(Char's POV)
TW: mentions of sickness/vomiting
I wake up in the middle of the night and turn around to see Mia out of bed. "Amelia?" I whisper slowly getting out of bed. "Amelia? Are you ok?" I hear a faint groaning noise coming from the bathroom and I go straight in to see Mia clutching her stomach over the toilet seat. "Baby?" I whisper softly. "Is everything alright in here?" "Mmm," she mumbles in pain. I kneel down next to her and stroke her back gently as she keeps leaning over. She starts to gag so I hold her hair back off her face quickly, managing to catch it all before she vomits into the toilet.
"My poor baby," I whisper. "You're really not feeling well are you?" She shakes her head slowly before vomiting again, my hands still holding her hair back. I stay there for a few more minutes until the vomiting spell is done. "Char what are you doing up?" She mumbles, her voice all husky and tired. "I woke up and you weren't there gorgeous so I came to check up on you," I say rubbing her back. "And I won't go back to bed until I know you're alright."
I close the toilet seat and flush the chain before placing my hand on her burning forehead. "Bless you darling you're burning up," I say. "Why don't you pop back into bed and I'll find you some medicine ok?" "Ok," Mia mumbles. I hold her hand to help her off her feet and walk her back into the bedroom. As she tucks herself into bed, I dash down to the kitchen to find the medicine, a thermometer and a glass of water.
"Mia," I whisper returning to the room. "Thanks," she says yawning. I climb back into bed with her and feel her forehead one more time. "Can I have the light on please?" She asks. "Of course," I say switching the bedside lamp on. I wait for her to adjust her eyes before handing her the glass of water and paracetamol. "Thank you," she says after swallowing the tablet. "It's ok my sweetheart," I say kissing her cheek softly. I pick up the thermometer from the bedside table. "Open up sweetheart." I place it into her mouth, rubbing the back of her head and kissing her ear as it takes the reading before taking it out again. "Aww your temperature's a little high baby." Mia mumbles incoherently which I can't help but smile at a little bit.
"Shall we try and get some more sleep then? Then when you wake up I'll look after you all day." "Char I'm fine you don't need to do a..." she starts. "And I won't hear a word about you not needing looking after Amelia Roberts," I interrupt. "Just let me take care of you." "I really wish I could tell little Amelia about you," she whispers smiling faintly. "I love you," I whisper hugging her tightly around her waist. I feel her body relax into my arms as she starts to fall back asleep. I keep myself awake for a few minutes to make sure she was ok before letting myself drift off to sleep as well.
I wake up slowly as I feel her start to stir in my arms, looking over at the clock to see it was now 9am. "Morning beautiful," I whisper as she opens her eyes. "How are you feeling." "A bit better," she groans. "Can I get you anything?" I ask feeling her forehead again. "I... I feel cold," she mumbles. "Your forehead is still warm," I say letting go of it. "I'll get you an extra blanket and a hot water bottle alright?" "Ok just don't be long," she groans. "I'll miss cuddling you." "Well you can do that when I'm back," I laugh getting out of bed. "I won't be long I promise, I love you."
"I love you too," she calls out after me as I leave the room. I go fill up her hot water bottle and find her favourite blanket in the lounge. I also make her some plain toast and butter incase she's hungry later. "Hello beautiful," I say coming back into the room. "I got you some plain toast incase you were hungry." "Hey," she mumbles sleepily. "I missed you." I get back into bed and sit next to her, handing her the hot water bottle and laying the blanket over her. "Is that better?" I ask kissing the side of her head gently. "Yeah thanks," she smiles with a slight yawn. I notice her eyes start to well up with tears. "My poorly baby," I whisper cuddling her into my chest. "Are you alright do you need more medicine?" "My head just hurts," she sniffs. "And everything hurts and I... I'm sorry for crying I just..."
"Baby," I whisper rubbing her back gently to calm her down. "Listen it's ok I know it's horrible being ill. And you really don't need to be sorry for crying it's ok, I've got you." I keep rubbing her back and kissing her head gently until her eyes start to dry up again. She sits up slowly and takes a small bite of the toast. "Do you fancy watching something?" I ask. "Or we could listen to one of your strange true crime podcasts." "Don't lie you love them too," she laughs. "I'd love that thank you."
"Alright then," I say picking up my phone to one of the podcast episodes on in the background. I place my hand back on her forehead to feel her temperature. "You're getting a little cooler my love," I smile softly. Mia tilts her head, softly gazing at me with a smile painted across her face. "Mia?" I say snapping her back into focus. "Sorry," she giggles. "That little concerned look on your face is adorable." She pinches my cheek making me giggle slightly before resting her head onto my lap.
"These murderers are so stupid," she mumbles. "None of them seem to know how to properly hide a body. Ammeters." "Amelia Roberts you concern me sometimes," I laugh before kissing the top of her head gently. I play with her soft red locks, occasionally planting kisses on the top of her head as I feel her body relax into my lap.
She lays there for the entire podcast episode, settled into my lap as I play with her hair and gently kiss her. "Charlotte?" She whispers. "Mmm," I respond. "Can... can you maybe do my hair?" She asks. "Of course sweetheart," I say moving her head from my lap so I can find a brush and a clip. Mia sits up and I sit behind her so I can start brushing her hair gently. "How's your head feeling now baby?" I ask as I grab the hair clip to clip half her hair back. "Better thanks," she says. "Thank you for looking after me baby."
"Always," I say stroking her arm. "Are you sure you don't want more medicine?" Mia shakes her head. "I'm fine thanks my gorgeous. I would like another cuddle though." "Come here then cutie pie," I smile patting my lap before the rests her head on it. She tilts her head so I can kiss her lips softly. "You've got the colour in your cheeks back," I say pinching her cheek, making her smile widely. "God I love you," she whispers gazing into my eyes. "What did I do to deserve you?" "Baby you deserve the whole world," I say finding her hand and holding it tightly, our fingers interlacing. I lift our hands up to my face before placing a kiss on the back of her hand.
"You're the best medicine ever," Mia mumbles happily into my lap. "I feel so much better already." "I'm glad baby," I smile softly. "I hate the thought of the love of my life being all poorly." "You are so cute when you're all protective of me," she smiles. I watch her tired eyes get all heavy as she turns around, laying on my lap and slowly shutting her eyes. "Goodnight my sleepy princess," I whisper pressing a kiss onto her head. "I'm not falling asleep. I'm just resting my eyes," she protests.
She yawns slightly, shuffling herself further onto my lap. "Was that a little yawn there?" I laugh, stroking my fingers through her hair. "No," she whispers stubbornly. I lay back and smile as she tries to fight her eyelids from shutting completely, using every last muscle in her face not to fall asleep, before she eventually caves in and drifts off into a peaceful slumber. "Sweet dreams my love," I whisper in her ear before gently kissing it.
