When You've Got The Pox

Prompt: Japril daughters get the chicken pox

"Scratchy! Scratchy, Mommy!" Joelle whined, running over to April who was busily sanitizing all of the reachable kitchen surfaces. Still armed with Lysol, April turned to see her little five year old squirming before her. Pink welts were covering her tiny face and hands, her princess pajamas surely hiding several more.

"I know baby; I know," she cooed, finally putting down her cleaning supplies and gathering Jo in her arms.

"No baby- big girl me." Even in times of distress, Joelle was still extremely independent-minded and very proud of her big sister status. The only baby in the house was her sister and she made sure everybody knew it.

"Alright then Jo," April chuckled as she brought her daughter closer to her chest. "You're burning up." April barely remembered having chicken pox as a child- although she was positive she had it at some point- and only hoped that her children's bout would be over soon. "Aah-ah-ah, you can't scratch," she tugged lightly on Joelle's hands, bringing them to her own mouth for a quick kiss. "It'll make your spots worse."

"Worser than this?" Her eyes were wide and her mouth was starting to tremble with fear. It wouldn't be long before she began crying which would of course lead to coughing which would then morph into a sore throat. Oh the joys of parenthood.

Drawn from correcting her daughter's speech by the slight pulling on her pants, April noticed her youngest child standing before her. "Owie," Katerina breathed, her soft voice barely reaching April's ears.

"Let Mommy put some cream on you," she offered, walking both girls into the living room and sitting Jo on the large sofa. Grabbing the cortisone cream from the end table, April began to dab it on Cat's face, Joelle next in line.

"No better!" The phrase immediately followed the application of the cream. Fat tears slipped down Cat's cheeks as she fell to the floor in a heap, curling into a tiny ball.

"Oh sweetie, Mama's here," April reached out to wrap her arm around her smallest baby girl, easily lifting and surrounding her in warmth. "Shh, Katerina. I've got you."

"Make bye-bye!"

"Yeah Mama, scratchies making sissy cry," Jo chimed in as she ran her pudgy hands over her sister's hair, something she'd seen her mother do so many times before.

April cringed at the words, knowing there was little she could do. "It'll get better soon," she settled on, hugging Cat close. She said it as more of a prayer; wishing that this torture would be over quickly. They already went through three days of little sleep and several meltdowns; she wasn't sure how much more her small family of four could handle.

Too caught up in the action, April didn't hear the keys drop on the table. "I'm home," Jackson's voice rang as he walked through the front door, toeing off his slopping wet shoes. He was eager to see his girls and was a little peeved that he couldn't reschedule his surgery. And to say that he was less than pleasant when he got called into a board meeting as he was preparing to leave the hospital was an understatement. Jackson hadn't wanted to leave April or his babies to begin with. "How are my little squirts?" In response he was greeted with screaming and several wails. April was desperately trying to calm the youngest all the while minding the once agin itching oldest. "I'll take that as still miserable."

"You asking or telling me?"

Before he was able to respond to her snark, both children turned their heads in surprise, momentarily distracted from their outbursts. "Dada!"

"Daddy!" Joelle ran over and wrapped her arms around her father's jean-clad legs before he reached down to lift her up. Meanwhile, Katerina was struggling in her mother's arms, squirming her way to the ground only to make it over to her dad.

"I misses you," she said once on his hip, planting a soft kiss on Jackson's cheek.

"You missed me?" Jackson corrects gently. "Well guess what? I missed you too."

"Daddy, what 'bout me?"

"Hmmm, I don't know Joelle." She gasped at his teasing, hands covering her mouth.

"Dada-"

"I'm just kidding; I love all my girls."

At that, Cat shifted her head from where it was lying on her dad's chest and moved her mouth to his ear. Jackson smiled at the tiny whisper and, with absolute certainty, responded, "Yes, of course I love Mommy too." He locked eyes with April who looked quite frazzled, moving forward quickly to kiss her forehead. "Hey, hey, talk to me."

April palmed her eyes forcefully. "Jo has a 102 degree fever and Cat is crying and they're trying to itch- stop that please-" she stopped abruptly to move Joelle's hand from her face, "and the house is a mess. The kitchen sink is overflowing with dishes and the toy room, the friggin' toy room," she huffed, ruffling the stray hair coming out of her messy bun. Just thinking of the state of her house gave her heart palpitations.

"You need to take a time out."

"What? Jackson, what are you talking about?" She really wasn't in the mood to pick through his proposal. She was tired and cranky and ready to disinfect the girls' bedrooms.

"I'm saying that you need to take some time to yourself."

"Yeah, okay, I got that. Just how do you expect me to drop everything?"

"Real simple. Stop talking to me, go make some of that Sleepy Time tea you love, and draw yourself a bath."

April snickered at Jackson's smirk, stopping to hit his shoulder with just enough force to move him sideways. "Thanks smart a-s-s," she spelled, knowing that if she didn't her eldest would be repeating it for the rest of the week.

"April, I'm serious. I'll get the girls some dinner and put them to bed. You just do you."

"But the house-"

"Will still be in one piece tomorrow."

"But it's-"

"I'll take care of it," Jackson said, placing the girls on the couch in order to reach for his wife. He began rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "Just take care of you. I've got this. Right girls?"

"Mhmm."

"Gots this," Cat nodded calmly.

"Yes mam!" Joelle saluted, standing up tall. April chortled at her daughter.

"Sir not mam," Jackson groaned even though he gave them all a small smile.

"But you man."

"I know but," Jackson cocked his head, attempting to find the words needed to explain this.

"And on that note, I'm going to go take a bath…and lock the bathroom door." April leaned up for a kiss, a thank you evident in her eyes. She then made her way towards the kitchen for some tea and maybe she'd sneak a piece of cake too. It had been a long few days. At her retreat, Jackson flicked on the television and dimmed the overhead lighting, opting for the soft glow of the lamps instead. "Daddy's going to make you guys some soup, okay?" Seeing their nods, he continued. "What do you want to watch?"

"Me sissy Belle favorite."

"That's right, Joelle. Cat's favorite movie is Belle. Is that what you want me to put on?"

"Yep, yep. But no fight. Scared of fight," she elaborated. "They mean to Beast. Beast nice."

"Okay, big girl. We won't watch that part," Jackson agreed as he pulled the throw blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around his daughters. "That's very nice of you, to think of your sister like that."

"I love my sister." She furthered her statement by planting a wet kiss on her sister's cheek. Jackson smiled, a real toothy grin, before moving into the kitchen. After warming the tomato soup and grabbing the bag of oyster crackers, he reentered the living room. He then placed an old table cloth over the area rug and set down the bowls, ready for the mess his girls were sure to make. A few bites in, Katerina yawned.

"Me's sleepy dada."

"Really? Are you ready to go to bed?" He asked, lifting her onto his lap.

"No. Time for snuggies." Cat lowered her body onto her father's, stretching her tiny legs and nuzzling into his chest. To accommodate her, Jackson turned slightly and leaned further into the couch.

"Me too!" Joelle exclaimed, startling Katerina. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve, missing Jackson's cringe, and clambered into his lap. When April made her way back into the living room twenty minutes later, the trio was still asleep, snoring softly, both girls embraced in Jackson's strong hold. Grabbing her phone from the coffee table, April quickly snapped a few candids. It was then that she knew that it would be okay, they would be okay, her babies would be okay. The week was finally looking up.

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