Sick Day
“Sage, darling?” Loki knocked gently on his daughter’s door, worried that she wasn’t up for the day yet.
The door swung open, revealing a rumpled and pale-looking Sage. “Hey, Papa. Um, can I n-not go to school today?”
“Is something wrong?” He frowned at her, noticing the number of layers she was wearing and the elevated heat of the room. “Has something happened at school?”
“No, it’s not that, I- um.” She blinked owlishly, her brows furrowing as she searched for words. “I’m just feeling really… Foggy? And, um, ‘m kinda cold, and I just don’t feel good, so-”
‘Mister Laufeyson, if I may. Miss Ahlers’ temperature has reached one hundred three degrees. I would advise allowing her to stay at the tower and rest, while keeping a careful watch over her throughout the day.”
“Shit.” Loki muttered, noticing the glassy sheen to Sage’s eyes and the way she was swaying slightly. “Yes, darling, of course you can stay home. Could you do me a favour though?”
“Hmm?” Her head tilted up to show she was listening even as her eyes slid closed.
“Could you come out and sleep on the couch for me? We can bring your blankets out and everything, but to make it easier to keep and eye on you-”
“Mhmm. Yeah. ‘S fine.” The girl turned back into her room, blinking blearily and grabbing her phone, her two favourite pillows, and a few blankets before heading back out and collapsing on the couch in the sitting room. “‘M just gonna sleep, ‘kay?”
“Of course, darling. Sleep all you like.” Loki sat down by her head, carding a gentle hand through her hair as she curled around a pillow and was out like a light. “JARVIS, get Anthony up here immediately, please.”
“Right away, sir.”
A few minutes later, Tony rushed out of the elevator, nearly tripping and falling in his haste to get to Loki and Sage. “What’s going on?! Is she okay?!”
“Yes, Anthony, I believe she is alright. She has a fever.”
“Oh. Hell. Okay. How bad is it?”
“Her temperature has not lowered from the one hundred three degrees that it was when I informed Mister Laufeyson before, Sir.”
“So, do we just… Let her sweat it out? I don’t know how to deal with… sickness.”
Loki rolled his eyes. “Anthony, with how terrible your immune system is, one would think that you would know more about how to treat Midgardian illnesses.”
‘Well, yeah, but you know how bad my self-destructive tendencies are. Anyway, let’s call Bruce. He’d know how to fix her, right?”
---
“Tony, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m not that kind of doctor? I don’t know any more about treating fevers than you do, I haven’t been sick since I became the Hulk.”
“Shit. Is there anyone in this tower who actually does know how to care for a sick child?”
“‘M not a child, Dad. I’m fifteen.”
Tony reached over the back of the couch and patted Sage’s head a bit condescendingly. “I know, sweetheart. Go back to sleep.”
“Don’ wanna.”
“Why not, honey?” Bruce gave her a careful once-over, looking concerned.
“My head hurts. And now I’m hot. And sleeping more will just make my head hurt more. That’s how naps work.”
Bruce frowned. “It really shouldn’t be, but that’s a different issue. Okay, do you want to maybe take off one or two of those hoodies you’re wearing? And then maybe we can get you some ibuprofen?”
At this point, most of the rest of the other Avengers had gathered in the penthouse too, with the exception of Clint, Phil, and Natasha who’d been sent out on a smaller mission.
“Good God, were you all always this useless?” Bucky shouldered his way to Sage, dropping down in a crouch in front of her. “Okay, doll, I’m gonna need you to take off most of these layers, okay? Light clothing is going to be best for you right now so you lose more of your heat.”
“But what if I get cold again?”
“Well, then we’ll bring in more blankets from your bed, okay? But for now, how are you feeling? Do you have the energy to go get changed? You don’t gotta shower just yet, but I think you should change, okay?”
She nodded slightly, brows furrowing as she stood from the couch, still slightly wobbly. “Wanda, will you-?”
The other girl was at her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her waist and guiding her to her room, ready to help her get changed if she needed it.”
“What the hell just happened.” Tony was staring at Bucky as if he’d grown another head. “Why do you know more about treating a fever than those of us with PhDs?”
The brunet scoffed. “Are you kidding me, Stark? I had to take care of Steve’s scrawny ass every damn time he was sick before the war. Just because he’s a gigantic beefcake with an immune system that could actually process poison and leave him with nothing more than a bad headache doesn’t mean he was always like this.”
Steve grinned sheepishly. “He’s right. I used to get fevers all the time, and bad ones too. Some of those I honestly don’t know how I survived.”
Tony grimaced. “Right, well. Anyone who hasn’t washed their hands yet today isn’t allowed to be anywhere near my daughter while she’s-”
Pietro immediately sped to the kitchen and they all heard running water before he was back in the same position he’d been in as if he’d never left.
“Okay, when she gets back, we need to give her fluids as often as possible, and every time she’s lucid. Keep her warm when she needs it, let her sweat it out when she doesn’t. And ibuprofen or two won’t hurt, especially if her fever climbs more. JARVIS, you’ll need to keep monitoring her temperature and notify us if she gets above 105, capisce?”
“Very well, Sergeant Barnes.”
“That’s it?”
Bucky shrugged. “It’s a fever. Kind of like the common cold, you can’t wave your magic medicine wand and make it go away. Honestly, it’ll be better for her to not take the medicine, but that’s your call, Tony. The quicker she can burn off whatever infection she’s fighting the better, but if her head’s hurting, that’s either the fever or just an overload of sleep that she’s not used to, so it certainly won’t hurt her to take it.”
Tony sighed. “Got it.”
“We’ll get out of your hair so that you can keep taking care of her, but call us if you need anything, okay?”
“Yep. Thanks, Brucie Bear.”
“Anytime.”