Scarlatina

Therese tossed her head on the pillow and whimpered. Her face was alarmingly flushed and her hair sweaty with her fever. Carol sat beside her on the bed, ostensibly reading, but looking down at her little girl in concern more than she concentrated on the pages.

Jane Bierman, the nurse Abby knew, was due to drop by around seven o'clock, after her shift ended. Carol felt terrible about dragging her out after the woman had worked all day, but Therese was getting no better. In fact, Carol thought as she ran her cool hand over Therese's hot, damp forehead, she was getting alarmingly close to needing serious intervention.

Therese moved restlessly under Carol's hand and raised one of her damp, hot little hands to hold Carol's palm against her forehead. Then she whimpered again, and let out a cracked sob.

"Oh, darling. I know you feel terrible," murmured Carol. She picked up the damp cloth she had soaking in a bowl of ice-water and wrung it out, gently wiping Therese's hot face. The icy coolness of the cloth seemed to help, but then Therese gagged, and Carol quickly grabbed her bottle of water to place it between Therese's lips. A few sucks, and Therese's eyes closed again, the cloth cooling her momentarily.

Carol checked the clock. It was 6:30; time to get Therese ready.

"Therese? Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me," said Carol gently, rubbing her finger softly against Therese's cheek. Therese's eyes opened, but they were glazed, and Carol knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Carol, I need to nurse," Therese whimpered. Her usually modulated, soft voice was hoarse, and she sounded like talking hurt her throat badly. She rolled over painfully and attached to Carol's skirt, looking up at her, her lower lip trembling. Carol sighed.

"Darling, we're going to have a visitor in a few moments. She's a nurse that Abby knows. I'd like her to take a look at you."

Therese blinked once, twice. She appeared to be trying to parse what Carol was saying, and Carol saw Therese trying to find her usual big self among her little thoughts and feelings. Therese cleared her throat.

"Why do you want her to take a look at me?" Therese rubbed her head, and after a moment, her lower lip trembled again. "Please, Carol?" She held out her arms to Carol, but Carol just stroked her hair. She wanted Therese to hear her.

"Because you're very sick, Therese. I don't think we ought to wait and see anymore; I think it's time that we had someone give us some advice." Carol bit her lip, feeling her own emotions and fear well up behind her eyes. "I'm not sure how to help you right now, baby."

Therese's eyes held a look of alarm at Carol's words. "Carol, am I very sick?" Her voice was plaintive, and this time, Carol did take Therese into her arms.

"Yes, sweetheart. You're quite ill. Your fever isn't staying down. I'd like to have Jane look at you."

Therese snuggled into Carol for a moment, and Carol rocked her for a few moments, letting Therese rest, before she gently rubbed her cheek again so Therese's eyes would open. "Is that all right?"

Therese swallowed painfully, and Carol reached for her bottle, slipping the nipple between Therese's lips and watching her suck thirstily for awhile until she seemed satisfied. Then Therese nodded, just barely.

"I don't want to be sick anymore," she whispered.

"All right, sweetheart. We're going to have to get you ready." Carol checked Therese's diaper, finding it wet. "I'm going to put some panties on you. It's all right," she soothed Therese, who immediately tensed up. "You won't have any accidents and if you do, we'll fix you right up."

"What if it happens in front of her?" whispered Therese. Carol kissed her forehead.

"I'm sure she's seen much worse, darling. I'm not sure she'll even notice if you're covered up. But it won't happen." Carol carefully disentangled herself from Therese and crossed the room, hiding the laundry hamper that held Therese's diaper laundry in the wardrobe. She quietly removed the bottle from the bedside table and went to the bathroom, fetching Therese's water glass and filling it.

She came back and quietly changed Therese, hissing under her breath as it seemed that Therese's rash had spread all over her body at this point. As Carol gently eased off her pajama pants, she noticed that the rash seemed worse in the crook of Therese's knees and elbows. It had spread up her tummy. Trying not to chill her little girl, Carol gently raised her shirt to see that it had spread onto Therese's chest, too. She pulled Therese's shirt back down and finished dressing her.

"All done." She leaned down to kiss Therese's forehead and frowned a little as it seemed to be getting hot again. Just then, the buzzer sounded.

Therese opened her eyes. "Don't go."

"I have to go, sweetie. I'll be back in just a moment." She covered Therese up securely and left the room, trying not to see Therese's trembling lower lip. Leaving Therese right now was hard; pretending that they were nothing more than just lovers would be even harder. Therese was so clingy right now that Carol knew she might have to be out of the room, or at least out of Therese's sight.

Carol pressed the buzzer and heard Jane climbing the stairs with a heavy tread. It really was too bad to call her out at this time of night, thought Carol. But there was nothing else. The next step would be to take Therese to the hospital, and that may be what would happen if they couldn't get her fever down. The aspirin was working, but not enough.

When Carol opened the door to a ponderous knocking, she didn't know what she expected. It certainly wasn't the small, dumpy woman standing in front of her, dressed in a rumpled nurse's uniform and spotless white shoes. Jane Bierman looked tired and disinterested. Her face was set into a permanent frown, and her hair was messily scraped back into a bun. Carol could see the pins where her nurse's cap would sit on top of her frizzy head.

Jane didn't say hello. She just walked straight in. "You must be Carol Aird," she said, her flat New York accent grating to Carol's ears. "Abby told me that you needed some help tonight? But before we start, I'm just going to say - I ain't no doctor, lady. You'd have been better off calling one. There's not much I can do if she's really sick except call an ambulance for you."

Carol blinked in the onslaught of Jane's words, spat out as she removed her shoes. The heat in the tiny foyer was stifling, and Jane wiped her forehead. "I don't suppose I could get some water before I go in?"

"Of course," breathed Carol. "Please make yourself at home. I won't be a moment." She cursed herself slightly for forgetting her manners. How awful! Carol blamed it on her worry about Therese and quickly filled a glass of water, dropping in some ice cubes. The fans weren't doing much to push the humid air around tonight. She was grateful that at least the bedroom would be cool.

Jane took the glass from her without thanks and drank half of it in a few gulps. "That's better. Well, where is she?"

"This way," Carol murmured faintly, a little shocked and now definitely wary about letting this woman around her very sick little Therese. But she turned and led the way down the darkening hallway to the bedroom door. She knew that Jane wasn't going to judge them, and she certainly wouldn't turn them in, which was Carol's biggest fear, but Carol felt her heart quicken with anxiety as Jane pushed open the door.

But if Carol had expected Jane to be as brusque and no-nonsense with Therese as she had been with Carol, she was mistaken. Jane's entire demeanour changed the minute she walked through the door. She softened and became gentle, walking immediately to the side of the bed to brush Therese's sweaty bangs out of her miserable little face.

"Hello, sweetie. You must be Therese. I'm Jane; I'll be looking after you today."

Therese tossed her head and pouted, saying nothing, but letting out a whimper. Jane hushed her. "Shh, shh. Oh, I can see you're a little under the weather. Poor thing. That's quite a fever." Over her shoulder to Carol, Jane said, "When was the last time you took her temperature or gave her any medication?"

"I took it about two and a half hours ago. It was 104 degrees Fahrenheit. I gave her aspirin then."

"Hmm." Jane ran a hand over Therese's forehead again, the hand that had been on her icy glass of water, and Therese closed her eyes. "I'd like to take it again, if you don't mind, sweetheart." She directed this last to Therese, who just turned her head, moaning a little. "Oh, I know you must feel terrible. But I have to get a reading so that we can figure out how to bring that fever down."

"Let her take it, please, Therese," said Carol, and Therese looked at Carol, then, her chin starting to quiver. Carol quickly shook her head, and Therese bit her lip, clearly trying to quell her need for Carol. She managed to stay quiet, but not before a tiny whimper came out and cut Carol straight to the heart.

If Jane noticed anything, she didn't say. She asked Therese to open her mouth and shone a tiny penlight into her throat before slipping a thermometer into Therese's mouth and checking her pulse, counting under her breath as she looked at her watch. After a few moments, she took the thermometer out of Therese's mouth and looked at her, smiling sympathetically. The smile transformed her whole face, and for a brief second, Therese's dimples showed a little in response.

"Well, you're at 101, which isn't ideal, but it's not 104. I suspect that fever's going back up, and that ain't good. That throat also is quite a mess." She looked up at Carol. "Pulse is a little fast, too. She's a little bit early for more aspirin, but I'm guessing part of the issue is that you're waiting too long to give her more medication. Waiting the full four hours gives the fever a chance to come back. Start dosing her at three and a half hours."

Carol nodded, but she looked down at Therese in concern and then finally turned back to Jane. "But what is this? I've never seen anyone so ill."

"It's scarlet fever," said Jane, standing up to face Carol. "And I'm afraid it's pretty contagious. If you haven't had it, you're gonna get it."

"I've had it," said Carol firmly, remembering vaguely having the sore throat and rash when she was in her teens. "But she's got a terrible rash; I've never seen anything like it, and I've got a little girl of my own," she finished, swallowing down the painful lump that always threatened to form in her throat whenever she talked of Rindy. "And I don't remember anything like it when I had it."

Jane picked up her bag from the floor. "Chances are, lady, you had it when you were a kid, right? Well, kids don't usually get it quite as bad as adults do. And Therese is very sick, make no mistake. If you can't get that fever to stay down tonight, you're gonna have to take her to the hospital. Now," she said, turning back to Therese. "I can't write prescriptions, obviously, but you're gonna have to get her some penicillin if you want her to start feeling better. I highly suggest you go to the hospital tonight, in fact."

"No," moaned Therese, tossing her head on the pillow and rolling over onto her side, away from Jane. "No hospital."

"Therese, honey, do you understand how sick you are?" Jane's voice was gentle, but for the first time all night, Carol heard a slight hint of concern. "You need some antibiotics to fight the infection. A doctor has to prescribe those for you; I don't have anything that I can give you."

"No hospital," whimpered Therese. Her eyes were starting to look a little glazed, and Jane exchanged a look of concern with Carol as Therese started to cry. "I don't want to."

"Therese, darling . . ." Carol trailed off, at a loss. "I'm not sure I can move her like this. She's really quite ill."

Jane shrugged and started walking towards the door. "Well, I can't do anything for you except maybe run her a cool bath to try to bring down her fever. She's not due for another dose of aspirin for at least forty-five minutes. I can call an ambulance, but it'll cost you."

"Cost isn't an issue," Carol practically snapped, then felt badly. This woman was only trying to help. She tried to modulate her voice. "I mean, I'm sorry. Do you think she needs to have an ambulance called?"

Jane turned back and looked at Therese, who was whimpering softly into her pillows. "Well, I don't like the look of her. Lady, I think you really should have called a doctor instead of me. I get why - trust me, I do - but she doesn't look good and she really should have seen someone earlier today." Jane reached into her bag and pulled out a small black address book. "In fact, I think I'm gonna make a judgement call, here, and ask to use your telephone. I know several on-call physicians who would come out tonight."

Carol closed her eyes for a moment, understanding everything this meant. They could be turned in if anything was suspected. Harge could find out more and use it to deny Carol any access to Rindy. It could all unravel, and quickly. But she knew that Therese's health mattered more.

"All right," she whispered. "You can use the phone, certainly."

"Thanks." Jane went to walk out of the room, but not before Therese started muttering under her breath. Both women stopped at the door to look at her, and Carol came back in to sit next to her.

"Therese? Sweetheart, did you have something to ask Jane?"

"Don't want to be a bother," muttered Therese. "Don't need the hospital. It's going to cost too much. Sister Alicia said calling the doctor is too much money."

Carol frowned and looked up at Jane before turning back to Therese. "Therese, you're not with Sister Alicia. We're going to call the doctor to make you better."

"No, no, it's too much money." Therese's eyes flew open, then. "It's just a chill. It's just a little chill."

Jane came back in the room and attempted to put her hand on Therese's forehead, but Therese shook her off and moaned. Jane frowned. "She seems to be going into a bit of a fever spike. Can you start running a bath, please? Lukewarm water. We don't want to chill her."

Carol nodded and immediately left the room, but not before she heard Therese cry out. "No! No, we don't have the money for that!"

Carol found herself holding back tears as she started to run the bath, and she impatiently wiped her eyes. Keep it together, Carol, she told herself, and sat up a little straighter. Therese always worried about money, even though she knew their savings accounts were more than healthy. Therese worked so many overtime hours that she always had a fair bit to put into savings, and Harge ensured, grudgingly, that Carol was well provided for. Most of that Carol diverted to the account she'd set up for her trust fund and investment dividends. They mostly lived from Carol's furniture store salary and Therese's main paycheque, dipping into savings for incidentals like the air conditioner. They were never, ever short of money, but Therese worried all the same, sometimes poring over the budgets and bills on Saturday mornings, making sure they saved where they could. Carol had never questioned it - it was just one of Therese's little quirks, and Carol had never had to worry about any financial chores before the divorce - but she found herself understanding for the first time why Therese worried so much.

Jane came into the bathroom with a set face. Carol couldn't hear much of what was going on in the bedroom, but Jane looked concerned. "She's asking for you. She's a bit upset. I'll carry on here."

Carol nodded and went back into the bedroom, where Therese was sobbing. "Oh, dear heart. Oh, shh." Carol sat down on the bed next to Therese and leaned down to kiss her hair.

"Mama," wept Therese. "Mama, Mama."

Carol just stroked Therese's hair, her eyes filling with tears. "Therese, love. It's Carol. I'm right here. Don't cry."

"Mama," Therese sobbed, holding out her arms, looking at Carol right in the eyes. "I want Mama."

"Oh, darling. I'm so sorry. Mama isn't here. But I'm here. Come here. Shh, come here to me." Carol took Therese into her arms and Therese cuddled into them, turning her hot face into Carol's chest and nuzzling against Carol's breasts. Carol leaned down to kiss Therese's forehead and felt a familiar welling in her chest, something she hadn't felt since Rindy had been a newborn. She pulled away a little, still cradling Therese.

"There. Feeling a little better?" She stroked Therese's cheek, and Therese sighed shakily.

"Mama," she murmured, and Carol's heartstrings tugged.

"I'm so sorry, Therese. I don't know where she is. But I'm right here. We're going to take care of you and make you all better."

Just then, Jane came back into the room. "I'm ready for her."

"All right," replied Carol. "I'll just get her undressed and we'll be right there." She waited until Jane had gone out of the room and then got up, gently peeling back Therese's covers to expose her body slowly, trying not to chill her. Therese's body was hot and sweaty, though, and she just appeared to relax as the cool air of the room enveloped her, though she clutched herself and whimpered.

"Oh, dear," murmured Carol. "You've had a little accident, sweetheart. It's all right. We're going to give you a nice cool bath to bring down that fever." She started to slide Therese's pants off, and Therese whimpered.

"No. No bath."

"Yes, Therese. Then we're going to give the doctor a call and get you some medicine."

Therese didn't argue after that, and Carol quietly undressed her and then wrapped her in the blue blanket that was at the end of the bed, pulling up the covers to hide the wet spot on the sheets from Jane. She then picked her up easily and brought her into the bathroom, where Jane was waiting.

Jane looked faintly surprised at the sight of Therese in Carol's arms, but she didn't say anything. She just moved aside so that Carol could help Therese into the bath. Immediately, Therese began to cry as soon as she hit the water, and Carol's brow furrowed again as she tried to hold back her own tears.

"I'm so sorry, Therese."

"It's all right, sweetie. I know it's not very nice," said Jane, her voice gentle, and Therese calmed down a little, though she covered herself the best she could. She seemed a little more alert and a lot less delirious. Jane placed a cool cloth over Therese's forehead and then checked her watch. "It's a little early, but it is past the three hour mark. I think we could give her some aspirin, then I'd like you to sit with her while I call Dr. Green."

"Of course," said Carol, getting up and bringing the aspirin back from the bedroom. Therese, slumped in the bath, obediently swallowed the aspirin and then whimpered, closing her eyes again.

"That will help," murmured Jane. "Just keep the water on her shoulders, and change the cloth when it starts getting warm. We need to keep her cool."

She disappeared, and Carol sat beside Therese, gently splashing water over her shoulders. She didn't say anything for a few moments, knowing Therese was falling asleep. Through the open bathroom door, she heard Jane on the phone.

"Yes, it's a case of scarlet fever. Young woman, in her mid-twenties, maybe? High fever and she seems a bit dehydrated. She needs a shot of penicillin for sure, and a prescription. I wouldn't count out taking her to the hospital tonight, but that's your call, Dr. Green. We've got her in the bath right now to bring down her fever. A little episode, yes."

Carol looked down at Therese. The telltale red rash was now covering the majority of her body, and her flushed face glowed above the water. Looking at her, Carol wondered how she could miss the scarlet fever, but she remembered dimly learning from a book of childhood diseases she'd read when Rindy had been born that it usually took awhile for the rash to show.

The real concern was the febrile episode Therese had just had. The delirium had been more than alarming, though Rindy had had a similar episode when she'd had the measles. Thinking of how Therese had called out for her mama, her voice holding a hint of an Eastern European accent as she'd pronounced the word, made Carol tear up slightly. Her breasts twinged in response, and she felt wetness on her chest.

Carol stared down at herself uncomprehendingly for a moment until she understood what had happened. She'd leaked, and noticeably, too. Two spots the size of a fifty-cent piece stained her white blouse. While she was sure she didn't have much milk even still, apparently it was starting to come in.

Carol realized she'd have to change her blouse right at the time Jane came back in. Carol quickly turned so that Jane couldn't see the front of her blouse, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Dr. Green will be here in about twenty minutes. How's she doing?"

"She's asleep, I think," said Carol, moving so that Jane could sit on the toilet beside Therese in the tub. Jane removed the cloth and put a hand against Therese's forehead and cheek, and she smiled slightly.

"Well, her fever is going down, and quite a lot. Feel here," she said, and grabbed Carol's hand without asking, pressing it against Therese's skin. Therese murmured a little in her sleep, shifting away from the touch, but not before Carol felt the relative coolness of her cheek. She blinked suddenly as her vision blurred, and Jane gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Anyway, I think we'll avoid the hospital tonight if you are very careful to stay on top of her fever. I'll watch her if you want to lay out some fresh clothing for her."

Carol belatedly remembered she needed to change the bottom sheet on the bed. "Thank you."

After changing her blouse and bra, Carol quietly stripped the bed without disturbing the top sheet and comforter and put their second-to-last bottom sheet on the bed, laying out a pair of light blue cotton pajamas for Therese.

She was just so grateful that the crisis appeared to be past.

//~//

Carol picked up the bag of laundry, ready to be sent out as a rush job tomorrow morning, and placed it by the front door. They would never go to the expense of sending out laundry on Saturdays, mostly because Therese wouldn't hear of it - she still had an old wringer-washer she'd brought from her old apartment. But Carol was beyond exhausted and the idea of washing sheets herself was beyond her just at the moment.

Dr. Green had quickly given Therese a shot of penicillin within a moment of seeing her. Therese had whimpered, but she'd taken the shot well, considering her self-professed fear of needles due to an unsympathetic nurse when she had been a child in the Home, getting vaccinated for smallpox. Her fever had stayed relatively low, under 100F for the first time all day, and she lay asleep in the bedroom, securely diapered and covered up, the bottle of pills on the bedside table. Dr. Green had taken the liberty of filling the prescription himself at the hospital where he and Jane worked before he'd come over, and Carol had been so grateful that she'd given him extra money for his effort, and Jane, too.

Carol sipped from her glass of bourbon, happy that Therese seemed to be much more content. She rubbed a foot up and down her leg, feeling the exhaustion start to set in. Dr. Green had warned her that she was at risk for strep throat and had given her a shot of penicillin, too, as a prevention against any infection. Carol ruefully rubbed her hip, but was grateful for the extra care.

Just then, she heard Therese begin to whimper from the bedroom, and she got up, wandering down the dark, cool hall to where her little one was supposed to be asleep.

Therese was sitting up in bed, faintly surprising Carol, who hadn't seen her sitting up all day. She turned towards the light from the opening door and held out her arms to Carol, who immediately went to her, settling with Therese back against the headboard, kissing her still-warm forehead and cheeks. Therese was warm, but she wasn't hot, so Carol relaxed a little.

"Hello, angel."

"Carol, I need you," Therese murmured, turning immediately to touch the buttons on Carol's blouse. "I need to nurse."

"I think you should nurse," said Carol, smiling a little at the faint surprise on Therese's face. "You haven't had anything to eat all day, darling."

Therese settled against Carol, latching on a little tentatively after Carol had unbuttoned her blouse. She still seemed a little wary of the milk, but quickly closed her eyes and nursed raptly, her eyes closing, her jaw working sweetly as Carol stroked her hair.

Therese didn't nurse long. She was too tired to do much of anything, and she unlatched only a few minutes after asking. She lay against Carol's chest for a moment, her lips milky in the half-light, and murmured, "Mama."

Immediately Carol put a hand on her forehead, but Therese didn't feel any different than she had before. She just smiled, nuzzling closer to Carol. Carol sighed. "Sweetheart . . ." She trailed off. How could anyone tell the person they loved most in the world that they couldn't see their mother?

But Therese opened her blue-green eyes and looked up at Carol, smiling. Her eyes were clear and steady, and Carol kissed her forehead.

And Therese said, "Mama," and nuzzled back into Carol, closing her eyes again.