Chapter Text
Dani knew something was wrong when she felt a dull ache at the back of her head when she woke up. She at first put it down to tiredness- Flora and Miles had kept her up the past few days with a cold, which thankfully they had now recovered from, but it had definitely kept her busy as she looked after them.
And the business was only going to continue- they were now very eager to be out in the sunshine and make the most of the final days of summer, and Flora had begged Dani that today would be the day they go on a picnic.
She didn’t want to disappoint Flora. Or Miles, who had eagerly agreed to picnic once he knew Owen was providing them the snacks. He had insisted his appetite had fully returned, and he wanted to make the most of it now it had.
No, she wouldn’t disappoint the kids. Even though standing up from her bed sent a burst of dizziness through her skull, she again passed it off as tiredness and proceeded to shower and get dressed.
***
Owen was the first one to comment on Dani’s wellbeing. She had been preparing the picnic basket for the kids and he had stopped, mid pun, to stare her down.
“What?” Dani asked, a bemused smile on her face. “What is it?”
“I dunno,” Owen told her. “You look a little pale, that’s all. And you didn’t even laugh at my jokes.”
“I don’t know if that’s a new thing,” Dani muttered to herself as she sealed the picnic basket.
Before Owen could interrogate further on how Dani was feeling, both children were bounding into the kitchen, all smiles and happiness, followed by a slightly weary looking Hannah.
“Miss Clayton!” Flora exclaimed happily. “Are we nearly ready to leave?”
“Just about!” Dani replied, forcing herself to smile and ignoring the slight churn of her stomach as she caught a whiff of whatever it was that was bubbling on the stove.
“Excellent,” Miles said. “I’m excited to see if there are any frogs about. Or maybe a scorpion.”
“Hey!” Flora practically bellowed. “Scorpions don’t live in Bly Manor- Miss Clayton, please tell him!”
Dani didn’t reply right away, instead she took a breath as her ears were ringing. Miles took that microsecond to retaliate.
“Yes they do, they-”
“Now now,” Hannah cut in, glancing at Dani. “I don’t think we have to have a shouting match about insects, now, do we?”
“Definitely not,” Owen added. “Unless you want your food privileges removed.”
“They certainly don’t,” Dani said, knowing this time to speak before the children had a chance to. “Not going off how many times Miles talked about chicken legs and peanut butter sandwiches when he was ill.”
“Not together!” Miles hastily told them. “I just craved both at the same time.”
“So it’s settled,” Hannah told them. “You’ll behave nicely and quietly for Miss Clayton, won’t you?”
“Of course!” Flora said sweetly, and Miles simply gave a polite nod and a smile.
“Okay, now go and get your coats on.”
The children rushed off, and Dani turned to Hannah and Owen.
“Thanks for helping me with that. They can be a little…”
“Intense?” Hannah suggested, just as Owen mouthed the word “insane.”
Dani laughed. “Yes. Both.”
“Are you going to have any breakfast?” Owen asked her. “You still look a bit…”
“I’ll be fine,” Dani told him, not wanting him to finish his sentence. “Really.”
“Only if you’re sure,” Hannah told her. “You were working overtime yesterday looking after them.”
“I’ll be fine,” Dani repeated. Hannah nodded, not entirely convinced.
“Miss Clayton!” Flora called from the other room. “Can you help me tie my laces?”
“Sure, Flora, one sec!” Dani called back, before shrugging. “Duty calls.”
“I’ll pack you something in the basket,” Owen told her kindly.
Dani smiled. “Thanks, guys.”
When she left, Owen and Hannah shared a look.
“Did she look a bit rough to you?” Owen asked. Hannah sighed.
“Potentially. She could just be tired, but that’s how Flora and Miles started.”
“Maybe we should let our gardener know she needs to come in on her day off,” Owen muttered to himself with a grin. “Not that she hasn’t been doing that every week the past three weeks.”
Hannah’s eyes widened mischievously. “Owen! We agreed we wouldn’t say anything until they told us!”
“Still,” Owen replied. “I think Dani could do with a bit of attention.”
“I’ll phone her,” Hannah said breezily as she walked to the telephone on the wall. “It can’t hurt.”
***
Dani felt ten times worse by the time the children had picked a spot and sat down.
Miles had made a big display of trying to find the exact right spot that had both shade and sunshine, and Flora had spent so long checking the grass for scorpions that it was half an hour before Dani could sit down heavily on the blanket and already, she wanted to call it a day.
Her legs had been shaking, and her body was full of aches and pains. Her head was full on hurting now, and she was just… tired. She was so tired that she could feel her eyelids drooping as she watched Miles and Flora playing on the grass after their food.
She tried to rouse herself when Flora ran back over to her.
“Miss Clayton, you’ve not eaten your sandwich!”
“Oh!” Dani replied. “I guess not!”
“Is it Owen’s cooking?” Miles asked.
Dani laughed. “No, no. I’m just… I’m not so hungry right now.”
The children were satisfied with that answer and returned to chasing each other across the grass.
As soon as the attention was no longer on her, Dani felt herself sagging into the picnic blanket. It was a nice, pleasant day, and yet she felt herself feeling far too warm and uncomfortable.
Maybe she was getting sick- but it was still just as possible that she was just overtired from looking after the children.
She hadn’t wanted to take a day off today, not when the children had been so eager for a picnic, and since it was Hannah’s day off and Owen was busy in the kitchen, it made sense for her to do the simple task of sitting on a blanket and watching the children.
You’d think that she’d have been able to handle that.
There was part of her, now, that wanted to call Jamie. But they were still quite new in their relationship- still finding their footing- that calling her because she was tired and under the weather felt far too embarrassing. Jamie had already caught her crying one too many times, and Dani’s ego was still bruised from when she tried to attack Jamie with the poker, even if that was a few weeks ago now.
Besides, Jamie was spending her day off tidying her flat and organising her plants. She had been wanting to do it for days, and she was finally “sorting her bloody life out,” as she called it.
Dani wondered privately if Jamie was sprucing her flat up so that Dani could come and stay, since she had never been to her house before, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up.
God, it was hot. Maybe if Dani lay down for a few minutes, it would be fine. The lake wasn’t nearby, and the kids seemed fine.
Dani fully sagged over onto the picnic blanket, curling up in a shivering ball, and let sleep take her.
***
“Miss Clayton?”
“Is she okay?”
“Dani?”
Dani blinked awake to see none other than Jamie squatting over her, looking quite concerned. The sunlight was casting shadows across her face, but Dani couldn’t miss the frown clouding her features.
“Jamie?” she asked, confused. “What?”
“Did you fall asleep, Poppins?” Jamie asked her softly, before putting her hand under Dani’s back to slowly ease her into a seated position.
“I- I guess so…” Dani pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a wave of dizziness.
“It’s alright,” Jamie murmured to her. “It’s alright, I’ve got ya.”
Before Dani had a chance to respond, suddenly Flora was in her face and talking a million words a minute.
“Oh, Miss Clayton, you’re awake! You fell asleep on the blanket and I didn’t want to wake you up but then Jamie came over and she looked worried and so we had to wake you up!”
Dani couldn’t help but feel Jamie stiffen slightly at Flora’s words, but she still continued to rub a comforting hand up and down Dani’s back.
“Yes,” Miles cut in. “You were very sweaty and pale, just like how I was yesterday. You’re definitely sick.”
Dani grimaced. “No, I’m just tired. I’ll be fine.”
“Miss Clayton,” Miles said, very much channelling Hannah as he looked at her. “You’re positively, most certainly sick. You must go to bed at once.”
Dani laughed. “Oh, really?”
“Yes!” Flora responded. “It’s okay, we’ve had enough of the picnic now anyway. And you need sleep and rest to feel perfectly splendid by tomorrow.”
Dani looked at Jamie, who shrugged. “You ‘eard the woman.”
Dani sighed quietly. “Alright. I’ll get up.”
She stood on shaking legs, again noticing how Jamie’s hand refused to leave her back. Jamie must have detected that she was both a little embarrassed and a little unsteady, because she looked at Flora and Miles.
“Okay kids, why don’t you take this picnic stuff and race off back to the house, eh?”
The children very quickly became a dot in the distance, and that gave Dani a chance to look at Jamie.
“You came here on your day off.”
“I did,” Jamie replied, brushing some of Dani’s sweaty hair out of her face. “Hannah called me. Said you didn’t look great.”
Jamie looked at her, scrutinising her face.
“To be honest, you sorta’ look sick to me. Unlucky, Poppins.”
“I’m not, I-”
“Still,” Jamie continued. “You look pretty hot.”
Dani blushed. “Oh, god. I… really didn’t want you to have to see me like this.”
“Like what?” Jamie teased. “I thought you weren’t sick?”
Dani just groaned, and Jamie dropped the smile.
“Nah,” she said. “It’s fine.” She continued to brush Dani’s hair, it now turning into soothing strokes more than anything else. “B'sides, I missed ya.”
Dani blushed. “You did?”
“Sure I did. Now, are we going back to the house?”
Dani nodded, and couldn’t keep the grin off her face the entire way back to the Manor.