The Hardest Part Is Letting Go Of Your Dreams

Frank comes over and lays his hand on my forehead and I lean into it, the cold feeling so good. "You have a pretty high fever babe, maybe I should take you and Ruby to the doctor" he suggests but I just shake my head. "We'll be ok." As I say this Ruby stirs and opens her eyes, letting out a terrible sounding cough. "Daddy" she croaks out and snuggles over into my side. I pull her over onto my lap and she lays back against my chest as I sit against the headboard, my hand gently rubbing her back. "You ok baby girl?" I whisper and she shakes her head and says "Sick daddy." " I know baby daddy's sick too." She pulls back and looks at me wide eyed before leaning in and giving me a kiss. When she pulls away I lean in and peck her nose making her giggle which turns into another cough before she slumps back into my chest. "Can I get you guys anything?" Frank asks and I look down at Ruby. "You want some juice baby?" She shakes her head and I say "I know, how about some ice cream?" She perks up and that and nods her head and I tell Frank there's some ice cream jn the freezer. When he comes back with a small scoop in a bowl he also brings Ruby more medicine. She shakes her head and I say "Ruby you need to take it, it will make you feel better." It doesn't work and she still shakes her head so I say "Ok no medicine no ice cream" and that's what gets her, she grabs the cup and drinks all the medicine down before handing it back to Frank and I arrange her so she's sitting back against the pillows next to me before he hands her the ice cream. She starts eating and Frank leaves the room, coming back a minute later with a cup of coffee and some cold and flu tablets, handing them to me and I take them gratefully, swallowing the pills before sitting the cup on the bedside table. I look over to Ruby and say "Good ice cream baby?" And she nods before scooping some up and offering it to me. "No thanks Rubes, you eat it." When she's done I finish the last sip of my coffee and Frank takes the dirty dishes out. While he's gone I pull Ruby back into my arms, laying down and pulling the blankets up over us as she snuggles into my chest for warmth. I kiss the top of her head as we settle down and when Frank comes back he sits on the side of the bed and softly sings to us, both of us drifting back to sleep.

When I wake up again Ruby is laying in bed beside me, her pyjamas changed and her hair a little damp, playing with Billy. "Hey baby girl" I croak out and she looks over at me and smiles, looking better already. A few minutes go by and Frank doesn't come in so I say "Where's daddy Rubes?" "He went to work" she tells me and I nod, having no idea what time it is or how long I've slept for. "Did daddy give you a bath?" I ask and she nods and giggles as she says "I splashed him." I chuckle before it turns into a cough and I say "That's not being a good girl." "He splashed too daddy" she tells me, trying to defend herself. I shake my head and smile before leaning over and pecking the top of her head. "You hungry?" I ask and she nods so I drag myself out of bed, leaning down and picking her up before walking out into the kitchen. I look through the fridge and the cupboard before we decide on chicken noodle soup. While I'm cooking Ruby sits at the table with Billy watching and once it's done I let it cool down before pouring it into two bowls and joining her at the table. Once we're done I go and grab the blanket off the bed before taking Ruby into the living room and I ask her what movie she wants to watch. "Nemo" she tells me and I put it on before laying on the couch and pulling her up, laying her face down on my chest and wrapping the blanket around us. I watch the movie until I hear her breathing even out and before long my eyes droop shut and I fall asleep too. I wake up to a loud bang and when I open my eyes Frank is coming into the room, still in his work uniform and the DVD menu is playing on the tv. "Hey sleepy head" Frank whispers and I feel my stomach churn, Ruby still asleep ontop of me. I quickly get up, handing her to Frank before running from the room, barely making it to the toilet before I empty the contents of my stomach, dropping to my knees and feeling dizzy. A moment later Frank comes running in and kneels beside me, rubbing my back and holding back my hair. Once I'm done I stand on shaky legs and stumble over to the sink to wash my mouth out before I stumble back to the bedroom and collapse on the bed, closing my eyes and drifting back into unconsciousness.

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