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Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked at him. “Zack? What are—” Her eyes widened and she shot out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
It took him a while to get the kids situated with TV, two trash cans, crackers and water, checking on Laurel in between. They needed a bath but that would have to wait until he took care of their mom. At least the kids weren’t actively puking. At the moment, anyway.
When Laurel had dry-heaved for the umpteenth time since he arrived he got worried enough to say screw it, and called Tobi’s cell phone. It went directly to voicemail, which probably meant she was working, so he left an urgent message asking her to call him ASAP.
Then he called Travis, wondering why Cody had called him instead of one of his uncles, but it made him feel good. Cody wouldn’t have called him if he hadn’t trusted Zack to take care of things.
“Where are you, Zack? We had a meet—”
“Never mind that,” Zack said impatiently. “Can you get over to Laurel’s apartment?”
“Why?”
“I need you to stay with the kids while I take Laurel to Urgent Care. I put in a call to Tobi but she hasn’t called back.”
“What’s wrong with Laurel and why aren’t the kids at daycare?”
“They’ve all got the vomit virus. The kids are better but I’m really worried about Laurel—There’s my other line. Get here quick.” He clicked over.
“Zack, what’s wrong?” Tobi asked.
“It’s Laurel.” He told Tobi what was going on, especially the fact that Laurel wasn’t getting any better and looked like death warmed over. “Do you think she could be dehydrated?”
“It’s certainly possible. Can you bring her here?”
“As soon as Travis gets here. The kids are better but they’re still home and I don’t want to bring them unless I have to.”
“All right. I’ll see you soon.”
Zack knew how badly Laurel must have felt when she didn’t argue about going to the clinic. He wanted to take her in her pajamas, but she refused.
“I’m not that sick,” she said. “I’m not going out in my pajamas.”
He thought it was dumb but he also knew better than to argue with a sick woman. He managed to get her into shorts and a T-shirt by the time Travis arrived.
“Thank God,” he said when Travis walked in.
“Hi, kiddos,” Travis said before turning to Zack. “How is Laurel?”
“Not good. She’s letting me take her to the clinic without an argument.”
Travis raised an eyebrow. “That’s a dead giveaway in itself of how bad she feels. Let me know what’s going on, okay?”
“I will. I’ve fed the kids crackers and water but I didn’t know what else they could eat. Plus, they need a bath.”
“So I see,” Travis said, looking at his niece and nephew. “We’ll be fine. Take care of Laurel.”
Ten minutes later, Zack walked into the Urgent Care clinic carrying Laurel. She tried to walk but Zack was afraid she would pass out, so he carried her, ignoring her complaints. “I’ve already carried you from the apartment to the car. What’s the big deal?”
“I feel stupid with you carrying me.”
“Yeah? You’ll feel worse if you pass out and hit your head.”
Tobi met them in the waiting room. “Bring her on back.”
Zack laid her down on the exam table. Tobi thanked him and kicked him out. “I will let you back in once we’ve got her taken care of. I’m going to put her on a saline drip and you can come sit with her then.”
“Tobi? Is she—is she going to be okay?” He hadn’t realized just how scared he’d been for her until he actually got her to the clinic.
