Hush now {DDLB}

Daddy's turn

Richy got ill, a cold that made him sneeze not stop and his tiredness is over the roof. But he couldn't rest, he had Owen to care for.

Making food, cleaning, playing with his little one.

He didn't realise how tired and exhausted he was until he found himself fast asleep on the couch with Owen poking his cheek. Over and over again. Owen whined and started to cry. Louder and louder, until Richy woke up with a start.

He began sneezing again. His head pounded with an insufferable headache. And his throat hurt.

"Dada?" Owen questioned quietly from where he was standing beside his startled daddy. Dry tear stains on his cheek and a teddie being squeezed to death.

"Sorry baby, daddy's here." Richy internally face palmed. What a stupid idiot he was? He picked up Owen and gave him a hug and a kiss on his head.

"Dada icky!" Owen called out, now prodding his daddy's nose.

He wriggled free from the hug and waddled to the table. He got the box of tissues and waddled back to hand them to his daddy.

"Thank you. But daddy's fine. You don't have to worry, go back to playing." Richy sighed. He hated to say he was sick. Hated to have to be looked after. Rather look after someone else. It made his head thump ever more.

"Dada sweep. I pway." Owen gave his daddy a wet kiss on the cheek and went back to playing with his new teddie, the penguin he had named Jax.

Richy couldn't go back to sleep. He didn't mean to sleep in the first place. He got up and quickly went to the kitchen. Getting a glass of cold water and some paracetamol from the medicine cupboard. Swallowing two pills before making his way back to the living room.

Owen was preoccupied to notice his daddy walking back in. But he did whine when the loud ring of Richy's phone went off.

Who on earth was calling him? And why was his phone so bloody loud? He answered the phone but the ringing carried on in his ears.

"Hello?" He croaked out.

"Richy? You sound like shite! You good my man?" It was Jamie. Happy as usual.

"I'm fine. Why you calling?" Richy rolled his eyes.

"Don't lie to me. I can hear it, you sound ill." Jamie sounded worried. Like Richy he loved helping people. And he definitely didn't like seeing his best friend or hearing for that matter, in pain.

"I said I'm fine. Just tired." Richy said, trying to sound believable.

"If you say so. Anyways I'm bored, Marcus went to group today and I haven't got a shift at the library. So I got nothing to do, then I thought, wouldn't it be fun to check in on Richard. So here we are. On the phone to one another." Jamie explained and Richy could hear the smile in his voice.

He didn't like to admit it but he felt rather comforted by Jamie thinking of him outside of arranging play dates for their little ones. They'd known eachother for year but now it's occurred to Richy how much he really does love Jamie. He was lucky to have a friend like him.

"Ok well thank you. Like I said I'm fine, I'm-" Richy was interrupted by a sneeze that he hadn't been able to stop.

"Gesundheit" Jamie said, "see you are ill. Right I'm coming over, my man needs a warm towel and honey and hot water. See you soon" Jamie said and hung up before Richy could say no.

"Hoo dat daddy?" Owen had shuffled round on his bum so he was now facing Richy. He tried not to overhear his daddy talking but he couldn't help himself.

"Jamie. He's coming round." Richy said. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

He felt a hand run through his hair. A smile crept on his lips as he heard Owen hum the lullaby he would sing to him when his little baby had a nightmare.

"Dada otay?" Owen asked in a shushed voice.

"Yes, daddy's okay. Just, just got a bad cold." Richy answered.

And with that the doorbell went off. Richy kissed the top of Owens head and told him to wait in the living room as he went to open the door. And of course Jamie was standing there.

"Hiya! Right off you pop, go and lie down." Jamie ordered and Richy obliged too tired to object.

"Daddy- Jam! Hewo Jam!" Owen eyes lit up when Jamie had come in after Richy.

"Hello O. Now can you be good boy and help me look after your daddy? Jamie crouched down and smiled widely at Owen.

"Yeah! Wanna wook dada icky." Owen nodded enthusiastically and looked over to his daddy lying back down on the couch.

"Good. Now let's go to the kitchen." Jamie said, picking Owen up and walked away.

The two of them together made creamy tomato soup and a brew of how water and honey. Owen insisted on the special cookies he was only allowed if he ate all his dinner, he thought that his daddy needed them more than he needed them himself. Even if they were the tastiest chocolate cookies he's ever had. With that all prepared on the tray, Jamie walked back to the living room with Owen gripping  his trouser leg to stay up right and not to fall over.

Richy had sat back up. His brown hair dishevelled and sticking up in all directions.

Jamie chuckled at the tired man who had stirred awake.

Owen had unleashed his grip on Jamie's trouser leg and ran to leap in his daddy lap. Richy let out an oof and smiled. It was groggy with the little sleep he had gotten. He felt the squeeze hug we was getting from his baby and brought him up so he was straddling his legs. Wrapping his own arms around Owen.

Owen responded with a content sigh and nuzzled his head into his daddy's chest.

"So Richy, you've got soup and hot water with honey. Hopefully it will make you feel better." Jamie sat down beside the two hugging with the tray on his lap.

"Thanks mate. Glad you decided to come." Richy croaked out. He shuffled over and rested his head on Jamie's shoulder.

"An ookies!" Owen chirped up, pointing widely at the plate he'd had gotten ready.

"And yes cookies." Jamie chuckled.

"You did that for me baby?" Richy asked, drawing circles on his babys back.

"Yeah! Dada icky and be wook. Ookie elp!" Owen smiled feeling awfully proud of himself.

Jamie and Richy swapped, Owen now sitting on Jamie's lap while the tray being on Richy's. They sat like that for a while. Richy slowly making his way through the soup and listening to Jamie and Owen babble on about his teddies.

Owen had eventually fallen asleep, curling on Jamie's lap as he rung his hands through Owens thick hair.

"He's absolutely adorable. So sweet, Marcus can take some lessons from him. He's such a cheeky boy." Jamie said.

"Well that is because you don't tell him off, he'll keep doing it because he hasn't been told that's it's wrong." Richy smirked.

"But I can't tell him off. He's got big puppy eyes and his smile just makes me weak at the knees." Jamie said dramatically.

Richy laughed, eyes crinkling. "Exactly my point."

He started to feel much better though his throat did still hurt. Maybe even more now with all the talking and laughing he's been doing. But he couldn't have asked for more. He rarely got sick but he knew Jamie would always be there to help whether he liked it or not.

Richy wasn't all in for being looked after and having people running around for him. However, this was something he could get used to.