so this got out of hand—
“Baby, how on earth did you get so sick?”
“I dod’t kdowwww,” she whimpered, grabbing the blanket to pull it tighter around herself.
“Who was it?” her partner insisted as he used a wadded-up tissue to wipe her runny nose, much to her dismay.
“I dond’t kndow,” she repeated, congestion making her voice high-pitched.
“I don’t like them,” he concluded, brushing a strand of loose hair from her face. “They made my baby feel all yucky and sick.”
“I feel so gross whed I sdeeze,” she shared, scrubbing at her aggressively red nose, trying to work the itch out.
“And why is that, princess?”
“It’s all sdotty a’d gross,” she explained. “It—hh—bakes such a big—Hhhh—a big bess. Hih-gnxt! Hx-TSCHIEWWW! See? So bessy.”
“That’s what you get for catching such a terrible cold,” her partner said matter-of-factly. “No more going out in the rain while your sick, okay?”
She simply nodded, eyes glossy from the cold. “I’b disgusti’g.”
“You’re all full of germs,” he explained. “Your body has tons and tons of tiny little germs in it and they’re making you so, so sick. It’s their fault you have that terrible cold. They like when you go out in the rain because it means that they multiply even more. And what happens when they multiply?”
“I get eved sicker.”
“Smart girl,” he praised as she laid her head down against his chest. “I bet your head’s not feeling very good right now. It’s all full of that germy cold congestion, huh?”
Y—hhh—yeah,” she stuttered between hitching breaths. Her eyes squeezed shut as her lip curled up. “Hih-Ih-TSCHIEWW! Nhxt! Hhh-pxgt!”
Snot was streaming from her raw nostrils and she blew her nose harshly, causing her to begin coughing.
Her partner wrinkled his nose at the sound. “You sound awful, angel. That cold is spreading to your chest, too, isn’t it?”
She nodded her head as she sniffled again, laying back down tiredly.
“Your head is too little to hold your entire cold,” he said. “It’s moving down to your chest do even more germs can grow.” He felt her forehead for a fever and immediately sensed the heat radiating from it. “Your body is giving you a fever to try and kill off that cold bug,” he added. “I don’t think it’s working. You sound so awful with all of your sneezing and coughing.”
“I kdow,” she moaned. “It bakes be so sleeby.”
He handed her a box of tissues and tucked her into yet another blanket, propping her head up on an excessive amount of pillows.
“Sleep tight, darling,” he whispered faintly. “I can educate you more when you wake up.”
