Ricky Bowen Sickfics

14

Nini's POV

After the end of rehearsals, I went home and was about to get ready to take a bath. It had been a weird day. Ricky was acting really out of it; he was quiet and he didn't look well, but he didn't sound sick so I chalked it up to things being weird with his family. Ricky was at the back of my mind as I picked out a bath bomb and started running the water. 

It was just after I turned the water on that my phone started ringing. It was Ricky. I had been home for about an hour after rehearsals and I was wondering what Ricky could want at this time. 

"Hey Ricky, what's up?" I greeted him. 

Ricky choked out, "Nini, I need help." 

"What's wrong, Ricky?" I asked. He didn't sound well. I could hear him crying on the other line. 

"My dad's not here and I'm-I'm sick," he cried. "I threw up and I-I-I just don't feel good."

I turned the water off for my bath and unplugged the drain. "I'll be there in ten minutes tops, okay? Don't move," I ordered. 

"Okay," Ricky mumbled. I could hear him gag and I started moving faster. 

"Ricky, I'm gonna hang up because I'm coming to you as fast as I can but you can call Big Red or one of my moms if you need."

The line just went dead. I raced out of my room and down to where my moms were in the living room. 

"Ricky's home alone and he's really sick and he needs someone there," I rushed out. "I need to go over there now I'll call you if I need anything, is that okay?"

"Of course. Tell us if you need to stay the night!" Mama D called. 

I didn't even have time to yell a response back to her before the garage door shut behind me. 

I got in my car and drove a safe five miles over the speed limit. I wanted to drive faster but I knew that if something happened and I couldn't get to Ricky that would be bad for both of us. 

Seven minutes after mine and Ricky's phone call ended I pulled into his driveway. I got out of my car and ran up to his front door. I pulled the spare key from underneath a plant pot and opened up the front door. 

"RICKY!" I shouted. "I'M HERE!" 

It was too quiet on the main floor so I ran up the stairs to Ricky's bedroom. Sure enough, there he was sitting on his bed with a plastic bag in his hands. His head was down. 

"Ricky," I said. 

Ricky looked up. "Nini," he cried. "I got sick in the bathroom but I needed to lie down so I came back here. I got a bag."

"I'm so proud of you Ricky, that's so good," I said. I felt like I was babying him a little but it was what worked best with him when he was feeling like this. 

I helped him get comfortable and I lined his bed with towels. 

"How are you feeling?" I asked. 

"I think I'm gonna be sick again," he whimpered. 

All of a sudden he shot up and gagged into his grocery bag. 

"Bathroom, now," Ricky said. 

He jumped up and bolted into the bathroom. I followed after him and saw him clinging onto his toilet bowl. 

He was gagging harshly. Normally when people threw up I freaked out, but I was used to being around Ricky when he got sick. When we were together I took care of him whenever he was sick or when he was throwing up at a party. It was different with him. 

With other people it was gross but with Ricky I just wanted to help him feel better. 

"You're okay, just don't fight it," I said. 

I sat down on the ground next to him and started rubbing his back. Naturally, he leaned back and into my embrace, well, until he had to dart back over the toilet bowl to continue throwing up. 

After a few minutes, he started crying. Ricky really hated throwing up, especially towards the end when there was so little in his stomach that it felt like it was curving in on itself and wringing itself out completely. However, it was common knowledge that getting yourself worked up while already sick wasn't the best plan. 

Ricky coughed miserably over the toilet bowl but nothing was coming up. He finally settled down after a couple more minutes, and then he really flopped back onto me. He was absolutely drained. His skin was sheet-white and covered in sweat. His hands were incredibly clammy but the rest of his body was positively burning up. 

Ricky came down with bugs like this all the time. He'd also get stress-fevers, which were usually pretty low-grade but would cause him to get even more worked up. A lot of the stress was coming from his parents fighting and it really fucked with his immune system. He also wasn't used to feeling safe in his own home because he'd always hear his parents fight. For a long time, he would have preferred to be at school when sick rather than be at home. It got better when his mom moved out and there wasn't the fighting aspect, but then it started to remind him of how empty his house felt without his mom. 

"Can we go lie down? I think I'm done throwing up for a while," Ricky murmured. 

I nodded, "Of course, baby." I had completely forgotten that I wasn't with him anymore. 

I helped him up and we made our way to his bed. I helped set him up and then I laid down next to him. Ricky laid his head on my shoulder and scooted his body closer to mine. 

"I'm sorry, I can move if this makes you uncomfortable," he mumbled after a few minutes. 

"No, Ricky. I want you to be as comfortable as possible. Come here," I motioned for him to move even closer. I started rubbing his stomach, the way he liked it when we were dating and he felt ill. 

Ricky whispered, "Thank you, Nini."

"Any time, Ricky. You know that."

Shortly after, Ricky fell asleep and I decided there wasn't much more I could do than text my parents and tell them that I was staying over to make sure Ricky was okay through the night. They told me I didn't have to go to school the next day or I could go in late and they could take care of Ricky. 

I agreed to go in late and have them take Ricky to our house once he woke up so I could go to rehearsal, because you weren't allowed to go to rehearsal or any school activity or practice if you didn't go to school that day. 

Knowing that everything would be okay, I closed my eyes and waited until morning.