Fight for them.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱɪx

Elara stood by the door, contemplating her options. There were three choices: Wesley, Tyson, or Liv—one of them was out of bed, but she couldn't tell who. She gently opened the door, revealing Wesley.

"I was lookin' for you!" he said, closing the cabinet door.

"Why would I be in a cabinet?" Elara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't know, but I can't sleep," Wesley replied, walking toward her, his small face tilted up.

"You were half-asleep when I brought you up here. What happened?" Elara knelt to his level, her confusion obvious. Wesley just shrugged and made his way over to her bed, climbing onto it like it was second nature.

"I'm going to change, then we'll talk, okay?" she said, watching him nod as he got down off the bed.

"Where are you going?" she asked as she reached for her pajama pants and a sweatshirt.

"Lula," he mumbled, opening the door.

"Just don't wake your brothers or sister up," Elara reminded him as she quickly changed. Wesley wandered back in while she stood at the mirror, removing her contacts.

"Does that hurt?" he asked curiously, his eyes fixed on her. As he stood directly behind him

"Not really," she replied, slipping on her glasses. As she turned around, she nearly bumped into him. "Alright, bud. What's going on? Why can't you sleep?"

Elara sat on the bed, hoisting Wesley up beside her as she gently tickled his side. He giggled, grabbing at her hand. Despite being only four, Wesley already had a surprising amount of muscle for his age.

He shrugged again, distracted by the strings of her hoodie. "Just can't." Elara smiled as he babbled on, mentioning random things—Adria, Faron, and Ethan, none of which seemed particularly important to her. But she listened, letting him talk himself to sleep.

By morning, Wesley had completely taken over the bed. Elara was certain she hadn't slept more than an hour. He kicked, rolled on top of her, and hoarded all the blankets, but she got up earlier than intended on her day off, accepting it with a sigh.

She checked on the younger kids, finding them still asleep. When she opened Carson and Hunter's room, she saw Carson sprawled out, still out cold, but the door creaked just enough to stir Hunter. His eyes snapped open instantly, as though the tiniest sound could wake him.

"I'm heading downstairs. If you wanna come," Elara said softly, giving him a nod. Hunter silently slipped out of bed and followed her, which was unusual for him. He was normally more talkative, but Elara chalked it up to the early hour.

"You want anything?" she asked once they reached the kitchen.

"No," he murmured, squinting against the morning light.

"You wake up too easily," she teased, but Hunter just shrugged.

"Well, you did come in bangin' things around," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"I didn't make a sound," she replied, amused, but then noticed something was off. "What's wrong?"

"Headache," he whispered, his hand brushing against his temple.

Elara frowned, her fingers gently brushing his forehead. "Of course today, of all days," she said playfully, trying to lift the mood. She took his hair down and pulled it back, out of his face.

"What's today?" Hunter asked, barely paying attention.

"I'm taking Liv to the doctor."

Suddenly, Hunter shot up, his eyes wide as he stood up Elara could see a little instability but shook it off. "No."