'SON-IN-LAW' [LGBT+]

twentyone

It was an hour after Cathy had left when Steve found himself sitting on the couch with absolutely nothing to do. With all the dishes done, plates washed and dried, floor swept and carpet cleaned, Steve was left staring blankly at the TV.

Alone, on the couch, he kept flipping the channels and going through the endless sea of Christmas special shows. Cathy's grandparents went upstairs to take a nap half an hour ago leaving Steve all by himself.

Growing restless, he got up. Steve started towards Cathy's room with the thought of having something to do there. Steve was happy that his daughter was a messy person for once.

Normally at this time of the day in his house, he would've been done with all the house chores and finally would be enjoying a little me time. Either by working or sipping tea in his backyard or his cosy bed. Restlessness was not his thing unless something stressed him out. But in this case, the cause was a certain someone.

Steve was silently shuffling through the hallway to not wake anybody up in the house when he suddenly heard a noise.

It was faint and almost inaudible. He stopped and strained his ear to find out if he heard right when the noise came again.

It was like a low groan.

Upon further inspection he found the sound coming from his old room.

A bit confused and equal amount of worried, he knocked at the door.

"Daniel?" He called. He did that few more times before he realised the boy must be really out of it. When a series of painful groans and mutters drifted to his ears, his protective mode flared and he opened the door immediately.

What he saw on the bed confirmed his suspicion, as well as struck a painful chord in his heart.

Daniel was sweating and practically soaking through the sheets. His hair was a mess, sticking out everywhere and matted on his forehead. His face was red and scrunched up. Daniel looked in pain and like he was stuck in a really bad dream.

Steve hurried up and checked the fidgeting boys forehead. He was burning up. Now that Steve was close he heard the strings of incoherent words and sounds spilling from his mouth. But he didn't pay attention to that and jogged out of the room to bring something for the sick boy.

God, he should've given the boy some medicine when he saw him last.

Shaking his head he stopped himself from diving into more pessimistic thought. He had to concentrate on the sick boy.

Coming back with a bowl of water and cloth he went beside Daniel. He was spewing more word and sounds and he was moving his arms and legs a lot. It was after putting the piece of cloth on the boy's forehead that he finally settled a bit.

Steve got himself working immediately. He went to his closet and brought out news sheets and pillowcases. With uttermost care, Steve removed the pillow, the sheets under and over Daniel. Steve changed the pillowcase and it was a bit tricky getting the new sheet under Daniel and it wasn't perfect but he made it work. After he was done setting another sheet over Daniel's body, he heard a small sniff.

Looking up, Steve was shocked seeing the tear stains on Daniels' cheeks. Daniel's lips were parted and continuously moving, his eyes were shut tight, brows furrowed. His cheeks were flushed red and his breathing was painfully ragged.

Whimpers were suddenly coming from the boy then continuous, 'no's. It was painful to witness and Steve felt his chest getting heavy the more he saw Daniel in this condition.

It was as if Steve was suddenly in autopilot, he was sitting back, worried and distraught while he saw himself do a series of things. It was as if he knew what to do. Maybe the times he spent taking care of little Cathy in her bad days helped or maybe a certain memory that sparked from the deepest part of his mind did. He wasn't sure.

Holding Daniel's shoulders he gently called his name. He was suddenly pulled close by two hands clutching on his shirt. He let it be and put his forehead beside Daniel's pillow and muttered gentle cooes.

Steve kept this up until Daniel was finally calming down. Then Steve started humming a tune and Daniel finally fell in a peaceful slumber.