Chapter Text
John woke from the first full night’s sleep he had had in two weeks. He glanced to his right and smiled at the sight of Moira finally sleeping beside him, eyes and pillowcase smudged with the dark eyeliner she had fallen asleep in. Maneuvering her into pajamas and out of her wig when they returned from the café had been easy, removing her makeup was a task he was unprepared to tackle. He dropped a gentle kiss to her hair, so happy she was finally home, before he made his way into the bathroom to shower and begin the day. A day that would feel much more at ease now that Moira was safe at home.
His shower was just about complete when he heard the bathroom door slam open and seconds later, the sound of Moira retching. He poked his head out from behind the curtain, eyes wide with concern before quickly finishing the shower and shutting off the water. He reached for his towel and wrapped it around himself before pulling the curtain back completely. She was evidently done vomiting for the moment, as she was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall opposite the toilet. Her eyes were closed and she was taking long, slow breaths.
“Moira?” John approached her quietly, sitting himself on the ledge of their tub next to her. “Sweetheart are you alright?”
She slowly opened one eye and then the other, not daring to move her head for fear of a repeat performance. “Not at this exact moment, no,” was her shaky reply.
“What happened?”
She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. “I don’t know,” she answered after a few moments. “I woke up, heard you in here, and as soon as I lifted my head from the pillow, I felt like I was going to be sick.” Another deep breath. “And when I was sure I was going to be, I ran in here and… well you heard.”
“Do you think it was something you ate?” John asked as he reached a hand out to gently stroke her hair.
“I’ve hardly eaten since I arrived home.”
“Well maybe that has something to do with it?”
“Maybe.” She chanced slowly turning her head toward him, relieved when the nausea didn’t overwhelm her. “Though I can’t fathom eating anything in the foreseeable future, John.”
“Why don’t I tuck you back into bed and you can try to get some more sleep?” John offered, tightening his towel around his waist. “The bathroom floor can’t be all that comfortable.”
“I’m afraid if I move, I’ll be sick again.”
“We’ll take it slow; I promise.”
And slow it was, with only one lunge back for Moira to dry heave until her sides hurt, John holding her hair back from her face. Finally, he got her back to the bed and wrapped the sheet and quilt around her. He dressed quickly and made sure she had water, a wastebasket, and her phone should she need him, all within reach.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright,” he asked for the third time since she had gotten back into bed. “I could take the day, Stevie would understand.”
“You’re very considerate but, no,” she replied drowsily. “I am most certain I’ll be venturing into dreamland shortly. No reason for you to stay here and watch me sleep.”
John sighed. “Well, if you’re sure. Alexis should be working next door and I’ll just be in the office. If anything changes or you feel worse, please just call me and I’ll be here in less than a minute.”
“I know,” she offered him a soft smile. “I’ll be fine. But I do love you for being so concerned.”
He leaned over her with a smirk. “That the only reason?”
“No—just one of many.” John brushed a light kiss over her cheek before heading out the door toward the motel office.
***
John came back to the room an hour later, sent Alexis in an hour after that, and re-checked himself thirty minutes after that. Each time, Moira was still sound asleep and in the same position she had been left in. John wasn’t sure if that made him feel relieved or more concerned.
He poked his head through the connecting door to see Alexis focused on an email on her laptop. She glanced up when she heard the door open and offered her dad a small smile.
“Has your mother woken up at all?” he tried to sound nonchalant but Alexis was far too perceptive for him.
“Not in the last 30 minutes,” she replied with a knowing grin. “I’m sure she’s fine. It’s probably just her trip and those pills she took catching up with her.”
“I know, you’re probably right,” he sighed and leaned into the door frame.
“I mean, she’s not taking pills regularly anymore,” Alexis added hesitantly. “I’m sure Bosnian uppers are stronger than anything she takes now. That, and knowing Mom eats like a bird anyway, and less when she’s working, probably did a number on her stomach.”
Strangely enough, John relaxed more at his daughter’s logic. “That makes a lot of sense, honey. Thank you.”
“That’s what I’m here for!” she replied cheerily.
“John?” Moira’s voice drifted from their bed.
“I’ve been summoned,” he whispered to Alexis who giggled in response. He closed the door behind him as he pivoted back into his own room.
“When did you get back,” Moira asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, stopping once she realized just how much black eyeliner was smeared on her hands.
“Just a few minutes ago,” John answered as he sat next to her on the bed. “I’m sorry if we woke you.”
“You didn’t,” she assured him.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by my trailer,” she replied with a groan.
“Still nauseous?”
“No, thank goodness.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Think you could eat something?”
Her mouth twisted in concentration. “Maybe something light? Toast, maybe some soup?”
“Chicken noodle sound safe enough?”
“I think so. I’m going to take a shower while you’re gone.”
“I’ll be back shortly,” and with a brief kiss to her lips, he was gone.
A shower sounded heavenly and for the most part, it was. The warm water was very relaxing against Moira’s sleep deprived muscles and she was almost feeling like herself again. It was when she bent over to turn the water off that things went wrong. A wave of dizziness so strong passed over her she had no choice but to slide down the wall and sit on the floor of the tub. Unfortunately, she hadn’t accounted for the sound several bottles of shower essentials would make as she knocked into them. The sound brought Alexis running into the bathroom.
“Mom?!” she called nervously, taking another step toward the tub.
“I’m fine,” Moira replied much too shakily. “I just displaced some of the bottles on the shelf.”
“You don’t sound fine,” Alexis persisted.
“Alexis, really, it’s nothing. Could you please hand me my towel?”
Alexis said nothing and did as she was asked, only pausing when she noticed just where her mother’s arm was coming from.
“Are you on the floor of the tub?” she asked, clearly alarmed.
Moira hesitated before quietly answering, “Yes.”
“Mom what happened?” Alexis threw the curtain open just as Moira wrapped the towel around her body.
“It’s nothing, Alexis, really.”
“This does not look like nothing!”
“Alexis, please,” Moira suddenly sounded very tired. “I haven’t eaten anything substantial in several days and I was sick this morning. A hot shower on my own was a mistake on my part. I am just a touch woozy, but I’ll be fine once I eat something.”
Alexis looked at her mother skeptically, not sure if she should just believe her or not. “Are you sure?”
“Yes dear, but I do thank you for your concern and your haste to assist me.”
“I’ll be assisting you out of there and back to bed before I get back to work,” Alexis replied reaching a hand toward Moira. Once she was up and out of the tub, and seated on the bed, Alexis grabbed a clean pair of pajamas and brought them to Moira. “Do you need help with those?”
Moira smiled. “No. I think I still have the capabilities to dress myself, but thank you.”
“Ok, but I’ll be right next door if you change your mind.”
“Thank you, Alexis,” Moira responded sincerely. Alexis turned to head back to her own room and was almost through the door when Moira called to her. “Alexis?”
Alexis turned back toward her mother. “Yeah?”
“I’d appreciate it if we kept this little episode just between us. I don’t want to add to your father’s worry if I can help it.”
Alexis looked entirely uncomfortable with the request. Her mom had almost fainted in the shower and she wasn’t supposed to say anything? Yes, her dad would worry, but he probably had a good reason to. Ultimately, Alexis made the decision to agree. If she found it necessary later, she’d tell her dad what had happened.
“Sure,” she smiled uneasily before walking back through the door to her room, casting a worried glance back at her mother. Hopefully she was right and it was just a fluke thing.
Lunch seemed to have gone well as far as John could tell. Moira claimed to have felt much better after her shower and happily enjoyed lunch with him for the first time since her return from Bosnia. He left her to return to work only when she promised to stay home from Jazzagals rehearsal and simply relax in bed for the remainder of the day.
However, lunch had ultimately not gone well. Soon after John returned to the motel office, and Alexis made her way out for an afternoon with Ted, Moira again found herself on very close terms with the toilet, as she was once again sick. Obviously, some sort of stomach ailment was plaguing her and it was taking its time in taking leave from her body.
Thinking back on the occasions that David and Alexis were sick as children (and when she was actually present enough to notice), she vaguely recalled their ailments lasting between 24 and 48 hours. So hopefully, she would be feeling completely normal in just two days’ time. A tiny blip on the radar of life that would pass quickly enough.
Except it didn’t. The two days came and went with symptoms much the same. If Moira wasn’t throwing up as soon as she woke up, it happened sometime within that first hour. Anything she attempted to eat or drink eventually made its way back up no matter what time of day it was. Moira did everything she could to hide the severity of her illness from her family, and succeeded in some ways. She had figured out quickly how to be sick quietly, and blamed any tiredness or dizziness on jet lag and new shoes. Makeup was also helpful in hiding the darkening circles under her eyes and paleness of her cheeks, but all of those things only worked for so long.
On day six, she struggled to explain the broken blood vessels in her dull blue eyes.
On day seven, Stevie was the one to catch her yet again vomiting in the bathroom. Stevie wanted to go get John immediately, but Moira begged and pleaded with her not too. She promised she would tell him when he came home later that afternoon, which Stevie begrudgingly accepted. Of course, Moira did no such thing.
Finally, on day eight, John had returned early to the room to retrieve some paperwork, only to find Moira nearly passed out at her vanity. Currently stripped of all makeup (she had been reapplying for the day when the dizziness overwhelmed her), her pale, sickly appearance frightened him. He lifted her into his arms, noticing just how much lighter she felt in them. He gently laid her on their unmade bed and called for Alexis who came running, David not far behind.
“What’s going o—oh my God,” Alexis gasped as she got a good look at her mother. “Mom?”
“Moira, honey, open your eyes for me sweetheart,” John pleaded as he delicately stroked her ashen, sunken cheeks. She looked at him but didn’t seem like she was able to focus.
“John?” she asked weakly, eyes blinking furiously in an attempt to see straight.
“What happened?” David asked, his anxiety rising the longer it took Moira to come around.
“I don’t know, I came back to grab some paperwork and found her like this at the vanity,” John replied frantically. “Alexis, grab a bottle of water.”
Alexis started for the kitchenette but her mother’s voice stopped her.
“No, John, no water,” she said sounding just a bit more with it. “It’ll just make me retch again.”
“Again?” Alexis asked. “You mean you’re still puking?”
“What do you mean still?” John looked between his wife and daughter.
“What do you mean puking?” David interjected. Staying most nights at Patrick’s and spending days at the store, he wasn’t as aware of what had been happening as the rest of the family. His dad had said that his mother wasn’t feeling well, but hadn’t mentioned what type of illness had been plaguing her. For the time of year, David assumed a cold or something similar had been the cause.
“She’s been like, tired and dizzy and throwing up for like a week, David,” Alexis filled him in, to which David’s eyes widened almost comically. “But I thought she stopped puking days ago.”
“So did I!” Johnny added, turning again to look at Moira.
“That’s definitely not true,” came Stevie’s voice from the open doorway. “I caught her yesterday after lunch and she begged me not to say anything. Said she was going to tell you herself when you came home. Obviously that didn’t happen.” Three sets of stunned eyes stared at Stevie before she added, “sorry, I got kind of worried when you weren’t ‘back in a jiffy’, Mr. Rose.”
“I also found her practically passed out after her shower the day after she came home,” Alexis added, deciding now was a good time to break her promise of silence on the matter. “And I’m pretty sure there have been more than a few dizzy spells this week. You haven’t bought that many pairs of new shoes.”
John turned his attention back to Moira, who seemed more lucid than she had moments ago. “Is this true?”
Moira did not wear defeat well and this moment was no exception. Her eyes darted between four equally concerned faces before resettling on her husband. “I didn’t want to worry you, dear.”
“You haven’t kept anything down for over a week, Alexis finds you nearly passed out, and you didn’t want me to worry?” Johnny’s voice rose with each word. “Moira, something is obviously seriously wrong here!” He stood up and paced around the room before stopping in front of her at the foot of their bed. “And as for worrying, I think after 35 years of marriage I’ve earned the right to worry about you as much as I want!”
Tears flooded her clouded eyes and spilled over as she whispered in a smaller voice than any of them had ever heard before, “please don’t be upset with me.”
John immediately let go of the tension he was holding and moved quickly to take her into his arms. “Oh sweetheart,” he murmured as she buried herself into his embrace, clinging as tightly as she could in her weakened state. “I’m not angry. I’m just scared.”
“I’m sorry,” she hiccupped into his chest.
“None of that,” he said, taking her by both shoulders and offering a tight smile. “But no more hiding, ok?” She nodded. “And right now, I’m taking you to the emergency room whether you like it or not.”
His decision to take her to the hospital was met without protest, only worrying him more that something was really wrong with her. Even more concerning was the fact that both kids, and Stevie all took the time to hug her before they left. Once Moira was safely tucked in the passenger seat of the Lincoln, John made quick work of heading toward Elmdale General, David, Alexis, and Stevie watching from the motel door.
“Hey, David?” Alexis said in a voice just above a whisper.
“What?”
“Are you a little, um, worried, right now?”
He waited a beat before turning to look at his sister, his eyes blown wide with fear. “Little bit, yep.”
“Me too,” and she reached for his hand which he squeezed tightly in return. She grabbed Stevie’s hand with her other one and the three stood there in contemplative silence before begrudgingly heading back to their jobs. No actual work would be occurring, but going through the motions would at least be a distraction.