"Hey Ryan," Ryan groaned. It was really hard to get any rest in this house. Every time he had just fallen back to sleep, someone was there to wake him up. It was very frustrating. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Ryan snapped at Kirsten and rolled over, turning away from her. "Sleeping…"
"I need to take your temperature," Kirsten insisted.
"Well, I'm sleeping." Ryan knew he was being obnoxious, but right now he just didn't care. He felt really sick again, his face was hot, his vision was spinning slightly, and the headache was back. He was not in the mood to be social.
Kirsten placed a hand on his forehead, "I think your fever went up…" Her voice was gentle, and Ryan felt bad for being grumpy. It wasn't Kirsten's fault he was sick, she was just trying to help him.
Ryan groaned and rolled over, looking up at Kirsten with hazy blue eyes, "I'm sorry I'm being a jerk…"
"It's okay sweetie, I know you're not feeling well."
"I'm just not used to anyone taking care of me…" Ryan said, his eyes closing even as he spoke, and he rolled over again. He felt Kirsten reach out and start rubbing his back, it felt good, he felt some of the stiffness leaving him.
"I know, but you're sick, and I take care of my kids when they're sick." Had she just referred to him as her kid? Ryan almost couldn't believe his ears. Seth was her kid… he was just… the guy who they had taken in, practically off the street. Already he knew he had put them through hell, he had burned down model home, gotten into fights, gotten Seth into fights…
Yet, here she was willing to accept him as hers. Ryan felt a certain tension being released, a certain weight off his shoulders. Almost as if all this time he had been half- expecting them to send him back. "This one's rotten," they would say, "Can we have a new one?" Suddenly, he was quite certain that they meant to keep him, he was not some puppy who would be sent back to the kennel if he misbehaved. Ryan rolled back over and allowed Kirsten to stick the thermometer in his mouth.
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When Ryan woke up again, the room was bright. He must have slept through night. The first thing he noticed was an empty glass of water next to the bed, and the second thing was his urgent need to pee. He jumped out of bed, only to be hit by a wave of dizziness so strong he almost fell. He stumbled to the bathroom and then back to bed, collapsing in a heap of exhaustion, on top of it, not even climbing into it. His body felt drained just from the short excursion. He took a few deep breaths.
"Ryan?" As if on cue, Kirsten appeared a moment later, as Ryan was climbing back into bed.
"Hey Kirsten," Ryan said, he had righted himself and was now struggling to climb into bed, he was cold and wanted to get under the covers as quickly as possible. Kirsten swept to his side, and pulled the covers back for him, allowing him to climb in, unhindered, and then she tucked him in.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, even though they both already knew the answer.
"I didn't know I could sleep this much, and still feel this tired…" Ryan said.
"I know, that's the flu for you." Kirsten agreed sympathetically, "You know, you haven't eaten anything in awhile. Do you think you could manage some tea and toast?"
"I guess," Ryan's stomach quaked slightly at the thought of solid food, but tea and toast seemed okay. "I can make it, it's okay!" Ryan said, as Kirsten started to leave, clearly on a food mission.
"Ryan, you're sick."
"Yeah but… don't you have to go to work?" Ryan's brow furrowed, and he looked concerned.
"I can work from home today, don't worry sweetie. I might have to run out for a few hours after Seth gets home, but I'm not going to leave you here alone." Somehow that thought was very comforting.
