Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Charlie Brown woke up feeling miserable, but it wasn't the kind of miserable he would feel everyday.

He was experiencing symptoms of a cold. As he got out of bed, he just got ready for school and walked to the kitchen where he saw his little sister Sally eating cereal.

Because he felt a bit nauseous, he just ate a little bit of toast and went to the backyard to feed Snoopy. Charlie Brown and Sally then left the house to go the bus stop, although Sally didn't really notice how sick her brother looked.

Linus and Lucy were already at the bus stop when the Brown siblings saw them.

Linus turned around and waved. "Hi Charlie Brown and Sally!"

"Oh, hi", said Lucy.

"Hi, Sweet Babboo", Sally happily said as she hugged Linus.

"I told you, I'm not your sweet babboo!", said Linus, annoyed.

"Of course you are, you're just in denial", Sally replied.

"Oh good grief!"

Linus then noticed that Charlie Brown wasn't saying anything and was just standing there looking pale with red cheeks.

"Charlie Brown?", he asked in concern. "Are you okay?"

Charlie Brown looked up at Linus. "Oh, yeah I'm fine", he said, his throat hurting badly. "Just sort of tired."

"Are you sure, blockhead?", Lucy said as she turned around and frowned. "Because your voice sounds horrible and you look pale like paper."

"I'm okay, Lucy, really", Charlie Brown assured them. The bus then drove up and the four kids got in to go to school.

Charlie Brown sat next to the window and fell asleep while Linus sat next to him. They reached the school in a few minutes.

"Hey, Charlie Brown, wake up", Linus said as he got up from the seat. "We're here."

Charlie Brown woke up and got off the bus. Linus saw that he was wobbling a little and wrapped his arm around Charlie Brown's shoulder to make sure he doesn't fall down.

In class, Charlie Brown felt like going back to sleep, but he didn't want to get scolded for sleeping in class, so he tried to stay awake.

He coughed into his elbow loudly, which caught Miss Othmar's attention.

"Something wrong, Charles?", she asked. The whole class turned to look.

Charlie Brown looked, embarrassed. "S-sorry, I just coughed."

"Oh, ok then", Miss Othmar replied before continuing.

Linus wasn't really concentrating on his work as he was worried about Charlie Brown. He wasn't sure if he should ask if he's okay again.

'Ugh, I feel like I'm going to be sick', Charlie Brown thought. 'I need to go the bathroom.'

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Charlie Brown started feeling like he was going to throw up any second, so he raised his hand.

"Yes, Charles?", Miss Othmar answered.

"I-i need to go to the restroom."

"Alright, but hurry back."

Charlie Brown quickly got out of his seat and tried to get to the door, but he was sort of too late and ended up throwing up in a nearby trashcan in the classroom.

The kids, including Linus, looked with a mixture of disgust and worry.

"Charles, are you okay?", the teacher asked.

"N-no", Charlie Brown weakly replied, sounding like he was going to cry. "I don't feel so good."

"Well then, you need to go to the nurse's office", said Miss Othmar.

"I'll take him", Linus said as he raised his hand.

"Ok, thank you, Linus, make sure to come back after class", the teacher told him. And then they left.

"I can't believe I did that", said Charlie Brown. "Now they're going to make fun of me".

"It's okay, Charlie Brown", Linus said as he tried to comfort him. "Some people can vomit at times in front of others, but it doesn't mean they'll laugh all the time, besides, no one laughed at you, although some of them looked grossed out."

"I should've just stayed home", Charlie Brown replied. Linus placed his hand on Charlie Brown's forehead.

"Yeah, you should've, you're burning up", Linus told him. "Now come on, we're almost there."

Linus opened the door to the nurse's office and helped Charlie Brown walk in.

"Hello there boys!", the nurse said sweetly. "What's wrong?"

"My friend is sick", Linus said to the nurse. "He threw up in class and he looks awful."

The nurse gasped. "Oh my! That doesn't sound good. Lead him to that little bed and I'll check him."

"Ok", Linus replied. He put the round-headed boy into the little bed.

"There, now you can lay down", he said.

"Thanks", said Charlie Brown.

"Bye, hope you feel better", Linus said as he left.

The nurse walked over to the sick boy. "So you got sick in class, dear?"

Charlie Brown nodded slowly.

"Do you have any other symptoms besides vomiting?'', the nurse asked as she pulled out her clipboard.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "My head and throat both hurt, along with my stomach, I'm feeling tired, and I have hot and cold flashes."

"Ah yes, and you have pale skin and red cheeks, it's probably a bad cold", the nurse said as she gave him a cup of water. "I'll have to check your temperature to see how high your fever is."

-Later-

Charlie Brown laid in the nurse's office as he had a thermometer in his mouth. He was still so embarrassed about what happened to him in class.

The nurse came by, felt Charlie Brown's forehead, and took the thermometer out. "Hmm...102.3, that's awfully high, sweetie."

Charlie Brown didn't say anything but just groaned from his painful stomach. He just wanted to go home and back to bed.

"I'm sending you home until you're better", said the nurse. "I'll call your mother to pick you up."

Chapter Text

"Hey, where's Charlie Brown?", Schroeder asked Linus. They were at recess.

"He's sick with a terrible cold so he had to go home", said Linus.

"Good grief, really?"

"Yeah, he even threw up in class."

"And it was gross", Lucy chimed in.

"Woah, that's crazy! I hope he gets better soon", said Schroeder.

"Me too. What do you think we should do to help him?", A sweet voice said.

They turned around and saw Heather, the little red haired girl that Charlie Brown had a big crush on.

"I'm worried about him too and I wanna help", she said.

Linus smiled. "Sure, we could use some extra help."

"Now, what do we do?", Lucy asked.

Sally walked over to them in concern. "I heard that big brother got sick, is he okay?"

"He had to go home, Sally," Schroeder explained. "We're figuring out a way to cheer him up."

They were still thinking when suddenly...

Linus gasped and snapped his fingers. "I got it."

-Meanwhile-

Charlie Brown was sleeping in his bed underneath a few blankets with Snoopy laying on top.

After his mother took him home, he immediately put his pajamas on and got in the bed.

'Good grief, why didn't I tell Mom and Dad that I was sick this morning?'

He heard a knock on his door. "Charlie, sweetie?" It was his mom.

"Yes, mom?", He asked.

"You have some friends who want to see you, especially your sister."

"Ok, let them in."

The door opened and Linus, Lucy, Schroeder and Sally came in.

"Hi big brother", said Sally.

"Hey, Charlie Brown", said Linus.

"Hi, everyone", Charlie Brown replied. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we all felt bad that you got sick", said Lucy. "So we decided to make you something."

"You did?"

"Yep", said Schroeder.

Linus walked over and handed Charlie Brown a card with his face on it.

"Open it", he said.

So he did and in it, there were signatures of some people telling him to get better and some just wrote their names. Even Lucy, Violet, and Patty wrote in it.

But one signature he saw shocked him.

'Get well soon, Charlie Brown, From Heather'

'The little red haired girl wrote in my card?' It made him smile.

"Thank you guys, it's amazing", said Charlie Brown.

"You're welcome, we hope you get better", said Linus.

"We'll come check on you later", said Schroeder.

"Bye, big brother, I'll be in the living room", Sally said as she left the room to go watch TV.

"Well, Charlie Brown, we're going go now", said Linus.

"Get well soon, blockhead", said Lucy.

"Alright, bye", Charlie Brown said as Linus, Lucy, and Schroeder left.

Charlie Brown looked back at the card and smiled. He was happy to have some people care for him. He put the card on his nightstand and went back to sleep.