walked over to the counter. She grabbed the thermometer and came over to us. "Alright, let's check that temperature."

She pushed the tip of the thermometer into my ear and held it there while she pressed a button. It beeped twice and then she pulled it out. The frown on her face told me I wasn't going to like what it said.

"We're still at 105," She said with a frown. "I was hoping for a change, even a slight one. I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend Jacob go to the hospital for further testing."

Hiding my face further into Eric's cheat, I whined. Going to the hospital was the last thing I wanted. I was hoping Dr. Simmons could just give me some medicine and I'd be all better in a day or two. I didn't have that kind of hope after hearing I'd have to go to the hospital.

Theo, sensing my frustration, spoke up. "It's just a simple flu. Are you sure we should go to the hospital?"

Dr. Simmons sighed. "I hate to suggest it but if we want to see Jake get healthy, this is our best option. The doctors at the hospital can figure out the source of Jacob's pain."

Theo patted my knee. "I'm sorry, Jake. We need to get to the bottom of this before you get any worse."

—-

Sitting in the waiting room at the hospital was torture. That was how the hospital tortured us: by making us wait so long to be seen.

I stayed curled up in Eric's arms. He'd carried me from the car and I didn't want to be put down once we got inside. Eric didn't want to argue so he just sat with me while Theo got me checked in with the nurse at the front desk.

I got sick not long after getting to the hospital. The water I drank at the doctor's office came back up first. The rest was just a little bit of stomach bile mixed with some dry heaves. It was the worst feeling I'd ever experienced.

The waiting room wasn't overly busy. It was quiet, thankfully. People sat in random places, keeping some distance between one another. We'd found a seat by the windows, far away from the nurse's station. Eric wanted to find somewhere he could put his feet up so I would be more comfortable. Being in so much pain meant that nothing was comfortable. But not moving seemed to help keep the pain to just a light ache in my stomach.

After waiting about an hour, a nurse who stood in an open doorway in the far left corner called out my name.

"About time," Eric whispered to Theo.

Theo slapped his arm before standing up. He grabbed the diaper bag and slung it over one shoulder. He followed Eric as we approached the nurse who was waiting for us.

"We'll be in the third room on the left," She said. Her brown hair was tied back into a bun and she was wearing a pair of red scrubs.

The walls were painted a light blue. The harsh lighting made it look white. I squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn't have to see any of the other patients as we made our way to the room. I didn't want to see anything scary or gory. I already didn't like the thought of being at the hospital. I wasn't about to make it worse.

We entered the room and I opened my eyes when I felt Eric start to put me down.

There was a bed in the middle of the room that he was trying to lie me down on. A railing hugged the sides of the bed.

The whine I let out quickly turned into me crying. I reached out to Eric, hoping he would change his mind and pick me up again.

When he didn't, I started crying even harder.

"Jake, we can't hold you right now. The nurse is here to do a check-up so we can figure out why your stomach hurts," Theo said.

My crying didn't stop despite his efforts.

The nurse talked with Eric and Theo for a minute. I couldn't hear what they were saying past my cries.

I'd never felt so needy before. Sure, there were times when I wanted one of them or didn't want to be alone but this was different. I was scared and I needed them to comfort me.

"Jake," Theo called. When I didn't stop crying, he called my name again.

I opened my eyes just enough to see him standing at the side of the bed.

"I'll sit with you. Come here."

The nurse lowered the railing on that side and Theo sat down on the bed. He pulled me into his lap and held me similarly to how Eric had previously.

I hid my face in his chest, scared to death of what the nurse was about to do.

Theo rubbed my back, trying his best to calm me down. "Jake, it's okay. Breathe, baby. Just breathe."

My sobs turned into hiccup cries and while I was able to get some air in, I struggled to stop crying and just breathe.

The nurse frowned and said she would be right back before exiting the room.

Eric sighed as the door shut behind the nurse. "We're going to have to let Lydia know what's going on soon."

"Maybe we should wait and see what the doctor says."

"I can at least let her know that we're here with Jake."

"What if she wants to drive up here? I don't think we should worry her until we have more information."

"If we don't tell her, she'll be upset that we never said anything. Jake's her son, Theo."

Theo sighed. "You're right. It's hard making decisions for him when we aren't even his parents."

"We knew going into this that this would be our reality but it's much harder than I expected. It would be much easier to just... take care of him if he didn't need us so much."

Theo nodded. He picked up my binky from where it dangled at my chest and rubbed the nipple against my bottom lip.

I leaned forward and took the binky, finally calming down. I rubbed the back of my hand against my nose, clearing it of all the snot that had made its way out while I was crying.

Eric scrunched his face and grabbed the diaper bag. He pulled out the pack of wipes and grabbed a few. He shook his head as he cleaned off my hand and then my face. "I'll never understand why kids have to be so gross."

The door opened back up and this time, two nurses walked into the room. The nurse with the red scrubs walked around to the side of the bed where my back faced and messed with a pole in the corner of the room.

"I have an oxygen tube to hook Jacob up to. We're also going to start him on an IV to administer some pain medication to hopefully help him calm down and relax a little. It's not going to take away his pain but it will at least help him relax and maybe even sleep."

Theo nodded.

"Do you think Jake will be admitted?" Eric asked.

The nurse let out a breath. "It's hard to say but at this point, I believe he will be. We have some tests to run that will take some time. Until we get to the bottom of his pain, he'll need to stay here."

Eric looked at Theo. "I should call his Mom."