A request from a Worth it reader, Sammy! (Sammy, you weren't logged in, but thanks for both reviewing and leaving a request!)
For those of you who have not read Worth it, Basically Ivan and Alfred are foster parents to Francis, Toris, Feliks, and Arthur.
Anyway, enjoy!
It was mid January. Christmas had passed, and the weather was very chilly. Still, that didn't change Alfred's cheeriness as he awoke on a typical Tuesday morning to begin getting the kids dressed, fed, and on the school bus before seven thirty. He could hear Ivan finishing up his shower, and the sound of cartoons playing downstairs.
"Morning guys! Wow, already dressed huh?" Alfred greeted Toris and Feliks when he arrived downstairs. The two five year olds were staring at the screen intently, watching the yellow sponge on the Tv. Alfred would have joined them, but he needed to get breakfast ready. Suddenly something dawned on him.
"Hey, where's Francis?" He asked. Normally the French boy would be up with them. "And wait, where's Artie?"
"Arthur's in the kitchen. I dunno where Francis is," Feliks answered, eyes never leaving the screen.
Arthur was in the kitchen unsupervised? Alfred's eyes widened as he rushed into the kitchen as fast as he could. It was a good thing he did, because when he arrived Arthur had already dragged a chair over towards the counter, and was attempting to climb up onto the counter.
"Woah now, hold on buddy. What do you think you're doing?" Alfred asked, swooping his youngest into his arms.
"I'm making breakfast!" Arthur told him proudly.
"Really now? Well why don't I get the stuff for you, and then you can pour your own cereal. Sound good?" Alfred bargained.
"Yeah...can it be cheerios?"
"You bet," Alfred said. He got out the box of cereal, a bowl, (Which he poured the milk in for Arthur) and a spoon. He set them on the table before going to do his next task, which was to see where Francis was. If the kid was still sleeping then he would need to wake him up quick, since he was the kid that took the longest to get ready.
When he arrived in the six year old's room, he saw that the light was still off, and there was a lump in Francis's bed that had to be him.
Francis, time to get up," Alfred says, "Rise and shine pal!"
There was no reply, and Alfred frowned. Francis shouldn't be so tired. They always stuck with the normal bedtime routine, and he knew for a fact that Francis slept good last night. He crossed the bedroom and gasped at what he saw.
Francis looked, for lack of a better word, sick. His face was flushed red, yet he was shivering under the covers. Alfred felt his heart beat with panic, and he quickly felt Francis's forehead. He wasn't an expert on things like this, but he was almost positive that the little guy had a fever. This obviously made the panic even worse.
"Ivan, get in here quick!" He called loudly, and then felt bad when Francis winced at the sound of his voice. "Aw buddy, what's wrong huh? Tell me what hurts..."
"E-everything..." Francis replied pitifully. "I feel yucky, and my head hurts."
"What's wrong?" Ivan asked, walking into the room before Alfred could say anything. Then the Russian caught sight of their six year old and his eyes widened. "What's wrong with Francis?"
"I'm not sure yet...can you go get the thermometer?" Alfred requested.
"Of course," Ivan replied, and quickly left the room. Alfred instantly went to the closet to fetch another blanket, because the poor kid really was shivering. It was confusing though. If he had a fever then shouldn't they cool him off? But then why would he be shivering if he had a fever? Ugh, this parenting stuff was still so new. That only left one option; after they took Francis's temperature they were calling Doctor Elizaveta pronto!
"Here we are," Ivan said a few moments later, returning with a thermometer in his hand. Alfred sat Francis up in his lap and Ivan came to sit on the bed next to him. "Alright now Francis, you must keep very still while I hold this under your tongue. Can you be a good boy for Papa?"
"Oui," Francis muttered, opening his mouth obediently. Ivan frowned at how congested Francis sounded. It was normal for him to sound a little stuffy during allergy season, but this was different. It was like a cold, only worse.
The three of them were silent, Francis trying not to fidget as the cold metal was pressed under his tongue. As soon as it beeped, Ivan withdrew it from the child's mouth and studied what read. His eyes then widened a bit, causing Alfred to jump up in alarm.
"What does it say, what does it say?" He asked urgently, grabbing the thermometer from his husband's arms. Once it was in his possession he looked at it.
102 exactly.
"I'm calling Doctor Elizaveta," Alfred said abruptly, leaving the room.
It probably wasn't any huge cause for panic, but both Alfred and Ivan always got that way when one of the little one's were sick. Usually it wasn't anything too bad. Francis never got sick that much aside from his allergies. Neither Toris or Feliks had yet to get sick while in their care either. The one who got sick the most was little Arthur, who almost always developed ear infections after colds. They were usually nothing too scary though.
"Alfred, be quiet!" Elizaveta interrupted Alfred five minutes through his rambling. She waited until he had shut up until speaking again. "Now explain to me again what's wrong. All I caught were the words Francis, and shivering. Please don't tell me he didn't get his tongue stuck to an icicle again."
"No, no, no!" Alfred told her. "He had a fever of 102, he's shivering, he says his head hurts...he says he just feels yucky! What do I do?"
"The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath," Elizaveta said firmly, and waited until she heard Alfred do so. "Now listen, there's really no need to panic. I was honestly expecting your call sooner or later. The flu's been going around, and that sounds exactly like what Francis has."
"The flu?" Alfred asked, appalled. "But they all got their flu shots!"
"The shot doesn't always work. We went over this, remember?" She reminded him. "Now listen to me Alfred. This is a very common illness, especially in young children. Germs spread fast in schools."
"Aha!" Alfred couldn't help but spit out. "That gives me a reason not to enroll Artie in school when he's older! But, um...carry on."
"Of Alfred," The Hungarian doctor sighed to herself. "Now listen up. You don't need to take him into the office unless his temperature gets higher. For now just give him motrin. The flu generally lasts for five days to a week or so. Just keep him comfortable, lots of fluids, rest...you know what to do."
"Rest, fluids, comfort...right!" Alfred replied.
"Good. Now another thing; the flu is very contagious. Don't be surprised if one of your other children catches it. Try your best to keep it from spreading though. All of you wash your hands frequently, make sure the kids don't get too close to Francis. Make sure to also wash all utensils thoroughly too. Other than that, you should be all set. I'll call back in a few days to see how things are. If you have any other questions or something comes up, call right away."
They hung up, and then Alfred proceeded to tell Ivan everything that the pediatrician had told him.
"I suspected that it might be the flu," Ivan said. "Well, at least it's nothing serious. You can stay with him today since you don't work on Tuesdays...do you think you can get tomorrow off as well? Then I'll see about getting Thursday and Friday off."
"Sounds good," Alfred agreed, and then turned to their sick child. "Well buddy, looks like you get a few days off from school."
Suddenly, something dawned on him. School...school...school...
"Oh crap!" He cursed, looking out the window just as the bus had pulled away.
"Don't worry, I'll drive Feliks and Toris to school right now on my way to work." Ivan assured him, pecking Alfred on the lips and smoothing down Francis's hair. "Feel better little one. And Alfred, have fun with Francis and Arthur."
"I will," Alfred chuckled, and then stopped. "Arthur...oh crap again! I left him in the kitchen to pour his own cereal...that can't be good. Francis, stay in bed. I'll be right back."
It turned out that Alfred had worried for no reason. Arthur had just finished his cereal when Alfred burst into the kitchen. He gave a sigh of relief, bringing Arthur's dishes over to the sink.
"You've got a special job today Artie. Francis is sick, which means that we both get to take care of him today." He told his youngest. Arthur's reaction was hilarious. The three year old's mouth dropped open in shock and his green eyes were wide.
"Francis is sick? What's he got wrong with him?"
"He's just got the flu. That means you can't get too close to his face, okay? We don't want you catching it too. But you can help me take care of him today if you want," Alfred said with a grin. No matter how much they fought, Francis and Arthur really did love each other. It was cute.
"I can help!" Arthur exclaimed excitedly. "Let me help daddy!"
"You can help. And we're going to start the day by giving Francis some medicine to help his fever."
Arthur's eyes widened comically.
"No daddy, you can't!" He yelled. "That's yucky."
"I know it's yucky, but it'll help. Trust me on this buddy, I happen to know for a fact." Alfred assured him, reaching into the cabinet for the bottle of kids Motrin. Once he had poured the correct dosage into a small cup, he gave Arthur the task of carrying a small cup of juice for Francis as well.
Just as they were about to head upstairs, Ivan was taking Toris and Feliks out the door.
"Bye kiddo's, have a great day!" Alfred waved to them.
"Bye dad! Tell Francis to feel better!" Feliks said as he and Toris waved back. Once they were gone, Alfred and Arthur continued their journey up the stairs.
"Ready for something to make you all better?" Alfred asked Francis once they'd made it back to his room.
"Ew," Francis said, wrinkling his nose as he saw the cup of medicine in Alfred's hand.
"Now. now buddy. You know this will make 'ya feel better." Alfred said gently, presenting the cup into Francis's smaller hands. The six year old hesitated for a moment before plugging his nose and gulping it down quickly. He gagged a bit before quickly chugging down the juice.
"That's my boy!" Alfred praised him.
Francis yawned in reply.
"Hmm, you should probably go back to sleep. I'll be back to check on you in a little while, okay? If you need anything just give a holler."
"Oui père," Francis said, half asleep already.
"Come on Art, let's go get you dressed." Alfred said after a moment. He himself still needed breakfast and his coffee, as his brain was now starting to feel dead due to lack of his morning caffeine.
They only had some peace for about fifteen minutes. Alfred had managed to get both breakfast for himself as well as himself breakfast. Just as he'd gotten Arthur set up on the dining room table with play dough, he heard Francis frantically calling his name.
"Stay here," He told Arthur, before bolting up the stairs as quick as he could. It was too late though, because as soon as he'd made it he saw that Francis, in tears, was knelt on the floor, throwing up all over the carpet.
"Hold on buddy, it's okay," Alfred soothed him, quickly pulling Francis's long hair out of his face. There was no use bringing him to the toilet now, seeing as he was already finished. Throwing up was of course no fun, so Francis was sobbing pretty loudly now that he was finished.
Luckily the puke hadn't gotten on anything besides the carpet. Alfred lifted up the sickly child and brought him to the bathroom.
"Rinse your mouth out okay?" He told him. "Then I'll set you up on the couch downstairs with a pot in case it happens again. We can put in a movie, okay?"
"I don't like being sick," Francis told him through his tears.
"I know buddy," Alfred agreed. He hated it whenever one of his kids were upset. He wished that he could just magically wish the sickness away, but all he could do was try to make Francis as comfortable as possible.
While Francis was rinsing out his mouth, Alfred went downstairs to set up a bed for Francis on the couch. He peeked in the kitchen to make sure Arthur was still occupied before going back to fetch Francis. He carried the child downstairs and set him on the couch, tucking the blankets warmly around him.
"There we go. Now how about Toy Story? We haven't seen that one in awhile." Alfred said, searching for the dvd and then putting it into the dvd player. Once the movie was going, he gave Francis a kiss on the forehead before going back to the kitchen.
"I made a green," Arthur said, holding a...lump...of green playdough.
"A green?" Alfred asked. "Well that's good! You made a lot of greens when you were still in diapers too."
"I made playdough?" Arthur asked, eyes wide.
"In a matter of speaking," Alfred replied. "Anyway, Francis is watching Toy Story in the living room. You can go watch that too before nap time if you want. Just don't bother Francis any."
"Okay! Here," Arthur said, thrusting the lump of play dough into Alfred's hands before racing out of the room to go watch the movie.
For the next hour things were good. Alfred was able to get the kitchen cleaned, the puke cleaned, do some laundry, make soup for Francis, and make a peanut butter and fluff sandwich for Arthur, with apple juice of course. Before he let Francis eat though, he checked his temperature.
"101.5...hey, it went down a little!" Alfred said cheerfully. "Now, do you think you can stomach some soup? Just try it, but if your tummy feels bad then don't push it."
Francis didn't have much of an appetite, but he did manage to take a few bites of the chicken noodle soup. Arthur ate all of his sandwich except the crust. Most of the sticky fluff had gotten on his hands in face, forcing Alfred to get a damp washcloth and clean him up.
"Now that the movie's over, I think both of you could use a nap." Alfred said, seeing that Francis already looked on the verge of sleep. Arthur of course pouted and tried to resist, but Alfred managed to get him in bed too. If Arthur didn't get his naps, things did not go well.
Francis only slept ten minutes before sicking up again. This time it all went into the pot though. It still didn't stop Francis from crying again. Alfred completely understood. There was nothing worse than the feeling of throwing up. All he could really do was rub Francis's back and talk to him soothingly.
He ended up on the couch snuggling with Francis for the rest of the nap time hour. Then Arthur was back up of course, and very intent on helping Alfred take care of Francis.
"Let me do the thermo-tur!" He begged.
"Buddy, Francis is sleeping. Besides, I just took his temp an hour ago." Alfred reminded him patiently. "Now, how about we find something quiet to do. How about you go play with some toys?"
"No toys. I want to help," Arthur says firmly. Alfred wondered why on earth kids were intent on helping so much when they were younger. Just give him ten or so years, then he'll hate everything they ask him to do. Alfred really didn't want to think of any of the kids as teenagers for now though. They would get to that part when it came.
Alfred was unable to say anything though, because just then the house phone rang. He quickly glanced at the caller id and saw that it was the elementary school. Oh great, what were they calling for? He hoped that the boys hadn't gotten any trouble, because there was really no way he could attend a conference with a sick child and a three year old at home.
"Hello, Alfred Jones speaking," He said into the phone, trying to sound as serious and parent-like as he could.
"Good afternoon Mr. Jones," Mrs. Knight, the secretary, greeted him. "I'm calling because of Feliks. The poor thing is sick. He has a fever and he threw up in the cafeteria. We have him in the nurses office, so he can be picked up as soon as possible."
Feliks had caught the flu too? Oh crap, this really wasn't good at all. How on earth had he gotten sick so quickly? This morning he'd seemed fine before going to school.
"I was afraid this would happen," Alfred said with a groan. "Francis is home sick with the flu, so I bet Feliks caught it from him."
"The flu has been going around," The secretary agreed.
"Well, I'll be there soon to get him." Alfred said, groaning again on the inside. There was no way Ivan could pick up Feliks since he was at work, which left Alfred too. He really didn't want to drag Francis along when the little guy had finally fallen asleep, but he really didn't have a choice.
He ended up carrying Francis to the car. He'd left him in his pajamas though, but put his jacket on, and he'd also wrapped a blanket around him. Arthur was happy to go for a car ride to the school, so it wasn't much trouble to get him buckled in.
Once they reached the school, Francis had fallen asleep in the car so Alfred decided that he could leave them in the car quickly while he ran inside to pick up Feliks. He felt his heart break once he reached the nurse's office. Feliks was laying down on a cot, his face covered in tears. The normally cheerful child looked absolutely miserable!
"You caught it too, huh buddy?" Alfred asked, using a thumb to wipe some of the tears from his five year old's face.
"I dunno...I was okay! Then when we had sloppy joes at lunch I felt all yucky and my tummy was sick. Then I threw up all over the table! Everyone was screaming and saying ew. The nurse lady said I have a fever, and that I have to go home.." Feliks rambled. Even sick he still managed to talk until all his breath was gone.
"It's okay pal, it happens. Let's get you home and into some jammies, okay?" Alfred said, reaching down to hold Feliks securely in his arms.
"Thanks for everything ma'am," Alfred briefly told the nurse, before making his way back to the car. Feliks linked his arms tight around his parent's neck as he was carried. Once they reached the van, Alfred put him in his car seat. Francis was still sound asleep, but Arthur was wide awake.
"Sorry you're sick Feliks," The younger child said, reaching over to pat him.
"It's okay. But wait...do I have to take medicine?" Feliks asked.
"Probably dude. After all, you want to feel better don't you?" Alfred replied.
"When will I get better? Tomorrow? Because tomorrow real firemen are coming to talk about fire safety! Me and Toris were going to both give them out pictures of firetrucks we drew..."
"We'll see..." Alfred said, feeling a little guilty. There was no way he would get over this within a day, but he didn't want to have Feliks upset right now.
So now there were two down sick, and two healthy.
For now at least.
a/n: Hows it looking guys? Are y'all looking forward to Ivan and Alfred having to deal with four sick kids, cause I sure am!
It'll probably be a three shot.
Feel free to Review!