Chapter 46-Sick

By: MysticFantasy

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"Morning." Steve greeted as he woke next to his wife.

"Morning." Natasha greeted back, giving him one last snuggle before forcing herself out of the warm and comfortable bed.

The two retired Avengers freshened up and made their way to the kitchen where they started breakfast. The whole time they were in the kitchen, they both realized that James hadn't shown up yet.

"I better go check on him." Steve offered. "He's never late."

"Wonder where he gets that from." Natasha lightly teased.

Steve lightly smiled before heading down the hall to his son's room. The door was still closed but Steve didn't hear any noise from the other side.

He knocked twice but didn't hear his son. After knocking again and getting the same responce, Steve let himself in.

The room was still dark but Steve was still able to see the bed is still being occupied.

"James?" Steve lightly called as he walked over. "James, time to wake up."

A quiet groan came from the bed as James slowly moved and cracked his eyes open.

"James. Are you alright?" Steve asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine. Just over slept." The fourteen year old answered and slowly forced himself into a sitting position.

"Jarvis, lights at fifty percent please." Steve requested.

The lights came on and Steve right away saw James lightly flinch at the sudden light. But this also allowed the soldier to see his son looked miserable.

He put a hand to the young red head's forehead and frowned when he felt heat coming from it.

"Everything alright?" Natasha asked as she entered the room.

"Not really." Steve answered. "Someone's got a fever."

"Is it serious?" Natasha asked as she went into full mother mode and hurried to her son's side.

"I'm fine." James insisted.

"Don't try that act, James. I never let your father get away with pretending he was alright. I'm not going to let you pretend you're alright when you're sick." Natasha lightly scolded. "I'll be back."

She left and Steve turned to James.

"Dad, I'm fine. Really. I just over slept is all." James insisted.

"James, don't." Steve gently insisted. "If you are sick, then going about your regular routine won't help. It'll make you worse. It's best to stay put and rest."

James stayed silent until his mother returned with a thermometer in hand.

"Open." she said.

James opened his mouth and held the thermometer under his tongue. It felt like an eternity until the result finally came up.

"Let's see." Natasha said taking the medical item. "One hundred three. No arguement. You've got a serious fever."

"Stay in bed." Steve said. "You need to rest."

James agreed reluctantly through a cough and laid back down.

"I'll make you a light breakfast." Natasha said. "Just rest for now."

The two parent's quietly left the room after asking Jarvis to keep an eye on their teen son. Natasha went back to the kitchen and made a breakfast consisting of soup, toast and orange juice while Steve called Bruce.

"Hello?"

"Doctor Banner. Good morning. Hope I'm not disturbing you." Steve said.

"Not at all, Steve. Something serious you need? You only ever address me as doctor if it's serious."

"It is." Steve answered. "James has a pretty high fever this morning and I was wondering if you would be able to come see if he doesn't have anything serious."

"Of course I'll check. I'll be there in about an hour. Until then, don't let him have anything to heavy to eat and let him rest."

"Can do. Thank you, Bruce."

The call ended just as Steve spotted Natasha carrying a tray to James' room. He met up with her before she went in.

"Bruce will be here in an hour to check on James." he said.

"Good." she sighed in relief.

James rarely got sick and the two believed that it was because he'd gotten the serum. It probably wasn't in the same league as Steve's though but they did see that James was a little different from others his age.

"He's always so healthy. Steve, I hate to think it but, he may have something serious." Natasha said.

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself. It could just be a fever. I had them all the time before I became a super soldier."

"Yeah, but it was always obvious for you." Natasha stated.

"True. Look. Don't worry for now. Bruce will be here soon and we'll know for sure."

Natasha nodded and the two walked into the room to give their son his breakfast. A task that proved to be a somewhat challenging task.

Because of the fever, James didn't have his usually great balance so Steve had to sit next to the teen and help keep him upright so he could eat.

Even with their help and encouragement, James didn't eat very much of his breakfast. Claiming that he wasn't very hungry.

The soldier and spy allowed him not to eat too much since they figured James might have an uneasy stomach at the moment. They laid him down to rest and left.

Natasha placed the tray of not half eaten food on the counter right as there was a knock from the front door. Steve quickly answered it and smiled when he saw Bruce.

"Thanks for coming." Steve said.

"How could I not? I always make time for all of my nieces and nephews." Bruce said with a small smile and they started to walk to James' room. "What symptoms does he have?"

"Fever, no appetite and a little cough." Natasha answered.

"Doesn't sound too bad." Bruce said. "Did he eat much?"

"Not really." Steve answered. "He didn't really feel up to eatting and his balance wasn't all that great."

"Sounds like a regular flu but let's be sure of that." Bruce said and they quietly entered the room.

Natasha went over to James and realized he was sleeping. Hating to wake him up, she knew she had to.

"James, honey. Wake up. Uncle Bruce is here to give you a quick check up." she said softly.

James woke with a moan and looked up at his uncle with red eyes.

"Hey buddy." Bruce greeted as he kneeled next to the bed. "Heard you weren't feeling good. Want to let me give you a quick check up?"

James nodded once, not wanting to make his headache worse.

Steve once more sat behind his teen son and supported him while he and Natasha watched as Bruce looked over him.

"Red throat." Bruce noted as he shined a light into James' open mouth. "Could just be from the coughing. No swelling. Good sign."

The older man then listened to James' lungs and heart.

"Everything sounds perfect. Nothing in the lungs. That's a very good thing and your heart sounds perfect."

"So why do I feel so louzy?" James asked in a rough voice.

"Maybe this is just one of those times that you caught something." Bruce said as he looked at James' eyes. "You definatly have that same super potion your parent's have but we're still not sure how much it's like theirs. Maybe it won't be totally perfect until you get to the age they were when they got it."

"Too long." James muttered.

Bruce lightly chuckled.

"Don't worry. It's nothing serious." he announced.

Steve and Natasha both let out a sigh of relief.

"Just the flu. It's best that you should rest for a few days and eat light foods."

"Can I sleep? My head is killing me." James stated.

"Sleep all you want." Natasha answered as Steve eased the teen back into his bed. "We won't wake you until you need to eat. Now sleep."

"Thanks." James whispered before shutting his eyes.

The three adults left the room and went to the living room.

"Thank you for checking him, Bruce. I feel better about this." Natasha said.

"I'm glad I could help and make sure that it wasn't anything serious. Especially after I saw Steve's medical records from the war."

Steve lightly shrugged.

"Just let him sleep, make sure he doesn't eat anything that'll upset his stomach and keep him hydrated. Cold water will do that and some warm tea will help his throat and keep the chills away. If the fever gets any higher or something doesn't seem wrong, just call me and I'll hurry back."

"In that case, you may want to stay in the guest room until this flu is over." Steve said.