"Deels, there is no way you are going to work today," Patsy said with finality, glancing at the digital thermometer, "You have a one hundred and one fever (Fahrenheit)!"

Delia gazed sheepishly at her wife, her eyes slightly glazed over with sickness.

"I feel fine," she said in mutiny, though her scratchy voice and following wince gave her away.

"Mm-hmm," Patsy said, arching an eyebrow, "I'm going to check on Ellie, she doesn't look too good either."

Patsy marched into her daughter's room, wielding the thermometer with an air of no-nonsense authority. Ellie lay sprawled on her bed, her face buried under her pillow. Patsy nudged her enough to where she could sit on the bed.

"Huh?" Ellie mumbled, shifting slightly without opening her eyes.

"Do you feel okay?" Patsy asked, almost needlessly, because the answer was fairly obvious. Her daughter shook her head and slunk further into her bedsheets.

Without asking permission, Patsy inserted the thermometer in Ellie's right ear. When it beeped, Patsy inwardly cringed. One hundred (again, Fahrenheit).

"Okay, Ellie, sit up," Patsy commanded. Her daughter sluggishly rolled up into sitting position, where Patsy gently picked her up. The young girl instinctively wrapped her arms around Patsy's neck and the ginger carried Ellie back into the master bedroom, where Delia was sitting up, drinking some orange juice.

"You have a roommate," Patsy announced.

"Oh dear," Delia said forlornly as Patsy deposited their daughter on the bed, "Not you too."

Ellie didn't answer, but rather rolled over and buried herself under the blankets against Delia.

Delia rubbed her back and asked, "What was her temp?"

"One hundred," Patsy said softly, stroking some of Ellie's locks away from her face. The two mothers collectively sighed for a moment.

"Well, when she feels up to it, two aspirin every four hours, maybe a warm bath, plenty of rest…" Patsy said before trailing off, realizing she was talking to a fellow nurse.

"Of course Nurse Busby-Mount," Delia said sardonically before flashing a grin.

"…are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Patsy fretted softly, "I don't want you worrying about her when you are also sick."

"I can hold the fort while you're away," Delia mused.

Patsy's eyes softened as she slowly leaned in and pressed her lips on Delia's, the heat of her fever radiating off of her skin.

"In sickness and in health," Patsy murmured against her lips.

"For better and for worse," Delia whispered back, smiling gently.

Beside them, Ellie shifted and mumbled, "Ew."

Patsy and Delia chuckled before Patsy spared Delia one last kiss, ruffled Ellie's hair, and then left for work.

Patsy had a terrible day. Several patients were cruel to her, it started pouring rain around three o'clock, and on top of that, all she thought about were her sick daughter and wife at home. When she walked into the house, soaked to the skin, she was so tired she didn't even bother to dry herself off in the corridor.

She entered into the dim kitchen and went to the sink for a glass of water. She saw the remnants of tomato soup soaking in hot, soapy water, and the scent of grilled cheese lingered in the air. Chugging down her water, Patsy trailed through the living room, silently observing the small pile of used tissues on the coffee table and the open bottle of aspirin. Patsy then floated into her room, her gaze cast down as she began to shed her soaked clothing. Dropping her overcoat on the floor, she kicked off her shoes at the door before coming across the most adorable scene.

Delia lay on the bed, her hair astray, cradling Ellie to her chest. The TV was on mute, and Patsy chuckled at the sight of Spongebob Squarepants dancing on the screen. Both her wife and her daughter were asleep, their chests rising and falling in peaceful synchronization. Switching the TV off, Patsy crawled into bed beside the others before wrapping her arms around them. Brushing some of Delia's hair away from her face, Patsy brushed her lips on her cheek before laying her head on her shoulder. Delia shifted.

"Got her temp down," Delia muttered without cracking an eyelid.

"Mmm," Patsy responded, trailing her fingers over Delia's arm.

"How was your day?" Delia murmured, leaning her head on Patsy's.

"Let's not talk about it," Patsy whispered back, crawling closer until her body was flush against the others. Their fevered bodies quickly began to warm Patsy, making her drowsy.

Silence fell between the two of them, and soon the whole family descended into a peaceful slumber.