Help Me

Evelyn slept soundly in Jimmy’s arms as I signed her up in the triage, going through the usual process, providing the usual information, going over it making sure I didn’t miss anything, etc.
Then after having to deal with Evelyn’s grumpy alter ego Mariah (her middle name), we got her vitals checked a third time for the triage and she was given two bracelet tags, and was fast asleep again while we waited.
I leaned my head on Jimmy’s shoulder since he was slouching into the chair he was sitting in, and closed my eyes as I felt him bury his nose into my hair and felt him occasionally kiss my head. Just as I began to doze off, I heard them call Evelyn’s name. Jimmy sighed and mumble something about, ‘…she never…fucking minute…’
I smiled before standing up and leading the way with Jimmy, Abby and Tiff following close behind. The nurse took us to a room where there were a bunch of hospital beds, each surrounded by curtains for privacy. Evelyn hated this room since she was used to having appointments being made and seeing someone in a more personal and private setting. When I say ‘hated’, I really mean hated. But this time, she wasn’t saying a word. My poor girl just felt bad, and I knew exactly what was going through her mind because I was in the same boat, I hated when she was sick. Let’s get this over with and be done. I want to go home.

We asked for more chairs so that we could all sit, and then pulled one of the curtains just to where the little number on the wall wasn’t covered.
“Alright baby girl,” Jimmy said. “Let’s get you comfy.
Just as he was about to set Evelyn on the bed, she started to whine, and tightened her hold on him, bring her little legs around as far as they would go since she was so tiny. “Nooooo,” she whimpered. “I want you Jimmy. I don’t want comfy.”

Jimmy laughed and rubbed her back trying to calm her down. “It’s okay, okay. I’m sorry,” he said, still laughing.
“Evelyn, hun,” I chuckled. “Don’t choke Jimmy, baby. He has to breathe.”
“M’kay,” she mumbled.
“How about I lay down with you,” Jimmy asked her.
“Okay, but like this,” she pouted.
“Alright,” he laughed. “I won’t put you down, but once the doctor comes, you gotta do everything he tells you, okay?”
“Okay Jimmy,” Evelyn mumbled into his neck.

With that, Jimmy got onto the bed with her and got comfortable. It was pretty cute seeing how they were, I couldn’t stop staring at them. I mean, it was really hard not to. There he was, this outrageously tall guy that puts on a horrifying façade for his fans, holding my tiny, baby girl, absent mindedly kissing her cheek and whispering sweet nothing in her ear. And she, in turn, absolutely adored him. He was like her very own human teddy bear. They were creating a bond that no one would ever understand, and me? I was perfectly fine with it. Seeing Jimmy like that with my daughter was no problem to me, because I knew now, more than ever, that it was genuine. In fact, I don’t think that he even noticed himself doing the things he did.

I pulled my attention away from them when a nurse came in with a clipboard. She explained to me what the paperwork was for, even though I already knew, then left me to it.
“Kay, wait,” Jimmy said. “What is that again?”
I looked up at him. “What? Oh, this,” I asked looking at the clipboard. “It’s, uh, paperwork for insurance and payment method and stuff like that.”
“Payment method,” Jimmy repeated. “Do your insurance cover this kind of thing? Cause mine does with my heart, but this is waaaay different, right?”
“It’s actually not that different,” Tiffani said. “Not when it comes to money. Hospitals are fucked up in that way. It isn’t like it depends on your condition where the prices vary. It depends on the treatment.”
“Seriously,” Jimmy asked. “Well fuck…”
“Well, usually my insurance takes most of the heat,” I told him. “They only cover her. I never get anything more than a cold, so I’m not covered.”

Tiffani and Jimmy looked at me with surprise practically written all over their faces.
Abby just shook her head. “Don’t even try,” she told them. “I’ve been throwing raging hissy fits over that since forever and she won’t change her mind. It’s no use.”
Tiff looked from Abby to me, but I paid no mind and went back to filling out the paperwork. “Serenity, what if something were to happen to you,” she asked. “I’m not even saying this as a nurse or someone who has experience with this kind of thing. I’ve seen it happen too many times to count. So what happens if you were to get really sick? Or severely hurt? What would you do?”
“Suck it up,” I laughed. “I don’t have time for anything to happen to me. I’ve got her to take care of and as long as I’ve got enough money to buy her the shit she needs and put food on the table, I’m fine. I’m fine as long as she’s fine. I can’t be having that money go to some vampire-ish insurance company just to make sure I’ll be okay. That’s just-, no. No. Nope. I won’t do it. I can’t do it. I work too damn hard for that money to make sure she’s okay and that is that. I won’t hear about it anymore.”

Tiffani sat back, and Jimmy sighed loudly. I frowned while doing the rest of the paperwork, then sighing to myself when I finished. I know they worried about me, but in all honesty, I hated that. I truly believed that unless they had a kid of their own, they would understand. Not because they didn’t have the capacity to understand, but because they have yet to see, or feel what it’s like to be so scared that the only person in your world that really means more to you than anything, anything, could be ripped away from you in an instant. It isn’t because I’m one of those people that is quick to just pull that ‘Oh, you would never understand,’ things. But, no one, not even Abby, knows exactly what I went through the first time I went to the hospital with Evelyn.

This cancer, a cold-blooded killer, wasn’t something that just happened. No. This was genetic. Because something in me transferred to my baby when I was pregnant. Something that could have, or should have, in my opinion, transferred to me. And while she was so sick and hooked up to all these fucked up machines, the doctors had to run all these tests on me while I called my parents and my brothers, and told them to bring their kids, and all get tested for that cancer. It was hell for me, and still, to this day, although it could happen to anyone, I beat myself up for it.


~Abby’s P.O.V.~


I have no fucking clue how she does it. It’s been almost two hours since they picked up the fucking paperwork and still, no Goddamn doctor. But still, as Tiffani, Jimmy and I grow restless, Serenity stays calm and collective, occasionally exchanging a worried glance with Jimmy when her daughter makes a sound.

I shifted in my seat for what seemed the thousandth time, and just as I was about to complain, a woman walked in reading off a clipboard. Serenity let out a breath, then looked at me, and I smirked.
‘Bitch.’
“You know I love you,” she mouthed.
I nodded at her, then turned my attention to the doctor.

The woman looked up from the clipboard and straight at Jimmy, shook her head slightly (to which Serenity made face at), then went back to the clipboard.
“Ms. Alire,” she asked.
“That’s me,” Serenity said, tilting her head.
“Mhmm,” the doctor mumbled. “Okay, well can you talk me through what happened?”
Serenity opened her mouth to speak, and Tiffani interrupted, “Ma’am, everything is there on that clipboard. Tell us what we need to do and quit dicking around.”
“Excuse me,” the doctor asked, smirking.
“You know what,” Tiff said, standing up. “Fuck you guys and your’12 minute’ policy. We’re going somewhere else. This kid needs to be in observation, not a fucking jacked up ass emergency room. Get up Jimmy, we’re going somewhere else. I’ll be contacting your fucking Department of Directors and Section Heads.

I sat there with my mouth hanging open while Tiffani stormed out of the room with Serenity laughing her ass off and Jimmy walking out behind them. I stood up quietly while the doctor slipped the papers out of the clipboard. Before leaving, I looked at her and opened my mouth to speak;
“That woman,” I started quietly. “The mother, she works damn hard to make sure that kid gets better. And that man has been Heaven on Earth to the both of them. Some people might not look it, but they deserve better respect than you give. You should probably train your staff on that.”




~Tiffani’s P.O.V.~


That was the kind of shit that pissed me off. Not the wait. I understood that. But the fact that she had to look at Jimmy the way she did, and then look down at Serenity like she was shit for having him there. That’s not fucking right. I trusted Serenity with that little girl more than I would have trusted that doctor’s judgment and that’s fucking sad. With that being said, I trust that if Serenity thought Jimmy wasn’t shit, she wouldn’t allow him around Evelyn, but being that it wasn’t the case, I paid no mind to it. I mean really, who the fuck gets tested for compatibility to a patient they don’t even know? A Goddamn angel. That’s who. And believe that people like that should be treated with the utmost respect. If there were more people like that, more kids like Evelyn would be saved, and I believe that to be a fucking fact.

Ugh, I’m just so fucking angry.

Once we got to the car, I took shotgun to give Jimmy directions to the children’s hospital that I was going to transfer to soon. It was a good drive, but they would make up for time lost with no problem. Only thing was, we were sure to be spending way more time there than I’m sure everyone had in mind.
See, the thing with this is that once Evelyn gets confirmed and tested for the transfusion, she is going to be put into observation, and since this will be her first time in observation, it is guaranteed to be stressful for her. The transfusion, she’ll get used to since it seems that she’ll end up having to get one every two weeks so that her blood count gets regulated and whatnot. We just want to make sure that she gets better and fast so that she can work on winning her battle as opposed to just overcoming obstacles.

Just as we got there, Serenity and Jimmy did their trade off with Evelyn. I couldn’t help but smile. No matter what anyone says, every little girl needs a daddy, and if whatever that is between Jimmy and Serenity lasts, Jimmy would be perfect for Evelyn. I could see it now.

Right when we walked into the building, Evelyn grunted and I stopped walking and turned.
“Jimmy,” she groaned, pushing at his shoulders. “I nee-,”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand that was that. Puke all down the front of Jimmy’s shirt and not to mention all over herself. Evelyn started to cry as Jimmy looked up and started bouncing her ever so gently so that she could calm down.
Serenity took Evelyn from Jimmy’s arms, immediately getting vomit on her hands. “Fuck,” she said, a little louder than she meant to I’m guessing because right when it slipped, she put Evelyn down to face her and started to apologize.
“I’m sorry baby,” she said quickly. “You’re okay mama. You’re fine. It was just an accident. Nobody’s mad at you baby.”
“I’m sorry Jimmy,” Evelyn wailed.
“Don’t worry Lyn-Lyn,” he told her. “It’s okay.”

Serenity pulled her shirt off, leaving her only in a spaghetti strap undershirt, and started to wipe vomit off of Evelyn’s face, arms, and legs.
I turned to see a few nurses coming to help clean up. One of the recognizing me.
“Aw man,” Tim (the nurse), said. “This the one?”
“Yeah, she’s not having a very good day,” I sighed.
“Some night off, eh,” he asked. “No worries. We’ll get her fixed up.”
I nodded at him, and watched as they ushered Jimmy, Serenity and Evelyn into another room so they could get them washed off and changed out of the soiled clothing.

I looked at Abby, who seemed a bit overwhelmed. I went to pat her shoulder and shook my head a little.
“Get ready,” I told her. “It’s gonna be a long night.”
Abby started to tie her hair back. “I was kind of afraid you were going to say that.”




~Serenity~


“Well that was a first,” Jimmy said from the other room.
I laughed at him and shook my head, wiping my chest with a wet wipe. “There’s going to be a lot of those,” I said back, slipping on the sea foam colored shirt I was given.
Jimmy popped his head into the room. “What was that,” he asked.
I looked at him while I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. “I said there’s going to be a lot of that.”
“Oh,” he said, tying the top of the ‘biohazard’ bag he was given to put his shirt in. Luckily his pants weren’t touched. “I don’t know what I heard something about being fat.”
“What,” I laughed.
“Oh nothing,” he said with a shy grin.

I sighed heavily and slid out of my pants. I don’t even know how vomit even got on them. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “She used to throw up on me a lot. There were times when I would have her drool all over me because she’d cough so much from choking on it. Or when I would be carrying her and she’d pee all of a sudden. Or even in the store when I’d be grocery shopping and she would end up with diarrhea and I couldn’t get her to the bathroom on time. Then I’d have to leave our stuff there and drive home with all the windows down because she was embarrassed.”

I didn’t realize that I had started crying until Jimmy pulled me in for a hug.
“It’s okay Serenity,” he said, rubbing my back. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I know,” I mumbled, clinging to him. “It just gets a little hard sometimes.”
“I bet,” he said quietly. “But at least you have each other. That kid loves you to death. You’re her hero, man.”

I smiled at him, wiped my tears, and then laughed when he gave me a kiss.
“Soooo, can I put my pants on now,” I asked.
“Nah,” Jimmy said. “We’re in a hospital. Nobody cares if you’re wearing pants or not.”
“Jimmy, everybody cares if you are or aren’t wearing pants in a hospital,” I laughed.
“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “Oops. Kay, well I’m just gonna squeeze through here.”

After Jimmy walked out, I stood there for a moment smiling like an idiot. That guy was some kind of magic. He made me feel so much better so easily. It was hard to be sad or down in any way around him. He was just like that.

Once I finished, I walked out and gave my bag to a nurse that went to go and get rid of them. Then I went to find Jimmy and the girls, and sign in to the triage.
Evelyn was once again clinging to Jimmy for dear life, dressed in all pink, and twirling her fingers in his hair. It wasn’t very long until we were called, and from there it was cake.
The nurse took my insurance information and came back with a doctor who worked closely with Tiffani and got us situated in a room that had one huge bed and a small couch near a window and a few well cushioned chairs.

“Okay Evelyn,” the doctor said. “Do you know what’s going to happen?”
Evelyn shook her head as Jimmy put her down on the bed.
“Well, we’re going to have to give you new blood,” the doctor said simply. “And then you’re going to have to stay here for about two days so we can make sure that the blood is doing its job.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened at this then looked at everyone else in the room.
“Can everyone stay with me,” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Yes ma’am,” Doctor Tanner said to her kindly.
“And,” Evelyn looked around, as if looking for the words to say. “Can Fatty Matty come to visit me? And Bri and Zacky and Johnny? And their wives?”
Everyone laughed when Evelyn asked about “Fatty Matty”, Jimmy laughing the loudest.
“Yes, Fatty Matty and his friends can come see you,” Doctor Tanner said laughing.
Evelyn smiled and relaxed. “Okay, that should be it,” the doctor said to me. “Right now, I’m going to take a blood sample from your daughter’s finger and take it to be tested and see which sample is more compatible to do the transfusion. That will be about an hour’s wait.”
“That’s fine,” I said, smiling. “Thank you, sir.”
“No problem,” Doctor Tanner said. “You all just relax. All of this will be over and done with quickly.”
Doctor Tanner put on some gloves, pulled a small pen looking thing from his pocket and then pulled a little plastic baggie out, tore it and took a little blue thing out, inserted it into the top of the ‘pen’ and pulled back on a trigger type thing. “Okay Evelyn, pick a finger,” he said.
Evelyn popped her thumb up, and squeezed her eyes shut.
Doctor Tanner took her hand and placed the pen on it, “Okay hun, don’t move alright? You’re going to feel a sharp stick and then it will all be over, okay?”
“Kay,” Evelyn said, still squeezing her eyes shut.
“1, 2, 3,” he counted, and then pushed a button.
Evelyn squeaked, and open her eyes, but to my surprise, there were no tears.

She gasped. “Look mommy,” she said. “I didn’t cry!”
I smiled at her. “I know baby girl,” I chuckled. “I’m proud of you!”
Doctor Tanner smiled at her, and pet her head, then he pulled another baggie out of his pocket, unzipped it and pulled a tab from it to collect her blood. That went into a new baggie, and everything else went to the trash. The doctor cleaned the blood off of Evelyn’s thumb and put a band aid over it.

“Alright, now that that is done,” Doctor Tanner said, with a triumphant smile. “I’ll be back with a phlebotomist and we’ll get to everything else.”
“Thank you sir,” Jimmy said.
The doctor shook his hand and then left the room.

Just as he stepped out, Jimmy’s phone rang.
“Oh, speak of the Devil,” he laughed, looking at his phone.
“Why is the Devil calling you,” Evie asked.
“I’m a wanted man, baby doll,” Jimmy replied with a wink. He lifted his phone and answered his call. “Heyyy Matty baby, I was wondering when you’d call… Haha! Oh, I’m not wearing much at the moment, but we won’t go into detail about that, there are children here… Man, I’m here at the children’s hospital with the girls. We had a bad day… Nah she’s fine now, we’re working on getting her in tip top shape… Oh sure, okay… Hey Val, what’s going on beautiful? …Oh no, we’re good, just sitting here while the doctor cuts my leg off… OMG, L-O-L, Yah! I swear! Haha! No, I’m kidding. We’re fine. Just gonna have to stay a couple days. Yeah. Sure thing, hold up.” Jimmy turned to a mortified Evelyn. “You wanna talk to Valary?”
Evelyn immediately reached for the phone and started yammering away.
“Hi Val,” she said. “The doctor gave me a bandaid with frogs on it! Can you and Fatty Matty come to see me? …Okay! My mommy and aunties are here too…”
I smiled at her for a moment and laughed when a huge smile came over her face and she gasped loudly.
“Really,” she squealed. “Yay! Okay… Pink… and purple… Yessssss, okay. Thank you Val! … Okay. Here Jimmy!”

Jimmy laughed at her and took the phone. “What did you do Valary,” he asked. “Aw fuck… You might as well buy three if they’re all coming… Haha! Okay. You be careful. We’ll be here. Love you. Bye bitch.”
Jimmy hung up and put his phone in his back pocket. “Val is bringing cupcakes and coffee,” he laughed.

“Oh dear Lord,” Abby groaned. “Mama loves me some cupcakes.”
“OH MY GOD,” Tiffani laughed loudly. “Make sure you clean your puddle Abby.”
“I can’t help it,” Abby semi-yelled.
“Oh goodness,” I started laughing. “Guys, shut the hell up! Jesus!”
“Don’t be like them when you grow up Evelyn,” Jimmy whisper yelled. “It won’t get you anywhere.”
“Oh my gosh, you fat head,” Abby snickered. “Shut up!”
“Haha,” Evelyn mocked, pointing at Jimmy. “Abby said you have a fat head!”

Jimmy got up and started walking around, wobbling like his head was weighing him down. At this point, Evelyn was screaming with laughter so much that the nurses were walking by to see her.

Notes

:)