Title: Sick Day
Author: Caera1996
Disclaimer: Not mine
W/C: 1,960
Summary / Note: A TBoPE/LAWG Request Fill for outofthesun who asked for: "I'd like some Joanna and Bones fluff - say, she's a teenager (14/15 ish) and comes down with the flu on the day of an important test/report. As she thinks school is so important, Bones has to get her to stay home and take care of her and act overprotective parent-ish"

The alarm going off beside Joanna's bed was usually more than enough to get her up for school. Normally, she'd reach out from under her comforter and slap her hand down on the snooze button, lay there for a minute, and then get up, ready or not, to start her day. Normally.

Today, Joanna was so deeply asleep, the intermittent buzzing was incorporated into her disquieting dream, and she woke slowly, first becoming aware of how uncomfortably hot she was, and then how much her throat and head hurt. She swallowed, the thick feel and nauseating taste of mucus making her grimace. Turning on her back, she flung the blanket off and then fumbled with the alarm, finally managing to turn it off. Joanna lay there, pulling her sweat-soaked t-shirt away from her body.

"Oh, god," she groaned, putting a hand to her head. Opening her eyes, she squinted against the pain in her head. This was not good. NOT GOOD. She couldn't be sick today. And what the heck? A headache and a sore throat just last night turned into this?

No, she decided. I just need Tylenol and a shower. Get up.

She didn't get up. The dim morning light barely illuminating her bedroom, and the relief of cool air on her hot skin was too comfortable. She lay there, waiting for the pounding in her head to lessen, and drifted in that in-between space of sleep and awake.

"Jo?" Jim called, knocking on her door. "I have to get going…did you want a ride?"

Rousing again, she sat up in bed, wiping a hand across her forehead, and cleared her throat.

"No, thanks. Oide. I'll catch the bus."

Jim frowned, resting his hand on the doorknob, but successfully reminding himself to respect her 15-year-old privacy. She didn't sound right.

"You okay?"

"Um…yeah. I was just up late studying. I overslept." All true.

"That's right…physics exam today," Jim said. "Good luck sweetie. I know you'll do great."

"Thanks Oide. Have a good day today. Love you."

"Love you too, Jo." He paused, listening as she moved around in her room. "You sure you're okay?"

Joanna tried to answer, coughed over a painful and dry throat, and then tried again. "I'm fine."

"Okay…see you tonight." He moved off down the hall, hurrying down the steps.

"Hey, Darlin'," Leonard said, as Jim joined him in the kitchen. Leonard handed him a cup of coffee that Jim took with a smile.

"Thanks Bones. Jo's not going in with me, and I think you should see her before you go," Jim said as he snagged a banana. Leonard looked up at him, a question in his eyes. "She said she overslept 'cause she was up studying late, but she didn't sound right to me."

"Yeah? Okay…I'll wait for her to come down."

"All right. I gotta run. Call me later, let me know about her, okay?"

"Sure, Darlin'. Have a good day," he said. They kissed, as always taking a moment to appreciate what they had in each other. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Bones. See you later."

Jim headed out, and Leonard settled at the table, going over his schedule for the day as he waited for Joanna to come down.

After standing in the steamy shower for a while, Jo found that she did feel a little better. Her chest didn't feel as tight, and though her throat and head still hurt, she thought that she could keep that manageable with Tylenol. Ignoring how bad she was really feeling, she went ahead and got dressed, and just not having it in her to deal with her hair properly today, just threw it up in a bun to keep it out of the way. Her whole body aching, and feeling shivery despite the fact that she'd dressed herself warmly, Jo settled her backpack on her shoulder and headed down the stairs. Pausing on the last step, knowing her dad was waiting for her, she took a breath, stood up straighter, and put a smile on her face.

"Hi Daddy," she said, coming into the kitchen. Leonard looked up at his daughter, a smile on his face that slowly faded as he got a good look at her. She was pale, but her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes didn't look right. And she sounded congested and hoarse.

"Oh, Baby…"

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "It's just a cold." Jo put her backpack on a chair and Leonard watched as she got herself a glass of ice water, and then sink into her seat at the table. And "sink" was the right word. Pulling a napkin from the holder, Jo blew her nose and coughed. She took a sip of her water, and grimaced as her stomach rolled uncomfortably. She kept her eyes down, aware that her dad was watching her and not wanting him to see how bad she really felt.

"Joanna, whatever you got, Darlin', it's not just a cold."

Jo felt her eyes flood with frustrated tears. She felt so awful, but she'd studied so hard for this test. This stupid physics test that no one would in class would partner with her to study for because she was so young. No one trusted her. And she wanted to prove them all wrong.

"I have to go today. I haveto," she said, tears slipping down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt and looked up at her father. "Daddy…"

She paused as her father reached across the table to feel her forehead. His large hand felt cool on her hot skin, and she sniffed as he moved to feel her cheek and wipe her tears. He regarded his daughter for a moment, feeling so much love and pride for her, and wishing she didn't feel as bad as she obviously did right now.

"How well do you think you're going to do feeling the way you do?" Leonard asked. "Do you think you'll be able to concentrate?"

Joanna sighed and rested her head in her hands, squeezing her eyes closed against the pounding in her temples.

"No," she admitted after a moment, blinking as more tears fell….from feeling so bad, from being exhausted, from frustration. "I thought I could make it, but…"

"Jo, I think if you went to school today, the first teacher who saw you would send you right to the clinic. They wouldn't want you to go infecting the school population. And I think that if you tried to take that test feeling the way you do, you'd probably not do as well as I know you can. Stay home today, Baby."

Joanna sighed, but after a moment nodded in agreement. Her father was right. It'd be dumb to try to make it through the school day like this.

"Okay, I'll stay," she said, standing. She looked up at her dad. "So I guess I'll see you later."

Leonard looked back down at his schedule, considering. There really wasn't anything here he couldn't either do from here by logging into the hospital's network or simply let it wait for a day.

"I think I'll stay too," he said.

"Dad…"

"I can get some things done from here."

"I can take care of myself. You don't have to stay."

Leonard came around the table and wrapped her in his arms, hugging her gently, and dropped a kiss on her head.

"I know that Darlin'. I'm not staying because I don't think you can't take care of yourself. I'm staying because even though I know you can take of yourself, I also know it's miserable being sick alone. So…where do you want to be? In your room, or on the couch down here?"

Jo stood there, enveloped in her father's strong arms, surrounded by the scent that was so him, it evoked such strong memories and a feeling of security. She reveled in the comfort of leaning against him like she used to when she was a little girl. And after a few moments she gave in and just allowed herself to be that kid again.

"Down here," she said, her voice muffled as he held her against his body, her head resting on his chest. "Will you sit with me?"

"Yeah, Baby of course. Why don't you go upstairs and change into some comfy p.j.'s, and come on back down to the family room, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, sniffing again. "Thanks Daddy."

Leaving her bag in the kitchen, Joanna left to change. Leonard watched the way she moved, and it was obvious she was hurting. She wasn't a complainer and hardly ever stayed home. Usually he allowed her to make that call, but today he would've insisted. He was so glad Jim said something to him…he couldn't imagine her going through the school day like this. Leonard took a moment to call her out on the school's attendance system and then headed into the family room and pulled a couple of sheets out of the linen closet. Joanna came back downstairs carrying her pillow just as he was making up the couch for her, removing the back cushions and tucking the sheet into the seat.

Leonard watched as she slowly lay down, moving as if all her bones hurt. And they probably did. She looked like she felt awful.

"Run it down for me, Baby," he said as she rested her head on her pillow and he covered her with the other sheet.

She closed her eyes, and tried to relax, taking a moment to catalogue what she was feeling. "I had the shakes earlier, but now I'm just a little cold. My head and throat are the worst. I'm achy everywhere, Daddy. Even my skin hurts. And I just feel awful."

Leonard settled on the side of the couch, gently stroking her hair. He took a moment to feel her forehead…she was still hot to the touch. He added fever to the list.

"Feel like you're gonna throw up?"

"Only when I drink something. But I haven't thrown up yet."

"Sounds like the run of the mill flu, Darlin'. Though if that sore throat gets worse we might be lookin' at strep. You think we should go see Dr. Marin?"

Joanna didn't even consider it. "No. At least not yet. I've had strep before, and this doesn't feel like that. This feels like the flu."

Leonard had to smile a little. Although not nearly as bad about it as Jim, Joanna had grown into a person who detested going to the doctor. She tolerated going to see her pediatrician when she needed to for school check-ups and the like, but that was the extent of her patience and cooperation.

"Did you take anything yet?" he asked.

"Just Tylenol, a few minutes after I woke up."

"Okay, Baby…you want anything now?"

"No…I just want to rest."

Leonard lifted her pillow and she sat up enough to make room for him to sit down. She relaxed with her head on his lap, eyes closed, brows furrowed together in pain. Hating that she was hurting, he gently ran his fingers through her hair, now loose and still a little damp, and massaged her temples and forehead with a firm touch. Gradually, her face relaxed and her breathing evened out and got deeper. She shifted slightly, one hand coming to rest on his knee.

"Shh," he said, and then started to hum a familiar tune, though not one she'd heard from him in quite a while. A small smile touched her lips, and as he looked down at her beautiful face, he marveled at how much he loved her. Fifteen or five, she was his little girl. His baby.

And she always would be.