Our Boys

The Temperature

A few hours later...

Simon came in at lunch to find his family lounging on the couch, quietly watching TV. Vik softly snored from within JJ's arms.

He kneeled down next to Josh, laying a hand on the pre-teen's forehead. "How you feeling today? Fever seems down."

Josh swatted away the unwelcome hand. "Mm fine."

Simon merely raised an eyebrow at his son.

"Well, better," Josh admitted. "Still a bit stuffy, but my chest isn't all heavy like it was and my head isn't pounding anymore."

Simon gave a nod. "Good. You're sounding lots better, too. Throat feel better?"

"Yeah. The sweets are actually helping now. Plus, since I'm not coughing so much, it isn't getting irritated all the time."

"So you'll be ok to go back to school on Monday?" he questioned, knowing Josh would be honest.

Josh thought about it for a minute, and then gave a nod. "Yeah, probably. 'Long as my cough doesn't come back."

"Good. We don't want you falling behind too much, especially so close to Christmas break." JJ murmured.

Simon ruffled Josh's hair affectionately. "So, what do you feel up to for lunch? Bet you're getting a bit tired of soup."

Soup, scrambled eggs, and oatmeal had been pretty much the only things Josh's sore throat could tolerate for the past week. More often than not, he didn't feel up to eating at all.

"Macaroni and cheese?" Josh suggested with a hopeful look.

Simon smiled. "I think I can manage that. Think Vik can handle that?" he asked his partner.

JJ looked down at Vik, gauging the extent of his illness. "Well, he hasn't shown any signs of a sore throat yet. I think he can still cope."

That decided, Simon went into the kitchen to make lunch for everyone.

By Monday, Josh was back in school but Vik was no better. In fact, he seemed to be getting worse. He rattling cough had settled deep into his chest and his fever was climbing, causing JJ and Simon to worry. They did their best to hide their fear from the other boys, but the tension in the house was palpable.

Late Tuesday night, all the boys were in bed and Simon and JJ were on their way. As they were passing Vik's room, JJ decided to check on him one last time. Softly, he opened the door and crept over to the sleeping child. When he neared the bed, he frowned at what he heard. It sounded as if the child had to fight for every breath he took and the crackle of phlegm was obvious. In the dim light streaming in from the hall, JJ could see the locks on the small head were damp with sweat. Grabbing the ear thermometer from off the nightstand, JJ took the child's temperature and his stomach dropped when he saw the number, forty degrees celsius. Immediately, he gathered the sleeping boy into his arms and rushed into the master bedroom where Simon was just starting to prepare for bed.

"Si, I think we need to go to the hospital," JJ said seriously.

Simon spun around, a cold chill descending upon him. "What's wrong?"

"His temp's up, Simon. forty degrees, and I don't like the sound of his breathing."

Simon swallowed in fear as he pulled on his shirt again. "Okay, okay. Um, you go get him bundled up, I'll go wake up Tobi and tell him where we're going. He can get the kids off to school in the morning if need be."

"Right." JJ nodded, and rushed downstairs.

Simon took the stairs to Tobi's attic bedroom - one he had recently moved into to get more space- taking them two at a time and hurriedly shook awake his eldest.

"What's going on?" Tobi sleepily questioned.

"Vik's really sick. JJ and I are taking him to the emergency room. We might need you to get yourself and the boys to school tomorrow. Can you handle that?"

Tobi was now wide awake. "Yeah, of course I can. You guys don't worry about anything but Vik."

"Thanks Tobi, you're a good man," Simon stated with pride, warmly squeezing his son's shoulder before rushing down the two flights of stairs.

By the time Simon made it back downstairs, JJ had Vik all bundled up and his own coat on. Despite all the activity around him, Vik was still soundly asleep. The large man threw his husband his winter coat and rushed out to the family's car to strap their son into his car seat.

Four hours later, the youngster was admitted to the pediatric ward of the hospital with pneumonia and placed on IV antibiotics. He slept fitfully in the small bed while his terrified parents looked on from a distance.

Deji was called the next morning and asked to stay with the other four boys. It looked like Vik wasn't going to be able to leave any time soon...

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