CHAPTER 321

A few moments later, Joel finally stopped puking but was drained of all the energy from his body. Although Sebastian wanted to carry him to the bed, the boy, who was particular with hygiene, insisted on cleaning himself before going to bed. When he finally got to his bed, he lay on the mattress weakly with barely enough energy to keep his eyes open, lying there with a pale face motionlessly.

In the meantime, Madeline wrapped her arms around the little boy, shedding tears in a sympathetic manner. Despite her attempt to fight back her tears, she was overwhelmed by her emotions. She was not someone who was emotionally vulnerable, but she had a soft spot for her children, and the concern she had for them always hit her deeply.

At the same time, Sebastian fixed his gaze upon Joel with an unfathomable expression. Deep down, he was bothered by Leonard's unknown fate and his children's paranoia due to the recent threats, yet his younger son's health condition lately only added to his sorrow. However, he would never forget what happened as he swore to punish the culprit who orchestrated the nightmares to haunt his family.

The next few moments, Madeline stayed by the boys' side and put them to sleep until they drifted off. Nevertheless, she remained awake because she was too worried about Joel. At the same time, she gently patted Joel's body to comfort him so that he could sleep soundly. However, it wasn't until a few moments later that she realized something was wrong when she felt Joel's forehead. "Oh dear, Joel is having a fever!" My boy's forehead is feeling feverish.

Meanwhile, Sebastian, who was also awake, quickly turned on the lights on his nightstand and sat bolt upright, slipping his hand beneath Joel's shirt to feel his body, which he found to be feverish. He then called Edward and summoned him while Madeline contacted Leigh for help and told her to come over.

Not long after that, Edward and Leigh arrived and checked on Joel, whereupon the former suggested

putting Joel on a drip. After all, he opined that the boy must have been dehydrated due to the vomiting, not to mention his high fever.

However, Leigh didn't seem to approve of his opinion, but since her forte was treating complicated diseases, she knew little about treating a child's illness, so she had no objections to Edward's suggestion.

As Edward prepared the fluid, he told Madeline to hold Joel's arm still to keep him from moving. Lacking the courage to watch the process, Madeline felt her heart crumbling into a mess. As soon as the needle pierced through Joel's skin, the child shivered from head to toe, opening his eyes with a loud scream. "Mommy!"

The next second, Madeline's tears gushed out of her eyes as she hugged Joel and gently alleviated the boy's fear. "Don't worry, Buddy. Everything is going to be fine. I'm right here with you. You've caught a high fever now, so you need to be on a drip. The doctor is going to put the needle through your skin as you stay still. Can you do that?"

Nevertheless, Joel was confused with what was going on, looking Madeline in the eye while trying to fight back his tears. "Mommy, it hurts…"

When Madeline heard the child's painful moan, her heart broke into pieces. She then hugged her child tightly and comforted him, saying, "It's going to be okay, Joel. It's only going to sting a bit, but in less than a second, it'll go away…" To Madeline's relief, Edward was skillful enough to avoid causing any great pain when he pierced the veins beneath Joel's skin with the needle. As soon as the doctor pasted the infusion patch on the boy's skin, Madeline held Joel's hand and calmed him down. "Don't worry, Buddy. Mommy's got your hand. Now that the infusion is done, you won't be in pain anymore."

"Mom…" Joel collapsed into Madeline's arms. "My head hurts…"

"Come on, I'll give you a little massage," Sebastian said, putting pressure on Joel's temples with his fingertips while massaging them in a circular motion.

"Thank you, Daddy," Joel said.

Seeing Joel weakly resting in Madeline's arms as the boy thanked him, Sebastian felt a strong stab of pain on the inside. "You did great, Buddy. Now, close your eyes and get some sleep. Once you wake up, you're going to be up and around."

"Daddy…" Joel gazed at him and said weakly, "I'm thirsty…"

"I got you." Leigh fetched Joel a glass of water, which was added with a little glucose and salt to get him energized. After a few sips, Joel was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange nausea as Edward quickly grabbed a bucket for him. While the boy went on to puke, he began to cry.

"What's wrong, my dear? Are you alright?" Madeline was panicking.

Joel tearfully complained. "I'm dirty… I'm all dirty now…" he said.

After hearing her son's response, Madeline was helpless and amused at the same time. Knowing how particular her sons were about hygiene, she could immediately tell the reason that Joel puked was because he thought he just made his bedroom dirty. Therefore, she quickly calmed him down and said, "Don't worry, Buddy. That's what happens with most patients, but once you recover, it won't happen again."

"It's okay. Once you're done vomiting, you're going to gargle and get yourself cleaned up again," Sebastian answered.

Meanwhile, Joel vomited for the next few minutes upon taking a few sips of water, looking as though he had a seizure. Seeing that, Madeline was sympathetic and scared at the same time; she would have taken Joel to the hospital if Leigh and Edward hadn't insisted that he was fine.

Nevertheless, Joel was confused with what was going on, looking Madeline in the eye while trying to fight back his tears. "Mommy, it hurts…" Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

Approximately ten minutes later, Joel finally stopped vomiting, resting in Madeline's arms while gazing at Sebastian. "I'm sorry for disturbing your rest, Daddy."

Amused yet helpless, Sebastian felt Joel's soft cheek and said, "What are you talking about? You're my son, so of course I'm going to look after you no matter what."

"I don't want to impose on you, Daddy." Joel gazed at Sebastian and added, "I want to be a good boy so that you will love us, Daddy. I love you, and I want you to love me too, Daddy."

When Sebastian heard the child's truthful words, he pinched the latter's cheek and replied with a tender voice, "Don't be silly, Buddy. You're my son, and I'll always love you no matter what happens."

"Really?" Joel anxiously tried to confirm what he heard. "Did you say you're going to love us? Will you stay with us forever? Quincy and I love you very much."

"Of course." Sebastian gently caressed the boy's head and replied, "We're a family, and we'll always be

together."

After Joel heard the man's words, his mood improved with a bright smile showing on his face. Feeling sympathetic for the boy, Sebastian caressed Joel's cheek and asked, "Are you hungry? Do you have any cravings?"

Joel shook his head. "I'm tired, Daddy…" He raised his hand to feel his eyelids. "I can barely keep my eyes open…"

"You're tired, Buddy. It's time for you to get some sleep now." Sebastian placed his hand over Joel's eyes. "Close your eyes and sleep now. Everything is going to be okay when you wake up."

After responding with an affirmative hum, Joel quickly drifted off to sleep. When Sebastian took his hand off his son's face, the child was already sound asleep. In the meantime, Leigh and Edward only left after the intravenous fluid in Joel's drip ran out just as his fever subsided.

On the other hand, Sebastian and Madeline showed no signs of sleepiness at all although it was getting late. A few moments later, Sebastian asked, "Did you take care of the boys by yourself when they fell sick back then?"

"Yeah." Madeline replied, "Leigh would usually help me out when she was around, but since she was always away, I was left alone to take care of Joel and Quincy most of the time when they were sick."

"That's not going to happen again." Sebastian gazed at her and added, "I wasn't there for you all those years, but I'll take good care of you all from now on!