Oh. My. Gosh.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! They made me really happy. You're all the best. I've decided that from this point onward, this story will be dedicated to my first ten reviewers – She-Pirates-Kick-BUTT, Powerpuffz Z, ppgrulz123, Mew Pancake, joker rocks ma socks, FKS, Jade Tyaga, Powerpuff Buttercup (humph, maybe not you- jk) greenluvr14, and Flowerpuff.
Okay, now that that's been said, I have some news : as I'm not one to write romance as you usually see it, you probably won't see too much fluff or mush. I'm sorry, I just can't write it, no matter how much I try. But there WILL be some romance! I promise! Now please keep reading 'cause you're all the best. And please keep reviewing! I'll update as soon as I can.
It went unspoken that Buttercup was no doctor. She'd ditched health class three weeks already this year, and needless to say was a little rusty on caring for sick people. She did know, however, that the first thing to do when you're sick is take your temperature. She rooted around in the medicine cabinet above the sink for the thermometer, and in the process knocked several bottles into the washbin. Tylenol. NyQuil. Motrin. Cough syrup.
She picked up the fourth bottle and inspected it. "Cough Syrup," stated the label. She scanned it until she came to the smaller print – "For ages thirteen and up, two capfuls."
Huh, she thought. Butch certainly had a bad cough. She pocketed the bottle, washed the thermometer, and hurrried out of the bathroom to the guestroom, which was where she'd left Butch.
He was busily, if not grumpily, blasting himself with the hairdryer and wearing the pair of jeans her friend Mitch had lent her along with a baggy green hoodie. It was a girls' hoodie, but it was a bit hard to tell, seeing as it was rather plain and shapeless.
"You finished yet?" Buttercup asked, unplugging the hairdryer even as she spoke. "You've been using this thing for ages."
He coughed into his hand before replying. "It's way too hot in here."
She switched on the fan. "Yeah, whatever. Now lie down on the bed, I've got some stuff to do."
Butch flopped down on the bed and pulled the covered over his face. Buttercup pulled it off. Before he could protest, she she shoved the thermometer into his mouth so quickly he nearly choked on it.
"What the- hey!" Butch sputtered.
Buttercup caught the thermometer before it hit the floor. "Gosh, do I have to explain everything to you? I'm trying to take your temperature for Goodness' sake. Now stick out your tongue," she commanded.
He blew her a raspberry, and she managed to get the thermometer in his mouth.
"Make sure it doesn't fall out," she added as she left the room.
Buttercup liked to snoop in her sisters' rooms, so she knew where everything was – where Blossom's old school report cards and photo albums were (in her shirts drawer, under the tank tops) and where Bubbles hid her diary (stuffed beneath her mattress). She had no trouble at all finding Bubbles's babysitter's handbook. She flipped to the glossary.
"Let's see, S for sick…. No, C for cough…." Buttercup pored over the book, but it mostly droned on about how to take care of children under ten, not impossible boy teenagers. She wanted to make sure Butch had proper care so the Professor didn't come home to find her with a kid in need of hospital treatment. Or maybe she'd kill him by mistake and have to dig a grave.
Buttercup shook her head, smiling to herself as she closed the book. The thought of killing Butch by accident was surprisingly funny to her.
She heard the faint beeping of the thermometer from down the hall and raced back to the guestroom before Butch could turn it off.
"Hmm, your temperature is one hundred and one degrees – you've got a fever," she announced, handing him a cup of water.
"So?" he shot back before draining the cup.
"So… you're gonna take medicine!" she said, flashing him a wicked grin.
He turned pale. "Medinice? Tell me you're joking."
Now Buttercup was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Oh, the look on his face!
"You…" Laughter. "Are such a… such a…" Gasping, followed by laughter. "Coward! Afraid of…" Snickering. "A little cough syrup…" More laughter. "Nobody's made me laugh…" Chortling. "That hard…" Get a grip, BC! "In months!"
She flopped down, pounding the bed with her fist, laughing as if she were being tickled nonstop.
"Oh, shut up," Butch grumbled. But he had a ghost of a smile on his face.
Her laughter slowly draining away, Buttercup sat up and pulled the cough syrup bottle for the pocket of her green dress. She poured the desired amount of the thick red liquid into the cap and handed it to her counterpart.
"Here, drink up," she said. "It's cherry flavored, just so you know."
He peered at the bottle cap and its contents. "Looks like blood."
"Ugh. Just drink it. Pretend you're a vampire or whatever."
Butch held the medicine up to the light. "How do I know it's not poison?"
"Like mercury?" she snorted. "Where the heck would I get poison? And even if it were poison, I'd give it to you in lemonade or something. I don't want you dying on the clean sheets. Blossom just washed them."
"Oh well, heads up." Butch made a face before gulping down the cough syrup in one gulp. "BLECH! UGH! GROSS!" He fell over, hacking and coughing.
Buttercup groaned. "Will you cut that out?" she demanded before propping him back up on the bed. "Sheesh, you sound like a crazed monkey."
Butch sat up and licked the bottle cap clean. "Mmm, this cough syrup is good. You should try some, really!"
"You're not fooling me one bit, you jerk," Buttercup said.
Butch slid under the covers. "Hey, get the lights," he said in a bossy tone. "I'm going to sleep for a bit."
"Hope you have a nightmare," she muttered as she switched off the lamp.
"Thanks a lot," he retorted. "Maybe I will."
She rolled her eyes and closed the door with a bang. The babysitting book was lying right where she'd left it, on the couch in the living room. One thing was for sure - if Butch were capable of acting like a three-year-old, she had a lot to read about. These next couple of days were going to be very interesting.