Casey Jones
Frankie set a bag down by the couch and shook his head. "You gave her milk? You can't give milk to someone with a fever. It will curdle..." his eyes were wide with disbelief.
"Now you tell me." I shrugged as the mess on my shirt dripped onto my sweat pants.
"I've got this. Go take a shower." He stepped aside so I could get up. "You've made a right mess, haven't you?"
"Are you here to help or criticize?" I mumbled as I pushed past him towards the stairs.
"How high is her temperature?" He asked, causing me to stop at the bottom step.
"It said 102 so I gave her the Tylenol. I wrote it down in the little notebook Jane left in the box." I pointed at the box.
"Do you think she threw it up before she could absorb it?" He frowned at the messy footprints on the hardwood floor that I had left.
"It's liquid so I think it will be okay." I turned around to face him. "How do you know so much about kids?"
"I guess I picked up a few things along the way." He gave a sheepish grin as he waved me off. "I called Frost. I figured we could use reinforcements."
"I guess I'd better go get cleaned up. Um..." I paused and tried to give Isa a smile, whose face brightened up at the mention of Frost's arrival. "Her pj's are in the dresser. She wants the princess ones, right Izzy?"
"With castles..." Isa nodded in the affirmative.
"You okay with her?" I asked.
"Yeah, just let Frost in before you go upstairs."
With a nod, I moved towards the front door to open it. When I did, Frost stood on the porch and stared at me with a raised eyebrow. "Don't ask, but thanks for coming. Frankie's in the living room with the munchkin. I'm heading up to take a shower. You guy's know where everything is." I said as I stepped back to allow him to enter. Shutting the door, I headed towards the stairs, leaving the quiet murmur of conversation behind.
As I made my way up the stairs, my heart ached for Jane's presence and I wanted nothing more than to call her, but I knew that it would still be several hours before Jane would land in LA. So, with a heavy sigh, I resigned myself to fact that I would have to rely on the guys but at this point anything was better than nothing.
Grabbing a new set of sweat pants and a t-shirt, I headed towards the bathroom to get a proper shower. There was a chill in the early morning air, so when I turned the water on, steam filled the room and fogged the mirror up, so I couldn't see my reflection. For that I was glad because I knew I must look a freight after Isa threw up on me, twice. I pulled my clothes off and dropped them into a pile on the floor before I stepped into the steaming hot shower to wash away the sickness that stuck to me.
When I stepped under the stream of hot water, the muscles in my body finally relaxed and I let out a sigh of relief. Taking a deep breath, I let the eucalyptus scented soap clear my sinuses. I had always thought that Jane was silly for buying those essential oil concoctions she called soap but at the moment, I was grateful. Anything smelled better than the sour milk that had coated my clothes and hair. But my zen moment was interrupted by the sound of Isa crying and a loud knock on the bathroom door.
"Hey, Casey...Isa wants you." The panic in Frankie's voice was evident in the high pitch that carried to me over the sound of the shower.
Turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower dripping wet and grabbed a towel to wrap around myself so I could open the door. The sound of Isa's crying caused me to move faster, so when I opened the door, Frankie looked at me with a surprised expression. "Come'ere Iz..." I cooed as I opened my arms to receive the little girl.
