Like Father, Like Son ✔

Chapter 28 - Scared of the Dark

CHAPTER 28

CAT

"Can we go see Nick and make sure he's OK? Then we can make soup, the kind you make when I'm sick, and I can tell him story time, I'm sure that'll make him feel better!" Luke said the moment he set foot in the apartment after a night at Liv and Wilson's.

Cat told him on their way home on Sunday morning that Nick wasn't feeling very well and that they needed to make as little noise as possible today so that he could rest. In hindsight, she didn't know if that was the best thing to say, because now Luke was looking very concerned.

Cat glanced at the clock on her phone; it was a little after Noon so she figured it was probably as good a time as any to wake Nick up and make sure he was hydrated. It'd also settle Luke's wayward mind to know that Nick wasn't on his deathbed or anything – just a little hungover.

"OK, but we have to be very quiet," Cat whispered, holding Luke's hand as she led him through the hallway and made a turn into the bedroom. She pulled open the blinds to let the sunshine through and turned around in time to see Luke crawl onto the bed and give Nick's shoulder a gentle tap.

"Nick? Are you alive under there?" he whispered.

Nick let out a muffled groan.

"He sounds like a bear!" Luke gasped, scurrying to the edge of the bed and gripping Cat's hand.

"Inside voice, Luke," Cat giggled, joining her son onto the bed and running her hand up and down Nick's back. "Hey babe, you hanging in there?" she asked, unable to stop herself from laughing again. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the noise.

Nick lifted his arm a few inches off the mattress and gave them a half-hearted thumbs up. At least he wasn't flipping her off, she thought, which only prompted another giggle to escape through her fingertips.

"We're going to make you some soup and you'll feel much better," Luke said reassuringly, patting Nick's hair. "Come on, mom, we have a lot of work to do."

Cat wasn't much of a cook; in fact, before moving out on her own and having a son to feed, she would have done everything possible not to end up in the kitchen. Luke absolutely loved working in the kitchen however, and Cat had Nick to thank for that. Every time Nick prepared dinner, Luke was right on his heels with his chair, ready to help out in any way he could.

Cat cut up some vegetables and took out some chicken she was letting thaw out for dinner tonight, figuring it'd be just as good in soup. Since Luke was determined to help, Cat had to figure out something safe and easy for him to do, so she had him put all of the ingredients together in a little bowl so that she could dump it all in the boiling water later.

"Now we'll have to wait for all of that to cook," she explained about half an hour later, wiping her hands on a drying towel and checking her phone to see she'd received a text message from her sister. Ignoring it for now, she grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with water. "It'll take a little while, and then I'm going to get the chicken out of the soup so I can remove the bones."

"Is that for Nick?" Luke asked, pointing to the glass.

"Yes," Cat answered, smiling a little.

"Can I give it to him?" Luke asked.

Cat emptied out some of the water in the glass so that Luke wouldn't go making a mess and then handed it to him, wondering just how much water would actually get into Nick's body in the end. "Be very careful not to spill any over," she told the little boy, watching as he scurried off toward the bedroom.