Modern Queens

They continued cooking in silence. Footsteps trudged down the stairs and both smiled to see Cathy dragging themselves into the kitchen. As soon as they slumped at the kitchen table, they mumbled, “Mornin’.”

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Lina laughed. She set a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of Cathy and Anne quickly flipped an omelet onto it. “You’re up early today. Dare I ask if you got some rest last night?”

“Oh ha ha,” Cathy snorted, though they did shoot their godmother and friend a grateful glance for the food. “I actually did sleep last night. Sometime around midnight, in fact.”

“Whoa, for real?” Anne turned away from the stove for a moment to level a shocked look at her friend. “Are you feelin’ alright? You’re usually never sleep before one in the morning at the earliest!”

Cathy waved their hand nonchalantly. “I feel fine. A little tired, but fine.” They dug into their food as the front door opened and Anna strolled in.

“Mornin’ queens,” Anna called. She ruffled Cathy’s hair and shot Lina a grateful nod as the head of the house set a plate in front of her usual spot on the table. Her eyes roved the room for a moment and she asked, “Where’s Schatze? She’s usually up by the time I get back.”

The other three queens looked around in confusion. That was right. Kit always woke with the sunrise. It was her favorite time of day. She usually came down with Jane. It was unheard of for her to sleep in when Cathy hadn’t spent the night with her.

“I’ll be right back,” Cathy murmured. “She’s probably working on a new song or something.”

“She can’t play on an empty stomach,” Anne snorted. “Bring our little ray’a sunshine down, Cat.”

Cathy gave a wave as they made their way out into the hall. Bounding up the stairs, Cathy hurried to Kit’s room and gently knocked. There was a pause before a soft voice called, “It’s open.”

Cathy’s eyebrows furrowed. Kit usually came to the door if it was unlocked. What was going on? Hesitantly, they opened the door and peeked inside. The scent of sickness hit their nose like a truck and Cathy covered the bottom half of their face as they pushed the door a little wider. Kit lay swaddled in blankets and staring at the ceiling. Her eyes flicked over to see who had come in, but she didn’t move her head to look.

“Oh, Kitten,” Cathy whispered. They reached down and pressed their free hand against her forehead and under her neck. Searing heat met their skin and Kit turned away to cover a cough in her blanket. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Kay.” The hoarseness in Kit’s voice was easier to hear without the door between them. Cathy brushed their fingertips against Kit’s cheek before stepping back out of the room. First things first, they washed their hands and face in the bathroom. Grabbing a face covering and some gloves, Cathy made their way back downstairs.

“Hey, Cat,” Anna called with a glance up. “Where’s Schatze?”

“She’s sick,” Cathy explained.

Anne and Lina looked up from their own food at that news. Anna was on her feet in an instant. “I’ll get some fo the CnF from the downstairs bathroom,” she said. Her breakfast was left behind as she headed to search the medicine cabinet.

Lina stood and made her way over to the kettle. “I’ll make some tea for you to take back up,” she murmured, already gathering the bags and honey needed.

“Broth or soup?” Anne asked Cathy calmly.

“I couldn’t get a good read on it, so broth with chunks might be best,” Cathy replied, already grabbing one of the pieces of chicken thawing for the night’s dinner. Anne nodded and ruffled around in the pantry cabinet for some ready-made chicken broth.

The group worked quickly. It wasn’t often that one of them fell sick, but they had learned how to handle the situation each time. As soon as she retrieved the cold and flu medicine, Anna headed to the basement to warm up some of Kit’s emergency stuffed animals. Anne warmed the broth and grabbed a face mask of her own so that she could help Cathy carry everything up the stairs. Cathy dry-fried the chicken and cut it into bite-sized chunks. They plopped them into the broth and Lina poured the tea into a thermos. She mixed in some honey just in case Kit had a sore throat and set it on the table as well.

Anna walked in with a box of tissues, the stuffies, and a mask of her own. Once she swiped up the medicine, the trio hefted their load and made their way up the stairs. Cathy carried the thermos of tea and the box of tissues. Anne balanced the soup, and Anna brought up the rear with the meds and animals. Cathy knocked at Kit’s door before stepping inside.

Kit hadn’t moved from her position, still staring listlessly at the ceiling. She blinked when her big cousin and best friend followed Cathy into the room. “Hey,” she rasped quietly.

“No talking,” Anna told her gently as she set the stuffed animals around her friend. Kit snuggled into the warmth happily, feeling the heat ease her aches a bit. “Your throat doesn’t sound good, Schatze.”

“We gotcha some soup,” Anne cooed. She set the soup on Kit’s bedside table and checked her temperature as Cathy had done. “You’re burnin’ up, babe. Anna brought some meds for that, okay?”

The pout on Kit’s face indicated that she was not at all fine with taking medicine. Unfortunately, she had no other choice, so the pout would have to suffice. Cathy chuckled at her expression as they set the thermos next to the soup. Medicine was Kit’s least favorite part. It was their least favorite, too.

“Don’t worry, Kitten,” they whispered. “You don’t have to take too much. We just wanna help, babe.”

“I know,” Kit mumbled.

She pushed herself up and Cathy reached forward to help. It was clear from Kit’s labored breathing that the pains in her body weren’t just in her chest and head. Cathy did their best to be gentle with their girlfriend as they helped her sit up on the fluffed pillows.

Anna sat on the bed and grabbed the soup. Kit pouted at her again and Anna smirked behind the mask. “I know you’re not a child, Schatze, but this is just to make sure you don’t accidentally spill it on yourself. Right?”

“Right,” Kit huffed softly. She opened her mouth to accept the first bite and ignored Anna’s triumphant expression. Anne moved around the room and picked up anything extraneous that could be washed. It was best to keep as little stuff in the contamination zone as possible so that Kit didn’t get a second wave once she was better.

Cathy watched Anna feed Kit and gently rubbed the sick woman’s back whenever she had to pause to cough. The coughs sounded wet, which meant most of the buildup was in her throat and chest as expected. The medicine should fix that right up. After a few more minutes, Kit finished with the soup and drank down the remaining broth. Cathy handed her the medication and opened the tea thermos for her.

Kit’s face twisted into a grimace as she swallowed the pills and drank down some of the tea. Cathy grinned and gently touched her hand. “We’ll be only a call away, okay?” they whispered. “I’m going to leave your door cracked so we can hear you.”

“Okay,” Kit replied.

Anna helped her lay back down and fluffed her pillows again. Anne gently ruffled Kit’s hair and Cathy brushed their fingertips over Kit’s cheek again. Kit properly snuggled down to sleep as they left. Cathy kept the door cracked just like they promised and Kit smiled.

She hated being sick, but it was nice to know the other queens were there when she needed them.

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