GleeJunkie007: Actually, I planned for a Ryley- chapter for you. Because I know you like them- I'm not as anti towards them as I used to be- but I still like Jarley more. But I love how cute he is as well. I will update as soon as I've got the chapter finished.
Gleekforever12345: Agreed, poor Marley. It's good because it gives Ryder a chance to spend time with her though.
Oh- I remembered that in the chapter called "Kidney" an- Alice is mentioned. I thought I would explain it. Alice is Burt and Carole's dog, she's a Portuguese Waterdog and Barole found her as a puppy almost freeze to death in an ambush- the story of how they found her is in "Alice" in my other A to Z story "Barole A to Z". So… well the only other thing you need to know about her is that she have got a look- alike in form of my dog Yippie. (It's actually spelled Jippie- but since we're Swedish….)
So- Mummy won with three votes against one- I think "Motion" will instead be "trip" Or something like that. I'm still going to write it some time. But this is "Mummy"
M is for Mummy
I walked into the house with the grocery bags and walked into the kitchen and pulled out the bags from Breadstix at first- today was Friday, it had been a long day at work and Kurt was at Blaine's and Burt's in Washington- so with only me and Finn home- I had decided on just buying food after going grocery shopping with deciding against cooking and cleaning for a while.
"FINN" I shouted when I had put the groceries in the fridge and the food on the table. "DINNER. I BOUGHT YOUR FAVORITE FROM BREADSTIX" There wasn't an answer and I suddenly had a weird feeling something was wrong. I tried to shake it off- he had probably just gone to Rachel's or somewhere. But the feeling of that something was wrong didn't shake off and he had told me he'd go home after school today. And the house was never this quiet when he was home- not to talk about that that he could smell his steak from miles away and would have been down by the kitchen table before I had the time to finish everything.
"Finn…" I stood up and walked upstairs to Finn's room. "Honey? Are you here?" I leaned through the door to his room and looked around. "Finn?" He wasn't anywhere to be seen and the door to Finn's bathroom was open so he could not be in there!" I shrugged and decided on calling him to ask where he was. But just as I did I heard a weak voice from inside the bathroom.
"Mummy?"
I rushed over the floor and pushed the door to the bathroom open fully. Finn looked up when the door opened, he sat on the floor in front of the toilet with his back against the wall and his arms wrapped around his stomach. "Oh honey?" I rushed over and kneeled by him, feeling his forehead that was warm and clammy with sweat. Finn only looked to me with such miserable expression it just made my whole mummy- heart melt. "Have you thrown up?" Finn shook his head weakly.
"I don't feel well." Finn moaned. I felt a frown form between my eyes as I brushed my hair through his soaking wet fringe in a move to feel his forehead again- oh- the poor thing for sure had a temperature. "No don't go mummy. Where you're going?" I had stood up to go to the medicine cabinet in mine and Burt's bathroom to get a thermometer. But with Finn looking at me with those brown puppy- eyes it broke my heart just that I had to go across the hallway from his room.
"I'll just get a thermometer to check your temperature okay?" I combed through the dark tresses and kissed the top of his head. "I'll be right back." I backed the first few steps out of the room and just like before his chocolate brown eyes just made me want to sit down by him again and hold him until everything was well again.
"Here we go." I kneeled by him with the thermometer in my hand and put it in his mouth when he opened it for me. "Keep that under your tongue okay?" Finn nodded tiredly and leaned to his side to lean against my shoulder. "Oh you poor thing." I embraced him and stroke his arm. "I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better" Finn sniveled, and then it was all silent until the thermometer beeped. "102, 1. Oh honey." Finn looked more miserable than ever and I knew exactly what that look meant.
"Okay, okay." I gently pushed him to the side and laid my hand towards his back. "You're okay honey." Finn looked towards me without moving his head from it's spot and gripped so tightly around my hand I was for sure going to have bruises all over my hands and fingers when this was over.
"You're okay. Just relax honey." Finn suddenly lurched forward and threw up. "Okay, okay." I continued on rubbing circles on his back when he lurched forward again and painful heaves wrenched his whole body. "Get it all out honey." Finn continued heaving for good two minutes before he lent a bit back and then leaned against me. "It's okay." I reached up to flush the toilet and then- no matter how much it hurt me- had to stand up to fix up his bed.
"Mummy" Finn whimpered when I stood up. "No mummy don't go."
"I'm sorry honey." I had to stand up and walk away anyway. "I'll just go fix your bed so you can move from this floor okay?" Finn closed his eyes and nodded. "I'll be right back." I pushed myself up and walked out of the bathroom. From the cupboard in the hallway I got a few towels and sheets, from the cleaning cabinet a bucket and from the kitchen a bottle of water. When I had fixed Finn's bed up and taken the old sheets to the basement I walked back into the bathroom to get my soon- who now laid curled up on the floor with his arms wrapped around his stomach.
"Oh honey." I walked over and kneeled by him. "Come on." I grabbed his arm. "Let's get something more comfortable for you to wear and then get you to bed okay?" Finn nodded weakly and laid his arm around my shoulders. But with how heavily he leaned against me it was more of a miracle I could stay on my feet.
I lead Finn over to sit on his bed for him to sit down and helped him to pull his shirt off. Then I got a pyjamas from the wardrobe and he started pulling it on while I went down in the basement and hung up his T- shirt that were soaking with sweat and threw his jeans in the laundry basket before I heard a shout from Finn's room.
"MUMMY" I froze in a move with throwing some laundry in the machine and then turned around and ran upstairs and to Finn's room where he sat on the edge of his bed with his hands clapped over his mouth. Which unfortunately didn't help much when he lurched forward and threw up all over the front of my shirt and himself when I reached for the bucket and held it under his chin just in time when he heaved again.
"I- I'm sorry mummy." Finn whimpered before he stuck his head down the bucket and heaved again. "I- I didn't me- mean to…" I just continued rubbing circles on his back as long as he continued heaving. "Please don't be angry." I made a quite failed attempt to smile at him and took the bucket and laid the other arm around his shoulders.
"I'm not angry. It's not your fault." I more or less forced him to stand up on shaky legs. "Come on, let's go downstairs and get us both cleaned up yeah?" Finn nodded and went almost limp when I led him down the two sets of stairs down in the bathroom and to the shower where I pulled off Finn's clothes and put on the water running and then changed my own shirt into one of Burt's T- shirts that I found in the laundry basket.
Well… the need didn't have no law or whatever it was they said!
Finn seemed half asleep where he sat on the floor in the shower and for the first time in God knows how many years I had to help him to shower for him to get cleaned fully and then help him get a new pyjamas on and then help him upstairs and into his room again. Afterwards he more or less fell down on his bed and fell asleep instantly and I went downstairs and put his food in the fridge and put mine in the microwave to heat it up again.
"Mummy?" Finn woke up a couple of hours later and lifted his head and looked at me where I sat on an arm chair I had brought to his room from mine and Burt's. "Are you mad at me?" I felt a frown form in between my eyes and leaned forward and brushed his fringe away from his forehead- his temperature had gone down a bit I could tell.
"No honey. Why would I be mad at you?"
"Because I barfed all over you?" Finn put his chin down towards his pillow and looked at me without moving his head. "You should be mad at me for that." I stroke his cheek and frowned even deeper.
"It's not your fault honey." I told him truthfully. "You're sick. I wouldn't be mad at you for that. Now- are you feeling sick now?" Finn shrugged and I handed him the water- bottle while I helped him sit up and told him to take a few small sips. "Do you think you've eaten something that didn't agree with your stomach or have there been something going around at school?" Finn shrugged again.
"I ate something funny for lunch today." Well I guess that was it. Burt would sure know someone who could take a stand within making the cafeteria food better. "But there's been a stomach flu going around at school as well. And Burt says I could eat trash without getting ill." I laughed- I couldn't argue against Burt's statement there.
Finn placed the bottle back on his shelf over the bed and laid down and closed his eyes again. "Mummy? Can you get Rico for me?" I nodded even though he had closed his eyes and stood up and walked to the wardrobe and found Finn's ragged old teddy bear named Rico on the floor and then walked over to hand it to my son.
"Mummy?" Finn said again as I continued to stroke his cheek. "Can you tell me that story about the ugly duckling that you used to tell me when I was little?" I nodded and took a deep breath, going back in my mind to remember the whole story now when it was so long ago since I used to tell it.
"Once upon a time…"
Finn had fallen asleep before I had gotten through the third sentence, but I continued through the whole story, all the way until the ugly duckling had turned into the most beautiful swan of them all. It felt weird telling it again after all of these years, but at the same time it felt quite good to be able to take care of him like I had done when he was little again.
After the ugly duckling had turned into a beautiful swan I pulled my feet up in the chair, hugged my knees and leaned my head against the arm support as I drifted off to dreaming about a little baby boy screaming that turned into the tall, handsome man Finn was today.
"Ow…" I woke up from hearing Finn whimpering and shot up as I realized he was dry- heaving. "Ow… mummy make it stop! Make it…" Another painful heave wrenched his body. "Please…" He couldn't say anything else as he lurched forward several times and I sat down on the edge of his bed instead of the chair and started rubbing circles on his back again.
"Sch, sch, sch." I comforted as good as I could, wishing that I could be taking this instead of him. "It's okay. Just try to relax honey." It lasted a few minutes- and of course I could hear my cellphone calling from downstairs in the middle of the ear but of course left it until later- and it felt like hours before Finn could lean back again and sink back towards his cushions.
"Sch, sch, sch." I comforted and stroke his fringe away from his forehead- his forehead felt warmer than before now again. "It's okay." Finn sniveled. "Come on honey, can you take a deep breath for me?" I drew a deep breath in to have him breathing with me. "Come on now honey." Finn continued on taking loud, shallow breaths.
"I- it hurts mummy."
"I know honey. But it hurts more when you breathe so fast. Try and breathe with me okay?" I breathed deeply, but it still took for sure five, ten minutes before Finn's breathing was slowing down- and by then he started zoning out and falling asleep from exhaustion again. I stayed on the edge of his bed for a little while longer to make sure he was still breathing calmly, and then went downstairs to check who had been calling me, Burt calling me again just as I came down the stairs.
"Hello?" I took the phone as I came to get it. "Oh hey honey."
"Hi honey… Are you alright? You sound tired." I cleared my throat and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs while I explained to him what was going on. "Oh… honey! Do you want me to come straight home now? Maybe I could help!" I shook my head even though I knew he couldn't see me and answered him no. "If it shows to be food poisoning I'll fix so that someone is keeping an eye on that cafeteria on McKinley- I know a guy…"
"I know Burt… But was it something that you wanted because I'd rather keep an eye on Finn." I heard Burt chuckle softly. "Sorry but…. Well I guess you know"
"I know honey. And I called to say that I might be home as early as tomorrow afternoon. You've got nothing against that do you?" I answered him no. Maybe if I and Finn would have just a weekend the two of us I would have asked him to stay where he was. But with what was going on now it would be nice having someone else here to keep an eye on things.
"I gotta go now Burt, the phone is running out of batteries and I want to go and keep an eye on I might see you tomorrow then. Love you honey." I didn't wait for an answer before I hung up and put the phone on charging by the contact and then went upstairs and sat down by Finn's bed again. My son was fast asleep with his teddy bear clutched towards his chest and his fringe soaking with sweat.
"My poor baby." I almost whispered feeling his fever- warm and clammy forehead with my palm again. Finn moaned in his sleep and turned on his side, Rico the bear fell to the floor and I kneeled down, picked the teddy bear up and laid it under Finn's arm towards his chest again before I supported my chin in my hand and remembered all of the times I had been sitting like this by his bed, ever since he was a little boy.
Well- he was still my little boy- only very tall and big- grown to be little.
I sat with Finn like that through the whole night, though back to myself or even read when he was asleep- and he was asleep most of the time. Rubbed circles on his back when he was throwing up, handed him the water bottle and wiped his mouth when he was finished and got him breathing slowly with me when his breaths went too short and shallow.
"Mummy?" At about noon Finn was still drowsy, but awake. He hadn't been throwing up since early in the morning and had even eaten a few crackers without getting nauseas again. "You can go to your own bed again." I smiled- that was something he had been saying when he was little- when I had been sitting with him the whole night when he was sick- he'd say I could go to bed myself again to rest- it meant that he was feeling all good again.
"Okay honey." I stood up and brushed his forehead, his temperature seemed to have gone down to its normal state again. "Just holler if you need anything." Finn nodded and hugged Rico to his chest, he'd probably be asleep again before I was even out of his room. "Sleep tight." I backed out of the room and just as I carefully closed the door after me I heard my phone calling downstairs and I rushed down to take it.
"Hey honey." Burt sounded happy. "I just called to say I'm on my way to the airport now. I'll be home in about two hours." I nodded to the phone, but didn't really know what to say. "Are you there?" I answered him yes. "So how was tonight?" I sighed and explained to him what happened. "You sound tired honey- you should probably go to bed now when Finn feels better. I answered him yes again. "So how are you feeling? Because you don't sound too well!"
Just as Burt had asked my stomach churned. "I'm fine" I answered him. "Just hungry and tired- I'll eat a bit and then go to bed. Wake me up when you come home so I know you're home okay?" Burt answered he would- and then started asking some other question but I interrupted. "For real honey, I'm fine- I'm pretty sure it was a bad case of food poisoning so I wouldn't be able to catch it if I tried."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! So I'll see you in a little while then. Wake me up! Bye honey." I hung up after Burt had said his goodbye and grabbed a granola bar from a cupboard. Kurt had been making them for some healthy snack for his dad to bring to work- but Burt didn't like them so it was I and Kurt who ended up eating them all anyway.
Even though I hadn't eaten since dinner time yesterday I didn't feel hungry- just queasy and tired. I was starting to believe that I had caught- whatever it was from Finn- but pushed the thought away- I was just feeling bad from not eating or sleeping in too long. Well… I kept on being in denial for a while- and kept on doing so even though I had to force myself to eat half of the bar before I simply couldn't eat anymore and put the rest on my bedside table before I laid down and pulled the covers up to my chin.
"Carole." The next thing I knew Burt was shaking my shoulder and his voice seemed to cut through my pounding head. "Carole." He shook my shoulder again- Oh god! I'm awake, I'm awake. I opened my eyes- that also that made the already painful pounding in my head get even worse and then forced myself to hold onto Burt to pull myself up.
And I obviously shouldn't have done that!
I had barely gotten up to sitting when I felt my stomach turn and I knew I was going to be sick. Without as much as looking to my husband I clapped a hand over my mouth and jumped onto my feet and ran into the bathroom. "Hey" Burt spoke and followed me, I wanted to close the door- didn't want yet another person than myself to deal with this but he stopped it with his foot and then kneeled behind me when I started expelling anything and everything of what I had been eating and drinking the last twenty four hours.
"Hey, it's okay, it's okay." Burt spoke like I had earlier done to Finn and I felt his hand towards my back, but didn't have the time to say anything to reply before I started heaving again. "Just get it all out honey." It felt like hours before the heaving stopped and I leaned back and leaned against Burt and closed my eyes. "Come on love." Burt gently pushed me up and then let me lean against him to walk back to our bed.
"I'm sorry." I sunk down on the bed again. "I… I gotta go check on Finn.." I suddenly remembered where I had caught the bug from and tried standing up. I probably wouldn't have managed to even take two steps anyway but I had barely stood up before Burt gently pushed me down again and I felt his cool hand against my forehead.
"You're not going anywhere love." He said softly. "Gosh you're burning up. Wait here…" I held my eyes closed all the while but I heard Burt move away from me and then out of the room, and then heard him come back and opened my eyes when he sat down and pressed a glass of cold water into my hand.
"Thank you honey." I sipped from the water. "No but I really need to…." I tried to stand up but Burt pulled me down again with a meaning look. "Will you go and check so he's alright then?" Burt chuckled and nodded, and without another word he put the glass on my bedside table and had me lay down and tucked the covers around me.
"Oh…" And as usual I went squeamish from feeling unwell and lack of sleep and everything and had tears in my eyes. "… what did I do to deserve such a caring man?" I made a failed attempt to smile, Burt chuckled softly again and then sat down by me- stroking my hair like I had been stroking Finn's last night and this morning,
"Mummy?" I hadn't heard Finn coming down the hallway but now he stood in the doorway to our room. "Are you okay?" Burt started answering him but I put a hand on his arm to silent him and answer Finn myself.
"No Finn, I think I caught that bug from you. Turned out it was stomach flu and not food poisoning then." I sighed. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright- I'm hungry!"
"You could go check what you can find in the kitchen. I can't make anything for you now. You should try with yoghurt or toast first. Then in a few hours or tomorrow, you could try heating up what I bought at Breadstix for you yesterday." Finn nodded and laid his head to the side and looked as if he was wondering something. "What is it honey?"
"Are you mad at me for passing that bug onto you?" I shook my head.
"No of course not. It's not your fault."
"Mummy?"
"Yes?"
"I love you." Finn backed away a bit and seemed to be on his way out of the room as I took a breath in to answer him.
"I love you too honey."
Aw… So well that's it for today. I hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you think.