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Wolf woke up, feeling like she had been driven over by a truck. Her body hurt and itched and she was sweaty to the point of dripping. She had a terrible headache and her nose was stuffed with snot. Her throat was burning, just like the rest of her body, despite the fact that she was shivering.
Wolf came to the horrible realization that she was sick. Badly.
On a normal day, she would have gained the courage to tell Lio and Song and let them coddle her until felt better, but that day wasn't a normal day. She had an important test coming up, and she'd studied for weeks. There was no way that she was going to miss that test.
And so, Wolf ignored her pounding head and went to her wardrobe to get dressed. She picked out an outfit before she sneakily made her way to the bathroom, hoping not to walk right into one of her parents before she had the chance to tidy herself up to look at least somewhat decent.
When she looked herself in the bathroom mirror, Wolf was startled into taking a step back. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was puffy and red from what could only be a fever. For a second, she doubted her ability to cover any of that up, but after reminding herself of how important that test was, she decided to at least try. She splashed some cold water in her face, sighing in relief when it cooled her burning skin.
She brushed her hair, removing any signs of the bed head she'd woken up with. After she was done, she found herself looking almost completely normal. She could lie about being tired because of lack of sleep to hide her bloodshot eyes.
Wolf exited the bathroom and made her way downstairs to grab some breakfast. Her stomach churned at the thought of eating food, but she knew that skipping a meal would raised suspicions, which was the least thing she wanted to do. She took her usual seat by the kitchen table, grabbing a piece of toast before adding her toppings.
"Hello, honey. Slept well?" Song asked from where she was standing by the stove, flipping pancakes.
"Uh, I guess. I fell asleep kinda late, so I'm pretty tired," Wolf lied, feeling Song put a sympathizing hand on her shoulder.
"Make sure to go to bed earlier tonight then. Getting a full night's sleep is important, especially at your age," Song reminded and Wolf nodded in agreement, taking a bite out of her toast and forcing herself to swallow it down with the help of some orange juice.
As she was halfway through finishing the toast, Lio joined her and Song in the kitchen, happily humming one of his many songs that he liked to listen to.
"Morning, babe," he went to kiss Song's cheek before moving to ruffle Wolf's hair. "Morning, kiddo."
"Morning, dad," Wolf replied, smiling tiredly.
Lio took a seat across from her, going to reach the packet of breakfast cereal, when he looked at Wolf's face and took notice of her tired expression. "Is everything alright, sweetie? You don't look too good."
Wolf tensed up but forced herself to relax to not alarm him. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You look like you might have a fever."
At that, Song turned the stove off and went to take a proper look at Wolf's face. She let out a gasp as she saw Wolf's flushed and sweaty face.
"Oh, honey! Why didn't you tell me that you were sick?" she asked worriedly, putting a hand on Wolf's forehead to check for a fever only to quickly retrieve it as if she'd burnt herself. "You have a fever!"
"No, I don't. I'm fine, mom," Wolf tried, although she already knew that both of her parents were able to see through her lie.
"Yes, you are! You have to get right back to bed. I'll bring you a wet washcloth and some soup," Song said, pulling Wolf to her feet.
"I promise, I'm not-" she didn't get any further, however, as her stomach decided to empty itself right on the kitchen floor.
Lio stood up immediately, managing to catch Wolf before she fell to the floor in exhaustion. Song went to grab a rag to clean up the puddle of vomit, while Lio picked Wolf up. She was burning up.
"Let's get you right back to bed, little miss," he cooed, carrying Wolf up the stairs and back into her bedroom.
He decided to take off her clothes, leaving her in her training bra and underwear. He figured that the extra layers of clothing would only worsen her fever.
He tucked Wolf in under the covers, hushing her as she whined.
"But... The test..." Wolf mumbled in her feverish state, her breath heaving in exhaustion.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll let you retake it when you go back to school. For now, relax and go to sleep," Lio said, leaving her for a minute to grab a thermometer to check her temperature. "Open your mouth for me."
Wolf opened her mouth, letting Lio put the thermometer on her tongue. It beeped and he took it out, gasping at the result. 39.4 °C.
And she'd tried to go to school!?
Lio sighed, looking at Wolf. He knew that she was still getting used to the idea that being sick was okay and not a weakness, but he'd hoped that she had gotten over it for the most part. She'd lived with the Oak's for almost a year, and she was still afraid of being sick... Lio felt bad that he didn’t know how to help her.
As he finished the thought, the door to Wolf's bedroom opened and Song stepped inside, a wet cloth in her hands. She placed the fabric across Wolf's forehead, apologizing as Wolf shivered at the coldness.
"I'll make her some soup. Will you watch her?" Song asked and Lio nodded.
"I'm not going anywhere." He rubbed Wolf's arm with his thumb, shocked at how warm she was.
Song gave him a sad smile before she left, leaving the door open halfways.
"Dad?" Wolf croaked, eyes barely open.
"What do you need, sweetie?" Lio asked immediately.
"I feel yucky..." Wolf mumbled, smacking her lips as she tried not to gag at the taste of vomit that lingered in her mouth.
"Oh, of course! I'll be right back, baby," he said, hurrying down the stairs to grab her a glass of water, as well as some painkillers to get rid of the headache that he was sure that she had. He also grabbed a small plastic bucket, in case she needed to vomit again.
He returned to his daughter, finding her in the same position that he left her in. She took the glass with shaky hands as it was handed to her, swallowing down the pills. She emptied her water at once, ignoring Lio's warnings to slow down.
She handed the empty glass back to him, and he put it on her bedside table. He placed the bucket right next to the bed, telling Wolf to use it in case she needed to throw up. Wolf merely nodded, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"Go to sleep, sweetie. If you need anything, just call for me and I'll be here," Lio promised.
Wolf took his advice and closed her eyes, relaxing as well as she could despite the circumstances. Lio's hand went to pat Wolf's tummy, matching his heartbeat. The soft pats soothed Wolf into falling asleep, her mouth open since she couldn't breathe through her stuffed nose.
Lio smiled at her gently, staying by her side until he was completely sure that she was deeply asleep. He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the door only slightly ajar in case she was to wake up before he could check on her.
He planned to stay home with her and make sure that she had everything that he needed. He was her dad after all, and it was his job to make sure that was safe and sound.