One direction Sickfics/Kidfics

A Challenging Weekend (Niam Family)

The moment Liam opened his eyes, he knew it was going to be a rough day. His body was aching, his head was pounding, and it felt too cold for July, even for London's standards. He rolled over to cuddle into Niall's side but found the space empty. Then Liam remembered that his husband had gone out of town to a medical conference that weekend, which meant that he had managed to come down with something and now had three kids to look after by himself until tomorrow afternoon.

Great.

To be honest, Liam should have expected that. He had attended countless kids with the flu over the course of the week, so his immune system was bound to let him down sooner rather than later. He just wasn't expecting it to be on the only weekend Niall wasn't home.

"Daddy, wake up, I'm hungry," Liam heard Zayn shout as he came running into the room. Harry wasn't far behind, rubbing his eyes as he walked at a much slower pace than his brother.

"Morning, guys. Can I have a cuddle first?" Liam asked, lifting the duvet for them to climb in. Harry got in no problem - Liam was starting to think Zayn had woken him up - and curled into Liam's side, but Zayn just whined.

"But I'm hungry."

"Z, please, just ten minutes," Liam honestly didn't think he could get up right now.

"Fine," the boy huffed, laying down on Liam's other side.

"When is Papa coming home?" Zayn asked and Liam sighed.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Liam replied, ruffling the boy's messy hair. He really wished Niall was home now so he could just stay in bed all day.

"You feel warm, Daddy," Zayn blurted out suddenly. The kid surely had woken up in a talkative mood.

"I'm not feeling my best Z, so I need you boys to be extra good today."

Zayn nodded and Liam looked down to see Harry's reaction, but to his surprise, the five-year-old was dozing off, his mouth slightly open. Liam chuckled and closed his own eyes, intending to just rest them for a moment. Before he knew it, he had drifted off as well.

Liam woke to a gentle shaking. "Daddy, wake up," Zayn whined, but he was still quiet enough not to wake Harry.

Liam blinked his eyes open, feeling groggy. "What is it, Zayn?"

"You said we could have breakfast," Zayn reminded him. "And it's already 8:12. You've been sleeping for a long time."

Liam glanced at the clock and realized he must have slept for another fifteen minutes. He took a deep breath and nodded, trying to shake off the lingering drowsiness. "Alright, let's get you boys some breakfast."

Liam ran his fingers through Harry's curls to hopefully wake him up. It worked. The boy slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, before looking at his dad.

"Carry me?" Harry asked and even though Liam hated to refuse him, he felt too weak to walk on his own, let alone carry Harry as well.

"I'm sorry baby, but I'm not feeling very well, so I need you to walk."

"Oh okay," Harry replied, climbing out of bed.

"I'll meet you two downstairs, okay?"

Harry and Zayn both nodded, and Liam watched as they carefully made their way downstairs. He took a moment to gather himself, then headed to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face, hoping to wake up a bit more. The shock of the cold helped clear some of the fog from his mind. He brushed his teeth and then rummaged through the medicine cabinet for some sort of tablets, hoping it would help him fight off whatever he had caught.