What Lies Ahead

Chapter 29

"I'm so glad you're here," Ezra says as we're cuddling on his couch. 

"I just wish Chloe and Leon could be here," I frown.

"I know they miss you," Ezra kisses my forehead.

"Do you think they're ok?" I ask.

"I know Ricky is taking good care of them," he smiles. 

"Hello?" I answer my phone the next morning.

I slowly get off the couch, doing my best not to wake Ezra up.

"Jo, Leon is sick," Ricky says.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"He's got a fever, and he's been crying most of the night. I'm taking him to the emergency room now. You want to meet me there?" he asks.

"I'm on my way now."

I hang up the phone and shake Ezra awake.

"Ricky is taking Leon to the hospital," I say, trying to stay calm.

"What's going on?" 

"All Ricky told me was that he's running a fever," I frown.

We throw some clothes on, fix our hair, and rush outside to Ezra's car.

The ride to the hospital seems to take forever, but we finally arrive. 

"How is he?" I ask Ricky as Ezra and I enter the room.

"They're doing some tests now, but they think it's just a case of strep throat."

"I hope it's not bad. Where's Chloe?"

"She's with my mom."

Ezra rubs my back in a calming matter and I can tell it's bothering Ricky a little bit. I think Ezra notices too, because he stops.

"I'm going to wait in the waiting room. Come update me when you see him?" Ezra asks.

"Of course," I kiss his cheek. 

"How are you two doing?" Ricky asks when Ezra steps out.

"We're fine, but enough about him and I. What happened with Leon?" I ask.

"He was fine when I put him to bed, then he just went crazy. He was crying and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to call you, but I wanted to handle it myself," he chuckles.

"It's ok. Trust me, there's situations where I don't know what to do sometimes. It's normal. I'm glad you brought him up here," I say, trying to make him feel better.

"Mr. Johnson?" the nurse comes in and then directs her attention to me.

"I'm Leon's mother," I introduce myself.

"As we thought, it is strep throat. We're going to provide him with some antibiotics, and he also needs to stay as far away as he can from his sister," the nurse instructs. 

She hands Leon over to me and I hug my baby. She hands the prescription to me also and proceeds to leave the room. 

"So, is there any way you could keep one with you until Leon gets better?" I ask.

"I'll take Chloe, and I'm sure one of my parents will watch her while I'm teaching. You can come see her whenever you like," he says.

"Thank you Ricky," I say, smiling. 

"Anytime," he smiles, giving Leon a kiss before he heads out.

I walk to find Ezra and he stands up when he sees me.

"How is he?" he asks, and I let Ezra hold him.

"Be careful. He has strep," I frown. 

"What about Chloe?" Ezra asks.

"She seems fine, but she's going to stay with Ricky until Leon gets better. The doctor said they should be separated so Chloe doesn't catch it," I frown. 

"Everything will be ok. Do you want to stay with me?" he asks.

"Please?" I giggle.

"Let's get this baby in bed," he says, holding Leon against his chest. 

"He's finally asleep," I say, joining Ezra on the couch after trying to get Leon asleep for almost an hour. 

"I feel so bad for him. I wish I could do something," Ezra frowns.

"So do I. I hate seeing him sick," I sigh.

"I would be sick if I could take it away from him," Ezra says.

"You're so sweet," I say, laying my head on his chest.

He gives me a kiss on my forehead and rubs my back.

"What's for dinner?" I ask smiling.

"What do you want?" he asks.

"Let's cook something together," I grin.

"Like what?" he asks.

"Spaghetti?" I ask, giggling. 

"You got it. I'll run to the store," he says, giving me a small peck before heading out. 

A few hours later we're engulfed in a huge noodle fight.

"Gotcha!" I laugh, hitting him in the face with a handful of noodles.

I duck behind the couch and he comes running.

"You're gonna pay!" he says.

He gets on the couch and towers above me.

"I'm sorry!" I plead, trying not to laugh.

He has a whole bowl of noodles, and he smirks at me. He dumps the noodles on my head and I screech a little. 

We end up falling on the couch laughing and he gives me a soft, romantic kiss. The kiss is interrupted by Leon's cries, and I pull away.

"Back to reality," I chuckle, getting up to take care of my baby.