Author's Note: This is a one shot with Hercules and Iolaus as well as their families. The intent is to be fun.
Warning: The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hercules the Legendary Journey, I make no money and boy does that make it hard to keep the computer with power… No permanent harm will ever come to Iolaus but a bit of Alcmene's attention and a big bowl of chicken soup might not be amiss at the end of some stories…
I Am In The Right House, Right?
Iolaus smiled as he saw his son on the floor as he passed him to go out and take care of the chores outside, fetching in more water to do the washing up after breakfast, and wood to heat it. Aelus were caught up in his new toy, a wooden bear Hercules had made for him. It was a large one, standing a foot from the floor if stood on all fours, and the demigod had drilled a hole clean through the legs and the body, putting in a pin so that it could be stood on the hind legs. Another pin allowed the front legs to be maneuvered the same way. Aelus loved it, and would play with it every chance he got, growling and doing his best to sound like a bear. Iolaus understood his fascination with the toy and didn't mind when it lumbered onto the table to sniff his breakfast porridge, but he had cautioned Aelus about not leaving it around. The boy like all children was easily distracted and Iolaus had already rescued the bear once when his son had forgotten it outside. He had spotted it when he carried in wood in the evening and brought it with him, not really mad, Aelus was just a small child, but he knew how upset he would be if he lost it.
Aelus walked the bear across the floor, stood it on its hind legs and then back on all four, deciding that the game needed something more, something for the bear to scare. He had the horses his father had carved for him, so putting the bear down he rushed to his bedroom to fetch them. Rummaging through the chest where he kept his toys, he found the metal soldiers his father had also made and he grinned as he held them up, standing them carefully on the floor.
Iolaus who had decided it would be possible to carry the wood and the water bucket at the same time was starting to wonder if it really was a good idea to do so. Balancing the wood in one arm and carrying the water bucket in his other hand he nudged the door open with his foot and slowly made his way towards the stove. He didn't know exactly where Aelus was and tried to spot the blond child when his foot came down on something that toppled and caused him to lose his balance. There was no way for him to save himself and his attempt to do so only seemed to make it worse. The wood struck the floor with a loud crash and the fear that Aelus might be in the way almost made him sick.
"Daddy!" the shrill cry from the child's bedroom brought a little relief, but once he tried to push himself to his feet and his arm gave out under him it was short lived. He fell back down, and could barely bite back a cry. The water bucket had toppled and he had struck it when he fell, cracking or breaking a couple of ribs, he couldn't tell which. His arm was no better, burning with pain so that he had to take several slow breathes before he could even move.
"Daddy!" Aelus had thrown himself to his knees beside him, grasping his vest, not really daring to touch him for fear of hurting him.
"It's okay Aelus," he groaned, rolling over slowly and carefully. "You weren't in the way were you?"
"No," he shook his head. "I was getting my horses."
"That's good," he smoothed down his hair, pressing his injured arm to his chest. "That should show you why Alcmene tells you never to carry too much, huh?"
"Daddy, does it hurt?" Aelus saw the way his father moved, and he could tell it hurt even if his father hadn't said so yet.
"Yeah, I guess it does," he nodded. Using the table to pull himself to his feet. Looking at the mess, water everywhere, well, that would do the floor no harm. It was probably overdue for a good cleaning anyway. The wood would have to be picked up so he tried to kneel to do so, and realized it wasn't a good idea. Still, he found Aelus bear in the mess and realized what had tripped him. He picked it up, worried it would have been broken with all the wood, and him, falling on it but it appeared to be okay.
"Looks like your bear was out for a stroll," he teased, confused when the child started sobbing. Aelus usually didn't cry all that much, only if he fell and hurt himself or was very upset about something. "Hey, what's the matter, he's not broken, see?" he held the bear out to him.
"It's my fault," Aelus sobbed. "I left him on the floor to get the horses, You've told me not to but I left him on the floor and it's my fault."
"No Aelus, it's not," he urged. "It's my own fault, I tried to carry everything in at the same time, it was foolish of me. Hey, don't cry now," dropping to one knee he wrapped one arm around his son. "It's not your fault, and I'm not mad at you, don't cry now, okay?"
"It is my fault!" Aelus cried, burying his face in his father's shoulder. "I'm sorry daddy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"It's okay," he rubbed his back gently. The problem was he needed to do something about his arm, and his ribs, and even after they were bound he wouldn't be in much shape to take proper care of Aelus. If he had been alone it wouldn't have been such a problem, but with Aelus to think about he wasn't willing to take any chances, so once the child stopped crying he used the hem of his tunic to dry his cheeks.
"It's not your fault," he repeated again. "But right now, we're going to have to take a walk, okay?"
"Where?" he sniffed, still upset.
"I thought we'd go to Uncle Hercules and Aunt Deianeira," he smiled. "You'll like that, won't you?" He could play with Aeson, Klonus and Ilea. Usually he was thrilled to go play with them, and Deianeira would fuss over him. She would certainly do it now. He could probably use someone fussing over him too, the poor kid was still sniffing and looked on the verge of tears, so he smoothed down his unruly curls again. "It's okay Aelus, I promise, now why don't you take your bear and we can go. I bet your Aunt Deianeira will have some treat for you."
"I don't wanna bring him," the child sniffed, not taking the toy.
"Why not?" he frowned confused. "I thought he was your favorite toy?"
"I don't want to play with him now," a few tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Ah," he realized why it was, and smiled softly. "Is it okay if I bring him? I think he might get rather lonely here without you."
"Okay," he agreed reluctantly.
"Come on then," hooking his thumb into his belt since he couldn't make a sling he nestled the bear in the crock of his arm, then took Aelus hand as they started walking. He had to move slowly, and even so he found himself short of breath and the pain bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Aelus looked worried and kept sniffing but he said nothing. Iolaus tried to cheer him up, but nothing he said seemed to help so in the end he decided to save his breath for walking, but he held on to Aelus hand.
Once they finally reached the farm he saw Deianeira in the garden, and Klonus just going inside. "Why don't you go see what Klonus is up to?" he suggested. "Go on, maybe he has another frog?" he added, urging his son on. Reluctantly the boy let go of his hand and followed Klonus inside the house.
"Iolaus, what's the matter?" Deianeira could see how his hand was swollen and how he looked rather pale. "Are you hurt?"
"Yeah," he admitted. "Had the foolish idea today that if I could save some time on the chores I could take Aelus fishing…"
"Oh, you poor thing," she shook her head. "How bad is it?"
"I don't know, think I might have busted a couple of ribs, I can manage for myself, but I can't take proper care of Aelus too," he admitted.
"No," she agreed. "And you can't take proper care of yourself either, even if you think so. You'll stay here until you're well enough to do that."
"Deianeira, I can't put you out like that," he objected. "I just need you to give me a hand with Aelus."
"He looked really upset," she nodded.
"He left his bear on the floor to get some other toys, and I tripped," he told her. "He thinks it's his fault, I keep telling him it's not, but he didn't even want to bring the bear here, and it's been his favorite ever since Hercules made it for him."
"Ah," she nodded understandingly. "Good thing that you brought it."
"Couldn't leave it behind," he grinned. "He does love it, and I was worried that if we left it he might think I agreed or something. I don't want him to stop loving a toy cause I was stupid."
"I don't think wanting to go fishing with your son is being stupid," she told him. "But we can talk about that later, first we need to take care of you. I'll walk to the village and get the healer."
"It can wait, what about the kids?" he objected again.
"Hercules should be here really soon, the kids knows to mind me," she told him. "I'll put out some fruit for them, and you're going to go to bed."
"There's no need for that," he objected, but just a few minutes later he found himself flat on his back in her and Hercules' bed just the same. His objections had had absolutely no effect at all on her though he kept them up while she helped him off with his boots. She'd put out some fruit and a little bread for the children, and then gathered Aeson and Aelus.
"Now, Hercules will be home really soon," she told them. "In the meantime I want you two to keep an eye on Klonus and Ilea. Your dad will be just fine Aelus, but he does need a little rest now so play nicely and don't bother him, okay?"
"We'll be good mommy," Aeson promised. "Won't we Aelus? We'll take good care of Klonus and Ilea, we'll even let her play warrior with us if she wants."
"That sounds nice," she smiled. She gave them each a hug before she left and then walked towards the village.
Iolaus found himself dozing, but still listening to the children. Becoming a father seemed to make that second nature, always listening to them so you would know what they were doing. He had though Hercules would have been home already, but the demigod wasn't there yet.
Aeson crept into the room quietly with a big frown on his face, looking very uncertain as he approached the bed. "Uncle Iolaus?" he started quietly.
"Yeah Aeson, something wrong?" he asked, it had been nice to rest, the throbbing in his arm and side had eased somewhat.
"Mommy said not to bother you, but Klonus says he's not feeling good and I don't really know what to do," he admitted. "He says his tummy hurts."
"Then you're doing the right thing telling me," he assured him. "Can you ask him to come in here so I can take a look at him?"
"Yeah," Aeson nodded. "I'll get him." He took off at a run and soon came back with Klonus in tow.
"Hey Klonus, Aeson says you're not feeling all that good," he pushed himself up to sitting and swung his feet to the floor. Taking a deep breath against the wave of pain that came over him and caused him to feel slightly light headed.
"My tummy hurts," Klonus admitted and Iolaus motioned for him to come closer. When Klonus was standing next to him he put the back of his hand to his forehead.
"You're a little hot," he decided. "You might have some stomach bug. Why don't we ask your brother to get you a little water, and you can lie down here with me a bit, see if you don't feel better if you get some rest?"
"Okay," Klonus pushed off his sandals then crawled up on the bed and slipped under the cover beside him. Aeson fetched a little water in a mug and Klonus drank it slowly.
"Thank you Aeson, you two are doing a very good job looking after the kids," Iolaus told the two boys. Aelus nodded shyly while Aeson smiled.
"We'd better go to Ilea now," he decided.
"Yeah, you do that," he nodded. Klonus had finished the water so he put the mug aside. The little boy was clearly not feeling all that good. He was a little pale and sniffed miserably.
"So, what does your mommy do to make you feel better when you're not feeling good?" he asked the child who kept both arms pressed to his small stomach.
"She sings to me, and rubs my tummy," he informed him with another sniff. Clearly he missed her ministrations and at the moment he was a very poor substitute.
"I don't think I had better try to sing, but if you want I can rub your tummy," he offered, rubbing slow gentle circles with his good hand.
"Oh, you do it just like mommy," Klonus smiled a little then closed his eyes. A short time later though he got a look on his face that Iolaus knew only too well.
"Aeson, can you bring a bucket?" he called, hoping the boy would hear him and be in time.
He heard a rustle in the kitchen and then Aeson came hurrying with the bucket in hand, Iolaus managing to get it under the boy just in time and he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Aeson," he rubbed Klonus back gently. "I think your brother definitely has caught a stomach bug."
"Sorry," Klonus mumbled.
"Don't worry about it," he soothed, brushing back his hair from his forehead. The poor kid was sweaty from having been sick. "Aeson, could you fetch me some water and a cloth to?"
"Aelus is getting it," he beamed. "He said if you needed a bucket you'd need that too."
"I got it here dad," Aelus came in, carefully carrying a bowl of water in both hands, a rag hanging over his shoulder and Iolaus felt his heart swell with pride.
"Thank you Aelus, that was really quick thinking," he beamed, hoping he would see how proud he was. He might have for he blushed lightly. Helping Klonus to clean off with only one good hand was hard, and it made his ribs and arm throb painfully again but he pushed it aside. Aeson took the empty mug and refilled it with water and he urged Klonus to rinse his mouth out, spitting the foul water out into the bucket on the floor. There would be a time to deal with the bucket later.
"Uncle Iolaus," Aeson bit his lip. He was very hesitant to bother his uncle. Not just because his mother had told him not to, but because he could see he was hurting. He was all sweaty and his eyes looked funny.
"Yeah," Iolaus nodded to him to continue as Klonus settled back down again and he pulled the cover up over him.
"I think Ilea has the bug too," the child admitted.
"She does?" he had thought Klonus was the only one.
"Yeah," he nodded. "She's acting like Klonus did."
"Can you fetch her? I think we'd better put her to bed too then," he decided. Poor Deianeira, she had no idea she'd be coming home to two sick kids. Which made him wonder about Aeson, if two of them were sick, he'd bet that the third one was just holding it back at the moment.
"I'll get her," Aeson promised, slipping out of the bedroom.
"Aeson isn't feeling too good either, is he?" Iolaus asked his son who shook his head.
"He said I oughtn't tell you, cause Aunt Deianeira said not to bother you," Aelus mumbled. "He said it was bad enough that Klonus and Ilea are sick, so he'd wait until Uncle Hercules comes home."
"We'll see about that," Iolaus mused. Yeah, poor Deianeira, she had no idea what awaited her, and it was beginning to look as if it would be a while before Hercules got home.
Aeson came back with Ilea in tow, the small girl going straight to Iolaus to bury her face against his arm. He winced as she clutched at his injured arm but could still feel the heat she gave off, she too had a fever and he was willing to bet that if Aeson allowed him close enough to tell, so did he.
Aeson was watching worriedly now as he gritted his teeth and turned over so he could use his good arm to help Ilea up onto the bed, easing her sandals off her small feet.
"Looks like you're going to keep us company too," he smiled at her, brushing back her hair. So far she had been quiet though she normally chattered happily about everything and anything. She just nodded slowly and burrowed against his side. Again he winced, but she lay against his upper arm, and that was tolerable if not altogether pleasant.
"Aeson, how about you?" he asked, pulling the cover over Ilea too.
"I'm fine," the boy hurried to say.
"You're not fibbing, are you?" he asked with a wry smile and the boy fidgeted.
"I thought so, now get up here," he told him, noting that Aelus looked relieved. He hadn't wanted to tell on his friend, but the lad was smart. He understood both why Aeson had tried to deny that he too felt ill, but also why his dad wanted to know.
"But mommy said we shouldn't bother you, and now we are," the boy objected.
"You're not," Iolaus assured him. "You can't help catching sick Aeson, and you've helped in spite of it. Now come on, I want to be able to keep my eyes on you if you get to feeling worse."
"Okay," Aeson agreed reluctantly. He too pulled off his sandals and climbed up on the bed, settling down beside Klonus.
"What do you want me to do Dad?" Aelus asked carefully.
"Hm, what about giving me a hug?" he suggested with a smile and the boy hesitated though he smiled shyly. Going to the head of the bed he reached over Ilea to wrap his arms around his father's neck.
"I think you might as well find yourself a spot here and settle down," Iolaus suggested once his son let go off him. "Or I think you'll be pretty lonely all on your own."
"Okay," Aelus hadn't worn his sandals so he simply climbed up and sat at the foot of the bed, then frowned when he saw how Ilea clung to his father. Slipping down again he fetched his bear from the kitchen where he had seen it on the table before settling at the foot of the bed again, using the bear to lure Ilea to him where she curled up in his lap hugging the bear.
Wanting to keep their mind off how poorly they felt Iolaus told them a story about one of the many adventures he had been on with Hercules. Klonus scrambled over him to get to the bucket once, and Ilea didn't quite make it there but otherwise they were quiet. After Ilea had been ill Iolaus simply took the cover outside. He wasn't fool enough to start washing it, but he did soak it in the rain barrel, glad that he knew where Deianeira kept her linen so he could cover the kids with a fresh blanket.
Ilea had just fallen asleep when he heard footsteps outside the front door and he smiled, Hercules would sure be surprised.
Hercules had expected to see the kids playing outside, but once he entered the house and thought he caught a whiff of a slightly sour smell he had a feeling that he knew what was going on. The kids had been a bit quiet and not quite as eager to play the day before. Apparently at least one of them was now sick.
"Deianeira!" he called quietly.
"In here, dear," Iolaus called back cheerfully, winking to Aeson who giggled.
"Iolaus?" Hercules blinked confused as he heard his friend's voice instead of his wife, and he didn't feel less confused when he entered his bedroom and saw his best friend in his bed, with both his own three kids and Iolaus' own son. "Where's Deianeira?" he asked. "And what are you doing here?"
"Oh, just enjoying myself," he grinned and Aeson giggled again.
"You were supposed to be home and take care of us Daddy," Aeson stated. "Klonus and Ilea are sick, oh yeah, and me too I guess," he added ruefully.
"I can see that," Hercules stepped closer and checked their foreheads, they were sick alright. "What about your uncle Iolaus, he sick too?"
"No, he hurt himself so Mommy went to get the healer," Aeson told him.
"It was my fault," Aelus sniffed.
"Now, I find that very hard to believe," Hercules deciding that his own kids appeared to be pretty comfortable at the moment picked up the blond child, glancing at Iolaus who shook his head.
"I left my bear on the floor, so Daddy tripped," Aelus mumbled, dropping his head to Hercules' strong shoulder.
"Sounds more like a little bad luck to me," he decided. He didn't ask how Iolaus was, he could tell he wasn't too badly hurt, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset Aelus more. It was obvious that it wouldn't take all that much. Ilea was asleep and Klonus was dozing while Aeson appeared to be content to lie and rest. "And I think I've got some cleaning up to do," he added with a wry smile as he saw the bucket on the floor.
"I'm afraid you do buddy, your cover is in the rain barrel," Iolaus told him with a grin.
"Yep, I got some cleaning up to do," he mused. "Want to give me a hand Aelus? I promise I won't give you any of the nastiest jobs to do."
"Okay, I can help," he nodded, jumping down to the floor.
"Thanks Aelus," Hercules smiled as the boy followed him out of the room. Hercules found a clean bucket and gave it to him, allowing him to place it on the floor while he picked up the soiled one. It would be interesting later to hear Iolaus' tale about what had happened. Putting water to boil he allowed Aelus to help him filling the wash basin by carrying half buckets of cold water. He wasn't quite big or strong enough to carry full buckets but he knew that Iolaus usually allowed Aelus to help with most things. Since he was raising the boy on his own it only made sense, and Aelus enjoyed working with his father.
While he washed the cover the boy sat on the ground watching him, chewing on a strand of grass.
"You doing okay?" Hercules asked.
"I feel bad because it was my fault," he mumbled. "Dad's trying to make me feel better saying it wasn't, but he's always telling me to put away my toys, and I left the bear on the floor."
"I tell my kids to put away their toys too," he smiled. "Ilea always forgets her doll everywhere and then she's upset if she can't find it."
"Ilea's just a kid," he pointed out as if he thought Hercules was being silly.
"Yeah, just a kid," he chuckled. "Aelus, you're very mature and responsible for your age, but you do know you're a kid too, right?"
"Of course I do," he frowned. "Uncle Hercules, you're being silly now."
"You're allowed to make mistakes Aelus, and I know you'd never do something that might get someone hurt intentionally. That's just things that happens, I've made mistakes like that, plenty of times and when I was a lot older than you too."
"I still feel bad," Aelus pouted lightly.
"I understand," Hercules nodded. "I always did too, but you know, right now I'm very proud of you over how much you've been helping."
"I didn't do much," he blushed. "Me and Aeson just did little stuff, like getting some water."
"Little stuff can be a big help," he decided as he held up the cover. "Think this is clean enough yet?"
Aelus walked over and sniffed at it. "Nope, it still smells icky."
"I guess I'm not much good at this," Hercules sighed.
"Try put some vinegar in the water," Aelus suggested. "Grandma says it helps with smell."
"She does, doesn't she," he mused. He was Uncle Hercules to the boy, and his wife was Aunt Deianeira, but his mother wasn't Aunt Alcmene or anything, she was Grandmother to Aelus just as she was to his own boys and he was glad for it. He fetched some of the vinegar and was pleased to note that Aelus had been right. He was a smart lad and he usually remembered what he had been told.
Hercules was just hanging the cover to dry when Deianeira came walking up the path together with the healer. Deianeira, confused to find her husband washing bed clothes headed there first and Hercules greeted her with a wry grin.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"Oh nothing much, though we've got three sick kids," he mused. "Ilea and Klonus are sleeping, but they all have a little stomach trouble. They're in our bed with Iolaus."
"Oh Hercules, why did you put them there?" she frowned. "He needs rest you know."
"I know, but that was where they were when I got home," he told her. "I got a little delayed, pretty much just got back but Aelus and Aeson had it well in hand I hear."
"So I got more than one patient then," the healer chuckled. Hercules rather liked her, she was getting old, but she sure knew what she was doing and Iolaus never had dared to cross her. He'd do what she told him.
"It looks like it," Deianeira mused.
"How about you helping me in the barn?" Hercules suggested when he saw them enter the house. He didn't want Aelus in there right then.
"Okay," he agreed, following him.
Deianeira led the way inside though Peolonia knew the way already. Iolaus smiled sheepishly as they entered the bedroom.
"I don't think I want you with the kids when I'm treating you," she decided. "So the question is, who goes where?"
"They're asleep," Iolaus decided, slowly pushing himself up with Deianeira's help.
"I'm really sorry about that," Deianeira mused. "I had no idea they were catching sick."
"Funny thing with kids, they get sick once in a while," he grinned lightly as they helped him into the children's bedroom. "Aeson and Aelus helped, though you need to talk to Aeson Deianeira, poor kid don't know what's good for him. He had a silly idea that he shouldn't let me know he was feeling poorly too. Figured it could wait until Hercules got here."
"I wonder where he gets it from," she stated dryly. In her mind, it was exactly the way Hercules and Iolaus always acted, and the kids watched them.
"Haven't you done enough damage to yourself over the years?" Peolonia mused as she examined his arm. "I'll have to splint it, but at least I don't have to set it, the bones haven't shifted."
"That's good," he sucked in a deep breath. While he was lying more or less still the pain had been bearable, but now, having his arm moved, poked and prodded it was a lot harder and he had to grit his teeth.
"Hm," Peolonia gave him a thoughtful look. "I think I'll brew up a tea for the pain and give it some time to work before we splint it. Looks like it's going to be hard for you to play the strong silent hero if we don't."
"Might be right about that," he admitted.
"I'll put the kettle on," Deianeira smiled. She knew that as long as the kids were anywhere near enough to hear he'd refuse to scream, no matter how much it hurt. He wouldn't risk scaring them and she appreciated it. He was a good father, he always put the kids first.
She stirred life back into the dying embers and soon had water boiling, Peolonia taking different herbs from her bag. Both to help settle the children's stomachs and to help their fevers, and one mug that would help the adult.
"Here, drink it all," Peolonia handed Iolaus the mug. "And not one word of complaint out of you about the taste, Deianeira spoils you far too much for your own good."
Sipping the hot brew he realized what she meant, Deianeira had added honey to the brew to sweeten the bitter taste, and so he simply grinned. He wasn't fool enough to complain about that. In the meantime Deianeira woke her children up to help them drink. Peolonia waited until the tea had taken the edge of the pain, then she splinted his arm and strapped his ribs. He found himself clenching the cover in his good hand, panting, but he didn't make a sound.
"There, all you can do is rest now and let it heal," she decided. "And even if I don't trust you to have the sense to do it I'm sure Deianeira can make sure you do it."
"Yeah, she usually gets her way," he decided.
"Well, I'll know if you get up to anything foolish," she decided. "Unless you do, that should all heal nicely on its own and I won't have to come back here. So if anyone comes to fetch me, I'll know you've not been obeying me, and I'll have the whole walk here to think up something nasty to do with you for it…"
"Oh trust me, I'm not gonna risk that," he decided.
"See that you don't," she ordered with something of a smile before going back to check on the kids once more.
Deianeira had in the meantime helped the kids change into their night clothes, knowing she'd have to keep them in bed for a couple of days. Probably not for very long though. They all just appeared to have a light touch of it. She still felt a little sorry for Iolaus who had been forced to deal with it when he wasn't really well himself, but it all proved what a competent parent the blond hunter really was. When his wife died a lot of the folks in the village had expressed their doubts that he would ever manage. It was true he was a man, and it showed in more than one way of how he raised Aelus. The child went barefoot more often and not, Iolaus only had him put on sandals when they went to the market or to Alcmene since she would generally scold them if he didn't. He allowed the boy to get away without washing at times, and he was just as likely to take the boy fishing, cook the fish over a fire by the creek and call it dinner as he was to prepare the meal in the house. Neither was doing the lad any harm though. Aelus already knew how to set snares and he often practiced with the bow Iolaus had made him.
Not everyone approved of the way he was raising him, and there was plenty of talk that a man wasn't fit to raise a child on his own, but for every time that Iolaus took him fishing for dinner he also made sure Aelus got plenty of vegetables and that he went to bed when he should. He needed help at times, but anyone raising a child alone needed help, Alcmene had regularly admitted that she would not have been able to raise Hercules like she had if she had not had help. If nothing more than that someone else minded the child a couple of hours so she could get some chores out of the way without worrying about him. What had amazed Deianeira was when Alcmene told her that it was often Iolaus who watched Hercules for her. In spite of the fact that Iolaus was only two years older than Hercules. Alcmene had simply laughed and told her that she knew that Iolaus would never let anything happen to Hercules if he could help it, she had no doubts her son would be safe with him.
Knowing that, it probably wasn't so very surprising that he was such a good father, he had gotten an early start.
She made some supper for them all, though only broth for the sick kids, they weren't very hungry and she didn't want them to eat something that they couldn't keep down. Broth was good and easy, but she was a little concerned to note that Aelus wasn't eating much. She had insisted that Iolaus stayed in bed instead of getting up, and she thought it was concern for his father that had put the child off his food. She did however vow to keep a close eye on him in case he too started feeling poorly. It was obvious that the day had exhausted him for he nearly dropped out where he sat at the table. So Hercules picked him up and carried him in where Iolaus was.
"Out like a candle," Iolaus chuckled as he saw him.
"Yeah, been a long day for him I guess," he mused. Aelus didn't even wake up when Hercules removed his pants, but he left his tunic for the moment before settle him beside Iolaus. "I'll be joining you too in a while," he grinned. "Deianeira says she'll stay with the kids and told me to stay in here."
"Nice and cozy," his blond friend giggled.
"Yeah, I guess it'll be," he grinned. The two of them spoke for a short while, long enough for Iolaus to tell Hercules exactly what had happened.
"Don't mind saying it, I feel pretty foolish," he decided.
"You sound like your son," Hercules decided. "No wonder he's blaming himself for it when you're setting such a fine example to him."
"Huh," his blond friend blinked confused.
"Iolaus, did no one tell you that the reason it's called accident is because that's what it is? Or are you going to spend all your time blaming yourself because you wanted to go fishing with your son and it went wrong?"
"Your wife said much the same thing," Iolaus admitted. "Though she didn't go into the details."
"You should listen to my wife," he grinned. "She usually knows what she's talking about."
"Your wife usually says that you and I don't know what's good for us," Iolaus pointed out with a teasing grin.
"See, she does know what she's talking about," Hercules shot back. "And I'm not sure if she's not right about that."
"Good thing she don't mind telling us then," Iolaus giggled.
"You're sure right about that," Hercules mused. "So how about it?"
"How about what?" Iolaus gave him one of his most innocent looks, but his eyes were sparkling with mirth.
"Do you really want to do this?" Hercules pretended to sigh, much like a parent driven beyond patience would and still Iolaus gave him that same innocent look as if he couldn't understand why.
"Alright," the blond finally admitted, his hand absently smoothing down an unruly lock of hair over his son's forehead. "You've got a point. It was just bad luck, the wrong thing at the wrong time."
"Sounds like it to me," Hercules nodded. "If Aelus is still feeling bad about it tomorrow I thought I'd take him fishing, it would give us time to talk about it."
"Sounds like a good idea," Iolaus smiled. "You might as well get yourself ready to go, he loves fishing."
"Yeah, wonder where he got that from?" Hercules teased. "Well, I'm gonna give my wife a hand, and don't you hog the bed because when I come back I want somewhere to sleep."
"I won't, this one might," Iolaus nodded to Aelus. "He's a little bit of a restless sleeper at times don't you know."
Hercules found out that he was, Aelus tossed and turned several times as he slept, kicking out a leg or throwing out an arm. Knowing that with broken ribs it would hurt even if Iolaus wouldn't show it he pulled the boy closer to himself as they slept. Since he noticed right away in the morning that the boy was a little subdued he also got ready to go fishing as soon as the chores were done. He also noticed that Aelus offered Ilea to play with his bear right away to keep the little girl happy. Watching his bear for him had her very happy in spite of being sick.
Hercules also knew better than to offer to bait his hook for him, Aelus would not accept any help with that, and thought he had to struggle a little with it at times he knew what he was doing. They hadn't been away fishing long though before the boy dropped his pole and ran off to a strand of bushes and Hercules who had just been ready to talk to him allowed him to finish. He came back and knelt beside the creek, dipping his cupped hand into the water to rinse his mouth out.
"Oups," he gave Hercules a sheepish look when he was done.
"Let me guess, you didn't want to bother anyone, so you figured it would pass?" Hercules mused and he nodded.
"We'll go back soon," Hercules told him. "But I thought we might talk a little first."
"Okay," Aelus sat down right in front of him. Some would say he was being irresponsible because he didn't take him home right away, but a few minutes wouldn't do the boy any harm.
"Are you still feeling bad about your daddy?" he asked and the boy nodded.
"You know, it's kind of funny Aelus, because your daddy feels bad too," he told him. "He figured it was his fault because he was hurrying with the chores."
"It was mine, I left my bear on the floor," Aelus stated firmly.
"Aelus, how do you expect to play with it if you can't leave it on the floor even a second?" Hercules asked him. "Your dad just tells you to put it away so you won't lose it. It's not because you can't play with it."
"You took me fishing just to tell me I shouldn't feel bad?" Aelus asked straight out and he chuckled.
"Yeah," he nodded. "And I can prove you shouldn't. Look at it this way, you were just sick right, and you feel kinda lousy now, why is that?"
"Guess I got what Aeson, Klonus and Ilea got," he decided.
"Yeah, you got it from them," he nodded. "So, if it was your fault your daddy got hurt, then it's their fault you're sick, isn't it?"
"No," he shook his head firmly. "It's not the same, they can't help being sick, I'm just sick because I was with them when they were, they can't help that."
"Your daddy just got hurt because he was carrying in too much at the wrong time, how could you help that?" he pointed out.
"No fair," Aelus pouted.
"Because I'm right huh?" he mused and the boy nodded.
"Aelus, knowing that you feel bad is making your daddy feel bad," Hercules pointed out. "Isn't it kind of silly that you're both feeling bad for something neither one of you could help?"
"I guess," he admitted.
"I think it is," Hercules decided. "Why don't we take the fish we got, and head back home. We can put you to bed with the rest of that lot, and then maybe I can tell you all a story?"
"Okay," he agreed. That sounded nice in a way.
As soon as they got back Hercules told Deianeira and Iolaus that he had gotten sick and his father went over to hug him and check him for fever right away. Deianeira insisted that he went to bed with their kids, saying it made sense to have all the sick kids in one place, but his daddy sat down next to him and instead of Hercules telling them stories he did it. It made him feel a lot better. No one could make him feel better like his father could. He felt so warm and safe next to him that he even forgot to feel bad, and he realized that his uncle had been right. They both felt bad for the same thing, but it really was nobody's fault. He wouldn't have been mad at his daddy if he had forgotten something and he tripped over it. It was just the kind of things that happened at times, and the biggest reason why he had felt so bad was because he was scared. He had already lost his mother, and his baby brother, and he couldn't bear the thought of something, anything happening to his father. Then again, as strong as his father was, it was hard to imagine anything really bad happening to him. He had defeated hydras and all kinds of monsters, the only one stronger and better than him was Uncle Hercules so he decided he probably didn't have to worry so much as he fell asleep in his father's arms.
The End
No wooden bears were harmed during the writing of this fanfic.
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