A/N Own Nothing
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The next morning I knocked on my next-door neighbor's door. One of the girls that lived there answered. She was too cheerful for the morning, in my opinion. I told her about my brother and my situation and she told me that watching Jason would be no problem and she agreed to pick Carla up at school for me during the week. She talked to the other 2 girls and 1 guy that lived with her for a minute and we decided it would be best if I brought them over so that they four of them could switch off easier as they came and went to classes.
I got Carla and Jason ready and took them over to introduce them to their four babysitters. Two of them were education majors, one of which was the cheerful early bird. We discussed a daily pay rate and they would divide it out themselves. I figured that would be easier since I did not want to get involved with figuring out who was in charge at what time and how much I owed them. I grinned evilly as I left and sent a message to my brother what his bill was for their care.
When I got to work I couldn't get away from Valerie. She went on and on about Didymus for the whole day. I asked if they were going to out on a date by themselves and she started to pout and said that he didn't have a lot of free time so it would be hard to schedule a night to themselves.
"Go out with him on a Friday. He must have that night available if he goes out with us."
"I suggested that, but he said that he didn't want to leave Hoggle home by himself. I guess Hoggle wouldn't want to be a third wheel with you and Jareth."
I thought about that for awhile. We could just cancel our new weekly outings for a week, but that would still leave Hoggle by himself. It was too bad Hoggle didn't find himself a girlfriend. That would have made it perfect.
The day went surprisingly quickly; it was busy for a Saturday. Most of the people that come in for lunch are businessmen so weekend lunch hours are normally quieter. I glanced at my watch, I would need to get Carla and Jason from Alice, the college kid next door, and then cook them something for dinner. I wondered if Alice would mind holding on to them an extra hour while I picked up some things from the store.
I went to say goodbye to Jareth. I hadn't seen him all day. I tried to open the door but it was locked. I checked the window to see the blinds closed. I knocked and waited. He didn't open the door. I put my ear against the door. I could hear him. I knocked a little harder this time calling his name.
"Goblin King, open the door. I don't know why you lock it. I am the only one that ever comes in."
The door unlocked but he did not open it for me. I stepped in and looked around. All of his lights were off except for a tiny little desk lamp. He was at his desk as usual, filling out some paperwork or something. I turned on one of the bigger lights and he hid his eyes yelling at me for a second. His voice didn't sound right. I looked at him again to see that he was really pale; definitely sweating, and his eyes and noise were red. Next to him was a tissue box and the trash can was almost full.
"Hmm, does this explain your bad mood last night? What are you doing at work? Go home and get into bed."
I think he might have been trying to look angry at me but he just looked tired and frustrated, "Since you are constantly making me go places, I do not have time to stay in bed."
I started to yell something back at him but was glad I was able to catch myself. He's just feels like shit, let him be. I just kept telling myself that over and over until I was calm. "Come on, you are going home." I went over to him and pulled at his arm. He tried to resist but he must have felt really weak because I easily won. I put him in the back seat of my car and told him to lie down. He tried to argue but all I had to do was push him and he was down.
I drove us to the store and made him wait in the car while I bought lasagna from the frozen foods section, some paper plates and tableware, and some napkins. I also got some cold medicine for Jareth and some juice and stuff for the kids. It was hard to try and think of everything I would need since Jareth's place was empty. I decided I better get some ginger ale and a spatula also.
Jareth looked worse when I got back into the car. He was trying to hide his face from me and I just ignored him while I picked up Carla and Jason. It was harder to get Jareth out of the back seat than it was to get him in, but I needed him to be in the front. I strapped the kids in and started towards Jareth's house.
The kids loved Jareth's house, especially after Jareth told me that he did have a little television but it was never taken out of the box. While dinner was in the oven and Jareth was in the shower, I found it and set it up in the guest bedroom. Jareth had some kind of cable/internet deal so he actually had cable even though he didn't have a TV. I tried to ask him for the logic in that, but he just shrugged and said it was to get the stupid saleswoman off the phone.
While Carla and Jason were eating I explained to them that they had to be super quiet and good. They promised and finished up their dinner. I took them to look at the pond for a bit and promised them that if they stayed on their best behavior that I would let them play by it again. They went into the guest room to watch some cartoons.
Jareth wouldn't eat any dinner so I just gave him some ginger ale and went to get the cold medicine. I bought some for daytime and some for night. I decided to give him the night time one to help knock him out. I always thought it was easier to sleep off any illness. That is probably why the stuff that is supposed to make you drowsy doesn't work for me anymore. It was time to play nursemaid.