-Why Don't We Sickfics-

-Zach- Dehydration

The boys were always busy, always working and there were times when they got so caught up in work that their health flew off their priority list entirely, meaning they forgot to take care of themselves mentally or physically which eventually took a toll on them.
Of course they stopped at a point when they couldn't take anymore or when their bodies physically would not allow it - but it was, no doubt, unhealthy.
Tour wasn't easy either. Before their bodies got the time to settle in with the current timezone they would be flying or driving to another. They performed for hours on end, filmed endless interviews and still had to fit in studio time to make new music. In a nutshell - their life was the epitome of hectic.
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Before the beginning of this tour, Zach, had made up his mind to maintain his physical and mental health well and manage his time, giving him enough to fit in gym, family and rest along with tour. Well, it was only an intention as of now, because tour started in four days.
These were the last days he could spend with his family before departing, so that's exactly what he did. He went to DisneyLand with his younger siblings, dinner with all his family and relatives, to the trampoline park with his school friends, the zoo with Reese, and after three exhausting days he decided to join the other boys at the beach.
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The beach night was stupendous. They surfed the tides, took pictures, made sandcastles and much more. It was past midnight and they all headed home after having a blast, ready to set off for tour the next night.
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Zach had a whirlpool of thoughts clouding his mind. He felt a rush of emotions, both negative and positive and they kept him awake. He was stressed, nervous, excited, worried and grateful all at once. While he lay there thinking of what was to come in the future, his exhaustion took over him and he dozed off.
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He woke up early the next morning, still feeling tired- sleeping late & waking up early isn't the funnest and thus, he rolled over and slept again.
It was around six in the evening when his eyes finally cracked open again and he shot up again realizing he had yet to pack his last suitcase which he was unable to in the midst of his busy days.
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The time flew by as Zach paced in and out of his closet and bathroom, packing his bags and essentials. Finally he deemed his work fit and flopped onto his bed it already being midnight. He didn't bother changing or showering and barely took a deep breath before his eyes sealed themselves.
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Mind you, within these few days Zach had barely enough time to eat three meals let alone drink 10 glasses of water daily. He just drank when he had a chance and remembered to take a sip. He knew it was unhealthy, but what he didn't know was that his lack of water consumption would prove to be terrible...
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This was it. The day had arrived. Zach was needed at the company office at sharp 12.30 pm before they boarded the tour bus and set off for the American leg of the tour.
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Zach's excitement had evolved into nerves and culminated in him slightly overthinking, panicky and sweaty. To add fuel to the flames, he woke up dizzy, groggy and tired from the improper sleep the night before. Everything seemed to have started wrong and he knew that this was only the beginning.
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Zach forced himself up and got dressed in some casual pants and a T-shirt, not bothering to accessorize because he knew their day would be spent making themselves comfortable with a new bus and driving from LA to San Diego with a few stops en route.
His parents dropped him off, comforting him, praising him and then with one last tight squeeze, they left him with his trusted managers and bandmates.
Zach had managed to gobble up some pancakes that Myta had prepared for him, earlier and now sat down at the conference table feeling tense and jumpy yet tired.
" Yeah well what'd you expect ? To be energetic after 6 full days and such less sleep ? Pfft," Zach muttered sarcastically to himself.
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The meeting ended and they got onto their new "home" for the next few months- the new tour bus. They examined it thoroughly before sitting down to choose bunks. Zach ended up, on the last bunk on the ground; which he seemed satisfied with, being insanely amused by the idea of being next to Jack and having the free will to roll in and out of his new space.
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The rest of the tour bus was luxurious. Equipped with a larger bathroom than normal with a shower and full length mirror. The back lounge was spacious and comfy and the front loaded with a sound system, wifi, televions and a couple Xboxes. The kitchenette seemed quite pleasing too,  accoutred with a coffee maker, toaster, sandwich maker, smoothie maker and more. Their mini pantry was yet to be stocked up, and they were going to do that at the nearest Target, where they would soon pull up.
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Zach clambered into his bunk, sitting up and making it more homey. He added several more pillows and a fluffy blanket, led strip lights on the framework inside and stuck up a couple polaroids on the wall. Once satisfied, he decided to lay there till their stop arrived.
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Zach fell asleep again whilst scrolling through Instagram and his soft snores amused Jack as he walked in the "bunk alley" to get his wallet.
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" Someone's already comfortable" he chuckled before plunging on to Zach arousing him instantly.
" C'mon Zach ! We're going to
TTTTTTTTTargettt " Jack yelled out.
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Zach was disoriented and nodding his head, groggily got out after jack. Picking up his phone and wallet, they sped inside to join the others.
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He ended up purchasing Gatorades, bottles of vitamin water, and some snacks and candy. He also discovered a portable battery powered fan and could not resist the urge to buy it.
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He was exhausted already and by the time they got back to the bus, his head seemed to be making 360° flips and circles.
" I cannot be sick on the first day of tour " Zach grumbled, and chugged down an entire bottle of Gatorade as he thought.
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The rest of the night went smoothly, because his tiredness led to him sleeping like a log.
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Morning came by too soon. They still had a few hours before they pulled up at the hotel in San Diego and Jonah decided that it would be a good idea for them all to be at least a bit awake before they arrived, so he texted them all to get up.
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Zach did wake up to the "bing" on his phone, but, boy was he a wreck! His eyes were sunken, his face was pale and he felt so weak that he just fell backwards onto the mattress and stayed there. His heart seemed to be going at a million kilometres per minute and his head was doing cartwheels. Zach felt like he could collapse from the lightheadedness, so he stayed put in his bunk.
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They arrived and Zach stumbled out absentmindedly and followed them into their temporary rooms. He was rooming with Corbyn, who was rather chatty today and Zach, not matching his energy let out an occasional sound of agreement to whatever the other blabbered.
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Zach, having no energy to get up, was still incredibly thirsty and tired. His body ached, his throat was parched and he croaked out a plea for Corbyn to get him a drink, but the other had gone to shower.
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" I either die of thirst here or I die walking to the fridge," Zach debated and the frail boy hovered up and took a few quivering steps, heading slowly towards the fridge at the end of the room. His legs began trembling and the spinning of his head grew worse until his vision grew cloudy. Judging what was to come, he gripped onto the wall and picked up the room keys from the coffee table. He threw the bunch as hard as he could and with that, his energy levels dipped, black spots overtook his vision and Zach crumpled into a heap on the floor with a thump.
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Corbyn was just tossing his used towels into the hamper when he heard the falling of keys and then a thump. Curious to know what mischief Zach was upto now, he crept up slowly towards the corridor of the room. He did not expect to see zach, sprawled onto the floor unconscious and heavily breathing, with the room keys tossed on the floor a few feet away.
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Corbyn kept his calm. He picked up Zach laying him onto his respective bed. He called Jon and explained how he'd found Zach laying on the floor fainted and then briskly packed his phone, room key and a few other things into his fanny pack. Jon came into their room and immediately rushed to Zach's side.
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The boy was in bad shape : pale, lifeless with his sunken eyes and his mouth gaped slightly open : his lips parched and skin dry.
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" We need to get him to a hospital, his breathing is rapid and shallow. " Jon worriedly spoke, and quickly called their driver to bring their rental car.
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Corbyn assisted Jon in taking their, still unconscious, sickly bandmate to the nearest hospital which was 10 minutes away.
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In the waiting room, he called the other boys while Jon made arrangements for Zach to sit out of the shows for at least a few days so that he could heal.
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The management was furious, this being the first day of their tour. They did however, grant Zach his leave for a total of five days, where he could either stay in San diego, fly home to LA or accompany the boys and rest on the bus.
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The boys arrived to the ER with a worried Corbyn and Jon greeting them. They were all worried for the youngest. He was always the hype man, the goofball and for him to pass out for so long was frightening.
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Inside the room, the doctor took one look at the boy, measuring his vitals knew immediately what was wrong. Zach was suffering from severe dehydration, that could eventually lead to a seizure or death if not treated. He ordered multiple IVs of saline, plasma lyte, and other minerals. He also knew that this couldn't be fixed with just intravenous fluids so he also ordered bottles of oral rehydration solution for him to have when he woke up.
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The boys' wait was finally over as a doctor came into the waiting area calling out Zach's name. They all rushed towards the medical professional, eager to know how the boy was doing.
" Nice to meet you all, I will assume you are here for Mr Herron," he spoke kindly. " I was in charge of treating him today, and well I must say I'm glad he fainted and was brought in on time, otherwise his condition was close to escalating to really bad really quickly. With that being said, he is now out of danger and is stable. Mr.Herron was in fact , severely dehydrated which led to his body shutting down slowly. We are replenishing his body fluid content intravenously right now, but he is not expected to return to his normal state so soon. Since the dehydration had accumulated over, what i would assume, a few days or more, he is advised to stay here till tomorrow at least - so that we can continue treating him with IVs and oral rehydration. After that, I would recommend he stay out of tough, laborious works for another few days and maintain a heafty fluid and pedialyte intake. He will be fine very soon." he smiled seeing the look of relief wash over their faces.
" On a lighter note, he should be waking up anytime soon, you may visit him on the fifth floor room 988." the scrubbed doctor spoke before skaing their hands and walking away.
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The boys walked in to the white room, and Zach who was laying there with his eyes closed, sat up to see who it was.
He flushed at the sight of the boys who eyed him with small smiles.
"Okay, I'm sorry about this, and ruining tour but please don't kick me out of the band," he pleaded, sighing sadly.
" We would never kick you out of the band for being ill Zach, your health is a priority," Jack assured him, while the others nodded.
" Yeah so you'd better start treating it like one too. " Jonah told him, patting his blanketed feet.
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Just then a nurse popped in, bringing a small bottle of purple liquid, handing it to him to drink and stepped back out.
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" Can someone save me please. They keep making me have this drink every twenty minutes and it tastes gross," Zach grumbled, causing the others to burst into laughter.
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Zach recovered to his spirits faster than expected and was back on tour within five days. He had chosen to stay on the tour bus and the boys constantly made sure he was well hydrated.
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Zach himself, decided to keep a track of his water intake, not wanting to land himself into that situation again.
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The end !
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Author's Note
Thank you for reading, and being patient with me since i took so long to write this one. I just couldn't get the flow of words, hence why it took more than a week. I sincerely apologize for that, but it'll mean the world if you still comment/ vote here !
Requested by : Allison__2
thanks for the request, hope you like it love ❤
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Word count : 2300 words
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On a side note, please stay safe amid this coronavirus outbreak. Stay inside and maintain social distance as often as possible.
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Love y'all
~H