Beauty where there's pain

Chapter 21

Marley kept Jade up all through the night with her nonstop fussing. The four month old was running a low grade fever and would not calm down. She and Marcus decided not to switch off that day, instead Marcus went over to Jade's house with his mom to help with her.

Marcus held his daughter and tried to calm her fussing while Jade took a quick nap. His mom was with Jade's mom in the kitchen preparing Marley's next dose of medicine while discussing making Marley a doctors appointment. Marley wouldn't stop crying and her fever was slowly but surely rising. Jade's mom came into the living room and gave Marcus the syringe with Marley's medicine. He gave it to her slowly and made sure she didn't spit it back out.

Marley finally ended up falling asleep after taking her medicine. Marcus placed Marley down in the center of her bassinet and watched over her for a while.

Jade woke up from her nap and met up with Marcus in her living room. "Finally got her down, huh?" Jade asked Marcus. "Yup. She took her motrin and passed out." Marcus told her. "How long ago was that?" She asked him. "About an hour." He told her. "I'd better feed her." Jade said while walking to Marley's bassinet. When she touched her daughters head, she felt extreme warmth and immediately went to grab her thermometer. "What's wrong?" Marcus asked Jade as he saw her grab the thermometer. "She's like, burning hot to the touch." Jade said while she got her daughter ready to have her temperature checked. Marley started stirring awake and fussing as her temperature was being taken. "Mom, what was her last temperature?" Jade asked her mom. "It was right under 101 degrees honey. Why? What's up?" She asked Jade. "Marley's burning up." Jade responded. Her mom and Ellen both came into the living room quickly to see what was going on. The thermometer beeped as Marley began to cry again. Jade checked the temperature and her heart dropped. "What's wrong?" Marcus asked while trying to look at the thermometer. "We need to get to the hospital, now." Jade told him while lifting their daughter up and taking her to get changed.

Marcus followed Jade to the nursery and packed Marley's diaper bag with extra outfits, diapers, and blankets. Marcus, Jade, and Marley all rode in Jade's car to the hospital while Ellen and June followed behind them. When they got to the children's ER, they were taken to a room immediately. After learning how much medicine Marley took, a nurse immediately got Marley started on an IV to help reduce her fever. Jade held Marley and rubbed her back until she fell asleep in her arms. Marcus FaceTime'd Max and his dad and filled them in on what was going on and had to convince them to not come to the hospital. "If my granddaughter's fever goes up by even a fraction of one degree, me and Max are coming to the hospital. End of discussion." Clint signed to Marcus. "I'll keep you updated." Marcus responded before hanging up the phone.

Marley slept for a while but got agitated pretty easily. She didn't like being held in one position for too long, but she also absolutely hated being put down. A few doctors and nurses came in and out of the hospital room and took samples for every test imaginable. Marcus started to freak out a bit after seeing all of the doctors because it dawned on his that something could be seriously wrong with his daughter. The thought of her every getting sick like his best friend made him nauseous.

Marcus held Marley and walked around the room with her after the fluid in the IV was finished draining. She was much calmer when someone was moving with her.   She felt much cooler and she wasn't as antsy as she was earlier in the day.

A doctor came into the room and told Marcus and Jade that Marley was sick with a bad cold and would heal soon with fluids and rest. He also told them that they wanted to keep Marley in the hospital for observation until she was deemed well enough to leave.

Marcus decided that if his daughter was going to be trapped in a hospital for a while, he was going to make sure she was comfortable. He took out one of the many receiving blankets he packed and covered the hospital's crib mattress with it. He took her rattling car toy out of her bag and attached it to one of the crib bars, where she could easily reach it.

Jade just wanted to take her daughter home. She hated being in the hospital with Marley because she hated seeing Marley feel miserable. The baby was extremely lethargic and antsy. Jade just wanted to make Marley feel comfortable, and she could only do so much in the stuffy hospital.

Eventually, visiting hours ended. The nurse told them that they couldn't have more that 2 people in the room with Marley over night, and Jade and Marcus couldn't stay together because they were minors. Marcus told Jade to let him take over because she'd been up all night the night before with her. Jade hesitantly accepted his offer and left with her mom.

Marcus and Ellen did not sleep that night. Marcus constantly felt Marley's forehead and Ellen closely observed the machine that monitored her vitals for any sudden changes. At 8 in the morning, a doctor came into Marley's room. "I have some good news. Marley's temperature has dropped below 100, and she seems to be doing a bit better. I'm going to discharge her now. Make sure that for the next few days you keep a close eye on her temperature and give her Tylenol if necessary." She told them. Marcus was extremely relieved at the news. He and Ellen thanked the doctor before quickly getting Marley packed up.

Jade agreed to meet Marcus at his house after Marley got out of the hospital. Max washed her hands before picking Marley up. She held her while Marcus was able to take a shower. While Max and Marley were downstairs alone, there was a knock on the door. Max held Marley in her arms as she went to answer the door. "That's probably your mommy pretty girl." Max coo'd to Marley as she walked with her. Marley smiled and put her fist in her mouth. Max answered the door expecting to see Jade, but her heart dropped to her stomach when she opened the door and saw the same person who almost ended Marley's life before she was even born.

Max was speechless, but after a few seconds she cleared her throat and asked, "Ginny? What the fuck are you doing here?"