“I know. Let’s get home.”
I grab Theo’s hoodie, happy to see he wears it every day, and get him out the door and to my apartment. Pressed close to my side, Theo stays right where I put him, all the way to my door. I’m doing most of the walking for both of us, but he remains upright.
When we enter the condo, he blinks and moves toward Mulder, but I redirect him to my bathroom. “You are going to take a bath, sweetheart. Hydrate. Mulder will meet you in bed.”
Theo nods, body swaying with the effort, before waiting obediently on the wide edge of my whirlpool tub. Once the water is right, I help him stand and strip, uninterested in his body. This nakedness isn’t for me. He’s sick, and caring for him is satisfying in a whole other way.
“What’s this?” My fingers trail over healing bruises on his side. Looking closer, I see other bruises on his neck.
Theo sighs. “Fucking Nico.”
“Who’s—” I start to demand, forgetting myself, until Theo, still spaced out, leans forward with a soft kiss on my lips. It lights me up even though this is caregiving, not sexy times. Forehead wrinkling, he sways again when he pulls back. His eyes blink quick with confusion.
“Oh, I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t want to get you sick.”
“No worries there, sweetness. I’ll be fine.” I pick him up and gently lower him in the warm water, adding a bath salt for muscle relaxation I picked up at the local farmer’s market. It works wonders after yoga, so maybe it will do the trick. As much as I want to demand answers about the bruises, that is not my place here. Not until Theo is thinking clearly. And then I will have questions.
Jesus, he’s small. Dwarfed completely by the bathtub.
Needs some looking after, my grandmother would have said.
“I’m going to get you some water to drink, Theo. You okay for a minute? I’ll be able to hear you.”
Theo nods, slumped to the side of the tub, like no part of him doesn’t hurt. I leave the door open. Before I’m down the hall to the kitchen, I have Perrin on the phone.
My brother-in-law answers with ski invitations in lieu of a hello. “Hey, Matt, you up for hitting the slopes in the morning? Should be decent.”
“Probably not. I have Theo here at the condo—” I get cut off with a bawdy laugh that I cut off in turn, “—because he issick. Feels hot to the touch, pale as fuck, not steady on his feet. It came on fast in the middle of his shift. You got any ideas?”
Perrin isn’t a medical doctor, but he is a nurse anesthetist, our go-to for anything healthcare related. “Let me swing by, yeah? I’m picking up dinner for me and Jack, so I can be there in ten to fifteen. Some rough stuff going around.”
“You know the code.”
Grabbing the water, I make my way back to Theo, who is unsteady even as he sits in the tub. I take his former place on the wide edge, turning to him, and make him drink about half of the water.
Then the boy rests his head on my thigh. My chest feels tight at the sight of his bowed head leaned against me. I trail my hands through his hair and try to soothe with words and touch.
Gently, I reach for a fluffy washcloth and some aromatic soap and very softly finish cleaning him up. If he’s anything like me, smelling like the kitchen after working is no fun. Not to mention how hot a kitchen can get. I can’t relax until I shower. Using the now-empty water glass, I even wash his hair, but Theo is fading fast. I don’t want him quite so naked and vulnerable once Perrin arrives. So I whisper promises of more baths when he feels better and ease him up, dry and into my clothes in no time at all.
“Theo.” I prop him up on some pillows in my bed. “Perrin’s going to come by to see if he has a recommendation for what germs you might have caught, okay? I’m going to get you some more water.”
“Not sick. Just need a minute.” He shuffles down the pillows. The bath took whatever energy he had left.
My shirt could wrap around him more than twice, and my boxers are barely able to get purchase on his slim hips, but it will do for Perrin coming by. As he shivers, I add a blanket to the bed linens.
Perrin finds me feeding Mulder, who might not leave the side of her favorite person, but at least will have a full bowl if she does. I wave him back to the bedroom. While I wait for his verdict, I do a few household tasks before Perrin rejoins me. “That was fast.”
At my alarm, Perrin holds up a hand. “I’m going to guess he is already back asleep. I gave him something to help the discomfort so it shouldn’t take long.”
“What’s going on with him?”
Perrin drums his fingers on the counter, crossing his arms and leaning on his elbows. “The easy version is Theo has the flu. A bad strain’s been going around Bear Valley for a while. More than likely, he felt a little under the weather, and then it hit all at once. That’s what it is doing to most people.”
“And that needs what? Rest? Fluids?”
“All of that. Plus some meds I called for.”
“So, what’s the non-easy version?” I lean back against my counter.
