A week before Evelyn had her dream, everything at O�Connell Manor was relatively normal. Jonathan still had a cold consisting of a stuffy nose and a terrible cough, and for that reason Maggie had him quarantined to his part of the house. On a more positive note, Heidi seemed back to normal, though she upset easily because she missed her parents.
Needing to get away from Aunt Maggie, when Alex woke up on a Tuesday morning, he headed straight for his uncle�s room. With him he had alot of books and a model airplane, and was fully prepared to spend his day with Jonathan. Upon his arrival he heard his uncle coughing, and waited until the coughing stopped before going in.
Being sick was not something Jonathan liked, and he knew he shouldn�t be going out at night, but he loved his time at the bars, and now that Maggie was more or less in charge he didn�t feel guilty about doing that. As he was starting to go back to sleep he heard Alex call out. �Come in,� he said as he rolled toward the door. �Wow, it looks like your ready to move in.� He watched as Alex piled his things on one of the couches.
�I�m going to keep you company,� Alex said as he brought a book over and plopped it down on the left side of the bed. Once he was in bed, and once he had a pillow propped up, he leaned back then opened the book.
Jonathan shut his eyes perfectly content to let his nephew read him a story called �The Secret Adversary� written by Agatha Christie. Lately Alex really enjoyed reading her books, which was a big change from his usual, mostly books written about Egypt. It wasn�t long before both of them were asleep, and for a little while there were no disturbances.
~*~
While Alex and Jonathan spent quality time sleeping, Maggie was in the kitchen making a nice beef stew. Not far from where she stood cutting vegetables with Marie, Heidi sat on the kitchen floor with an empty bowl and a wooden spoon, pretending to make muffins. �All done,� Heidi said as she stood up and walked over to her auntie.
Maggie smiled down at the little girl, amazed at how much she looked like her momma. �What did you make?� she asked as she knelt down to take the bowl.
�Made Bana muf muf,� she said. As soon as her auntie had the bowl, Heidi ran out of the kitchen to the parlor where her babies were, ready to play with them.
�You go be with her, I can finish this,� Marie said as Maggie set the bowl down.
�Thank you.� Maggie wiped her hands off on a white towel, then went to the parlor finding Heidi rocking her baby. �How is Tessa today?� Maggie asked as she sat down beside her little niece.
�Sad, Tessa miss momma,� Heidi said as she stood up and put Tessa down in the little cradle Rick had made for her second birthday.
�I�ll bet your momma misses you. Why don�t we go get you dressed, and take a nice walk outside?�
For a moment Heidi seemed to consider that, then nodded her head, letting her auntie carry her upstairs.
~*~
His Uncle coughing woke Alex, and after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he sat up. �I better go tell Aunt Maggie that you need more cough medicine,� he said as Jonathan finished coughing.
�No. If you go over to my dresser and look in the bottom drawer there is something in there that does better for me,� he said. He watched as Alex walked the short distance to his dresser, and watched as he pulled out a bottle of Bourbon.
Alex turned and gave his uncle a questioning look. �I think Aunt Maggie wouldn�t agree, and I think dad wouldn�t like it either,� he said. He watched his uncle cough again, and started over to the bed when he heard the unmistakable click of his aunt�s heels. Quickly he put the bottle of bourbon away, just as his aunt walked in with the cough medicine.
�Alex, will you mind your sister while I take care of your uncle?� Maggie asked. She and Heidi had barely made it out the door when the rain started to fall, and now she felt she needed to take care of her sickly nephew.
Knowing that his aunt wouldn�t let him say no, Alex mumbled something under his breath as he headed out the door. He loved his baby sister some of the time, but lately she had been very crabby.
When he arrived in the Parlor, Heidi was no where to be found. �Heidi,� he called. Alex ran into the kitchen, and when he didn�t find her there he ran to the front of the house, having a sinking suspicion that she was outside dancing in the rain. Alot of times Aunt Maggie forgot the rule of locking the locks on the tops of the doors, to keep Heidi inside.
~*~
Despite the pouring rain, it was a warm day, and Heidi was happily running in the field on the left side of the house. She was soaking wet and barefooted, but didn�t seem to mind either as she approached the wooded area of their property. Then she was suddenly lifted in the air. �NO NO NO NO,� she screamed as Alex tried his best to carry her back toward the house.
�Are you crazy? You�re going to get sick again, and Dr. Stanley is going to have to give you shots to make you better,� he yelled over her screams.
�NOOO.� She kicked her feet and managed to catch him in a spot that wasn�t all that comfortable. When her brother dropped her, Heidi ran back toward the barn, and slipped on a patch of mud. She fell face first into a puddle and when she drew in a breath got choked by the muddy water.
Alex quickly knelt beside her and lifted her out of the puddle, glad that this time she held on to him, not glad because she was coughing and screaming. The whole trip back to the house she cried for Evelyn, and Alex felt bad for her. �Shh, momma will be home soon,� he said as they arrived inside the house.
�Want now,� she said as she rested her cheek against his left shoulder.
Inside, Alex didn�t find his aunt, and a little angry that she left Heidi in a position where she could get outside, he took it upon himself to get her cleaned up. In her room he tried to put her down in the rocking chair but she clung to him. �Heidi will you sit here while I get your bath running?� he asked.
�Mummy baff,� Heidi said as she lifted her head from his shoulder.
He kissed her cheek. �All right, let me get a clean nappy for you and a dress, then I�ll take you in there,� he said.
Heidi sat quietly as her brother got her clean cloths. She was cold and her teeth chattered as he carried her to their parents room. While he ran the bath she stood close by still shivering, then warmed up once she was out of her wet cloths and in the warm water of the bathtub.
~*~
Once Maggie had changed the sheets on Jonathan�s bed, and was satisfied that he would be all right, she left to check on Heidi. When she arrived in the Parlor and didn�t find she or Alex there, she walked upstairs, finding them both playing in Alex�s room. �Is everything all right in here?�
�Yep,� Alex said as he gave Heidi her bunny.
Heidi hugged her bunny then ran over to Alex�s bed and put her on there. �Alex up,� she said. When he put her on the bed, she snuggled against his pillow, then pulled on his hand; a silent request for him to lay next to her.
Without acknowledging his aunt, Alex crawled into bed with his little sister and shut his eyes hoping that Maggie would go away.
Knowing that Alex wasn�t happy about something, Maggie stood in his room a little longer, then went downstairs to have a rest of her own, hoping that tonight things would be better.
~*~
On Friday morning, when Heidi woke up, Jonathan who was finally feeling himself noticed that she was slightly warm. Maggie had gone back to her house after Alex had blown up a few nights ago calling her a mindless old bag, and since then she had not been willing to come to the house and help out. From what Alex would offer, Maggie had left Heidi unattended long enough for her to get outside in the pouring rain, and was not willing to leave her alone with his baby sister again.
Now the bright eyed toddler was happily eating her breakfast, while Jonathan scrambled another batch of eggs.
�More bana,� Heidi called out. She was a picky eater, and for breakfast most of the time only liked to eat fruit.
Satisfied that his eggs were properly scrambled, Jonathan reached over and got another Banana for Heidi, and after slicing it into small bite sized pieces he walked over to her highchair and put them on her plate. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, frowning when he found she seemed a bit warmer. �Heidi do you feel all right?� he asked.
�I hungy,� she said as she took a bite of banana.
For a moment Jonathan watched her, then decided he would check her temperature after she ate her meal. Back at the stove he was transferring his eggs to a plate when Alex walked in sopping wet.
�My ceiling has a blasted leak,� he said as he walked over to the table and plopped down in a chair.
�You all wet,� Heidi said as she ate the last of her Banana.
�I know, just like you were the other day when you went for a walk in the rain,� he said as Jonathan served him a big plate of fried ham and eggs.
�Will you stay here with her while I make a call to your father�s office, and see if James will come take a look at the roof?� Jonathan asked, hoping that the rain would stop long enough for him to fix it. From the pantry he got out a few buckets then went upstairs to survey the damage.
Alex managed to eat a few bites of his breakfast before Heidi was demanding he get her out of her highchair. Usually he would wait until she said please, but not wanting to hear her wine he easily lifted her out of her chair and put her down. �Stay in here and play with your babies, and when I get finished eating I�ll take you to see Megan,� he said.
For once Heidi did as her brother said, content to play tea party with her baby Isabella. �Isabella, you not have cookie, it till mornen,� she said as she put her baby down. �Alex, need cookies,� she said as she walked over to his chair and rested her cheek against his left leg.
When she continued to rest her cheek against his leg Alex put his fork down. �Heidi are you sleepy?� he asked. He felt her nod her head, and lifted her to sit on his lap. �Do you feel icky like you did the last time you had a cough?�
�No tired,� she said as she leaned forward and put her head down on the table.
Worried about his sister, Alex got up from the table turning her so that she was resting against his shoulder and chest, then headed upstairs to see what his uncle thought they should do.
~*~
Dr. Stanley arrived at the O�Connell house the same time James and a few of the men from Rick�s office. Jonathan let them in, and led them into the parlor where Heidi and Alex were sitting at the Piano playing and singing Twinkle Star, Heidi�s favorite song.
�Alex, will you take James and these nice lads upstairs and show them the leak?� he asked as he lifted Heidi into his arms. As soon as she saw the doctor she clung to her uncle, and instantly started to cry for Evelyn.
Dr. Stanley�s nurse came and pried Heidi away from Jonathan, then they took her upstairs to have a look at her, leaving Jonathan to wait and hope that his little niece only had a small infection of some sort, and not what he was just now getting over.
At the liquor cabinet, Jonathan looked at the bottles of liquor tempted to take a drink, but since he was alone taking care of Alex and Heidi he knew he shouldn�t. Sighing he walked over to one of the couches and sat down, trying to ignore the screams coming from upstairs. He looked at the stairs as Alex came down. �I would be in there with her, but you know how they get,� he defended when Alex gave him a cold stare.
�I think we need mum and dad to come home,� he said as he took a seat in a chair not far from where Jonathan was sitting.
�I�m beginning to agree with you on that partner,� he said as he rested his head against the back of the couch.
A few minutes later the Doctor came downstairs alone. �Heidi has a fever of 100.1, and is a bit congested. We gave her a shot of penicillin which for right now is as much as we can do. You�ll need to get her to rest, and give her two baby aspirin every four to six hours. If her fever doesn�t go down by tomorrow morning call me,� he said. As he finished his nurse came with the sobbing child, and once Heidi was in Jonathan�s arms, they left.
�I�m going to call down to dad�s office and have Sam wire them,� Alex said, walking out of the parlor to the side hall where the phone was located.
While Alex went to make the call, Jonathan took Heidi back upstairs and walked straight to Rick and Evelyn�s room. He put her down on his sister and Rick�s bed then pulled the quilt on the bottom of the bed over her.
�Want momma,� Heidi said as she yawned.
�Alex is going to get Sam to wire them and I�m sure they will be home as soon as they can. Now close your eyes and I�m sure you will see them in your dreams,� he said as he kicked off his shoes and settled in bed beside her. He hoped that the penicillin would do the trick but had a sinking feeling they were in for a rough ride.
~*~
The entire rest of the day, Sam did his best to get ahold of the hotel Rick and Evelyn were staying in, but wasn�t having any luck getting through to them. By the time he was ready to head home he decided to make a run to his best friends house and make sure everything was going all right. When he arrived Jonathan�s car was pulled up in front of the house running, and as he stepped out of his car, the door to the house opened and Jonathan walked out in a hurry with Heidi cradled in his arms followed by Alex.
�Uncle Sam, Heidi�s really sick did you get ahold of mum and dad?� Alex asked as his Uncle put his sister in the car.
�No, but I�ll keep trying, you go on and go with him,� Sam said as he ran back to his car. He sped off heading back to their office, hoping that this late at night he would be able to get ahold of the hotel in Switzerland.
~*~
Being in hospitals for birth or for sickness was all the same for Jonathan. He hated being there, hated having to wait for a doctor or a nurse to come tell him how his niece was doing. When Heidi had gotten up from her nap she was having trouble breathing, but Jonathan had figured with time she would be doing better. As day turned into night her breathing became more labored and it was Alex who noticed that her lips were turning blue.
Now both of them were left to wait, and while Jonathan sat with his head resting on his lap, Alex paced. �How long does it take for them to look at her?� Alex asked as he sat down next to his uncle.
�Sometimes too long,� Jonathan said as he lifted his head. He stood up when Dr. Stanley walked in. �Well?� he asked when the doctor wasn�t forthcoming with any answers.
�Perhaps it would be better if we talked alone,� he said.
�Alex can stay,� Jonathan said, knowing his nephew wouldn�t stand for being left out of things.
�Heidi has pneumonia. Sometimes it can be viral, and sometimes bacterial. In this case I think it is both. We have her in a private room and have her on oxygen, which with penicillin is the only thing we can do for her. She is a strong little girl, so with the proper care I don�t see her being here for more than a few days,� he said.
�I want to see my little sister,� Alex said.
�I think that would make her feel better. One of you needs to go home and clean her room. Anything like toothbrushes or things she sleeps close to should be thrown away, or heavily sterilized. I also suggest you contact her parents,� he said.
Jonathan informed him that they were doing what they could on that front, then while Alex went with him to go see Heidi, he got on the phone and called Maggie telling her to go to the house and get Marie and whoever else she had to hire to clean things up.
More soon. Review if you would, and thanks in advance.