Last Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home with the stomach flu but I'm all better now. It's been a real epidemic at my house. First my sister caught it from someone at school, then it came to my dad who was sick all weekend, then me, and then my mom started coming down with it. It totally sucked being sick, but normally I try to make the best of it so I came up with this story. Anyways it's my first one-shot, sorry if it sucks. And those of you who are expecting chapter 2 of "A Rag-Tag Bunch, it WILL be up either tomorrow or later on on Monday depending on my schedule because I have homework club after. Plus this story was partially inspired by one of the chapters in MBSAVfan's stories "Survival at Seas", one of my favorite stories written by them! Read and review!
"DIEGO!" Shira called out as loud as she can. Her sore throat wasn't helping the condition she was in. "Can you hurry up please, we're not getting any better here!"
"I'll be right there!" Diego called out from the other cave.
"Mom, Dad, my stomach is starting to hurt again!" complained Peaches.
"Give us a minute sweetie we'll be right there!" Ellie replied loudly to her daughter.
"Manny, hurry up with that medicine, Granny threw up again!" Sid yelled to the busy mammals.
"Yeah Manny and now it's making Eddie puke!" Crash added in.
"ALRIGHT JUST BE PATIENT!" snapped an impatient Manny. Flu season has snuck up on the herd last week with poor Cash, Bobby and Flora being the first victims. Both Diego and Shira spent a whole day taking care of their kids. Unfortunately when Diego came back from hunting that night, Shira had caught the virus from them. Because it was so contagious, the herd was forced to issue a quarantine to prevent anyone else from getting sick. It was hard to convince Peaches who just felt so helpless not being able to help out her sick aunt and cousins, and Granny just because she's too stubborn to listen to anyone, especially Sid. Unfortunately when Peaches and Louis walked into the cave to check up on Shira and the cubs they caught the virus and it spread to Sid, Granny, Crash and Eddie. Now Diego, Manny and Ellie were spending the whole week caring for the sick ones making medicine for them while trying not to get sick themselves. Of course Manny didn't mind doing so. Of course not Peaches because a parent is always willing to help their child out when they need it. Giving a hand with Shira and the cubs was no problem either, but Sid, Granny, Crash and Eddie were hard to take care of because they would complain every five minutes.
"Give them some patience Manny, they're sick." Ellie reminded Manny. "We all remember what it was like don't we?"
"We know it." Diego recalled his sick days back when he was a cub. He would keep everyone in the pack awake while complaining that something hurts and the only one who never had a problem with it was his mother.
"I know, I know." said Manny. "It's just that can't they go a minute without complaining?"
"Manny!" Ellie and Diego scolded the mammoth.
"I'm kidding!" Manny raised his trunk in a defensive before going back to working on the medicine with Ellie.
…
"Finally you're here!" Granny complained hoarsely. "We've been waiting for ages for you nurses to give us our medicine!"
"Granny quiet." Sid shushed his grandmother placing his paw on her mouth. "You'll wake the kids." he pointed to Cash, Bobby and Flora curled up near each other on a bed of leaves and petals snoring softly.
Diego walked up to Shira.
"You feeling better?" he asked her softly not to wake the cubs up.
"A little bit." Shira replied smiling. "But the kids are doing better than me. No more fever for them."
Diego tip toed to the cubs and placed his paw on their foreheads one by one. "That's good."
Peaches swallowed the last of the medicine that was made for her. Louis took tiny sips at a time from a tiny turtle shell.
"Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad." Peaches thanked her parents.
"How's our little angel doing?" Peaches rolled her eyes in annoyance of her father's nickname for her but responded with, "I'm fine Dad but can you remind me again how almost everyone got sick here?"
"Well it's a long story..." Manny recalled.
…
One Week Earlier
Diego panted as he dragged the the gazelle to the cave along with the plants that Shira despised so much during her pregnancy.
"Well look who's back." Shira smiled warmly at the sight of her mate coming with their dinner. Bobby already fell asleep near his mother's side while Cash and Flora waited for their father to come back.
"Daddy!" Flora ran up to her father excitedly while letting out a few small coughs. She rubbed her head against Diego's fore paw.
"Hey Princess." Diego hugged his paw around Flora's head.
"Dad!" Cash ran happily to his father climbing on his head looking down at the gazelle in awe.
"Alright Dad, you caught a big one!" Cash praised Diego.
"How did you do it?" Flora asked in amazement.
"Watch and learn kids." Diego started demonstrating his pouncing. "You just crouch down like this and..."
"Listen Diego, we all want the kids to learn how to pounce, but don't you think we should wait until they're all feeling better?" Shira reminded Diego of her's and their kids' flu.
"Oh, right. Maybe next time you two."
The kids groaned in disappointment.
"Okay time to take our medicine." Shira told the kids.
The cubs have not been particularly happy about having to gulp down that bitter thing. The one who acted the most bratty about it was Flora.
"Come on Flora, eat it." Shira urged her daughter.
"I don't want to!" complained Flora. "It's the worst tasting plant in the entire world!"
Diego couldn't argue with that. He did try that plant himself once too. (those of you who read "The Wrath of Vengeance, you notice a certain reference?) But if Flora wanted to get healthy she was going to have to deal with it.
"That what your Mom thought too," Diego recalled Shira being moody about eating the plant to stop her cramps. "Then she dealt with it and ate it like a big girl."
"I don't want to be a big girl!" Flora wailed. Her fever was obviously getting to her.
"So you want to stay a baby forever?" Cash sneered at his sister.
"Shut up!" Flora snapped at her brother. If there was one thing that she hated, it was him picking on her. "Or I'll make you you ugly, mangy rat!"
"What are you two fighting about this time?" yawned Bobby as he waked up from napping near his mother's side.
"They're just being grumps honey," Shira whispered softly into her son's ear. "Go back to bed." With that Bobby closed his eyes and continued his slumber while Cash and Flora had a name-calling showdown.
"Hot head!" Flora spat at Cash's face.
"Double hot-head!" Cash made his comeback.
"Bully!"
"Tattle-tale!"
"Troublemaker!"
"Alright you two, time for bed." Diego declared.
"Dad it's still way to early!" complained Cash.
"Five more minutes. PLEASE?!" Flora begged her father with her big, blue eyes.
"I know it's still too early, but if you guys want to get better soon then you have to go to bed a little sooner."
Cash walked up to his bed obediently, curled up and shut his tiny eyes. Flora was about to do the same before Diego stopped her.
"Not so fast Missy." Not entirely getting the expression Flora continued walking to her bed slower.
"I meant as in get back here." Diego explained firmly. "You still got to take your medicine."
"NO!" Flora started her tantrum. "You can't make me eat it!" she ran halfway up to the opening of the gave when a certain mammoth caught her with her trunk.
"For someone who's sick you're sure acting like a healthy little girl." Peaches chuckled as she carried her back to Diego with Louis following them.
"She just doesn't want to take her medicine." Diego explained.
"I don't want to take the yucky stuff!" Flora cringed her face sticking her tongue out.
"Well we'll fix that." smiled Peaches. She turned to Flora and placed her trunk near her stomach.
"Coo chee coo chee coo!" Peaches tickled her little cousin's tummy causing her mouth to open wide from laughter. Louis then placed the plant in Flora's mouth. The little cub was so overwhelmed with her giggling that she didn't even taste the plant.
"Atta girl." Diego patted his daughter's back. "Now off to bed." Flora walked to her bed which was near Cash's and curled up before drifting off to sleep.
"I appreciate the help Peach but didn't your dad tell you not to come in here?" Diego asked curiously. He had nothing against Peaches and Louis being here, but Manny kept telling them not to go into the quarantined cave to prevent her from catching the virus.
"Right." Peaches remembered what her father told her earlier today. "Sorry for bothering you guys."
"It's fine." Diego said to Peaches. "Your folks don't have to know about it. It was just for a few seconds."
"Thanks uncle Diego." Peaches smiled in gratitude. "Get well soon aunt Shira."
"Thanks Peach." Shira smiled at her niece.
"You too you little cuties." Peaches whispered to the now sleeping cubs. She left the saber family in peace.
The Next Day
"Peaches, you okay?" asked Manny. He and Ellie looked at their daughter in concern. Ever since she came back from a night out with her friends, she's been under the weather.
"My stomach hurts." Peaches groaned painfully. Ellie placed her trunk on her forehead.
"Honey you're burning up." Ellie said worriedly.
"What?" Manny asked in disbelief. He also felt Peaches' forehead. Fever hot. He knew right away where she got it from.
"Peaches, did you go to see Diego and Shira?" Manny asked suspiciously. He didn't let his daughter do so for this specific reason.
"Uhh, no." Lied Peaches. Manny gave her "the look".
"Okay yes, but just for a few seconds! I didn't think that I'd get sick from that!"
"We'll talk about this later. Right now we need to check if anyone else-" Ellie stopped and turned to see Crash and Eddie letting out hacking coughs. They looked in the same condition as Peaches did. Ellie felt their foreheads and they were also warm.
"Oh my. You two have it too." Ellie scooped her brothers up with her trunk. "Let's get you to bed."
"Do you think anyone else got sick from Shira and the cubs?" Manny asked concerned. His question was answered when he heard Sid and Granny coughing.
"Does that answer your question?" asked Ellie.
"I don't know what happened." Sid explained. One minute I'm nice and healthy and the next thing I know I'm coughing all over the place."
"And he gave his germs to me too!" snapped a cranky Granny bonking Sid in the head. "Way to screw up this time Sidney!"
"Hello Mr. Manny is Peaches here-" Louis interrupted himself with a small, hoarse cough.
"Aww Wiener not you too."groaned Manny.
"Dad!" scoffed Peaches reminding her father of her friend's real name.
"Sorry Louis." Manny apologized. "But are you sick too?"
"A little." admitted Louis. "I woke up this morning with a cough and sore throat and now I'm feeling warm.
"This calls for a quarantine." declared Manny.
"We already have a quarantine." Ellie reminded Manny.
"I meant another quarantine."
…
Diego walked out of the sick cave after serving his family breakfast when Manny walked up to him.
"Hey buddy mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure pal anything." replied Diego.
"How exactly big is this cave?"
"About enough to fill you and nine other fat mammoths up."
"I'm not fat."
"Why do you ask?"
"Then should it be enough to let six other sick members stay in there for a few days or so?"
Diego blinked in confusion. "Six other-, who else got sick?"
"Peaches, Crash, Eddie, Granny, Sid and Louis." Manny told the saber.
"But how did they-" Diego suddenly remembered Peaches and Louis coming over. "Oh yeah. So about that, I'll let Shira know that they're coming in."
"You do that."
A few minutes later all six of the sick herd members were sitting around doing their thing while sneezing and or coughing. Granny was still yelling at Sid for giving her his germs, Shira was curled up sleeping and the cubs were talking with Peaches and Louis.
"Sorry for getting you guys sick." Bobby lowered his head apologetically.
"Aww it's okay Bobby." smiled Peaches.
"Yeah you didn't mean to." Louis added in smiling at Bobby.
"But we feel so bad about it!" sniffled Flora after a small sneeze..
"Don't worry about it Flora." Cash reassured her. "They said it's okay." Cash was being nice to her now? He must have a severe case.
The mammoth, the molehog and the saber cubs joked around a little more until something came to their senses. They felt that someone was missing and Louis was the first to point it out.
"Peaches, didn't your uncles also get sick?" he asked Peaches.
"Yeah, why?" Peaches asked curiously.
"Well, they're not here."
"What? They should be. Why would they-" Peaches knew the main reason that Crash and Eddie went out even while they were sick was because of their passion for pranking. "Aw man! My mom's not gonna be happy about that."
Meanwhile, Manny, Ellie and Diego continued their game of nurse. The two mammoths would prepare any plants that would be necessary for medicine while Diego would hunt for Shira and his cubs. Although Manny and Ellie did make a good team while preparing the medicine(with Ellie making the medicine exactly as she remembered her adopted possum mother do it with Manny giving her the ingredients necessary ), they would argue occasionally.
"Are you sure you should be putting those berries in?" Manny asked Ellie suspiciously.
"Sure I'm sure." replied Ellie. "Why not?"
"Aren't those lotus berries? The ones that paralyze you?"
"They're fine to put in as long as you know your berries."
"That's what Sid said before he was temporarily misshapen."
"You don't trust me with the medicine?"
"I never said that."
"Hey guys," Ellie and Manny heard Diego speak up. "Here's my catch of the day." The mammoth couple turned to see the saber holding two possums in his mouth by the tails.
"Help us Ellie." whimpered Ellie.
"Ugh again?" Ellie asked irritatingly. That's the third time you ran off today. When I say don't go anywhere because you're sick I mean don't go anywhere because you're sick!"
"But Ellie-" Crash started.
"No buts, I'm taking you back to the cave." Ellie plucked her brothers from Diego's mouth and walked off holding them by their tails.
"Well I better get back to my hunt." said Diego. "Don't want to keep Shira and the kids waiting for lunch."
"You do that." Manny replied watching his friend walk off. He looked down at the medicine that Ellie didn't finish. Maybe a little paralysis won't hurt he thought to himself. Ellie was an expert in berries and if she says they're the right ones to use for medicine then he trusts her. Manny took a few berries at a time and added them in.
…
"Okay everyone we've got lunch and your medicine." piped Ellie handing everyone a turtle shell with the liquid. Cash walked up suspiciously to the shell and took a big whiff of it.
"Gross!" he pinched his eyes shut. "It smells worse than uncle Sid!"
"It may not have such a pleasant aroma." admitted Ellie. She remembered taking the medicine as a child and she was never a big fan of the smell, "But trust me when I say it will help you feel better."
"Let's take it then!" Sid eagerly grabbed his shell and drank the medicine up in one gulp as Granny, the possums and Louis did the same. Peaches, Shira and the cubs on the other hand were still hesitant about it.
"I'm still not sure about this Mom it looks..." Peaches couldn't think of a word. "Kind of weird looking."
"Honey I drank this medicine all the time when I was sick and I can assure you nothing will happen." Ellie tried convincing her daughter.
"You might want to rethink that." Shira said otherwise as she pointed to Sid, Granny, Crash and Eddie. Apparently the medicine caused paralysis and left the five members that drank it misshapen.
"Yucky plant then?" asked Diego. Shira nodded.
"I don't understand!" exclaimed Ellie. She drank this medicine back in her childhood days every time she was sick and never had anything go wrong with it! "This isn't supposed to happen! I must have done the medicine wrong!"
"Well..." Manny started talking hesitantly looking guilty. "I added in the lotus berries in."
"You did WHAT?!" Ellie yelled out.
"You said to add them in so I did it for you!"
"How many did you add?"
"Uhh, a couple at a time?"
"There were only supposed to be one or two added!"
"Sorry I was just trying to help. I didn't know."
Ellie calmed down from her mini rage. She shouldn't be mad at Manny for making a simple mistake, especially at something he didn't know much about. "It's fine." she sighed. "You didn't mean too."
"So what do we do now?" asked Diego pointing to the paralyzed sloths and possums.
"We wait until the paralysis wheres off. In the mean time I'll finish making the medicine." Ellie said before walking back to the cave to start it all from scratch, leaving Diego and Manny to look after the patients and waiting for the paralyzed ones to wake up which they did after about an hour or so. Ellie succeeded in making the medicine once again and the patients started feeling slightly better by the day. Of course they would still complain about something aching in them and cry out for "urgent medical attention" as they exaggerated, but it seemed decreasing. At one point the other mammoths tried visiting Peaches only to be shooed away by Manny.
"What's the big idea?!" complained Steffie always being upset not having her way.
"Yeah that's like totally uncool!" agreed Katie with Megan nodding her head in agreement.
"Girls, chill." Ethan tried calming his fellow peeps down from their mini-tantrums.
"The big idea is that I'm not letting you in because Peaches, along with various other of our herd members is sick, and we can't risk her condition getting worse or you kids catching her virus." explained Manny.
"Well can we at least see her for just a few seconds?" asked Ethan.
"Didn't you just hear what I said? Now scram."
The group of teenaged mammoths walked off in annoyance of Manny's tone at them. Peaches was awake to hear the whole thing.
"Aw Dad." she rolled her eyes. She knew that her father cares for her but he would go way overboard with it a lot.
…
"And that's how most of the herd got is weakly sick in bed." Manny finished his story to see Peaches sleeping soundly. Manny planted a kiss on her cheek with his trunk as Ellie did the same.
"Good night honey." he whispered to her. "Get well soon."
Diego bid Shira good night before she drifted off in her slumber and nuzzled her's and the cubs' heads before leaving.
"Shh." Ellie gently shushed Manny and Diego as they slowly and quietly walked out of the cave. Manny let out a small cough while doing so.
"You okay Manny?" Ellie asked him concerned.
"I'm fine," Manny replied dismissing the cough.
The Next Day(for those of you who are getting confused right now the events of how everyone got sick is just what Manny is retelling and after this day is the next day.)
Manny was glad to see that Peaches was finally back to health with Louis. He let the two of them go with their friends who wanted to see them the other day but were stopped by Manny. Fortunately Sid, Granny, Crash, Eddie, Shira, Cash, Bobby and Flora were far from sick too.
"That has been one crazy week huh?" asked Sid.
"You can say that again." agreed Granny. "Worse week of my life."
Manny noticed Peaches and Louis coming back already.
"Back so soon?" he asked surprised.
"Well we were going to hang out with our friends but their parents told us that they were sick." explained Peaches.
"All of them? How did that-" Manny cut himself off with a hacking cough.
"Dad are you okay?" Peaches asked her father.
"I'm fine honey, don't worry about it." dismissed Manny.
Shira noticed Diego groaning in pain.
"You okay?" she asked him concerned.
"My stomach hurts." he groaned. "Real bad."
Ellie wasn't feeling so hot either as pointed out by Crash and Eddie who noticed a fever.
Manny's coughing was getting worse and worse.
Wait, the ten members of the herd who got sick are now better but the three remaining healthy ones are under the weather now. There was an obvious explanation for this.
"Manny, Diego," hissed Ellie. "I think we caught the virus."
"NO!" Manny and Diego groaned with disappointment. One thing that the three of them haven't thought of when working to nurse someone back to health was the consequence that they get.
"Does that mean you guys are sick now?" Bobby asked curiously.
The three of them nod.
"Don't worry!" chimed Flora hugging Diego's paw. We'll take good care of you like you did with us!"
And so they did.
The End
Again, sorry if it sucked, there will be better stories to come that I mentioned in the epilogue of TWOV. Please review!