It was a regular, normal morning on Sesame Street. Everyone was waking up in their apartments and getting ready to start the new day. However, not everyone woke up the same way. In the Furry Arms Hotel on the 9th floor, 10-year-old Lexi woke up feeling not well. She was coughing, her head was hurting, she had a sore throat, and she was having a stomachache.
"Oooh my…" said Lexi, coughing. "I don't feel right…I better call my mother. Mother?!"
"Yes Lexi?" said her mother, Joyce, entering the bedroom.
"I don't feel very good," said Lexi, in a raspy voice.
"You don't sound very good, either," said Joyce. "Can I check your temperature?"
"How are you going to do that?" asked Lexi, continuing to cough. "Is there a way?"
"There sure is," said Joyce, taking out a thermometer. "We'll use this."
"What's that?" asked Lexi, pointing to the thermometer.
"It's a thermometer," said Joyce. "You place this thing in your mouth and it will check your body temperature to see if you are sick or not."
"It sounds like a helpful object," said Lexi.
"It's very helpful indeed," said Joyce. "Now Lexi, I'm going to take your temperature. So I want you to open your mouth and say ahh."
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" said Lexi, opening her mouth.
Joyce places the thermometer under her daughter's tongue as Lexi closes her mouth.
"This will only take a few seconds, Lexi," said Joyce. "This helpful thing can check your body heat very quickly."
A few seconds later, the thermometer started beeping as the numbers rose up to 101.7.
"101.7 degrees?!" said Joyce, all surprised as she looked at the results. "Lexi, you have a fever!"
"I do?!" gasped Lexi.
"You do," said Joyce. "You're sick as a dog."
"Ooooh noooo!" cried Lexi, getting scared. "That means I can't go outside and play! What am I going to do?!"
"Don't worry, Lexi," said Joyce, trying to comfort her daughter. "You just have a very bad cold. Hopefully, you'll get better in a day or two."
"Are you sure?" asked Lexi.
"I'm sure," said Joyce. "Just stay in bed and rest and you'll slowly get better, alright?"
"Alright mother," said Lexi.
"And if you need anything," said Joyce, giving Lexi a small bell, "ring this bell and I'll come to you right away, okay Lexi?"
"Okay mother," said Lexi.
"Good," said Joyce. "Now why don't you lay down and go to sleep. Resting helps a lot when you're really sick."
"How?" asked Lexi.
"The antibodies in your immune system fight the germs to make them go away," said Joyce. "You see?"
Lexi nodded her head as she covered herself with her bed sheets, placed her head on the pillow, and slowly went to sleep.
Just then, the doorbell rang. So Joyce walked to the door and looked through the peephole as she saw Sherlock Hemlock and his dog, Watson on a leash.
"Oh dear," said Joyce. "I forgot to tell him not to come homeschool Lexi today."
Sherlock knocks on the door and says, "Hello? Joyce? Are you home?"
"Yes sir, I am," said Joyce, opening the door. "Hi there."
"Hi Joyce," said Sherlock. "Is Lexi here?"
"She is," said Joyce. "But you can't homeschool her today, I'm afraid."
"Why not?" said Sherlock.
"Well…She's sick with the flu," said Joyce.
"She is?" said Sherlock. "Awww…I might as well go back to my apartment. Come on, Watson."
"Wait wait, Mr. Hemlock," said Joyce.
"Yes?" said Sherlock, stopping.
"Do you think you can help me take care of my daughter?" asked Joyce. "I don't think I can do it alone."
"Why sure I can help, Joyce," said Sherlock. "Two heads are better than one. Now where is Lexi if I may ask?"
"She's in her bedroom," said Joyce. "But you have to be quiet as you enter the room. She is fast asleep."
"Okay," said Sherlock, tugging on the leash and saying to his trusty companion, "Come Watson. We're going to see Lexi and cheer her up."
"Ruff," said Watson.
Sherlock walked into Lexi's bedroom with Watson following behind him as he started to bark at Lexi.
"Woof woof woof!" cried Watson.
"Shhhh!" whispered Sherlock, as he covered the dog's mouth. "Quiet Watson! You'll wake her up!"
"Huh?" said Lexi, waking up. "Hello? Who's there?"
"Too late," said Sherlock, sweating a tiny bit.
"Sherlock?" said Lexi, as she yawned. "Is that you?"
"Yes my dear, Lexi," said Sherlock. "It is I, Sherlock Hemlock, the world's greatest detective."
Watson growled at him.
"And my trusty companion, Watson," said Sherlock.
Watson stopped growling.
"So what seems to be the trouble?" asked Sherlock. "Are you feeling all right?"
"No Sherlock, I'm not all right," said Lexi. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help you get better," said Sherlock. "Your mother and I will do our best to take care of you. Now is there anything I can get for you at this moment?"
"Well…I," said Lexi, with a stuffy nose. "A-A-Achoo!"
"Gesundheit," said Sherlock.
"What does that mean?" asked Lexi.
"It literally means "Health!" in German," said Sherlock. "But to us in the English language, it means "Bless you!"
"Oh, well thank you," said Lexi, as she rubbed her nose. "And I'm sorry I sneezed."
"It's okay," said Sherlock. "You probably have a stuffy nose. Anyways, before you sneezed, did you need something?"
"Well, since I did sneeze and my nose is running," said Lexi, holding her nose, "can I have a tissue or two, please?"
"Okay Lexi," said Sherlock, grabbing a tissue box from the closet. "I'm going to give you the whole box so you can have all the tissues you want without having to ask every time. However, if you do run out of tissues completely, I'll get you another box, alright?"
"Alright," said Lexi, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose with it.
"You poor thing," said Sherlock, with a frown.
Just then, Lexi's stomach started to growl.
"Hmmm…Sounds like you're hungry," said Sherlock. "Would you like some soup?"
"I would like some, Sherlock," said Lexi. "I want some chicken noodle soup, please."
"No problem, little one," said Sherlock, patting her head. "I'll go tell your mother to make you a nice bowl of hot soup."
"Okay," said Lexi, as Sherlock leaves the room. "And can you give me some white milk while you're at it?!"
Watson jumps onto Lexi's bed.
"No Watson," said Lexi, pointing to the ground. "Get off. You can't be on my bed right now, I don't want you to get sick, too."
Watson whined as he got off the bed.
A half an hour later, Sherlock came back with the soup and milk as he saw Lexi reading a picture book.
"Here's your soup and milk, Lexi," said Sherlock, as he placed the food and drink on Lexi's nightstand next to her bed. "Anything else you want?"
"Not so far," said Lexi, taking her soup and started to slowly slurp it. "Thank you, Sherlock. Mmmmm…"
"You're welcome," said Sherlock, with a smile.
Watson tugged on Sherlock's detective clothes.
"What is it, Watson?" asked Sherlock.
Watson ran to the door.
"Oh okay," said Sherlock. "Lexi, I'll be right back. I have to go take Watson out to do his business."
"Do his business?" said Lexi.
"He needs to go to the bathroom," said Sherlock. "But don't worry, I'll come right back after that."
"Okay Sherlock," said Lexi.
"Now why don't you eat your soup and drink your milk so you can rest," said Sherlock.
"Yes sir," said Lexi.
"Good," said Sherlock, as he leaves with his dog.
After Lexi finishes her meal, she goes to sleep. But when she woke up a few hours later, she was still sick. And that her body was feeling cold.
"Sherlock?!" said Lexi, as she rang the little bell.
"Huh?! Huh?!" said Sherlock, waking up since he somehow fell asleep on the floor while Lexi was sleeping. "What?!"
"Ruff?" said Watson.
Sherlock looks up at Lexi and says to her, "Yes Lexi?"
"Can I have some extra blankets?" asked Lexi. "I'm getting cold."
"What's the magic word?" asked Sherlock.
"Please?" said Lexi.
"Right," said Sherlock. "And yes, I'll go get you some blankets to keep you warm."
Sherlock leaves the room to go get some blankets for Lexi. But after he went back into the bedroom, Lexi wanted something else.
"Can I have another pillow?" asked Lexi. "This pillow is not fluffy!"
"Here you are," said Sherlock, placing a second pillow under her head.
"Thank you," said Lexi. "Now I want some orange juice. And make sure it doesn't have any pulp in it! Pulp makes me gag. And it makes my tummy feel nauseous."
For the next few minutes, Lexi was starting to get greedy. She was getting greedier each time. The little Muppet wanted everything from the most important things to the least important things while ringing the bell and shouting "SHERLOCK?!" over and over again every time at once.
"Alright, alright!" said Sherlock, walking back into the bedroom slowly while sweating and panting hard. "Okay Lexi…I've brought you everything you asked for…You have…You have your bowl of chicken noodle soup, your glass of white milk, your teddy bear, a tissue box, your crayons, your pencils, some paper, your coloring books, your picture books, extra blankets, a pillow, a cup of orange juice, and all that other stuff…Is there anything else you want me to get for you? Be serious…"
"Well, do you think you can give me a nice sponge bath?" asked Lexi.
"Ewwwwww no!" said Sherlock, stepping back. "That's your mother's job! Wait a minute, she didn't even help me take care of you at all!"
He then started to get fed up as he shouted in anger, "You know what? That does it! That is it! I'm finished! Lexi, if you need anything else, ask your mother! She should've been the one taking care of you in the first place!"
"But Sherlock," said Lexi, getting afraid of his angry tone.
"No buts, young lady!" said Sherlock. "I must be going now! Come Watson!"
Watson looks up at Lexi and whines sadly.
"I said now, Watson!" said Sherlock, pulling on the leash.
Watson frowned as he followed Sherlock out of the bedroom.
"Wait Sherlock!" said Lexi. "I have to go to the bathroom!"
She sighed and said to herself, "Wait, I can do that myself."
She gets up and goes to the bathroom. She ran herself a bath as well as she turned on the water and placed some bubble bath into the bathtub. Then after she was cleaned up, she put on a new pair of pajamas and went back to bed.
In the living room, Sherlock was sitting on the couch all stressed out.
"Mr. Hemlock?" said Joyce. "Mr. Hemlock, are you okay?"
"Not really," said Sherlock.
"What's wrong?" asked Joyce. "Did something go wrong between you and Lexi?"
"Kind of," said Sherlock. "She took advantage of me into getting her all this stuff. Especially stuff that she DOESN'T need which WILL NOT make her illness go away."
"Well, that's not nice," said Joyce.
"It would've been a lot easier if I had someone to help me," said Sherlock, sadly.
"Awww, I'm so sorry I didn't help you take care of her," said Joyce, frowning. "I was just really busy cleaning the house."
"Why were you cleaning the house instead of taking care of your sick daughter?" asked Sherlock.
"I cleaned it that way when people come in, they won't get sick," said Joyce. "The flu is very contagious, you know."
"Oh sorry," said Sherlock.
"No I'm sorry," said Joyce, covering her face in shame. "I should've helped you stay by Lexi's side. But I guess I didn't."
"Awww, it's alright, Joyce," said Sherlock, giving her a hug. "Maybe you and I can help take care of Lexi together for now on. What do you say?"
"Sure," said Joyce, calming down.
They entered the room as they saw Lexi sleeping.
"Oh, she's sleeping," said Sherlock. "Maybe we should check back later so we won't wake her up."
"Good idea," said Joyce. "Those antibodies need to fight the germs that is making her ill."
Sherlock and Joyce, along with Watson tip-toed out of the bedroom so Lexi can rest.
Two days later, Lexi woke up feeling all better.
"Hey!" said Lexi, feeling normal. "I'm all better! Mother! Sherlock!"
"Yes honey?" said Joyce, entering the bedroom.
"What is it, my dear Lexi?" said Sherlock.
"Listen!" said Lexi, sniffing. "I can smell stuff fine again! And I don't feel crummy anymore! Do you think the flu went away?!"
"Hold on, sweetie," said Joyce, taking out the thermometer. "I need to check your temperature again to see if you're fully better. We must make sure you're good as new. Now open wide and say ahh."
"Ahhhhhhh," said Lexi, opening her mouth as the thermometer was placed in her mouth.
A few seconds later, Joyce checked the results.
"98.6 degrees," said Joyce. "You don't have a fever anymore. It's all gone."
"Yaaaaaaaaaaay!" said Lexi, clapping her hands happily. "I'm not sick anymore!"
"I'm glad you're feeling better, dear," said Joyce, hugging her daughter.
"Thanks for taking care of me the whole time I was sick," said Lexi. "But I want to thank you the most, Sherlock. You took care of me more and always was at my side during that horrible time."
"You're very welcome, Lexi," said Sherlock, with a smile as he rubbed her head. "I'm very glad you thought I was helpful to you. Now I can finally-"
Sherlock was about the sneeze. But Joyce grabbed a tissue and quickly placed it under his nose just in time.
"A-A-Achoo!" Sherlock said, sneezing into the tissue.
"Gesundheit," said Lexi, with a small giggle.
"Gadzooks!" said Sherlock, shaking his head. "I think I have a cold!"
"How did you get sick all of a sudden?" asked Joyce.
"I think I caught Lexi's illness," said Sherlock. "I'm probably starting to get the flu, too!"
"Not if we treat it right away," said Joyce. "Now why don't you go back to your apartment and get into your bed so you can get some rest."
"Wait!" said Lexi, putting on her nurse costume and grabbing her kit of play hospital tools. "I must take care of him!"
At Sherlock's apartment room, he was in his bed laying down while feeling crummy.
"Ehhhh…" said Sherlock, as he started to develop a headache. "Awww blast! My head's starting to hurt!"
"Never fear, Sherlock Hemlock!" said Lexi, entering the bedroom. "Nurse Lexi is here!"
"Does your mother know you're here?" asked Sherlock, all sickly.
"Yes Mr. Hemlock," said Lexi.
"It's Sherlock," said Sherlock.
"Well since you're my patient," said Lexi, "I call you by your last name."
Sherlock sighed.
"Now don't you worry there, sir," said Lexi. "I am here to take care of you until you get better again."
She gave him an apple juice box as she said, "Care for a juice box? It's a start."
"Eeeeeegaaaaad…" said Sherlock, as he passed out on the bed.
"Sherlock?" said Lexi, looking at him. "Hello?"
She shrugged and said, "Oh well. I'll let him rest. Get well soon, Sherlock."
THE END