A/N: I guess there was some confusion over this story. It is different from DAIC except the two are in the same AU world where Emma decided to keep Henry. I have about three or four chapters written so far. Please review and let know know what you think of it. Your kind words keep me going through the insanity that is my life right now.

Why was it always the days I wanted to keep busy where I had no work to do? There never was a lot going on in the small town to begin with, but the usual complaints or worries were not uncommon. But today the phones were dead, which meant my mind kept wandering to Henry. Mary had not texted me any updates on the kid which meant two possible options. One she was too busy teaching to text me anything or two there was nothing to update because there was nothing wrong with the kid to begin with. I was pretty sure it wasn't option two because there was no way the kid wasn't getting sick. Which left me with option one which didn't make sense either because if Mary was really worried about Henry should would find a way to sneak in a text message or even an e-mail.

I tried my hardest to keep my mind busy and from driving over to school to check in. I was so desperate I even started re-organizing the office and I hated doing filing. Finally a little before lunch I got the text I had been waiting for all day. You better come get Henry was all it said but that was enough for me and I didn't have to be told twice. I quickly shut everything down and turned on the appropriate messages, I knew I wasn't going to be back in the office for a while. Once that was set I went straight to my bug and headed to school.

Lunch was just starting and the kids were running around the halls trying to make their way to the cafeteria. I glimpsed around, the number of students did not appear smaller then usual confirming my first thoughts that Henry was the first. I weaved in and out of the students and made my way to Mary's room. I opened the door quietly and was greeted by the sight of Henry passed out on his desk.

"How was he?" I whispered to Mary as I tiptoed to where my son was sleeping.

"He fought hard all morning, but he kept getting more and more lethargic. But he insisted that he was fine and that he did not want to go home." she explained.

I let out a long sigh and shook my head, "Of course he did. He'll fight me tooth and nail until he can't deny it any longer. I wonderful trait he inherited from me."

Mary smiled the way she always did when I gave her personal information about mine and Henry's life. "Once his head hit the desk I knew it was time to text you. I didn't have the heart to wake him and none of the other kids noticed."

That was a relief to hear. I knew ho cruel kids could be and I didn't want Henry to have problems with his peers, he had been doing really well in school so far. I crouched down to the kids level at the desk. I hated to wake him up too, but I needed to get him home and into bed. I ran my hand up and down his back whispering his name into his ear until he finally picked his head up.

He looked at me confused and groggy, "Mom?"

I gave him a gentle smile, "Yeah kid its me. Ms. Blanchard texted me. I'm gonna take you home."

"Mom, I don't feel well."

I ran my fingers through his hair and brushed over his forehead, there was no denying a fever now, "I know, come on lets get you home."

I helped him stand up from his desk. Mary came over to us with his coat and backpack. The coat I helped him put on and the backpack was thrown over my shoulder.

"Do I need to sign him out?" I asked Mary, all schools had different policies on what I needed to do before my sick kid could leave.

"Don't worry I'll do it just get him home." she laid a hand on Henry's shoulder, "Feel better."

"Thanks Ms. Blanchard." He managed to get out.

Turning back to me Mary asked, "Do you need me to pick anything up?"

"Could you get more children's Advil we're almost out."

"Of course. I'll see you both at home."

With that Henry and I were off slowly down the hall. Each step he took seemed to take all of his effort and he leaned more heavily on me the closer we got to our destination. Once I got Henry into my car he immediately curled up into a ball and closed his eyes. I ran around to the other side and drove off, I didn't want to waste any more time getting him home. At the apartment it was a struggle to get up the stairs. It was one of the drawbacks of living on the top floor of a walk up and then we still had more stairs to climb to get to our bedroom. The poor kid was sweating and breathing as if he had just run a marathon. I carefully lowered him onto the bed and went straight to the drawers to get him a clean pair of pajamas. I had to help him change out of his school uniform and into them since he was still worn out from all the stairs. Finally I tucked him into bed, my baby blanket lying on top of the sheets.

I kissed Henry's sweaty forehead and said, "I'll be right back."

I quickly ran down stairs to the kitchen where I had conveniently left the supplies from this morning. I also poured Henry a glass of water, he needed to stay hydrated. Once I was sure I had everything I headed back upstairs, I didn't want to have to leave the kid alone again. He was falling back to sleep when I entered the room. I gently put the thermometer into his ear and in response I got a moan. Luckily he was still alert enough that I wouldn't feel guilty for having to wake him up to take the medicine. Henry's temperature was now 100 degrees, no wonder the kid was so tired. I poured him more Advil, which of course he protested to. But I managed to get him to take it along with the glass of water.

I combed my fingers through his hair, "How are you feeling?" I asked

"Sore, I hurt everywhere. And I'm tired, really tired." He finally admitted. It was nice to hear the truth. I just wish he would have told me it sooner maybe then he wouldn't feel as bad as he did.

"Do you need anything else?"

Henry shook his head no. I crawled into bed with him and he immediately curled into my side. I continued to run my fingers through his hair as he started to fall back asleep. The kid had probably come down with a case of the flu. He had all the right symptoms: fever, fatigue, and sore body. I kept my fingers crossed that it would not get any worse and all Henry needed was sleep, fluids, and Advil to keep his fever down. If it was like the other cases he had gotten over the years it would knock him out for a few days before he would bounce back to his normal self as if he hadn't been sick the day before. I knew the kid wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon so I decided to take a nap with him. Just like when Henry was a baby I knew it was best to sleep when he was so I would be as rested as possible when he was awake.