Sick Days [Jess Mariano]

Chapter 4

With a thud, Jess landed at the top of the stairs, hitting his head on the banister. He was knocked out cold...

"JESS!" Luke yelled, running after his nephew. Jess was passed out at the top of the stairs, his hand resting on the steps. A little blood tricked from a small bruises cut on his face. "Jess... JESS!" Luke yelled, starting to shake him, unsure what to do.

Jess didn't even flinch, he just stayed unconscious. Blinded and now dizzy, Luke fumbled his way inside and to a phone. Shaking, he called 911 for an ambulance. It seemed like years, but in reality it was only minutes, before help arrived.

Jess was moved into a stretcher and carted off into the ambulance.

"Luke? What happened here?" Lorelei asked, entering the diner just after the ambulance left. Luke sighed and kept looking around, anxious to find his truck keys and go to the hospital.

"Jess. He uh.. He got this cut from a nail.. And then it got infected and he got sick and now he fainted and hit his head.." Luke said, surprised at himself for being able to form such uniform sentences.

"You're meeting the ambulance there?" Lorelei asked. Luke stopped to look into her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Yes." He sighed, finally realizing the keys were in his pocket all along.

"Give me them." Lorelei quickly said, snatching the keys out of his hands.

"Hey what was that-" Luke started to exclaim before Lorelei put a finger to his lips.

"No driving like that now let's go.." She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out. The information barely processed in him that Lorelei would be driving his truck, Jess was really the only thing on his mind.

They got to the hospital shortly after the ambulance did. Luke almost yelled and screamed at the nurses before Lorelei took his hand and made him sit down. Using her women sweet talk powers, she managed to convince the nurses to let him see Jess.

"You're Jess Mariano's guardian?" A doctor asked, closing the door to Jess' room. Luke stared at the door, but eventually snapped back to reality and nodded. 

"He has a small case of Tetanus. This is a disease caused by the Clostridium tetani. It's a bacteria often found in rusted metals. The abrasion on his leg was the main cause. Tetanus is usually fatal, but some people have been known to live. We actually caught it at one of the earliest stages, it's almost lucky he fainted. We think we have found a way to stop it, but Mr. Mariano will need to stay here for a few days." The doctor informed, not even looking at the chart.

"But- but he'll be okay?" Luke asked, trying to sum it all up in his head. The Doctor nodded and smiled.

"Most likely yes. This is a lucky case." The Doctor repeated. "If you have any questions, let me know."

Luke watched a little as the man walked away before turning to Jess' room. He looked at the door, almost unable to turn the nob until he finally did.

Jess lay in a bed, an IV in the back of his hand. He even had a tube that snaked under his nose. His leg was heavily, almost too heavily, bandaged and propped up on a pillow.

Luke almost chuckled at the strange sight. Jess wearing a hospital gown was an interesting sight, despite the fact he was covered with a mountain of blankets. His usually greased hair was now laying flat on his forehead. Sighing, Luke sat in a chair by the bed, waiting for Jess to wake up now. That was the next step.