D&B5

30

After successfully convincing Brick to take his medicine, Day went down to the kitchen to prepare dinner for Brick since there were people helping to look after little Ob. Brick was sitting propped up against the headboard, his face flushed from the fever.

"Eat your food so you can take your medicine," Day said gently, moving the table closer to the bed. Brick ate like someone who had no strength left, with Day not far away.

"My throat hurts," Brick said.

"Yeah, take your medicine, and it’ll get better," Day encouraged.

"I miss the baby," Brick murmured softly, not knowing how many times he had said that.

"Just rest well, and you’ll be able to take care of the baby," Day said again before urging Brick to eat a bit more. He then went to get more medicine for Brick, and he took it willingly.

"Come on, let’s clean you up," Day said before lifting Brick in a way that was comfortable for him. Brick immediately wrapped his arms around Day's neck.

"I’m scared you’ll catch it from me," Brick said, since Day was the closest to him.

"I won’t catch it; I’m much stronger than you. I’ll wipe you down and change your clothes, then we can take a bath and go see the baby," Day said. He led Brick into the bathroom and had him sit on the countertop, then began to undress him and personally wipe him down. Brick looked at Day with a warm feeling in his heart; even after having a baby, Day still took care of him well, perhaps even better than before.

"Why do you take such good care of me?" Brick asked in a weak voice.

"That’s a strange question; you’re my wife," Day replied. Brick smiled softly.

"I thought that after having a baby you’d want to take care of the baby more than me," Brick said, voicing his thoughts.

"The baby is someone I love, and so are you. I have to take care of you both, just the same, right? Why should it be any different?" Day asked, and Brick fell silent for a moment.

"Or is it that if I got sick, you wouldn’t want to take care of me?" Day playfully asked back, and Brick quickly shook his head.

"Sorry for questioning that," Brick said softly, realizing that his doubts might lead his lover to misunderstand him. Fortunately, Day wasn’t the type to take offence easily. Still, Day smiled softly before helping Brick clean himself up and getting him dressed to rest again. Day gently stroked Brick’s head.

"Get some rest; you’ll feel better tomorrow," Day said in a soothing voice. Brick nodded slowly.

"Are you going down now?" Brick asked back.

"I’ll wait until you fall asleep," Day replied. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about his son, but he knew that his brother and friends could help take care of him. Brick closed his eyes slowly while Day sat beside him, gently stroking Brick’s head and back until Brick finally fell asleep. Day covered him with a blanket and then went back to his own bedroom to take a shower and change clothes, as he still needed to look after his son.

"Have you eaten yet?" Day asked everyone who was still helping to take care of little Ob as he came down from his room.

"Not yet; we’re waiting for you to eat first, and then we’ll switch off," Gear said.

"Go ahead and eat first, Day. Then you can switch with Night," Nick suggested.

"Neil, Nick, you guys can join me for dinner first," Day said since he had prepared food for everyone.

"Okay," Neil replied, and the three of them went into the kitchen to eat dinner together.

"How's Brick doing?" Nick asked about his dear friend.