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I have done a little revision to this chapter to check some of the spelling and content.
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B. M. Adams...
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Disclaimer: I do not own anything, just the OCs and plot.
Megan's POV
I woke up feeling dizzy, and a migraine was announcing itself. I wanted to stay in bed and not go to school, but Jannet words were, once again, ringing in my head. 'Don't be a pain. Don't show your weaknesses, ' the voice in my head kept saying. Reluctantly, I got out of bed and went to take a shower, hoping that the hot spray would calm the raging pain in my head. I let the warmth from the water comfort me. I was shivering, even though the water felt like it was boiling. When I got out of the shower, I tried to wrap myself up with two towels, but I was feeling freezing cold to the bones.
Looking in the mirror, I noticed that my eyes were red; I was sure that they would notice, so I went to the last drawer of the nightstand beside my bed and took a small bag with medicines I always kept just in case something like this happened. I took two Tylenol pills, dropped some eye drops on my eyes, applied some makeup to regain some colour and got dressed. I put some warming socks under my uniform pants and a woollen singlet under the long-sleeve shirt, even when it was really warm outside. I grabbed my bag and the books I'd need for the day and tried to act as normal as possible. I avoided it as much as I could to sniff or talk because my voice was even deeper than what it usually was. Before going downstairs, I checked my temperature, placing my hand on my forehead. Indeed it was warmer than normal, and knowing how keen both women were, they would probably notice it
I entered in the kitchen and Jane already preparing coffee "Good morning, Meg" she said rubbing my forearm and pecking the top of my head.
"Morning," I answered. I went to the top drawer and took a mug to serve myself some coffee. The hot liquid felt amazing going through my raspy throat. I picked another mug and brewed some tea for Maura, trying to keep myself busy. While putting the brewed tea on Maura's usual stool, she came down with both kids.
"Good Morning, Love," Maura said to Jane, who kissed her. Jane greeted the kids, and Maura came to me.
"Good morning to you too, Sweetie," she said, pecking my cheek. "Thanks for making me tea; that was really sweet of you," she said, winking at me.
"Morning. No problem," I answered and smiled; I rounded the kitchen island and sat on the breakfast bar beside the kids whom I greeted. I noticed that my moves were slower than usual, and I was eating more slowly, too, due to my sore throat. Then Maura looked at me and said something to Jane, but I couldn't hear anything; she was probably saying something about my demeanour, but I tried to keep everything as normal as I could and mask the symptoms as much as I could, too, so they didn't get too suspicious.
"I'll take you kids to school today", Maura announced. "I have a meeting early so that Mama can stay home a little longer," she finished; this was a first.
I went to brush my teeth in my room, and when I looked in the mirror, I noticed a light blush on my cheeks; I knew I was starting to have a fever. I washed my face with some cold water to mask the feverish blush off of my face. When I finished, I went directly downstairs and to the door. Both Maura and Jane appeared on the stairs with the kids. Jane kissed each kid like she usually does, but this time, she kissed me on the forehead, a thing she hadn't done before. She lingered on the kiss as well. I figured she was just making sure her suspicions were right. I rapidly got out of the house, when I turned around I saw Jane telling Maura something, but once again I couldn't hear.
I jumped into the front seat of the car and waited for Maura to come and drive us to school. The drive was as usual; there was not much talk, and the sound of the car engine filled the silence. We arrived, and I got out of the car and helped both kids do the same.
"Have a good day, kids. I love you," Maura called from the car
"Yes, Mama, love you too," both kids answered. I just managed to say, "You too." It was the first time Maura took us to school; Jane was the usual person who drove us, and she would usually say something like 'Be good, be safe' and blow us a kiss.
"Meg," she called me. I turned around and looked at her. "Take care, ok?" she said.
I nodded, and she drove towards her job. I took the kids to their respective classrooms and went to my locker to leave the extra things I had in my bag and pick the textbook I needed for my first class, which was literature. While walking to my classroom, I started to feel the muscular pains increasing and the nasal congestion becoming worse. I entered the room five minutes before the class started; I sat at one of the desks at the back of the class.
Even though I was mostly observing the classes, this teacher wanted me to do the same activities that the regular students were doing. I was checking the essay we needed to write for that day about some event that changed our perspective on life. While doing this, the rest of the class started to get into the classroom.
"Hey," a guy said while he sat at the desk next to mine.
I looked up at him. "Hi," I simply responded
"I'm Garret; nice to meet you," he introduced himself, extending his hand
"Likewise, I'm Megan," I said, shaking his hand
"I just came back from repose from the flu and noticed a new student," he said, smiling and pointing at me. "So, how come you're starting when we're finishing the school year?" he asked me.
"I…" I was about to answer when the teacher, Mr. Cook, entered the room.
"Ok, students, please, I need your assays here before starting today's lecture," he said
Garrett rolled his eyes. "As nice as always," he said and stood from his desk. I laughed softly and stood to take the essay to the teacher. I handed it to him and went back to my seat. The class felt like an eternity. My head was pounding, and I started to feel my fever getting worse, but I needed to pull through the day, which passed awfully slowly as well.
After lunch and on my last period, the pounding in my head started to get worse, and the muscular pain was still very latent. I tried as much as I could to distract my mind from the World War II lesson the History teacher, Miss Roland, was giving. I placed my head on the desk and closed my eyes in a failed attempt to ease the discomfort.
"Ok, students, I need you to write a two thousand word essay in pairs with the events, causes and consequences of this conflict due to the next class on Wednesday", Miss Roland exclaimed. Most of the kids in my class started to pair, and I waited to see who remained unpaired.
"Do you have a partner?" someone said suddenly. When I looked back, I noticed it was Garrett.
"N-no," I said hesitantly.
"So, do you want us to be partners?" he asked.
"Mm…yeah, fine," I said.
"Great, we can meet at my house or yours if you prefer," he suggested.
"Yeah, that's okay. I'll have to ask my…" I paused, not really knowing how to refer to Jane and Maura; I knew the Bound-to-asked questions within saying 'foster parents'. "…Parents," I simply said.
He smiled. "That's ok, take…" he said but was interrupted by the teacher.
"Miss Ainsworth, Mr. Chase. Anything interesting to share with the class?" she asked.
"No, Miss Roland. We're sorry," he said. The teacher kept on giving her lesson, and we didn't talk anymore for the rest of the class. I was impatiently waiting for the bell to ring, indicating I could finally go home and sleep this away.
When the bell finally rang, I gathered my things as fast as I could. I was about to leave the room when Garrett stopped me. "Hey," he said. I turned and waited for him to approach.
"Megan, this is my phone number," he said, handing me a piece of paper. "Text me after, and we can sort that date out," he said, and I smirked. "I mean, study date," he corrected himself nervously.
"Sure, I'll text you," I said, smiling.
He patted the back of his neck. "Well, see you," he said, smiling.
"See you" I smiled as well and left. I went directly towards Lucas's classroom to wait outside for Maura.
"You don't look good, Meg," the little boy said.
"Thanks," I joked.
He laughed softly "I mean you look sick, do you feel ok?" he asked.
I ruffled his hair "It's just a headache, some sleep will be good" I smiled.
"I guess" he said unconvinced "Look, there's mom" he said and ran towards the car.
I followed him and jumped into the front seat. "Hard day?" she asked after analyzing my face for a few seconds.
I nodded, "Yeah," I simply said. We spent the whole drive in silence, except for a few questions Maura asked and the answers mostly Lucas gave. I remitted myself to answering with monosyllables. I knew that she knew, but I tried to play it cool as much as I could.
When we arrived home, Jane was there. She had picked up Lily and had a few hours before she needed to go back to work. "Hey, Guys. How was your day?" she asked when we entered the house.
"Good," Lucas answered, going to the kitchen to grab a snack.
"And you, sweetheart?" she asked directly to me.
"Fine, average," I answered. I have a lot of homework. I'll be in my room," I said and went to the room. I entered and left the bag on the floor. I lay on the bed, placed a pillow in front of my face to keep the light away from my eyes, and tried to drift off to sleep.
Jane's POV
"She must be sleeping, she most feel awful" I said to Maura who was cooking dinner.
Maura nodded. "Yes, she hasn't come down since we got home from school about two hours ago. I think we should see how she is," Maura exclaimed.
"Yeah, me too. She needs something for her throat, and by the shallow way she was breathing, some expectorant, too," I said
"I shouldn't have let her go to school like that," Maura said regretfully.
I stood on the stool and hugged Maura from behind. "Don't blame yourself. We let her come to us on her own, she didn't, so we'll go to her" I said lovingly. "I'll go see if she's still sleeping," I said, kissing her cheek and leaving the kitchen. I ran upstairs and went to Megan's room, knocking on the door. I didn't hear any noise or move inside, so I opened the door. I saw Megan in the bed snuggling a little teddy bear and her index finger wrapped around her nose; she was looking much younger than she really was. I approached the bed and carefully placed my hand on her forehead, which was really hot. I went to the closet where we kept the blankets and threw one on her. After I had left the room, I went downstairs.
"She's out cold" I commented to Maura "But I touched her forehead and she's hot" I said concerned.
"I think we should wake her up; she needs some antipyretic", Maura said, washing her hands on the sink. "I'll go and get some for her", she said, drying her hands.
"Ok," I said, smiling and rising from the stool again. Come on," I said, guiding her to the teenager's room. When we reached the door, I slowly and carefully opened it, revealing the scene.
"She looks so young," Maura commented. She moved inside the room, sat beside Megan, and started to caress her hair softly. "Sweetie, wake up," she said lovingly to her. I approached and remained standing next to her. The girl stirred and groaned a little, rubbing her eyes.
"How are you feeling, Meg?" I asked her, "Are you going to pretend you're fine, or are you going to let us take care of you?" I said, smiling at her. "And by the way, the teddy bear suits you," I joked. Maura looked at me like saying 'seriously' thing that made me laugh.
She smiled apologetically at us, and we could see her eyes red and glossy "It makes it better if I say that I'm not that bad?" she said.
Maura pressed her lips against her forehead, determining her temperature. When she separated her lips from the girl, she hummed, "You must feel really poorly; you're burning", Maura exclaimed. "Love, can you bring me the medicine box, please?" she asked me, and I did as she said, leaving both alone.
Maura's POV
Jane left the room, and Megan and I remained silent. The girl was now sitting cross-legged, looking at the teddy bear on her lap.
"Meg?" I said; the girl lifted her head and fixated her gaze on my eyes. "Darling, you don't have to hide this thing from us", I said truthfully to her.
"Look, it's nothing, just a sore throat; I should be fine by tomorrow," she said, sounding rather convincing.
I looked at her incredulously "Sweetheart, you're burning, your eyes are red and you were sleeping breathing through your mouth which means you nose is blocked" I explained "Megan, we are your…" I trailed off, I was about to refer to Jane and I as her mothers but I knew that statement might have freaked her out "…Your legal guardians, we are supposed to take care of you" I said "So I need you to be complete honest with me. How are you feeling?" I asked her.
She sighed "Not great" she answered.
I nodded. "OK, that is a start. What do you feel? What hurts?" I asked again.
"Everything hurts, actually. I feel like a big walking bruise" she said resigned "And yes, my throat and head hurts and I'm having troubles breathing" she finished resting her head on the headboard.
"Ok, baby. We'll make it better" I said heartfeltly smiling. She lifted her head and looked at me shyly.
"Take, my love," Jane said, handing the box. I picked up the thermometer and placed it on Megan's ear. When the reading was over I checked it and she definitely had fever "You have 102, sweetie" I said sympathetically.
"And you spend the whole day with this around?" Jane asked, concerned. "And if you say you didn't want to bother us, you're grounded," Jane joked, but the seriousness in her tone was evident. Megan shrugged and smiled apologetically at Jane.
Jane sighed and sat beside me on the bed "I just want you to know that you can tell us anything, sweetheart" Jane said lovingly "I'll go downstairs to finish dinner and make some chicken noodle soup for miss flu here" Jane joked again making both Megan and I laugh.
"That is not necessary, Jane," Megan said, ashamed.
Jane stood from the bed and kissed the teenage girl's warm temple. "Yes, it is" Jane smiled and left the room.
"So, why didn't you tell us you were sick, Love? We would have made you stay home and rest," I said.
"If I tell you, I'll be grounded," she joked and looked at me, smiling a little.
"I'm glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour," I said, laughing and looking for the medicine in the box. OK, sweetie. Take this," I said, handing her two pills. It's to reduce the fever and help with the headache, and this is for your respiratory tract," I explained. And while dinner is ready, I recommend you take a warm bath; that will make you feel better," I advised her.
She nodded and stood with difficulty from the bed, taking the throw off of her and shivering in the process. "Please, have that bath and put on some warm clothes. Ok?" I adamantly said.
Once again, she nodded and went to the bathroom. I stood from the bed and went downstairs to help Jane to finish dinner. "Well, at least we can address this properly now," Jane said when I went to the kitchen.
"I don't know why she didn't tell us," Jane said frustratedly.
"Honey, we know she tends to deal with things by herself. Some people don't know how to ask for help," I explained.
Jane sat on one of the stools. "I know, but it's still disconcerting why she thinks she needs to hide a cold from us," she said, concerned.
I went behind her and hugged her. "I know how you feel, but she needs more time. Meanwhile, we are going to pay special attention to her," I said, kissing her head. We finished making dinner, chatting about our day and the kids. When everything was ready, Jane called—screamed—for the kids to come to dinner. Seconds later, Lucas and Lily came and joined us at the table, but Megan didn't come down.
"Why isn't Meggie here?" Lily asked after a while and started eating.
"She's sick, right?" Luca said, "She didn't look good at school today" The kid exclaimed
"Yes, Babies. Meg is not feeling good tonight" I said "It's just a flu though, she'll be fine really soon" I finished.
Jane looked worried and stood from the table. "I'll take the soup upstairs; she might feel bad enough not to come here", Jane said sadly.
"That's really thoughtful, Love. She'll appreciate it," I said. Jane smiled and prepared a tray with a bowl of hot soup, crackers and some juice. When she was about to take the tray upstairs, Megan came down in her pyjamas and a fluffy sweater, her hair tied in a ponytail, and she looked miserable.
"Hello, sweetie. Do you feel any better?" I asked her.
The girl nodded. "The bath felt great, and the headache ceased a little. Thanks, Maura," she told me.
"Nothing to thank me for", I answered and caressed her warm cheeks, smiling.
Jane came out of the kitchen carrying the tray when. "Well, I think this isn't needed upstairs anymore," Jane joked and carried the tray to the table. "This will make you feel better. My Ma used to give it to my brothers and me every time we felt bad, and it helped a lot" Jane smiled and kissed her forehead, lingering her lips a bit longer to read her temperature. "You're still very warm, love. So, eat and bed, got it?" she finished.
"Yes… Thanks, Jane," she said shyly, looking at the steamy bowl in front of her.
"It's our job, sweetheart" Jane smiled and rubbed my shoulder.
We finished dinner eating in relative silence, just broken by some casual questions from the kids. We finished, and the kids took their respective plates to the sink and then finished their homework before bed. Megan started to gather things from the table and carry it to the kitchen. "Ok, enough," I said. You, go to rest. It's not an option," I sternly said.
She smiled and placed the things in her hands on the sink. "Go to sleep, baby. You need it," I said and kissed her forehead. "Good night. You'll see tomorrow, and you will feel better," I smiled.
"Good night," she answered and left the room.
We finished clearing off the kitchen and put the kids to sleep. Before we went to our room, we checked on Megan, who was sound asleep, wrapped in a fluffy throw, and her arms tugging her bear. Jane and I smiled lovingly at the sight. We went to our room and got changed, ready to go to bed after a long day.
"Have you seen that bear before?" Jane asked curiously.
I shook my head. "No, first time," I answered. But obviously, it gives her comfort. It probably is something from someone she loved," I said.
"It most has", Jane answered. "Aw! We can't deny that she looks so cute with that thing wrapped around her arms" Jane smiled.
"You are certainly right, my love," I lovingly said.
Jane sighed "I just remembered tomorrow is Saturday, it feels so great to say that" Jane commented.
I laughed "If I recall you have to go to the office in the morning" I said.
Jane groaned a little and hid her face in the pillow. "Why you'd have to destroy my happiness?" she exclaimed.
"Aw, come on, I'm just being diligent and reminding you," I said, chuckling a little.
"Well, diligent or not I'm not that happy anymore, I had my mind set on spend the whole day with my babies and my gorgeous wife" Jane said, a hint of sadness showing in her voice. She rolled on the bed and started to kiss me passionately, caressing my abdomen.
"Okay, detective, if you go a little bit further, you'll be really tired tomorrow morning," I mischievously said.
My wife sighed resignedly "You're right, but I promise to finish this tomorrow" She said kissing my lips once again. "Good night, my love," she said.
"Good night, honey", I said, kissing her lips one last time before going to sleep.
I woke up around three in the morning wanting to go to the bathroom; I did, and after, I decided to check on Megan. I carefully got out of Jane's and mine's room going to Megan's. I reached the door and found it open, I picked my head inside I noticed she wasn't there which was intriguing. I went downstairs and noticed that the kitchen had the lights on.
I saw Megan leaning against the kitchen counter with her head hanging low and the kettle on the stove. "Are you ok, sweetie?" I asked her. She wasn't even startled; she just lifted her head and left. Clearly, she was feeling awful. I got closer to the girl and placed my hand on her forehead. "The fever hasn't dropped" I hummed "Why don't you go to the living room and lay on the couch, I'll bring you some hot chocolate" I said.
She looked incredulous at me "Hot chocolate? Who are you?" she asked, joking.
"You deserve some spoiling" I answer "Go lay down" I said.
She walked out of the kitchen, and I rapidly prepared the beverages, taking them with me to the living room. She was on the couch, sitting on one of the ends, resting her head on the armrest, and the TV was on a cartoon channel.
"Here you have it," I said, handing the mug to her.
"Thank you," she answered and sipped from the cup.
I sat on the other end of the couch, and we both enjoyed the hot liquid while watching Toy Story. "So, honey. Can I ask you something?" I asked her.
"Yeah, sure," she answered.
"I never saw that teddy bear before; how come?" I curiously asked.
Her already feverish, blushed face turned a darker shade when I asked. "It's just something that I have since I can remember, and well, it makes me feel good," she shyly answered.
"Well, I think it is cute", I commented, she smiled and so did I. "Next time that this happens, you can come to me or Jane; you don't have to do this alone", I said.
"It's three in the morning; I wouldn't wake you up, and besides, I'm old enough to do myself a cup of hot chocolate. Even though I really appreciate you did it for me, it's really good," she said, ashamed.
"Anytime," I said. "And yes, you are right, you can deal with things on your own, but this is definitely something you need someone because sometimes when you are sick, someone's company might make you feel better", I assured her.
She remained silent for a few minutes and put the mug on the coffee table in front of us. "You right," she said softly.
"What?" I asked, not sure what she meant.
"Having company is making it better," She said.
I smiled widely. "Well, I'm always here, we all are", said heartfeltly. She smiled and rested her head on the back of the couch, watching the movie. When I finished my hot chocolate, I saw she was out cold again, so I adjusted her body so she could lie across the couch. I went upstairs and took a blanket and the teddy bear from her room, I covered her, and placed the toy in her arms, which she unconsciously tugged in her arms. I smiled lovingly at the sight and kissed her forehead "Sweet dreams, sweetheart".
Please comment and review; they mean a big deal to authors. Thanks!
B.
Xoxo