Scarlett's POV
Ouch. What the heck is that digging into my ribs and why is it waking me up at this ungodly hour? What? Is that screaming?
Bolting upright I snap into action as I realise Archer is thrashing around next to me, her foot previously lodged into my ribs now bouncing against the mattress as she kicks the air. A terrified "NO" echoes throughout the room as she thrashes. "Archer, baby" I try, not wanting to touch her in case that makes it worse, although not even repeating the words louder can get through to her so I guess I'm going to have to try shaking her awake. As soon as my hands grab her shoulders her thrashing increases, muffled sobs slipping past her lips as she fights against me as I try my harder to wake her. "NO. SCARLY. NO. DON'T DO IT. LEAVE HER ALONE. SHOOT ME INSTEAD. KILL ME NOT HER. SHOOT ME. NOOOOOOOO. SCARLETT" is screamed at a volume I had no idea she was capable of. Her words break my heart, although I don't get much time to ponder them as she wakes up abruptly, pushing my hands off her as she scrambles out of bed and into the toilet.
Not even a second later I am running to follow her as I hear her gagging, a frown crossing my face as I see her sprawled across the floor emptying her guts. Poor baby doesn't stop until she physically can't go on, so I just rub her back softly, holding her hair back in the hopes of calming her slightly. This is the worst I have ever seen her, I mean she has never had a nightmare this bad before and the things she was screaming have me seriously worried about what she was thinking of. She hadn't even had time to wash her face when someone was knocking on the trailer door, making me slightly confused since it's got to be close to three in the morning.
Archer seems to be reacting purely on instincts, which I recognise is a bad thing, seconds too late, as she legs it out of the toilets and to the trailer door. Given the severity of her nightmare just now and her past, I should have known that she would misinterpret the knocks for something far more sinister than they are. As soon as it hits me what is about to happen I am up and running to the door, frowning when I see the sight in front of me.
Seb is flat on his back looking slightly stunned, while Evans is holding both hands up trying to talk to Archer, Mackie hiding behind him while holding his stomach and groaning. I think it is safe to say Archer is definitely out of it right now since it is obvious she has attached the guys, although there is no doubt in my mind that this was an accident. Archer would never hurt anyone here on purpose.
I pull her towards me right as she went to hit Chris, her arm winding back to hit me in the face as I'm crouched to her level, although it stops inches from my face. I can see it in her eyes the second her vision clears and she realises what is happening. The fear, the pain, the guilt, all swirling in her eyes as silent tears start to stream down her face. I don't say anything, because nothing will help her right now. So instead I pull her into my chest, letting her face dig into my neck as she breaks down into sobs. My heart breaks as she shatters.
Keeping her close to me I move to stand, swaying on my spot as I continue to cradle Archer, in a failing attempt to calm Archer. "Sorry guys, she clearly didn't know it was you lot" I explain to the guys, who are still standing here stunned. Chris seems to snap back to reality fist as he shakes his head. "We were just on our way back to our trailers from the green room when we heard her screaming, we just wanted to make sure everything is ok" he explained, making me hum. I knew she was screaming loudly, but I had no idea she was that loud. The thought makes the pain in my chest increase, which I didn't currently think was possible.
"Is she ok?" Seb asks, making me sigh. Of course, she isn't ok. But how do I say that to him when Archer refuses to acknowledge that? I was about to say something along those lines when Archer started coughing violently into my shoulder, making me forget all about the boys as my eyes snapped down to her. I thought maybe she was struggling to breathe because of all her crying, so went to cup her check in an attempt to get her to look at me. What I wasn't expecting was for her face to feel like molten lava as I cupped it. "Oh my God, baby you are burning up" I mumble, quickly moving my hand from her cheek to her forehead, hissing slightly as I feel just how warm she is.
"I am going to try and calm her down, get her back to sleep for a bit. I am sorry about this and I'm sure she will be too. We'll come to find you later to apologise properly when she is in the right headspace" I explain to the guys, wanting to get back in and check her temperature properly as soon as possible. They all hum in agreement, or at least I think they did since I was moving into the trailer before the words had finished coming out of my mouth, my main concern always being Archer.
Bouncing slightly to try and calm Archer who is uncharacteristically fussy, I start looking for the thermometer, knowing Archer is burning up but having no idea how bad it really is. She is definitely sick, no doubt about it because I have never once heard Archer whine, yet here she is whining into my neck as she holds onto me with an iron grip. I am pretty sure whatever awful nightmare she just had was quite literally a fever dream and the whole nightmare thing has been made so much worse by the fact that she is clearly slightly delirious. "Shhh baby, you're ok. I'm right here" I mumble, still looking for the thermometer that I am sure I have somewhere.
Once we got back to Atlanta I made sure to buy all sorts of things in case Archer got sick while we filmed, or hurt, or anything really. If anything I probably went overboard, but now that she is actually sick I am so glad I pretty much bought out that pharmacy. Archer continues to fuss, quiet cries slipping past her lips every couple of seconds as I look through the cupboards. Ah, there it is. "Archer, baby, look at me a second please," I ask, shuffling so that we are sitting on the sofa so that I can have both hands to try and ease her head out of my neck. Which she clearly doesn't like as she just cries more. "I know, I know" I coo, rocking my body slightly as I use the hand that isn't holding the thermometer to cup her very hot face and pull it out of my neck slightly.
"Just let me take your temperature then we can work out what we are going to do, huh?" I coo, trying my best to soothe her as more coughs surround us, her chest crackling in what I must assume to be a fairly painful manner. After a lot of soft whispers and promises she finally lets me take her head away from my neck moving the bare minimum so that I could take her temperature. I wait patiently for the machine to beep, a deep frown etching onto my face when it flashes red, a hundred and two, shit. That is bad. "Archer, baby, we are going to have to have some medicine and then a shower" I coo, moving back to the medicine cabinet to see what I have. I know I got a crap tonne of drugs so I just need to figure out what to give her. I mean she clearly has a fever, she is coughing pretty nastily and she has been sick, although I don't know if she was sick because she is unwell or as a result of her nightmare. I really don't know what you are supposed to do with a sick child.
I am failing right now. This is highlighted by Archer who suddenly starts wriggling before dropping to the ground on uneasy feet and makes what I think is supposed to be a mad rush, but is really more like a wobbly sway, to the toilet, where she starts dry heaving, painful sobs passing her lips in between her heaving. Poor thing. I am so close to joining her in her crying. Once she finishes I leave her on the floor, as she leans against the wall with a dazed look in her eyes, as I run back to the kitchen to grab some Tylenol, hoping that will help her at least with the fever before I think about what else she should have.
"Archer, baby" I coo, walking back into the toilet and kneeling in front of her, letting my hand rest on her rosy cheeks, which really are too warm for my liking. I smile slightly as she nuzzles into my hand, "you have to take some medicine baby" I explain, watching as she shakes her head her eyes still screwed up tightly, although judging by the way she winces I am guessing we can add a headache to her list of symptoms. "I know, it's so yucky, but it will make you feel better though" I explain, holding the syringe to her lips while she frowns but lets me give it to her, making me let out a relieved breath. Now I just need to figure out a way to get her into a cold shower because a hundred and two is not good at all.
So Archer does not want a cold shower and she is making that known. She is still huddled against the toilet wall, although she is now just in her shorts after a rather long argument over her staying in my hoody which she had been sleeping in. "Baby, please, you have to cool down or we are going to have to go to the hospital" I try and explain, knowing that such a high temperature can become nasty real quick. She just whimpers, digging her face into my chest even more than it was, as had moved from in front of her to next to her at some point, which had led to her curling back into me.
Realising there is no way she was going to do this willingly I slip my pyjamas off, leaving me in a sports bra and underwear, before tugging Archer's shorts off so she was just in her underwear, as I turned the shower onto cold. This is going to suck for us both. I give the shower a second, although I don't know why since it isn't exactly going to warm up, before stepping in. Archer let out a very disapproving noise before she started crying into my shoulder again as the icy water rained over us both, making me shiver despite the fact that I am holding my very own personal heater, otherwise known as Archer.
I stay in the shower until Archer's shivering makes it physically difficult to hold her, trying my best to ignore how cold I am as I focus completely on the clearly very sick Archer in my arms, who is still whimpering although her tears have ended which is making me feel slightly better. When I can't stand the water any longer I step out of the shower, turning the water off as I wrap a fluffy towel around us both, holding another one in my hand for Archer who is still refusing to let me go. Not wanting to upset her more I just hold her close, walking back through to the bedroom.
Dropping the extra towel onto the bed I forcefully pry Archer off of me, which has the crying starting again, my heart breaking at how sick she must be to be acting like this. When I thought she was going to be tough to deal with while sick this is really not what I thought the problem was going to be. The moment I had her off of me, I wrapped her up in her own towel, moving mine so that it was surrounding me, before focusing completely on Archer. Patting her dry quickly before slipping her into a pair of shorts and one of her vests. Normally she dresses herself, but it is clear she is really not up for that right now.
I move as quickly as humanly possible as I dress in my own pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt, putting on a dry sports bra and underwear as well. As soon as I am done I grab Archer again, who was just laying on the bed sobbing. The second she was in my arms she was clinging to me tightly again, her head in my neck as her cries became muffled against my skin. Bouncing slightly I moved back to the lounge looking for the thermometer again. It's been half an hour since I gave her Tylenol and she just had a fairly long cold shower, so I am really hoping her temperature has fallen, because if it hasn't I am going to have to take her to the hospital to get checked out.
Yet again it takes a lot of precaution to get Archer to look up from my neck so that I could check her temperature. I am oddly relieved to see it is down to a hundred, I mean that is still too warm to be normal but at least it has gone down slightly and we don't have to go to the hospital right this second. Although I will be taking her to see the set medics in the morning to check her over. Although I am starting to think this is the flu.
Glancing over at the clock I sigh when I see it is now half-four in the morning, a wave of exhaustion passing over me as I look down at Archer, who is still mumbling unhappily into my neck, moving every now and then, showing she is clearly uncomfortable. Standing up, I reposition her slightly, trying to give her some comfort as I walk to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water. "Archer, baby, I need you to drink this, please," I ask, struggling to unscrew the cap as I juggle holding Archer and opening the bottle, although I ultimately manage. She just shook her head, a displeased huff falling past her lips as she tried to get even closer to me, which believe me is not possible given the way she is clinging to me. "I know, but you need to say hydrated or you are going to feel even worse" I explain, knowing she is smart enough to know all this but is feeling so lousy she is just saying no to everything. "No, sick" she grumbles, clearly unpleased about everything going on. On the plus side, she must be feeling slightly more with it since they are the first words she has said since she woke up.
"I promise you won't be sick, you just need to take little sips. If you drink half we can go back to bed and cuddle" I try, knowing she should really drink the whole bottle but doubting I could really get her to do so. She is clearly unhappy by this offer but moves her head sideways regardless, making me chuckle slightly as she has her eyes screwed shut waiting for me to basically give her the drink. This is exactly what I do, holding the bottle to her lips as I tip it back slightly. Waiting patiently as I manage to get her to drink two-thirds of the bottle before she is turning her head back into my neck with a whine. I'll take that win. Grabbing another bottle of water and the medicine to give her later, I make my way back to my room, feeling exhausted. Something tells me this is going to be a long couple of days.
Placing everything down, I try to sit Archer down so that I can use the toilet quickly, but Archer is having none of it, holding onto my t-shirt tightly as she whines each time I try to place her on the bed. "Archer, baby, I have to pee. Give me two minutes and then we can have all the cuddle" I try, regretting telling her that as soon as her tears started. Note to self, sick Archer is clingy Archer. Leaving her crying on the bed I use the toilet in record time, pulling her into my chest as I finally settle back in the bed for the first time in hours since it's now close to five in the morning. I send a quick text to Kevin explaining Archer is sick and neither of us will be able to film today before I move to settle a still-crying Archer.
She just lays on top of me completely tugging on my t-shirt as she sobs, making me confused slightly, not knowing what she wants. When her little hands move to start tugging her own top off I help, thinking maybe she is feeling too hot, I mean she is definitely still running a fever I can feel the heat rolling off of her. Once her shirt is off she seems a little happier, although she continues to tug at my shirt, seemingly getting more and more frustrated as she fails at whatever she is trying to do.
Trying my best to remember all the things I have read in the crap tonne of parenting books I have read since coming back to Atlanta, I can only think of one thing that she wants. Although I'm a little confused since it was something they said mostly little kids want, but then again judging by her upbringing it wouldn't be a surprise if she never had what I think she is after. Thinking it over I move us so that I am sitting against the headboard, Archer facing me as she straddles my lap, still tugging at my shirt whining. "You want me to take it off, baby?" I ask her softly, playing with her hair which is damp with sweat since she is so clammy. Reaching to the side I grab a scrunchie, tying her hair up in a messy bun quickly as I wait for her to answer. I'm not doing it unless I'm sure that is what she wants. I mean sleepy Archer is always so young like, it wouldn't be a leap to assume that when she is sick she acts a little younger than she is. I mean she probably never got skin-to-skin contact and after her nightmare especially it would make sense that she wanted to be sure someone was really here with her.
Archer seems sort of surprised when I ask her if she wants me to take my shirt off as if deciding if that is really what she wants, as she looks up at me with such sad and tired blue eyes that my heart cracks a little. She seems to study me as if to check I am really offering her this before she nods, mumbling a cracked "off please" as she tugs on my top a final time, her voice sounding rough which is probably a result of being sick for so long and then coughing for a while. Glad that she is somewhat communicating with me I shift forward slightly, pulling an unhappy Archer off of my chest slightly before slipping my top off, glad I chose to put another sports bra on as Archer lunges to hide in my chest the second I'm done. A content sigh passes her lips as she snuggles into me. Finally stopping her fussing for the first time since she woke up.
Glad that she seems comfortable for the first time since last night when she fell asleep, I scoot us down the bed so that I am laying down with Archer still on my chest, her limps wrapped around me tightly like a little kola. I can feel the heat radiating off of her, but I still bring the sheet over us, not wanting her to potentially get cold while we are sleeping. "Scarly?" She whispers, her voice cracking in the middle as she starts coughing again. "Yeah, baby?" I ask back, rubbing circles along her back, trying to ease the pain I am sure she is feeling. "Can you sing, please?" She whispers, her hand clutching onto my sports bra strap as the other one plays with a necklace I was still wearing. "Sure thing baby" I whisper back, thinking for a moment before I start, remembering how much she loves the Sing movies I start to hum before singing softly.
Stuck in a moment - Sing 2 - Scarlett Johansson
I'm not afraid
Of anything in this world
There's nothing you can throw at me
That I haven't already heard
I'm just trying to find
A decent melody
A song that I can sing
In my own company
My eyes lock onto her as she looks up to watch me with weary eyes as I sing, a small smile on her face as she moves impossibly closer to me. She looks so helpless as she shifts slightly in my hold, making sure that there isn't a single part of us that isn't touching. I'm pretty sure that if she could she would sink into my skin at this point.
I never thought you were a fool
But darling look at you
You gotta stand up straight
And carry your own weight
These tears are going nowhere, babe
You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
Now you can't get out of it
Oh love, look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
Now you can't get out of it
I smile at her softly while I sing, trying to tell her with my eyes that it is safe for her to sleep since I can see she is fighting it. Every time her eyes flutter closed her head shifts slightly, as if she is fighting to keep herself awake, despite being clearly exhausted.
I will not forsake
The colors that you bring
The nights you filled with fireworks
They left you with nothing
I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
And through your eyes I can see
Taking a chance I move the hand that isn't rubbing her back to her face, tracing her features gently, which earns me a sleepy smile. God, she is just so adorable. Seeing that this doesn't seem to bother her, I trace my fingers over her eyes, softly trying to encourage her to closer her eyes since she is still fighting to stay awake. Small coughs slip past her lips that seem to be perfectly timed to interrupt her sleeping.
And you are such a fool
To worry like you do, oh
I know it's tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don't really need now
My, oh my
You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
Now you can't get out of it
Moving my hand down from her back I pat her butt softly, since she is clearly craving a sense of calm and safety I thought it might help soothe her the same way it would a baby. Especially since I can see in her eyes how frustrated she is that her little body just won't settle down. Little whines follow her coughs as she moves to hide her face in my neck, nestling into my neck as she tries to get even more skin-to-skin contact, which is definitely not possible.
Oh love, look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm 'til you discover how deep
I wasn't jumping, for me it was a fall
It's a long way down to nothing at all
I can't help but smile as her eyes stop fluttering and stay shut. I know she is still slightly awake since her hand is still playing with my necklace but I can tell she is so seconds away from drifting off completely as her breathing, which is still ragged, evens out as much as possible given the fact that she is ill.
You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Just as I thought she was off, her weight increasing on my chest as her hand stills, a content sigh falling past her lips as she appears to finally find a comfortable spot, she mumbles into my neck "love you Mama", despite the fact that her words are muttered directly into my neck I hear them clear as day, my whole body stiffening slightly as Archer finally falls asleep. "I love you too, Archer, more than you could ever understand" I finally manage to mumble back, my heart beating fast still as I kiss the top of her head before letting myself drift off. A smile on my face at the realisation that she just called me Mama, even if it was probably because she has a fever, and is all drugged up and exhausted. I will take being called Mama no matter what the circumstances are.
My baby just called me Mama.