“We’ll order you some soup and have it delivered by a man in a hazmat suit.” Ten snorted. He tried and failed to cover it with a cough. “As for the Vicks, I’m sure Jude can do it for you.”
Ronan’s mouth fell open. “What?” He could hear Jude bellow through the phone, sounding equally indignant.
“Look,” Cope said. “It’s been a crazy new year already. Why don’t the three of you sack out at Ronan’s. You can watch movies and help each other through this. I think we can all agree that the last thing any of us wants is for the kids to get sick, right?”
“Right,” Jude muttered.
“Yeah,” Ronan agreed.
“You’re all big boys,” Ten said, sounding dubious. “Take care of each other and we’ll see where things stand in the morning.”
Jude muttered something almost unintelligible, but sounded a lot like “Get fucked.”
“Think of it as a slumber party for adults. You’ll have yummy food, snacks, movies, and the company of your best friends.” Ten smiled brightly.
Ronan grimaced. “Adult slumber parties involve naked revelry and lots of lube.”
“To each their own!” Cope chirped. “I’ll pack a bottle in Jude’s bag.”
Jude roared, sounding a lot like a caged lion in the zoo.
“I’ll send him over in half an hour with snacks.” Cope sounded hopeful. “Text me in a bit to put in your request for medicines and we’ll drop off what you need.”
“Along with more snacks,” Ten added. “It will be fun. You’ll see.” If Ten’s smile was anymore forced, he was going to end up cracking teeth.
“Yeah, I’ll see all right.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Ronan pouted.
“With three cold case detectives under one roof, what could possibly go wrong?” Cope asked.
Only everything. Groaning, Ronan sank his head into his hands. It was going to be a long night.
2
Jude
FML…
Jude was going to die, and it would be all Ronan’s fault. He, Ronan, and Fitz had spent the entire day on Friday in their office above West Side Magick reading case files and trying to decide which would be the next unsolved murder to investigate. All the while, Ronan had been sniveling and sneezing with no regard for his or Fitz’s safety.
Saturdays were Jude’s favorite day of the week. He and Wolf got up early to have breakfast together at Dunkin’s. Jude loved the glazed donuts, while Wolf went for the chocolate crullers, orcrawlers, as Wolfie called them. After they’d eaten, Jude would grab a chocolate chip muffin for Cope and a few munchkins for his own munchkin, Lizbet.
After breakfast, father and son would have a snowball fight and talk about their week after the match was won. It never failed to surprise Jude how much Wolf’s advice helped him in his life, especially when dealing with people who aggravated him. At the moment, Ronan was at the top of the list. It was all his fault that Jude and Wolf had to cancel their long-standing breakfast ritual.
“Okay,” Cope said, coming down the stairs with Jude’s large rolling suitcase. “You’re all packed and ready to go!”
“You said it was only for one night! It looks like you’ve got enough packed in there for a month!” Jude had a bad feeling about this. The idea of being away from his family, even from across the street, was hard to take. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Copehadn’tslept in the same bed.
“I put your pillow and favorite blanket in there. That’s why the suitcase looks so full.” Cope patted Jude’s shoulder, before wiping his now contaminated hand on his flannel sleep pants.
“Bye, Daddy!” Wolf said from the couch. His eyes didn’t leave the television screen.
“Da! Da!” Lizbet shouted before turning back to the movie she and Wolf were watching.
“Okay, out you go.” Cope opened the front door, but stood back from it.
“No one loves me.” Jude’s usual plays for sympathy were all in good fun. This was an actual cry for help.
“Don’t you think you’re being just a touch dramatic?” Cope asked, biting his bottom lip.
