CHAPTER 6

Monica arose early the next morning, hoping she could leave the house before anyone else was awake, but her plan did not work the way she wanted. Lila greeted her at the stairs and told her to come into the dining room with her for breakfast. Monica could not refuse Lila's request, so she dutifully followed her to the breakfast table where she fixed each of them a plate with some melon and an English muffin. As Monica poured Lila a cup of tea and herself a cup of coffee, Lila asked her about A.J.

"How is he doing, dear?"

"I didn't call the hospital this morning, but I'm sure he's doing fine, otherwise, we would have heard."

"Do you think he'll be home soon?"

"Hopefully, his stay won't be longer than a couple of days. If the medicine works quickly and we get him to start eating again, he can be released."

"That poor boy. He has been through so much lately. How are his spirits?"

"He seemed to be doing okay," Monica said, stretching the truth. There was no way she was going to tell her husband's mother that her grandson blamed her son for this. And probably rightly so.

"I do hope he's feeling better this morning. I'm going to call him later if that's okay."

Monica placed her hand on top of Lila's and smiled at her. "He would be thrilled to hear from you."

Lila smiled and took a sip of her tea.

"Who would be thrilled to hear from grandmother?" Ned asked, entering the dining room and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"A.J.," Monica said softly.

"What's he done now?"

"Ned!" Lila admonished him. "That's a terrible thing to say when you don't know what's happened."

Ned looked at Monica and Lila. "Don't tell me something's happened to A.J. again?"

"If you must know," Monica replied, "A.J. was taken to the hospital last night."

"Alcohol-related?"

"No!" Monica snapped. "Food poisoning." She wanted to add on top of an allergic reaction to medication his uncle had given him, but she stopped short for Lila's sake.

"He's okay, though, right?"

"He will be."

"Poor A.J.," Ned said, with a slight snicker. "The guy can't catch a break."

"What happened to A.J.?" asked Emily, concerned, as she, too, entered the dining room.

Monica sighed in frustration. This was exactly why she was trying to leave the house early, but maybe it was just as well to have everyone know.

"Good morning, sweetheart. A.J. ate some bad food last night and had to be taken to the hospital, but he's going to be fine."

"I want to see him," Emily immediately said.

"You are supposed to go to school today, young lady," Monica answered.

"Are you going to the hospital soon? Please take me with you. Or what about Dad? He could take me."

"Your father already left," Monica responded quickly. The last thing any of them needed to know was that Alan had not come home last night.

"Please, Mom. Take me with you. And then I'll catch the bus to school at the hospital."

"I really need to get to the hospital, Emily, and you are nowhere near ready to leave. Maybe tonight. We'll see."

"But Mom..."

"I'll take you, Emily," Ned spoke up. "We'll leave together, and I'll drop you off at the hospital."

"Thanks, Ned."

"Well, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to head for the hospital. I'll see you tonight."

"Give my love to A.J., dear," Lila said. She kissed Monica on her cheek.

"I will, Lila. Thank you." Monica motioned to Ned to follow her out of the dining room.

"I'll be right back, Emily."

"Okay," she said and took a sip of her orange juice and a bite of her blueberry muffin.

Ned followed Monica into the foyer.

"I want to make something very clear to you, Ned. It's fine if you want to drop Emily off at the hospital, but I don't think it would be a very good idea for you to see A.J."

"I wasn't planning to but why so adamant?"

"I just think A.J. has been through enough, and you two aren't exactly friends. The less stress he has to deal with now, the better."

Ned held up his hands. "Okay, okay. You don't have to convince me. I won't even step foot inside the hospital, if that makes you feel better."

"It does. Thank you."

Ned watched as Monica walked out the door. He knew there was something big brewing, but he didn't know if he wanted any part of it. Emily came up beside him and told him she would be ready in five minutes. He said fine and returned to the dining room for another cup of coffee and a muffin. Edward had joined Lila, and the three of them made small talk until Emily returned.

"I'm ready," she announced.

"Me, too," Ned said, taking one last swallow of his coffee and wiping his mouth. "Let's hit the road."

"Bye," Emily said and waved to her grandparents.

"Good-bye, dear," Lila said. "Have a good day at school."

"Thanks."

"We'll see you when you get home," Edward added.

Emily nodded as she and Ned headed out the door.

He dropped her off in front of the hospital and told her to make sure she caught the bus in time so she wouldn't be late for school.

"I will, Ned. Thanks for driving me." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before getting out of his car and heading into the hospital.

Emily ran in to Bobbie and after they exchanged pleasantries, she asked about A.J.

"I haven't been upstairs yet, but would you like me to take you to his room?"

"Please. I don't have much time. I need to catch the bus to school, but I really want to see him."

"Okay, sweetie."

After stepping off the elevator, they made their way to A.J.'s room and saw Keesha standing by his bed talking to him.

"Good morning," Bobbie said, peeking in.

"Morning, Bobbie," A.J. answered.

"I have a surprise for you."

Emily appeared in the doorway and smiled at A.J.

"Emily, hello! Come in."

Emily, her chestnut brown hair hanging loosely down her back, entered the room and after saying hello to Keesha, she put her backpack on the floor next to A.J.'s bed and asked him how he was doing.

"I'm doing much better," he said and smiled at her.

"I'm so glad to hear that. Can I hug you or will it bother your arm?" she asked, pointing to the IV.

"Not at all," he said, and invited her to hug him with his right arm.

He held her tightly to him for a long moment.

"I needed this," he said and smiled as he released her.

"Me, too," Emily said. "So, when do you get to go home?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe another day or two."

"You look 100% better," Bobbie commented.

"Thanks. I feel pretty good. I'm still getting the medication frequently, though, which I guess is not a good sign."

"I'm sure they're going to taper it off soon," Bobbie offered.

"I'm hoping so. Did Mom bring you here?" A.J. asked Emily.

"No. Ned dropped me off."

"Ned," A.J. said, clearly surprised. "That was nice of him."

"Mom is already here," Emily explained.

A.J. nodded and asked how everyone was doing because he felt he should.

"Fine. Well, I better get going. It's my first day at school, and I don't want to be late."

"Okay, sweetheart. Hey, thank you for coming. It means a lot to me."

"I love you, A.J. Feel better!" Emily said and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She waved good-bye as she left the room.

"What a great girl," Bobbie said after Emily had left.

"She's the best," A.J. agreed.

"So, are the nurses treating you okay?" Bobbie asked.

"They've been great."

Bobbie laughed. "Would you expect anything less for the chief of staff's son?"

A.J. smiled. "I hadn't thought of it that way. Thanks, Bobbie. I thought it was my charm."

"Oh, I'm sure that helped," she said and smiled. "Well, I better get back to my floor."

"Thanks for stopping by and for bringing Emily."

"No problem. I'll check in on you again before I go home."

They said good-bye, and Keesha told A.J. she needed to leave, too.

"I need to go home to freshen up. I have two clients to see later on, and then I'll be back."

"Okay. Thank you soooo much, Keesha, for staying with me last night. You don't know what it meant to me knowing you were here."

"I think I do," Keesha said softly. "I'll be thinking of you," she said as she left.

A few minutes later, Amy entered his room to take a new set of vitals and to give him his medication.

"I leave for the day, and you become a patient. What's going on here?"

"Believe me, I feel the same way. I wish I were working in this hospital instead of occupying one of its beds."

Amy smiled. "You seem to be doing better this morning than last night, according to your chart. Looks like those paramedics and the lab did a great job getting your treatment going so quickly. You know, you could have ended up in a coma. Or worse."

"Thanks, Amy. Your bedside manner is overwhelming me."

"I'm sorry, A.J. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I was actually trying to tell you how lucky you are that even though you're in the hospital, your condition isn't as bad as it could have been. Just trying to find a silver lining."

"I know. Thanks for the encouragement."

"Let me know if you need anything."

He had just made himself comfortable in the bed when Monica entered his room.

"Good morning."

"Hi, Mom. How are you?"

"I should be asking you that question."

"Ever since you left last night, I've been thinking about our conversation. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay. You told me some things that I needed to hear. Don't be sorry."

"Did you talk to Dad?"

"I tried to, but I didn't get very far. I did give him your message, though."

A.J. sighed. "I shouldn't have said what I did. It's just that I'm very confused and very frustrated."

"I am, too, A.J.," Monica said. "But I'm not giving up on your father, and I hope you won't either."

"I'll try not to," A.J. offered.

"Good. Now, I need to examine you."

Monica took his temperature and was disappointed to see that he still had a fever. His heart and his lungs were strong, and the pain in his stomach region had lessened quite a bit.

"Have they offered you any solid food?" Monica asked, as she made notes on his chart.

A.J. shook his head. "I can't stand the thought of food."

"Not even a piece of toast or some tea?"

"No."

"Okay. I won't push food right now, but soon I will."

"Maybe I'll be able to tolerate it better then. I can't right now."

Monica felt his forehead and cheeks. "I hope your fever breaks soon. That could be one reason for your lack of appetite. I'm going to decrease the times for your medication. Your stomach seems to have calmed down quite a bit. Maybe the medication is causing your reaction to the mention of food, too. Do you have any other questions?" Monica asked, closing his chart.

"No. I would like to ask when I'm going home, but I know that's a moot point."

"It is until your fever breaks, and you're off the IV, and you're eating again."

A.J. nodded. "Actually, I'm doing okay."

"Good," Monica said and smiled. "I'll tell Amy about the change in medication times, and I'll be back later to check in on you. In the meantime, try to get some sleep. That usually helps break a fever."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

Monica smiled at him and then left the room.


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