A/N: Not to brag or anything, but this chapter is a masterpiece. Prepare to laugh your ass off.
Melanie walks into Sadie's room one morning, "Saaaaaddiiiieeee..." She sings, "Wake up, sweetie pie, it's time for school. And when you get done with school, Chris will be here!"
Sadie sits up and smiles, "Yay - " She starts before she starts coughing.
Melanie grows concerned, "You okay, sweetie?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just - " Sadie cuts herself off by coughing again.
"You don't sound very good." Melanie says. She feels Sadie's forehead and it feels warm.
"Do you feel okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Do you feel okay enough to go to school?"
Sadie nods, "Yeah, I'll be okay."
"Okay, well if you start to feel any worse, let me know, okay?"
"I will."
"Okay, well let's get you dressed and get some food in your tummy, maybe that'll make you feel better."
x
Sadie didn't eat that much for breakfast and didn't look so good once Melanie took her to school. Melanie asked Sadie if she wanted to stay home, but Sadie insisted that she was okay. Sadie had always hated being sick and didn't always tell Melanie when she wasn't feeling good. Melanie decided to let her go to school, but Melanie kept her phone on her just in case and told Sadie to go to the nurse if she felt any worse.
While Melanie was at work, she did get a text from Chris that he had returned from home and that he could pick Sadie up from school that day if needed, not knowing that Sadie wasn't feeling well. About an hour later, the school called Melanie and told her that Sadie didn't look well and that she should go home. Melanie couldn't get out of work, but promised that she'd have someone pick Sadie up shortly. This was right on the end of Melanie's lunch break, so she decided to make a quick phone call.
"Hey, Mel. Everything okay?" Chris asks.
"Well, I know you're only just getting home, but Sadie wasn't feeling too good this morning and I just got a call from her school saying that she didn't look good and wasn't able to focus and that she should go home, but I can't get out of work and - "
"Hey, hey, hey, say no more, I'll go get her."
"Are you sure? Because I can call Jason and see if he - "
"No, no, I'll get her, it's fine. I'll take her home so she can be with Fred and all her stuffed animals and you can just go home after work."
Melanie sighs, "Thank you so much."
"Don't worry about it. Get back to work and take your time, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you again. Bye."
"Bye."
x
Chris pulls up to the school and walks inside. Goes to the office and sees Sadie sitting in one of the chairs, not looking good.
"Hey, kiddo. You doing okay?"
Sadie looks up at him and manages a smile, "Chris! You're home!"
The school nurse walks out and raises an eyebrow at Chris, "And you are?"
"That's Chris, my mom probably sent him to pick me up."
"Is she okay?" Chris asks.
"Well, she does have a bit of a fever and she doesn't look good, as I'm sure you can tell."
"You got all your stuff together, kiddo?" Chris asks.
"Yeah, I got everything." Sadie says, wrapping her arms around Chris' torso.
Chris picks Sadie up and she wraps herself around him.
"Come on, let's get you home. Fred will be happy to see you."
x
When Melanie was nine, she'd gotten the flu. She was in completely horrible shape and missed a week of school. Chris was more concerned about Melanie than anything else and was worried sick about her, and he missed her a lot when she wasn't at school. Against his parents wishes, Chris had gone over to Melanie's house one day after school to "take care of her". They watched her favorite movies, they talked and caught up with each other, as it seemed like it had been forever since they'd seen each other. Chris had felt so responsible for coming over to help take care of Melanie and was extremely proud of himself for accomplishing it, that was until Tori caught him and walked him home.
Two days later, he got the flu.
Chris and Melanie had been taking care of each other for as long as they could remember. Chris was always there for Melanie was she was sick or hungover. He helped her with morning sickness, he visited her in the hospital when she broke her leg; he almost couldn't separate himself from her when he knew that she wasn't well. Melanie had always been so nurturing to Chris and took care of him mentally. Each of them was always something that the other really needed...
Sadie sat on the living room couch, snuggled under a blanket with her stuffed elephant, Peanut, and her new doll from The Strange and Unusual next to her. Chris smiles.
"So, what are you gonna name this one?" He asks, referring to the doll.
"I think I'm gonna name her Cora 'cause she kinda looks like the dolly from Coraline."
"Your mother let you watch that movie?"
"Yeah, it's a kid's movie."
"That movie is terrifying." Chris says before looking at the time, "Oh. It's already 1:30. Did you eat yet?"
"No. You picked me up right before lunch."
"Are you hungry?"
"Not really..."
"You gotta eat something, kiddo. Why don't I make you a grilled cheese and some tomato soup? That's probably just what your belly needs. Your mom also said you need to take some cough syrup."
"Aww, man, but it tastes so gross!"
Chris gets the medicine off the nightstand, "Just throw it all back at once and you won't even taste it. I'll even let you do it yourself." He says, opening it and handing it to her.
Sadie scowls, "Fine." She says. She pours the cough syrup into the plastic cup, then throws it all down her throat, wincing just a little bit.
Chris' eyebrows shoot up, "Your mother is really gonna have to worry about you when you're a teenager; that was impressive."
"What was?"
"Nevermind. I'll take that, and I'll go make you some lunch now, okay?"
Chris remembered the first time he and Melanie ever went to a real party in high school. Melanie was extremely introverted and Chris figured she'd just be super shy and following him around the whole time, which pretty much was what happened. He left to use the bathroom at one point though, and when he came back, Melanie was taking shots with two other girls. Chris assumed that that was where Sadie got it from.
x
After eating, Sadie actually fell asleep for a little while. When she woke up, she lay on Chris' shoulder and the two of them relaxed and watched television a bit. After a awhile, Sadie wrapped her arms around Chris' torso and looked up at him.
"I'm happy you're home."
Chris smiles down at her, "I'm happy I'm home too." He says, "Are you feeling any better?"
"A little, I guess. Why do you think I'm sick?"
"I dunno. Sometimes when the seasons start to change, it makes people sick. You might be getting a bad cold or the flu."
Sadie huffs, "I hate being sick. It's so boring. I know I'm supposed to rest, but do I really have to just lay around and do nothing all day?"
"Well, maybe we can think of something to do to make the day a little more fun."
"Like what?"
x
Melanie walks into the house after work, "Chris, Sadie, I'm home!"
Fred dashes over to greet her. Melanie smiles and pets him.
"Hey, you. Were you good today?"
"Yeah, he was good!" Sadie calls from elsewhere.
Melanie walks into the living room and raises an eyebrow at the blanket fort in the middle of her living room. The chairs from the dining room were aligned and stacked up to make a rather large blanket fort.
"Um..."
Sadie peeks her head out from under the blankets, "Hi, Mommy."
"Hi." Melanie laughs, "I thought you were sick."
"I am."
"Shouldn't you be relaxing?"
"I am. I've been laying down and looking at I Spy books for like two hours. I was just so bored with being sick, so Chris helped me have a little more fun."
"Oh. Okay." Melanie says, kicking her shoes off, "So where is Chris?"
Sadie's eyes widen, "Uh...I don't know."
Melanie gives a deadpanned look, "He's in the blanket fort with you, isn't he?"
Sadie shakes her head, "No, he's not." She says, trying not to laugh.
"Uh huh. Chris, are you in the blanket fort?"
"Excuse me, I am a mature, responsible, sophisticated adult. I made the blanket fort for Sadie."
"Uh huh. So where are you then?"
"...In the blanket fort."
"Mature." Melanie says, setting her purse down, "So what are you two doing now?"
"I got some coloring books so now I'm gonna color." Sadie says.
"That's nice. And what are you doing, Chris?" Melanie asks.
"...Coloring a dinosaur."
Melanie starts cracking up. Sadie furrows her eyebrows in confusion, then goes back into the fort.
"No you're not! You're coloring the Power Puff Girls!"
Melanie laughs even harder. Chris peeks his head out and narrows his eyes at her.
"Fine. If that's how you're gonna be, you don't get to come in." He says before going back in.
"Oh, guys, come on, I wanna come in!" Melanie exclaims, "If I promise to be nice, can I please come in?"
Fred goes over to the tent and Sadie lets him in.
"So the dog gets access but I don't?! Are you really just gonna leave me out here all alone?" Melanie asks, dramatically.
"Should we let her in?" Sadie whispers.
"I dunno, should we?"
"Well, she is my mom."
"That's a good point. Ooh, you know what? We don't have any food in here. I have an idea."
Chris and Sadie each peek their heads out at Melanie.
"There is a new, unopened box of Oreos on top of your refrigerator. Bring it to us as an offering, then say the pledge and we'll let you in." Chris says.
"Okay, I'll get the - wait, pledge?"
"The pledge that everyone has to say to get into the fort. Chris and I wrote it."
"Oh God. Okay, I'll go get the Oreos."
Melanie goes into the kitchen. Chris and Sadie high-five. Melanie returns a moment later and kneels down by the entrance of the fort.
"I present, an entire box of double-stuffed Oreos. Now, what is this pledge?" Melanie asks.
"Hang on, I wrote it down." Sadie says before disappearing beneath the blanket again. She returns a moment later with a piece of paper with red crayon written on it. Melanie observes it.
"I honestly can't tell if this is yours or Chris' handwriting."
"You're not helping your chances of getting fort access." Chris deadpans.
"Okay, okay, I'll play nice."
"Now, put your right hand on your heart and say it like you would say the pledge of allegiance to the American flag." Sadie says.
"Alright...'I pledge allegiance to the fort in my living room and to the brilliant minds behind it.'" Melanie glares at Chris. He nods to her, telling her to keep going. She rolls her eyes, then continues.
"'One nation, above Satan, to outsiders invisible, with liberty and justice to all who bring snacks'."
"You're in!" Sadie exclaims.
Melanie smiles, then crawls in so that Sadie was in between her and Chris. She looks around. There were even lights in there.
"Did you dig out my Christmas lights?" Melanie asks.
"Yup, and I hung them up with clothes pins and plugged it in over there. It made the place a bit more homey and it made it easier to see the coloring books." Chris says.
Melanie laughs, then looks to Sadie, "How you feeling, sweetie?"
Melanie puts her hand on Sadie's forehead.
"You're still a little warm, but you do look a little better."
"That's because Chris helped me to feel better."
Melanie smiles and looks to Chris, "Thank you." She says, "Now, let me see this Power Puff Girls coloring book."
x
Sadie was pretty okay for a while, but as it got later in the night, she started to not feel so well again and was asleep by 7:30, which was early for her. Melanie strokes Sadie's hair, they were still in the blanket fort and by now it was well passed midnight.
"I think I'm gonna keep her home tomorrow too. I'm worried about her." Melanie says.
"She's probably just coming down with something. The next couple days might be rough, but she'll be okay. And I'll be here to help take care of her."
"Well, I still think I'm gonna call off work so I can stay here and be with her."
"That might be a good idea."
"Please, you're the one with all the good ideas, mister blanket fort." Melanie says, "Should I leave her in here or take her upstairs?"
"Just keep her in here. She's got blankets and pillows and stuffed animals, she'll be fine."
"You crashing here tonight?"
"Might as well. I'm gonna be here tomorrow anyway. I'm just gonna have to run home for an hour tomorrow morning to shower and get a change of clothes."
"Chris, you've barely been home since you got back from tour. You can go be in your own house if you want."
"My house is empty and there's no blanket fort there. I'd much rather be here with you guys."
Melanie smiles, "Well, if you insist."
"I do insist."
Melanie's smile grows, "I missed you."
Chris smiles in return, "I missed you too."
They stare at each other a moment, gravitating closer and closer together...They began to get really close to each other. Once Chris began to realize what was happening, he brought his hand up and removed a strand of hair from in front of Melanie's face.
"Your hair is starting to come out of your braid." Chris says.
Melanie turns red and she removes her hair from the braid and lets it fall over her shoulders. Chris couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was so beautiful...
"What are you staring at?" Melanie asks.
"Oh, n-nothing, I just...missed you."
"You already said that."
"I know, but...I did."
Melanie smiles, then she lays down next to Sadie. Chris lays down too, on the other side of Sadie.
"How did my baby get so big?" Melanie asks, looking down at Sadie, "So much has changed..."
Chris looks down at Melanie, "Yeah...a lot has changed..."
There's a pause, then Sadie begins to stir. She stirs more and whimpers, then opens her eyes and looks up at Chris.
"You okay, kiddo?" Chris asks.
"Bad dream. Mommy?"
"I'm right here, baby." Melanie says, stroking Sadie's hair.
Sadie was sandwiched between Chris and Melanie. She clutches her stuffed animals and nuzzles herself into Chris and Melanie before dozing off again.
"She never has bad dreams." Melanie says.
"I had some pretty crazy dreams when I had the flu as a kid."
Melanie sighs, "I'm definitely keeping her home tomorrow."
Melanie rests her head above Sadie's and shuts her eyes. Chris looks down at the two of them a minute, then reaches over and turns the Christmas lights off. Fred lay at their feet, sound asleep. Chris lays down next to Melanie and Sadie, then eventually he too drifts off.
A/N: Awwwww...This chapter was super cute and funny and I've been waiting forever to write it and for you guys to read it so let me know what you thought of it. Chris and Melanie are getting awful close and personaaaaalllll...
Let me know what you think!
xoxo, Scissorhands