FL chapter 58 is ALSO here!
Elliott sat down in the armchair and wrapped the blanket around himself again.
He was scared.
Her temperature was high but not high enough to call Harvey again. He had given her medicine. So far she hadn’t spit up the latest bottle yet. Of what little she had been willing to drink. She would probably be okay. But it was so hard to deal with this. It was bad enough when Robert was sick but Ayleen! Ayleen! His sweet baby girl…
He felt so helpless…
He curled back up and tried to will himself to be okay. Whatever his girl needed, he would be here. She would be okay. She would definitely be. Okay.
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Robert woke up too early. The clock told him it wasn’t even 5 am yet.
He sighed and got up, too antsy to keep lying here. Elliott had insisted he go to sleep, given he couldn’t really take breaks from keeping the farm running. But he’d felt guilty and worried and finding sleep had been no easy errand. He had startled anytime Ayleen had made noises, worried if she was okay. He knew Elliott was with her and would do anything he could for her. But he felt like his heart physically tried to drag him to her anytime he heard her cry out.
He got dressed quickly and went downstairs to check on them.
Ayleen was breathing okay. He couldn’t see her face well in the dark, but her breathing sounded stable and she was still lying on her back. Good! He wanted to touch her, but he worried she would wake up if he did. He tiptoed over to his husband who immediately startled awake, despite his efforts to be quiet.
“Hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” He tried to whisper as quietly as possibly.
Elliott relaxed again, sighing. “’S okay.”
Robert pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Need anything?”
“mh-mh.” He indicated negative.
“Okay.” He squeezed his hand, then tip toed away again.
Robert shredded the chicken meat and put it aside, then checked how the broth was doing. He sipped a little bit of it, added more lemongrass and decided it needed to stew a little bit longer before he would add the chicken to it.
He cut up some fresh herbs to go with it, then started preparing a tray…
“Guh…”
Robert turned and went over to his child a moment. “Hey you. Woke up again, huh?” He gently took her hand for a moment, and smiled at her little pink face, then let go again. Much to their relief, after two weeks of back-and-forth her fever had finally gone down again in the past few days. She was still cranky and not very hungry but her color and general well-being had improved so much…
Robert tried the broth again, then added in the chicken and some herbs, putting a lid back on to let it simmer another two minutes.
Elliott lumbered into the kitchen. “It smells tasty.”
Robert smiled, turning back to him. “Hey. I was going to bring you some when it’s ready.”
Elliott briefly hugged him, then sat down. “’S okay. I’m good to eat here.”
“Guess this means your appetite is returning. I’m glad.”
“Mhmh. My temperature is almost normal again.”
Robert sighed in relief. He usually dealt with sickness around him okay, but the way Elliott had continuously cared for their daughter the first week, staying up almost every night with her before falling sick himself, had made him feel guilty and gnawed on him. It had made it harder to be okay.
“Well. That is a relief. I hope the soup will do you good.” He cut up a lime and drizzled it into the stew, then turned off the heat and put the pot on the table.
“It does smell delicious, darling.”
Robert smiled and was just about to ladle out soup for both of them when the phone rang. He groaned. “Eat. I’ll get it.”
“Llyr farm, who’s disturbing my lunch break?”
“Oh Robert, that is really no way to answer the phone.”
“Yes, it is. Hi Mum. The greeting makes clear that whoever is calling has gotten a hold of me but is, in fact, disturbing me, and should maybe call me back at a later time.”
“Now that is just impolite. I wanted to ask about Christmas this year.”
“Uhm… I…” He thought about Christmas. Did he want to go to the city with an 8-month-old, be annoyed and stressed and mostly miserable? Or did he want to stay home and maybe actually set up a tree with Elliott and be comfortable and…
“I don’t think we’re going to make it. Sorry.”
“But Robert, that is the second year in a row. Really, I barely see you and you barely call!”
He sighed. “Mum. I am sorry. But we live far away, I have a very busy job and honestly, coming to the city is really stressful. And the last time I called you, you didn’t have time.”
“Well, that is no excuse! Your cousin Judith also has quite a way to come here and she comes by regularly.”
He felt the anger boil up in him again. He had a sick child and husband around and she had called him during lunch break and-
He took a deep breath. The whole thing was annoying as hell but he should really finally tell her-
“Ooh, I have someone at the door, hold on, deary!”
Robert stared at the phone, dumbfounded. He had just made up his mind about finally telling her and now-
“It’s Kathleen from across the hall, she needs my help at the bake sale after all so I have to go!”
“Uh. Okay, but mum I-”
“Bye!”
He put down the phone and let out a long groan. He had just. Tried. To tell her. And YET.
He harrumphed and went back to the kitchen where his husband was sleepily staring at him. “Mmmh? Couldn’t get a word in?”
“No.” He sighed and sat down. “You should have eaten. It’s best when it’s hot.”
“You weren’t gone long; it should still be hot.”
Robert smiled, then put out soup for both of them. He was about to put out rice when Elliott took his bowl in hands and sipped a little bit of the broth. He let out a long, warm sigh, then sipped more of it. “...mmmmh...yes.”
Robert smiled. “Don’t you want rice with it?”
“In a moment… but the ginger...the broth...I can feel it just… being good for me.”
Robert felt lighter again, hearing it. “I’m so glad.”
Full chapter at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28793223/chapters/152092765#workskin
