//------------------------------//
// Sickness Sets In 
// Story: The Final Crusade 
// by Enfield 
//------------------------------//

	The next morning James woke up a little earlier than he expected but he remembered, no job to pester his morning. He looked up at his alarm clock and saw the time was seven thirty, he would have to be at his place of former occupation in an hour if he still had to. James saw Apple Bloom sleeping peacefully on the inflatable bed that was on the floor, he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. 
“James!” Scootaloo was heard from the hallway, James sat up and looked toward the door. Apple Bloom turned to see what was going on, the door then burst open and Scootaloo slid into the room.
“James,” she said, “You gotta come now!” 
“What? What’s wrong?” James said getting up.
“It’s Sweetie Bell, something’s wrong with her,” said Scootaloo.
“What’s wrong?” Apple Bloom asked.
“It’s like she’s on fire,” Scootaloo said, “Her head is really hot and she doesn’t look too good.” 
James got up and went down to the spare room with Scootaloo. The door was slightly ajar and moaning was emanating from the bedroom, James went inside and saw Sweetie Bell lying on her side and groaning in discomfort. James slowly walked over to Sweetie Bell but Scootaloo was already at her side. 
“Sweetie Bell,” Scootaloo said.
“Scootaloo, did you get James?” Sweetie Bell asked. 
“It’s alright, I’m here,” James said, Sweetie Bell rolled onto her other side so James could see her face, all the color was drained from her face and sweat was dripping down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong with me?” she said weakly.
“Might be a fever,” James said placing the back of his hand against Sweetie Bell’s forehead, her temperature was easily over one hundred. Katherine and Apple Bloom then came into the spare room wondering what was going on. 
“What’s up with her?” Katherine asked.
“Fever probably,” said James, “See if we can get her downstairs so she can eat something.” 

James and Apple Bloom helped Sweetie Bell out of the bed and got her downstairs in the den and had her lie on the couch. As James went to fetch water from the fridge Apple Bloom and Scootaloo accompanied Sweetie Bell.
“It’s not just my head that hurts, everything does,” said Sweetie Bell. 
“When did this start?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Last night,” said Sweetie Bell, “It just happened slowly.”
“You were really hot, I could feel it,” said Scootaloo. 
“How did I get a fever?” Sweetie Bell asked the other two.
“Probably from the stress of the hurricane and that your immune system doesn’t have the antibodies to fight off the infections that we have here,” James said as he walked into the den with a handful of water bottles. He handed Sweetie Bell one and told her to drink, James then turned his attention to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
“Did you ever get sick at home?” James asked them.
“I got the cutie pox once,” said Apple Bloom, “But that was my own fault.” 
“I did get sick with a cold once,” said Scootaloo, “But I recovered in a few days.” 
“A few days?” James asked, “Last cold I got I was fine the next day.”
“I was younger then,” said Scootaloo. 
“Did your family help you?” asked James. 
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said looking away, “They did.”  
James got the feeling that something was a little peculiar with Scootaloo, but when Sweetie Bell tugged on his shirt he forgot about it.
“James,” she whined, “Can you turn the TV on?” 
James turned the TV on and gave Sweetie Bell the remote, but she thrust it back into his hand in an instant. 
“I don’t know if what I pick will be approved by you,” Sweetie Bell said with a smile. 
James took the remote and sat down next to Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo left the den and headed back up the stairs.
“We’re going back to sleep for a few hours James,” Apple Bloom said.
“See you in a bit,” said James, “I’m going to stay here with Sweetie Bell.”   

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo left Sweetie Bell and James, Dart came downstairs after the other two Crusaders went upstairs. Sweetie Bell gave up some space so Dart could jump up on the couch with them, an hour later Sweetie Bell said that she was hungry and James said that he was just starting to get a little peckish himself. He got some breakfast for him and Sweetie Bell then sank down next to her on the couch again.
“I’m hoping you recover in a day,” James said, “But just as a precaution I’m going to see if mum can take you to the doctors to get you checked out.” 
“Will it hurt?” Sweetie Bell asked fearfully.
“Only if you have to give a blood sample,” said James, “Don’t worry, I promise that I’ll be by your side if they have to.” 
“Thanks for the support,” said Sweetie Bell. 

Katherine later called the doctors and then took James and the Crusaders to the doctors. Once they got there a nurse took Sweetie Bell into the back, for three long hours James had no idea what was going on. As he paced up and down the waiting room Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were using James' iPhone to watch Top Gear, which they had grown a fondness for. 
“How much longer until we get a diagnostic of the situation?” James finally blurted out. 
“We’ll get one soon,” Katherine said not looking up from the magazine she was reading, “Just wait a little while longer.”
“We’ve been here for three hours,” said Scootaloo. 
“Three hours too long,” James muttered. 
“These things take a while,” said Katherine. 
“Are we ever going to see Samantha?” Apple Bloom said breaking her gaze from the phone. 
“Soon,” James said, “Not much longer now.” 

Just as James finished his sentence the doctor came out of the back of the waiting room. He was still looking at his clipboard, flicking through the papers on it. 
“Well doc, is she okay?” James asked. 
“She’s fine, the fever is just a reaction to the jellyfish poison that we discovered to be in her system,” the Doctor said.
“You drew blood?” James asked.
“No, physical evidence of the sting location was noticeable,” the Doctor said, “We are still going to have to take some deoxygenated blood out of her for tests.” 
“Did you tell her that?” asked James.
“Yes, which is why I’m here to see if you’ll accompany her during the blood extraction,” said the Doctor. 
“Lead the way,” said James. 
The Doctor led James out of the back of the waiting rooms to the room where Sweetie Bell was, the Doctor opened the door and let James enter first. Sweetie Bell was on an examination table, she sat up when she heard the door open. 
“I told you that I would be here for you,” said James. 
“The nurse should be here with the equipment shortly,” the Doctor said, “Before I leave I thought you might want to see what I found.” 
The Doctor pointed to Sweetie Bell’s foot where she had been stung. Sweetie Bell had been instructed by the Doctor to remove her shoes and socks. What James saw he couldn’t believe, her veins were bulging out and covering her entire foot and halfway up her leg, what made it even stranger was that the veins were all silver.
“What the hell is this?” James asked pointing his finger very close to Sweetie Bell’s foot. Sweetie Bell gave a small cry of pain and James pulled his had back. 
“Bugger me,” he said, “Sorry Samantha.” 
“Yes we learned about the sensitivity after we had her remove her footwear,” the Doctor said, “I’ll be back to draw blood, you should keep her calm.” 
The Doctor left leaving Sweetie Bell and James alone in the examination room. James felt a little bad about triggering Sweetie Bell’s painful reaction.
“Sorry about that,” James said, “I’ve just never seen this before.”
“My leg hurts more than ever,” said Sweetie Bell. 
“It’s okay, you’ll recover,” James said. 
Sweetie Bell cheered up a little, but then remembered that she was going to have her blood drawn.
“James,” she said, “What does it mean to draw blood?”
“Well they take a needle, stick it in a vein in your arm then take out some blood,” James said as he demonstrated with gestures. Sweetie Bell shifted uncomfortably and looked at the door.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
“Only if you don’t breath and tense up,” James replied, “I’ll instruct you what to do.”
“Have you had blood drawn before?” Sweetie Bell asked.
“The closest were immunization shots,” said James, “This could be much more different.” 

The nurse who would be extracting the blood came in through the door way followed by the doctor. As the nurse attached an airtight hypodermic needle to a small device the doctor wrapped a large rubber band around Sweetie Bell’s arm. 
“Just relax and it’ll be over quickly,” the nurse said lowering the needle closer to Sweetie Bell’s arm. 
“What’s attached to the needle?” James asked.
“A vacuum,” the Doctor said, “It will make sure we get deoxygenated blood.” 
Sweetie Bell grabbed James' hand and squeezed it. 
“Now hold your arm out and then we can get this over with,” the nurse said. 
“Look away and keep breathing,” said James. Sweetie Bell followed James' instructions and prepared for the worst. The needle vacuum clicked on, a small sucking then a hiss came from the needle hypo and then it clicked off, the nurse then inserted the needle into an exposed vein. Sweetie Bell made a very little squeak of pain and gripped James' hand tighter.
“Keep calm,” James said, “Should be over soon.”
“My god,” the nurse said. 
“This is very unusual,” said the Doctor. 
“What is?” James asked looking up. 
“The blood we extracted,” the Doctor said, “It’s like liquid silver.” 
The nurse took the needle out of Sweetie Bell’s arm and placed a gauze wrap over the needle wound. The Doctor took the blood sample and examined it closely. 
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. 
“This is weird,” said James, “Are you sure you didn’t take out the venom instead?” 
“I’m sure of it,” the Doctor said. 
“I’m done patching up the area of extraction,” the nurse said, “Shall I take the equipment as well?”
“Take the sample as well and keep it airtight,” the Doctor said. 
The nurse obliged and took the blood drawing tools out of the examination room, the nurse stopped just outside the door. 
“By the way, you are one brave little girl,” the nurse said.
“Thank you,” Sweetie Bell said with a cute squeak at the end, James thought that he broke one of his teeth when he clenched them together. 
“Cutest thing ever!” he thought to himself.
The nurse left leaving the Doctor with James and Sweetie Bell. 
“Well we gave her the anti-venom and drew blood for tests,” the Doctor said as Sweetie Bell put her shoes and socks back on, “Best treatment now is for her to rest and drink plenty of fluids.” 
“She’ll recover?” James asked. 
“Within a couple of days she will,” the Doctor said. He led the two back into the waiting room where Katherine was talking to the receptionists, she stopped when she saw James and Sweetie Bell.
“So is she alright?” Katherine asked. 
“She’s fine now,” the Doctor said, “I’ve already told your son here about what the treatment is.” 
“Bed rest and plenty of fluids,” James repeated. 
“Did the blood drawing hurt?” Apple Bloom asked.
“A little,” said Sweetie Bell. 
“Here, for all of you,” the Doctor said holding out lollipops. The Crusaders took them and left the office with Katherine and James.
“One more thing,” James said stopping as he was halfway out of the door, “You, Doctor, have some sort of accent that I recognize, might I ask what it is?” 
“Scottish,” the Doctor replied. 
“Knew it,” James said with a smile, he waved and caught up to Katherine and the Crusaders. 
“I feel as if I’ve seen that Doctor before,” Katherine said. 
“He has a very distinct Scottish accent,” said James as he helped Sweetie Bell into the back of the car then clambered in as well.
“Why are you back there?” Scootaloo asked.
“I’m making sure Sweetie Bell is okay,” said James. 
“Can I be in the front seat?” Apple Bloom asked.
“No it isn’t safe for you,” said Katherine. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both protested but were silenced by James. 
“Can you two keep it down? You know Sweetie Bell isn’t feeling well,” he said. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked a little guilty.
“Sorry Sweetie Bell,” Scootaloo said.
“It’s okay,” Sweetie Bell said, “I’m feeling really tired, can we get home now?”