"Wanda, honey, it's time to wake up." Mama's voice floated into her ears but the little witch couldn't seem to open her eyes. She felt tired, like she hadn't slept at all last night. She felt Mama rubbing her back and heard her go on in a teasing tone, "Come on, detka. Mama's already got breakfast made. Bubby is going to eat all the waffles if you don't get out of bed."
Usually Wanda would wake up with Nat but this was the second time she had tried to rouse the little this morning. The Sokovian cracked her eyes open and the light made her head throb. She whimpered, "Mama.."
"What's wrong little star?" Natasha immediately became worried when her little voice came out rough and raspy. She helped Wanda turned over and pulled her into her lap. Wanda curled up into her, resting her head on Nat's shoulder.
"Owie, Mama." The brunette sniffles.
"What hurts, honey?" Mama pressed her lips against Wanda's forehead and holding them there as she tried to gauge her temperature.
"Tummy an' head." The little mumbled into Nat's shoulder. Her stomach roiled and her throat involuntarily contracted. Wanda swallowed back the feeling.
"How long have they been hurting, detka?" The spy asked with concern lacing her tone.
"I dunno." Wanda sounded on the verge of tears. She hadn't been little when they went to bed and her transition was always hazy.
"Oh baby, sh, sh.." Natasha soothed, "I'm sorry you don't feel well. Let's get you changed."
"No. Bed, Mama. Wanna 'tay bed." She pouted, wanting to fall back asleep preferably with her head on Mama's chest.
Natasha carefully moved to cradle Wanda in her arms and lifted her despite her request to stay in bed. The little whined in protest but Nat kept moving away from the bed, "You're okay, baby. I think a bath might help you feel a little better. Then a diaper and clean jammies. How does that sound?"
"Mama, paci peas." The little said quietly in response as she gave into her Mama's plan. The redhead already had one half way to her lips as she asked for her soother. Wanda tugged on the soft silicone as her caregiver undressed her and continued to do so as Nat had her go potty on the big girl potty, an activity Wanda usually thought was okay, especially because it usually earned her a piece of chocolate afterwards but currently she found dreadful. After Natasha helped wipe her, she finally lifted her into the tub full of lavender scented bubbles. The little witch didn't feel like playing with them though. She looked up at Nat who knelt on the other side of the tub and had taken a cup to dip it into the water and pour it around Wanda's shoulders. The little asked sadly behind her pacifier, "Mama baf wif me?"
"Not this time, detka. We're just going to be quick." Natasha grabbed a tissue from the box on the back of the toilet, "Can you blow your nose sweetheart? You sound all stuffy, clearing it out might help with your head."
Mama held the tissue over her nose and Wanda did her best to blow as Mama wiped it up. After tossing the tissue away, Nat picked up a washcloth and began gently wiping the rest of her face, "Good job, sweetie. Let's get the sleep out of those eyes, hm?"
"S'eep in eyes, Mama. Want s'eep in eyes." The little witch tried to wriggle away but Natasha cupped that back of her head to keep her still. She didn't understand why Mama wanted her to be awake when she wanted to be asleep.
"You'll still be able to sleep, baby." Nat promised, dipping the washcloth into the water again and bringing it back up to wash around her neck and chest, "You feel warm, honey. Were you hot sleeping?"
Wanda thought about it. She mostly remembered discomfort and her skin felt clammy and gritty like she had been running around in the sun all day. The little could only tell her caregiver, "Ucky, Mama. Ucky."
"I'm sorry, baby. Let's finish getting you cleaned up and you can get back in bed." Natasha soothed as she rubbed the cloth over Wanda's back. The bath did help Wanda feel a bit better, but the little was glad when Nat helped her out of the tub, wrapping her in a towel, her favorite fluffy yellow one that had a hood with an orange duck bill that made her look like a little duckling all wrapped up. She didn't feel her usual excitement for her towel though. She didn't feel interested in much of anything except for having Mama with her as she rested her head on Nat's shoulder.
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Natasha laid her little on the bed and carefully dried her skin. Wanda was rubbing her eyes and tugging on her pacifier more than usual. She reached for Zaya and rubbed her face into the stuffed animal's stomach. Her movements seems slower and clumsier. Poor baby, Natasha left her for a moment to grab a diaper from the changing table. She really seemed to not be feeling very well. She remembered when they went to bed last night Wanda had mentioned having a slight headache but had brushed it off as nothing when Nat asked if she wanted a painkiller. The witch had been tired then and had just wanted to go to sleep.
The caregiver slid the diaper under Wanda's bottom and she whimpered. Immediately Nat furrowed her brow with concern, "Did that hurt, detka?"
The little witch nodded and Natasha told her she was going to check her bottom. She rolled Wanda at the hips and pulled her thighs up to see her backside. Like she worried, the little had the beginning of a rash on her cheeks. Wanda never had a diaper rash with her before, Natasha was meticulous in keeping Wanda clean and dry. But she also knew that when little's immune systems were compromised they could be prone to get it. Nat gently squeezed her hip, "Stay still a minute, detka. Mama has to put some cream on your bottom."
Wanda stayed put like she asked and Natasha found an unused tube of diaper cream for her on the changing table. She wiped a healthy layer of the white paste onto the pink, twin streaks on both of Wanda's cheeks to stop it from getting any worse. Twisting her bottom half back into position over the diaper, Nat secured it on her hips.
The Widow felt terrible for her as Wanda cried when she couldn't wear her star pajamas because they were too hot. The little was already emitting too much heat and her cheeks were rosy from her sickness. Natasha tried putting her in just a big t-shirt but Wanda said she was cold. The caregiver bargained with her, putting her into her unicorn pajamas that were two pieces and lighter weight fabric but long sleeves. Quickly she put Wanda's hair into two braids to keep it out of the way then dashed to the bathroom for the thermometer.
Natasha reclined against the pillows and headboard while Wanda laid pretty much completely on top of her, her head resting on Nat's chest. The redhead talked to her softly, "Mama's going to take your temperature, detka. This part just goes in your ear and it'll be 30 seconds, okay?"
Wanda mumbled okay until Natasha put the cone shaped part in her ear, then she cried out, "Nooo.."
Wanda's hand came up to pull it and Nat's hand away but the older woman caught the little's hand easily with her other hand, bringing it down to trap it against her chest. Natasha kept the thermometer in her ear and pressed kisses to her forehead as she comforted her, "I'm sorry, angel. I know it's not comfy but just a few seconds."
Whatever she was sick with seemed to be making everything tender and sensitive as the simple temperature check appeared to cause her great discomfort. Wanda whined throughout until there was a quiet beep and Nat could take the thermometer out to check the display. As she let go of Wanda's hand, the little immediately went to rub her ear. 101.5. It was high but not alarmingly so. She wanted to try and get medicine into her little witch but based on her scrunched up face and how heavily she slumped against Natasha she didn't think that would happen until after Wanda got more sleep. Then Wanda took her pacifier out of her mouth and looked up at Nat with unfocused eyes, "Can I have dis, Mama?"
Her hand that rested just over Nat's breast slid down over top of it in an innocent, searching way. Wanda hadn't asked to nurse while she was verbal before and was uncertain how to ask for it with her words instead of rooting to get what she wanted. The Russian felt a phantom pull in her breast but she knew it was too early in her hormone treatments for her to be producing milk. She never refused Wanda before and she wouldn't start now, "Of course you can nurse baby."
Natasha tugged her shirt up and pulled her bra down for Wanda. The little witch nuzzled into her chest then put her lips around Nat's nipple. The warmth from her mouth spread into her chest in a way that was becoming a familiar feeling for the caregiver whenever they were connected like this. The Sokovian didn't start the motion of nursing, looking up drowsily at Natasha. The woman encouraged her, softly patting a steady rhythm at the top of her bottom and began to sing her a lullaby. Wanda's slowly eyes fell shut then and she began to suckle on her breast, settling into the soft tugging motion, her fingers coming up to toy with the ends of Nat's hair that had become a bit of a habit.
It didn't take long for Wanda to completely fall back asleep. Nat stayed until her little stopped all motion then very carefully disengaged from her and eased Wanda onto the mattress. Wanda huffed as she adjusted to not sleeping on her mama. The Widow resituated her clothing then covered Wanda up with her blankie, watching her for a moment before grabbing the baby monitor and sneaking out of the room.
When she entered the kitchen, Steve and Sam were doing dishes while Bucky still sat at the kitchen table with an old game boy that Steve found for him. The little boy looked up expectantly as she entered but furrowed his brow when he just saw the woman, "Auntie Nat, is Wanda ready to play?"
"Sorry, buddy but Wanda is sick this morning and has gone back to bed. She needs more rest." She informed him.
He glanced worriedly at Steve then back to Natasha, "Will she be bedder fur lunch?"
"I don't think she'll be better by lunch time. It might be a couple days." When Bucky frowned further Nat went on to reassure him, "But she'll be okay."
"Of course she will." Steve came over to put his hand on Bucky's shoulder. He then looked to Nat, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"No, but thank you. I would keep Bucky up on your floor until she's better. I wouldn't want him to get sick too." She said and Steve nodded in understanding and gathered up his now glum little boy to head back up to their quarters, Sam offering his get well wishes and following them out. Natasha took the left over waffles and ending up eating three of them as she suddenly craved the carbohydrates. She would give Wanda a few hours of sleep before trying to feed her something light and give her some medicine. In the meantime, she would distract herself with having a session with the punching bag.
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We're back with a poor, sick little. I hope everyone liked this update :) There will probably be another sick little Wanda chapter.
Thank you for all the support and nice comments. I appreciate it! Until next time! ~Raven