A Tall and Small Collection | S2

Sick Day

Rey had been home in the confines of the Borrower comforts for the past few days. He felt a little achy, had a slight cough, and was using it as a perfect excuse to work on his pesky projects. Hero had also been busy, so hanging out with him hadn't happened in about a week. Plus, with everything that happened recently with him and with Sam...

Rey had to take a moment to make sure he was ready for anything his comrade had to throw at him. This was why Rey decided to take a couple of days and get over his cold.

Today, Rey felt a little better, so Soren decided to go out and see who he called "a friend of his." Most likely it was Bay.

Rey noticed that it was the exact same language he used when he met Lucy, so Rey knew something was going on. It wasn't really his business, but there was something about the way Soren was seeing whoever it was. For one thing, it was definitely becoming more frequent.

Then again, Soren deserved some time to enjoy life. He had a lot of bad things happen, and he deserved to be happy.

Rey had his own thoughts about what – or, rather, who – could make Soren happy but kept those thoughts to himself.

Those thoughts were far from his mind today however as he rushed through the walls. He had shuffled out of his room for a drink of water when he noticed Mayzie laying down in the living room on the floor, bunny off to the side. Her cheeks were a bright rosy red and she was coughing.

She was fine this morning. She didn't have a lot for breakfast, but she did that from time to time. She had a little cough like Rey and Dorian, but it hadn't gotten this bad. Was it going to get this bad? Rey didn't want to find out.

He grabbed a glass of water and brought it over to Mayzie, hoping he could get her to drink a little something; however, when he rushed over and touched her face, he felt how his little niece was burning up. She whimpered and squirmed at the brush of his fingers. Rey sat Mayzie up and pressed the cup to her lips.

"Here, Mayzie. Take a sip. Want a drink?" asked Rey. Mayzie's eyes fluttered open, and she took a few sips. Rey felt elated. Being sick meant you needed liquids, and if she was drinking he knew what to do. Right?

His victory, sadly, was short lived. She looked over at him sleepily, a glaze over her eyes and snot dripping from her nose. In an instant, she leaned over and lurched, upchucking what little bit she had from breakfast as well as the water she just took.

Mayzie coughed and was only awake for a few seconds after getting sick down her front before she fell unconscious, pulled back into a sickened slumber. This was bad.

Rey had seen something like this before. They all had it when...

No.

A chill ran down his spine as memories were pulled to the forefront of his mind. They didn't know what to do before, but things were different now. Trembling, he pulled Mayzie up into her backpack and wrestled it onto his back before heading as fast as he could through the walls to the kitchen.

Dorian wasn't back yet, so he had to be down with Ashlynn, right?

Another round of coughs made Rey move faster, leaping over a couple of beams when he knew he should have been more cautious.

"Hang on Mayzie. You're going to be fine," he said over and over, as if saying it would make it true. He rounded the corner and saw the secure line. Perfect! He slid down the secure line and landed on the ledge before bursting through the electrical cover to the countertop.

He saw Dorian's practice bag and the electronic device, but he wasn't on the counter. His mind began to panic. Dorian wasn't there. Why wasn't he there? He should be practicing music. The teen's eyes darted off to the clock on the oven. Ashlynn should be home now, right?