A/N: This was for the prompt "exhausted parents kiss" and it just...expanded.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
It started out as a typical Tuesday; Stevie gets on the bus for middle school, Alison on the bus for elementary school, and Henry drops Jason at daycare on his way to UVA for his 10 am lecture. Elizabeth had the day off- she'd spent the last week overseas, and Conrad had given her four days with her family before coming into the office.
She'd lounged in bed for longer than she had in too long, taken an uninterrupted, hot shower and deep conditioned her hair, and even watched a trashy morning soap opera without fear of tiny ears overhearing. It was, in a phrase, the perfect morning alone, and she's changing into jeans and braiding her hair to go muck out the horse stalls when the phone rings.
"Hello?" she picks up the phone, cradling it between her ear and shoulder as she finishes her braid, tying if off as she listens to the person talk on the other end.
"Hi, Mrs. McCord? This is Marian, from Widow Peak Elementary. Your daughter Alison is at the nurse's office, she threw up in class today. We need you to come pick her up."
Elizabeth holds in the groan, but instantly feels awful for her middle child. The stomach bug was never any fun, and Alison was never one to complain.
"I'll be right there," she tells the woman, hanging up the phone and quickly taking stock of the kitchen cabinets- there were some cans of soup, and she spied a box of saltine crackers.
She's almost out the door when the phone rings again- she knows before she answers that it's Stevie's school, and her shoulders sink when she's right. Two out of three- she wondered how long until Jason would be down for the count as well.
Stevie's school is closer, so Elizabeth heads there first; the eleven year old looks miserable, pale and clammy stretched out on the nurse's bed.
"Mommy," she moans, sitting up, and Elizabeth wraps her arms around her, kissing her head.
"I'm here baby. Let's go home and get you in some pajamas and on the couch, okay? Ali's sick too, we have to pick her up," Elizabeth told her, stroking her hair back, frowning at how hot her forehead was. She signed Stevie out, hefted her backpack over her shoulder, and let her eldest bury her face in her waist as they walked out of the school together, heading for the van. "Okay, in you go- do you feel like you're going to get sick again, Stevie?"
"No, Mommy. I don't think so," Stevie answered quietly, shivering as Elizabeth helped her strap in, leaning into the touch Elizabeth placed on her forehead. "It hurts, Mama."
"I know, baby. Just a little while longer and then we'll be home and we can get on the couch, okay?" Elizabeth assured her, and Stevie nodded, curling into the seat and closing her eyes.
She may have bent the rules a little to get to Alison's school as quickly as possible, but she just wanted to get both of her sick girls home as soon as possible. She leaves Stevie in the car, not wanting to move her, promising she'll be back soon, and heads to get Alison.
Her middle child looks as miserable as her sister- dark hair plastered to her forehead, but Alison has tears dripping down her cheeks. She'd never liked throwing up, and Elizabeth's heart breaks a little as she scoops her daughter up.
"I don't feel good Mommy," Alison sobs into her shoulder, soaking into her shirt, and Elizabeth rubs her back, kissing the side of her head.
"I know, Noodle, I'm sorry. I'm taking you home, we're going to make you feel all better, okay? Stevie's sick too, she's in the car," Elizabeth tells her, signing where necessary before she picks up Alison's back and starts heading for the car, letting Alison cry quietly into her shoulder. "Are you going to get sick again, Ali?"
There's a pause as Elizabeth sets Alison down on the ground before her eyes widen, and then she's leaning forward, retching into the grass beside the van- Elizabeth holds her hair, rubbing her daughter's back. "Let it out, honey, you're okay."
As soon as she's finished Alison starts crying again, and Elizabeth wipes her mouth with a few spare McDonald's napkins from the glove compartment before she picks Alison up, hugging her before she places her in her booster seat and dries her eyes.
"We're going to go home, and take a nice bath, and get in some comfy pjs, and put on a movie, okay?" she tells Alison, and Stevie, who reaches over to take Alison's hand in hers. Both girls nod, and Elizabeth makes sure Alison is properly strapped in before she gets back behind the wheel, and they head home.
To her surprise, Henry's car is in the driveway; he's not supposed to be home until after 7, due to a late lecture, and her eyebrows crinkle together as she parks the van.
"Daddy's home?" Stevie asks in confusion, and Alison blinks her eyes open at her voice, frowning.
"Did you tell him we're sick, Mommy?" she asks, and Elizabeth shakes her head.
"I didn't," she says, but the pieces fall into place after only a moment. "But I but your brother has what you two do."
"Oh no," Stevie groans, and Elizabeth almost joins her. She hefts Alison onto her hip, rubbing her back, and Stevie takes her hand, leaning into her other side as they make their way up the front steps and into the house.
"I was wondering why daycare called me to pick Jason up, but now I understand why you weren't home to pick up the phone," Henry says as they shuffle inside, his face softening as Stevie turns green and races for the sink. He holds her hair back as she retches, rubbing her back, and Alison buries her face in Elizabeth's neck, whimpering.
"Where's Jason, Henry?" Elizabeth asks as she watches him help Stevie drink a little water, rinsing her mouth out.
"I got him to sleep, he's in his bed, in some new pajamas. He didn't want a bath, he'll need one later," Henry tells her, and Elizabeth nods.
"You girls want to take a bath with Mommy? In the big tub?" Elizabeth asks, and both Stevie and Alison nod, clearly miserable.
"I'll get you guys some new pajamas, okay?" Henry suggested, and they both nodded again.
"Can we watch The Incredibles, Daddy? With you and Mommy? In your bed?" Stevie asked, quiet and tired, and Henry's eyes lifted to hers- they were both powerless to say now.
"Of course, honey. I'll get it all set up while you take a bath with Mom," Henry tells her, kissing the top of her head.
"Go upstairs and start the water for me, okay? I'll be right up. I just have to talk to Daddy really quick, okay?" Elizabeth said, and Stevie and Alison walked up the stairs together. "You know today was great until the stupid phone rang."
Henry's face loosened at that, and he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"I got some Gatorade, and more soup, so I think we should be okay on that front," he tells her, and Elizabeth nods, sagging against him. "You feel okay?"
"Yeah. I just feel terrible. Ali hates throwing up, she was sobbing when I picked her up," Elizabeth told him, and Henry frowned, rubbing at her back. "I hate when they're sick and I can't fix it."
"That's what makes you such a good mom," he reminded her, and Elizabeth lifted to brush her lips over his cheek, resting against him for a moment.
"I have to go make sure this bath hasn't become overrun with bubbles," she murmured, drawing a chuckle from Henry before she slipped away, heading up the stairs to the master bathroom.
Stevie and Alison were laying across her and Henry's bed, and she could hear the gush of water into the tub; when she peered in, she was surprised to find no bubbles on the surface.
"No bubbles?" she asked, and Stevie shrugged.
"We didn't want too many," she whispered, and Elizabeth softened.
"Come on. You guys pick, I'll pour," she beckoned them to follow, and Stevie let Alison pick the purple bubbles. Elizabeth poured them in, and when the tub was a little over half full and not too-hot to the touch, stopped the water. "Okay girls. Bath time."
Once they were all situated in the tub, Elizabeth couldn't help but think about how moments like this were few and far between. Her girls were growing up- Stevie was nearly a teenager, as much as Elizabeth hated to think about it, and even Alison was growing like a weed before her eyes. Both girls curled into her, sick-warm and miserable, and they all lay in the warm water for a bit, Elizabeth hoping the steam would help their heads a little.
When the water began to chill, Elizabeth ushered them out- Stevie and Alison both wrapped themselves in fluffy bath sheets while Elizabeth slid into her robe.
"Mo- Mama," Stevie stammered, moments before she pitched forward, retching up the small amount of water she'd swallowed earlier onto the tile floor.
"I got you, you're okay honey," Elizabeth soothed her as she puked, twisting her hair into a bun at the back of her head and securing it as she rubbed her back. "You're all done now, you're okay, take a breath."
Stevie gasped, panting, collapsing back into Elizabeth as the bathroom door opened and Henry walked in.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't make it to the toilet," Stevie let out a sob, and Henry reached forward and stroked her cheek, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, baby, it's fine. I'm going to get Noodle in her pjs- you and Mommy stay here, catch your breath, then we'll get you changed too, okay?" Henry said, scooping Alison up in her towel as Elizabeth snuggled with Stevie, rubbing her back as she calmed down until she was no longer sobbing.
"Better?" Elizabeth asked, and Stevie nodded, nestling into her neck.
"Can I get in pjs now Mommy?" she asked, and Elizabeth nodded.
"Let's go see what Daddy picked, okay?" she asked, and they stood together, heading into the bedroom. Alison was just getting settled under the covers, Henry fiddling with the DVD player.
"I got your butterfly nightgown all ready for you, Stevie," Henry told her, and Stevie gave a little smile as Elizabeth helped her get changed. Henry's hand briefly touched Elizabeth's back as he went to clean up the vomit from the bathroom floor, and she got Stevie settled in next to Ali as the movie started.
She brought her clothes into the bathroom to change into, finding Henry throwing out damp paper towels as she dropped her robe to change.
"Jason's still out. Noodle still looks pale, but hasn't thrown up again. I think we just keep their stomachs empty for a little bit, wait it out," Henry told her, and Elizabeth nodded, pulling her shirt over her head. "You look exhausted, babe."
"I think it's McCord family nap time," she tells him, sighing as she rubbed at the back of her neck. Henry came forward, gripping her hips in his hands.
"I agree," he said, bending down; Elizabeth lifted to meet his tired kiss, sinking into him as her arms linked around his neck.
"Come on. We have some sick little girls to cuddle," she tells him, pecking his lips once more before they both slip out of the bathroom to find Stevie and Alison waiting for them, snuggled together under the covers of their bed.