Family

Sickness

Emily's pov

I lay awake in bed, trying to control the feeling of sickness. A drop of sweat rolls off my face and soon I feel as if I am lying in a pool, my body shivers in a desperate attempt to lower my temperature.

"Alison" I whine through chittering teeth

"Em, are you okay?" She asks, resting the back of her pale hand on my forehead

"You are boiling. Emily babe, you have a really bad fever" Alison tells me

Concerned she jumps out of bed and runs to the medicine cabinet

"Here Em" Alison hands me a glass of water and a tablet "this should help you" she gently smiles while her eyes sparkle with distress

"Thanks" I chitter

After taking medicine, Alison wraps me in her arms and softly strokes my hair until I fall asleep

Ali's pov

Emily falls asleep as I stroke her gorgeous brown hair. The sweat off her back soaks into my pyjamas

"My sweet Emily" I whisper, kissing her forehead

I watch over Emily as she sleeps, she stuffily whistles through her blocked nose and her mouth falls open as she tries to breath. Her arms cover with goosebumps and her body twitches as I run my hand down her face

"Good morning Em" I yawn, desperate to stay awake

"Did you sleep?" She asks

"No but I don't need to sleep, I need to look after you" I sweetly smile

I pick my phone off the bedside table and phone our work. I explain to Principle Hackett that neither Emily or I will be in work

"You stay here Em. I'll take the girls to school"

I gently lift her head off my knees, sliding a pillow under her neck.

"Grace. Hurry up" I scream from outside, while guzzling a litre of coffee

"Lily get out the front and go sit in your booster seat" I tell her

I storm into the house -annoyed and short for time- I search for why Grace is taking so long

"Mommy, I've lost my shoe"

"You are seven years old not four, why can't you find your shoe?" I complain

"Sorry"

"Have you checked the shoe box?"

"Yes it wasn't there"

I walk over to our plastic tub, full of shoes and rummage through until I find Grace's small black converse

"It wasn't there when I checked" she insists

I always remember the infuriating feeling when you could find everything except from the one thing you need. As a child you begged your mom to help and she always found it straight away. Whether you lost your favourite jacket or you were looking for a needle in a haystack, your mom could always find the one thing you spent hours looking for, in an instant. One of my favourite things about being a mother is the ability to find things. I was never good at 'Where's Wally?' until I became a mom, now I can find that stripy asshole in a blink of an eye.

"You can tie your shoe in the car" I say, picking up Grace's school bag and racing out the door

I quickly drop Lily and Grace off and then race back home to take care of my gorgeous wife

"You look awful" I exclaim as Emily shuffles towards the sofa

"I feel like death" She exaggerates, wrapping a blanket around her

"Emily you are roasting. I'm not sure a blanket will help you. You should be taking clothes off not putting more on"

"Alison, you dirty girl" she giggles

"I'm serious Em" I laugh, pulling three sweaters off her

Soon Emily is lying on the sofa in only her underwear, resting her head against my shoulder

"My poor baby girl" I whisper as I run my thumb between the ridges of her rib cage

"Alison. Could you make me some soup?"

"Of course" I smile, kissing her forehead "do you want Mommy's homemade chicken soup?"

"I'd love that" she yawn

"Well too bad because I can't make soup. Unless you want me to phone big Pam"

"I'd love you to phone big Pam" Emily laughs

I pull out a tin of Chicken soup and pour it into a bowl. After 3 minutes in the microwave, I carry over a burning hot bowl of soup

"Homemade soup my darling" I grin, sitting on the edge of the sofa next to Emily

She pulls herself up, until she is sitting up right. My eyes fill with love as her thin weak arms struggle to hold the spoon, Emily's red nose contrasts her rosey cheeks and her bloodshot eyes. I take the spoon from her and feed her soup. My lips curl into a smile as Emily relays on me like a small child.

Emily's pov

My beautiful angel's smile glows, making me feel warm inside. Her radiant body sits over my weak limbs. My eyes refuse to blink as I am indulged in admiration of Alison. My body falls numb and I no longer feel sick, instead i feel indescribably in love. I lean towards Alison, getting ready to kiss her when suddenly my stomach is shot with a bullet of nausea

"Am I that repulsive?" Alison laughs as I run to the restroom

She follows me and holds my hair back, softly stroking my neck

"I love you" I emotionally cry, falling onto the cold tiled floor

"I love you too" she smiles as she leans over my shoulder to kiss me

Fighting against every reflex in my body I pull away from her "I don't want you to get sick"

"I'd be sick everyday for the rest of my life, if it meant I could kiss you"

"How poetic" I giggle

"Now that I think about it, I'm sure I can wait a few more days to kiss you" she says with half a smile

I return to my slumber on the sofa and lean against Alison, resting my head between her breasts. My eyes shut and I fall into the shadowy world of dreams