the kennedy's daughter

cold

April 2, 1972

Easter

Hyannis Port

Jack jolted awake as he heard one of the children coughing and coughing. He had been listening to this cough almost all night and wondered which child it was. Hoping, praying, that it wasn't Kate.

But of course just as he laid his head back down on his pillow, Bobby burst into his room

"Jack, it's Kate!!" He said frantically running back out of his room, and into the children's room.

Jack quickly slipped his robe on, and ran down the hall. He ripped the door open to see Ethel holding Kate, who was covered in sweat, as she coughed harder and harder struggling to breathe.

"D-a-ddy, i-i can't breathe" she said struggling through her sentence.

A simple, small cold could knock Kate to the ground. Leaving her recovering for weeks, it was just how her immune system worked.

Luckily Jack prepared for this kind of thing when he and Jackie came to Hyannis. Quickly he tore open the closet in his old room, hoping and praying Jackie's equipment was still there. A sigh of relief took over as he saw her two extra tanks, an oxygen mask, and a couple more cannulas.

Once he returned he held his 8 year old daughter in his arms, as he attached the mask and hooked the tubing up he thought to himself,

'God, she's eight! just eight! she has her ENTIRE life ahead of her! you can't take her now, one little damn cold won't take her!, THAT JUST SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!, she has the big dreams of being like ME when she grows up! ME!, yea you heard that right ME!, oh please god, please I need her, don't take her, at least not yet'

After sitting in the kids room for a while, Jack decided to take her to his room. As he carried Kate and rolled the tank behind him, he meet his mother in the hall

"Jack! What on earth happened?!"

"Cold..." He said pretty bluntly before taking the turn into his room

He could still hear his mother outside his room

"Robert! Come here!" She said as Bobby walked out of the children's room

"What happened?"

"Kate has a cold, but her immune system sucks, she's down for a while" Bobby spoke tiredly walking past his mother and back into his room

Rose still didn't quite understand, but it didn't matter it was Easter, and she had mass in the morning, so she hurried back to her room where her husband was wide awake

"What was that all about?"

"I don't even know Joe, let's just go back to bed"

•

Jack placed Kate on the bed as he walked into the dreaded bathroom, where the stain was still on the white tile floor, to start Kate's bath. He figured A. It would make Kate feel not so "covered in sweat", and B. It might lower her fever.

He took her lightweight nightgown off, and carried her into the bathroom, she still had her mask on trying to breath. At this point she was pretty lethargic, and unresponsive to voices of anyone. Jack sat on the floor face to face with his daughter, holding her head up, and gave her a bath just like he did when she was an infant.

Afterwards he snuck back down to the kids room to grab Kate's bag.

"Uncle Jack?" He heard a small voice from the boys bunk beds

"Yes...... Christopher?" It took him a minute to realize which kid it was.

He was the closest in age to Kate, being 27 days older, and he and Kate where pretty close to each other.

"Will Kate be ok?" He asked innocently

"I-I.... I hope so Chris" he said hurrying out of the room

Jack quickly returned to his daughter, who of course hadn't moved a muscle since he left. He got her dressed and set her up in his bed next to him. After rounding the bed he climbed in and held his daughter as her chest moved slowly up and down.