Chapter 4

When Neal awoke next he was surprised to find himself alone, except for Satch who ever so faithful was lying beside his bed. Neal looked around the room before deciding to try and get up on his on again. "Now where did she hide those

embarrassing…." Neal thought when a voice boomed from the direction of the staircase.

"Get back in bed, Neal!"

Neal looked up to find Peter standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand. "I need to go to the bathroom, Peter," he lied convincingly as he tottered toward the bathroom.

Peter didn't look convinced but allowed his friend to go ahead. "If you are looking for the suppositories…Mom has them. She's learned that the best place to keep them is in her pocket." His statement caused Neal to pause before going ahead.

"Dammed foiled again," he thought as he closed the door making sure to flush the toilet before coming back out a few minutes later to find Peter sitting in the rocker sipping his coffee.

"I'm your babysitter for the time being," Peter informed Neal as he looked at him curiously.

"I don't need a babysitter!" groused Neal as he began to cough.

"You don't? You have already earned yourself two spankings from Mom; just think of how many you would have acquired if she hadn't been sitting here taking care of you," replied Peter as he helped Neal sit up and offered him a sip of water when he stopped.

"Is this the first time you've coughed?" Peter asked with concern.

Neal nodded, "at least this bad…the other times it has been only a cough or two."

"You stay here; I'll be right back!" ordered Peter as he hopped up and went up the stairs only to return a moment later with his Mom.

"He was coughing a few minutes ago…they sounded painful even to my ears," he added.

Carolyn moved over to Neal and lovingly laid her hand on his forehead to discover that the fever had risen. "Peter he needs another dose…it's those pills in the blue bottle," she instructed as held out her hand.

Peter obediently handed her the pill bottle and watched as she shook out the dose before handing them to Neal. Neal, having learned not to anger his caretaker swallowed them completely with several swallows of water.

"Open your mouth!" ordered Carolyn as she was going to make sure that he had swallowed the pills that time. Neal grimaced but obeyed.

"You know I'm not ten," complained Neal as he snuggled back under the covers.

"I don't know…I think you act more like a ten year old than an adult," replied

Peter with a smile.

"Peter….don't give your mother any ideas," whined Neal as he began to cough again.

Peter exchanged a look with his Mom before pulling Neal up to ease his coughing and after a few minutes it did and Neal sunk exhaustedly back as his cold medicine began to take effect and he drifted off to sleep.

"Mom…he needs that special cough medicine that you make. I know it taste awful but it really works and the weather is too bad to try and have something sent out," whispered Peter, just in case Neal was faking sleeping. It wouldn't do for his friend to learn that the remedy didn't taste good or they would have trouble getting the first dose down his throat. That would come afterwards…after

Neal took the first dose.

"You continue to watch him while I get a supply ready," Carolyn whispered back and went back upstairs to make her cough remedy. She knew that Elizabeth would have the ingredients she would need.

When Neal woke again it was due to a coughing spell and he was gasping for air by the time he stopped and that only happened after Peter was able to pull him into a sitting position.

"T-Thanks, Pe-ter," Neal gasped a moment later.

"Neal, I want you to take a spoonful of this," Peter said as he poured from a brown bottle sitting next to the rocker.

"W-what is it?" asked Neal as he started to get his breathing back.

"Cough syrup," replied Peter as he decided not to tell him that it was a recipe his Mom had used on him and his siblings.

Neal nodded, thinking that it was something the doctor had sent. He watched as a thick liquid poured out and filled a tablespoon which Peter held. "Now you need to swallow it all," instructed Peter as he approached his friend.

Neal opened his mouth but soon regretted it after Peter emptied the contents

into his mouth. It tasted awful and it was only because of the glare that Peter was giving him that he swallowed at all.

"Dr. Madison sent that?" Neal asked as he tried to wipe the residue from his mouth with a Kleenex.

"Nope…you weren't coughing when I talked to the doctor so she didn't send anything for a cough. This is a time honored recipe that my Mom has used through our childhood and it works as long as you take it every few hours," replied Peter. "I know it doesn't taste good but the important thing is that it does work."

"Ugh…what's in it?" asked Neal.

"I don't think that you knowing it will help you swallow it anymore," replied Peter honestly.

"Peter!"

Peter nodded and replied, "This is the recipe Mom uses. Take raw onions and extract the juice before chopping them as fine as possible, then mix the mixture with honey and lemon juice. One tablespoon every three hours until the coughing is under control and then take three times daily to keep it in check."

"I'm not taking that!" cried Neal once he heard the ingredients.

"You will take it or I will be adding to the spankings you have already earned. You have two waiting…do you really want me to add another?" ordered Carolyn Burke as she came down to check on her patient. "I remember that it only took one of my spankings to get Peter to take my cough medicine when he was a boy," she added with a smile towards her son.

"And I can tell you that her spankings are very memorable," Peter frowned at the memory.

"But that stuff tastes terrible," whined Neal.

"But it works, son," Carolyn said as she softened her voice while laying her hand

on his forehead. "Good the fever is going down. How do you feel, Neal?"

"Better," admitted Neal, "except when I cough. I am getting hungry though," he added after his stomach growled.

"I'll go and get El to fix him something safe," offered Peter as he left his friend in his mother's capable hands.