1. Sick Day

~Leo

I felt her little hand pulling on my jeans before I heard her voice.

"Daddy?"

I smiled, taking my eyes away from the meal I was cooking to look at my daughter standing next to me. "Yes, sweetheart?"

Her lips formed into a wide smile as she looked up at me, letting out a giggle. Then suddenly, her skin looked like it started decaying, right in front of my eyes. She was still smiling as chunks of her face fell to the floor.

I bolted upright in bed, panting to try to slow my rapid heartbeat. Josh was immediately sitting up next to me, grabbing hold of my hand.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, so as to not wake up Kyle or Jackson, who were asleep on either side of us.

"Do you remember those nightmares I used to have?" He nodded. "I just had another one. Almost the same, but she was decaying, not a demonic being."

"But it's been years. Since before-"

"Before they were born, I know."

Josh leaned his head against my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around him. We stayed like that for a few minutes, not saying a word, as the rising sun slowly lit up the room.

Finally, I let out a sigh. "I gotta get up. You should go back to sleep."

Josh shook his head. "You know I won't be able to."

I smiled as I kissed his forehead. "It was worth a shot."

He started climbing out of the bed. "I'll start some coffee for you, alright?" he asked, pulling on his pants.

I nodded, following him out of the room, except I went into the bathroom. I quickly hopped into the shower to get ready for the day.

When I finished, I started heading downstairs, where I could smell the coffee Josh had started. Stopped by the kids' room, I peered in.

In the bed closest to the door was Logan, sleeping peacefully. He's always been a good sleeper, even as an infant. His twin sister, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. I looked over towards Ashley's bed and saw that it was empty.

I quickly made my way downstairs, hoping she was there with Josh. It wouldn't be the first time that she had gotten up and wandered around without telling any of us that she was up. I couldn't help but think of what kind of situation she could have gotten herself into if she wasn't with Josh.

When I got to the kitchen, however, I saw Ashley sitting in her chair at the table, a bowl of Cheerios in front of her. I breathed a sigh of relief, trying not to let the image of her from my nightmare surface. "Oh, thank god."

She looked up at me, a huge smile on her face. "Hi Daddy!"

I walked over and kissed the top of her head, taking the mug out of Josh's offering hand. "Morning, sweetheart." I turned to Josh and lowered my voice. "Was she up or did she come down with you?"

He shook his head. "You worry too much."

I took a sip of my coffee, sitting down at the table. "So maybe I do. But it's not without reason." A couple weeks ago, we actually found her outside in the backyard. None of us know how she even managed to get out of the house. Granted, she was able to leave the house when the doors were unlocked for a couple years now, but she hadn't before managed unlocking them. It was a terrifying few minutes when we couldn't find her at first.

He nodded his head, knowing exactly what I was referring to, but didn't give me an answer, which probably meant she was already down here. "Do you want some eggs or something? I'll make you breakfast."

I shook my head. "I'm just going grab something quick on my way out. I have to go in early today. You know, beginning of season stuff." This day had been planned for a couple weeks now, and, even though it was raining today, there was no getting out of it.

He was about to say something when we heard a tiny cry from upstairs. Logan. He didn't like waking up alone.

"I'll go get him," Josh said before I could offer.

He walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Ashley. She was giving me a questioning look. "What's up, my pretty girl?" I asked, moving to the chair closest to her.

"Where Daddy go?"

I smiled. "He went to go get your brother."

"No," she said with a pout that look so similar to Josh's that it was hard to believe they didn't actually have the same blood. "No Logan."

"Why not?"

"'Cause he mean."

I let out a short laugh. If any of them was mean, it was Ashley. "He's mean? Really? What did he do?"

"He mean."

I shook my head. I didn't know why she refused to speak full sentences. Sometimes she would, so we figured out that she was probably just doing it for attention from us. Our plan of action: stop pointing it out and maybe she'll start always using proper sentences. There wasn't much else we could do with her.

"Logan no let me sleep last night. He cough."

That didn't sound good. He wasn't coughing last night when we put them to bed. "He was coughing? Why didn't you come and get us? We could have given him something to make him stop so that you could both get some sleep."

Ashley shrugged, sticking a large spoonful of her cereal into her mouth. "You all sleeping."

I sighed as I watched a few half chewed Cheerios fell onto her place mat. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Ash. But you can always wake us up, especially if you or your brother is sick, okay? That's what we're here for. To take care of you."

"Daddy say that too."

"Yup. Your daddy is a very smart man. So listen to him, alright?"

Just then, Josh walked into the kitchen, holding onto Logan. "Are you talking about yourself again, Lee?"

I laughed, getting up from my seat to take Logan out of his hands. That boy was getting just a bit too big for Josh to carry, but I still had no problem with him. "Actually, I was talking about you, my love. How is he?"

Josh shrugged as Logan started coughing. Definitely didn't sound too good. "Slight fever, along with that cough," Josh said once Logan had quieted down again. "He's not going to school, so I'm going to ask if Kyle can take off to watch him, 'cause I know Jay has that meeting and I can't leave Debby by herself today. Um, do you want to just sit him down at the table? He needs to eat and I'll grab the meds."

Setting Logan down, I asked Josh, "Are they up yet?"

He placed a bowl of cereal and some children's cough syrup in front of Logan, who made a face at them. "I heard the alarm going off, but probably not, knowing them."

I nodded. "I'm going to get them up 'cause I'm leaving in..." I checked the clock. "Five minutes. And they need to get their butts out of bed to help you."

Kissing the foreheads of all three of them, one definitely warmer than usual, I headed upstairs to find my other husbands. Walking into the bedroom, I watched them for a moment. Kyle had his head on Jackson's shoulder, and they were both wrapped in each other's arms. They looked adorable like that. Too bad I needed to get them up.

"Wake up, lazybones!"

Kyle let out a groan before sitting up, Jackson sitting up a moment later, glaring at me. "Why do you have to be so cheerful right now?" Jay asked.

I smiled. "'Cause it's time to get up, my loves. Also, we may or may not have a sick child downstairs, so have fun with him. I have to be at work early today, so you guys need to get downstairs and help Josh. I'll see you both tonight. Love you!"

I didn't wait for a response, turning and making my way back down the hallway. I only made it halfway when I heard little feet running up the stairs.

Ashley, as soon as she made it to the top of the stairs, ran right for me. I scooped her up and spun her around, lifting her over my head, making her burst into a fit of giggles.

"Where are you running off to so quickly, Ash?" I asked, setting her back down.

"Daddy told me to wake up Daddies."

I laughed. "You go do that. And have fun at school, okay kiddo?" Ruffling her hair, I bent over and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you tonight."

~Kyle

I was leaning against the kitchen counter with a mug of hot coffee in my hand when I heard Josh's voice from the hallway. "Ashley! Come on!" Moments later, I heard the sound of the hall closet door closing and the patter of small footsteps running down the hallway upstairs.

Josh walked into the kitchen, draping Ashley's pink raincoat over the back of a chair, then proceeding to put his own on.

"All set?" I asked him before taking a sip of my coffee.

"Yeah. Just waiting on Ash." He grabbed his keys off the hook by the side door. "You sure you're going to be alright watching Logan today?"

"Of course. He's the easy one. We'll be fine. And I'm sure he'll be up and playing again by this afternoon."

He smiled, taking the two steps to close the distance between us. I placed my mug on the counter behind me just in time for him to place a kiss on my lips.

"Sorry for just leaving you like this," he said, backing away slightly. "It's just that-"

"I know," I said, cutting him off. "You've got your patients to take care of. You take care of them, and I'll take care of Logan."

"I love you," he whispered, giving me one last quick kiss as Ashley entered the room. She was dragging her pink Barbie backpack behind her, refusing to wear it like it was meant to.

"Come on, Ash," Josh said, handing her the small jacket. "Put this on, put your backpack on, and say goodbye to your father."

She reluctantly put on both her jacket and backpack before looking at up me. "Bye Daddy!" she said with a smile.

I smiled back at her. "Bye sweetheart. Have fun at school." Then, just before the two of them left, I said, "I love you both."

After finishing my coffee, I started heading upstairs to check on Logan, who had gone back to bed, and find out where Jackson had ended up, because I'm pretty certain he hadn't come down here yet. But, as it turns out, I didn't have to go far. I ran into him at the bottom of the stairs, carrying down Logan.

"I thought he was going back to sleep," I said before giving Jay a quick kiss.

"He wanted to come down for milk."

I smiled, following him back into the kitchen. "Of course." Logan loved his milk, and when he didn't want some with the three bites of cereal he had, that's when we knew he was definitely sick.

"Feeling any better, buddy?" I asked him as I handed him a cup with milk in it.

To answer me, he coughed a couple times, but it did sound better than when he first got up.

"Hey," Jackson said, putting his hand on my waist. "I've gotta head out."

I turned to give him a goodbye kiss. "Love you. I'll see you tonight."

"Actually, I'm not staying late. I'll be able to pick up Ash if you want me to. I'll be near the school around the time it lets out."

I smiled. "You're amazing. Thanks."

Jackson placed a kiss to Logan's head. "Feel better, alright buddy?"

Logan nodded his head, staring down into the cup that he hadn't yet taken a sip from. I placed a hand on his head as I gave Jay one last kiss before he headed out. It was finally just the two of us.

"Daddy?" Logan asked me, a few minutes later.

I placed the bowl I was washing back into the sink and faced him. "What's up?"

"Can I watch cartoons?"

"Of course." I eyed the cup that was still mostly full sitting on the table. "Are you done with your milk or are you going to keep drinking it?"

"Keep drinking."

"Okay." I nodded, thinking. "You know what? I'll grab a lid and a straw for you, that way you won't spill it on the couch."

Once the cup had been spill-proofed, with the green straw, not the yellow one, according to Logan's instructions, I set him up on the couch with his Lion King blanket and the TV switched onto some cartoon that I knew he liked.

He was still in that position an hour later, although he had finally finished the cup of milk about twenty minutes prior.

"Daddy? I'm gonna be sick."

Immediately, I was on my feet and scooping him up and rushing to the nearest bathroom. I made it just in time for Logan to throw up into the toilet, thankfully not getting any on him or the surrounding area.

I rubbed his back gently until he was done. "Are you going to throw up again?" I asked. He shook his head. "Alright. Stay right here. I'm going to get you some water."

While I was in the kitchen, I also grabbed my phone. Opening the messaging app as the cup filled up, I typed out in our group chat: Logan update: we've got vomit.

Once there was enough water, I walked back to the bathroom to find Logan slumped against the wall, his Lion King blanket that he had brought with him pulled up to his chin. "Here you go, buddy," I said, handing him the cup. He grab it with both hands and took a small sip. "How are you feeling?"

"Icky." He took another sip. "Daddy, I don't like being sick."

Kneeling down in front of him, I said, "I know, buddy. I don't think anyone likes being sick. But that's why we have people like your daddy, who are doctors to look after the people that are sick."

"Then why isn't he with me?"

"He needed to be in work today, so that's why you're stuck with me. But I know a thing or two about making you feel better."

There was a hint of a smile on his face. "What?"

"We can go back into the living room and I'll let you put on whatever movie you want to watch."

"Simba?"

I laughed, having already expected that answer. "Of course."

"Oka-" Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the end of the word, once again puking into the toilet. This time, I noticed that there was blood in the vomit.

"Um, you know what, kiddo? Why don't we go visit Daddy, instead, huh?" I know Josh wasn't a pediatric doctor, but he'd still check Logan out just to make sure this was normal, 'cause I wasn't exactly sure this was anymore.

Logan nodded his head slowly, obviously feeling even worse than he did a minute ago if he wasn't going to complain about not seeing his favorite movie.

"Okay. You stay here and I'm going to get your shoes and coat, alright? Daddy will help you when we get there."

Thirty minutes later, I was unbuckling Logan from his booster seat in the parking lot of Josh's office. Thankfully he didn't throw up again after that second time, but his cough had come back full force and he was starting to heat up again. Picking him up, his arms immediately went around my neck and I adjusted his hat to keep it on his head. I was glad the rain had let up from earlier. I wouldn't have wanted to bring him outside in that rain.

As soon as I walked into the waiting room, I went over to the front desk. "Hi, Debby," I said, making her look up, surprised to see me. "Is there any way you can squeeze him in to see Josh? He's gotten a lot worse since this morning and-"

"Debby, put them in room one!" Josh called from somewhere in the back. "I'll be right there!"

I couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "You heard him," Debby said, with her own little chuckle and a shake of her head. "Head on back, Kyle."

After thanking her, I brought Logan into the room labeled number one. I've been here enough times over the last three years to know my way around pretty decently, even if I still double checked room numbers before entering.

Josh ran in a minute later, shutting the door behind him. He looked frantic. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Put him on the table, babe."

I tried getting Logan to sit down, but he kept clinging to me, so that was going to have to do. "He started to throw up blood. And his fever and cough are back." To prove my point, Logan coughed.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound good. I'm glad you brought him in." Josh took Logan's hat off and felt his forehead. "Definitely warmer than this morning." Then he addressed Logan. "Hey, baby. How you feeling? Do you want to get on the table for me? I'll figure out how to make you feel better, but you need to let go of Daddy, okay?"

Logan nodded before finally letting go of me. I really hope Josh can figure out what he has, and that it's not too serious.

A/N: Enjoy the sequel to More Than Just Roommates! If you haven't read that one yet, I recommend doing that first.