Liz's POV
I walk into Leo's bedroom to wake him up.
"Baby boy, you need to wake up now." I say softly, crouching next to his bed.
"Mmm." Leo groans.
"I'll make waffles." I say.
Leo opens his eyes.
"Good morning." I giggle.
"Hi." Leo smiles.
"You wanna come downstairs?" I ask, picking up the stuffed animals and blankets that fell on the floor in the night.
"Is Daddy home yet?" Leo asks.
"Daddy's still on his business trip so no, it's just Mommy today." I tell him.
"Okay. Love you Mommy." Leo says, hugging me.
"Love you too, Leo." I kiss his head.
"Carry me?" Leo smiles.
"Alright." I roll my eyes playfully and he laughs as I pick him up from the bed and carry him downstairs.
"What we doing today, Mama?" Leo asks once I sit him on the kitchen counter.
"What do you want to do today?" I ask while making breakfast.
"Shopping?" Leo asks.
"What for?" I ask laughing.
"I dunno. Toys....clothes...candy.." Leo trails off.
"M'kay. I'll think about it." I say.
"You thought 'bout it yet?" Leo asks after a few seconds.
"No, bud." I laugh.
"Are the waffles ready?" Leo asks.
"Nearly. Drink your juice, please." I say, pushing the plastic cup closer to him.
"You just saying that because it has my med med in it." Leo pouts, crossing his arms.
"It's not medicine, it's vitamins. And you only have those at night." I say.
"Hmm." Leo says, looking in the cup.
"It's completely pure apple and berry juice." I say.
"Can we make the train track today?" Leo asks, drinking his juice.
"Sure." I say.
"And then we can face time Daddy to show him." Leo says excitedly.
"That's a great idea, Leo. I'm sure he'll love to see that." I smile.
Timeskip
Leo finishes building the last piece of the train track.
"Leo, this might be the best track yet." I say.
"Can we call Daddy now?" Leo asks.
"Yep, just let me...Baby, your face just lost all color. Are you feeling okay?" I ask, crouching in front of him.
"Hmm, I think so." Leo says quietly.
"Are you sure?" I ask, concerned.
"Yeah." Leo nods before shivering.
"Are you cold?" I ask.
"I'm fweezing, Mama." Leo says.
I put my hand on his forehead and feel him burning up.
"You're boiling hot, Leo." I say.
"No, I'm cold." Leo groans, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Can you come with me to the kitchen so I can take your temperature?" I ask, holding out my hand for him.
"I'm tired to walk." Leo whines.
"Let Mommy carry you then." I say, picking him up and resting him on my hip before walking to the kitchen.
"I wanna sleep." Leo says.
"You can in just a few minutes, baby." I say, taking the thermometer from the medicine cabinet.
"No put it in my ear." Leo begs.
"It's alright, this one goes in your mouth. Open." I say and he opens his mouth.
I hold the thermometer under his tongue for a couple of seconds and then check it.
"See? I'm fine." Leo sniffles.
"Holy hell! You've definitely got a fever, buddy." I say.
"No I don't." Leo whines.
"A temperature of 104°F is not 'fine', Leo." I tell him.
"Ugh." Leo groans.
"I'm going to give you this to make you feel better." I say, tipping a spoon of medicine into his mouth.
"I'm so cold." Leo cries, burying his head in my chest.
"I know, darling. Let's get you to bed." I say softly, carrying him upstairs.
"What about face timing Daddy?" Leo cries.
"We can show him tomorrow, Leo. We need to focus on getting you better." I say, laying him into his bed.
"And shopping." Leo whines.
"We can do shopping another time." I say.
"I'm still cold." Leo shivers.
"Here." I cover him with his weighted blanket and then the duvet. "Better?"
"Will you sleep here too?" Leo yawns.
"I gotta call the doctor and get some advice." I say, tucking his stuffed toys under his arm.
"Noooo pease stay." Leo says, starting to cry again.
"Oh, darling. Okay, Mommy's here." I say, getting under the blankets next to him.
"Stay here." Leo cries.
"I'm right next to you. I'm not going anywhere." I say, cuddling him into my side.
"You're warm." Leo says, lying his head on my chest.
"Don't make yourself too hot, Leo baby." I say, stroking through his hair.
Leo yawns before slowly starting to fall asleep.
Timeskip
After Leo's been asleep for a while, I carefully slip off his bed and quietly walk out. I immediately phone Michael. He picks up on the third ring.
"Hey beautiful. How's it going?" Michael asks.
"Leo's sick." I say.
"Oh, poor thing. Is he okay?" Michael asks.
"I think he has a fever." I say, running a hand through my hair.
"Did you give him any medicine?" Michael asks.
"Of course I did." I roll my eyes.
"Take it easy, hun." Michael says.
"I just don't think it's fair that you want to criticise my parenting when you're not even here." I spit.
"I wasn't criticising you!" Michael exclaims.
"Don't yell at me." I frown, walking into our bedroom.
"I didn't yell." Michael sighs.
"You wonder why I don't call you that much. This is exactly why." I say.
"Why? Because you're so insecure of yourself sometimes that you'll do anything to twist my words so that you think you have an excuse to play the victim." Michael rants.
"How fucking dare you. I tell you those things in confidence because I trust you, and now you use them against me. Says a lot, doesn't it." I say, frustrated.
"I didn't mean it like that, which you would know if you gave me a chance to speak instead of immediately biting my head off." Michael says, annoyed.
"Do you wanna maybe...shut the fuck up?" I ask.
"I'm trying to help, Liz!" Michael defends himself.
"You're not helping." I say and he sighs.
"Kids get sick all the time. I'm sure Leo will be fine." Michael says.
"You can't say that! Not when you're not here to see him." I say.
"Then there's nothing else I can do because you won't listen to me." Michael says.
"You're not listening to me!" I exclaim.
"I don't know what you want me to say!" Michael exclaims.
"I want you to listen!" I yell.
"I'm trying, Liz! Okay. I'm trying!" Michael yells.
"I don't need this right now." I say.
"Don't hang up this phone." Michael demands.
"Don't tell me what to do." I shoot back.
"Liz-" Michael starts.
"Don't bother calling me tomorrow night. I don't want to hear it." I spit, ending the call and throwing my phone on the bed.
I head back into Leo's bedroom and get into bed next to him.
Timeskip
I wake up to Leo sat on my torso, playing with his action figures on my chest.
"Mommy!" Leo grins, leaning down and hugging me.
"Hey buddy. What's the time?" I ask.
Leo shrugs and continues playing with the toys.
"How are you feeling, Leo?" I ask.
"Hot." Leo says.
"Let's take this off." I suggest, gently pulling off his T-shirt.
"Can I have some food?" Leo asks.
"Yeah of course. What do you want?" I ask.
"Ice pop pease." Leo says.
"You gonna come downstairs for it or shall I bring it up to you?" I ask.
"You bwing it up, Mommy? I stay here." Leo says.
"I'll be five minutes. Shout if you need anything." I kiss his head and walk downstairs.
I get his snacks and fill a bottle of water for Leo before going back up to his bedroom.
"You're back." Leo smiles.
"I sure am." I say, handing him the food.
"When will Daddy be home?" Leo asks, chewing the ice pop.
"Hopefully in two days." I say.
"Okie. I'm sleepy." Leo whines.
"You can sleep after you've eaten this. It's past your bedtime anyway." I say.
"'Kay 'kay. More medicine?" Leo asks.
"I'll grab it just before you go to sleep." I say.
"Good idea." Leo gives me a thumbs up.
Leo finishes his food and I give him another dose of medicine as I tuck him into bed.
"Goodnight my little angel. If you need anything, just call for me." I kiss his head.
"Night Mommy." Leo yawns.
"I love you." I say, switching on his night light.
"I love you too." Leo says, moving further under the blankets.
I quietly close his bedroom door and head to Michael and I's bedroom.
I look at my phone and see 3 missed calls from Michael and 6 texts.
As I'm reading his texts, he calls me again. I take a deep breath and answer.
"Liz, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you." Michael apologises.
"I'm sorry too. I was stressed and I lashed out." I sigh.
"How's Leo?" Michael asks.
"He's doing better but Michael, I think you might need to come home." I say.
"What's happened?" Michael asks. "Are you okay?"
"Michael, I think I'm pregnant again." I say.
"Oh. Oh. Wow. Okay. Umm, have you got any pregnancy symptoms?" Michael asks.
"I threw up this morning and yesterday morning but I didn't say anything because I thought maybe my stomach was acting up. My period is late, too, and you know how regular I am." I explain.
"Have you got any tests in the house?" Michael asks.
"I'm pretty sure I do." I nod.
"I'm coming home. Take a test and I'll be there in two hours, babe." Michael says.
"Thank you. Love you." I say.
"Love you. See you soon." Michael says and hangs up.
Timeskip - Michael's POV
I get home and run upstairs. I check on Leo and see he's fast asleep, then walk across to our bedroom. Liz is curled on the bed crying.
"Liz, honey, I'm here." I say softly, walking in and gently pulling her into a sitting position.
"I can see that." Liz says, hugging me.
"Did you take a test?" I ask.
"I took the entire box, Michael! A whole box of pregnancy tests and not one of them is positive." Liz cries.
"Oh, hun." I put my hand on the back of her head and guide her face onto my neck.
"How is that even possible?" Liz wails.
"Shh, shh shh shh." I coo. "Sometimes, things are just coincidental and in this case, unlucky."
"I wanted a baby." Liz cries harder.
"We've got Leo." I say softly.
"I wanted another one." Liz sobs.
"We can try again, Liz. We can keep trying until we get ourselves another little baby." I say.
"Really?" Liz asks, pulling back.
I nod and she kisses me.
"You need to sleep, though. You're exhausted." I say, wiping her cheeks with my thumbs and lying her down.
"So do you." Liz yawns as I lie down behind her. "Are you being the big spoon?"
"I'm always the big spoon. It would be a very ineffective cuddle if you were the big spoon." I chuckle and Liz giggles, snuggling her back against my front.
"We're gonna be okay, aren't we." Liz whispers, turning over to face me.
"Always." I whisper, pushing her hair out of her face.
She smiles, resting her head on my chest.