Science and faith

~Chapter 179~

Danny's pov:

I woke up from two little hands carefully shaking my shoulder and a small voice saying,

"Daddy?"

I rolled onto my other side to find Ava standing at the side of my bed.

"What's wrong baby?" I asked as I sat up.

"I don't feel very well..." She whispered.

"Oh baby..." I said and lifted her onto the bed, cuddling her close to me. As I placed my hand on her forehead I felt that she felt hot to the touch as well. I placed a kiss on the top of her head while I sat stroking her back for a few moments.

"Daddy I feel sick." She said and I quickly lifted her into my arms and swiftly walked over to the bathroom where my little girl threw up in the toilet. I sat there next to her, wishing I could do something to make her feel better but felt incredibly helpless knowing there was nothing I could do. 

Once she'd brought her dinner back up I handed her a cup of water to rinse her mouth.

"Do you want to sleep with Daddy tonight?" I asked her as I kneeled down in front of her. She nodded her head in reply and I lifted her into my arms once again while she rested her head on my shoulder in exhaustion. 

I walked back to the bedroom where I tucked Ava in on Am's side of the bed. I then got in on my side and watched my little girl until she eventually dropped off to sleep. 

I lay there looking at my baby girl for a little longer until I decided to go back to sleep as well. But just as I was getting comfortable Jamie started screaming. I quickly got out of bed once again, hoping he wouldn't wake either Ava or Liz while I made my way to his room.

As I lifted Jamie out of his cot and held him against my chest I felt that he was burning up as well. I sighed at the prospect of having two sick children to look after today. Hopefully not three by tomorrow morning...

I tried everything I could think of to stop Jamie from crying but nothing worked so I eventually just sat down in the rocking chair and held him against my chest.

"Shh, it's OK. Daddy's here..." I whispered while praying he would settle.

It was almost an hour later by the time Jamie finally stopped crying. I sat with him in my arms until he fell back asleep, scared he would start crying again if I'd lie him back in his cot while still awake. I got up from the rocking chair and carefully placed him down in his cot.

I then got back to my own bed, hoping I could get some more sleep before I'd have to get up again.

-

I woke up two hours later from my alarm going off. I quickly silenced it and turned over to see that Ava was thankfully still asleep. I carefully climbed out of bed, letting her sleep while I went to wake Liz.

"Good morning sunshine!" I said as I opened the curtains in Liz's room.

"Morning Daddy!" She said while climbing out of bed.

I took her downstairs where I made her some toast before placing it in front of her along with some orange juice.

While Liz was eating breakfast I texted Rina asking if she could take Liz to school while I'd look after Ava and Jamie. After putting my phone down I started to prepare a bottle for Jamie and put it in the fridge. By the time I was done Rina had texted me back saying she'd be here in twenty minutes.

"Finished!" Liz announced as she walked into the kitchen carrying her plate.

"Good girl." I said smiling at her before we went back upstairs to get her dressed.

"Rina will take you to school, because your brother and sister are both feeling poorly, so Daddy has to look after them." I explained to Liz while tying her hair up.

"OK Daddy." She answered, not seeming to care too much about it. I smiled at her and kissed the top of her head before letting her go off to play until Rina would be here.

-

I spent the rest of the day going back and forth between Ava and Jamie taking care of them.

It was 4PM when they were both finally asleep and I crashed on the couch with a cup of tea. I got my phone out and sent Glen a text to ask how they were doing,

'How's your little family doing?'

It only look him a few moments to reply,

'Survived our first night without sleep.'

'Same here...'

'Everything alright?'

'Ava and Jamie are both poorly.'

'I'm sorry to hear that. Mine are catching up on some missed sleep from last night🤔' He said along with a photo of Quinn and Olivia asleep in their cot.

'It's how I like them best' I answered while chuckling to myself.

***

Today's the day that Am's coming home again, and even though Ava's still not feeling incredibly well she was adamant to come to the airport to pick her mum up. Both Ava and Liz were wearing t-shirts saying 'welcome home Mummy' they'd made themselves.

"When are we going to get Mummy?" Ava asked from the couch, wrapped in her Frozen blanket.

"In about half an hour sweetheart." I answered while attempting to feed Jamie. I'd been trying to feed him for the last twenty minutes but he hasn't even drank half of his bottle. I think Ava's already feeling better than Jamie does...

After another twenty minutes Jamie had drank about half his bottle and I decided to leave it there. I then rushed to get everybody ready. Just as I'd helped Liz put her shoes on she cab turned up outside. I took the kids and helped them into the cab, making sure they were all buckled up.

-

Liz was the first to spot Amy at the airport and both Ava and Liz ran off in her direction while I followed behind with Jamie on my hip.

"Welcome home babe." I said as I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.

"I missed you." She said smiling when we pulled away.

"I missed you too." I answered before pulling her in for another quick kiss.

"Are you alright? You look tired." She asked concerned as she looked at me.

"Ava and Jamie are both poorly." I told her while we walked out of the airport. Am was now holding Jamie while I was carrying her bags.

When we arrived back home I carried Am's suitcase upstairs before coming down to make tea.

"Dan?" Am called as I walked down the stairs.

"Yeah?" I asked as I walked into the living room.

"These are beautiful." She said smiling as she looked at the enormous bouquet of roses I'd placed on the table.

"I'm glad you like it." I said and pecked her lips before flicking the kettle on. As I stood waiting for the water to boil, I felt Am's arms wrap around my waist before she rested her chin on my shoulder.

"I really missed you." She whispered before kissing my neck a few times.

I smiled and tipped my head back, allowing her better access to my neck. She continued kissing my neck and nibbled on my earlobe until we were interrupted by the girls coming into the living room. I groaned softly in frustration as Am let go of me causing her to smirk.

"Maybe later..." She said winking before she went to play with our daughters.