AN: well this story is getting a lot longer than I intended...This chapter is a bit meh, the next one is better. Thanks to everyone for the continued support! I love reading your reviews and thanks for all the follows/ favourites. And a huge thanks to Guesty who's been awesome and helpful. Seriously your reviews always make me smile x) . And kudos to you for noticing how sick Kenneth was. That was on purpose so that it would be easier to write a sick!fic and have it still work with the rest of the plot. Also thanks for the lovely ideas to blend everything ^.^ also you did remind me of Cisco and Caitlin and gave me an awesome idea! X3 I know in this its Joe (I figured since Joe was his dad and has raised kids that Oliver might call him first) , but do not fear Cisco and Caitlin will also make an appearance as suggested by you and .mud .

To everyone else; thanks for the AMAZING suggestions :) I have them noted in my notepad and will try to work in most of them as best as I can, while also keeping to how I want the story to play through.

Thanks SO much to the person who pointed out that I accidentally wrote that Barry was five when he is four. I fixed that :) . Hopefully ...

-TA-TF-

"Do you think that creep got him sick?" Felicity's voice came through the phone. Oliver sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. That might actually be a possibility considering how bad Kenneth had stumbled and coughed last night. This morning Barry had woken up hacking up a lung. At first Oliver had thought Barry might be choking, but after a couple of minutes the coughing had subsided. Oliver had immediately called Felicity.

"What do I do? Or can't you just come back?" Oliver asked, hoping the plea in his voice wasn't too obvious. A crackling sound escaped the speaker and Oliver could only assume the blond tech had given him a fond sigh.

"I can't always come play babysitter, Oliver. I have things to do," Felicity began, "although I do miss the kid...he's adorable. Maybe it won't be so bad if he stays a kid. Oh man, I'm going to be crying my eyes out when he goes home"

"Felicity. I don't know what to do." The last part being reluctantly admitted.

"Okay. Well does he have a fever? What are his symptoms?"

"Uhm.."

"Oh dear. How did you ever survive." Oliver scowled, making his way to where Barry was still tucked in Oliver's bed.

"Hold on." Oliver said, placing the phone on the night stand. Glassy eyes peered up at him from behind sweaty bangs.

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" Oliver asked, receiving a pained whimper in response. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Barry. His hand came up, softly stroking the kids hair back and he placed the back of his hand on Barry's forehead. The heat easily rolled from the kid's skin onto his hand. Definitely a fever. He had to draw his hand back as a coughing fit suddenly over took Barry. Gently he stroked the kid's back till it subsided.

"My throat hurts." Barry whined, his voice hoarse. Oliver didn't know what to do. Remembering Felicity was on the phone, he picked it up, bringing it back to his ear.

"He has a fever, he's coughing, sneezing and his throat hurts." Oliver relayed Barry's symptoms. Felicity let out a small chuckle, which caused Oliver to frown.

"Its not funny! What if he has strep throat, sinusitis, pneumonia, or bronchitis? Can't you just get here?" Oliver said. This time he got a full out laugh from the woman.

"Relax, mom. Its just the old, nasty common cold. Kids get them all the time." Felicity tried reassuring him. Oliver chose to ignore the 'mom' comment and instead asked her what he's supposed to do.

"I don't know. I never really took care of a kid before, ya know." Felicity replied, "Maybe call Joe? He should know."

Oliver grimaced at the thought of calling the detective. Not that he disliked the man, more so that he didn't really want to admit that Barry was sick. For some reason he felt responsible and guilt flared up in his chest. Feeling ridiculous he bid Felicity goodbye and hung up.

"Oliv'r?" Barry mumbled, "I feel icky."

The kid's cheeks were flushed from the fever and his lips cracked. He was breathing deeply with his mouth, indicating his nose was stuffed.

"I know. Go to sleep and I'll get you something that will help you feel better."

Barry did just that. His eyes slipped closed and Oliver stood up, already pulling Detective West's number from his phone. He waited till he was a safe distance, the kitchen, before dialing the number. The tone rang twice, before the man answered.

"Joe West," a deep voice answered.

"Detective West. Its Oliver Queen." Oliver said, hoping Joe had time to talk.

"Right! Queen. I was on my way calling you actually. I should be in Starling by tonight to pick Barry up."

"That's good to know, but I actually called you about something else..."

"What's wrong? Is Barry okay?" The concern was obvious in Joe's voice.

"He's okay," Oliver began slowly, "he's just- well he kind of woke up sick this morning," he closed his eyes, feeling unusually embarrassed, " and-"

"-and you don't know what to give him?" Joe finished for him, with, surprisingly, not a hint of anger in his voice. Oliver let out a forced laugh.

"That obvious? Yeah-yes, I have no idea what I should give him. Felicity said its just the common cold." Oliver said. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Joe asked, confusion prominent, "about Barry being sick?" Just like Felicity the detective laughed, causing Oliver to scowl. "You don't need to be sorry. Kids get sick all the time-especially if they're under five. Something to do with their immune systems not being strong enough to protect their bodies at that age. Iris herself used to get the cold at least five times a year."

Relief filled Oliver when he realized the man was not upset. He has no idea why the man being upset meant something to him. Before he could dwell on it any longer, Joe spoke up again;

"Unfortunately there's nothing really you can do to cure the common cold. Best you can do his give him something that will relieve some of the symptoms. Of course him being four means you can't give him aspirin for the headache or fever...over-the-counter medicine are not that reliable either. In fact sometimes it can have a lot of bad side effects, but you can give him saline nose drops, also make sure he drinks a lot of juice and water- no caffeine- and a warm bath or heating pad to soothe aches and pains. Chicken soup works too-not just an old wife's tale you know- and lots of rest."

Oliver listened intently, occasionally making a sound to indicate he was listening. His worry grew when he realized he can't exactly give Barry specific medicine.

"Anything else?" Oliver asked.

"Not really. If he doesn't feel better in the next three days, then its better to call the doctor, but you don't have to worry about that since I'll be picking him up tonight." Joe informed him. Oliver felt a strange feeling grow at the statement, but ignored it and instead thanked the detective. Its definitely been a strange experience since Barry got changed into a kid yesterday. Not knowing how to handle the situation has been aggravating. If it wasn't for Felicity ,or Joe, then this predicament would have been hell. Maybe sometimes you do need to accept help from others. Bidding the detective goodbye, he hung up.

"Oliver!"

His name being called drew him back to Barry's room. He found the kid sitting up right with his legs tucked close to his body and his face buried between his knees. He hovered at the door waiting to see if the kid was going to explain why he called for him, but after a few moments of silence he walked closer, moving so he was standing next to the bed.

"Hey, Barry. Do you want something to eat?" Oliver asked. The kid shook his head still not looking up. Oliver frowned at Barry's lack of appetite, but decided not to press in fear of upsetting him further.

"Well, you need to at least drink something. Do you want some water or juice?"

"Juice." Came Barry's muffled reply. Nodding, Oliver started walking to the kitchen. There should be a carton of orange juice in the fridge. Orange is supposed to be good for the immune system, right?

How was he going to take care of a sick kid? So far he has managed four-year old Barry, mostly thanks to Felicity's help, but now the kid's sick which is just a whole new list of responsibilities. How do you even break a fever? ibuprofen? Was that even safe for kids? Maybe he should go to the drug store, or ask Felicity to go.

Oliver walked back to the room with a tall glass of orange juice. He found Barry still curled up in a ball on top of the covers. The kid's entire body was shaking and every so often a small, pitiful whimper would escaped. Oliver walked over, sitting down in front of Barry. Gently coaching Barry out of the ball, he handed the juice over, watching as the kid took grateful gulps. He took the now empty glass and stood up. Helping Barry lay down, he pulled the covers over the kid and made sure Barry was asleep, before quietly leaving the room.

It was about two hours later when Barry woke up. Oliver was watching tv (which he hasn't done in a while and he can't believe some of the crappy shows that are on TV) when Barry came shuffling out of the room wrapped tightly in a blanket.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Oliver asked. Barry walked/shuffled to the couch and climbed up next to Oliver. The green blanket slipped from the kid's shoulders, falling to the floor. Oliver bent down to retrieve the fallen blanket and rewrapped it over Barry's shaking shoulders. The kid gripped the blanket edges, pulling it tighter over his body.

"Do you want something? Food?" Oliver asked, wondering why the kid got out of bed. Barry shook his head, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Leaning over to the coffee table, Oliver grabbed a box of tissues and brought it closer for Barry.

"How about something to drink?" Once again Barry only shook his head 'no'. The kid started shivering badly and Oliver's concern grew.

"Are you cold? Do you want more blankets?" Head shake. Oliver scowled at the kid's lack of response. What else would he want? Suddenly something warm pressed to his side. Looking down Oliver saw that Barry had scooted closer, cuddling into his side. The kid's hands came crawling out of the blankets and gripped the side of his shirt tightly.

"Is this what you want? You just want me to stay?" This time his response was a head nod. Barry slid down so his head was pillowed in Oliver's lap. The kid was out like a light within seconds with only a cough or sniff occasionally disturbing his sleep. Oliver gently brought his hand back down, placing it on Barry's arm. He turned his attention back on screen where a guy suddenly got flung through the air, with his brother shooting a ghost(a not so crappy TV show). "Okay, kid. I'll stay."

Another hour later, Felicity came into his apartment, once again inviting herself in. Oliver heard her rummaging in the kitchen, before she came into view in the living room.

"Really? Stop looking like someone just tied a bomb onto your lap, he's not going to explode," Felicity admonished. Oliver sent her a glare from where he was still on the couch with Barry cuddled in his lap, "besides the worst he can do is get you sick."

"I never thought of that." Oliver said, now looking at the kid like he really was a ticking time bomb. Felicity could only roll her eyes at this.

"Well you should thank me, because I got what you asked for. I got saline drops and children ibuprofen. I also got something for his sore throat," she said, holding up a brown bag. Nodding, Oliver slowly slid out from under Barry and walked over to Felicity. Since Barry hasn't eaten anything yet, he decided to make the kid something to eat, before giving him the medicine.

Of course getting him to actually eat something turned out to be a tedious task.

"Come on, Barry. You haven't eaten anything all day," Oliver said exasperated. The kid shook his head rebelliously.

"M'not hungry." Barry said. The kid crossed his arms, pouting. Oliver narrowed his eyes.

"Its not up for debate. You can't take your medicine without eating something beforehand."

"But m'not hungry."

"Barry."

"Oliver."

Oliver gaped at the kid. He heard Felicity trying to stiffle a laugh behind him. He turned to give her a heated glare.

"You could help, you know. I can't exactly do this on my own." Of course the statement caused Felicity to actually laugh out loud, not being able to hold it in.

"I'm sorry. That-that was just so funny," Felicity explained during giggles. She turned to Barry, "Barry, Oliver's right. If you don't eat, you can't get medicine which means you won't feel better."

A moment passed where the techy and speedster stared at each other, before Barry gingerly picked up the slice of toast and started nibbling on a corner piece. Mild irritation flared, because why would the kid listen to her and not him? Finally ,after a little over half of the toast was finished, he gave Barry his medicine. The kid started feeling drowsy again and this time Felicity went to tuck him in. Unfortunately the kid seemed to be feeling worse and started crying. It wasn't full-out bawling, only a couple of tears slipping out. He joined Felicity as they both tried to soothe the kid to sleep. Barry's coughing was getting worse and Oliver went to grab him a cup of water. It seemed to work since the coughing fit subsided for now and the kid managed to fall asleep.

Back in the kitchen his phone flashed, alerting him that he had a text. He opened the text to read it;

"You need to come to Central with Joe and Barry. Cisco found something worrisome...

-Caitlin"

-TA-TF-

AN: sorry for the extra AN, but I am going to change the story from 'complete' to 'incomplete' (since this is obviously not completed even though it was supposed to be a one-shot XD)