Chapter Eight - Care Bear

"You sure you're going to be okay?" I help grandma out of the car before grabbing her things from the back.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm not that old yet!" She huffs which makes me smile. "It's only a few days and I'll be fine. We'll mostly be relaxing and going out to eat...things like that."

"Alright then, have fun! I love you." I hug her before getting into my car.

"I love you too and you girls take care. I'll be back on the weekend." She smiles and waves before walking towards the house.

I wait until she's inside before driving off. I had taken a day off today to drive her up to Houston where she's visiting her friends. They haven't seen each other in months so they planned to meet up in Houston and spend a few days together.

When I'm halfway out of the city I get a call from the school. Stopping at a red light I answer it quickly and realize it's the secretary from Aria's school.

"Miss Davidson, Aria isn't feeling well and vomited twice today. Can you collect her?"

My eyes widen and my heart starts to race as I think about my poor girl. "Oh god...uh I'm on my way back from Houston right now. Can I call you in a few minutes please so that I can arrange for someone to pick her up?"

"Of course, I'll talk to you in a bit. We'll take care of Aria, don't worry." The secretary reassures and I thank her gratefully before hanging up.

A loud horn makes me jump out of my skin and I make a noise of frustration when I see why. Quickly driving past the green light, I continue the journey back home. I'll call Carly and see if she's free, I think to myself. Most of the time either me or her pick the children up so it wouldn't be weird asking her either.

Just then my phone rings and I pick it up hastily without looking. My voice comes out panicked. "Hello?"

"What's wrong?" Theo's voice filters through and I calm down slightly.

"I-It's Aria. She's sick and throwing up at school but I'm in Houston. I had to drive my grandmother up and now I can't get back in time for Aria –"

"Sunshine, relax. Breathe okay? I'll get Aria from school and take care of her." He soothes and I do as he says. "Do you have a spare key anywhere outside the house or will I take her to the ranch?"

"Yeah, there's a birdhouse in the tree by the gate to the back garden. The spare key is in there. I'm so sorry Theo, I'll try to get home as quickly as I can." I get into my car and put my seat belt on hurriedly.

"Don't rush okay? I don't want anything happening to you. Aria's going to be just fine." He replies and I can hear him getting into his car too. "I'll bring my ID, just let the school know okay?"

"Okay, I'll ask one of my friends to swing by too. I'll talk to you later, thanks again Theo."

"Anything for you, sunshine. See you later." I can almost hear the smile in his voice before we hang up.

Feeling more relieved now I call the school to inform them that Theo will be picking Aria up. I describe him to them and tell them he's bringing an ID. I ask if I can talk to Aria and they give the phone to her. Hearing her voice only makes me wish I could be with her right now.

"Mum, are you coming?"

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm still in Houston after dropping grandma off. Theo will be picking you up though okay? He'll take you home and take care of you until I'm back." I try to reassure her that she's in good hands. "I'll try and see if Carly is free. I'll be back in about three hours, I promise. I'm so sorry Ari."

"It's okay." She replies softly before answering my questions on what happened.

Turns out she woke up feeling a bit off this morning but thought nothing of it. When she got to school she started feeling worse and finally vomited after lunch. I soothe her as best as I can through the phone before she tells me Theo has arrived.

"Okay I'll be home soon. I love you Aria."

"Love you too mum, bye." She passes the phone to Theo who tells me he's got her.

"Don't worry about a thing, just drive safely."

"I will, thank you." I reply before we bid goodbye.

The last thing I hear is little titbits of conversation between him and Aria as they talk about going home. I call Carly and luckily she's working from home today so she reassures me that she'll head to my house right away. I concentrate on driving once more with the hope that her health doesn't worsen by the time I get back.

***

I unlock the door and walk inside my home to the sound of the television. Carly texted me five minutes ago that she's leaving to pick up her children from school. She had stayed the entire time and helped Theo to which I was grateful for. I owe her big time.

Aria's favorite Disney movie is playing and I step in further to see her cuddled up to Theo on the couch. Both are fast asleep with a blanket draped over them. Theo has one arm around her to stop her from falling off and the other hangs over the arm rest. My heart feels like it's going to burst from joy over how cute they look and, unable to help myself, I snap a quick picture.

I see some medications on the coffee table along with a glass of water, soup, sandwiches, and Aria's favorite candy which I can only assume were used to bribe her to take the medication. Although Theo confirmed what medication she can take with me earlier I still double check what he's given her to make sure they're okay before cleaning up quietly. But moments later I hear her low groan from the kitchen. She's rubbing her eye and holding her stomach when I stop before her.

"Hey baby. Bathroom?"

She nods quickly and I kiss her forehead. Holding a finger to my lips I point at Theo before helping her off the couch. I hurriedly make my way to the bathroom just in time for her to throw up. I rub her back as she whimpers and wish I could take it all away.

"Come on, let's brush your mouth." I murmur as I guide her to the sink.

After helping her clean her mouth I get her into bed. She sneezes a few times as she gets in with a frustrated huff. I hug her to me and kiss her cheek before getting her to lay down. She cuddles up to me and I smile as I run my fingers through her hair.

"Does anything hurt Ari?" I ask as I lay down beside her.

"Throat." She mumbles as she slings an arm over my waist. "Bear made me drink a bad medicine. I don't like it."

"You need it to get better sweetheart. Did Theo take you to the doctor too?"

She nods as I start rubbing her back again. "The doctor said to Bear that I'm sick. He said I can stay at home for as long as I want to."

I bite my lip to stifle my smile. "Did he now?"

"Yeah, he's super smart." She replies sleepily and I shake my head at her.

"Alright, why don't you get some rest and I'll wake you up for dinner later."

"But when I eat it doesn't stay in my tummy. I don't want to eat!" She whines and I sigh in response.

"Baby, you need to eat a little bit. I'll make something light for you."

She grumbles but thankfully settles down. I comfort her as she drifts off to sleep and soon enough her light snores fill the room. As I stare at her I frown at her pale skin and flushed cheeks. My heart aches as I think about how terrible she must be feeling. I hope that she'll get better soon because I feel nothing but helplessness.

After ten more minutes with her I slowly leave the bed and tuck her in. Pressing a kiss to her forehead I smile softly when her nose twitches and she settles back down again with an incoherent mumble.

I freshen up in the bathroom and wash my face before changing into comfortable clothing. I go back downstairs and take a seat on the couch by Theo where Aria previously lay. I can't help but to admire his features. His long dark lashes make me envious as they hover above his sun kissed skin.

I run my fingers through his soft strands and eventually hear him groan huskily. Stopping for fear of having ruined his sleep I begin to pull my arm back only for him to catch my wrist. Stifling a gasp, I meet his sleepy gaze and he smiles adorably while rubbing his eye.

"Hi." I whisper and feeling a tad bit embarrassed for being caught.

"Hi." He chuckles and the huskiness of his laugh and voice makes me swoon.

"Thank you for taking care of Aria. I owe you one." I press a kiss to the inside of his wrist and watch the green in his eyes darken slightly.

He pushes himself up before grasping my chin in one hand and pressing his lips to mine. I melt against him but he's there to gather me up in his strong yet comforting embrace. The kiss is sweet and slow as if we don't have a care in the world. I almost pout when we run out of air and pull away.

"Now you don't."

It takes a few seconds for my dreamy self to register his words before I chuckle.

"Where's bug?"

"Bug?" I ask in confusion.

"Sorry...Aria." He smiles sheepishly as he tries to straighten his hair. "I started joking around about her tummy bug and it just stuck."

"She woke up and had to go the bathroom. I put her to bed though and thankfully she's fallen asleep again." I explain before sighing worriedly.

"The doctor said it's just a common tummy bug and that she'll be fine in a few days." He hugs me to him and I don't resist in leaning against him. "I can go get some more soup and things if you need?"

"No, I'll make some more at home. Thank you though, you've done so much."

"Char –"

"Sorry, I can't help it." I look up at him with a sheepish smile.

"I'll leave you to be with Aria okay?" He murmurs and I nod before pulling away. "Call me if you need me though."

"I will." I grasp his shoulder before pecking his cheek.

He grins boyishly before cupping my face and kissing me fiercely. I walk him to the door after and lean against the frame as he gets into his car. He blows me a cheeky kiss and I shake my head at his antics before watching him drive off.

I spend the rest of the evening making more soup and some dinner that Aria can try. She eventually wakes up once I've finished and cuddles up to me on the couch. I smile softly and make sure the blanket is tucked in around her before grabbing the bowl of soup.

"Do you want to try some? Theo told me you couldn't have much earlier." I bring the spoon to her lips and she hesitantly drinks it. "Okay?"

"I think so." She nods and sits up slightly. "More please."

"Sure." I feed her a few more spoonful's before she shakes her head.

She sighs before cuddling up to me again. We watch the movie in silence with me stroking her hair or rubbing her back just to comfort her. A few minutes pass by before she giggles to herself.

"What's funny?"

She points to the commercial of the care bears. "Theo was like a care bear today."

We stare at the ad playing before looking at each other and bursting into a fit of laughter. She then starts singing the Barbie song softly which makes us laugh even harder. I sigh contently and tuck her into my side as the movie begins playing again. It's relieving to see that she's feeling better enough to joke around.

But that relief is short-lived when a few minutes later she groans in discomfort.

"Bathroom!"

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