Thanks for the Mox visit.

Seems like Jeff really needed someone to break him out of the really self-destructive rut that he was in, and Zach Mox was definitely the person to do it - even if it just involved a lot of pushing Jeff around. Still, seems like he may be in a much better shape now than he was at the start of the chapter.

While I understand what Jeff is going through to a certain extent, my wife being a cancer survivor, Zach is absolutely right that, while Jeff may be unsure of what would happen to him if anything happened to Kim, she can't be everything to him any more. The kids have to come first. Especially if there is more than one. Now I honestly don't know what I would have done had my wife not survived cancer, even though my kids were older, but it's something you have to be able to deal with.

I do like what Zach is able to share at the end, so that Jeff knows it's something he's been through before. As I think I've heard many times before, the best friend is the one who is there with you, or has gone through the same thing before. And that's definitely what Jeff needed.

Thanks for writing. I always enjoy it. Even, this week, from Germany.

This chapter is amazing, thank you do much. But i have to tell that I dont like idea of crazy Jeff

Nice to get to know Sally a little better. Thanks.

I KNOW he pulls through, but you are really putting us and Jeff through the ringer here! Thanks for finding the time to write-you have a rare talent.

Thanks for chapter

Kim and music certainly do seem to go together, so it makes sense that he'd want to have whatever weird stuff she's currently listening to on in the background so that it could be there, even if there's no real way of knowing whether she could actually hear what was going on.

I can certainly understand the comfort of a routine. You get up and do things in a particular order, and if that doesn't work then you start to get more anxious about everything. So, with both his wife and newborn son in an intensive care unit, it's not at all surprising that he'd want to have some sort of schedule to live by.

With that security of the routine ripped away in that he's no longer able to hold Jack, I'm hoping that this doesn't throw Jeff off the deep end - though hopefully Sally and Chris are more than steady enough to get him off this and back onto the safe path. I guess we'll find out!

Thanks as always for writing.

I hope that, at some point in the future, I can be as calm as Sally and Chris Tomblin when it comes to a situation like that. Obviously they've been through a lot with their four children and everything that might have happened with them, but they're still very calm in the situation - though entirely practical as well.

Don't you hate it when you get together for dinner and two people just keep talking shop? ;-) Totally understandable in the case of Jeff and Siobhan as he tries to figure out who is around to care for his son.

I've certainly been there before on a child not wanting to let a parent out of their sight. They just want to have someone they know best close by. I'd probably have ended up sleeping with one of my kids in that situation as well.

And there's the voice of an experienced medical practitioner who can make everyone feel as though things are on track simply by talking. At least Jeff has that piece or relief. Let's hope that's exactly how things play out for Jackson at least.

Thanks as always for writing.

So there's good news here and bad news here. Good news is that they're finally in a first class hospital with people that Jeff knows involved in treatment. Bad news is that Kim is in a far more complex scenario than I think anyone would have liked. Of course, that's pretty much run of the mill for Kim, so not really surprising that she'd "choose" the more difficult route forward.

While Jeff may be tired, at least he now has his parents and Kim's parents around, because it's always good to have family there. And they have some definitive lab work back so that they know exactly what is going on and can do treatment accordingly. Obviously not great with Kim being infected with a second strain of Dengue, which will definitely make her life interesting moving forward if she needs to travel because of her job and her terrorism speciality, but at least they have a handle on things.

Can't say the prognosis is great - stability for a couple of days followed by a decline that will last one to two days. But being in the MICU is probably a better place than anywhere to go through that.

Thanks as always for writing. I definitely appreciate it.

Great chapter, you just made my terrible , horrible day bit better

Thanks for the update.

Nice to see everyone made it safely to DC. Has to be hard on Jeff just waiting until everyone is off the plane, hearing his wife and son be taken away, and not being able to move. I know I'd be frustrated.

I guess the AAP has changed their recommendations on how long to stay rear facing since my kids were small, as we had them forward facing from around 1 - or even earlier in the case of my son since it was when he got to about 20lbs. Can't see how the kids would like this as they want to see where they're going, and it's much easier for the parent to be able to just use the rear view mirror to check on the child - which is impossible if they're rear facing. Guess it's not about how easy it is for the parents though, but the safety of the child. :-)

Like a Tomblin would ever admit to not being able to get around. ;-)

Had to look up BLUF since we apparently don't use that in the private sector. Though plenty of people say things like "The bottom line is that ..." so I guess it's just a different usage.

And at last Jeff gets some time with Jack. Talk about having to wait a while to get your first hold. With both mine it was within minutes, and I held my daughter for a long time before my wife did since they had to finish up the c-section.

Thanks as always for writing!

Thanks for explaining the dengue types-I'd better stay out of Asia! Thanks for posting.

Very nice, Tomblins are back

Hi Sashile! I am a long time reader and I just wanted to say that I think this is my favorite story of yours yet! I have been reading your stuff since I was 15 years old, and I'm 22 now. Can't believe how long it has been! I actually just started nursing school in January so I actually understand everything that's going on in this story. Beyond being entertaining, I feel like i'm learning a lot! Anyway, just wanted to pop by to say hi, and thanks for writing. I have 7 am clinical every Monday morning and its nice to have this to read before preconference starts and I get going with my daily butt wiping.

How have you been? Are you still in the Army?