The Meaning of Family

Worry

By the time they got to med, Ava's breathing had gotten worse and Hailey was freaking out and Jay was trying to look calm when he was just about crapping himself with panic. Hailey ran into the hospital with Ava in her arms and Maggie noticed them and immediately rushed over.

"She's struggling to breathe, help!" Hailey cried, passing Ava to Maggie when she reached for her.

"We've got her, Hailey, go wait over there," she shook her head as Will talked to her, wanting to stay with Ava.

"Hailey, I know you want to go with her, but we both know you can't. Nat's with her, I'll stay with you until Jay comes in, then I'll go see what's going on. Come on," Will led Hailey away from the bay Ava was in and the blonde broke down and fell into him as the weight of what had just happened hit her.

"Okay, okay, come on," He led her to the waiting room and sat her down and let her cry into him until Jay ran inside and was with them.

"Natalie, April, and Maggie are with her. I'll go see where they're at. What's been going on?" Will asked, pushing Hailey towards Jay so he could get up.

"We saw Nat a few days ago, thought it was allergies. She spiked a fever and has been coughing like crazy, she's been pulling on her ears too and threw up a couple times earlier. Natalie knows a lot of it but not all," Jay supplied, holding Hailey to his chest."She started coughing too much and couldn't catch her breath, so we brought her here. Her fever's really high."

"Okay, you two stay here, I'll come back soon with an update," Will got up and went to check on the little girl while Hailey and Jay held each other and cried.

It felt like an eternity to them before Will came back. "She's going to be okay. Nat and the team have her breathing stabilized, they're moving her to a room to admit her for a few days and once she's moved, Nat's going to come get y'all and tell you more."

So the couple waited, Will sitting with them the whole time. He was starting to get closer with Ava and he cared for the little girl that had quickly captured the hearts of his brother and sister-in-law.

Eventually, Natalie came out and they all 3 stood up and rushed towards her. "She's okay, she's stable. Come with me and I'll tell you more," they followed her as she resumed speaking. "Ava has pneumonia. I've never seen it come on so fast, especially in a little kid, but that's what she has. I've got her on an antibiotic and we are working to keep her lungs clear of fluid. I've got her doing a nebulizer treatment right now and she's on an IV and hooked up to a few monitors. But she's stable, and with a few days of treatment and meds, she'll be able to go home."

"How did she get pneumonia? Could we have done anything different?" Hailey asked, tugging on her fingers as she worried, blaming herself for Ava's getting so sick so fast.

"Even I didn't see anything like this coming. I think it may have to do with a combination of things, like her body not being used to being around other kids, phlegm building up, and more. It does happen sometimes. She's also got a mild infection in both ears, so I conclude that she had a lot of build up of congestion that hit her system hard," Natalie explained, taking them closer to Ava's room.

"It's not either of our faults?" Jay asked quietly and Hailey squeezed his hand a few times.

"No, it's no one's fault," Natalie said seriously.

The two nodded but still felt guilty as they entered a room. Their hearts broke when they saw Ava, propped up in bed, hooked up to a breathing treatment and other monitors. Ava looked up sleepily and reached an arm out for them as tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Mama," she whimpered. Hailey went and sat on the bed with her and Jay sent Will out to the car to get Ava's comforter objects when she asked for them.

"Can we hold her?" Jay asked, wanting his girl close.

"Once she finishes her breathing treatment you can, just watch the wires."

Hailey and Jay both sat on the bed and kept Ava calm while the treatment was finished. When they took the mask off, she reached for Jay and he carefully brought her to his chest.

"Go home," she whimpered, scared.

"Not yet, kiddo. We have to make sure you're all better before we go home. But mama and I will be with you after I go get stuff from the house. What pajamas do you want me to bring you?" Jay asked, trying to keep her calm.

"Wady bugs," Ava mumbled, bringing her thumb to her mouth.

"I'll go get your ladybugs," Jay kissed her head and passed her over to Hailey, who had texted him a list of everything they needed.

"I'll be right back, I love you both," he kissed both girls and they said they loved them too and he left to quickly get what they needed, not wanting to be away from Hailey and Ava for too long.