“She’s sleeping a lot more, has a low grade fever, taking longer to drink, just things like that.”
He tapped his screen and frowned down at whatever he was reading. “Get her bag, we need to take her to the doctor.”
“I think it might just be a…”
But would he listen? No. And once Dave found out what was going on, he insisted on escorting us the whole way, too.________________
Forty minutes later…“Are you sure it’s not meningitis,” Ellis asked the doctor, again.
“I’m sure. It’s just a cold, Mr. Beauregard,” the doctor repeated, again.
It bears mentioning again, seeing as how this was the fourth time we’d gone over this.
“Strep?”
“I’m sure.”
“Tonsillitis?”
“Her tonsils are normal, but her throat is red.”
“So, you’re saying it could be tonsillitis?”
“No, I’m saying her throat is red.”
“Ear infection?”
“Her ears looked normal when we checked.”
Yes, we. This was the second opinion because he thought that the first doctor hadn’t spent enough time looking her over.
Still refusing to accept what was being said, Ellis persisted, “But she has a fever!”
“That’s normal. Even adults get slight fevers when they have a virus or a cold.”
“What about dehydration? Does she need an IV?”
Deciding that the only way to stop this, I lifted Liv up, and started walking toward the door. “Thank you for seeing her, and the other doctor, too,” I added, glaring at Ellis who was watching what I was doing with a frown on his face. “I’ll follow the advice you both gave us, and if anything changes, we’ll call you.”
“Nice meeting you, Miss. Harrison.” She had the good grace to give me a smile, too, which I wouldn’t have done in her shoes.
Walking slowly over to where I was standing next to the door, he took the diaper bag off my shoulder and carefully lifted Liv out of my arms, holding her close to his chest. “Say goodbye to the nice doctor, Ellis.”
“Thanks, Doc,” he mumbled.
All it took was a nudge on his shoulder to get him moving to where Dave and Tabby were waiting – Dave in a similar state to Ellis – while Tabby sat sipping a coffee and reading something on her phone. What was it with these men?
Seeing us coming, Dave stopped pacing and looked worriedly at Liv. “Is she okay? What are they going to do?”
“She has a virus or just the common cold,” I sighed, then smiled when I saw that Liv was waving at her uncle. “Mr. Scaredy-pants here had them check her over twice, and by two different doctors. She just needs Tylenol and a bunch of Kleenexes like every other person who gets it.”
Tabby snorted and rolled her eyes, slowly getting up from her seat. “Can we go?”
Nodding, I walked toward the exit and where the cars were parked. The storm had left a trail of destruction behind it, as they tend to do, with broken windows, dents in cars, trash everywhere, garbage cans found blocks away, and for some reason there was a family of ducks now living in a puddle near the hospital that we’d passed on our way in. As we walked out of the doors, I looked at my watch and realized it was almost time for Liv’s dinner. With Tabby needing me earlier, the hospital visit, and the drama that followed, I hadn’t made anything for her to eat when we got home. “Hey, are you guys hungry? Liv’s coming up for her dinner, so I was thinking about the diner.”
Reaching over and putting his hand on Liv’s forehead to check how hot she was, Dave looked at Ellis first, then at me, before looking back at his friend. “Is she allowed to eat?”
Ignoring that he was asking his friend, Tabby leaned over and grabbed his hand, tugging him to his cruiser. “She needs to eat, it’s absolutely vital she gets vitamins and the strength to fight the bug off.”
Apparently, that was all the big men needed to hear, because they walked us quickly to the vehicles, buckled us all in, and then we were on our way to the diner, with Liv making her hangry growls in the backseat.Chapter 9Ellis
I couldn’t switch my worry off about Liv not being well. I hadn’t been around sick babies before, but I knew from my sister Rose that they could go downhill quickly, so asking for a second opinion hadn’t been all that unreasonable. And now we were at the diner, but there were people around who could be carrying all sorts of bugs and bacteria on them… this didn’t put me in a good place, not with her not feeling well.
Once we’d all ordered our food, and we settled Liv, I’d sent off a text to my sister to double check with her that we were doing the right thing. I hadn’t heard back from her yet, but she was probably at work and she didn’t carry her phone around with her in her scrubs. Apparently, getting people’s “goo” on it wasn’t something she wanted to experience, so she always left it in her locker – smart. Shit, I should have had her come down to look at Liv while we there, because if there’s one medical person I trust with her, it’s Rose.