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A strangled gasp tore itself from Buck's throat as he abruptly jolted awake, drenched in sweat and heart pounding in his chest. He frantically looked around his room in search of... something. He couldn't remember exactly what he'd been dreaming about, but he knew whatever it was had been very bad and very scary.
The glow of his owl nightlight that sat on the top shelf of his bookcase illuminated his room in soft, yellow light that didn't reveal anything scary or deadly. Yet still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. That wrong feeling started to become clearer as Buck came more awake, though.
Despite the sweat that clung to his skin and soaked into his clothes, Buck felt like he was in the middle of a blizzard, tiny shivers beginning to travel through his body. His throat also didn't feel the greatest, either. Every time he swallowed it felt like someone was slicing into his throat with red hot knives.
Buck whimpered and immediately grimaced, tears springing to his eyes when fire instantly spread through his throat.
He wanted his daddy and mama. They would find a way to make it all better.
Buck grabbed his blankie and wrapped the pink garment around his shoulders tightly, then tossed his covers off his lap, a full body shiver overtaking him when his legs met the cold air. He slid down the bed past the guardrails, throwing his legs over the side. He slowly lifted himself up, wobbling a little on his feet as the room slightly spun around him. Once Buck didn't feel like he would fall on his bottom, he slowly shuffled forwards.
The hallway felt long and never ending, the shadows dancing and swirling along the walls. He forced himself to keep his eyes straight ahead and tried not to think about the spooky scary things that might be lurking in the dark. His mama and daddy were so close. He just had to stay focused on that thought.
Buck breathed a quiet, shuddery breath of relief out through his nose once he reached his parents' door. He twisted the doorknob and pushed it open and stepped inside. A brief flicker of guilt blossomed in Buck's chest when he saw Bobby and Athena's peaceful, sleeping forms in bed, and he briefly considered going back to his room and just dealing with his yuckiness on his own until morning. That thought just as quickly left his head, however, when his throat lit up with fiery knives again.
He just felt so awful. He needed his daddy and mama.
Buck moved forwards towards bobby's side of the bed. While still keeping a grip on his blankie, Buck reached out and shook his daddy by the shoulder. It took a few shakes, but then Bobby was finally groaning and blinking awake.
"Mmm, wha'...?" He mumbled, voice heavy with sleep. When his gaze finally landed on Buck, though, his eyes widened and he immediately pulled himself into a sitting position. "Buck? What's wrong, bug?"
Buck sniffled wetly. "Don' feel good, daddy."
"C'mere, little bear, come sit." Bobby motioned for him to sit on the edge of the bed.
Buck easily complied, more than happy to give his wobbly legs a rest. His daddy immediately pressed a hand to his forehead and another to his cheek.
"Oh, my poor little bear. You feel so warm."
"No, m'cold. An' m'throat hurts," Buck responded, pawing at his throat.
"Okay, bug. We'll get you something for the cold and your throat, okay?"
Bobby turned to look at Athena and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Athena, honey."
She almost immediately woke up.
"Hm, Bobby? What's goin' on?"
"It's Buck. He's not feeling well."
Just as fast as Bobby had, his mama sat up and looked at both him and Bobby.
"Not feel well how?"
"He feels like he's got a fever, and he says his throat hurts."
Athena nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'll get the thermometer and a cooling patch. And popsicle for his throat," she said, pulling herself out of bed with a soft grunt.
"Thank you," Bobby said to her, before returning his attention to Buck. "Climb in, Buckaroo. Come cuddle with daddy."
Bobby scooted further back until he was resting all the way against the headboard.
Buck crawled up onto the bed and into his daddy's lap. He curled into a ball and laid his head on the man's chest, one hand going to clutch Bobby's shirt while the other kept a hold on his blankie. His daddy started rubbing a hand up and down his back.
"Did you just wake up feeling sick, baby?"
Buck nodded. "Uh-huh. Hadda bad dream. Don't 'memeber what it was 'bout, though."
"I'm sorry, Buckaroo. That must have been an awful way to wake up." He felt his daddy press a kiss to the top of his head.
Buck just nodded against the man again.
Soon enough, Athena was walking back into the room with her arms full. She switched lamp on her nightstand on, then climbed back into bed.
"Alright, handsome, open your mouth for mama," she said, holding the white thermometer to his mouth.
He did as instructed and opened his mouth, letting her put the cold tip of the device under his tongue.
After a few seconds it began to beep. His mama pulled it out and peered down at him, the middle of her brows creasing slightly.
"103.0," she said.
"That's pretty high. You think we should take him to the doctor in the morning?"
The mention of a doctor and the hint of worry in his daddy's voice made Buck's tummy go all twisty. When he saw his mama shake her head, though, he let himself relax a little.
"Let's see how he is in a few hours, then we'll go from there," she replied, setting the thermometer down on her nightstand before opening the box she'd brought back with her.
"Okay. That sounds good," his daddy responded, giving Buck another kiss on his head.
"Hopefully these will help bring it down."
She put one of the blue patches on forehead. The instant chill that spread through his head had him whining and reaching to pull it off, but mama gently snatched his hand away before he could grab it.
"No, no, little bee. You have to leave that there. It's going to help that nasty fever going on inside of you."
"But cold, mama," he whimpered, feeling his eyes well with tears once more.
"I know it does, honey, but I promise it's there to help you."
"How about you eat your popsicle to take your mind off it, firebird?" Daddy said before Buck had the chance to complain again, holding up the wrapper covered ice cream that mama had brought with everything else. "It's your favorite: the crayon shaped ones."
"But that's cold too, daddy."
As much as he loved those ones, the thought of anything else cold touching him made him want to scream.
"It'll also help your sore throat," Bobby added.
That had Buck looking at the popsicle with interest.
"It will?"
"It sure will. What do you say you give it a try, buddy? Then if you really can't stand the cold, you don't have to finish it."
Buck thought about it for a minute. He didn't want to feel anymore cold than he already felt, but he didn't want to feel like he was constantly swallowing hot knives anymore even less, either.
"Mmmm... 'kay, I'll try."
Daddy and mama praised him as daddy opened the popsicle and handed it to him.
He gave it a hesitant lick, tastebuds bursting with the taste of watermelon. The cold was still unpleasant, but he was able to mostly ignore it by focusing on the yummy taste. Bobby had also been right about it helping his throat. It still burned when he swallowed, but as he kept sucking on the popsicle it gradually began to lessen.
"How's your throat feeling, baby boy?" Mama asked, running her fingers through his curls.
"Lil' better," he said around the popsicle in his mouth, causing some of it to drip down his chin.
Athena softly chuckled. "Looks like we'll need to get him in some new jammies when he's done."
"He was going to need a new pair anyway. These are completely soaked with sweat. And it feels like he's gonna need a new pull-up, too."
"We'll take care of all that once he's done and try to get him back to sleep, then. Do you want to sleep in bed with mama and daddy, baby boy?"
Buck immediately nodded, causing more of the juice from his popsicle to spill onto his plane covered pajama top.
"Y'esh, p'ease."