WHO: Ian Bell, Liz Fortescue + Katie Bell
WHAT: SICK BABY ;w;
WHEN: Friday evening!
WHERE: Liz's flat

“So, I’m going down to the pitch Monday morning for a workout, but I’ll leave her with the other kids off in the daycare and you can pick her up there, alright?”

Ian pushed himself up out of the kitchen chair and shouldered his daughter’s electric pink overnight bag--the one with the kittens on it, of course, because the purple one with the princess crowns still had mint chip ice cream spilled all over it--and glanced up at the clock. As much as he liked to hang around as long as Liz would let him, it was getting late and he knew that if he didn’t get Katie home, in a bath, and into bed within the next forty-five minutes, there would be no sleep tonight. For either of them.

It really was a shame, that they lived their lives apart, that their daughter had to be herded between houses every weekend, that she had no place to stay grounded at for an extended period of time. But that was the reality of the situation, and as much as it bothered him, Ian reminded himself every time that it was better this way, than her having to live in a house with two people who were clearly uncomfortable with the situation. So he came here, every Friday evening, like clockwork, to whisk his little girl away and claim all the quality time he missed out on with her with a smile on his face for the sake of making sure that she stayed as unaware as possible of what was hidden behind the fact that they all no longer lived under the same roof.

“Katie, come on!” he called down the hall, making his way towards the main living room. She had greeted him at the door, before tossing down her bag and realizing she had forgotten to pack her favorite doll. That was over ten minutes ago, that she’d run back into her room, and there hadn’t been a peep out of her since.

There wasn’t a peep now either. For a kid as loud as she could be, that was definitely out of the ordinary.

Ian turned his head over his shoulder to scrunch his brow at Liz. “Is this a new game I’m not in on?”

Liz remained at the table, sitting cross-legged on the chair with her hands wrapped tightly around a mug of tea. She watched Ian get up and her gaze dropped down to her drink. This was always the saddest part. Her time with Katie was precious and saying goodbye never left her without a little bit of tears. Of course, it was only for a few days and Katie was always sure to fill her in on every detail of what Liz may have missed, but. It was still bittersweet. Liz was always pretty lonely without her.

Her gaze lifted at Ian’s question, and Liz shook her head, lips twisting. Hide and seek was actually one of the few games Liz had to forbid because she was so terrible at it. Or, Katie was remarkably good at keeping quiet and still when there was a game to be won (or the chance to humiliate her mother). Liz slipped out of her chair to follow Ian, peering into rooms as they passed to get to Katie’s. Liz’s flat wasn’t all that big, but with the commission photography she did and with a bit of help from her father, she was doing all right.

“Oy, Cakes!” Liz let out, her heart skipping a beat. Of course Katie had to go, but it was a nice feeling that the girl was prolonging her departure. She couldn’t help the slight smile as she peered into the girl’s room, “Cakey, it’s time----”

Liz frowned, the outline of her daughter in her scarf and puffy cloak strewn across her bed was odd, wrong even. Katie could not have fallen asleep, especially when she knew she was to be going off with her daddy. True to her nature, Liz felt her body seize up and she froze, only managing to grab onto Ian’s arm, “Ian?”

Ian didn’t actually manage to see Katie before he felt a small but unnaturally strong hand grip around his right arm, but that was all he needed to know that something was not right with whatever Liz had just seen. Laying a hand gently on her shoulder to herd her away from the door and stepping in himself, he laid eyes on---

Oh.

Instantly, he felt his heart clench up in his chest, eyes running over the tiny--somehow tinier than he remembered--body of his daughter, sprawled out over the fluffy bedding and stuffed animals. Not moving.

She wasn’t moving. Katie wasn’t moving.

He never even felt his feet move, but he must have run to the side of the bed, because it wasn’t a split second before he was standing over her, a hand on her neck to check a pulse and---and the pulse wasn’t the problem, because she was breathing thank Merlin... it was labored, but she was in fact breathing... But it was her skin, it was like putting your hand over a fire.

Quickly, he undid her cloak and scarf and sat down on the bed, pulling the little blonde girl into his arms carefully. Ian brushed his hand over her forehead once to make sure of what he had felt--as if he couldn’t have been sure already with how hot she was all over--and gave her a gentle but insistent shake. “Kay, do you hear me?” he urged her, wishing with all his being that she’d just open her eyes and show them that she was there. She had a fever, but this was not a normal bug. You didn’t just faint over from a normal bug--he didn’t know what kind of fever you fainted over with, but he did know that not knowing was terrifying when it was his little girl laying half-lifeless in his arms.

“Come on, show me those pretty blue eyes, Katie...”

Panic, panic, panic.

Liz kept her hands up for a moment, frozen at Ian’s words, at Katie’s lack of reaction. This--this--she had seemed fine today. Fine! Right? Not as much running around, but she said she couldn’t sleep last night because of the storm, she’d crawled into Liz’s bed because of nightmares. Had she been sick this whole time, and Liz hadn’t picked up on it? What kind of mother didn’t notice that her child was sick, it--it---

Pulling out her wand, she grabbed a small towel that had been dropped onto Katie’s desk and muttered a quick cooling spell. It felt nearly frozen in her hands and she crossed the room in a millisecond, “Here, here.”

Now what? She was breathing, they could see that, but what could---

“I--I can floo Mungo’s,” she said, jumping up from her spot on the bed only to drop down again, Liz felt like getting sick herself, but she needed to be strong. Maybe---maybe she’d just fallen asleep----ha, she couldn’t even kid herself. Liz jumped up again, “I’m flooing Mungo’s.”

Ian was barely listening or paying attention to Liz’s nervous movements and the things she was saying. Mungo’s---yes, he got that much, and that was good, but he could hardly care at this point about anything in the world except the sick little girl who was laying down in his lap. He continued to periodically shake her a bit, trying to rustle her awake, and pressing the cold cloth to her head.

How had this happened? They had just seen her ten minutes ago and she was just fine. How had he not noticed if she was this sick? But--no, it wasn’t their faults. This had obviously hit out of nowhere, because he knew his daughter and if she had felt the slightest bit badly, she would have been curled up around one of them, demanding all the attention to be on her so they could coo over and baby her until she felt better. Katie had never been one to hide what she was feeling, so this was---this must have caught her off guard, as well. She hadn’t even called for them.

“Mmmf..”

Ian was snapped out of his thoughts by the tiny groan coming from his lap, and his heart nearly soared out of his chest at the sight of Katie’s eyes fluttering open groggily. Almost immediately, however, the joy was lost as he noticed that they were glazed over, unfocused, and looking almost beyond him.

Okay, that was it. Mungo’s, right? Liz should have gotten the Floo open by now, so without any further wait, he wrapped his arms under her and hoisted her up, barely taking the time to reach down and grab one of her blankets off her bed to keep her warm, before he was out the door to her bedroom and into the living room.