Moving Mountains (Patrick Kane)

You Are My Sunshine .13

Valerie

When it comes to me being sick I do my best to push through. I don't have the money to go to the hospital so I take whatever I can over the counter and suck it up. I don't miss work or take a day off. It's just me trying to do my best no matter the circumstances. I'm sure I've been through strep and the stomach flu, but couldn't really afford to miss a step. So I keep on movin', the best I can.

I'm afraid if something ever was really wrong by the time I went to the doctors it would be too late. Before they can even do something whatever it is will take me out. But that's just how I have always been, there's no real sick days in life. Not in the life I lead anyways.

So when Patrick called me bitching about having a cold I ignored him. The whole day I just didn't respond to his embarrassing pleads for soup and someone to take his mind off things. Though our relationship has always been complicated I had made it known I will never be one of those people in his life that he can command.

But once he sent me a picture of his fever I decide that I could be a little nicer to him. So I make him homemade soup and bread and bring it over. The last time I was here things didn't end so well so here to hoping this goes better.

"Bright lights" he yells as I turn on the kitchen light.

"Calm down. If you want food I have to see what I'm putting in the microwave" I remind him.

He just groans as he throws a pillow on his face. At least it muffled the whining a little.

"Have you been able to keep anything down" I ask.

"No. Not even water" he pouts.

"You need Gatorade. It has electrolytes that will get you hydrated and it will give you some nourishment you're lacking since you're not eating" I explain.

"I'm not thirsty" he says.

"Yeah you won't be thirsty if you dehydrate and pass out either" I say tossing him a purple Gatorade.

He drinks the whole thing within a minute then passes out again. I take his temperature and let out a sigh when I see it was approaching 102. And yet he has the nerve to say I don't take care of myself?

I warm up the soup and toast the bread before waking him up. Once I get him to sit up right I help him eat and clean up. He looked miserable, no doubt about it. No matter what this man always had a smile on his face, it broke my heart to see him so sick. To see someone who was always so happy suffer so. I would do anything to take the pain away.

After he finished up I clean up the kitchen. Pack away left overs for later and leave the place better than the way I found it.

Once everything was packed up I sit next to Patrick on the couch. He turns to me with a little more life in his eyes and I smile. The medicine or the food must be kicking in for he already looked better.

"I don't like that look you're giving me" I admit. In my experience it means he's planning to be a little shit. And he usually succeeds.

"I think I'm gonna lay down now" he claims.

"Okay? Let me get you a pillow" I offer.

"Nope. I want to lay right here" he says leaning over so his head was in my lap.

"Please don't lay on me, you're hot and sweaty" I say trying to push him back up right. Why did he have so much muscle?

"You think I'm hot" he smirks.

I playfully hit him in the chest as he just laughs at his own joke. Like always. "Why are you like this" I whine.

"Like what" he wonders.

"Irritating" I mumble.

"That's what I do! People always said I was a no good annoying little kid. And all I was going to grow up to be was a slightly larger but still annoying adult" he claims.

"Well they were wrong about you. Though sometimes I feel like they might be on to something" I shake my head trying to remove him from my legs.

"Well as long as you think I'm okay, then I can't be too bad" he insist.

"Not bad at all" I admit.

Finally he slumps over and his head lands on my lap. At first I don't touch him, he's sick and I don't want whatever it is he has. But then I look down and I notice he was so peaceful. He had long beautiful eyelashes and I could count the freckles on his face. His nose was unique, I've never seen another nose like it. Even all scrunched up it was cute. There was no denying he was a attractive man, never said he wasn't. But I never realized how pretty he was either.

I run my fingers through his hair as his breathing starts to slow. That manic personality seems to melt away as he just relaxes for once. I take a curl and wrap it around my finger before letting it fall back to his head. I've never been with someone this way. He was his most vulnerable and yet it was my lap he wanted to lay in. Trusted me to care for him, and I did. More than I was allowing myself to admit. And now I don't really know where to go from here. Because if you ask me, I want to stay like this forever.

"Sing for me" he whimpers.

"Don't push it Patrick" I warn.

"Please! I promise to shut up if you do" he insists.

"Forever" I tease.

"You're just mean" he starts to pout.

"I'm not singing for you" I asssure him.

"I promise I won't ask you to take care of me anymore if you do" he insists.

But he was wrong, because I actually liked doing this. Especially for someone who if he ended up really sick, I don't know what I would do without him.

"I will sing but I'm leaving right after" I warn.

"Deal" he promises.

A long sigh passes my lips as I shake my head. This guy has got to know my weak spot or something. I don't even know many songs. But there was one I always wanted to hear when I was sick or sad. It always seemed to help so I was hoping for one more miracle.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away."

I finish and Patrick doesn't move, not one bit. He drifted off and he has a little smile on his face, that even with him feeling like this he was still happy. And I wished more than anything I could be a smile in a shitty situation, like him. But I wasn't going to leave until I knew that smile was real.