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One of the perks Robbie enjoyed about having Ghost Rider was that he couldn't get sick, in addition to quick healing and the inability to die. Unfortunately, Daisy was not as lucky. Besides her lack of sleep most nights which made for a poor immune system, her inhuman powers did nothing when it came to illness, so he wasn’t surprised when she woke up with a fever.
She was warm to the touch, and he frowned. “You’re sick.” He whispered, although she wouldn’t hear him, as she was still asleep. He brushed a piece of hair from her face, concerned, but let her continue to sleep. She snuggled into his chest, continuing to sleep, unaware of the misery that was sure to plague her when she woke up.
He held her for a while before deciding to make sure he had everything ready for when she finally decided to wake up. He got up and made a list of things he needed and left her a note, saying he left to go shopping, in case she woke up before he got back.
He returned an hour later with Kleenex, soup, ice cream, tea, medicine, and other things he thought she would need. When he went to her room, he found she was still asleep and decided it was about time to wake her up. She needed to take medicine and drink something if her fever was going to die down any. So, he shook her shoulder gently. “Hey, Daisy.” He whispered. “It’s time to get up.”
She groaned, rolling over. He chuckled, kissing her forehead. “Morning, sleepyhead. How’re you feeling?”
She glared at him, and he laughed more. “Okay, okay. Let me go get you some medicine and something to drink.” She nodded and he grabbed a soda and the medicine he had bought. Then, he walked back in and helped her sit up. She took the medicine, chasing it with the soda since she hated any kind of medicine, then laid her head back, staring at the ceiling.
He sat beside her, and she stopped looking at the ceiling and crawled into his lap, curling up in her blanket in his lap. He held her, playing with her hair. “If your temperature doesn’t go down soon, I’ll go get you a wet washcloth. That should help.”
“How do you know all this?” She asked quietly, her voice croaky and barely audible.
“I used to take care of my brother all the time when he was sick.” He reminded her, shrugging. “I had to learn and adapt. I guess it works out though because now I know how to take care of you too.”
She nodded. “And I’m glad for that.” She agreed, which made him smile. “I hate being sick though. I can’t do anything but sit around all day.”
“I know.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face, wrapping it loosely around his finger. “But you get to lay here with me all day. And I’m sure we can find plenty of things to do. For example,” He got up and walked out of the room, coming back a few seconds later with some old board games that were well-used from years of board game competitions between Robbie and his brother. Most of the boxes were broken, pieces were missing, boards were fraying, and yet, they made Daisy smile a little.
“Board games?” She asked. Most of the games didn’t look familiar to her, and if they did, she had never played them. Some of them looked like they were in Spanish and some looked like they had been around longer than either of them had.
He nodded. “My brother and I used to play when he would get sick. I’d wait until Uncle Eli would head to work, then I’d call Gabe in. We would sit on his bed all day and play board games. Over the years, they kinda got destroyed, but I figured-”
“No, no, I love it. It’s sweet, and of course, we can play.”
He grinned like a dork and sat down in front of her on the bed. “Do you want me to pick, or do you want to pick?” He asked her, setting the pile of games down between them.
“You pick.” She decided. “Pick your favorite.” He stared at the pile, trying to make a decision. His favorite game was in Spanish, and he wasn’t sure if she was in the mood to listen to his bad translations. So, he decided against that one. Eventually, he decided on a game that would take them ages to finish; Monopoly.
Daisy let out a croaky laugh. “Monopoly. The never-ending game.” She gave him a joking smile. “The team used to do game nights to build relationships and bond. Our record for longest Monopoly game was a game that ended at noon the following day.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’ll assure you, it doesn’t take nearly as long when you only have two people, but I’ll also warn you, I get pretty competitive when it comes to board games.
“Well, let me take this moment to warn you ,” she poked him lightly in the chest, “that I also get competitive during board games.” He smiled, knowing she was probably right, but finding it cute nonetheless. “Don’t give me that look. You won’t find me so cute when I’m kicking your ass at Monopoly.”
“Nope, still will.” He assured her, making her glare at him. He kissed her forehead, laughing softly.
“Just play the game, dumbass.” She mumbled, trying to hide the fact that just that action alone made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, a feeling that was probably one of the most embarrassing feelings in the world. Especially for someone like her. However, Robbie being Robbie, he saw right through her, which made his ego worse.
“You like it.” He whispered like he was reading her mind. “Admit it.”
“I’d like to start this game.” She corrected, shaking the unopened Monopoly box. He rolled his eyes, but took the box from her and opened it, dumping the pieces out on the bed. Daisy collect the money and organized it into piles based on money worth while Robbie laid out the board and collected the mystery cards. Then, he lifted the box with the game pieces in it to her.
“First choice goes to you.”
She scrunched her face. “If you say it’s because ‘ladies first’, I swear to God-”
“Actually, the instructions say the game goes youngest to oldest and I’m a year older than you.” He corrected, shaking the box. “Now, choose.” She rolled her eyes, then picked a random piece with her eyes closed. It was the rocking horse. Then, Robbie picked, but he didn’t go at random. He picked his same piece he had been using for years; the race car.
It took them three hours to finish the game, and in the end, neither one won, because they ended with the same amount of money, same amount of buildings, and same amount of squares. “Well,” Daisy said as they stared at the board, “this has to be a first.”
Robbie laughed, nodding. “I know me and Gabe haven’t had a game like this before.”
“Coulson usually as the winner’s title under lock and key.” She agreed. “So, what do we do now?”
“I’m not sure-” They continued to stare at the board in confusion, trying to figure out how this could have happened. “Well, I guess we’re done. We call it a truce and end the game.” He suggested, and she nodded tiredly. He smiled a little, running his hand along the side of her face. “And I think you need some sleep, darling.”
“Do I have to?” She mumbled.
He nodded, kissed her head softly. “You’ll feel better once you do.” He laid back on the bed and opened his arms. “Come on. I’ll lay with you.” She nodded and laid down in his arms, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head on his chest. He hugged her, burying his face in her hair. Eventually, she fell asleep, and he let her, playing with her hair and running his fingers through it.
This was one of his favorite things about not being able to get sick. He could take care of her and give her affection without having to worry about catching anything from her.
She woke up a few hours later, but laid there, groggy, for a few minutes. Then, she sat up. “I’m hungry.” She looked at him. “Do we have food?” He nodded, getting up.
“What would you like?” He asked her.
“Junk food please.” He laughed, going to get food, when he came back, he found her laying on the bed, flicking through TV channels. When she saw him, she set down the remote and reached out her hands, making a grabbing gesture.
He smiled, sitting down beside her and handing her the food. She smiled, starting to eat as she continued to flick through the channels. Eventually, she stopped on a random channel that was playing some superhero movie and curled up into Robbie’s side. He played with her hair absentmindedly as they watched TV, and eventually, both dozed off.
Hours later, May used the house key Daisy had given her to let herself in to check on Daisy and make sure she was okay after missing check in. When she got to the bedroom and opened the door, she smiled. Her “daughter” was being taken care of, and that made her happy. She didn’t need to worry, because she could see it now. As weird as it was, the Devil was keeping her safe. The Devil was keeping her healthy.
Robbie was keeping her happy.