The teacher's baby

22.

Owen

After many tries with a lot of squirming and kicking from Hayden, I put the thermometer in, and I am finally able to make it stay in place, long enough for it to beep.
And it turns out that he does have a fever.

It's actually not surprising because I heard from the other teachers that many students have been at home lately because of the flu. I have also noticed that by myself these two days, I've been back at work.

I put the thermometer aside and start to tend to Hayden.
" Don't... touch me..." he says with a whimper while tears are forming in his eyes, as I put him in a new diaper.
He even tries to push my hands away just like before, but I do not budge this time either.

When I'm done, the tears that was forming in Hayden's eyes are now falling down his cheeks, and he's sobbing quietly with his face turned away from me.

I feel so bad and can't help but wonder why he's crying.
I mean, it can obviously be because he is unwell or because of the fact that I just put a thermometer up his ass, but it can also be because of something else.

He did say that he didn't want me to touch him. But why?
Can this all be related to the reason why he has barely talked to me since yesterday?
Well, I don't really have time to think about that right now, because I have a sick boy to take care of. But I'll figure it out somehow.
"Hayden..." I say calmly. "You're sick. You have a fever. So, please let me just take care of you for now. Let me help you. Okay?"

I skip putting on his pants back on because he is warm enough as is, and without further ado, I reach down and pick him up gently. This makes him cry even more, but to my surprise, he's not resisting or trying to get away this time. Well, he isn't holding on to me either, for that matter.

I carry Hayden over to the bedroom and sit down on the edge of the bed,with him on my lap.
I hold him close to my chest and feel how my t-shirt gets soaked by his tears.
We stay like this for a while, and in the middle of crying, Hayden suddenly also starts to cough. And in that moment, he takes a firm grip of my t-shirt and holds on to it with his two hands.
"Shh... there, there..." I whisper while patting him gently on the back. "Daddy's got you."

When everything has calmed down, I tuck Hayden into bed and immediately give him some aspirin to bring the fever down and a lot of water for him to drink.
After that, I finally go to the bathroom and do my business.

On my way back, I walk over to the living room and grab Grayson from the couch. When I return to Hayden, I hand him Grayson and make him drink some more. Then I lay down beside him, on the other side of the bed and watch over him for another few minutes until he falls asleep.

The next day, I take the day off to take care of Hayden.
I know that he is an adult who can take care of himself, but I just don't feel safe leaving him alone when he's this sick.
I'm probably not even allowed to take any more days off after this because I've already been gone long enough. So, I'm staying home at least for today.

I have already taken Hayden's temperature, but this time orally. So, I've got that under control for now.
I have also already changed his diaper and refilled his water bottle with fresh, cold water. And now he's sleeping again.

An hour later, I go to check on him and find him awake, cuddling Grayson.
"Hi there..." I say and walk up to him. "How are you feeling now?"
He looks up at me but doesn't say anything.
"Not so good, hm? Are you hungry?"
He looks away from me again and just shakes his head slightly.
"No? Okay. But how about I bring you a glass of apple juice? And a small bowl with some vanilla yogurt. Would that be okay? I know that you don't really have any appetite now that you're sick, but you need to get something inside of your little tummy."

He nods quietly and hugs Grayson tightly.
"Okay, I'll be right back." I say and walk away to the kitchen.

Hayden

Ugh... I hate this. I don't want to be sick. All I do is lay in bed and feel like shit. But there's nothing else to do but to rest and wait until I get better.

The rest of the day continues the same way : I stay in bed while Mr Nelson checks on me every five minutes.
Well, it's probably not that often, but it sure feels like it.

However, I'm still confused about why he stayed at home today. He was supposed to be at work today, wasn't he?
So, why didn't he go?
It can't be just because I'm sick, right?
He can't have possibly missed work just to take care of me. No, that can't be...
That would be so weird if that was the case. I mean, what normal person does that?
Not that he is a normal person,he is a weirdo. But still...