Another one shot! Again, crazy dream involving four year old Charlie, Leo and Louisa's youngest son, and obviously Louisa.
For some reason, the dream/nightmare part of my mind likes picking on Lou O.o
"Mama, can we make a cake?"
"D'ya know how ta make a cake without burnin' the kitchen down?" Charlie shook his head, his curls bouncing. Louisa smiled. "Me neither."
"Daddy does."
"Well, Daddy's workin', ain't he?"
"Yeah…" Charlie mused.
"Do ya wanna see if Daddy's got any leftover pizza in the fridge?" Charlie nodded eagerly.
While Louisa searched the fridge for Leo's leftover pizza (he was good at hiding things), Charlie went to get his drawing pad. He had just picked up the box of crayons when he heard a clatter and something fall in the kitchen.
"Mama?" He called.
No response. "Mama?" Charlie called again, moving towards his bedroom door. His mama had never ignored him twice. "Mama?" Charlie's voice shook. Why was his mama ignoring him?
He went to find her. Maybe she hadn't heard him. "Mama?" There was half a pizza and a broken plate on the floor, but that wasn't Charlie's main concern. His mama had fallen over. Was she sleeping?
Charlie moved towards her and shook her shoulder. "Mama, wake up!" Nothing. "Mama, are you sleeping?" He tried to wake her up again, but to no avail.
Then he remembered the phone. His daddy had taught him how to use it- they had been prank calling Paul's new mobile phone.
Charlie ran for the phone. It was by the telly, in his reach. It had a curly cord connecting the phone to the thing with numbered buttons on. There was one number Leo had drilled into his head in case of emergencies.
911.
Charlie held the phone as he had seen his daddy do. He knew his numbers. Piece of pizza.
"Hello, what is your emergency?"
"Mama's fallen over and she no wake up."
"How old are you, dear?"
"Four."
"And is your mama breathing?" Charlie hesitated.
"I check." He put the phone on the floor and ran back to his mother. Then he ran back to the phone. "Yeah. Breathing."
"Is your daddy there?"
"Daddy's working."
"Do you know your daddy's number?"
"Um… on fridge. I get it." He put the phone on the floor again and returned to the kitchen. He checked that his mama was still breathing before scanning the pictures on the fridge. He drew lots of pictures for his mama and daddy. Leo had also told him that his number was on a yellow square. Charlie liked yellow.
Finally, Charlie found it. He recognised his daddy's handwriting and the smiley face in the bottom right corner. He ran back to the phone. "I got Daddy's number." He told the lady.
"What is it?" He heard a rustle of paper over the line. "Go." She told him kindly. Charlie read his daddy's number to her. "OK, we'll ring your daddy. An ambulance is on its way."
"Do you know where I live then?"
"We can track you through this call, dear."
"That's clever." The woman laughed.
"I'll call your daddy. Stay with your mama, OK?"
"Yes. Thank-you."
"Goodbye."
"Bye." Charlie put the phone down, ending the conversation. He went back to the kitchen and sat with his mama.
Time had passed. The big hand on the clock went from the big one to the big six at the bottom.
"Charlie?"
"Daddy!" Charlie scrambled to his feet and ran to greet his father. Leo scooped him up in a big hug.
"The woman on the phone told me what you'd done." Charlie hugged his father tighter. "I'm so proud of you." Leo smiled.
"Is 'proud' good?"
"Very good. The best of the best." Charlie smiled, but squirmed, wanting to get down.
"Mama on her own." He reminded his father. Leo set Charlie down and held his son's small hand in his own. Charlie led him to the kitchen.
Charlie watched as Leo studied Louisa for a second, before he knelt at her side. Leo rolled Louisa onto her side and shifted her arms and legs. "Daddy, what are you doing?"
"Recovery position, Charlie."
"What's that?"
"I'll explain later." Leo said as a loud knock on the door sounded. "Stay here." Charlie nodded. Leo got up and left.
Charlie looked at his mama.
"Mama, you be OK. You my mama. Ninja mama."
Leo returned with two people Charlie didn't know. "Daddy, who they?"
"They're going to help Mama." Leo said kindly, holding his hands out. Charlie eyed the helpers nervously as he hurried into his father's arms. "They're paramedics, Charlie."
"Par-medics."
"Close."
"Par-medics help Mama?"
"Yep."
"She wake up?"
"Maybe later." Leo said after slight hesitation. Charlie nodded, hugging closer to his daddy.
They sat in what his daddy had called the 'waiting room'. The par-medics had taken his mama into a room and closed the door. Charlie wanted to make sure his mama was OK. Would she be awake by now?
A man in a white coat approached Leo. Leo sat up straighter.
"Who's that?" Charlie asked his big sister, Alokia. He and his father had gone to collect the girls and had stopped here, at the 'hospital'.
"That's the doctor." Alokia said kindly.
"Like par-medic?"
"Similar."
"'Kay."
"Is she OK?" Leo asked.
"She's awake. We've done a CT scan and are expecting the results in a week or two."
"OK." Leo looked relieved. "Can we see her?"
"Yes, but don't stress her." Leo grinned.
"Our speciality. Thank-you." Leo looked at his children. "Come on." Charlie slipped off Alokia's lap and ran forward, locking his small fingers around Leo's.
"Mama wake up?"
"Yep." Leo held the door open. Charlie ran in first.
"Curls!" Louisa sat up as Charlie bounced towards the hospital bed. He was a bit too short to pull himself up onto the bed, but his mama was on hand to pull him up onto her lap.
"Mama, you OK!" Charlie wrapped his arms around his mama's neck and hugged her tightly.
"I'm OK." Louisa rubbed his back reassuringly. "Ooh, it's the devil lot." Charlie looked round. His sisters and daddy stood at the bedside.
Leo laughed.
"I'm just devilishly handsome, chica." Louisa grinned, holding her arms out to her daughters. Elsie and Alokia sat on either side of her.
"I see ya've found an excuse ta get outta school early."
"Mom, no." Elsie laughed.
"I saw Dad on the playground. He was chasing Charlie." Alokia started to make a thin plait in Louisa's ponytail. "I thought Dad was working today, so I figured you were in trouble."
"Again." Elsie added. Louisa elbowed her daughter sharply. Elsie returned the gesture and struck up an elbowing war with her mother.
Charlie looked at his eldest sister.
"Stop being mean to Mama." He told her. Louisa laughed triumphantly. Elsie rolled her eyes and folded her arms in defeat. Charlie snuggled up to his mama. "She my mama. You be nice."
"Yeah, Elsie, be nice." Alokia teased.
"Want a fight?" Elsie challenged.
"No, I'm good." Alokia settled against Louisa as well.
"Am I the new pillow or somethin'?"
"A very comfy new pillow." Alokia smiled.
"Mm-hm." Louisa suddenly frowned. "How'd I get here? It was only me 'n' Curls at home." They all grinned. Charlie buried his face in her shoulder, a sign that he didn't want attention. "Curls?" Louisa ran a hand through his hair. Charlie shook his head. Louisa looked up at Leo.
"Mainly, it sourced from my amazingness- Charlie dialled 911, checked that you were breathing and got my number off the fridge. I taught him how to use the phone."
"Anything for a bit of credit, Valdez." Louisa smirked.
"Nah. Little guy did it himself." Leo grinned. Louisa managed to pry Charlie from clinging to her forever.
"When I get home, me 'n' you are gonna go out 'n' ya gonna get a big treat, 'kay?" Charlie perked up.
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Awesome sauce!"
And done :D