AN! This has been highly requested and long awaited! I hope you all enjoy!
Gracies POV (5 Years Old)
It was Saturday night and the whole of the intelligence team had come round for some Chinese food.
"Food's here" Adam announced as a knock on the door echoed throughout the apartment,
"Really? How'd you figure that one out?" Kevin asked jokingly as Adam and Jay left to get the food and returned a few seconds later with bags of takeout.
"Ok, grab what's yours" Hailey said as she helped unpack the bags,
"You sit down Gracie and I'll bring you your food" Jay said and I walked back over to the sofa and sat down.
"Do you wanna try some of my chicken Gracie?" I heard Kim ask as she piled some food on to her plate.
"No thank you" I said as I wrinkled my nose in slight disgust.
"She won't eat anything that's not sweet and sour chicken and noodles" Jay said as he walked over to me and handed me a plate,
"Thank you" I said as I took it from him and rested it on my knee.
Everyone walked back over with their food and tucked in and I soon found that my chicken, along with most of my noodles, had been eaten.
"Jay, can I have some more please?" I asked my brother who was still eating his own food.
"Just wait until I've finished this and I'll get you some more" he replied making me groan,
"But I'm still hungry now" I replied making him look over at me from where he was sitting on the floor.
"The chicken is on the table Gracie, you can reach it yourself and if you don't want to then you'll have to wait" he said simply.
"Ok" I caved with a sigh. I took my plate and carried it over to the table where multiple boxes where half full across the surface. I picked up the first box and looked inside to see chicken. I sighed once again as I examined the contents of the box. It looks like my chicken. With a little shrug I carefully scooped some out and put it on to my plate along with some more noodles.
"See, wasn't so hard now was it?" Jay asked as I sat back down on the sofa. I frowned slightly in a form of silent reply. I ate most of my noodles before going to eat some chicken. I could tell by the first bite that it wasn't my chicken. But it tasted good. I've definitely never had it before. I ate a couple of pieces and went to bite in to a third when my throat began to feel itchy. I cleared my throat in an attempt to get rid of the itch. When that didn't work I began to cough like I've never coughed before.
"You ok kiddo?" Kevin asked as I brought my hand up to my throat and my eyes began to widen in panic.
"Gracie, what's the matter?" Jay frowned before he stood up and ran over to me, crouching down to my height "are you choking?" He asked as I began to gasp for air and shook my head erratically.
"Jay we need to get her to hospital" Hailey said and Jay nodded. He picked me up and carried me out of the apartment and down to his truck. He climbed in to the back with me and Adam jumped in to the drivers seat. I could feel my vision becoming blurry from tears as I continued to gasp for air.
"It's ok baby" Jay tried to soothe as he held me close to his chest and I grabbed on to his arm in terror "everything's gonna be ok. I've got you" he assured as my eyes grew heavy and black dots covered my vision "stay with me Gracie. Keep your eyes open" he urged "I just need you to hang on a little longer and the doctors can make you feel better" he promised as my eyes finally fell closed and blackness overtook me.
Jays POV
"Gracie" I panicked as I watched her eyes fall closed "c'mon you can't do this to me. Open your eyes baby girl" I pleaded. But her eyes remained closed. "We need to get here there Ruzek" I practically shouted.
"Ok ok" he said as he pulled up in front of the ED "we're here" he told me. I wasted no time in jumping out of the truck and carrying Gracie in to the ED.
"CAN I GET SOME HELP?" I shouted, immediately catching the attention of multiple doctors.
"Trauma three" Maggie directed "Dr Rhodes" she shouted over to Conor,
"What's happened to her?" Conor asked me once I had set Gracies limp body down on to the bed,
"I have no idea" I admitted "she was just eating and the next minute she couldn't breath" I explained the best I could.
"Ok, sounds like she's in anaphylactic shock" Conor spoke to the nurses "let's get an IV attached and an oxygen mask on her" he instructed "what was she eating?" He asked me,
"Sweet and sour chicken and noodles, but she's had that tons of times" I explained,
"Any existing allergies that you know of?" He asked and I shook my head.
"Is she gonna be ok?" I asked concerned,
"We'll do all we can" Conor assured me,
"Jay, why don't you wait outside and let the doctors do their work" Maggie suggested as she ushered me out of the room. I didn't have much time to protest before I saw Will leaving one of the other treatment rooms.
"Jay?" Will asked and instantly frowned when he saw the look on my face "where's Gracie?" He questioned as he deserted his iPad on the nurses station and walked straight over to me.
"Gracie...she..." I swallowed down a sob "she couldn't breath Will, she was turning blue and then...and then she just closed her eyes. I tried to stop her and keep her awake. But she closed her eyes." I explained as a sob shook through my entire body.
Will walked straight past me and in to the trauma room where Gracie was being treated and returned a few minutes later.
"Anaphylaxis" Will stated in shock "she's not allergic to anything" he commented "it must've been something she ate" he stated,
"She was eating sweet and sour chicken Will, she's had that hundreds of times" I replied as I ran a hand through my hair. Just then my phone rang and Haileys name flashed across the screen.
"Hey" I answered distractedly,
"Hey how is she?" She questioned in concern,
"She went in to anaphylactic shock" I told her "they said it's something that she's eaten but she's eaten that food tons of times" I said as I continued to rack my brain for possible explanations.
"About that. Jay. We checked her plate after we figured it was an allergic reaction" she told me making me frown,
"And?" I asked, hoping to find the answer.
"When she went to get her own food she accidentally put Adams peanut chicken on her plate" she told me and my face dropped,
"What?" Will asked with a frown as he saw my expression,
"Gracie had Adams peanut chicken on her plate" I told him. He paused for a second to process the information I had just told him before walking back in to the treatment room to tell Conor "thanks Hailey, I'll call you when I've got more news" I said before hanging up the phone.
Twenty minutes later
"Ok boys, you can go see your sister" Maggie said as she walked in to the waiting room and led us back over to the treatment room where Gracie was. I walked in first and the sight I saw on the bed nearly broke my heart. Gracie lay lifeless with an oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth. She had wires and tubes sticking out of her, all attached to different machines and fluids.
"So I'm fairly certain that Gracies condition was caused by the peanuts in the food but I've ordered some bloods to confirm this to be sure" Conor began to explain "the good news is that she's gonna be ok" he assured "we'll keep her on the oxygen for a little while along with some steroids to help all of the swelling in her throat to go down" he told us,
"Thanks Conor" Will said as he patted the surgeon on the shoulder as he left.
Gracies POV
A loud ringing filled my ears and the sound of machines beeping and people talking increased in volume. I forced my eyes to flicker open and I saw both of my brothers looking down at me,
"There're those beautiful eyes" Will smiled. Tears instantly sprung to my eyes and I brought my shaking hand up to try and remove whatever was covering my face.
"Hey hey hey" Jay said gently as he took my hand in his and moved it away form my face "it's ok Gracie" he assured "it's helping you to breath" he told me as he brushed my hair soothingly.
"Hey Gracie" Conor said as he walked in, shortly followed by Will who had obviously gone to fetch him "you gave us all a bit of a scare there" he said as he raised my bed slightly so I was sitting up. "Can I have a listen to your chest?" He asked and I nodded weakly. "Big deep breath in and out" he instructed and did as I was told "and again" he said and I repeated the action. "Well, it's definitely sounding a lot better than before" he told me "now I'm gonna take the mask off and if you start to feel like you can't breath, I need you to tell me. Do you think you can do that?" He asked and I gave another weak nod.
He carefully tipped my head forward slightly so he could move the strap and gradually moved the mask away from my face. He observed me for a few seconds before asking "does it feel ok?" and I nodded. Licking my lips that where dry as a bone.
"Are you thirsty?" Will asked me and I nodded quickly making him smile. He opened up a bottle of water before handing it to me and brining it to my lips. I took a few small sips before pushing it away.
"How do you feel?" Conor asked me,
"My throat hurts" I said in an extremely croaky voice,
"That's completely normal" he assured "it should get better within a few hours" he explained "I'm gonna let Gracie finish this bag of fluids then I'll come by to check on her" he told my brothers before leaving once again. That was when the tears began to fall.
"Oh sweetheart" Jay sighed "it's ok" he soothed as he held me close to him and allowed me to cry in to his chest as Will stroked my hand soothingly,
"I don't feel good" I sobbed,
"I know you don't" he replied,
"You'll feel better soon Gracie I promise" Will said.
"That was scary" I said with a sniffle,
"Your telling me" Jay joked lightly "you scared the hell out of me" he added making me smile weakly.
"M'tired" I said as Jay stood up off my bed and Will took his place next to me,
"Why don't you close your eyes for a little bit?" Will suggested,
"What if something bad happens again?" I asked nervously,
"We're not leaving your side Gracie" Will replied "I promise you" he added as he kissed the top of my head "everything's gonna be ok" he comforted as I once again let my eyelids fall closed.
Jays POV
"It's my fault" I said blankly once I was sure Gracie had fallen asleep,
"What do you mean?" Will asked confused,
"She told me she wanted more food and I told her to go get it herself" I explained "if I'd of just got it for her this would never have happened" I stated.
"Jay" Will sighed "this is not your fault" he told me.
"She nearly died Will" I replied with a shake of my head.
"This was gonna happen eventually wether it was from something you gave her or I gave her" he said "let's just be grateful that it happened when she was surrounded by people who could help her" he said to me,
"I guess you're right" I sighed,
"Usually am" Will joked with a smirk,
"Shut up."
Gracies POV
I woke up from my nap and as if on cue Conor walked back in to the room,
"Hey kiddo" he smiled "how're you feeling?" He asked as he stopped by my bed.
"Better" I admitted.
"That's good" he smiled "so I got the results from the bloods we took from you and it confirmed that you are in fact allergic to peanuts" he confirmed,
"But I didn't eat any peanuts?" I frowned,
"The chicken you where eating was Adams" Jay told me "it was peanut chicken" he added,
"So that's why I got poorly?" I asked and everybody nodded "will it happen again?" I asked with a concerned frown.
"Hopefully not" Conor spoke "we're gonna send you home with something called an epipen" he began "and it's really important that you take it where ever you go. You need to do your best to stay away from any food that may have peanuts in it and in case it does happen again, the pi pen will make sure that it isn't as serious" he explained "do you understand?" He asked,
"Uh huh" I nodded "so I can go home now?" I asked making him smile once again.
"Not quite" he denied "even though you seem to be through the worst of it I'd like you to stay for a little while just to make sure it stays that way" he explained,
"Ok" I agreed as he reached forward and ruffled my hair.
Four Hours Later
After a few more hours Conor was happy that I had returned to my normal health and was happy to send me home. Especially seen as though Will would be coming home with me.
"I'm tired" I stated as Will carried me out of the ED where we where gonna meet Jay in his truck,
"I'm not surprised, it's way past your bedtime" he replied.
"What time is it?" I asked curiously,
"It's nearly 1am" he told me and my eyes widened,
"How many minutes is that past my bedtime?" I asked with a calculating frown.
"About six hours" he told me. Just then Jay pulled up in his truck and Will clipped me in to my car seat.
The next morning I woke up in Wills bed on my own. Huh. I guess I must've fallen asleep in the car on the way home.
"Will?" I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. A few seconds later Will walked in to his room.
"Good morning sunshine" he greeted as he walked dover to his bread "how're you feeling?" He asked as he brushed some of my hair away from my face,
"Ok" I shrugged "just a little sad still" I admitted.
"Sad? Why're you sad?" He asked,
"Just because it was super scary yesterday" I admitted as Will gave me a sad smile.
"I bet it was" he nodded "but you're all better now" he reminded "and you where very brave" he added.
"Where's Jay?" I asked as I sat up in the bed,
"He went out to grab us all some breakfast" he told me "do you wanna go wait for him on the sofa?" He asked and I nodded,
"Can I stay in my jammies today?" I asked making Will smile,
"Just for today" he allowed as I jumped up on to the sofa.
Jay eventually returned home with breakfast for everyone, chocolate chip pancakes for me! We spent the day in our comfy clothes and never really moved off of the sofa. After dinner there was a knock at the front door and Adam, Kevin, Hailey Kim, Voight and Trudy all walked in! They brought me a teddy bear and a massive gift bag full of bags of candy!