With Determination and Honor

by: Ginny

Pairing(s):Jed/Abbey
Category(s):General
Rating: YTEEN
Disclaimer: The usual.
Summary: Something is wrong with Gov. Jed Bartlet.
Feedback: Feedback is greatly appreciated.
Author's Note:Thanks to Becky who boosted my self esteem more than once and to Janie, our medical advisor.

By Ginny

Part 8

By 9:30 Jed was awake and Tom was on his way to do the spinal tap. Two nurses came in and prepped Jed for the test. Abbey was torn between her wife and doctor modes but had decided to just stay out of the way and be there for Jed. That plan failed when one nurse was called away at the last minute. She stepped in to help Tom get it done.

"Honey, roll on your side towards me, bring your knees up and your chin down."

"You're joking right, I'm not a kid anymore, I'm not that flexible" groaned Jed.

"We'll you're going to have to try or I'm getting a big burly orderly in here to help" teased Abbey.

Jed did the best he could. Abbey stood in front of him and hooked her left arm behind his knees and put her right hand on the back of his neck.

"Tom's just going to numb the area, you'll feel a little pinch" said Abbey. "There, give it a minute to start to work and then we'll get this over with. You OK?"

"Yeah"

Abbey looked up at Tom who mouthed "ready?"

"Jed, stay as still as possible. Do some deep breathing or conjugate some Latin verbs to keep your mind occupied" teased Abbey, trying to ease some of the tension that was in the room. "Ready?"

"Yeah, do it"

"Jed, I'm going to insert the needle now. You shouldn't feel any pain, just some pressure..Good...now you're probably feel some pain for just a few seconds..just keep breathing and you'll do fine." coached Tom.

Jed flinched as the needle found its destination. Abbey leaned over to whisper to him.

"Sweetie, you're doing great. Just a little while longer".

Abbey peered over Jed and watched Tom fill the vials. He handed them off to the nurse.

"Jed, I'm just going to take the needle out, put a band-aid on it and you're finished. I want you to lay flat and still for at least 6 hours. The longer you are still the less chance you have of developing a headache. The IV fluids should help too. If you get a headache let us know, we can give you something. I'm going to take these vials to the lab myself, I'll be back in a couple of hours." said Tom.

"Thanks" whispered Jed.

Abbey walked Tom to the door and thanked him as well. The nurse cleaned up and left Jed and Abbey alone.

Abbey pulled up a chair and sat by Jed's head. She took his hand and kissed it.

"You did great, I'm really proud of you. Try and get some rest, OK?"

"OK"

It was only minutes before Jed fell asleep. Abbey settled down and dozed on and off for a few hours too. Tom came back to check on Jed and found them both sleeping. He had some results but didn't want to wake them. They would hear them soon enough.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

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