Ember blows her nose and sniffles as warm tears slide down her face. She can't breathe through her nose at all and her throat feels like it's on fire.

"I d-don't feel good mommy."

Mary's heart hurts to see her daughter in so much discomfort, but there's nothing she can do except give her medicine and let her rest in bed. It doesn't help that she's sick too and that Alec doesn't want to come home because he 'can't get sick' and because he doesn't want to take care of them.

They've both got the flu and today was the first day that they had medicine because they had to wait an entire day to actually see the doctor after they'd made an appointment. Mary's pretty much been off the grid because she's sick and taking care of a sick Ember and she doesn't sleep because her stuffy nose and sore throat make it impossible to get comfortable, so she kind of just does what she needs to and passes out beside Ember.

She pushes Ember's blonde hair away from her face and presses a kiss to her forehead, "I know sweetie. I'm so sorry." Mary glances at the clock to check the time to make sure she can give Ember her medicine again and ease some of her pain, "Are you ready for your medicine again? I know you don't like it, but it'll help your throat and make you sleepy again."

The medicine makes them feel like they've been asleep for years, but at least it helps and it puts them to sleep instead of letting their illness keep them up. Ember hates the taste of hers because she refuses to switch to pills, but Mary lets her chase it with a Reeses cup. She spoils her to death, but she's been trying to refrain so it doesn't get to her head. However, she does let a few things slip every now and again, the Reeses cups being one of them.

Ember groans and pushes her lips out in a pout, "I don't wanna. It tastes icky."

Mary laughs lightly and her lips lift up in a soft smile, "I know sweetheart, but it'll make you feel better. Plus, you get another Reeses cup when you take it."

Ember remains stubborn and shakes her head. She's already had one dose and she was sick of it already. It did make her sleepy and it did make her throat feel better, but the taste was just too bad for her to even want to take it for the chocolate.

She watches as her mommy sighs and closes her eyes because she's exhausted and she knows that Ember needs to take her medicine, "What if I take my medicine with you?"

She can see how tired and sick that her mommy is as well and she decides to give in because she knows that she's just being an adult and trying to help, "Okay, mommy."

Mary almost sighs in relief because she really just wants her little girl to get better and to get some more sleep because being awake is absolute torture. She gets up to head downstairs and get Ember's medicine because it has to be refrigerated, but she only makes it to the edge of the bed when Ember pleads that she take her with her.

She doesn't like being sick and alone and Mary can't resist her pout, so she ends up using nearly all of her energy to carry her downstairs and sit her on the countertop.

Ember limply swings her feet as she waits for her mommy to measure her medicine and find her a Reeses cup. It doesn't take her very long and she grimaces when the white liquid is handed to her.

Mary gives her a look that tells her she needs to take it and she throws back her head and tries to swallow it all without any of it actually hitting her tongue. Ember nearly gags because a lot of the liquid got on her tongue. The Reeses cup is in her mouth in less than three seconds and Mary's laughing as she has one for herself.

"You know, if you don't like drinking your medicine, the pills don't taste bad. All you have to do is swallow them and then you're done."

She's trying to convince Ember to take that step the next time that she needs medicine because, really, it's an effort to get her to take any of her medicine and something's gotta change before Mary ends up losing her mind.

There's a slight pout to Ember's lips as she thinks about making the switch. The liquid medicine she always gets is easy to swallow, but tastes horrible, but pills are just weird to swallow and she doesn't like them. She thinks about it for about a minute before deciding that she wants to try the pills because this is the worst medicine she's ever had.

Ember mumbles under her breath, "I guess I can try the pills next time."

Mary kisses her cheek and lifts her into her arms again, "That's my girl! Now, let's go back upstairs and get some rest."

Ember is out like a light the moment Mary pulls the soft blanket over her shoulders. She's relieved because she's been on the verge of sleep since Ember woke her up an hour ago. Her eyes have just fluttered shut when her phone starts to vibrate excessively on the dresser beside her.

She releases a deep breath before turning over on her side and fumbling through tired eyes to grab her cell phone and actually answer the call.

A succession of coughs pass through her lips the moment she answers and, for the millionth time, she wishes that she wasn't so sick.

When she finally gets a greeting out, her voice is cracked and groggy, "Hello?"

She sounds awful and she actually feels bad for the person on the other end. In her haste to silence the incessant buzzing, Mary didn't look at the caller I.D. and she really hopes that it isn't her boss because she doesn't want to have to tell her boss why she can't be in for at least another two days.

Luckily for her, it's Harry. He hasn't seen her or Ember since New Year's Eve and he's worried because Mary stopped texting him three days ago. He tried not to let his thoughts run wild, but it was hard when he didn't know how her husband was and even harder because he cares for Mary far more than he should.

The sound of her voice worries him even more because now he knows that she's sick and he's not sure how bad it is. Harry gets a little freaked out every time someone he cares about gets sick because his grandmother got sick out of nowhere one day and she was gone the next. He knows that he's putting more worry into the situation than he should, but he can't help himself because it's Mary.

"Hi Mary. I hope I didn't wake you up, I just called to make sure that you and Ember were alright. School started three days ago and I was just a little worried because Ember hardly ever misses a day and you usually text me at night."

Mary's half asleep, but she smiles because it means so much to her that he called to check up on them.

"Sorry about that, Ember and I managed to catch the flu and we just got in to see the doctor yesterday. I meant to text you, but I'm so sick and it's so hard taking care of a sick Ember all by myself so I just end up passing out. I'm sorry for worrying you so much. Thank you for calling, it's really sweet of you to take time to do."

Harry frowns because if they're both sick then they shouldn't have to take care of themselves. Mary's husband should be there making sure that they're alright and that they're as comfortable as they can be while sick.

"You're taking care of her by yourself? What about your husband?"

The very mention of Alec has Mary's smile dropping to a frown in seconds. He should be there and taking care of her and Ember, but he's at Caroline's drinking beer and having sex.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath because she knows that getting upset will only make her stuffy nose and tired eyes even worse than they already are, "He's at Caroline's because he 'can't get sick' and because he doesn't want to take care of us."

The way that she says it tells him that this is something that he does often and that really pisses him off because people shouldn't get married to someone and have children only to turn around a little later down the road and decide that they don't like the life they've chosen anymore. He believes that people should marry because they know that they're going to spend the rest of their lives with each other, through thick and thin because that's what love's all about.

He doesn't really know how to respond because if he says what he wants to it will upset her and it really isn't his place to say anything at all. So, he settles on something that will let her know that he cares about her without really tearing her husband a new one.

"I'm sorry, Mary. I've got some things to take care of, but I'll call you later just to check in to see if you need anything. I hope you and Ember feel better soon. Get some rest, okay?"

Mary hums in agreement because she's already working on getting some much needed rest, "Thank you again. I will, goodbye, Harry."

Harry smiles because he can hear the sleep in her voice already, "Goodbye, Mary. I'll talk to you soon."

She hangs up and drops her phone in the middle of the bed between her and Ember because she's not really eager to hear the sound it makes when it vibrates on her dresser because Alec is telling her that he won't be home again.

An uncomfortable twenty minutes of shifting positions and blowing her nose passes and she's just on the verge of sleep when she hears the doorbell ring. Ember groans softly and shifts a little on her side of the bed. She's not really awake but she's conscious.

Mary pushes her hair out of her face and kisses her forehead, "Go back to sleep sweetie, I'll be right back."

Ember barely manages a nod and shoves her head into the pillow. She's adorable, but Mary can't stay in bed because someone's at the door and she can't just not answer it when she's home.

She rubs her eyes and pulls her robe shut to cover her slightly revealing silk nightgown before pulling open the door.

Harry's standing there with Tupperware filled with soup and a stack of movies and a shy smile on his lips.

"I thought you might need a break, so I made you and Ember some soup and I brought movies."

Mary's eyes are watering and she's smiling despite how awful she feels and how random it is for him to just show up at her house. This is the sweetest thing that he's done for her and it's something that Alec should have already done. She's a little disappointed because her husband has let her down yet again, but she's so incredibly happy that Harry's there to pick her back up and to show her that someone cares for her.

She shakes her head and wipes her eyes, "You're incredible. Thank you so much."

She collects her thoughts as she lets him in and shuts the door behind him, "Ember's asleep upstairs, but if that's still warm, it's about time to eat anyway so I'm sure we can get her up."

Harry smiles and tells her that it is and he's even brought spoons. Mary's wondering how she's going to keep him in a friend zone if he keeps doing sweet things like this. He's so sweet to her and if she didn't have any faith left in Alec, she'd let him walk right into her heart. She's not really sure what she's gotten herself into, but she knows that it's going to become incredibly difficult to keep Harry at a friendly distance.

Ember's a little harder to wake up than she thought, but she's incredibly awake when she sees that Harry is there and he has chicken noodle soup. She's glad that Harry's there because she likes the way that he makes her mommy smile and because he's started to feel like a father to her between school and all of the time that she spends with him after school, and now he's in her house and helping her and her mommy feel better.

He's put Dumbo into the DVD player and Mary is incredibly impressed with him by this point. He's managed to take care of them and warm her heart to a point where the ice has melted entirely and soft flowers bloomed in its place.

They didn't really talk as they ate, but it was a comfortable silence between the three of them because everyone was happy and not so focused on sickness. Ember stays awake for about thirty minutes after she's eaten and then she's passed out like she hasn't slept in years.

Harry takes care of all of the mess and returns to his spot at the edge of the bed. He wants to sit next to Mary, but he's worried that it's a little much and that she might not be comfortable with that even though he wouldn't be doing anything but sitting beside her.

Mary can see his hesitation and how he's a little uncomfortable just sitting at the end of the bed and she smiles a little because she knows that he's trying his best not to sit next to her. But she wants him to because she's incredibly lonely and even though she knows that she'll end up cuddling with him, she wants him to be there.

"You can come over here you know, I don't bite and it's a big bed."

He smiles softly in return and his cheeks flush a little, "Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything."

Mary laughs softly as she scoots closer to Ember so that he has room to sit beside her in the bed, "You never make me uncomfortable. I might make you a little sick and I might end up cuddling you, but that's up to you if you want to risk it."

He's up and crawling under the covers beside her in seconds. It's hard for him to keep his eyes on her face because she's gotten rid of the robe and her nightgown is absolutely exquisite. But he has control and he can manage because his mind shouldn't be in that place and she's his friend.

Once he's settled he finds himself mumbling almost under his breath, "Cuddling sounds nice."

Mary smiles and scoots closer to him and now their legs are touching and she's leaning against his shoulder with a soft smile, "Do you mind?"

She hasn't cuddled with anyone in so long and it's not exactly wrong of her to do so. Yes, it's a little suggestive, but Alec isn't around and they both know that there's something between them anyway and that it's not going to go anywhere until Alec is out of the picture.

Harry shakes his head and the corners of his lips lift up in a brilliant smile, "Not at all."

Mary moves so that her head is on his chest and Harry wraps his arms around her to hold her close because she's allowed him to have this moment and he wants to make the most of it.

He's so comfortable and warm that Mary can hardly pay attention to the movie because she's falling asleep. She dozes off multiple times during the movie, but eventually she manages to stay awake for a little bit because she's thought of something and she wants to talk to him about it.

Her voice is soft when she speaks and Harry almost doesn't hear it because he's far too focused on the way that she's breathing and how he can feel the beat of her heart against his skin.

"I remember what you said on New Year's Eve."

She wants him to know that she remembers because she admires him so much for respecting her and not just going for the kiss like he wanted to and like she drunkenly asked him to.

Harry smiles softly even though he was hoping that she wouldn't remember because he'd said things that were supposed to stay in his head.

"I was really hoping that you didn't. I wasn't supposed to say those things aloud."

He's actually a little embarrassed because he basically told her flat out that he wants to be with her and that she's always on his mind. She's only known him for about a month or so and he really didn't want her to think that he was creepy or too into something that hadn't really even started yet.

Mary's smile is just as soft as her voice was moments before, "I know. But, I wanted you to know because what you said really made me feel loved and I haven't felt that way in a long time. And I wanted to thank you for not listening to me because you were right. I meant what I said though."

She thanks him a lot, but he's not going to tell her to stop because it's part of who she is and it lets him know that he's not just blindly throwing her a line to his heart. And he's actually glad that she remembered now that he knows what it did for her and that what she said in return wasn't just the alcohol talking.

He holds her just a little tighter to let her know that he's there and that he'll be there whenever she needs him, "You don't have to thank me for falling for you, Mary. I meant what I said too. I know you're going to make me wait, but you are so worth the wait and I hope that you know that."

Mary doesn't hear all of that though because she's fallen asleep again despite her best efforts to stay awake. Harry doesn't mind because he knows that she knows, even if she didn't hear him.

She's sick, but he still finds her beautiful with her hair frazzled and slightly falling into her face and her slightly chapped lips that are parted so she can breathe. He smiles because she's let him see this side of her and she's let him help her instead of just shooing him away.

She's in and out of consciousness for the next few hours, but Harry's still there every time she wakes up and she's comforted because she doesn't feel alone like she normally does. He stays until one A.M. because he's got to work tomorrow and he can't wear the same clothes as the day before.

Mary wakes up as he's getting out of bed and he offers her a soft smile, "You're leaving?"

He nods and brushes some hair away from her eyes, "I've got to teach in a few hours. I'll come by after school gets out to check in on you again, if you want me to?"

She can hardly keep her eyes open but she manages a weak nod and a soft, "Please?"

His smile pulls to the left, "I'll be by later then."

Harry leans forward and presses his lips to her cheek, "Goodnight, Mary."

He lingers there for a moment and she's caught up in the soft green in his eyes and the warmth on her cheek where his lips had kissed her skin. She wants him to stay because he's so beautiful and sweet, but she knows that he has to go and that he'll be back later.

Her eyes flutter shut again and she snuggles into the covers, "Goodnight, Harry."