Good day/night! :]
Might you have some spare Henry crumbs laying around? I've been on a crowman high lately and you write him so well! <3
(Here's some Henry taking care of a sick wife and baby!!!)
The family had taken a brief, albeit very fun and relaxing, trip in Plegia. Morgan being only eight months old certainly made things interesting. Having the whole family there to enjoy the beauty of Plegia outside war time was fun.
Plus, you were both Plegians, so it was nice to learn about your roots.
It was a magical time. Or at least, it would have been. You woke up the morning after you came home and found yourself unable to get out of bed.
You had a fever, your head was pounding, and you were a snotty mess of misery. Henry was amused until he heard baby Morgan bawling down the hall. You both caught, according to your husband, the Plegian swine flu.
No one was immune from it, not even sweet, innocent little blood bags like Morgan (Henry’s words, not yours).
So Henry quickly went from teasing you and being fascinated by how miserable you were to going into full-blown panic.
Like any disease, a baby catching it had a higher risk of complications. Most recover, Henry explained while frantically scribbling an urgent letter for Maribelle to tie to one of his crows, but itty bitty babies could suffer serious health problems.
Henry got to work on preparing you a bucket of cold water, a second bucket for the kerchiefs you would be blowing your nose into all day, and a third bucket in case you couldn’t keep your food down.
You didn’t.
“Gods, Henry- did you have to send that filthy animal to me? I’m literally down the block! It would take you fifteen minutes to-”
“Fifteen minutes is a waste of time! Morgan and Robin could be dead by then! And if it’s either of them, it’s no joke, nya ha!”
“Then why are you laughing?”
“It’s nervous laughter!” He chuckled again, though judging by how pale his face was, it seemed to be true.
Maribelle simply scoffed and hurried to the bedroom, ready to treat her friend.
“Robin, darling! Oh, you look positively ghastly!” She gasped, drawing the mask over her mouth and nose. She pulled on her medical gloves, a stave at her side and a big pouch of herbs on her belt. “The Plegian swine flu is no joke...it’s very rarely found in Ylisse, but when it travels with you…”
“I-it’s a disaster.” You wheezed, not before you were overcome by coughing. “Anything y-you can do will be a welcome remedy.”
“Luckily for you, there’s nothing here that herbs and plenty of rest won’t fix. Now Morgan might be a little trickier, given his age...but we can at least get started with you.”
Maribelle was quick to send Henry off to grind up the herbs, preparing some disgusting concoction guaranteed to get your body back to normal.
Presuming Henry could put it together.
“Now, when did you start to feel ill?”
“W-well, if I’m honest… It started around-”
Crash
“Ah, gods- I broke the cup!!”
“-The time we got home, last night. It was late-”
Smash
“The pestle’s shattered!!”
“-And I just thought I was tired, but...my head feels about the same as-”
Bang
“The herbs are everywhere!!”
“HENRY!!” Maribelle shouted out the door, “What in the gods’ names are you doing?!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make a mess!” Henry apologized, his voice shaky and unsure. “I-I just meant to help a bit, but it looks like I’m making things worse, nya ha!”
“Why don’t you come and sit,” Maribelle pinched her brow, “Just settle down until you stop breaking things.”
You watched as Henry wandered back into the bedroom, looking surprisingly pale and nervous. You had never quite seen him in such a way, before.
After all, it was always good times and weird vibes with your husband. Since when did he become the anxious type?
“I’ll be right back, Robin. I’ll get your medicine.”
“Give some to Morgan, first.” You asked, “I can wait.”
Maribelle nodded to you before taking off, leaving you alone with your husband who was bouncing his leg and fidgeting with his hands with a nervousness that you’d never seen before.
For a few moments, it was quiet, listening to the rhythmic, rapid tapping of his heel against the stone. Eventually, though, you would have to snap him out of it.
“Henry, a-are you all right?” You questioned as gently as you could. Henry started to nod, giving you a cracked, faux grin. Then he paused, his smile fell, and he shook his head.
“Well, if I’m honest? No. Not at all. I feel like I’m dying inside.” He admitted. “I mean, you’re sick, and so is Morgan! My two favorite living people! And there’s not a thing I can do about it- I mean, he’s just a baby, and we’ve only been back together for a year- I dunno. It scares me, y’know? Which is impressive! When’s the last time I’ve been genuinely scared, right! Nya ha ha!”
“There’s nothing to be scared of, Henry.” You tried to assure him. But he shook his head, folding his arms tightly.
“You don’t know that! All it takes is one thing to go wrong and it could be bye-bye wifey, or even bye-bye baby, and I...oh, I couldn’t handle that. Nope, not one bit.”
It was certainly a reasonable concern.
“Henry, sweetheart...come here.” You held your hand out to him, insisting he sit with you. You weren’t sure if it was the exhaustion or the pain that numbed your sense of worry, but you were far calmer than he was.
He took your hand, revealing trembling fingers. You squeezed it tightly, trying your best to comfort him despite your situation.
“Maribelle will take care of us. We’ll be okay, I’m sure.”
“But you can’t be sure!” He sighed shakily, “Anything can happen when it comes to Plegian flu. It can either be nothing at all, or really bad! And you never know until it happens. If something bad did happen to you or Morgan, I just...I don’t know what to do! You already told me I’m not allowed to re-animate either of you if you croak, so...I’m out of options!”
“I’m standing firm on that, just so you know.” You informed him with a soft smile, “But, Henry...there’s no value in worrying for worrying’s sake. W-we really shouldn’t be concerned with the unknown until it comes.”
“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not the one having to take care of both of you! What if I mess up?! What if I make it worse!! I already broke Maribelle’s mortar and pestle, there are herbs everywhere, a-and I just-”
“Henry,” You pressed a finger to his lips, “You’re overthinking.”
“B-but I just...I worry about you guys…”
“I know.” You beamed at him, stroking his cheek. “But please, try not to worry. We need to wait for Maribelle’s diagnosis, and we can go from there, okay? It’ll be easier if we take it a step at a time.”
“Gosh, Robin...how’re you able to stay so calm all the time?” He looked at you incredulously, “I’m about ready to pop out of my skin and just run around like a headless Risen!”
“Experience.” You laughed.
Maribelle came in not long after, informing you both that the flu didn’t appear to be as bad as it could be.
“Morgan should recover within the week, though we’ll need to make sure he receives two doses of medicine each day; one in the morning and one at night. Henry, you’ll have to make it for him each day- is that something you can handle? Or will I be making more visits this week?”
Henry shared a look with you, seeing your encouraging smile. He took a deep breath and nodded.
“I can handle it, I promise!”
“Good. Morgan’s going to be counting on you. Robin, you should need more rest than anything else, but I’m recommending you take one dose each evening; it will help you sleep better, and it’s strong enough that it should hold you the next day.”
“That’s fine by me.” You agreed; the less disgusting, bitter herbs you had to ingest, the better.
“Your recovery time will be a bit longer than Morgan’s, though, judging by how you’re doing… I’d say two weeks at minimum; a month-and-a-half at most. Now if you want, I can have Lissa or Libra come and help take care of you, so that Henry can focus on caring for Morgan. Or, we can simply send Morgan off with a wet nurse while you’re here.”
“N-no, I-!” Henry interrupted before you could reply, putting a hand to his chest. “I can handle it, Maribelle! After all, if I can’t take care of my family, what kind of man would I be? Just a sad bag of bones and sinew! Not good for anything but crow food.”
Maribelle glanced over at you, looking for some sort of response. You knew she was still wary of Henry, especially now that she was out a very lovely mortar and pestle. But you were confident in his abilities.
“He can take care of us.” You told her, “I trust him.”
“Well...if you insist.” She conceded, earning a whoop from your husband- and an apology for it shortly after when he realized you weren’t to be around loud noises with your headache. “I’ll be coming to check up on you twice a week until you’re all better- until then, Henry, we’re counting on you!”
“You got nothin’ to worry about, Maribelle! We just take it a day at a time, and it’ll be great, nya ha!”
“Robin, if anything changes, or you need help...please don’t hesitate to call me or the other healers immediately.”
“I will.”
“I do mean anything, dear.”
“...I will.”
“If Henry does one thing wrong-”
“Hey!”
“I got it, Maribelle.” You chuckled, waving her away. “Thanks for your concern. We’ll be sure to call for you if we need anything. But I’m positive Henry will take care of us just fine.”
“You can bet your organs on it!” He grinned, giggling happily with his wife’s support. Maribelle gave him a long, hard look, but eventually took her leave.
Henry was quick to move Morgan’s crib into the bedroom, guaranteeing that he could keep track of both of you and ensure you were both recovering nicely at the same time.
While it was heartbreaking listening to Morgan’s discomfort and those tiny baby coughs, it helped to see him improve day after day.
You did end up recovering about a week after Morgan, all thanks to Henry. He made sure to give you only the best. Most of all you were just thankful that none of you could get the Plegian swine flu ever again.
Especially since he bought Maribelle a replacement mortar and pestle that came from a questionable source, covered in animal bones and bird skulls and...you really didn’t know what corner of Hell he summoned them from.
At least there wouldn’t be another opportunity for him to break anything else of Maribelle’s, seeing as you wouldn’t be getting sick again.
You would take extra steps to ensure that just so he wouldn’t frighten Maribelle with another horrifying “gift”.
