Fic: Clearing Stones (Glee, Kurt/Puck, PG)
Title: Clearing Stones
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Puck/Kurt
Rating: PG
Word count: 4250
Summary: You can't send your kid to daycare when they've got a fever, which causes lots of problems for working parents, especially when they're single. Luckily for Puck, he's not single anymore. Or, a little future scene set in the Those Old Streetscapes universe.
Warnings: Kidfic
A/N: Written for the 'minor illness' square on my h/c bingo card. Also written to entertain jengeorge, whose birthday happens to be today, although this is not birthday fic, since she read it last week. Happy birthday, Jen. I know it's not the best birthday ever, but I hope there's some good in your day today.
After three months of living with Beth, Kurt was starting to learn which of her cries were real and which ones were her trying to con her father into giving her what she wanted. She had a natural talent for manipulation, a fact that would probably impress Kurt if he wasn’t too busy living in fear of her teenage years.
Generally when she was trying to manipulate her father she was wide awake, however, so Kurt was fairly sure when they woke to the sound of soft whimpering on the day of Mike’s grand opening, that it wasn’t a con. Puck groaned and shoved the covers back, pausing long enough to tug his sweatpants a little further up his hips before he disappeared in the direction of Beth’s room.
For a few moments Kurt stayed burrowed under the warmth of the bedspread and listened to Puck moving around on the other side of the apartment. Technically he didn’t have a reason to get up; Will was in Miami for a few days, so Kurt found himself with a little free time. Beth would go to daycare while Puck spent the day teaching his first dance classes at Mike’s school, and that meant Kurt had the day to himself.
Still, the apartment was small enough that he could hear Puck murmuring to Beth all the way from her room, heard Beth’s continued whimpers and sighed as he pushed the covers back and sat up. He headed for the bathroom, going through his morning routine on automatic pilot. When he opened the door again Puck was standing in the middle of their living room/dining room/kitchen, Beth balanced on one hip and his other hand gripping the phone.
He looked up when Kurt came in, then he thanked whoever was on the other end of the line and hung up. When he let out a sigh and set the phone down to press his hand against Beth’s forehead Kurt knew something wasn’t right, and he crossed the room to stop next to Puck. Even from a foot away he could feel the heat radiating off Beth, saw her red-rimmed eyes and miserable expression, and Kurt’s stomach tied in a knot.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s got a fever,” Puck answered, his hand moving up and down her back as she whimpered against his shoulder, “which means the daycare won’t take her. I called Ma, but she must be on the subway already, because she’s not picking up. Sarah’s got school, and a whole day is too much for Nana, even if she won’t admit it. Maybe I can get Santana to cover my classes, at least for the morning.”
“Noah, no. It’s your first day.” Kurt reached out and rested a hand on Beth’s back, just above where Puck’s hand was still moving in slow circles. “I realize I’m not the ideal choice, but I can stay with her.”
He tried not to be offended by Puck’s skeptical look. Granted, Kurt didn’t have any actual experience with children, let alone sick children, but he didn’t see how hard it could be. When he had a fever all he wanted to do was sleep, so chances were good Beth would spend most of the day unconscious anyway.
And okay, he’d never actually been alone with her before, but he’d always known that this day would come, especially once they were all living together. It hadn’t crossed his mind until he offered that Puck might be a little nervous about leaving Kurt alone with his daughter, but before Kurt had a chance to take back his offer, Puck was talking.
“You sure, babe? She can be kind of a handful when she’s sick.”
Kurt looked at Beth’s glazed eyes and her sad, vacant expression, his heart clenching at the sight of the usually vivacious little girl looking so miserable. “We’ll be fine, Noah, I promise.”
Puck nodded again, then he took a deep breath and handed Beth over. She was even warmer pressed against Kurt, breath hot and the sour smells of sleep and fever radiating off her. Kurt’s stomach tied itself in knots, but he tried to keep his panic off his face as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I can call my mom again and see if she can come by this afternoon.”
“There’s no reason for your mother to take time off work,” Kurt said. “It’s not as though I have anywhere to be today.”
“Yeah, okay,” Puck answered, hand sliding through Beth’s hair and pushing a few sweat-damp curls off her forehead. He lingered for another second or two, then he leaned in and brushed a kiss across Kurt’s cheek. “Thanks, babe. I’m gonna grab a shower quick.”
Once he was gone Kurt settled Beth a little more securely on his hip, then he carried her into the kitchen. “You want some breakfast, honey?”
She shook her head against his neck, breath too hot and Kurt frowned as he pressed a hand to her forehead, then realized he had no idea what he was feeling for. He knew she was hotter than usual, but he couldn’t tell how hot was too hot, and he wasn’t even sure what to do if she did get too hot anyway.
He shoved down the panic threatening to rise into his throat, because Puck hadn’t even left yet, and Kurt wasn’t going to ruin his first day as a dance teacher by being completely useless. Instead he reached into the fridge for the apple juice, pouring some into one of Beth’s cups and pushing the lid into place. It took longer than it needed to, but he only had one free hand to work with, and the second he even considered putting Beth down, she whined and burrowed even further into his neck.
“I want Daddy,” she said, and she sounded so pathetic that for a second Kurt considered heading for the bedroom in search of Puck. But he had a big day ahead of him, and he wasn’t going to be able to focus on his classes if he was busy worrying that Kurt couldn’t handle a few hours with a sick little girl.
“I know,” Kurt said instead, nudging her until she straightened up enough to take the juice from him. “But Daddy’s got a big day today. He’s going to be a teacher, remember?”
She didn’t look all that impressed, but she didn’t have the energy to argue, either, so Kurt shifted her weight again and pulled open the fridge to see what he could coax her into eating for breakfast. Neither of them was exactly a gourmet cook, but Puck’s idea of balanced nutrition involved Fruit Loops and two percent milk, so pretty much anything Kurt came up with had to be an improvement.
He was still contemplating whether or not he could pull off scrambled eggs one-handed when Puck reappeared, t-shirt hanging loose over his jeans and looking more like a student than anyone’s teacher. Then again, Kurt had never taken a hip hop class before, so Puck would know better than him what the standard uniform consisted of.
For a long moment Puck just stood in the doorway watching him, and Kurt braced himself for the moment Puck said that he was sorry, but there was no way he could trust alone Kurt with his daughter while she was sick. And he did look worried, but there was something else there too, and when Puck crossed the room and pulled them both close to press his lips to Kurt’s, his heart picked up speed.
“I gave her some baby Tylenol already; that’s supposed to help the fever go down,” Puck said, pulling away from Kurt long enough to press a kiss to Beth’s forehead. “The thermometer’s in the bathroom. If she gets any worse, call me. Mike will understand.”
“We’ll be fine,” Kurt said again, but he wasn’t sure which of them he was trying to convince. Beth was squirming again, dripping apple juice down the back of his shirt as she tried to get Puck to take her. She had more energy than Kurt expected, considering how miserable she looked, and he tightened his grip and reached for the juice before it hit the floor.
“Do you want some breakfast before you go?”
“I’ll grab something on the way,” Puck answered, brushing another kiss against Beth’s curls before he looked at Kurt again. “Seriously, babe, are you sure...?”
“Go,” Kurt said, because he wasn’t sure at all, and the longer Puck hung around asking him, the closer he got to admitting that he couldn’t handle this. Which was ridiculous; he was only nervous because he’d never been alone with Beth before, but he’d spent enough time helping Puck take care of her that he knew what to do. “You don’t want to be late on your first day. I don’t care if Mike’s your boss; it still sets a bad precedent.”
Puck laughed and leaned in to kiss him again, then he let Kurt push him back toward the door. “Okay, okay. But call me if...”
“I know, Noah,” Kurt said. “I’ll call the minute anything changes, I swear.”
He still didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t have much choice either, so finally Puck nodded and picked up his keys. The second the front door closed Beth started sniffling, the sound getting louder and louder until she was wailing in Kurt’s ear. He spared a hope that Puck was too far down the stairs to hear her, then he carried her into the living room and turned on the TV.
“Do you want to watch some Dora?”
“I want Daddy,” she cried, louder than ever, and Kurt bounced her on his hip while he turned on the DVD player.
“I know, baby, but he has to work. He’ll be home soon, I promise.”
And okay, it was a little bit of a stretch, but she hadn’t actually learned to tell time yet, so he figured it didn’t matter that much. He set her on the couch, then he arranged the pillows until she was propped up well enough to see the TV. He put in her favorite Dora DVD, the one she’d watched so many times he was surprised there weren’t holes worn in it, then he went to her room and got her favorite blanket.
Once she was tucked into a nest in the middle of the couch and back to sniffling softly, Kurt took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen again. He made a pot of coffee, listening to the sounds of Dora and her annoying bilingual woodland friends while he waited for it to finish dripping.
It felt like forever before the little red light turned to green, but finally Kurt poured a cup and added ample amounts of sugar and cream. He picked up Beth's abandoned juice and his coffee and headed back to the living room, half expecting to find Beth fast asleep.
But Beth wasn’t sleeping; she was huddled inside the nest of pillows Kurt had made for her, eyes still red-rimmed and looking as miserable as ever, and as soon as she spotted Kurt her chin started to quiver. His heart fluttered and he made a strained noise in his throat, then he set his coffee and her juice down on the table and sat down next to her. Kurt reached for her and pulled her into his chest, snuggling close and reaching up to press a hand against her too-hot forehead.
He thought about taking her temperature again, just to make sure it hadn’t gone up, then he realized that Puck never told him what it was the first time. Kurt thought about calling him and asking, but he didn’t want Puck to worry that Beth was getting worse, and he knew if he called that was exactly what would happen.
Kurt sighed and leaned his head against Beth’s, watching Dora sing some ridiculous song about her backpack for a moment or two before he straightened up to look down at her again. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and Kurt felt helpless enough to want to cry along with her. But Puck hadn’t even been gone half an hour, and there was no way Kurt was going to fall apart before Puck even got to the studio and let him and Beth down.
Instead he kissed her on the top of the head, then he reached over and wiped her wet cheeks with his thumb. “Do you want some more juice?”
For a moment she just stared up at him, and Kurt braced himself for another round of noisy tears. Then she sniffed once and nodded her head, and he let out a breath and handed over her cup. Once she was settled again he picked up his coffee, then he leaned back and resigned himself to more Dora the Explorer than most sane people could stand.
~
Three hours and several cups of apple juice later, they’d watched two episodes of Dora, a full hour of Sesame Street, and currently Beth was staring listlessly at something called “The Backyardigans” that mostly made him want to stab his own eyes out.
Kurt had taken her temperature again and checked the bottle of Tylenol to see when he should give her another dose, but there were no useful instructions on the damn thing. She didn’t feel any hotter than she had that morning, but it was hard to trust himself when he didn’t know anything about sick kids. He had no idea how dangerous fevers were for four-year-olds; he didn’t even know if her current temperature was considered high or not.
The internet wasn’t any help at all; every site he consulted told him that Beth’s symptoms could mean anything, and that if he was unsure he should call her doctor. Kurt didn’t even know if she had a regular doctor; for all he knew Puck just took her to the walk-in clinic when she was really sick, and he wasn’t about to call Puck -- or worse, Puck’s mother -- and ask.
“I don’t feel good,” Beth moaned, squirming against him on the couch and sending up another wave of heat.
“I know, baby,” he said, his hand on her forehead, but she didn’t really feel any hotter than she did the last time he checked. Still, he couldn’t be sure without taking her temperature again, and he was debating going to get the thermometer when she leaned forward and threw up apple juice straight down the front of her pajamas.
Kurt’s stomach clenched and he scrambled off the couch, pulling blankets out of the way and picking Beth up to rush her into the bathroom. She was crying again, and Kurt wasn’t sure if it was the shock of being sick or the way he’d grabbed her. He rubbed her back the way he’d seen Puck do that morning, making soothing noises in his throat as he set her down on the toilet and turned on the water in the sink.
“It’s okay, honey, let’s just get you cleaned up,” he said, reaching for a washcloth and letting the water run until it started to get warm. He pulled her pajamas off and tossed them in the corner, then he held the washcloth under the water and rang it out before he wiped her face and her chest.
Once she was more or less cleaned up he wrapped a towel around her and dried her face, pushing her hair away from her forehead and reaching for the thermometer. “Do you feel like you’re going to throw up again?”
Beth shook her head, but he knew better than to trust a four-year-old’s judgment. Still, he couldn’t keep her in the bathroom until Puck got home, and he had no idea if throwing up was a sign that she was getting worse. He knew he should call Puck and let him know, but he was only halfway through his first day, and Kurt didn’t want to make him rush home for a false alarm.
There was Connie, of course, but even if Kurt had her work number, the last thing he wanted to do was call his boyfriend’s mother and tell her he couldn’t handle one day alone with Beth. Kurt sighed and checked the thermometer, but Beth’s temperature hadn’t gone up since the last time he took it. He told himself that was a good sign, then he bundled her a little tighter in her towel and picked her up.
Instead of taking her back to the couch he carried her to the bedroom he shared with Puck, digging around in the dresser until he found one of Puck’s t-shirts. He set Beth down on the bed and pulled the t-shirt over her head, grinning when she made a face at him.
“This is Daddy’s shirt.”
“He won’t mind,” Kurt answered. “Come on, lift up.”
She lifted her arms obediently to let him pull the sleeves down, then he pulled back the covers and settled her on Puck’s pillow. “How about you lie down for a little bit while I go get my phone, okay?”
Beth nodded and closed her eyes, and Kurt hoped that if she threw up again that she’d at least do it on Puck’s side of the bed. His heart was still pounding and he smelled like apple juice, but he ignored his own panic and picked up his phone where he’d left it on the coffee table. There was no one in New York he could call, not if he didn’t want to look like a complete failure as...well, sort of a stepparent, so instead he took a deep breath and dialed a number he knew as well as his own.
“Kurt?” Carole said when she picked up the phone, and the sound of her voice made a lump rise in Kurt’s throat.
“Help.”
“What’s wrong?” Carole asked, and he couldn’t say why, but somehow just hearing that made him feel better.
“It’s Beth,” he said, keeping his voice low as he leaned in the bedroom door to make sure Beth was still where he’d left her. “She woke up with a fever and Noah had to go to work, and she’s been crying and she won’t eat, and just now she threw up.”
“Have you taken her temperature?”
“It’s 100.5,” Kurt answered, taking a deep breath and focusing on Carole in nurse mode so he wouldn’t panic. “It’s been 100.5 since this morning. I got her to drink some apple juice, but she just threw most of it up again.”
“Her temperature hasn’t gone up, that’s a good sign,” Carole said. “Chances are she only threw up because she had too much juice on an empty stomach. You don’t want her to get dehydrated, but don’t give her any more juice until you’re sure she’s not going to throw up again.”
“Dehydrated?” Kurt repeated, panic rising again as he glanced toward the bed where Beth was hopefully sleeping.
“Calm down, honey, you won’t do her any good by panicking. She’s going to be fine,” Carole said, and she sounded so sure that Kurt wanted to believe her. “Have you given her any Tylenol?”
“Noah gave her some before he left, but I couldn’t tell from the bottle how long I should wait before I gave her another dose.”
“You should wait about six hours. What’s she doing now?”
“I think she’s finally asleep,” Kurt answered, then he held his breath and crept into the bedroom to get a closer look. Beth’s eyes were closed, chest rising and falling steadily, and when Kurt leaned in a little closer she didn’t stir.
“Good, that’s the best thing for her,” Carole said. “Let her sleep, and when she wakes up you can give her some more Tylenol. Try to get her to eat some toast, maybe, and give her a little more juice, but not too much. If her temperature goes up, call me.”
“Okay,” Kurt said, swallowing hard against a fresh rush of panic. “Thanks, Carole.”
“Any time, honey, you know that,” Carole answered. “You’re both going to be fine. Keep me posted, okay?”
He knew if they lived in the same town that she’d be on her way over already, and suddenly he wished more than anything that she was there. He wished she and his dad could come over for dinner the way he and Puck and Beth all went to Connie’s place every Saturday, that he could call his parents in a panic and know they’d drop everything to get to him.
But he was an adult now, even if it didn’t always feel that way, and he couldn’t count on them to make everything better. Beth was counting on him to make everything better, at least right now, and he had no idea how to do that.
Kurt thanked Carole and promised to call and update her on Beth’s progress, then he hung up the phone. He was about to put it in his pocket when his text alert beeped, and he glanced down at the screen and saw Puck’s name.
hows it going
Kurt swallowed a fresh rush of panic and pressed ‘reply’, then he glanced toward the bed where Beth was still sleeping.
Everything’s fine. She’s asleep.
He thought about telling Puck that she’d thrown up, but he didn’t want to worry him. The last thing he wanted was for Puck to cut his first day of work short to rush home, not when Carole had assured him that Beth was fine.
u okay?
Kurt rolled his eyes at the message, but he found himself smiling as he pressed reply again. We’re both fine. Stop worrying.
k. b home soon
Kurt grinned again and closed his phone, then he crossed the room to the dresser and pulled out a fresh shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He changed into clean clothes, then he tossed the apple juice stained clothes in the hamper and crossed back to the bed. Beth was still fast asleep, curls falling across her forehead and Kurt reached out and brushed them back out of her eyes.
He thought about lying down with her and closing his eyes for a while, but he hadn’t eaten anything yet either, and suddenly he was starving. Kurt pressed the back of his hand to Beth’s forehead, holding it there until he was convinced she wasn’t any more warm than the last time he’d checked. Then he let out a deep breath and stood up, leaving her to sleep while he headed for the kitchen to find something to eat.
~
“Babe, wake up.”
Kurt murmured sleepily and blinked a few times, fighting his way back from a deep sleep to squint at Puck. “Beth...”
“She’s fine,” Puck answered, glancing toward the other side of the couch where Kurt assumed Beth was still curled up. “Her fever’s down and she’s out like a light.”
“Mmm,” Kurt murmured, fighting his way into a sitting position and glancing over at the bundle of blankets and pillows that he knew was hiding Puck’s daughter. “I got her to eat a little toast earlier, but she hasn’t had much of an appetite.”
“Yeah, she never does when she’s sick. Mostly she just wants juice, then she ends up puking from drinking too much.”
Kurt bit his tongue to keep from telling Puck that that would have been useful information eight hours ago. Instead he yawned and pulled Puck down onto the couch next to him, curling into Puck’s side and resting his head on Puck’s shoulder.
“So how was your first day?”
“Good. A little crazy, but I think we pulled it off.”
Puck’s arm slid around his shoulders, pulling Kurt a little closer and leaning in to brush a kiss against his temple. Kurt smiled into his shoulder and stifled another yawn against his shirt. “I knew you’d be amazing.”
Puck’s laugh vibrated through him, arm tightening a little around Kurt’s shoulders as he kissed Kurt again. “It was probably a lot easier than playing nurse. Did she give you any trouble?”
“She was fine. Are you sure her fever’s down?”
“Yeah,” Puck answered, his grip tightening again when Kurt tried to sit up and get a look at her. “You did good, babe. Thanks for staying with her.”
“It was no trouble, Noah.”
That got him another kiss, and if Puck was going to be this grateful just for a little babysitting, Kurt would stay with Beth every time Will was out of town.
Before he could turn into the kiss Beth stirred on the other side of the couch, and when a head full of curls appeared over the pile of blankets and she murmured a sleepy, “Daddy?”, Puck sighed and pulled away.
“Yeah, Princess,” Puck said, letting go of Kurt to stand up and reach for her. He pulled her out of her nest of blankets and lifted her onto one hip, pushing her hair back from her face. “Feeling better?”
Beth nodded against his shoulder, eyes fluttering closed and her arms sliding around his neck. “I threw up.”
Puck glanced back at Kurt and raised an eyebrow, but Kurt was too tired to defend himself. Instead he closed his eyes and stretched out on the couch, listening to Puck talking softly to Beth as he carried her across the tiny apartment to her bedroom.
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Puck/Kurt
Rating: PG
Word count: 4250
Summary: You can't send your kid to daycare when they've got a fever, which causes lots of problems for working parents, especially when they're single. Luckily for Puck, he's not single anymore. Or, a little future scene set in the Those Old Streetscapes universe.
Warnings: Kidfic
A/N: Written for the 'minor illness' square on my h/c bingo card. Also written to entertain jengeorge, whose birthday happens to be today, although this is not birthday fic, since she read it last week. Happy birthday, Jen. I know it's not the best birthday ever, but I hope there's some good in your day today.
After three months of living with Beth, Kurt was starting to learn which of her cries were real and which ones were her trying to con her father into giving her what she wanted. She had a natural talent for manipulation, a fact that would probably impress Kurt if he wasn’t too busy living in fear of her teenage years.
Generally when she was trying to manipulate her father she was wide awake, however, so Kurt was fairly sure when they woke to the sound of soft whimpering on the day of Mike’s grand opening, that it wasn’t a con. Puck groaned and shoved the covers back, pausing long enough to tug his sweatpants a little further up his hips before he disappeared in the direction of Beth’s room.
For a few moments Kurt stayed burrowed under the warmth of the bedspread and listened to Puck moving around on the other side of the apartment. Technically he didn’t have a reason to get up; Will was in Miami for a few days, so Kurt found himself with a little free time. Beth would go to daycare while Puck spent the day teaching his first dance classes at Mike’s school, and that meant Kurt had the day to himself.
Still, the apartment was small enough that he could hear Puck murmuring to Beth all the way from her room, heard Beth’s continued whimpers and sighed as he pushed the covers back and sat up. He headed for the bathroom, going through his morning routine on automatic pilot. When he opened the door again Puck was standing in the middle of their living room/dining room/kitchen, Beth balanced on one hip and his other hand gripping the phone.
He looked up when Kurt came in, then he thanked whoever was on the other end of the line and hung up. When he let out a sigh and set the phone down to press his hand against Beth’s forehead Kurt knew something wasn’t right, and he crossed the room to stop next to Puck. Even from a foot away he could feel the heat radiating off Beth, saw her red-rimmed eyes and miserable expression, and Kurt’s stomach tied in a knot.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s got a fever,” Puck answered, his hand moving up and down her back as she whimpered against his shoulder, “which means the daycare won’t take her. I called Ma, but she must be on the subway already, because she’s not picking up. Sarah’s got school, and a whole day is too much for Nana, even if she won’t admit it. Maybe I can get Santana to cover my classes, at least for the morning.”
“Noah, no. It’s your first day.” Kurt reached out and rested a hand on Beth’s back, just above where Puck’s hand was still moving in slow circles. “I realize I’m not the ideal choice, but I can stay with her.”
He tried not to be offended by Puck’s skeptical look. Granted, Kurt didn’t have any actual experience with children, let alone sick children, but he didn’t see how hard it could be. When he had a fever all he wanted to do was sleep, so chances were good Beth would spend most of the day unconscious anyway.
And okay, he’d never actually been alone with her before, but he’d always known that this day would come, especially once they were all living together. It hadn’t crossed his mind until he offered that Puck might be a little nervous about leaving Kurt alone with his daughter, but before Kurt had a chance to take back his offer, Puck was talking.
“You sure, babe? She can be kind of a handful when she’s sick.”
Kurt looked at Beth’s glazed eyes and her sad, vacant expression, his heart clenching at the sight of the usually vivacious little girl looking so miserable. “We’ll be fine, Noah, I promise.”
Puck nodded again, then he took a deep breath and handed Beth over. She was even warmer pressed against Kurt, breath hot and the sour smells of sleep and fever radiating off her. Kurt’s stomach tied itself in knots, but he tried to keep his panic off his face as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I can call my mom again and see if she can come by this afternoon.”
“There’s no reason for your mother to take time off work,” Kurt said. “It’s not as though I have anywhere to be today.”
“Yeah, okay,” Puck answered, hand sliding through Beth’s hair and pushing a few sweat-damp curls off her forehead. He lingered for another second or two, then he leaned in and brushed a kiss across Kurt’s cheek. “Thanks, babe. I’m gonna grab a shower quick.”
Once he was gone Kurt settled Beth a little more securely on his hip, then he carried her into the kitchen. “You want some breakfast, honey?”
She shook her head against his neck, breath too hot and Kurt frowned as he pressed a hand to her forehead, then realized he had no idea what he was feeling for. He knew she was hotter than usual, but he couldn’t tell how hot was too hot, and he wasn’t even sure what to do if she did get too hot anyway.
He shoved down the panic threatening to rise into his throat, because Puck hadn’t even left yet, and Kurt wasn’t going to ruin his first day as a dance teacher by being completely useless. Instead he reached into the fridge for the apple juice, pouring some into one of Beth’s cups and pushing the lid into place. It took longer than it needed to, but he only had one free hand to work with, and the second he even considered putting Beth down, she whined and burrowed even further into his neck.
“I want Daddy,” she said, and she sounded so pathetic that for a second Kurt considered heading for the bedroom in search of Puck. But he had a big day ahead of him, and he wasn’t going to be able to focus on his classes if he was busy worrying that Kurt couldn’t handle a few hours with a sick little girl.
“I know,” Kurt said instead, nudging her until she straightened up enough to take the juice from him. “But Daddy’s got a big day today. He’s going to be a teacher, remember?”
She didn’t look all that impressed, but she didn’t have the energy to argue, either, so Kurt shifted her weight again and pulled open the fridge to see what he could coax her into eating for breakfast. Neither of them was exactly a gourmet cook, but Puck’s idea of balanced nutrition involved Fruit Loops and two percent milk, so pretty much anything Kurt came up with had to be an improvement.
He was still contemplating whether or not he could pull off scrambled eggs one-handed when Puck reappeared, t-shirt hanging loose over his jeans and looking more like a student than anyone’s teacher. Then again, Kurt had never taken a hip hop class before, so Puck would know better than him what the standard uniform consisted of.
For a long moment Puck just stood in the doorway watching him, and Kurt braced himself for the moment Puck said that he was sorry, but there was no way he could trust alone Kurt with his daughter while she was sick. And he did look worried, but there was something else there too, and when Puck crossed the room and pulled them both close to press his lips to Kurt’s, his heart picked up speed.
“I gave her some baby Tylenol already; that’s supposed to help the fever go down,” Puck said, pulling away from Kurt long enough to press a kiss to Beth’s forehead. “The thermometer’s in the bathroom. If she gets any worse, call me. Mike will understand.”
“We’ll be fine,” Kurt said again, but he wasn’t sure which of them he was trying to convince. Beth was squirming again, dripping apple juice down the back of his shirt as she tried to get Puck to take her. She had more energy than Kurt expected, considering how miserable she looked, and he tightened his grip and reached for the juice before it hit the floor.
“Do you want some breakfast before you go?”
“I’ll grab something on the way,” Puck answered, brushing another kiss against Beth’s curls before he looked at Kurt again. “Seriously, babe, are you sure...?”
“Go,” Kurt said, because he wasn’t sure at all, and the longer Puck hung around asking him, the closer he got to admitting that he couldn’t handle this. Which was ridiculous; he was only nervous because he’d never been alone with Beth before, but he’d spent enough time helping Puck take care of her that he knew what to do. “You don’t want to be late on your first day. I don’t care if Mike’s your boss; it still sets a bad precedent.”
Puck laughed and leaned in to kiss him again, then he let Kurt push him back toward the door. “Okay, okay. But call me if...”
“I know, Noah,” Kurt said. “I’ll call the minute anything changes, I swear.”
He still didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t have much choice either, so finally Puck nodded and picked up his keys. The second the front door closed Beth started sniffling, the sound getting louder and louder until she was wailing in Kurt’s ear. He spared a hope that Puck was too far down the stairs to hear her, then he carried her into the living room and turned on the TV.
“Do you want to watch some Dora?”
“I want Daddy,” she cried, louder than ever, and Kurt bounced her on his hip while he turned on the DVD player.
“I know, baby, but he has to work. He’ll be home soon, I promise.”
And okay, it was a little bit of a stretch, but she hadn’t actually learned to tell time yet, so he figured it didn’t matter that much. He set her on the couch, then he arranged the pillows until she was propped up well enough to see the TV. He put in her favorite Dora DVD, the one she’d watched so many times he was surprised there weren’t holes worn in it, then he went to her room and got her favorite blanket.
Once she was tucked into a nest in the middle of the couch and back to sniffling softly, Kurt took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen again. He made a pot of coffee, listening to the sounds of Dora and her annoying bilingual woodland friends while he waited for it to finish dripping.
It felt like forever before the little red light turned to green, but finally Kurt poured a cup and added ample amounts of sugar and cream. He picked up Beth's abandoned juice and his coffee and headed back to the living room, half expecting to find Beth fast asleep.
But Beth wasn’t sleeping; she was huddled inside the nest of pillows Kurt had made for her, eyes still red-rimmed and looking as miserable as ever, and as soon as she spotted Kurt her chin started to quiver. His heart fluttered and he made a strained noise in his throat, then he set his coffee and her juice down on the table and sat down next to her. Kurt reached for her and pulled her into his chest, snuggling close and reaching up to press a hand against her too-hot forehead.
He thought about taking her temperature again, just to make sure it hadn’t gone up, then he realized that Puck never told him what it was the first time. Kurt thought about calling him and asking, but he didn’t want Puck to worry that Beth was getting worse, and he knew if he called that was exactly what would happen.
Kurt sighed and leaned his head against Beth’s, watching Dora sing some ridiculous song about her backpack for a moment or two before he straightened up to look down at her again. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and Kurt felt helpless enough to want to cry along with her. But Puck hadn’t even been gone half an hour, and there was no way Kurt was going to fall apart before Puck even got to the studio and let him and Beth down.
Instead he kissed her on the top of the head, then he reached over and wiped her wet cheeks with his thumb. “Do you want some more juice?”
For a moment she just stared up at him, and Kurt braced himself for another round of noisy tears. Then she sniffed once and nodded her head, and he let out a breath and handed over her cup. Once she was settled again he picked up his coffee, then he leaned back and resigned himself to more Dora the Explorer than most sane people could stand.
~
Three hours and several cups of apple juice later, they’d watched two episodes of Dora, a full hour of Sesame Street, and currently Beth was staring listlessly at something called “The Backyardigans” that mostly made him want to stab his own eyes out.
Kurt had taken her temperature again and checked the bottle of Tylenol to see when he should give her another dose, but there were no useful instructions on the damn thing. She didn’t feel any hotter than she had that morning, but it was hard to trust himself when he didn’t know anything about sick kids. He had no idea how dangerous fevers were for four-year-olds; he didn’t even know if her current temperature was considered high or not.
The internet wasn’t any help at all; every site he consulted told him that Beth’s symptoms could mean anything, and that if he was unsure he should call her doctor. Kurt didn’t even know if she had a regular doctor; for all he knew Puck just took her to the walk-in clinic when she was really sick, and he wasn’t about to call Puck -- or worse, Puck’s mother -- and ask.
“I don’t feel good,” Beth moaned, squirming against him on the couch and sending up another wave of heat.
“I know, baby,” he said, his hand on her forehead, but she didn’t really feel any hotter than she did the last time he checked. Still, he couldn’t be sure without taking her temperature again, and he was debating going to get the thermometer when she leaned forward and threw up apple juice straight down the front of her pajamas.
Kurt’s stomach clenched and he scrambled off the couch, pulling blankets out of the way and picking Beth up to rush her into the bathroom. She was crying again, and Kurt wasn’t sure if it was the shock of being sick or the way he’d grabbed her. He rubbed her back the way he’d seen Puck do that morning, making soothing noises in his throat as he set her down on the toilet and turned on the water in the sink.
“It’s okay, honey, let’s just get you cleaned up,” he said, reaching for a washcloth and letting the water run until it started to get warm. He pulled her pajamas off and tossed them in the corner, then he held the washcloth under the water and rang it out before he wiped her face and her chest.
Once she was more or less cleaned up he wrapped a towel around her and dried her face, pushing her hair away from her forehead and reaching for the thermometer. “Do you feel like you’re going to throw up again?”
Beth shook her head, but he knew better than to trust a four-year-old’s judgment. Still, he couldn’t keep her in the bathroom until Puck got home, and he had no idea if throwing up was a sign that she was getting worse. He knew he should call Puck and let him know, but he was only halfway through his first day, and Kurt didn’t want to make him rush home for a false alarm.
There was Connie, of course, but even if Kurt had her work number, the last thing he wanted to do was call his boyfriend’s mother and tell her he couldn’t handle one day alone with Beth. Kurt sighed and checked the thermometer, but Beth’s temperature hadn’t gone up since the last time he took it. He told himself that was a good sign, then he bundled her a little tighter in her towel and picked her up.
Instead of taking her back to the couch he carried her to the bedroom he shared with Puck, digging around in the dresser until he found one of Puck’s t-shirts. He set Beth down on the bed and pulled the t-shirt over her head, grinning when she made a face at him.
“This is Daddy’s shirt.”
“He won’t mind,” Kurt answered. “Come on, lift up.”
She lifted her arms obediently to let him pull the sleeves down, then he pulled back the covers and settled her on Puck’s pillow. “How about you lie down for a little bit while I go get my phone, okay?”
Beth nodded and closed her eyes, and Kurt hoped that if she threw up again that she’d at least do it on Puck’s side of the bed. His heart was still pounding and he smelled like apple juice, but he ignored his own panic and picked up his phone where he’d left it on the coffee table. There was no one in New York he could call, not if he didn’t want to look like a complete failure as...well, sort of a stepparent, so instead he took a deep breath and dialed a number he knew as well as his own.
“Kurt?” Carole said when she picked up the phone, and the sound of her voice made a lump rise in Kurt’s throat.
“Help.”
“What’s wrong?” Carole asked, and he couldn’t say why, but somehow just hearing that made him feel better.
“It’s Beth,” he said, keeping his voice low as he leaned in the bedroom door to make sure Beth was still where he’d left her. “She woke up with a fever and Noah had to go to work, and she’s been crying and she won’t eat, and just now she threw up.”
“Have you taken her temperature?”
“It’s 100.5,” Kurt answered, taking a deep breath and focusing on Carole in nurse mode so he wouldn’t panic. “It’s been 100.5 since this morning. I got her to drink some apple juice, but she just threw most of it up again.”
“Her temperature hasn’t gone up, that’s a good sign,” Carole said. “Chances are she only threw up because she had too much juice on an empty stomach. You don’t want her to get dehydrated, but don’t give her any more juice until you’re sure she’s not going to throw up again.”
“Dehydrated?” Kurt repeated, panic rising again as he glanced toward the bed where Beth was hopefully sleeping.
“Calm down, honey, you won’t do her any good by panicking. She’s going to be fine,” Carole said, and she sounded so sure that Kurt wanted to believe her. “Have you given her any Tylenol?”
“Noah gave her some before he left, but I couldn’t tell from the bottle how long I should wait before I gave her another dose.”
“You should wait about six hours. What’s she doing now?”
“I think she’s finally asleep,” Kurt answered, then he held his breath and crept into the bedroom to get a closer look. Beth’s eyes were closed, chest rising and falling steadily, and when Kurt leaned in a little closer she didn’t stir.
“Good, that’s the best thing for her,” Carole said. “Let her sleep, and when she wakes up you can give her some more Tylenol. Try to get her to eat some toast, maybe, and give her a little more juice, but not too much. If her temperature goes up, call me.”
“Okay,” Kurt said, swallowing hard against a fresh rush of panic. “Thanks, Carole.”
“Any time, honey, you know that,” Carole answered. “You’re both going to be fine. Keep me posted, okay?”
He knew if they lived in the same town that she’d be on her way over already, and suddenly he wished more than anything that she was there. He wished she and his dad could come over for dinner the way he and Puck and Beth all went to Connie’s place every Saturday, that he could call his parents in a panic and know they’d drop everything to get to him.
But he was an adult now, even if it didn’t always feel that way, and he couldn’t count on them to make everything better. Beth was counting on him to make everything better, at least right now, and he had no idea how to do that.
Kurt thanked Carole and promised to call and update her on Beth’s progress, then he hung up the phone. He was about to put it in his pocket when his text alert beeped, and he glanced down at the screen and saw Puck’s name.
hows it going
Kurt swallowed a fresh rush of panic and pressed ‘reply’, then he glanced toward the bed where Beth was still sleeping.
Everything’s fine. She’s asleep.
He thought about telling Puck that she’d thrown up, but he didn’t want to worry him. The last thing he wanted was for Puck to cut his first day of work short to rush home, not when Carole had assured him that Beth was fine.
u okay?
Kurt rolled his eyes at the message, but he found himself smiling as he pressed reply again. We’re both fine. Stop worrying.
k. b home soon
Kurt grinned again and closed his phone, then he crossed the room to the dresser and pulled out a fresh shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He changed into clean clothes, then he tossed the apple juice stained clothes in the hamper and crossed back to the bed. Beth was still fast asleep, curls falling across her forehead and Kurt reached out and brushed them back out of her eyes.
He thought about lying down with her and closing his eyes for a while, but he hadn’t eaten anything yet either, and suddenly he was starving. Kurt pressed the back of his hand to Beth’s forehead, holding it there until he was convinced she wasn’t any more warm than the last time he’d checked. Then he let out a deep breath and stood up, leaving her to sleep while he headed for the kitchen to find something to eat.
~
“Babe, wake up.”
Kurt murmured sleepily and blinked a few times, fighting his way back from a deep sleep to squint at Puck. “Beth...”
“She’s fine,” Puck answered, glancing toward the other side of the couch where Kurt assumed Beth was still curled up. “Her fever’s down and she’s out like a light.”
“Mmm,” Kurt murmured, fighting his way into a sitting position and glancing over at the bundle of blankets and pillows that he knew was hiding Puck’s daughter. “I got her to eat a little toast earlier, but she hasn’t had much of an appetite.”
“Yeah, she never does when she’s sick. Mostly she just wants juice, then she ends up puking from drinking too much.”
Kurt bit his tongue to keep from telling Puck that that would have been useful information eight hours ago. Instead he yawned and pulled Puck down onto the couch next to him, curling into Puck’s side and resting his head on Puck’s shoulder.
“So how was your first day?”
“Good. A little crazy, but I think we pulled it off.”
Puck’s arm slid around his shoulders, pulling Kurt a little closer and leaning in to brush a kiss against his temple. Kurt smiled into his shoulder and stifled another yawn against his shirt. “I knew you’d be amazing.”
Puck’s laugh vibrated through him, arm tightening a little around Kurt’s shoulders as he kissed Kurt again. “It was probably a lot easier than playing nurse. Did she give you any trouble?”
“She was fine. Are you sure her fever’s down?”
“Yeah,” Puck answered, his grip tightening again when Kurt tried to sit up and get a look at her. “You did good, babe. Thanks for staying with her.”
“It was no trouble, Noah.”
That got him another kiss, and if Puck was going to be this grateful just for a little babysitting, Kurt would stay with Beth every time Will was out of town.
Before he could turn into the kiss Beth stirred on the other side of the couch, and when a head full of curls appeared over the pile of blankets and she murmured a sleepy, “Daddy?”, Puck sighed and pulled away.
“Yeah, Princess,” Puck said, letting go of Kurt to stand up and reach for her. He pulled her out of her nest of blankets and lifted her onto one hip, pushing her hair back from her face. “Feeling better?”
Beth nodded against his shoulder, eyes fluttering closed and her arms sliding around his neck. “I threw up.”
Puck glanced back at Kurt and raised an eyebrow, but Kurt was too tired to defend himself. Instead he closed his eyes and stretched out on the couch, listening to Puck talking softly to Beth as he carried her across the tiny apartment to her bedroom.