It was Saturday morning and Nate was the first one up, which he immediately catalogued as strange. Generally, Parker was up before dawn, asking for help counting the stars or asking questions like "How long does dust take?"
Eliot was usually up early, too. He frequently made crepes on Saturday mornings, or at the very least, french toast.
And Alec, well, he was always sneaking out to watch TV or play on the computer in the middle of the night, so him sleeping in wasn't unusual.
In any case, Nate enjoyed the quiet morning. Sophie had been in France since Wednesday at an art auction, and he was grateful for the small reprieve. It wasn't that he couldn't handle the kids on his own, it was more that they worked better as a team, and things are always more difficult without a crucial member of that team.
He was just sitting down to his toast and coffee when a small sniffle caught his attention. He looked up to see Parker coming into the kitchen, her stuffed rabbit trailing from her hand. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her hair was a tangled mess and she sniffed again, looking at him pitifully.
"I feel bad," she said.
Nate got up and put a hand to her forehead. Fever. Great. "It's okay, Parker. Just a cold," he told her, taking her hand and heading to the bathroom for the thermometer.
The five-year-old eyed it warily. "That thing tickles," she said.
He sat on the edge of the tub and tugged her over. "Just for a second, right?"
She still didn't look happy, but allowed him to put the thermometer in her armpit, sniffing loudly.
"Here," he said, snagging some toilet paper with his free hand. "Blow."
She obliged, and Nate winced at the amount of fluids coming from her small nose. "Better?" he asked, taking the thermometer out to read it. 100.8 wasn't great, but not terrible either.
She nodded and leaned against his leg, heat from the fever radiating off her body. "I feel bad, Daddy," she whimpered.
He picked her up and opened the cabinet, hunting for the children's Tylenol. It was nowhere to be found. He carried Parker around, her head on his shoulder, checking all the cupboards in the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom to no avail.
"Okay," he said resignedly. "Let's get the boys up. We need to go to the store."
Parker perked up a bit. "Can we get a treat?"
"Sure, go find your shoes, okay?" he said, setting her down and heading for the boys' bedroom. They were both still burrowed under their covers, and he started with Eliot, sitting on the edge of the bed and shaking his shoulder gently. "You in there, buddy?"
Eliot's eyes opened, slowly, and he frowned. "What time's it?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Him too, Nate thought with dismay. He put a hand on the ten-year-old's forehead. "It's almost ten," he answered. "Are you okay?"
Eliot nodded, looking anything but.
"We have to run to the store and get Tylenol, so grab your shoes," he said, regretting the need to wake the poor kid up.
He moved over to Alec's bed and peeled back the covers. He put a hand on his head before even bothering trying to wake the boy up and wasn't surprised to find him feverish as well. If only they could learn to share toys as well as they shared germs.
"Alec, wake up," he said.
The little boy stirred, moving sluggishly and refusing to open his eyes.
"C'mon, buddy, we have to go to the store real quick and then you can go back to bed," Nate said as Parker came in. She had successfully found her shoes and she climbed up on Alec's bed, Bunny still clutched in her hand.
"My throat hurts," she informed the room, crawling over Alec to get to Nate's lap, which, thankfully woke her brother up.
Nate hugged her gently. "We'll get some medicine and you'll feel better," he promised. "Get ready to go, guys."
They made it to the store with no small amount of grumbling and whining, and Nate was beginning to lose his patience. He reminded himself - several times - that they were sick and bound to be cranky, but it didn't help much. He got them in and out of the store as quickly as possible, getting well -stocked with medicine and tissues and popsicles and soup, and then bundling them all back into the car.
"My ear hurts," Alec whined from the back seat before Nate could even start the car.
"Yeah, well my head hurts so be quiet," Eliot muttered.
"My head hurts, too," Alec said, not to be outdone.
"It's gonna hurt," Eliot threatened.
"Guys," Nate said, looking back to make sure they were all buckled before pulling out of the store parking lot.
"Eliot's glaring at me!"
"Am not!"
"Make him stop!"
"Alec, shut up! You're so annoying!"
"Boys, be nice," Nate said, trying to get home as fast as possible. They needed a nap.
"He's being mean!" Alec protested.
"Say one more thing and I'm seriously gonna hurt you," Eliot growled back.
"Eliot!" Nate exclaimed.
"Daddy," Parker spoke up. "I feel really, really bad."
"Everybody does, Parker," Eliot said, and not nicely either. "So stop whinin'."
"See, Dad? Eliot's being so mean!"
"Everybody stop!" Nate hollered, glaring back at them in the mirror. They fell into grudging silence just in time for Parker to throw up.
"Gross! Parker!" Eliot exclaimed, dragging the collar of his t-shirt over his nose.
"Dad, she puked!" Alec exclaimed, panicked.
Nate groaned. "Okay, okay, everybody calm down. We're almost home."
"It's so gross!" Alec cried. "I'm gonna puke too!"
"Don't look at it, Alec! Parker, are you okay, sweetheart?"
"I feel better now," Parker chirped, apparently undisturbed.
"I can smell it!"
"For crying out loud, Alec! Plug your nose!"
By some miracle, they made it home without Alec losing breakfast, and the boys scrambled out of the car as quickly as possible. Nate always kept paper towels in the car for instances exactly like this, and he grabbed the roll, cleaning Parker up as best as he could. He'd have to come back to sanitize the car once he got them settled.
He carried Parker inside, the boys trailing wearily after him. "Medicine, and then back to bed," he told them, setting Parker down.
Alec's face crumpled. "B-bed? How come?"
Nate rubbed a hand over his head. "Buddy, you need a lot of rest when you're sick."
His eyes filled with tears. "I'm not tired!"
Right, Nate thought, looking at the distraught little boy.
"Me either," Parker said. "I'm not tired, just yucky."
"Okay, all right, fine," Nate conceded. "You can all stay on the couch and watch a movie. After medicine."
He got them all dosed, Eliot being the only one difficult one in that regard. Parker liked the taste and Alec didn't care as long as he got to watch a movie, but Eliot hated the stuff.
"C'mon, Eliot," Nate said. "It'll help you feel better."
Eliot shook his head, keeping his lips tightly closed.
"Parker and Alec took theirs just fine," he said, attempting to appeal to the boy's pride.
It didn't work. Eliot just stared at him with defiance in his eyes.
"Do you want to feel better or not?" Nate huffed, still holding the measuring spoon full of sticky red liquid out.
He saw the boy consider that. Nate knew he wasn't feeling well because he kept rubbing at his head and his cheeks were flushed from the fever.
"How about this? You take the medicine and when you're better we'll go out to that horse ranch," he said, knowing full well that it was a bribe.
Eliot's eyes lit up. "And you'll let me ride?"
Nate nodded and Eliot took the spoon, gulping the medicine down with a grimace. "Deal."
In the living room, Parker and Alec were arguing over what movie to watch, so Nate had to perform the elaborate ritual of holding both behind his back, switching them up, and making Eliot pick an arm. He pulled out Parker's choice and Alec started whining again which made Eliot start threatening him again.
"Guys! That's enough!" he said. They looked at him, slightly chagrined. "We'll watch this movie, then later we can watch this one. No more fighting or whining or you're all going to bed."
They all curled up on the couches, miraculously quiet as he started the movie and got them all situated with juice (with straws, of course) and blankets and buckets, just in case.
Then, with things finally quiet, he called Sophie.
"Nate!" she said answered happily. "How is everyone? Oh, I'm so excited to come home tomorrow. I absolutely love Paris, we've got to bring the kids soon, but I miss you all!"
He chuckled, leaning back in his kitchen chair. "You may want to stay away for a few more days."
She paused, and he knew she was trying to work out why on earth he would be telling her that. "Are you joking with me, Nate?"
"Sort of," he admitted. "They all woke up sick this morning, so unless you want the flu …"
"The flu? Are they alright? And don't be silly, I'm not going to leave you alone under quarantine," she said.
"They're okay," he assured her. "Grumpy beyond words, but I think they'll live."
She made a sympathetic sound and he found himself thinking how glad he was that she would be home soon. "Well, tell them I love them and I'll bring presents when I get back tomorrow, but only if they're good."
"That should give them something to look forward to," he said, glancing over into the living room. Parker and Alec were already looking sleepy, their eyes half-closed, and Eliot wasn't far behind. "I love you," he told Sophie.
"Love you too," she said, a smile in her voice.
He hung up and wandered back into the living room, checking fevers with a gentle hand. "Your tummy feeling better, Parker?" She nodded, her blanket and Bunny providing her with enough comfort for the moment. "Anybody else going to throw up?" The boys shook their heads. "Okay," Nate said. "Okay. We're good."
A/N: Thank you to my readers and reviewers, and a special thanks to my betas CaraLee934 and Nophiefan. :)