Serendipity ○ All 14

19. Sean

The last thing he expected was to be woken up by a panicking Lawson pounding on the door. He about had a heart attack when Lawson started shouting outside that something was wrong with Addie.

It was only six in the morning, for Christ's sake. What sort of trouble could she have gotten into?

He grabbed his medical bag just in case, Owen on his heels.

When everyone started piling out of their rooms, Owen barked at them to stay. They didn't know what they were walking into, and didn't want to overwhelm Addie.

As soon as they reached her door, Sean heard it. It sounded like she was hacking up a lung. Sean reached her bedroom doorway, panicking because of her trouble breathing. Her face was red and splotchy, tears welling in her eyes from the strain.

He could tell she was delirious from the lack of airflow, because her eyes didn't register their arrival.

Sean panicked, dread seeping in his bones. "She's not breathing, Owen!"

Owen placed a hand on his shoulder, cool as a cucumber but he could see the panic in his eyes as well. "Focus, Dr. Green."

While he hated titles, it was just what he needed at that moment. The title reminded him that he had the power to stop what was happening.

He looked over at Lawson, who was pale and shaking. "Does she have any allergies?" Lawson was unresponsive, too immersed in staring at Addie with a lost look in his eyes. "Lawson! I need you to focus. Does Addie have allergies?"

Addie wheezed and held her throat, looking seconds away from collapsing. Lawson jumped and cried out. "Yes! Yes, she's allergic to ragweed!"

"Owen, hand me an EpiPen." Owen dug through his medical bag and handed it over immediately.

Sean aimed for the middle on the side of her thigh. He injected it, providing instant results. Her breathing got easier, slowing down to a decent rate. Her eyes started to focus, but they drooped from exhaustion.

"Not yet, Addie," Sean scolded her as she started to drift off. He looked to Lawson. "Can you grab a glass of water? She needs to take a Benadryl."

Lawson scurried without having to be asked twice. The guy looked like he could topple over from stress. Owen passed Sean's bag over, which he dug through to find the pink pills.

He breathed out heavily and looked at Owen. "That was too close. I forgot what that type of panic felt like."

"You did fantastic for someone so out of practice." Owen leaned on the wall, never taking his eyes off of Addie who was fighting to keep her eyes open. "What would cause an allergic reaction to ragweed?"

Sean scratched the side of his head. "Something with lots of pollen. It would have to be airborne. We've seen her rolling around in the grass and flowers too many times for it to be anything else."

Lawson walked in with a glass of water and when Sean busied himself with getting Addie to take the pill, he addressed them both. "Would it have anything to do with the flowers Axel gave her a couple days ago?"

"Axel brought her flowers?" Sean asked intrigued, but shook it off. It was time to be a doctor, not a busybody. "Nevermind. But no. She would have shown a reaction much earlier."

"What else could it be, Sean?"

"I'm not quite sure," Sean said as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Addie was at our house all day yesterday, and from what I can tell, she came straight home."

Lawson cried out and pulled at his hair. "It came out of nowhere. She wasn't coughing or anything before she went to bed last night."

Sean smoothed out Addie's hair and adjusted her blanket. "Does she usually have attacks this severe?"