We had a great day at the zoo.  Molly was really helpful with the twins.  She was like a little mommy, and the twins adored her.  After a few hours there, the kids hit a wall energy-wise and started to get a bit cranky.  We knew it was time to head home.

Lin and I both carried a five year old out and we caught a cab home.  We took the twins straight to their bedroom for a nap.  Cam was on the couch, watching TV, still in her pajamas.  I was mostly trying to steer clear of Cam after she'd been rude to me.  It seemed no matter what I did, said, or how much time passed, she wouldn't quite let me in.  She certainly didn't like me telling her to do anything.  I picked my battles with her.

Lin walked out from putting Felix down and poured himself a glass of water.

"Are you gonna get dressed today?" Lin asked Cam as he settled in his chair.

"What's the point?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the TV.  "I can't go anywhere."

She was obviously still in a fowl mood.  She watched TV for a few more minutes, then stood up, taking the blanket with her, and went to her bedroom.  It was fine with me if she wanted to sulk in her room.  Lin and I took advantage of the kid-free time to snuggle on the couch.  One of my favorite things to do.  Lin was very affectionate, and I loved it.  He was constantly kissing, touching, hugging.  It was clear he was crazy about me, and I was crazy about him.

An hour and a half later, we heard the twins' door open and Felix wandered out with bed head.

"Hey, buddy," Lin greeted our son, sitting up.  "You okay?"

He rubbed his eye, caught in that post-sleep bewilderment.  "Can I have water?"

"Sure," Lin said, standing up.  Our son walked over and climbed onto the couch to cuddle with me.  I loved Felix cuddles.  Lin handed over a cup and also some crackers to snack on.  I turned on the TV so he could watch a show while he woke up.  Lin started a load of laundry as I cuddled with Felix.

An hour later I realized Raina still hadn't gotten out of bed.  I left Felix and wandered down the hallway, pushing the door open.  Raina was just starting to wake up, looking bleary-eyed.

"Hi, sweetheart," I cooed gently.  I sat on her bed and combed my fingers through her black hair.

"Hi, Mommy," she said quietly.  I put my hand on her forehead, noticing that she looked a little pale.

"You feeling okay?" I asked.

"I feel kinda icky," she told me.

"Ohhh," I sympathized, kissing her forehead.  "Let me go get the thermometer."

I returned a minute later and told her to open her mouth.  She coughed a little as we waited for it to beep.  When I pulled out the thermometer, it said 98.6.  Normal.

"Hmmm, you don't have a temperature," I told her.  "Does your tummy hurt?"

"Uh-uh," she said.  I pulled my little girl into my lap, rocking her back and forth a little bit.  We just cuddled for a while.  She felt so good in my arms.  Lin walked in ten minutes or so later to check on us.

"Everything okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Raina's not feeling so good," I reported.  He let out a concerned sound and walked in.  Lin kneeled in front of us.

"I know what helps with that," he said, then started kissing her all over the face.  She started giggling, but shrank into me a little more.

"Maybe a bath would feel good," I suggested.  "Lin will you start one?"

"Sure," he said, and disappeared to get the tub ready.  I stood Raina up and stripped off her clothes, then found some fresh undies and cozy clothes in her dresser. 

"Go find Daddy," I told her.  She walked to the bathroom, where Lin helped her into the tub.  He must have added bubbles because I could smell the relaxing scent of lavender.  I dropped off her clothes on the bathroom floor, then went to go check on Felix.  He was fine, so I moved a load of wet clothes over to the dryer.

After Raina was done in the tub, Lin dressed her and brought her out to the living room.  All she wanted to do was cuddle.  Lin held her and she fell asleep again in his arms.  A while later I started dinner and the kid was still dragging.

"I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow," I told Lin.  We put her to bed early and hoped a good night's sleep would do her well.

____

The next morning, she didn't seem any better.  We got Felix ready for school and sent him off with Molly and Cam.  Lin had meetings and luckily I didn't have to shoot anything today.  I made an appointment at the doctor's for 10:30, and took a cab.

Raina sat in my lap as we waited.  The doctor saw us and started to do a regular exam - taking her blood pressure, checking out her eyes and ears.

"How's she been eating?" she asked me as she felt around Raina's neck and then looked in her mouth.

"She didn't eat much yesterday but otherwise she eats fine," I reported.

"Any other symptoms?" she asked.

I shook my head.  "Just pale and lethargic."

The doctor asked a few more questions, then wrote a prescription for an antibiotic, thinking it was probably a virus.  She sent us on our way, and I stopped at the pharmacy on the way home.  I let Raina pick out some candy, hoping it might make her feel better.  She spent the rest of the day mostly on the couch watching TV.  When Lin got home, she wouldn't let him out of her sight.

That night, we were awoken to Raina crying.  I rushed to her room to find she had vomited.  I took her to the bathroom as she cried softly.  Throwing up was pretty upsetting when you were a kid.  I stripped off her jammies and cleaned her up, and had her rinse out her mouth.  I told her to climb into bed with Felix while I changed her sheets.  By the time I was done, she was fast asleep.  I carefully transferred her back.

Lin stayed home with her the next day because I needed to go to work.  When I got home, he was laying on the couch with her on top of him.  He gently stroked her hair.

"How is she?"

"Doesn't seem any better?" He studied her, concerned.

"Hmmm," I leaned against the back of the couch as I kicked off my shoes.  "Maybe I should take her back to the doctor tomorrow.

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed as she stirred.  Lin shooshed her gently and rubbed her back.  Raina was up multiple times in the night and ended up sleeping in our bed between us.  Poor kid.  I hoped she started feeling better soon.  It was hard to see your kid suffer.  Little did I know that we'd have a lot of suffering ahead of us.