Taking Care of Daddy
By. SadieAnnabethMellark
Summary: When Harry is feeling ill while watching his oldest son, James takes care of him until his Mummy returns home.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I am not J.K. Rowling. If I was I would own Harry Potter.
"And Potter scores again!" James shouted as he moved a small model figurine of my wife and his mother around in the air as the figure threw a miniature sized quaffle into the air, "Listen to the crowd roar! Haaaaaaa! Haaaaaa!" I smiled through my misery at my seven year old as he played with his toys.
"Let's use our inside voices, okay Jamie?" I asked quietly. Normally I didn't have an issue with James being a little bit louder than normal, but my head was killing me and his shouting was not helping.
"Oops. Sorry Daddy." he told me almost whispering. This wasn't the first time I had reminded him to keep it down.
Ginny had taken my other two children, Albus and Lily, to the shops to get a few things and had tried to take James too, but I knew it would be a handful for my wife, so I volunteered James to keep me company while the rest of my family was away. And so, here we were. James and I had settled ourselves in the living room; James on the floor playing and I on the couch watching.
"Daddy? Come play with me." James looked at me with those big wide brown puppy dog eyes. I shook my head lightly.
"Sorry, buddy, but Daddy isn't feeling to good right now." I told him though I would have rather played with my seven year old then sit on the couch feeling miserable with my head pounding and my stomach churning. Sadly, two of the things Gin was going to picking up from the store were headache and stomach ache potions.
James' eyes were now showing worry, "Does your tummy hurt?"
I smiled, recognizing the same tone my wife used when one of the kids were sick, "Yeah. A little. But, I'll be alright in a little bit."
James stood from where he was standing and came over to me, standing in front of me with his hands on his hips and his eyes still filled with concern.
"Back up to bed mister." he told me in the most commanding tone he could muster. I widened my smile.
"Really, Jamie, I'll be okay. Go play with your toys some more."
"Bed. Now!" James told me sternly, not letting my comment even cross his mind, "March!" I sighed as I got up and hobbled slowly out of the living room and up the stairs. Humor him, I thought as I climbed the steps slowly, James following behind me.
When we reached the upstairs I was starting to feel a little queasy, but I kept walking down the hall and towards the bedroom Ginny and I shared.
"Change into some jammies. I'll be right back, and don't you move Harry Potter!" James told me in the same stern and determined tone as he left me to get back into pajamas. I shook my head lightly as I pulled out a pair of pajama pants from the wardrobe and quickly changed into them. When James got into these moods, I learned just to go with it most of the time, even if the idea was stupid or embarrassing.
I sat in bed with the covers over me for only a couple of minutes before James came back in with his arms full of different things.
"I brought you the puke bucket. SO if you have to puke, try to make it in there." he told me as he set the familiar grey bucket by the side of the bed, " Here's some crackers, only take small bites otherwise you'll get sick. And here's some water, sips only." he set down the box of saltine crackers and the glass of water on the side table before he set down a box of tissues and a couple of books. Then he held out the muggle thermometer that Ginny and I had bought.
"Open wide." he told me as he stuck it in my slightly open mouth.
As we sat there waiting, I couldn't help but notice how much my son seemed to be channeling my wife in that moment. He stood next to the bed with worried eyes, as he watched the thermometer in my mouth; waiting for it to go off. He seemed to be doing the same routine that Ginny did when one of the kids were sick. I tried to smile around the thermometer in my mouth, but it was kind of hard to accomplish.
When the thermometer beeped, James took the stick out of my mouth.
"100.6. Low-grade fever.", he read to himself before he turned to look at me, "Looks like you'll be in bed for a while. You better get comfy."
"I'll be alright James." I told him softly as I held out a hand and ran it through his messy ginger hair, "Come on, son, its almost time for lunch. Let's go make something." I started to get out of bed, but James pushed me back down before climbing onto the bed himself grabbing the small stack of books as he went.
"You need to rest. Mummy always tells me that I have to stay in bed when I don't feel good." James told me, "Come here, I'll ready you a story. Mummy always reads me a story when I don't feel good."
I sighed, but pulled James closer to me as he opened the first book and started to read.
I smiled to myself and held my son close as he read the very familiar story of, "Russell the Sheep", the sheep who couldn't sleep. And soon enough, I felt myself just listening to my son's soft sweet voice as he read aloud to me, and before I knew it I was half aware of what was going on, and then I was into an oblivion of blackness.
Ginny's POV-
"Harry, Jamie!" I called as Al, Lily, and I wanted in the door.
"Up here, Mummy." I heard the soft call that came from upstairs. Albus and Lily were already starting to play in the living room, so I set the bags of groceries down and headed for the stairs.
"James, Harry?" I called again.
"Shhh, Mummy." James' voice was soft, but loud enough for me to hear down the hallway. I smiled and started down the hallway, finally stopping at Mine and Harry's bedroom to find a cute sight.
Harry laid in our bed, his glasses slightly lopsided and his hair messy. He held James close to him as he softly snoozed, looking more feverish and flushed than when I left him. James, on the other hand, instead of lying down, was semi-sitting up with a book in his hand.
"He's asleep, Mummy and he needs his rest. Daddy's sick." James told me sternly.
I smiled and tried not to laugh, "Yeah, Jamie, I know. Daddy's not feeling to well right now. Thank you for taking care of him for me while I was away."
"You're welcome, Mummy. I even read him a story. See?" he held up the book he was reading.
"I see. I'm sure he loved his story, Jamie." I told him as I moved closer to the two, trying to be quiet, "Now lets go down stairs and get some lunch and leave you Dad to rest."
James looked back at Harry, worry in his large brown eyes, "Okay, Mummy." he finally said reluctantly.
"Don't worry, Daddy will be just fine." I reassured him as I helped untangle him from Harry's arms and pulled him out of bed.
James nodded before turning back to Harry and gently placing a kiss on his forehead, "Love you, Daddy."
I smiled wider and then led James out of the master bedroom.
THE END
A/N: (Okay, kinda rushed, but I really wanted to get this one-shot out on paper...well...you get what I mean. Not my best work, but I don't think it turned out to bad. Maybe some day I'll rewrite this one-shot, but the idea came to my mind and I wanted to try it out. I've read a lot of sick!fics with Harry, but I haven't ever read one where his son, James, took care of him. So I thought this would make a cute humor/family piece. Anyways, R&R. Check out my profile (I promise, my other stories aren't as crummy as this one). Thanks. S.A.M.)