AN: Today is my birthday, so I thought I'd give you all a little present.

Thank you all so much for the support! You really make writing fun!

Severus didn't know which was worse, a Cruciatus or this flu. Both left him shaking, gave him a splitting headache, and caused every one of his muscles to cramp. That being said, there were a few key difference to note. A Cruciatas didn't make his nose run or make it difficult to swallow from the pain in his throat. Then again, the tremors after the Unforgivable were much worse than chills.

The debate was quite real.

"Why are you in bed?"

Severus pried open his eyes. His six year old black clad daughter stood before him, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Her smile exposed her missing two front teeth. If she were anyone outside of his family, he would have snarled at them for being so perky.

"You have to get up," she continued. "You promised to show me how to make Skele-Gro."

"I know, Rose." Severus groaned. "But we will need to wait before brewing anything."

She cocked her head and blinked.

"I do not feel well."

"Why? What happened?"

"Flu season." He buried his head into a pillow.

"You need a doctor."

"No, I do not at the moment, but I thank you for your concern."

"No, you need a doctor. You need Dr. Rose!" She darted out of the room.

He moaned as he raised his head, hoping she would settle for playing with her stuffed animals and forget he was ailing.

"I'm back!"

No such luck.

She was wearing a plastic red stethoscope around her neck. In one hand was her toy snake, and in the other her fake first aid kit. "I have to listen to your heart first."

"No, you have to leave my room so you do not become ill," He grumbled.

"Not when my patient is sick." She approached him as she put her fake stethoscope in her ears.

"Here's the flu relieving potion." Hermione stepped inside before glancing down at her daughter. "Rose, what are you doing here?"

"Being a doctor."

"You need to let your father take his potion and sleep." Hermione put a hand over her swollen pelvis.

"He can go to sleep after I cure him."

"How do you plan to cure me?" Severus asked in genuine curiosity.

"I'll think of something."

"This isn't a game." Hermione coaxed her daughter away from her husband. "You need to go play with your toys and let your father recover."

"But he needs a doctor."

"If he gets any worse he will see a real doctor." Hermione handed him the potion. "Right now though, he needs to rest."

"I can't leave him!"

"Why not?

"But he doesn't leave me when I'm sick, so I can't leave him now," Rose argued.

"I appreciate your devotion." Severus sat up and took the vial from Hermione's hands. "I would prefer you play with your toys and allow me to rest, though. That way, I can rest assured you will not become ill."

"I won't get sick, I promise."

He took the potion before wincing. Why couldn't he have created a less tart potion? Someday he would need to invent a formula to make potions edible without destroying their efficacy.

"Come on Rose," Hermione gently pushed her daughter out of the room. "It is time for breakfast."

"But I need to help my patient," she whined.

"You can help me by eating breakfast," Severus replied.

"How will that help?"

"It will make me feel better to know that you've eaten."

"But…"

"Rose, let's let your father get some rest."

The child took one last look at her father before the door was shut behind her.

"We have to help Dad."

Victor glanced up from the piece of paper he'd been coloring upon.

"I need to be his doctor, but Mum won't let me." Rose put her elbows on the yellow plastic park bench. "I don't know what to do."

"She said making him a get well card would be good enough." Victor took a black crayon from a cardboard box and began to draw a stick figure of his dad.

"Not for me," Rose muttered before taking a piece of paper from the middle of the table and grabbing a green crayon. "I can't do nothing."

"Do you think you can cure him or something?"

"If I could make a potion I could." Rose began writing, though in her unsteady hands the letters still appeared to be scribbles. "But I can't get past the wards to the lab to brew anything."

"Maybe you can give him corn chips and a barf bucket." Victor put the crayon in the middle of the table. "That always makes me feel better."

"Yes, I need to treat him like he treats me."

"We can get the chips…"

"No!" Her eyes lit up. "I can make him warm apple juice. That always makes me feel better, so it will make him feel better too!"

"How are you going to heat it? We can't cast warming spells."

"We can take Mum or Dad's wand and do it."

"No, the last time we borrowed Mum's wand your hair turned purple and you grew feathers on your neck." Victor giggled. "I still wish you could've seen the look on your face!"

Rose scowled at him, silencing his laughter. Then she rapped her fingers on the table. "We could use the stove."

"We can't reach it."

"We can use a stool."

Victor's eyes flickered in interest.

"I know where the pots are," Rose grinned. "It can't be that hard to warm apple juice. Once we do it then we can give it to him and he'll be all better."

"Yeah." Victor set down his crayons.

"I need a look out though." She scratched the table. "I don't want Mum to come in because she's just going to stop me. She probably thinks it's a bad idea."

"I can help," he replied. "I like playing look out."

"Good, just don't get distracted like last time."

"I didn't get distracted. Dad just came in too early and heard you in the cupboard before I could distract him."

"I still didn't like being in time out."

"I was there too."

"True." She stood. "Anyway, let's go before Mum realizes we're not here."

With that, the children left their half-made cards and strolled to the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione put her hand over Severus' forehead.

"Like I was hit by the Hogwarts Express and then trampled by Buckbeak." He sniffed.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"I will survive, or so I hope."

"If you die of a flu after cheating death so many times I will resurrect and subsequently kill you."

"Duly noted." He smirked.

She backed away from him, with a playful smile.

"How is the baby?" He pointed to her swollen stomach.

"Active." She rubbed over where her unborn was kicking. "She's been stretching and kicking all morning. I think she is going to be a very curious child when she's born."

"It is good to know she is doing well." He glanced down at her bump. "You be good to your mother. You may kick, but not too hard. You wouldn't want to injure anyone who loves you."

"She's fine." She exhaled "The baby is just fine."

"Speaking of baby," He cleared his throat. "Where are our other two progenies?"

"In theory, they are coloring." She frowned. "Though they've been very quiet as of late."

"Almost too quiet," he drawled.

"I should check on them, assuming you don't need me."

"I need to know my children haven't gotten into any mischief which could injure them."

"So do I." Her expression softened. "I love you."

"I love you too." He lay back down.

After she left, he threw the covers over his head, hoping his children weren't about to make his headache worse.

"I think I put too much in the pot," Rose held up the empty apple juice container.

"Yeah, I don't think he can drink that much juice," Victor noted.

"I guess we can save some, or drink it ourselves." Rose bounced onto the wooden stool.

"I want some now actually."

"We have to wait. Dad needs this cure, not us." Rose put the pot onto the stove, splashing apple juice as she did so. She leapt off the stool and examined the black knobs. "How do you turn this on?"

"You have to find the right burner and turn it." He looked at her.

"Which is the right burner?"

"The one on the right."

"There are two on the right." She hissed.

"Here, let me show you." He strolled over to her.

"No, your'e supposed to be the look out!"

"What is he looking out for?" Hermione stood in the doorway.

Victor froze in mid-motion, his hand just above the knob.

"What are you two doing?" Hermione rushed towards her children.

"Making warm apple juice for Daddy," Rose replied, shrinking a little.

"You two know better than to go near the stove without an adult present." She dragged them away from it.

"But we need to help Dad!" Rose argued.

"By doing something you know he doesn't want you to do?" Hermione asked.

"We want him to feel better!" Victor chimed in.

"He will feel better knowing that his children are playing quietly away from the stove." Hermione peeked into the pot. "That two liter bottle of apple juice was three-fourths full."

"I may have put too much in," Rose admitted.

Hermione shook her head before pulling out her wand and grabbing the container. There was still enough time to return the juice from whence it came.

"We were only trying to help," Victor began.

"I know, and I appreciate that. Still, you need to play somewhere else."

"But…" Rose began.

"Both of you go play before I decide to put you two in time out," Hermione warned.

Victor left the room while Rose stomped behind him.

"You're a terrible look out," Rose hissed when they reached the play room.

"You weren't going to turn on the stove right," he argued. "I was trying to help you."

"Now Daddy isn't going to feel better, and Mummy is mad at us."

"I'm sorry." Victor bowed his head.

"No, you were only trying to help." Rose sighed. "It was probably a dumb idea anyway."

Silence fell between them.

"Do you want to make cards for him still?" Victor asked.

"Yes, let's make cards and," her eyes lit up. "Let's make cards and do what I know will make him feel better!"

"What?"

"You'll see!"

Once again, her children had gone quiet.

This silence was expected. No matter how exhausted they were, they did not enjoy nap time. Some days Hermione wondered if hiding from her had become a game. At least they weren't in the kitchen. That was the first place she'd checked.

A half an hour ago they'd been in the room coloring. From the appearance of things it would appear they would be occupied for the foreseeable future, at least until one of them looked up at the clock and told the other what time it was.

Hermione poked her head into Rose's room. There was no suspicious lumps under the emerald blanket on the ground, nor was she huddled in her closet. She went into Victor's room. Nobody was there either.

The baby moved within her as she tapped her foot. Usually the children gave some kind of hint as to where they would be. What had been their focus today…

Her eyes widened as she strolled to her bedroom. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the scene.

Severus was fast asleep, with Rose and Victor on either side of him. Victor had succumbed to his fatigue, but Rose was wide awake.

"Rose," Hermione whispered.

She shushed her mother.

"Sweetie, you need to get out of your father's bedroom before you get sick."

"No, I'm making him better."

"How?"

"His cuddles always make me feel better, so I decided that if Victor and I cuddled him he would feel better."

"That's very sweet, but it will make him feel better to know that you are less likely to be sick or injured."

Severus stirred.

"Can I please stay?"

"Rose?"

She turned to her father.

"What are you and your brother doing here?" He moaned.

"We wanted you to feel better, so we cuddled you."

"That is very kind of you," Severus sat up and gave her a small smile. "Usually people do not cuddle me when I am sick, so it means quite a bit that you would do that for me."

She slid closer to him.

"Still, Daddies work differently than children," he continued. "While we do need to be cuddled, the most important thing is that we know our children are safe and free of disease."

She blinked.

"I appreciate you and your brother's attempts to make me feel better, but right now I need to look at your cards and make sure you are not near the oven. That is enough for me," he replied.

"Is that really enough?"

"It is," Severus replied as Hermione picked up her son.

"Okay." She swallowed.

"I love you Little One," he continued. "I love you very much. When I recover, I promise you the first thing I will do is play with you and Victor."

"Do you mean that?"

"I do."

"Fine."

"In the meantime, please take your nap and don't go into the kitchen unsupervised."

"I will."

Hermione gestured for Rose to leave. The child glanced at her, and then back at her father. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Little One."

With that, Rose followed Hermione out of the room.

Severus was true to his word. The second he recovered he played with his children. Somehow, they had managed not to become ill, much to Severus and Hermione's relief.

Two weeks later, as he was showing his daughter how to make a flu curing potion, Severus' thoughts returned to whether or not the flu or a Curcitas was worse. He settled upon the curse.

At least when he had the flu, he was surrounded by family.