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It was close to 2am on the clock when you woke up feeling off. Yawning softly you clutched your favorite toy and stepped off your bed moving towards your parents bedroom. Slowly opening the door you stepped towards where your father, John Price, was sleeping and grabbed his hand and tried your best to wake him up.
“Daddy… I don’t feel so good…” You told him the second he opened his eyes, the man rubbed his face and turned on the lamp that stood on the bedside table right there next to him.
Price took one simple look at your face and put the back of his hand on your forehead to see how warm it was. “It’s fine, baby…” He let out a soft sigh and mumbled something to himself. “Come here…” Your father picked you up and gently placed you down on the bed right there between himself and his partner. Tucking you in then wrapping his arm around you he placed a gentle kiss on the top of your head. “You’ll feel a lot better in the morning, just rest, munchkin.”
The very next morning when you woke up you were still in Prices arms, he held you tightly against his side gently rubbing your back while texting someone on his phone. You looked at the clock which now said 9am, your perception of time wasn’t the most developed yet but you knew what that number meant. It meant that it was time for preschool but for some reason that didn’t happen and you were still laying there. John noticed you were awake and put his phone on the nightstand, he smiled softly pulling you even closer to himself. “Mornin’, sleepyhead…” He muttered placing you on top of his chest and giving you a very tight hug, before you could ask him about the current hour he added. “We’re taking a little break. Just you and me for the whole day… We call this ‘calling in sick’, pumpkin.” Price smiled softly, planted a kiss on the top of your head and asked. “Feeling a bit better today?”
You nodded shyly and tried your best to bury your face in his shirt to which he let out a huff of laughter and gently patted your head. “I- A little…” You replied then you decided to ask about this whole ‘calling in sick’ thing. “Does that mean we will stay home?”
Price stood up taking you with him ready to start his own day, he put on his slippers and started to walk towards the kitchen. “Exactly! We’ll stay home until you feel better, baby.” Your father entered the kitchen still holding you in his arms and made very dramatic noises and expressions that indicated he was searching for something hoping to make you laugh, without a warning he stopped and asked. “So, any ideas on what we should have for breakfast?”
“...Candy” You replied, it was the most obvious and most valid choice to make, you were testing the limits. If he let you stay home maybe he’ll let you do that as well.
“Kiddo, if we eat something like that for breakfast your mother will kill me!” He laughed out loud and put you on top of the kitchen island before acting like he was thinking very deeply. “How about something that’s sweet but also healthier for you than candy? Like those pancakes daddy makes that you really like… Hmm?” Price wasn’t waiting for a response he already started to pull out the ingredients.
Your father placed the bowl and all of the things needed on the kitchen island right next to you, you watched mesmerized as he put everything inside, eyeballing the measurements.
“Does my little cook want to help daddy with mixing?” He put the hand mixer inside of the bowl, when you grabbed it he placed his hand on top of yours to steady it and guide it so the contents of the bowl mix into a perfect batter instead of making a mess. After a few minutes of it he gently took the mixer out, pulled the attachments out and let you lick them clean then tossed them to the sink. He put all of the batter inside of a bottle so he can make the pancakes in different shapes, tossing the bowl to the sink very carelessly as well. He put the pan onto heat and began to fry the pancakes, he squeezed the bottle above it creating different shapes and images with his lack of artistic skills. Your portion was plated on your favorite plate themed after some cartoon you enjoyed watching non stop, after that Price let you pick out some of the toppings to add to your meal.
A while later you found yourself on the couch. Your father was taking a bit more space as he spread out all over it. You on the other hand were curled into a ball by his side, a blanket covering you two as you watched your show while narrating every little detail happening there. Price listened closely and blankly stared at you then the screen pretending he was enjoying this as much as you did, the truth was that he wasn’t, he was too old for watching cartoons like these. Not only that but something was annoying him in that specific show. He just didn’t know what.
Determined to let this end he sat up more straight and suggested another activity to do. “Hey, pumpkin. How about we build a pillow fort together? Would be super cool, we can make it as big as you want.”
And that was exactly what happened, both of you grabbed different pillows and blankets and started to turn the couch and the area around it into a pillow fort. You were pointlessly doing laps around the coffee table while your father did most of the work. The end results were truly a work of art, every single blanket, duvet, and pillow you owned was used in this project to make the best place ever. The part resting on the couch was supported by a foundation of decorative pillows, the extension part that surrounded the coffee table was supported by dining chairs, the coffee table itself, and even a broom for some reason.
“Is it ready now???” You asked probably for the hundred time in the past 15 minutes watching as the man worked on the last finishing touches.
John sighed and laughed quietly to himself, he took a step back to see how it looks like and nodded. “It is. We can go grab your toys now and test it out!” He picked you up super quickly bouncing you around in his arms as he started to walk towards your room to pick out a few toys to play with while in the pillow fort.
After everything has been picked out Price crouched down and crawled inside of the creation before peeking from in between the blankets with a grin. “Come on, kid! It’s super cozy here, you’re missing out!” And you entered right behind him inside was a very regular usual sight of a pillow fort except this one was massive. The man already started to crawl towards the couch portion of it, sitting down on the floor and leaning against it, you trailed right behind him and dropped right on top of him with an ‘oof’ sound. Your father gently picked you up and sat you down normally then set the toys you picked out in between you. Before you knew it evening arrived and your mother, Johns wife, returned back home from work. You didn’t even notice it until familiar laughter boomed from outside the fort. But the most important part? You felt 100% better.