Has anybody started school yet? I start in the morning. If you haven't started yet, when do you start?

CWs/TWs: vomiting

.•°*°•.

Joel couldn't sleep.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not fall asleep. He didn't get it. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was go to sleep. But that was the one thing he couldn't do.

Sighing, he pried himself from Lizzie's hold and got up to go to the kitchen. Though before he could even make it out of the bedroom, he was suddenly having a dizzy spell that had him tumbling down. His fall must've startled Lizzie awake since she rolled over and sat upright, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her hand.

"Joel?" She yawned. "What are you doing on the floor?"

Joel rubbed the back of his head, which he'd hit on the corner of the bedframe, and sighed. "I was just some water getting for up," he said, then paused. "No, I'm water some for up get. No, I'm not water. I'm getting some water up get for- ...never mind."

Lizzie blinked. "Okay...?" She shook her head. "I can get some water for you. You need more rest than me."

"No, it's fine," Joel said, finally grounded enough to get off the floor. "Go back to sleep, love."

"Seriously, Joel," she said as she got up out of bed. "I will go get you some water, okay? You stay there."

Joel sighed. "Fine," he huffed, earning a playful swatt from Lizzie. "What?"

"Lay down," she said, then left the room to get him some water.

As he waited for her to come back, he closed his eyes and let himself relax a little bit. Suddenly he was a lot more tired than before. He yawned and shifted onto his side, pulling the blanket over him. He was so sleepy...

When he opened his eyes, there was sunlight pouring in through the window between the curtains and the alarm clock read eleven o'clock. Did he really fall asleep after all that? Sitting upright, he stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He actually felt really well-rested and wide awake for once. That was nice.

The door opened slowly and Lizzie poked her head into the room, then smiled. "Good morning," she practically sang, coming into the room with two plates that had cinnamon French toast with syrup and whipped cream on top. "I already drove Grian to school," she said. "We've got the whole place to ourselves." She brought the food over and handed a plate to Joel, who gladly took it from her.

"Liz, this looks delicious," he said, picking up the fork to slice off a piece. He paused when he noticed her standing and waiting, then looked up at her to see an eager look on her face. "Um..."

"Well?" she said. "Take a bite."

He nodded and ate a bite of the toast, his eyes widened. "What the fuck did you put in this?" he asked, stunned at how amazing it tasted. He looked down at the plate and took another bite. "Liz, this is fucking amazing."

She beamed at him. "Thanks!" She climbed into bed with him and grabbed her own plate to eat, leaning against him. "I'm really glad you like it."

They ate in comfortable silence, then once they were finished with their breakfast, they repositioned themselves so Joel had his arms wrapped around Lizzie and she had her face buried in his chest. It was the first time in a long while that they actually cuddled. It was really, really nice.

They fell asleep like that after a while of just enjoying each other's company. Joel had woken up before her, but he refused to move away when he saw the adorable look on her face as she slept. She looked so peaceful and at ease, like nothing in the world could disturb her or wake her from her deep sleep. It was just the cutest thing Joel had ever seen.

The sound of Joel's phone ringing startled him, which made him quite a bit upset, but he answered anyway. "Hello?" he said.

"Hello, is this Joel Smallishbeans?" a woman asked.

Joel frowned, unsure of who the lady was. "Yes, why?"

"Your son, Grian, isn't feeling well," she said, and suddenly he recognised her as the nurse from Rivendell High. "I suggest you come and pick him up from school."

"What are his symptoms?" Joel asked, gently moving Lizzie so he could get out of bed.

"He's been throwing up and he says it's hard to walk because his legs are weak," she answered. "I can't legally push him around in a wheelchair without a doctor's note, which is why I need you to come pick him up."

Joel nodded. "Okay, I'll be there soon," he said. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Of course, dear."

"Bye." Joel hung up and sighed. He wasn't excited to deal with more vomiting from Grian.

.•°*°•.

"Did you eat something bad?" Joel asked Grian as he drove to the doctor's from the school. He made an appointment as soon as he'd gotten off the phone with the school nurse.

"No, Dad," Grian sighed. "I didn't eat anything at all since two days ago."

Joel frowned. "Why?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer, buddy."

Grian groaned. "Fine, because of Mumbo," he huffed.

Joel furrowed his brows in confusion. "Because of... Mumbo?" he asked. "He didn't try to convince you to-"

"No, he and Scar are fighting," Grian explained, sounding irritated. "And he pushed me when I tried to hug him yesterday. I'm not trying to starve myself, I just... how am I supposed to eat when my boyfriends are fighting and won't tell me what's going on?"

"Is this why you're sick?" Joel asked softly, and Grian sobbed. "Oh, kiddo..."

"I just- I want them to be happy," Grian cried, covering his face with his hands. Hearing him cry like that over his boyfriends broke Joel's heart. "And prom is tomorrow and they just broke up-" He sobbed again and took a moment before he could speak again. "Now it's gonna be awkward at prom-" Cutting himself off with more crying, he curled up in the seat and turned away from Joel.

Joel sighed. "Come on, bud, don't cry, okay?" he said, reaching over to rub his arm in an attempt to somewhat soothe him. "It'll only make you feel worse."

"I couldn't possibly feel worse than this," Grian sobbed.

.•°*°•.

"It looks like a viral infection," Doc said after coming back into Grian's hospital room. "You said your legs felt weak as well?"

Grian nodded and so did Joel.

"I had to practically carry him all the way up here," Joel said, "because when I would let him go, he would collapse onto the ground."

Doc nodded. "I wonder if it's a reaction to the chemo drip," he thought out loud. "It's a lot stronger than you're used to because we want to make sure the cancer does not come back, so perhaps it's caused a bit of damage to the nerves in your legs."

Joel couldn't describe the horrified look on Grian's face.

"Chemo did this to me?!" he shouted.

"Grian, calm down," Joel said. "It's-"

"How do you expect me to calm down when I can't walk?" Grian cried.

Joel sighed and turned to Doc. "Is it permanent?" he asked, earning a sigh from the doctor. Oh no.

"It may be, but it could improve and Grian may be able to walk again soon," Doc said. "It could last days, weeks, months, or years. It really just depends on the damage that was done." He turned to Grian. "I'm truly sorry that this happened to you, Grian."

Grian huffed and turned away from Doc, much to Joel's disliking. "It's... whatever," he mumbled. He let out a long sigh and murmured something about being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Doc took a deep breath and sighed. "I can send you to a medical equipment store for a wheelchair," he said, Joel nodding in response. "Or, if you feel comfortable enough, then you can have a walker instead."

Joel looked at Grian, who was no longer responding to Doc. "I think we'll go with the wheelchair, just to be safe," he said. "It'll be okay, buddy, I promise." He leaned over to kiss Grian's forehead. "I promise."

.•°*°•.

"Joel, go take a nap," Lizzie ordered after catching him doing school work.

He looked up and frowned. "I just need to finish this one-"

"Now."

Joel groaned. "Liz, please."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Babe, you need rest," she said, pulling his laptop away and shutting it. "Come on, lay down."

Joel didn't argue as she led him into bed and covered him up with the blankets. "Do I really have to?" he asked finally just as she was leaving the room.

"Yes, honey," she said. "Taking a break for a well-deserved nap is not going to kill you, alright? You're going to overwork yourself and get sick or hurt. Just relax and sleep for, like, twenty minutes."

Joel sighed. "I guess I could spare twenty minutes," he grumbled, settling further under the covers.

Lizzie blew him a kiss before shutting the door behind her as she left the room.

When Joel woke up, he woke up to the sound of Grian vomiting and crying. He hurried into the bathroom to see Lizzie doing her best to comfort him as he sobbed over the toilet, then threw up again and nearly aphyxiated on the vomit. The sight wasn't one Joel hadn't seen before, since this was how he typically would react to the chemo. Except this time there was blood.

Joel sighed. "I guess we're going back to the hospital."

.•°*°•.

G

rian wasn't happy about going back to hospital and he especially wasn't happy about having an extended stay, meaning he had to stay there for at least a week so his symptoms could be constantly monitored.

"I fucking hate it here," he grumbled, turning to lay on his side.

Joel pursed his lips and nodded. "I know, buddy," he said. "I know."

Grian slept for the rest of day, exhausted from the "excitement" from that morning and afternoon. Joel watched over the poor boy as he dozed off, wishing things could be better for him. He didn't deserve to have cancer, or to suffer the worst of the side effects of chemo, or to stay stuck in the hospital for a week after he'd just gotten free of the cancer. After his rough childhood, he only deserved good things. Not... this.

It made Joel want to cry thinking about the fact that Grian never seemed to be able to catch his breath before he was hit with some other complication or tough situation. First it was his parents fighting, then they serparated, then he was abused, then he was kicked out of the house, then he went back and forth between Lizzie's and Joel's, then he had to deal with CPS and staying in foster care while Joel took care of the legal work to adopt him, then it was the bullying at school, then cancer, then Mumbo's situation, and now he couldn't walk and was stuck in the hospital. The poor kid had too much on his plate and not enough time to digest it all.

"Dad?" Grian murmured, finally waking up around eight o'clock.

Joel looked up from his laptop. "Yeah, kiddo?"

"What time is it?"

"It's about eight."

Grian nodded and closed his eyes again for a moment before whispering, "Hungry."

Joel smiled softly. "You're hungry, huh?" he asked, earning a slight nod from the sleepy kid on the hopsital bed. "Why don't I go get us some McDonald's? I'll even get you a milkshake if you're up for it. How's that sound?"

His chest bloomed with affection at the happy smile that spread across Grian's lips. "Mhm."

"Okay." Joel stood up and pressed a kiss to Grian's forehead. "I'll be back in a bit. Call the nurse if you need anything."

"Okay." Grian was quiet for a moment. "I love you, Dad."

Joel felt happy tears form in his eyes at the fact that that was the first time in a while that Grian told him that. "I love you, too, buddy."

.•°*°•.

The fluff in this chapter made my heart happy /gen

I hope you all enjoyed, and have a wonderful rest of your day or evening wherever you are! Love y'all <33 /gen/p