Several hours later..."Ant...Anthony...the doctors arrived." Daniel's quiet voice caused Ant to slightly startle and it took him a moment or two to remember where he was before he was completely awake. He scrubbed his face with his hands then looked down to his left at his sleeping friend. At that moment, a tall middle-aged man stood outside the open bedroom door.

"May I come in?" he asked, waiting until Ant nodded then slid off the bed. He met the doctor halfway and the pair shook hands.
"Dr. Kerry Shannon but call me Kerry," he said, smiling warmly.
"Anthony McPartlin but you can call me Ant," Ant replied before turning to show the doctor to the bed.
"I understand that Declan's quite ill," the doctor stated as he placed his medical bag on the bed then sat down at Dec's side, all without Dec even stirring. For the next several minutes, Daniel and Oliver reviewed with the doctor the vitals they had recorded throughout the night while Ant went to the kitchen to start a kettle on to boil for tea as well as start a pot of coffee for the group. Once finished, he returned to Dec's bedroom to see that his oxygen mask had been removed and he was lying back against a mound of pillows staring blearily at the doctor with a slight frown. His t-shirt and pants had been removed, leaving him in his boxers and it seemed every bit of his body was sprinkled with small, red blisters. As Ant approached, he could also see goose pimples on his friends shaking body and he frowned when a chesty cough escaped Dec.
"That doesn't sound too good, Deccy." Ant shook his head as he sat down on the opposite side of the bed. "Well, whats the verdict, Kerry?"

Dr. Shannon kept his attention on Dec as he answered Ant's question. "You do have a case of chicken pox, Declan and it's not going to be very pleasant for the next 7 to 10 days for you...for either of you, for that matter," he added, looking over his shoulder at Ant. "Now, I'm going to prescribe an antibiotic for the cough and to fight off pneumonia and he'll continue with the benadryl for the itching, co-codamol for the headaches and achiness and it will also help with the fever."

"What do I need to do to make things easier for Dec? I'm a little nervous about this," Ant said, looking at his friend, wondering how he was going to be able to take care of him.

The doctor turned around and focused on Ant, taking in how tired he looked and the general anxiety he could see radiating off the young man.

"My suggestion is for you to get some help from his family members or friends for at least the next 5 to 7 days. Declan is going to be very ill and is going to need help with taking care of himself...he's going to feel much worse before he begins to feel better. Right now, he's very weak and run down. The high fever is going to wipe him out and you don't need to become so run down yourself that you too become ill."

"Brothers...ring me brothers," Dec whispered as he rubbed his hands over his face. "Not me mother hen sisters...and not me mam...please." His tone became almost whiny and Ant couldn't help but smile at his friend.

"You want me to call Eammon, Dermott and Martin?" he asked, just wanting to make sure Dec knew that he was being understood.

"Aye...them lot," he replied before turning to the doctor. "Me clothes...want them back...I'm freezing." Dec's request was immediately granted and between Ant, Daniel and Oliver's efforts, he was soon  enjoying the warmth of being fully clothed again. He sighed as he adjusted his covers before beginning to drift off to asleep.

"With that many, between the lot of you, Declan will be on the mend in no time," Dr. Shannon said with a smile. "I'll have the chemist get the prescriptions sorted out and delivered to you."

"That's okay," Ant interrupted. "Me wife, Lisa can pick them up and any other items we might need." Dr. Shannon nodded then gave Ant a list of creams and instructions on how to make Dec more comfortable. Oatmeal baths in tepid water 2 to 3 times a day will help with the itching but dont use soap or shampoo since theyll dry out his skin, aggravating the itch.

The instructions continued on until Ant was certain he'd forget everything and cause his best friend to die some incredibly horrible chicken pox induced death.

"Listen, adults can have more serious problems with chicken pox but he's not in any life or death situation," Kerry reassured him. "He's only going to feel miserable enough to die." He returned to the bed and bent over Dec's sleeping form. He gently pinched Dec's right hand and was pleased to see that he no longer appeared to be dehydrated.

"I'll be round before my night shift begins, Declan," he whispered without even waking the man up. He made quick work of disconnecting the IV bag but left the port in his hand. "We need to leave this in so that we won't have to stick him again if another IV or any additional medications are necessary," he said stepping back from the bed.

"You have my personal number, Ant...please use it if you notice any distress or difficulties in breathing." With that said, Ant walked the doctor back through the house to the front door. "Hes going to be okay," Dr. Shannon said with a reassuring smile as he shook the entertainer's hand. "I'll see you this evening." A few minutes later, Daniel and Oliver also decided it was time to leave and Joe was called to take them back to the theatre where their vehicles were. Once Joe arrived they left their phone numbers with Ant encouraging him to call either one of them for any reason. Ant waved as Joe drove away then stood in the drive for a few minutes just trying to wrap his head around what had happened in the last 12 hours. A neighbor driving by, honking their horn and waving brought Ant out of his swirling thoughts and he waved back before closing Dec's gate and entering the house.

For several minutes, Ant sat in the kitchen, enjoying a cup of tea and piece of toast. He had called Lisa and she had already been by to pick up the prescriptions Dr. Shannon had left.  While he was waiting for her return Ant got on Dec's phone and easily found each of his siblings in his contacts. He began the process of calling Eammon, Dermott and Martin and, about 30 minutes later, he entered Dec's bedroom only to find him coming very slowly out of the bathroom, holding on to various pieces of furniture as he made his way back to his bed.

"Why didn't you call me?" Ant asked, rushing across the room to put his arm around Dec's waist to keep his friend from going face first into the carpet.

"I had to wee and I've been taking care of that by meself for almost 40 years, thank you," Dec answered in a grumpy tone. He truly couldn't believe how horrible he felt. He didn't mean to be so sharp with Ant and he sighed heavily before starting to apologize.

"It's just the fever and pox talking," Ant interrupted with a smile as he helped Dec to lay on his bed before pulling the covers up over his body.

"Since you thought you were immune all this time, Eammon is going to wait and come next week when you're no longer contagious but Martin and Dermott are coming in later tonight to help until you're back on your feet again."

Dec nodded, scratching at his arm only to slightly frown when Ant gently stopped him. "Let's get some cream on those, Decs...just let me go downstairs and see if Lisa has made it back with your prescriptions." He quickly went downstairs and called Lisa and several minutes later she came by with the medications as well as a pot of her lamb stew.

"This is grand, Lisa...thanks, pet," Ant said with a smile, taking the steaming pot of stew from his wife. "Let me just set it on the hob...I'll be right back, love." It didn't take long for Ant to return to the front door.

"How's Doolittle doing?" she asked, rubbing Ant's shoulder before giving him a kiss and hug.

"Miserable but he's going to be okay...it's just going to take a while. Dermott and Mart are coming this evening to help for the week and Eammon will make it next week," Ant answered, leaning into his wife. They held each other for a few more moments before Ant stepped back.

"Well...it sounds like I better get busy in the kitchen then for the lot of you. I'll make some of Doolittle's favorites," Lisa said with a smile before kissing her husband. "Please be careful, pet...don't get sick."

"Aye...love you, Lisa." Ant quietly closed the front door then headed back up the stairs with Dec's medications. Minutes later, he had covered several areas on Dec's body with cream and had reentered the bedroom after washing his hands in the bathroom.

"I want some more of the itch medicine, Anth," Dec whispered. "My skin...it feels like...it's crawling with ants."

Ant gave him two benadryl tablets then helped Dec with the nasal cannula since the doctor instructed him to be sure and have his friend on oxygen for as long as he was on the strong combinations of medications. Once that task had been done, Ant wet a flannel in the bathroom sink then returned to sit on the bed at Dec's side. He gently wiped his friend's sweaty face. "Martin and Dermott will be here tonight and Eammon is waiting until you aren't contagious before he comes," he said quietly, reminding Dec, then watching as he seemed to be fighting a losing battle with staying awake.

"Lisa brought over some lamb stew and if you think you're ready to eat something I'll heat up a small bowl of it," he offered only to frown when he saw Dec swallow hard then shake his head. "Think...I'll pass...on that," Dec said. "Sorry...maybe later, Anth..."

"No problem...just rest and I'm going to get the other bedrooms ready for your brothers in a bit." Ant continued to gently wipe Dec's face for a few minutes more until it was obvious that his friend had fallen asleep. Carefully, Ant stood up from the bed then walked to the bathroom where he tossed the flannel into the sink before leaving the room. Once in the hallway, he leaned heavily against the wall and shook his head...the next two weeks were going to be a huge challenge.