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Chapter 13

       

"Hello?"

"Yes, Mr. Castle, this is Mrs. Anderson from Marlowe Prep"

"Ah, Mrs. Anderson, how can I help you today", Rick had been in a meeting at Black Pawn but after the third time his phone rang her figured he should probably answer. He was beginning to think he thought right.

"Well it seems your daughter has come down with a case of the flu, or so it seems", the secretary said rather cautiously. "She got sick during class and seems to be running a bit of a temperature."

"Ah, I see, and you need me to come down and pick her up"

The secretary sighed into the phone, "Yes Mr. Castle, when do you think you can be here?"

"I'll need to duck out of this meeting early so probably...", he paused to look at his watch, "30 to 40 minutes"

"Sounds good. Zoey seems to be ok for the moment. We'll be sure to call you if anything else comes up."

"Thank you", and with that he hung up the phone and made his way back into the conference room. Gina was not going to like this.

When Castle arrived at the school he immediately made his way to the front office. He entered the door and found a very somber looking Zoey sitting in one of the waiting chairs. She looked up at him and only then did he see the green in her face. 'This is going to be an interesting ride home', he thought.

"Hi, I'm Richard Castle here to pick up Zoey"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Castle. I just need you to sign here and then you are good to go. Since Zoey has a fever over 101, it is our school policy that she cannot return to school for 24 hours or she needs to have a doctors' note clearing her.

"Yes, I remember from when my oldest went here. Just expect that she'll take the 24 hours, thank you", he never quite understood the schools strict policies on certain subjects, but for something like this he understood.

"Oh, and here is her bag with her shoes". The secretary handed him a plastic shopping bag with Zoey's gym shoes in them, a foul smell emanating from the bag.

"Um...thank you?", Rick took the bag and turned to Zoey who had her head in her hand, leaning against the arm of the chair as she sat. "You ready to go home kiddo?"

Zoey simply nodded and slowly rose from her chair. The two walked side by side to Rick's car but before they could make it, Zoey darted off for a trash can. The poor thing emptied whatever was left in her stomach and then made her way over to the car.

"Do you think you'll make it home?", Rick asked, nothing but concern in his voice.

Zoey nodded, "Ya, I think that was the last of it for a while". She slid into the front seat, buckled her seat belt, and then leaned her head on the window. "But you should probably hurry just in case"

They made it back with only seconds to spare before Zoey ran out of the car barely making it behind a bush. When they finally made their way up to the loft, the girl flopped down on the couch, barley having the energy to pull a blanket down with her. Rick walked to the kitchen, grabbing the girl a Gatorade and then going off to find the Tylenol.

"Here", Rick handed the girl two pills and the drink, "This should help get your fever down. Make sure you drink some of this too, you need to stay hydrated as best you can"

"Thanks", Zoey spoke, her voice raspy from vomiting. "Is Kate going to be home soon?"

"I'll call her in a bit and let her know what's going on. I'm sure she'll be home sooner rather than later", Rick brushed the hair out of Zoey's face. "Try and get some rest sweet pea"