A Broken Crew

Chapter 15

The next morning, August woke up feeling terrible. His head ached, he felt cold but was covered in sweat, and weak. He pushed himself out of the bed, carefully stepping over the sleeping Dakota and went into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked very pale. He coughed and it hurt his throat. "That's not good." he said softly. He washed off his face and applied some foundation that he owned to make himself look less pale. He took some cough and headache medicine. *'There,* he thought. *I'm not going to let this affect me.* He headed downstairs and peeked in to see if Grey was awake.

Grey was sound asleep - and Kacey was curled up right next to him, having woken up and went to him a few hours ago. It was a sweet sight; the small, fluffy anacanine cuddling with the much taller angel.

August smiled. *They're probably both exhausted,* he thought. *I'll let them sleep.* He wandered into the living room, where November was curled up in a blanket, awake. He waved at August. August smiled at him and went to sit down. November leaned up against him and wrote, "I wish I could stay here." August sighed. "I know you don't like it, November." he said. "I wish you didn't have any doctor's appointments either." November wrote again. "My mother said I can come back here when we're done." August smiled. "That's nice of her." November nodded. "Let's make breakfast for everyone." August said. "It'll be fun!" November nodded eagerly and they headed into the kitchen.

Mikko comes wandering into the kitchen a little bit later, a blanket still wrapped around him, yawning cutely and rubbing his eyes. His hair was an absolute mess from sleeping.

"Good morning Mikko!" November writes. "We made pancakes! Do you want some?"

Mikko nods and hugs November sleepily for a moment before hugging August. He's really cuddly first thing in the morning.

August gently pats his head. "We made lots!" he said cheerfully. He served him some pancakes. Maggie walked into the kitchen. "Well, thank you for making breakfast!" she says as she kisses him on the cheek. "And good morning November." November wags his tail. "I've checked on Atlas. It seems like he's doing alright. He's still bedridden though." August nodded. "That's good." Dakota also wandered sleepily in. "Morning." he says before laying his head down on the table. Maggie also hugs him. "Did you sleep off all that beer?" she asks. He nodded. "I think so." "I'm going to check on Grey." she says. She goes into the bedroom. "Grey, it's time to wake up..."

Grey mumbles something and stirs but doesn't wake up. Kacey, on the other hand, gets a sniff of the pancakes and his eyes fly open in excitement.

Gently, she shakes him. "I'm not trying to scare you honey, but I don't want you to sleep too long while you have a concussion. You need to wake up." She gently rubs his head, ruffling his hair. "Come on, wake up sweetheart."

Grey finally, groggily opens his eyes. Without thinking, he mumbles "Morning Mom." Kacey looks at him in shock.

Maggie takes it easily. "Good morning Grey." she says warmly. "Would you like to eat breakfast?"

Grey nods and rubs his eyes. He sits up - with Kacey's help- and yawns again. "Yes please."

"Let me help you to the kitchen honey." Gently, she picked him up. "Take it very slow sweetheart." she said. "Don't push yourself, and try not to put any weight on your injured leg." She's very careful not to touch any injured areas and guides him down the hallway gently.

It takes a good eight minutes to get Grey to the kitchen, and by the time it does, Kacey has already gotten there and he and Mikko set a place for him at the table. Grey smiles tiredly when he sees that.

"Good morning Grey, how are you feeling?" August asks cheerfully. He plops down next to Dakota after placing pancakes on every plate. "Don't mind Dakota, he's just grouchy in the mornings." Dakota grunted, drinking coffee. November waved cheerfully at Grey, his plate untouched. "Do you need help, November?" Maggie asked. He nodded, looking a little self-conscious. "Eat up Grey." she said warmly. It was such a warm and cheerful kitchen full of laughter and kindness.

Grey smiles and starts eating, with Kacey watching him attentively. Mikko eats his slowly, clearly doing so to enjoy them. He is also, without it being obvious, watching November. *I wonder...* Grey eats just a little before putting his fork down. Kacey has already finished his.

November's face flushes slightly. Maggie says, "Honey, you're alright." November gives her a tiny nod, but still looks anxious. She feeds him a couple more bites before he shakes his head at more. "I'll have my smoothie now." he wrote. He went over to the fridge and pulled one out. "Okay, dear." After November takes a couple sips of his smoothie, there's a knock on the door. His parents come in. "Hey, Nova, you ready?" his father asked. November shook his head and wrote. "Never." He waved cheerfully goodbye to everyone and wrote, "Goodbye, I'll be back this afternoon! Feel better Grey!"

Grey smiles slightly and waves at November. Mikko pops up and goes to November, giving him a hug. Kacey smiles. "Cya, November!"