The Power of Love

February 14, 1973

February 14, 1973

"His head is kinda warm," I said nervously and bit down on my lip.

Two-Bit's face showed worry as he walked over next to me. "Are you sure your hands ain't cold or somethin'?" he asked, "I mean, it is pretty cold outside."

I nodded. "Yeah... I even heard him cough once a little while ago."

"It's official, I won't go to the garage today. Rusty'll understand."

"Well, maybe you could go in the morning and leave 'round 11:30 or somethin' like that?"

"I don't think so. I'd just be worried the whole time and then Rusty'll ask me what's going on and I'll say how KJ don't feel too good and then he'll send me home anyway," he chuckled a bit.

I managed a weak smile. "That's true... alright, go call him. I'll stay here with KJ while you do." He nodded and walked off.

It was 7:49 in the morning. Usually KJ wouldn't wake up till it was about eight o'clock, but instead he woke up around 7:25 in the morning. Sure, there were times he would wake up a bit earlier or later, but that was usually by five or ten minutes, fifteen at the most. But nearly hour an hour earlier? That was weird for him. We had the baby monitor on and I heard him crying. Of course- like usual- my reaction was jumping out of bed, putting on my slippers and rushing to his room cause to be honest, it always made me upset hearing KJ cry. Is that a mother thing? Is that normal? Anyway, either way, when I saw what the time was, I ran even faster.

When I got to his room I ran over to his crib and picked him up automatically and held him in my arms like every morning. At first I was already worried since it was half an hour earlier than when he usually woke up, but then I noticed that his ears were a little more red than when he usually cried. Don't ask me how I noticed that cause to be honest, I have no idea how I noticed that myself. Mrs Mathews said it was a mother thing cause little things like that were noticed when Two-Bit and Keilah were growing up. Marilyn said that's how she is with Mariah too.

After Two-bit called Rusty, I went to call Sandy that I wouldn't be going to the bookstore for work for the day. When she didn't pick up I decided to call Candy. She picked up but she sounded like she had just woken up right when the phone rang. "Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Candy? It's Rain," I said.

"Oh, hey Rain... what's up? Why are you callin' so early in the morning?"

"Could you do me a favor? It's small."

"What?..."

"Tell Sandy I can't come to the bookstore today, would ya?" I asked.

I heard Candy yawn over the receiver. "Uh yeah, sure. Why? Everything alright over by you?"

"Kinda... KJ has a cold or somethin'."

"Oh man, I hope he feels better... Soda says that too... I'll tell Sandy you won't be coming today for you. Maybe I'll stop by later by you? See how he's doing?"

I nodded, knowing she couldn't see. "Sure, thanks. See you later." And with that, I hung up the phone.

The next call I made was to the pediatrician's office. Thankfully, he took calls at eight o'clock in the morning. He sounded tired when he picked up, but when it was this early in the morning, who wouldn't be tired?

The first thing that the pediatrician asked was what symptoms or whatever did KJ have. I told him that his head was a little warm and that he had a small cough, then he eventually got a little bit of a runny nose too. The pediatrician's answer was that he had a tiny cold. It wasn't terrible, but it still wasn't good for a baby that was five month's old. He said it should be gone within the next twenty four hours, maybe even way less, depending on his immune system, but if he wasn't to bring him to his office.

For a while, netiher me or Two-Bit really knew how to do anything or what to do. Obviously, neither of us ever had to take care of a five month old baby with a tiny cold. The pediatrician didn't seem worried at all when I was on the phone with him... but the same couldn't be said for me and Two-Bit being the new, stupid, unexperienced parents we were.

To be honest, the two of us were freaking out to some extent. Did we know what to do in this scenario? No, not really. Were we scared? Kinda, for some odd reason we were. Like I said, neither of us really knew what we were doing. The closest he ever was to taking care of a sick kid was Keilah when she was about four years old. Me on the other hand, the closest thing I ever got was a few times when we were all teenagers but instead of people being sick, it was helping out with their cuts and bruises from some sort of fight one of them got into- not to mention Two-Bit being included in that. Other than that, I had no experience whatsoever.

As the day progressed on, KJ stopped coughing and his nose- slowly but surely- stopped running. Everything completely stopped at around 1:30 in the afternoon. The pediatrician said it would all pass and the tiny cold would be gone without a trace within a few hours, and thankfully, he was right. In KJ's head, he would never remember a thing about ever even having that cold.

While KJ slept, I felt back onto the couch with a light sigh. At this point it was five o'clock in the evening and to be honest, I had never been so tired that early. Not even while I was pregnant with KJ- and I slept a lot during that time.

Two-Bit had gone out to run the errands that I planned on running during the day. Candy had called later on, along with Soda, to see how KJ was doing, reminding me and Two-Bit that it was Valentine's Day. We had obviously forgotten about the date during the day, what with being busy taking care of KJ. We had been taking "shifts" while taking care of him while his temperature was up, so when did either of us have time to remember it was Valentine's Day?

My thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. I cringed for a moment, making sure the bell didn't wake up KJ. When I heard nothing and could tell that it didn't wake him up, I got up from the couch and went over to the door. When I opened it, I saw Candy standing there. "Hey Rain," she smiled, "How's KJ doing?"

"Hey Candy... and he's better now, thanks," I answered smiling back at her.

Soda came up behind her and smiled at me with one of his signature smiles, "Hey Rain."

I was surprised that he just popped up, but not a bad surprised. "Hey Soda... no offense, but what're you two doing here? I knew you said you would stop by, but it's pretty late."

"We're here to watch KJ for you and Two-Bit for the night," he answered.

I gave a confused look but before I could question either of them, Candy smiled and grabbed my arm then dragged me over toward a car that was parked on the sidewalk. It was still winter, so it was already pretty dark out. I couldn't see the car too well, but I could see the figure that was leaning against it that had gotten out that held my coat in his hands. "What's going on?" I asked as he placed my jacket around my shoulders.

"I'm taking you out for the night," Two-Bit answered as we got into the car, "I figured, it's Valentine's Day and we both probably need a little break from watching KJ."

"What're you saying?"

"I'm saying... I rented a room at the hotel in town. We're gonna go to a restaurant and stay in the room for the night."

"But KJ-"

"Soda and Candy are watching him, they watch Mariah all the time. He'll be fine." He cupped my chin and pressed his lips to mine.

I kissed back then pulled away with a smile. "Fine, I give in."

I'm not happy with the chapters I've been writing for this story lately :,( I don't have a clue why but whatever

For my full author's note, look to chapter 6 of Loyalty (fanfiction.net) it's all there and that was typed earlier today.

Hope you liked the chapter! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=