Danny has been home for a few weeks now. The two of you began to settle into a routine, which included him babysitting Y/D/N whenever possible. Danny was the one to propose the idea, and you immediately objected. You didn't want him to be tied down with a baby if he didn't have to be. But Danny insisted, and he even said he would do it for free. Again, you objected. If he was going to watch Y/D/N five days a week, you at least wanted to pay him. After much back and forth, you finally gave in.
On the days where you had work Danny would spend the night at your place. He said it would be easier than packing up all of your daughters' stuff and hauling it over to his house. You had to admit it was nice to have someone else help out with Y/D/N in the morning. It saved you from rushing into work late every day.
Work was usually slow, and Danny would take that opportunity to call you and send pictures of him and your daughter. So, you didn't think anything of it when your phone rang in the middle of your shift one day. You smiled as you saw Danny's name and you answered the call.
"Hey, Danny. I actually can't talk today. The owner is here and - "you didn't even get to finish your sentence before you were cut off by a frantic Danny.
"Y/N, listen. I'm taking Y/D/N to the emergency room. I need you to meet me there." The minute you heard those words, your heart fell into your stomach. Your daughter had been sick for a few days now, and you were giving her over the counter medicine. You told yourself if she wasn't better by tomorrow morning that you would call her doctor, but you figured she must have gotten worse during the day.
"I know. That's where we're going. To meet mommy." You could hear Danny try and comfort your daughter as he drove. "She keeps asking for you, Y/N."
"I'm leaving now. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. I'll meet you in the waiting room." You explained and hung up.
"Ronnie." You yelled over to the owner of the small record store. He picked his head up and looked in your direction. "I have to go. Y/D/N is sick. Danny's on his way to the Emergency room with her right now." You threw your purse over your shoulder as you spoke.
"Go," Ronnie answered. "I got everything covered here. I hope she's okay, Y/N."
You couldn't get yourself to move fast enough. You barely yelled out a goodbye to Ronnie as you raced out the door and across the parking lot to your car. The normally fast drive to the hospital ended up being slow and full of traffic. You mentally cursed the fact that summer vacation had started for all the local schools.
Eventually, you pulled into the parking lot, not even caring if you were between the lines in your parking spot. Your eyes scanned the waiting room as you entered and panic set in when you noticed Danny and your daughter were nowhere to be found. In an attempt to get some answers, you walked over to the front desk.
"Hi, I'm Y/F/N Y/L/N. I'm looking for my daughter, Y/D/N. She was brought in about a half-hour ago by my boyfriend, Daniel Wagner." You could feel your heart beating out of your chest as the receptionist slowly typed away at her computer.
"Ah, yes, Mrs. Y/L/N, your daughter was called back 10 minutes ago. I'll have a nurse escort you back to her room." The woman explained.
You nodded your head in response and made your way over to the doors. There you were greeted by a nurse who guided you down the hallway.
"Here we are. Another nurse will be in shortly to evaluate her." The nurse spoke before making her way back down the same hallway.
You entered the room to see Danny sitting on the white hospital bed, holding your daughter. She was still in the same pair of pajamas from this morning, but she didn't look the same. She looked paler and more tired. She barely even registered that you walked into the room. You sat on the bed across from Danny and took your daughter's hand in your own.
"Hey, it's okay, baby girl. Mama's here now." You tried to comfort the little girl. She pulled her tiny hand out of your grasp and buried her head in Danny's chest as small cries escaped her mouth.
"What happened after I left for work?" You turned your attention back to Danny.
"The day started off normal. Well, as normal as she's been the last few days." He began explaining. "I put her down for a nap and took the baby monitor out to the kitchen with me. She was only down for maybe fifteen minutes when I heard coughing over the monitor. When I went in to check on her, and she was completely pale. I picked her up in an attempt to calm her down, and the poor girl was shaking. So I panicked and brought her here. I'm sorry. I know how expensive ER visits are."
"No, it's okay. It's probably better that you brought her here. Did you get her to eat anything today? You questioned.
"No. She wouldn't touch food, and she spit up the small amount of water she did drink." Danny rubbed circles on the little girls back, and it was then that you noticed the hospital band on his arm.
"They gave you a bracelet too?" You gently inspected the white band on your boyfriends' arm. On it was Danny's name along with your daughters. Under both of their names was her date of birth.
"Yeah. They said it's so they know who I'm here for. The nurse said it has something to do with pediatric laws. I don't quite understand. He looked down at Y/D/N, avoiding eye contact with you. "Actually, I was too panicked to even listen to what she was saying."
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a nurse came in wheeling a computer.
"Sorry for the wait. My name's Anna. First, can I have the patient's full name and birthday." She asked from behind the computer screen.
You gave the nurse your daughter's name and birthday, watching as she furiously typed away on her keyboard.
"Okay, so what brings you here today?"
"Well, Y/D/N has been sick for the past week. We just assumed it was a cold, so we were giving her over the counter medicine. If she wasn't starting to feel better by tomorrow, I was going to call her pediatrician, but then Danny called me at work and said he was bringing her here." You explained.
The nurse typed away for a minute before asking a follow-up question. "What happened today that made you decide to bring her in?"
Danny told the nurse the exact same story he told you earlier. He explained about the coughing and how she refused to eat anything. You watched the nurse take notes of everything Danny was telling her. Once she was finished typing, she made her way over to the bed and knelt next to your daughter.
"I'm going to start by doing a routine examination. I'll listen to her breathing, check her blood pressure, check her temperature." You sat quietly, watching as the nurse did everything while Danny continued to hold your daughter. After she was finished, she made her way back to the computer, typing as she explained everything to you.
"It looks like your daughter has a severe case of the flu. She has a temperature of 102, and she's dehydrated. Her lungs are also a bit congested. I'd like to start her on a medication that should break her fever and help clear her lungs. Then I'll be starting an IV to get some fluids in her."
You nodded along to everything the nurse told you. Once she was done explaining everything, you looked over at your daughter and Danny. You watched as she turned her head and coughed into Danny's chest.
"When will we be able to leave?" You asked, never once removing your eyes from your little girl.
"If all goes well, once her fever starts to go down and she's rehydrated. Hopefully, that's only a few hours from now." At this point, you'd stay the whole night if it meant your daughter was better.
"I'll be back with everything, and we can get started." The nurse left the room, and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding in.
"At least it's nothing serious." Danny rubbed his hand up and down Y/D/N's back. "I mean, I know the flu is bad, especially in kids as young as Y/D/N. But it could have been worse."
Danny was right. There was no sense in panicking anymore. In a few hours, the three of you will be home, and everything will be back to the way it always is. The only bad part was that you left work four hours early, and that meant four hours of lost pay. It might not seem like much, but when you have an almost two-year-old, the $45 you forfeited makes a difference.
"I'm sure Ronnie will let you make up the hours or stay late one day." Danny reached out and took your hand as he spoke. It amazed you how he always seemed to know what you were thinking.
There was a knock on the door which pulled your attention away from the conversation. The nurse entered wheeling a cart with various medical supplies on it.
"Okay, if you want to keep holding her." The nurse pointed at Danny. "And you can try to distract her. Then I'll be able to insert the IV."
You tried your best to distract your daughter, but it broke your heart when her tiny screams filled the room as the needle was inserted. You looked up at Danny, and he looked like he wanted to cry. Over the year, you had gotten used to seeing your daughter poked with various needles. It wasn't easy to watch, but you knew it wouldn't last long. The nurse taped down the needle before speaking.
"We're all set here. I'll be back to check on her. In the meantime, if she starts pulling at the IV, don't hesitate to push the button on the side of the bed. That calls the front desk and I'll come in to check on everything." You watched as she left the room again, and this time it was Danny that let out a sigh.
"It didn't sound too bad when the nurse was explaining everything, but it broke my heart to hear Y/D/N scream like that." Danny placed a small kiss on the top of your daughter's head.
"I've seen it done numerous times at the doctors when she gets her shots, but it never gets any easier." You told him.
The nurse was right. A half an hour later, you were able to see the color come back to Y/D/N's face. She settled down a bit and Danny even got her to laugh a little. After another fifteen minutes, the nurse returned to re-evaluate Y/D/N.
"Just by looking at her, I can see she has more color than when you brought her in." She took your daughter's temperature and typed it into the computer. "Her temperature has lowered to 100 now. I'd say once this IV bag is finished, you'll be free to go. I'm writing you a prescription antibiotic to give her. This should help clear the remainder of her lungs and continue to lower her temperature." She ripped off a piece of paper and handed it to you. "I'll be back in later to remove the IV and fill out the discharge papers."
Once again, the nurse left the room. You took Danny's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you for everything, especially bringing her here."
"it's no problem. I love Y/D/N just as much as I love you." Danny smiled.
You looked down at your daughter and noticed her eyelids growing heavy. She squirmed a bit, resting her head in the crook of Danny's elbow before falling asleep. You let go of Danny's hand and stood up, making your way to the other side of the bed. You crawled on next to Danny and rested your head on his shoulder. The two of you just sat there listening to each other's breathing and watching Y/D/N sleep.
You weren't quite sure how much time had passed, but eventually, the door opened, and for the final time, the nurse entered the room. "Okay, who's ready to go home?"