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It was rare they had days off at the Bureau of Balance so Merle planned on taking advantage of this one. He wasn’t sure yet what he was doing, but there was a pile of Pringles from Fantasy Costco on the table and no one to give them to since their old roommate had been put in BoB jail.
Taako had just finished making his famous macarons and set out a plate on the table next to the Pringles. “Get ready for a taste explosion in your mouth.”
Magnus walked directly over and reached out before pausing. “I thought you were making these for Kravitz.”
“Plenty to go around, my dude,” Taako crooned. “I’m bringing the rest with me.”
When they heard a knock at the door, they all looked over.
“Pretend we’re not here,” Magnus whispered.
Taako grinned, clearly liking the idea. But Merle shook his head. “Work is work, fellas. If they need us, we have to go.”
They walked to the door as a unit, but the moment Merle opened it, he groaned. Angus McDonald stood there, looking pale.
“Hi, sirs,” he said, his voice quiet.
“What’s wrong, Ango?” Magnus asked, stepping back so Angus could come in. “Are you sick?”
“I think I have the flu,” he explained.
Taako darted to the table. “Save the macarons!” He scooped them up and then backed away from Angus. “Sorry, kid. I was just heading out.”
Magnus nodded. “Me too. I’m training with Killian.”
They all looked at Merle. He scratched his wooden forearm where he still got phantom itches sometimes. “What?”
Magnus set his hand on Merle’s shoulder and said to Angus, “Merle doesn’t have any plans. You should stay here for a while and get some rest.”
“What?” Merle said again, shaking his head. “I don’t know how to take care of sick kids.”
“Please, sir,” Angus said, eyeing the couch. “I think I’ll feel better if I can just sit down.”
“Sure,” Taako told him, pointing. “You go sit down and try not to puke.”
Merle followed the others to the door. “You can’t leave me here with the kid.”
“Take one for the team,” Magnus suggested. “Just give him some crackers or something to settle his stomach.”
Taako nodded. “And a bucket in case he can’t make it to the bathroom.”
“A bucket–” Merle started, but they were both already walking away, laughter in their voices. Damn. How’d he end up as the babysitter on his day off?
He shut the door and turned around, making sure to keep a healthy distance from the couch. Angus was curled against a pillow, his feet drawn up onto the cushions.
“Uh…” Merle watched the kid for a minute, debating what to do. “You want me to get someone for you?”
“I think I’ll be the most comfortable here.”
“You sure you don’t want me to bring you back to your room?”
Angus shook his head slowly, then frowned. “I don’t think I should get up.”
Merle grimaced. “You’re not going to throw up are you?”
“Please, sir. Don’t say throw up.”
“Puke?”
Angus’ frown deepened.
Merle tried again. “Regurgitate?”
“I normally like playing human thesaurus, but right now I think talking about any bodily functions might make me feel worse,” Angus told him.
“I have Pringles,” Merle blurted because they were the closest thing to crackers he had right now.
Angus clutched his stomach. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
If not food, then what? Someone had to know what he was supposed to do here.
“Okay, so…” Merle eyed the door. “I’m going to see about getting you…something. Are you okay? Do you need a–a blanket?”
Angus considered this, then nodded. “I feel a little cold.”
“Good. Right.” Merle waved his hands as if he could erase what he’d just said. “I mean, not good .” Just good that he had something to do.
Merle went to Magnus’ room and yanked the comforter off his bed. When he returned, he spread the blanket over Angus’ little form. “Better?”
Angus nodded slightly. “Thanks.”
“Okay. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Merle stepped outside the door and looked around. Who in this place knew how to take care of a sick kid?
He started toward Lucretia’s office. She’d know, right? She seemed to know how to deal with everything. Halfway down the hall, he saw Avi.
“Avi–hey!” Merle jogged up to him.
Avi turned and smiled. “Hey, Merle. What’s up?”
“The flu.”
Avi took a step back and held up his hands. “Right, so…maybe you should just stay right there.”
“No, not me. I’m fine. Angus is–”
“Oh, Angus. Poor kid.”
Merle pointed back in the direction of his room. “Maybe you could come back–”
“Sorry, Merle. I have to send out a team of seekers in a few minutes.”
“But… I don’t know what to do.”
“Did you try Sprite? When I was a kid, my mom gave me something clear and carbonated to settle my stomach.” Avi turned away. “Gotta go. Try something to drink!”
Fantasy Costo. That was where he needed to go.
After some haggling with Garfield the Deals Warlock, Merle returned to his room with a bottle of Sprite and some wine because he knew he’d be needing it later.
“I got something for you to drink,” Merle announced when he walked in the door.
Angus hadn’t moved from his position on the couch. He looked over and eyed the wine.
“Not this,” Merle said, setting the bottle aside. “Sprite. You want some?”
“Okay.”
That was good enough for him. He poured some of the liquid into a cup and brought it to Angus. Angus took a sip and set it aside.
“Thanks.”
“You feel better?” Merle asked.
Angus was able to manage a small smile. “That’s not quite how it works.”
Merle scratched his chin. “So…what else?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
Merle figured he had to try something else. He almost used his Stone of Farspeech to get in touch with Magnus again–or even Taako because maybe Kravitz would know how to take care of a sick kid. After all, he had seen his share of sick people. But he decided against that, figuring they might not even answer.
He had another idea.
“Stay here,” Merle told Angus.
“Not a problem,” Angus mumbled, closing his eyes.
Merle left again, heading in the opposite direction down the hallway. He knew exactly who he needed to talk to. No-3113.
He wandered around for longer than he expected, asking everyone he ran into if they knew where No-3113 was, just to find out she was at the training center with Magnus, Killian, and Carey.
“Sprite isn’t working and he doesn’t want Pringles,” Merle announced when he walked in.
Magnus and Killian stopped sparring and the rest of the group looked over. “You tried to give him Pringles?” Magnus asked.
“No. I mean, yeah, kind of but–no. He doesn’t seem to be hungry, or…” Merle wasn’t sure.
Carey laughed softly. “He probably isn’t hungry, though you could try applesauce.”
“Or toast,” No-3113 said, floating over. “Or something bland, like soup. That’s nice of you to take care of Angus.”
Merle shrugged and glared at Magnus. “Not much of a choice.”
Magnus laughed and started sparring with Killian again. “Have fun.”
After another trip to Fantasy Costco, Merle returned to his room and spotted Angus in the same position with his eyes closed. He quietly set the items on the table and tiptoed to the couch.
Maybe the boy just needed a nap and then he’d feel better.
“I’m not sleeping,” Angus whispered.
Merle winced and watch Angus open his eyes. “The door woke you up? Because I’m pretty quiet.”
“No, nothing woke me up. I wasn’t asleep. Just resting my eyes.”
Merle nodded. It sounded reasonable, like something he’d do. “Well, I got you some other food. Maybe you could try some chicken soup. That always made me feel better when I was a kid.”
Angus considered this, then said, “Not right now. Thanks, Merle.”
“Uh…well, I guess you could just try to tough it out but maybe something will help.”
This appeared to mildly amuse Angus. “My grandpa always said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I guess after this I’ll be the strongest boy detective in history.”
Merle chuckled. “Okay, close your eyes.” He kind of felt bad for the little guy. He looked so small laying on the couch instead of snooping around the Bureau of Balance and being a know-it-all. “I’ll try to figure out something else.”
This time he went straight to Lucretia’s office. He knocked on her door and heard her quick response.
“Come in!”
Merle stepped inside, his eyes on the picture of herself above her behind the desk. It always felt like that picture was staring at him, following him around the room wherever he went.
“Good to see you, Merle,” Lucretia said. “I don’t have any assignments for you right now.”
“No, that’s not why I’m here. I was hoping I could get your help on something.”
She looked at the papers on her desk as though she didn’t really have time, but she still nodded. “Of course. What can I do for you?”
“Angus is sick. The flu. I tried crackers and Sprite and asked him if he wanted soup, but he doesn’t want anything and the poor guy looks miserable, so…” He shrugged. “I thought maybe you could help.”
She propped her elbows on her desk, looking thoughtful for a minute. “Well, I assume you tried the logical thing.”
“Pringles?” he asked.
Lucretia angled her head. “What? Chips. No, no, no. I mean a healing spell.”
Merle coughed and nodded repeatedly. “Yeah, of course I tried that. The first thing I tried but…maybe I should try it again. I’ll just–I’ll go and do that. Thanks.”
He turned and hurried out of the room before she could say anything else. A spell. Why hadn’t he thought of that?
No, why hadn’t the boy genius thought of that?
Merle didn’t even try to be quiet when he went back into the room. He walked straight to the couch, already speaking words of healing as Angus came into view.
Angus sat up slightly. “Huh?”
Merle finished the spell and eyed Angus. “That better?”
The kid sat up all the way and glanced around like he’d find the answer in the air. He stood up and looked down at his stomach. “Actually, I do.” He grinned. “Merle, you did a spell on me.”
“That’s right. And it worked. You don’t have to sit here on the couch all day.”
“Wow, sir. That was great. I feel so much better.”
Merle tugged the coffee table closer to the couch and then sat, putting his feet up on the surface. “I’m hungry.”
Angus gestured to the table. “We have a lot of food now. I could make you something.”
Merle considered this. Someone was going to make him something to eat and he could just sit here with his feet up. Not how he was originally planning on spending the day, but it sounded like a good deal.
“Sure, Ango,” he said. “You pick.”
“Thanks. My grandpa always said it was good to return the favor if you can.” He started rooting through the items on the table.
Merle grinned. Maybe Angus wasn’t half bad. He sank into the cushions and closed his eyes, resting them a bit while the boy genius made him lunch.