"Baby boy. It's time to wake up." Mellie looked at Teddy, who had barely moved in the 8 hours that he had been sleeping next to her. He was still curled up close to her, his arm around her and his head pressed into her chest. He whined a little bit but then remembered what happened the last time he refused to wake up, so he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He didn't want Fitz to spank him again. Even though it hadn't really hurt, it still scared him.
Teddy laid his head against Mellie's chest, letting out a quiet sigh. He wasn't exactly ready to get up yet, but he knew he couldn't go back to sleep. He closed his eyes for a second and felt his mother kissing the top of his head, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He loved his mother, more than anything in the world. Especially now that she was being much more active in his life. Before Jerry had died, she was never there, and he recognized Marta as his mother figure. But now he got to spend so much time with Mellie and he adored that.
He opened his eyes, looking over at the other side of the room. He heard his parents say something about this being his mother's old room when she was younger. He couldn't imagine his mom living in here, especially in a room that didn't have a closet. Where was she going to put all of her clothes? She couldn't possibly have fit them all into the tiny dresser that was pressed against the opposite wall. He didn't know that his mother hadn't always been the exact same way that she was now; he was too young to realize that. He just knew that his mommy had a bunch of clothes, a lot of pretty jewelry, she loved playing with him and his baby brother and sister, and she was an important woman.
After he was brought back to reality, he noticed his father playing with his little brother and sister. He was sitting on the floor and Bella and B were climbing on his legs. Teddy let out a sigh, thinking back to when his dad used to play with him like that. After the twins were born, he'd kind of forgotten about him. Of course he still played with him a little bit and he gave him hugs and kisses, but Mellie was really the only one that hadn't changed toward him since his little brother and sister. She loved them to pieces. He had no doubt in his mind that she loved Bella and Ben just as much as she loved him. But at least she treated all of them equally.
He didn't feel good. He was exhausted, even after 9+ full hours of sleep, and his head was pounding. His stomach hurt, and he had a runny nose. He wasn't used to feeling like this, and he was being even more clingy toward Mellie now because of it.
"Are you ready to go spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa?" Mellie asked, running her hand through Teddy's dark hair. He looked up at her and nodded slowly, still not quite completely awake. He wanted to spend the day with just his mother, but he knew that wasn't an option. That was never an option anymore.
Fitz looked up when he saw Teddy was awake and smiled over at him. "Good morning, little man." He said and Teddy smiled back at him.
"Mornings." He responded, yawning as he laid his head back down on Mellie's shoulder. He let out another quiet sigh, and looked up at his mother. "Mama?" He asked and the brunette looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. "Mes no feel good." He whispered, frowning slightly as he cuddled into her as much as he possibly could.
Mellie frowned and placed her hand on his forehead. "Hmm…You feel pretty warm, baby. What's wrong?" She asked, wrapping her arm around him and gently rubbing his back. When Fitz heard her, he looked up at her, concerned. "Fitz, can you go get the thermometer please? I think it's in the bathroom cabinet." She frowned and Fitz nodded, standing up and going out into the hall. Mellie sighed and looked at Teddy, shaking her head slightly. She felt really bad for her baby boy.
"Me head hurts. And me tummy. And there's stuff comin' outta my noses." He whined, burying his face in Mellie's chest. Mellie rubbed his back, not even minding the fact that she knew she had just wiped his snot all over her shirt. Two years ago she would've been absolutely disgusted. She would've nervously handed Teddy to someone else and undressed as quickly as possible, making sure that the shirt was burned and that she was in the shower within five minutes. But that wasn't how she was now. She was different now. She was more in mommy-mode than ever before and to be totally honest, she loved it.
Mellie rubbed Teddy's back, leaning down and kissing his head as she waited for Fitz to come back in the room. When he did, she took the thermometer from him and looked down at Teddy. "Baby, sit up." She told him, and he did, whining as he looked up at his mother. She put the thermometer in his mouth and took his temperature, sighing as she watched the numbers go higher and higher. "102." Mellie mumbled as she took the thermometer out of his mouth and set it on the nightstand. She pulled the little boy into her lap before looking back at Fitz. "You're gonna have to go with my parents on your own, honey. I need to stay with Teddy and I don't want to risk the twins getting sick."
Fitz nodded, looking at the babies that were playing on the floor. "I'll get them ready." He told her as he looked through the infants' clothes to try and find them something to wear. Teddy snuggled into to his mother, wanting to be as close to her as possible. He coughed and looked up at Mellie, pouting as he stared at her.
"Mommy." He whispered and Mellie looked at him.
"What, baby?" The brunette asked, running her hand through the little boy's hair.
He just shrugged, resting his head against Mellie's shoulder. "Come here. We'll get out of those hot clothes, okay?" Teddy nodded and let out a sigh as Mellie undressed him, changing his diaper before laying him back down. "You can stay with mommy while daddy takes Bella and B out with Grandpa and Grandma."
Teddy nodded, closing his eyes as once again, he inched himself closer and closer to Mellie. He was a momma's boy, no doubt, but it was even worse when he didn't feel good.
After Fitz got the babies changed and ready to go, he let Mellie feed them both and packed the diaper bag. He walked over to his wife and kissed her forehead, looking down at Teddy, who had fallen back asleep. "I love you two. Let me know if anything changes." He ran his hand through Mellie's tangled hair before leaning down and kissing his son's warm cheek. "Feel better, buddy."
"I love you too. I will." Mellie told him, giving him a quick kiss. She watched him pick up the twins and their bag and walk out the door. She glanced down at Teddy and rubbed his bare back, frowning as the little boy coughed in his sleep.