Partners Who: Kadie, Gavin and Boo (NPC) Where: Gavin's Home When: Sunday, December 30th
"Thanks for comin' over," Gavin said as he opened the door for his partner, Kadie, and let her inside. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and looked the worse for wear. His face was puffy, his eyes were red, and he looked like he could topple over at any minute. He didn't get sick often, but when he did it hit him hard. "I could really use some sleep, but I didn't want to leave Boo on her own," he explained again, as if he hadn't said as much over the phone earlier. Maybe he just forgot.
He also didn't want to make either of them sick, which was why he kept his distance, used tissues and washed his hands whenever he could to prevent infecting someone else. He'd hoped to take a bath at some point, but was too far gone from general tiredness to even try to attempt it right now.
“I would have offered to take her home with me,” Kadie started to say as she instinctively lifted a hand to the man’s forehead to kind of gauge his temperature, “but I knew neither of you would have gone for it.” And there was the fact that there’d be no one to check on Gavin occasionally.
“Daddy, I brought you water.” Kadie glanced past her partner at the sound of the little girl, who was now padding up to them both with a full glass of water gripped within both hands, water splashing over the rim as she walked.
Gavin closed his eyes when Kadie brought her hand to his forehead. She would tell by that alone that he had a fever, if his appearance wasn't indication enough. "I'd have rather you'd come here," he told her. He didn't want to be too far from his family no matter how sick he was right now. When he heard Boo he opened his eyes and turned toward the sound of her voice. "Oh, thank you, princess," he said, reaching over to carefully take the water from her grasp. He'd noticed that she'd spilled some of the water, but it was only water, so it would dry up fine. "Now, are you gonna be a good girl for Kadie while daddy takes a nap?"
“Of course she is.” Kadie responded with a glance and a smile past Gavin to the little girl. “Boo, why don’t you get your crayons and a coloring book while I get your daddy back to bed.” He felt hotter than she had thought he would and Kadie wanted to get Gavin back to bed as soon as she could, which meant creating a little bit of a distraction for the little girl.
"Okay!" Boo said cheerfully, just wanting to be helpful. She was only seven (nearly eight now! she would say) and was mature far beyond her years. She even made her lunch some mornings when she noticed that her daddy was running late. Gavin, of course, wished that Neverland existed so she'd never grow up.
"Thanks," Gavin said, voice raspy, as he shuffled over to his room. "There's plenty of food in the fridge. No soda after four, though." Kadie knew the rules, so he was quick to add with a smirk: "That goes for you too."
Kadie followed after him when Gavin started back toward his bedroom. “You’re suppose to be too ill to be getting smart with me, Bub.” Kadie countered with a returned smirk. Once inside the bedroom, Kadie assisted the man back into bed, then tugged the covers up nice and snug around him.
"Never too ill to be too smart to you," Gavin replied with a small smile, looking up at her. He was happy to have a woman in his life that would be willing to do these things for him. Would be willing to take care of his daughter while he was sick. "Think you can wake me up in a few hours? I don't wanna take up all your Sunday..."
“Probably not, you know how weak my short term memory is.” The brunette teased. His getting as much rest as possible was more important to her then her enjoying a day off. And while she wouldn’t wake him, Kadie would be checking in on him every couple of hours, or as often as Boo would allow. She was she the little girl would keep her plenty busy.
"You can drive and pick the radio station for the next week," he told her. Usually they alternated both when they were working, but to show how much this meant to him he was willing to relinquish his privileges. "And just about anything else you want," he added, letting his eyes flutter closed. "Just remind me that I said that." Given his fever he might forget.
“You just get some rest and get better, we’ll discuss this when you’re a bit more clear headed.” Kadie smiled to the man. He really didn’t have to make the offer he did in exchange for her stay the day at his home to take care of his daughter while he was sick in bed. Kadie though, wasn’t about to completely refuse his offer.
"Mm'kay," he said, starting to get more comfortable under the covers. It wouldn't take him long to drift to sleep at all at this rate. "Thanks for takin' care of us, Kadie," he mumbled. Despite their initial growing pains, he had to figure that he had the best partner to work with. "...Means a lot."
“It’s what friends do for each other.” She smiled warmly to the man. Kadie hadn’t welcomed getting a new partner, didn’t feel she needed another one, but Gavin had slowly grown on her and now she wouldn’t want to work cases without him. And even though it wasn’t necessary, Kadie stayed there in the room with Gavin until he drifted off to sleep.