Rescue Me (Sidney Crosby)

Chapter Forty Nine

“Oh that’s too cute,” Taylor said as she and I leaned against the doorway and stared into the room that Josh was staying in, to see that he and Sidney were curled up on the bed sick, “There must be something going around, because Dad’s home sick too.”

“Really?” I asked and she nodded her head, “It seems to be just some kind of forty eight hour stomach bug.”

“I know, Dad’s already starting to feel better,” Taylor said and I nodded my head.

It was the middle of the afternoon on our third day in Halifax, and Sidney and Josh have been stuck in this room for almost two days. The TV was on, tuned to the cartoon network channel, but I found that the Josh and Sidney were too tired and sick to stay awake to watch whatever show that was on. I knew that Sidney hadn’t even tried to pay attention to the TV because he was on his stomach with his hands underneath the pillow and his head turned to the side. I didn’t know if Josh was paying attention, but the turned his body, because his head was on the arch of Sidney’s back, with his back to the TV, and his legs hanging off of the Queen size bed.

I walked over towards Josh and moved his legs back onto the bed and turned him so that he was sleeping on the bed properly. I smiled when I saw that he didn’t even wake up to me moving him. I looked on the nightstands on both sides of the bed and saw that there were three empty water bottles on Sidney’s side and two on Josh’s.

“Can you help me fill up their water?” I asked Taylor and she nodded her head and grabbed Sidney’s four bottles, while I grabbed Josh’s.

We walked to the kitchen and poured the filtered water into the bottles and then walked back up to the bedroom and placed the bottles onto the nightstand, ready to be opened when they got thirsty. I ran my finger through Sidney’s hair and bent down to see that his fever was going down and I smiled when I saw that his mouth was open and drool was coming out. I kissed his forehead and then walked onto the other side of the bed to see that Josh was moving. I bent down next to him right when he was sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“Mommy,” he whispered and I placed my hand on his leg.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked him and he looked at me.

“I’m thirsty,” he said and I smiled and grabbed the bottle next to me and handed it to Josh. He took a few sips and then gave the bottle back to me, “Where’s Sasha?”

“She’s downstairs,” I said and I smiled when Josh looked like he was barely awake, “I’ll leave the door opened so that she can come in here.”

“All right,” he said and I laid my hand on his forehead.

“You’re not that warm anymore, how do you feel?”

“A little better,” he mumbled and then I stood up and kissed his head.

“Why don’t you get more sleep, hopefully you’ll feel better in the morning,” I said and Josh nodded his head and looked next to him to see Sidney passed out.

“Daddy’s sick too?”

“Yeah buddy, he’s sick too,” I said and then kissed his head again, “Go back to sleep.”

“Can I watch TV?” he asked and I smiled.

“As long as you stay in here and watch it,” I said and he nodded his head.

“Love you, Mommy,” Josh said as I walked over towards the door.

“Love you too, buddy,” I walked out into the hallway and saw Taylor smiling at me, “What?”

“You’re a good mother,” she said and I smiled towards her.

“Thank you,” I said and the two of us walked downstairs.

“You’re taking good care of Sidney too,” she said and I laughed.

-Sidney-

I woke up to find that I felt a little better, but my whole body felt sore from not moving, or barely moving, for almost two days. I was lying on my stomach and I turned my head the other way to see that Josh was sitting up, leaning against the headboard, and watching TV.

“You’re awake,” he said as he saw my eyes opened.

“How do you feel, little man?” I asked as I pushed myself up and sat on my legs.

“My tummy doesn’t hurt anymore,” he said and I nodded my head.

“Mine doesn’t either,” I smiled tiredly and then stood up out of bed and stretched.

“Mommy and Aunt Taylor are downstairs,” Josh said and I looked at him and then yawned.

“All right,” I said and then walked towards the door.

“Mommy said that we have to stay in here,” Josh said and I looked back at him while standing in the doorway.

‘…What? Am I being confined into an infected room? In my own home...’ I laughed to myself and then sighed and walked back towards the bed. I grabbed a water bottle that was by my bed and smiled when I saw that it was full, ‘…She’s taking care of me…’

“Mommy was in here before to check on us,” Josh said as I sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard.

“Really?” I asked and Josh nodded his head and then grabbed his water bottle and stared to the TV that hung on the wall at the bottom of the bed, “Whatchya watchin’?”

“Ben ten,” he said and I smirked not knowing what that was.

“You’re up,” I heard and looked towards the door to see that Julie was standing there and Sasha was trotting into the room.

“Sasha!” Josh said happily and I smiled when she jumped onto the bed and laid down in front of Josh.

“How are you feeling?” Julie asked as she walked over towards me and sat against the bed.

“Better, I’m still tired,” I said and she nodded her head and then placed her hand on my head.

“You’re still warm,” she said and I nodded my head, liking the feeling of her skin against my own.

I was sad when she pulled away, and I sighed when I watched as she got up and walked into the bathroom that was attached to the room. Julie came out with a wet wash cloth and then sat next to me against and dabbed my forehead.

“You probably feel cold?” she asked and I nodded my head, “You’re not cold though, you’re actually really warm,” she informed and I sighed, “You do still have a fever, but it’s not very high anymore.”

“Josh said that Taylor’s here,” I said and Julie nodded her head.

“She was,” she said and then laid her hand on my knee, “She left right before I came upstairs, she says that your dad is sick too.”

“Really?” I asked and Julie nodded her head, “Must be something going around.”

“Yeah, well, there’s still some of your mom’s soup left, you want to try and eat it?” Julie asked and I nodded my head, “Yeah, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“I am,” I said and Julie leaned over me and patted Josh’s food.

“What about you, Josh? You want something to eat?” she asked and I looked over towards Josh to see him shaking his head ‘no’, “Come on, buddy, you gotta eat something.”

“I’m not hungry,” he said and I sighed.

“Hey little man, you might not feel hungry, but you do have to eat something, your body’s playing tricks on you,” I told him and Josh looked up at me.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it happens when you’re sick,” I explained and he nodded his head.

“So you wanna try to eat a half a bowl of some soup?” Julie asked and Josh nodded his head, “All right, that’s my good little man.”

The three of us got up and walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Julie prepared the soup for Josh and me, and then made herself a peanut butter sandwich and cut an apple. I finished my bowl off and then walked over towards the sink and tiredly placed the bowl in there.

“I’ll get it,” Julie said and I looked at her and shook my head.

“I can do it,” I smiled and she nodded her head. I washed my bowl and then Josh’s when he was finished and then turned around to see that Julie was rubbing her forehead and sighing, “You feeling all right?”

“Yeah, just tired,” Julie said and I walked over towards her and kissed her head.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” I said and she smiled up towards me.

“I’m glad I was able to help,” she said and I grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“You made it a little bit more bearable,” I said and she smiled and laid her head on my chest, “Why don’t you get some sleep, I think I’m well enough to take care of Josh.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you’ve been doing it for two days now, we’re practically better, so it won’t be bad,” I explained and Julie nodded her head and sat up.

“Hope you feel better tomorrow,” she said and then kissed my cheek and walked out of the kitchen, heading upstairs and to the master bedroom where she’s been sleeping.