A Collection of Odds & Ends

Thanks to You (Jai Courtney)

I have been working on this for a while, finished it up, and decided we could all use some fluffy Jai.

It goes along with Parental Guidance and Sleepless in Sydney

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"Honey, you know I love to see you, but I'm not sure you should be here." Jai lectured, pulling the blanket tighter around his body and trying to hide a cough.

She had got a text earlier in the morning canceling the lunch date she and Jai had planned on. The text informed her that Denzi still had the flu and that his father had managed to catch the bug as well. Knowing that Jai was one of the biggest babies, when sick, she had spent the morning collecting the things she would need to go babysit her best friend and his son.

"I'm fine, Jai." she insisted, placing her shopping bags on the counter and smiling. "How are you boys feeling?"

Jai shrugged and shivered. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck, then a train, and then the truck backed over him. Denzi had been running a fever on and off, the poor little thing was miserable and spent most of his morning torn between crying in annoyance and sleeping.

"I think we could be better." he sighed, pawing through one of the bags she'd sat down. "The joey is out, for now. The doctor told me to bring him home, give him some dramamine, and wait."

"Hmm." she nodded, smacking his hand away from the bag. "Well, I am here, because unlike somebody, I got a flu shot this year. Now, go back to bed or whatever. I'll make some thing to eat and make sure you guys don't die."

With little energy to argue with her, Jai took his blanket, along with a sleeve of crackers that he had found in the bag and wandered off. He hated to admit it, but he was glad to see her. Being sick took a lot out of a person. Being sick with a toddler, who was also sick, was a living hell.

Stretched out on the couch, Jai watched as Denzi laid curled up on the arm chair. The little boy had been sleeping there for the last fifteen or twenty minutes, rightfully so seeing as he had hardly slept the last three days. Parenting was tough, but Jai had prepared himself for anything - when prepping, he had forgot to factor in how heart wrenching it would be to see his baby sick.

Denzi's big, usually bright, blue eyes were red rimmed and his nose was constantly runny. When he wasn't sleeping, he was cranky and fighting the urge not to vomit all over himself or Jai. Twice, he had managed to get his father. Twice, Jai had struggled to get his son cleaned up and resist the urge to follow suit.

Laying on the couch, he closed his eyes and sniffled. Since Denzi had got sick, Jai had hardly slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he worried that his son would need him. Paranoid of missing something Denzi needed had resulted in Jai sharing his bed with the little boy. Children were a pain in the arse to sleep with, for something so little they took up a ton of space.

In the kitchen, she began setting up to make her work easier. On her way over, she had stopped to pick up the usual sick foods. Armed with crackers, apple sauce, bananas, and a loaf of bread for toast, she had broke and picked up the contents to make a pot of soup. Even if they couldn't eat it now, if she made and stored it, when the boys started feeling better the soup would be just what they needed.

Pulling out the pots and pans she'd need for the simple chicken soup, she took a moment to gaze around the corner. In the living room, the sight of the sleeping father and son was adorable, even if they were sick. Wrapped in their matching blankets, their blond hair stuck up all over, and their soft snores made them the sweetest thing she had ever witnessed. Jai would murder her, but she couldn't resist, grabbing her phone off the counter and taking a few quick photos.