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"Mike, let's go! We need to get ready for school!" Harvey called from the kitchen.
He frowned as he grabbed two bowls and placed them on the table next to the milk and cereal he'd already laid out. Mike was usually up by now. Harvey had gotten into the habit of knocking on Mike's door as he made his way downstairs and that seemed to be all that was needed to wake his brother up. At least, it was until this morning.
"Mike!" Harvey yelled, marching up the stairs.
He knocked on Mike's door and entered the dark room. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust enough to spot Mike cocooned in his blankets, still asleep. Harvey rolled his eyes and flicked on the light.
It was his job to make sure that he and Mike got to school on time whenever their dad was at the recording studio. He'd been doing a good job so far and didn't want to let their father down because Mike wanted to sleep in.
"Mike."
Mike wrinkled his nose and blinked at him blearily.
"Harv?" Mike raised his head slightly, looking flushed.
"Come on, get up. We need to get ready for school," Harvey repeated, rifling through Mike's dresser to help speed up the process.
Mike pushed himself up and watched, tiredly rubbing at his eyes.
"I don't feel good, Harvey."
Harvey bit back a snappy response. He was tired and upset that he'd have to miss a baseball game after school to babysit Mike until their father got back tonight. Usually he could just take Mike with him to practice and have the kid sit in the dugout or on the bleachers close by. But it was an away game and when Harvey had suggested both options to their dad, they'd both been denied.
"You'll be fine once you have some breakfast," he said instead, pulling Mike out of the bed.
Mike didn't protest, but he didn't help dress himself either. Harvey furrowed his brow, Mike had been dressing himself for the past year. He'd even learned how to tie his own shoes. He placed a palm against Mike's forehead. A little warm, but that could just be from all the blankets Mike had been sleeping under.
Plus, Harvey had no idea what to do if Mike really was sick. He couldn't leave him home alone during the day and their dad had given clear instructions about both of them getting to school. Harvey had given his word that he'd get both of them there on time.
"Come on, let's eat," Harvey said once Mike was completely dressed.
Mike shuffled obediently behind him, unusually quiet. He was typically bright and chatty in the morning, talking so fast that Harvey could barely keep up with the words flying out. Harvey tried not to worry too much, everyone had off days, didn't mean that every time they were sick.
Once in the kitchen, Harvey poured Mike a bowl of Lucky Charms and splashed some milk on it. He placed it in front of his brother and poured him some juice before filling a bowl and juice for himself.
"You really aren't feeling well, are you?" Harvey asked, watching Mike swirl the cereal around with his spoon without taking a bite.
Mike usually loved Lucky Charms. He even asked for them for dessert sometimes. It was one of the few foods that he was guaranteed to eat when Harvey couldn't get him to eat anything else.
Mike shook his head and leaned it against his arm.
"Dad said we had to go to school," Harvey said, the words sounding like an apology.
"I know," Mike sighed, looking as if he was shrinking in his chair.
"Drink some juice," Harvey told him gently, "We'll give it a try and if you feel any worse when you're there, just ask to see the nurse, okay?"
Mike nodded glumly.
Harvey cleaned up their breakfast and made sure both of their backpacks were packed and zipped up. He got them to the bus stop, thankful that Mike's fear of cars did not transfer into a fear of all moving vehicles. When the bus showed up, Harvey decided to sit next to Mike on the way there instead of his friends.
He couldn't help but feel guilty about making Mike go to school when something was clearly going on, but he didn't know what else to do. Their dad was nearly impossible to reach whenever he was in a studio recording. Plus, if Mike was really sick, he figured having the school nurse take a look at him might be the best option available. Harvey didn't know the first thing about scheduling doctors appointments, or how they'd get to one if he did.
The bus arrived at the k-5th school that both Mike and Harvey attended. Harvey walked with Mike into the school and placed a hand on his shoulder, holding him back for a moment.
"Mike."
"Yeah?" Mike wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Remember what to do if you feel worse?"
"Yeah."
"What are you going to do?" Harvey asked, wanting to make absolutely certain.
"Ask to see the nurse," Mike mumbled, scruffing his sneaker on the tile.
"That's right," Harvey replied with a nod, "I'll see you after school, okay?"
Mike nodded and turned to start walking to his classroom. The younger grades reported there immediately in the morning while the older ones waited in the gym.
"Bye, Harvey," Mike said over his shoulder.
"See ya," Harvey sighed, watching him go.
Once the school day got started, Harvey's worry about Mike faded to the back of his mind. He hung out with his friends, finished worksheets, was the star player during the dodgeball game in P.E., and all in all Harvey had a good day.
He almost forgot about Mike's rough morning till he was walking by the office at the end of the day to head out to the bus.
"Harvey, can you come in here?" The secretary, Ms. Banks, called out. She'd been watching for the older Specter brother and was relieved to have caught him on his way out.
Harvey walked into the office, confused and worried that he'd gotten in trouble for something.
"You're brother's in the nurse's office," Ms. Banks explained, "He came down in the morning, but we couldn't get a hold of your father to pick him up."
Harvey's stomach sank, "Is he okay?"
"He's fine, honey," she assured, "Just resting. Nurse Rhonda's been looking after him, but she had to step out to help with crossing duty."
Harvey nodded, "Can I take him home?"
"You don't want to wait for your father to come and pick him up?" Ms. Banks asked.
"I think Mike would feel better the sooner he got home," Harvey said, intentionally not adding that their father wouldn't be home till 10 that night at the earliest.
"Of course, oh and before I forget," she passed him Mike's backpack over the desk, "Here's his things. Mrs. Scott sent them down with him. She said not to worry about make-up work, it seems that Mike had worked ahead anyway."
Harvey smiled, "Thank you," he said, grabbing the backpack and walking over to the adjacent nurse's office. He peered around the door frame.
Like most school nurse's offices the room was small and plain. Harvey had only been in there a couple of times over the years. Once, when he lost his tooth in second grade, and once when he'd scraped up his knees when he fell on the blacktop during recess.
Mike was dozing, curled up on the cot against the wall, clutching his stomach.
"Hey, Mike," Harvey said gently, he reached over and shook his brother's shoulder.
Mike woke up with a start, looking confused.
"Come on, let's get home," Harvey said, nodding towards the door.
Mike nodded and got off the cot stiffly. Harvey was grateful that Mike seemed well enough to walk on his own. He didn't think he could carry Mike and two backpacks simultaneously.
"Felt worse, huh?" Harvey asked, he waved to Ms. Banks as they walked out.
"Yeah, threw up," Mike answered, looking miserable.
"I'm sorry," Harvey told him sincerely, once again feeling guilty for making him go to school.
He shepherded Mike onto their bus. Mike leaned his head against Harvey's shoulder during the ride. Even through his shirt, Harvey could feel the heat emanating from the kid's forehead. He chewed his bottom lip. He'd never had to take care of someone who was sick before. He certainly didn't want to do something wrong that might make Mike worse.
Harvey thought about what their mom would have done. She always had them lay on the couch when they were sick so that she could keep an eye on them. She'd make soup. They'd watch countless movies. Sometimes she'd give medicine, but Harvey couldn't remember which ones, or how much she gave.
They got to their stop and clambered off. Once inside, Harvey dumped the backpacks on the floor and got Mike to lay down on the couch. He placed his palm against Mike's forehead again, and pursed his lips.
"Uhm, I don't," Harvey rubbed the back of his neck, "I mean, are you hungry? Want me to get you anything?"
"I'm thirsty," Mike said, ever the polite one he added, "Can I have a drink, please?"
"Of course," Harvey went to the kitchen then stalled.
What was the best drink for someone who was sick? He glanced at the options in the fridge and decided on a Sprite, he swore their mother would give him Sprite when he was sick for some reason. He popped the can open and poured half of it into a cup. He then grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and filled it with Goldfish, just in case Mike's stomach was upset because it was empty.
He returned to the living room.
"Here you go," he passed Mike the cup of soda, "And here's some Goldfish, if you're hungry." He placed the bowl on the coffee table. Thought about it. Then dragged the coffee table so that it'd be closer to the couch.
"Thank you, Harvey."
"Want to watch something? Like a movie or something?" Harvey offered.
Technically, they weren't allowed to turn on the TV until they'd finished their homework, but Harvey figured it'd take Mike's mind off for a bit.
"Nemo?" Mike asked with a small smile, it'd been his favorite for the past couple of months.
Harvey grinned back, " 'Fish are friends, not food'," he quoted, grabbing the DVD and placing it in the player.
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming," Mike sang softly.
Harvey shook his head and got the movie started. Once it was playing, he retrieved his backpack and sat on the floor against the couch to do his homework. Occasionally he'd glance over at Mike to see how he was doing.
"I'm sorry you had to miss your game today," Mike suddenly said out of the blue.
Harvey looked over at him surprised, "What?"
"I'm sorry about your game," Mike repeated, picking at a string on the couch.
"Don't worry about it," Harvey assured. When Mike still looked guilty, as if being sick, or their dad being gone for work were his fault, Harvey set aside what he'd been working on and sat on the couch next to him, "Don't be sorry, Mike. I'm glad I'm here."
Mike snuggled up next to him. He dozed off and on for the rest of the film.
When the credits started rolling, Harvey carefully untangled himself from Mike and got up to turn it off. He checked that Mike was still asleep before going into the kitchen and fixing himself a sandwich.
After he'd eaten, Harvey finished his homework. He checked on Mike, who was still fast asleep. Harvey put his hand against Mike's forehead, to see if anything had changed. He didn't know where they kept a thermometer. He added that to his mental list of things to figure out.
Mike woke up at the touch.
"You don't feel as warm," Harvey commented, feeling relieved.
Mike sat up, looking more alert than he had all day, although still slightly flushed.
"Want to try to eat?" Harvey asked.
"Lucky Charms?" Mike replied hopefully.
Harvey pretended to hesitate, "Oh alright, I guess that'd be okay."
Mike smiled, "Did you know that Nurse Rhonda has been a nurse for fifteen years? That's a long time! And she said that…"
Mike continued to chatter away as Harvey went to the kitchen and made the bowl of cereal.
Harvey just chuckled to himself and shook his head, "Oh yeah, he's definitely feeling better."
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you have a spare moment, please leave a review with your thoughts. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!
Thanks again! :)
