help.

prove them right

The day of was stressful among all parties, but as Kit was rolled away, out of everybody's sight, the make or break wait was on.

And as the 2 hour mark settled in, everybody was getting antsy. Jack paced as the two women sat next to each other, Jackie gripping Kit's comfort blankie and petting Clipper as he sat in his partner's family member's lap.

"I'm gonna go get some air." Jack stated bluntly looking at Jackie.

"Jack there's too many press people out there." Jackie looked to the window and to her husband as he huffed back.

"I'm going to the bathroom then." Quickly he paced away and down a hallway, not looking back.

"Hey Rosie." Jackie looked to her husband's sister, who was just glad they were still on talking terms after her little explosion the night before.

"I- I know Jack would never say this. But I really am sorry for, at least my behavior, last night. I really took what you said to heart, it's not about us, which is how we were acting, it's about our girl's happiness, her lively hood. We need to be worrying about her, not ourselves. Because now, I have no doubt that she will conquer no matter what, being independent, not changing if that happens to her." Rosie smiled and grabbed Jackie's hands.

"We can get her through this Jackie, if not Jack, me and you" Jackie wiped her tear as Clipper barked once, neither of them noticing as Jack walked back in from behind.

"And you too Clipper" Rosie pet the dog and smiled slightly, him getting her only smile she could summon up for the anxiety filled day.

"I decided to get lunch too" Jack came from nowhere dropping the food in front of both of the women.

"And I know, it looks disgusting, but both of you need to eat something." Jack rounded the area and came into view.

"I also got cookies..." He grinned as both women stretched out there hands for one, acting like they were actually going to eat hospital cafeteria food.

This was probably the only moment in the day when all three people had happy smiles on their faces.

But as 4 hours came up a nurse finally called Jackie and Jack back to recovery. Of course Rosemary hugged both of them, taking Clipper and whispering in Jackie's ear before they disappeared into the children's hospital.

She sat down and stared at the telephone on the wall, waiting and waiting for it to ring. But in some way, it seemed like Clipper did his job on the aunt instead of his partner, as Rosie just found complete comfort in the dog laying in her lap.

No wonder this dog had done wonders for her niece.

Meanwhile, the parents sat down with their daughter's doctor.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy, I'm very pleased with how Kathleen's surgery came out. Although there were some complications and the recovery will be a lot more interesting, I have great faith that your girl will pull out once again." He sat down across from the couple smiling.

"What, what kind of complications did you come to?" Jackie asked quietly, more concerned for her girl than happy. Unlike Jack who was all smiles knowing his daughter wasn't wheelchair bound.

"Well, unbeknownst to us, when we went in, it looked like Kathleen has pneumonia in both of her lungs, so during surgery, the anesthesia really missed with the infection and we had to deal with a collapsed lung. We have her in ICU with a chest tube in that will help it continue to support her until the infection clears." It sounded scary to both parents, but he seemed okay with it, so in a way, that was comforting.

"Can we see her?" Jack spoke up, now getting a little concerned, but not nearly as much as Jackie.

"She's still unconscious, and will be for a good while, but I can take you up to the ICU." Jackie nodded for the two of them and they followed the doctor.

And as they passed one after another child on a ventilator, the three stopped at a bay that was obviously marked "KENNEDY, K" but the name and the kid didn't match.

"We wanna keep the tube just until she can show us that she can breath on her own again, it's just precautionary. We're sure it will come out soon" He fiddled with some other things and left the couple together.

"Oh Kit." Jackie pulled up one of the side chairs and let down a railing to hold her baby's face in one of her hands.

It bothered Jackie that her head was all the way down, that wasn't how Kit slept. She couldn't sleep without her nest of pillows, 6-7 at the least, and now she was looking at her "girl" laying completely flat, not moving, not even breathing on her own. Not to mention she NEVER slept without Clipper anymore and now, he wasn't anywhere near her, like he was usually.

She couldn't help but drift her fingers to her daughter's chest tube, tracing the tube all the way to were it entered under her blanket, which reminded her.

"I have blankie and Auntie Rosie & Clipper are in the waiting room, they're just waiting to see how strong you are Kit, you wanna prove that to them right?"

hey hey y'all! just a little check in!
i hope all is well with everybody! there are lots of personal references in this story, favorite foods, family members names, and of course, my "blankie"! do any or you still have your comfort item??
-𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚢