Page 31 of Back to You

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Brandon opened the front door quietly in case Ethan was asleep. He brought the groceries into the kitchen and went to work making a cup of tea. Leaving that to steep, he crept over to the bedroom to check on Ethan.

All he saw was a huge mound of blankets. He poked around for a minute until he saw Ethan’s face barely peeping out from under all the covers. He was definitely asleep, which was the best thing for him right now.

Brandon lightly touched his forehead — not too warm, so he must have been able to take something for the fever.

My poor baby, he thought. Brandon shook his head and headed back to the kitchen, busying himself with putting away groceries. He left a box of tissues on Ethan’s nightstand, and went ahead and drank the tea he’d prepared. Then he got to work on the chicken soup.

An hour later, a bleary eyed Ethan stumbled out of the bedroom and looked around. He was wearing a blanket as a cape and carrying the box of tissues. He snatched one up before a sneezing fit overwhelmed him.

Aww, thought Brandon.

He hopped up wordlessly and pushed Ethan down on the couch, then headed for the kitchen to make a fresh cup of tea.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan said in a congested voice. “I didn’t mean to pull you away from work.”

“Nothing is more important than you, so stop apologizing. Now here, take this cold medicine, and drink all this water, you need the fluids.” He added honey and lemon to the tea, and carried it over. “You relax here on the couch for a bit, and drink this tea.”

“I love Nurse Brandon,” Ethan said. He took a sip of tea and sighed. “I needed a hot drink, thank you.”

“Anything you need, baby. I hate when you’re sick. You look so pitiful.”

“I feel pretty pitiful right now.”

The day wore on with Brandon forcing Ethan to rest, which Ethan was more than happy to do. Eventually, Brandon had to go back to the cafe to help with the afternoon rush.

“There’s chicken soup on the stove, just dish it up whenever you get hungry, okay? And call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks Mom,” Ethan said before dissolving into a coughing fit.

“That’s what you get for being a smartass,” Brandon said haughtily on his way out the door.

He headed back to the cafe and jumped right into making drinks.

Once they hit a lull in the crowd, Marcus said, “How is Ethan?”

“He’ll be okay, looks like a cold or flu hit him. I’m going to get some extra cookies and pastries put together tonight so I can run out and check on him after the morning rush, if you’re okay with that.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you need.”

Once the afternoon rush passed — mostly teenagers getting out of school and moms bringing their kids in to play — Brandon retreated to his baking. And as he baked, he thought.

That stupid law firm. Ethan was already run down from working so many hours, and now people were coming to work sick? That may feel like dedication to them, but it was just so inconsiderate. He had to wonder how many people were out sick today, or back in the office spreading the virus.

At least Ethan had been smart enough to take the day off, and Brandon would insist he take tomorrow too, as well as the weekend. That should give him enough time to recover.

Marcus popped his head into the kitchen. “All good?”

“Yeah, just pissed. This job is messing with Ethan’s health now, it’s just fucked up.”

“I know, who comes to work that sick? Like, no one’s going to give you a medal for your dedication to the job, buddy, stay home.”

“For real. I’ll go ahead and state this for the record, even though you aren’t an idiot — if you’re ever sick, just stay home. I can handle it.”

“Noted.”

Marcus hovered in the doorway, looking like he wanted to say more.

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