Chapter Text
Ryan Hudson thought that he was used to living in the Drew house. He thought he was used to being a father to Horseshoe Bay's resident mystery solver. This Saturday showed him otherwise.
Carson was off with a client in another town. Business was going quite well for him, and he was starting to have to make more trips out of town. With Carson gone a lot of the day, Ryan learned how to do a lot of things around the house. Nancy was usually off with her friends (or as everyone in town started calling them, the Drew Crew) so she wasn't home that often either.
But today was different. Usually, Ryan made breakfast for everyone that was in the house. If there was one thing he was good at, its eggs and toast. He waited for Nancy to come down the stairs. Nancy always came down completely dressed and ready to go, her journel in hand, ready for her next case.
Today, however, Nancy came down the stairs sluggishly, her bathrobe wrapped snuggly around her and her red hair frazzled. Her blue eyes didn't have their usual spark.
"Nancy?" Ryan held out a plate with her eggs. "Umm, are you staying home today?" Nancy didnt speak or take her plate. She sat on a kitchen chair and placed her head in her arms.
Oh God, she's sick. Ryan had gotten a lot of parenting lessons from watching Carson these past couple of months, but he never told him how to take care of Nancy if she was sick. She never gets sick.
Nancy didn't pick her head up and she was breathing heavily.
"Hey Nance, you feeling alright?" That was a stupid question, she clearly wasn't. Ryan reached over to feel her forehead, she was burning up. Nancy just groaned in response and leaned her head into his hand.
Normally, Nancy had a lot of walls up and didn't usually show her vulnerability. Ryan figured that Nancy must trust him a lot to be acting this way around him, or is feeling way too miserable to care. Nancy visibly shivered and shoved her head further into her arms.
"Come on, Nance." Ryan put his hands on her shoulders. "Lets get you back to bed. I'll make you something easy on your stomach you can eat later."
Nancy didnt argue. She stood up shakily with her eyes closed and grimaced, reaching out for him. Ryan took her arm.
"I'm here Nance, its okay." Ryan assured her. "You dizzy?" Nancy didn't seem like she could nod her head, so she just squeezed his arm in response.
Ryan didn't even hesitate to scoop her up in his arms. Nancy gave him a look of protest, but she didn't fight him, so Ryan carried her up that stairs and back into her room.
Ryan placed his daughter gently onto her bed, and tucked her in. Then he went to the bathroom and got a rag, some Tylenol, and a cup of water. He ran the rag under some cool water and placed it onto her forehead to soothe her fever.
"Nancy?" Ryan tucked her hair back. Nancy opened her eyes a little to look at him. "I need you to take this Tylenol, okay? That's what I take when I get a fever, so I think that's what you should take...does Carson usually give you certain kind of medicine?" Nancy took the cup from his hand and placed the pill in her mouth.
"Tylenol is fine." Nancy croaked. She downed the water and the pill, then snuggled back into her pillow.
"Okay," said Ryan. "I'm gonna go get you a water bottle, you should hydrate, I think. And I'll make you some soup. Do you like soup?"
Nancy didn't say anything at first, just sighed and pulled the blankets tighter over her and shook from her fever and the cold rag on her head.
"Alright well, just holler if you need anything, I'll be right downstairs, okay?" Ryan squeezed her hand.
"Thanks, dad." Nancy said softly.
Ryan gasped, and he felt his eyes fill with tears. Nancy had never called him that, it was strictly Ryan and Carson was dad. Ryan's chest filled with warmth. His daughter had just called him dad for the first time in his life. Did all parents feel this way?
"Of course, Nance." Ryan smiled and kissed her lightly on the head. As Ryan headed back downstairs, Nancy's words rang in his ears. That was all he would hear for the next few days.