Aricka was asleep, but Jack hadn't left her side since noon. Roman walks in and hands him a sandwich. "Thanks," he whispers. Roman nods and sits on the couch. Jack had gotten to know her family pretty well over the past few weeks, and he determined he liked Roman and Logan the best. It was clear to see the six brothers rubbed off on her, but he could see the Roman and Logan sides of her the clearest.
"She slept this whole time?" Roman asks. Jack nods and rubs Aricka's knuckles with his thumb.
"Is it going to be like this often?" he asks. Roman nods his head while taking a drink of water.
"Before she came to school she was worse. She'd either be throwing up or sleeping. At least now she can eat." Aricka stirs, and opens her eyes, blinking in the light. Wordlessly, Roman hands her her glasses, and she puts them on. "Morning Sleeping Beauty."
"Hey Ro," she says. "How long did I sleep?"
"About an hour," he answers. She nods. Patton, Logan, Thomas, and Virgil walk in. Jack moves out of the way, and watches the following interaction:
Patton smoothes Aricka's hair out of her face, and asks, "How're you feeling?"
"I'm feeling okay," she replies. Logan hands her a stuffed animal:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She cuddles the bear, which was almost bigger than her, and closes her eyes. "Thanks, Lolo," she murmurs. Thomas leans down and kisses her cheek.
"Did you sleep well?" he asks, and she slips her hand in his.
"I did. A little." Virgil finally hands her something:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She gasps, "My TARDIS beanie! You remembered to bring it! Thanks, Verge." that made him smile, and she puts the beanie on. "Jack-where's Jack?" she says suddenly, and he walks forward.
"I'm still here," he says. She smiles, relief filling her face.
"Good."
"Want me to stay with you?" he asks as her "brothers" all file out. She nods.
"Cuddle with me?" Jack nods, and carefully climbs in and wraps his arms around her. Aricka's head comes to rest on his shoulder, and soon they're both asleep.
