The question about whether or not he had a place to stay went unanswered. He didn't, and it was kind of her to offer. The woman was almost preternaturally hot. The kind of woman who probably got a lot of offers if she so much stepped outside. Promises, proposals. All that kind of shit. But that baby wasn't very old, and there had to be a father. Possibly multiple candidates for a father, given how this place seemed to be run. Men who might not appreciate his invasion of their territory, even if it was to sleep on the sofa. So it was possible that she was trouble he didn't want to get involved in.
Aside from that, the child was just unnerving. People acted weird around children. Used bizarre voices and had all kinds of rules. What if the kid started screaming again, and didn't stop? One of his biggest fears around children was that he'd be tasked with holding one and end up dropping it. What would this woman do if he gave her son a concussion? How would he live with himself? Kids' bones were softer, spongier than an adult's, he knew that... but there was that soft spot where the fontanelle had yet to fuse to worry about, right? Something could just push through it right into the fucking brain.
How parents didn't go insane from all that was beyond him.
Liam reached out, and Marcus actually froze. It wasn't projectile vomit, but he was expecting a pull at least, and was grateful when Kenzie extracted her son's hand. At least she wasn't one of those permissive parents who let their kids do whatever they wanted. He decided to pull his hair back after she freed it, sweeping it up in one quick gesture and securing it with an elastic band he kept around his wrist. It was a quick, practiced move. The kind of thing that was very common to anyone who'd worked for years in industries where hair could easily get in the way of the job at hand. Sorry, kid. Lost your shot.
He nodded as she detailed the symptoms. "Didn't go outside, right? Neither of you?" She'd said that the kid hadn't, but if the blobs were infections he had to be sure. That was one particular virus there wasn't much help for, after all. If it was that, all they could really do was wait it out in quarantine.
"Fever's not a bad thing, anyway. Bodies want to burn off infections, so get hot. Sometimes best thing to do is let it run its course. But a person gets too hot, that's some scary shit. So we'll see where he's at, yeah?" He'd turned away from them both to fish in the outer pockets of his bag, so the curse slipped in while he was distracted. His tone of voice was calm, reassuring... and the general feel was that he was just talking to talk. Finding what he was searching for, he plucked one of the single use strip thermometers from a pack of them behind some alcohol wipes. They weren't very accurate, but they were easier to carry without breaking and didn't require power. He had a much faster, better thermometer in another bag, but its batteries were dead. He'd have to trade for some if he ran out of strips. Assuming Liam would be best handled by his mother, Marcus held the strip out to Kenzie. "Know how to use one of these, mamÃ?"
Just as he was asking the question, the rain started again. Drops hitting with soft, telltale thuds instead of light taps. Heavier than water, so much more dangerous. Marcus frowned at the window. "Mierda. Here we go again."