Halstead Sister

Fever Seizure

A/N: Hi guys! Just a little chapter. Please keep sending me requests! I enjoy writing this but am running low on ideas. Thanks for reading!

Jay POV (Tess 8 years old)
Tess was sick. The sickest she's been since she's been living with Will and me. She woke up 2 nights ago, vomiting. Fortunately for all of us, the vomiting only lasted a day. But since then, she's had an intermittent fever, complains of a sore throat, and is just generally unwell. Will had taken the day off yesterday to be with her and today was my turn. I was a little nervous. Sure, I've taken care of Tess when she's been sick, but not like this. Not alone.
"What do I do if she gets worse?" I asked Will as I watched him gather his keys and wallet.
"She'll be fine, Jay. You'll be fine. Call me if anything changes." He walked to the front door and I followed him.
"She's never been like this. I feel a little in over my head." I admitted. I didn't like admitting to Will that I was nervous but Tess came first and I wanted to make sure I'd be able to handle whatever the day had to bring.
Will softened, "Jay, you know how to take care of her. Give her the Motrin every 6 hours with food. Make sure she drinks. You've got this." He smiled.
He was right. Of course I've got this. "Yeah, yeah." I nodded. "Thanks, man"
Will smirked. "Don't stress too much. I'll check in on you two during the day." With that, Will left the apartment and I locked the door behind him. I slowly made my way back to my room where Tess was asleep under my comforter. Tess always preferred my bed to hers when she was sick. Content that she was still asleep, I went back into the kitchen to make some coffee. I sat in the living room and scrolled through social media while I sipped my coffee. I was about a quarter of the way done with my cup when Tess came in.
"Jay?" She asked, causing me to jump in surprise.
"Morning baby girl, how are you feeling?" I asked, putting my phone and mug on the coffee table. Tess shrugged and climbed onto the couch next to me. I brushed my hand over her forehead and was relieved that she wasn't overly hot. Even though she wasn't too hot, I still wanted to give her Motrin to prevent her from getting worse. "How about some breakfast?" I suggested. Tess nodded. It was a good sign she was hungry. "Does toast sound good?" Tess nodded. "Alright. You wait here and I'll get some toast." I left her on the couch and went into the kitchen. I popped the toast into the toaster. As I was waiting for it to finish, I heard Tess crying. I quickly ran into the living room. "What happened?" I panicked.
"I don't feel good" Tess cried. My heart broke. I hated seeing her so miserable with nothing I could do. "Jayyyy" she whined. She held her arms out and I picked her up.
"Shh" I soothed. "You're okay." I heard the toast finish and carried Tess into the kitchen.
"I have to pee first" she said as I put her down. She headed to the bathroom and I placed the toast on a plate and poured a glass of half apple juice and half water. I heard Tess leave the bathroom and then a thud. I turned around and saw Tess on the floor seizing.
"Shit shit shit" I muttered as I rushed to her side. I had no clue what to do. I took my phone out of my pocket and placed it on the ground beside me. I first called 911 for an ambulance. I then called Will.
"She up?" Will asked when he answered.
"She's having a seizure" I blurted out.
"Ok, deep breath, Jay" Will sounded nervous too but I guess less so than I sounded. "Did you call 911?"
"Yeah"
"Good. Stay with her. Put something under her head so she doesn't bang it on the floor. How long has she been seizing?" Will instructed.
I grabbed a dish towel and placed it under Tess's head. "Uh, 2 minutes. I think it's stopping." Tess's body stilled. She remained unconsciousness. "Yeah, she stopped. But she isn't awake. Is that normal?"
I heard Will sigh. I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. "Very." A good thing, then. "Roll her into her side and keep watching her until the ambulance arrives." Will directed. I did as I was told. There was a knock at the door.
"They're here. I'll see you soon." I hung up the phone and rushed to the front door to let in the medics.

Will POV
I hung up with Jay and stood frozen behind the desk. Tess had had three other febrile seizures in the past. One when she was 2 and was at a doctor's appointment for our mom. The other two happened shortly after her fourth birthday. Since she never had another one since then, doctors attributed the seizure activity to the fevers and said there was nothing to worry about. It had been 4 years since her last febrile seizure and 8 is too old to be considered a febrile seizure.
"Will?" Maggie asked. I looked at her. "You okay? You've been standing there a while."
I shook my head. "Tess is coming in. She's been sick and had a seizure."
Maggie looked surprised. "I'll get Natalie to be ready for her." She went off to find Nat and I went to the ambulance bay to wait.
A few short minutes later an ambulance pulled in. When they opened the back doors, I could see Tess lying on the cot, hooked up to the monitor. Jay was behind her. He made eye contact with me and I could see the terror on his face.
The medics unloaded her and started giving me report. "Not the doc for this one." I cut them off. "Brother." Jay hopped out and the two of us followed Tess inside. She was still sleeping. I half listened as they gave report to Natalie.
"Fever for 2 days... unwitnessed... seizure... 2 minutes... unknown prior history."
"She's had 3 febrile seizures. Last one was almost four years ago." I interjected.
I watched as they lifted Tess onto the bed and the nurses took over. Natalie began a neuro assessment. I glanced at my brother who was standing next to me. I could tell he was about to lose it. Knowing that there wasn't anything to do for Tess, I put my hand on Jay's shoulder and guided him out of the room.
"You okay man?" I asked.
Jay shook his head and ran his hand over his head. "That was the scariest thing I've ever seen." That was saying a lot given his military background. "She just was shaking and not responding. I was so helpless." I saw the tears in his eyes and pulled him in for a hug. He quickly pulled back. "And you told me she was going to be ok!" He half accused.
"Obviously I didn't predict this." I sighed. Natalie came out of the room. "How is she?" I asked.
Natalie gave me a sympathetic smile. "She's okay. She's just starting to wake up if you want to go see her." Jay and I didn't need to be told twice and quickly entered the room. April was standing beside Tess talking to her softly. When we walked in, April stepped to the side so we could get in.
"Hey Tiny T" I said as I went over to her. I gently stroked her head. When Tess laid eyes on me she started to cry. "Oh sweetheart." I sat down on the edge of the bed and hugged her.
"I'm scared" Tess clung to me.
"I know, baby. You're doing so good though." I reassured her. "Jay and I are here. You're okay." I glanced back at Jay who seemed a little unsure what to do. I tilted my head to tell him to come over.
"Yeah, T. We're right here" he sat on the other side of the bed. Tess pulled out of the hug and wiped her eyes.
"How do you feel?" I asked her.
She shrugged. "Mostly sleepy. And my head hurts. What happened?"
"You had something called a seizure. It's when your brain has so many thoughts and messages that it gets too busy and makes you sick." I tried to explain as simply as possible.
"I didn't like it," Tess wrinkled up her nose.
I stifled a chuckle. "Most people don't." I told her.
"Can we go home?" She asked.
"In a little bit. The doctors want to watch you to make sure that doesn't happen again and then we can go home." I said. Tess didn't seem pleased about it but didn't say anything else. Tess fell asleep and Jay and I sat in silence until Natalie returned.
"How is she?" Natalie whispered.
"Exhausted." I gestured toward my sleeping sister.
Natalie nodded. "She should be good to go. Just going to finish up some paperwork." She paused. "But Will, given her age and history..." Natalie trailed off. I knew where she was going anyway.
"Yeah I know. I'll keep an eye on her. I'll follow up with neuro if we have to." Natalie agreed and went to get the discharge paperwork.
"What was that about?" Jay asked once we were alone.
I sighed. "Tess is old to be having febrile seizures. But since she's had them in the past, it puts her at a higher risk for developing epilepsy." I explained. Jay's eyes widened in fear. "Look, it could've been a one time thing. It's not impossible for this to have been from the fever. We've just got to keep an eye on her, ok?"
"I trust you" Jay said, although I could tell he was still worried.
About a half hour later, we were heading home. Tess fell asleep again on the ride back. "You got her?" I asked Jay as he lifted Tess out of the car. Jay nodded and carried her to her room. After getting her to eat some soup, Jay and I tucked Tess into bed. Fortunately, her fever didn't go back up. After I took a shower, I stuck my head into Tess's room to check on her. I smiled when I saw Jay laying next to Tess and both of them fast asleep. "Goodnight guys" I whispered and I headed to my room to go to sleep.