Beneath the Ice Ch. 02

"The nerve of that man!" Charlotte was still fuming over her last exchange with Alexei three days later as she sorted through new stock with Sarah at the store. She turned her face into her sleeve and coughed.

"I can't believe he said that either, honey." Sarah hummed in commiseration and sliced into a new pallet of product with her box cutter. "He actually asked about her dad?"

"Yes!" Charlotte turned her head to cough again, the force of her response aggravating her already sore throat. "I wanted to hit him, Sarah."

"I'm sure you did." Sarah peeled away the shrink wrap. "Maybe he didn't mean it the way it sounded. You did say he's Russian, so English isn't his first language."

"That's no excuse." Charlotte grumbled and cleared her throat a few more times. "Other than a slight accent, his English is fine. He knew exactly what he was saying."

They fell silent as they worked together, years of knowing one another giving them an easy rhythm.

Charlotte sniffled and coughed her way through another hour, until Sarah had finally had enough.

"Girl, you're sick. Go home."

"I'm fine." Charlotte couldn't even get the two words out before being hit with a sneezing fit that made her eyes water. "It's just allergies."

"Allergies? The first week of November?" Sarah planted hands on her hips and faced Charlotte, her dark eyes stern.

"Fine. Maybe it's the dust in here." Charlotte wiped her nose with a tissue, trying and failing to hide her wince. Her nose was already so raw from how much she'd been wiping and blowing that morning.

"Charlotte Evangeline Woods."

Charlotte squinted at her friend. "That's not my middle name."

"Whatever. You're going home."

"I have to get Zoe in three hours."

"Fine. Go home and sleep until then."

"Franny isn't here yet for her shift."

"Ursula is here. And she'll agree with me when I go tell her you're soiling all the new kitchen towels."

Charlotte gasped and started coughing all over again. Rolling her eyes, Sarah nudged her with an elbow.

"Get out. Now. Before I call the CDC and have you declared a danger zone."

"Pretty sure that's not how it works." More sniffling. She stifled a cough. For a second.

"Charlotte."

"Fine." Another cough. "I'm going."

In truth, she knew she'd been fighting something off for days. Maybe a quiet afternoon before she had to get Zoe would help.

She grabbed her things and headed out, coughing as she waved with her free hand to Sarah and Ursula.

At home, she tried to be quiet, ever conscious of Grumpy Russian downstairs. The last thing she wanted today was a confrontation with him. She changed out of her work outfit and into sweats and a long-sleeved Henley T-shirt before collapsing on the couch. Before she drifted off, she remembered to set the timer on her phone, so she wouldn't sleep through Zoe's pick-up time.

Then, she let herself relax. In between some more sneezing and coughing.

─────

Alexei thought it was very quiet when he got home from his team meeting late in the afternoon. He stood in the center of his apartment and frowned at the ceiling, wondering if Charlotte and Zoe were out for the evening, which would be a first. Shrugging, he wandered around, changing out of his khakis and polo shirt and into his usual sweats and T-shirt. He thought he might hit the gym down the block for a light workout.

As he was checking his headphones to see if they were charged, he heard a more familiar thump from overhead and found himself smiling. There was something he'd have never thought a few weeks ago, that he'd be pleased to hear signs of life from upstairs. As he walked over to grab his runners from the closet, there was another bang from overhead. Then another, a series, as if Zoe were stomping with long, heavy steps across their apartment. Then back in the other direction.

Alexei paused, one shoe on, the other in his hand, and frowned as he listened. It kept up, the stomping-slash-pacing, back and forth. Her footsteps stuttered, then started again.

That wasn't normal. Or at least, not as normal as one would find a nearly four-year old's noise, and he was quite familiar now with Zoe's usual noise.

Sliding his other shoe on, Alexei grabbed his keys before heading upstairs. He didn't bang on the door as he normally would have. He knocked twice, quick, light raps. The stomping from inside stopped and a few seconds later, the lock twisted.

When the door opened, he expected to see Charlotte's face, but instead had to look down into Zoe's wide eyes, so blue like her mother's.

"Hey."

At his single word, Zoe's lower lip trembled right before she opened the door wider and threw herself at his legs.

Alexei hissed out, not in pain, but in a sudden rush of true worry. He bent, sliding his hands over Zoe's small shoulders, cursing a blue streak in Russian under his breath. Grasping her under her arms, he lifted her up and held her against his chest.

"Zoe, what's wrong?"

Zoe shook her head, her little arms going around his neck in a tight grip. "I knew you'd come if I stomped. Did you hear me? I was going stomp-stomp-stomp all over."

Alexei breathed out, patting her back as he strode into her apartment, closing the door behind them. He looked around for Charlotte and didn't see her.

"Zoe, why did you want me to come up here? Where's your mom?"

Zoe finally lifted her face, tears on her flushed cheeks. "She's in the bathroom. She was throwing up. A lot."

Alexei's stomach lurched. He didn't do well with illness, but hard on the heels of that revulsion was concern.

He rubbed a hand over Zoe's face, rubbing one cheek dry with his thumb. "Can you show me?"

She nodded and pointed, but seemed in no rush to climb out of his arms. He indulged her for now and followed her directions across the apartment, into the bedroom. It was indeed a near exact copy of his own unit downstairs. Turning right in the bedroom, barely acknowledging the big messy bed, he looked into the master bathroom.

There was Charlotte, leaning against the bathtub, one hand over her eyes, her hair a mess around her face, half in a ponytail, and what he could see of her cheeks at once pasty and flushed.

Sucking in a breath, he bent and gently set Zoe on her feet. He cupped her little face in one hand. "Can you go watch some television for a few minutes, zaya?"

She nodded, sniffling once, and backed out of the bathroom.

Alexei turned to Charlotte and moved closer. She looked up as he stepped into the little space, her eyes going wide and her whole body jerking back against the side of the tub.

"What--"

"Zoe called me." His lips pulled to one side. "In a way. Come on. Let's get you into bed."

She jerked out of the reach of his hands, then groaned, holding her stomach. "No, I--" She clamped a hand over her mouth, then lurched over the toilet, her body convulsing with heaves.

Alexei closed his eyes for a second, sucking in a hard breath. He reached down a moment later, holding Charlotte's hair back from her face. She lifted a hand from her braced position on the toilet bowl and flapped it towards him once, as if to get him to leave her alone, but heaved again, requiring the support against the toilet once more.

A few minutes later, when she was done, he reached down and pressed the handle to flush. It didn't seem like Charlotte was heaving up too much, but she was shaking all over like she'd run a marathon. Straightening, Alexei turned on the taps over the sink and filled the cup there with water. He handed that down to her, looking around for a face cloth or something. One was on the shelf over the sink and he grabbed it, wetting it with cold water before handing that to Charlotte as well.

She eyed him as she accepted it, her hand shaking and her eyes narrowed on his face. "What are you doing in here?" Her voice was weak and raspy, making it apparent that she'd been throwing up for some time.

"I told you. Zoe called for me."

There was a noise behind him and they both turned to see Zoe peering around the corner, her eyes wide and scared.

"Oh, Zoe." Charlotte sighed and placed a hand on the edge of the tub, trying to climb to her feet. She shook too much to get a good handhold though, so Alexei stepped forward and put his arm around her, helping her to her feet.

She tried to jerk out of his hold but in her state, she had no hope of shaking him off. Even if she wasn't suffering from what was apparently a bad flu, he knew he could hold her still if he wanted. Whether he really wanted to or not was something he would revisit later.

"Come on. Let me help."

"I don't need help." But her voice was as weak as the rest of her and she leaned on him for the ten steps to her bed.

There, she sank down, struggling to pull up one of the covers as shivers wracked her.

"Mommy?" Zoe stood at the foot of the bed, her face full of worry.

"I'm okay, sweetie." Charlotte managed to lift her head. "Climb up and we'll watch something together." She did have a smaller, older television on a small cabinet across the room.

She patted the bed beside her but instead of clambering up beside her mother, Zoe looked up at Alexei, who hovered at Charlotte's side.

Alexei put his hands on his hips. "You stay in bed. Zoe and I will watch a movie out there."

"You're--" Charlotte tried to sit up but her elbow wouldn't lock under her. "You're not staying."

He shrugged. "I'll watch Zoe. You sleep."

"Alexei--"

But Zoe was already reaching up for him and he picked her up. With one arm holding the little girl, Alexei tugged the bed covers up around Charlotte and patted the edge of it, near her hand.

"Sleep."

Charlotte's mouth opened like she was going to protest some more, but Alexei backed away, shutting the light off. In the light coming in from the front room, he could see her face, her eyes blinking slow and heavy. Then closing.

She was out, quick as a flash.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Alexei shut her door and carried Zoe over to the couch.

"Is my mommy going to die?"

Alexei's arms clenched around her for a second and he shook his head. "No, zaya. She just has the flu. Do you know what that is?"

Zoe made a face as she dropped off Alexei and onto the couch. "I get sick sometimes. It's no fun."

"No. It's not." Alexei sank down on the cushion beside her. "But you get better, right?"

"Yeah. Mommy watches me."

Alexei nodded. "And we'll watch her, right?"

Her little chin trembled but she gave him a nod and snuggled into his side as if she'd been doing it forever. And just like that, he was a goner.

Alexei ignored the tightness in his chest and reached for the remote control. "Now, what's your favorite movie?"

─────

Alexei checked on Charlotte several times throughout the evening. She told him to go repeatedly but he must have convinced her at some point that he was trustworthy, because she didn't bring it up during his the last couple visits. He made a simple dinner of soup and grilled cheese for Zoe after rummaging through their fridge. They didn't have a lot but maybe Charlotte was between trips to the grocery store.

When Zoe started yawning and sagging against his side, halfway through their second movie, Alexei got her up and into her bed, in the room across from Charlotte's. Zoe was out like a light, the second her head hit the pillow. Alexei brushed a wisp of red hair from her forehead, frowning when he felt the warmth of her skin.

Was she feverish too? It would make sense if she got sick at the same time as her mother.

Sighing, Alexei backed out of the room and closed the door. He went back to Charlotte's room to find her struggling to get up.

"Hey. Here, let me help."

"I'm going to--" And before she could get the words out, she was covering her mouth and stumbling for her bathroom. She hit the toilet just in time, dropping down and heaving over the porcelain bowl.

Swallowing his own visceral reaction, Alexei brushed her hair off her face and held it as he had earlier, rubbing her back between her shoulders until she stopped retching. As she sank back against the tub, one arm stretched along the edge, and her head resting on her bicep, Alexei turned to pour her cold water. She took it and the washcloth without arguing, her whole body shaking.

"Come, drink more water." He was seriously concerned about her level of hydration at this point. Even more concerning, the way she'd utterly given up arguing with him. After their last proper face-to-face interaction, he never thought they'd talk again.

She drank more water as he handed her the glass two more times, quiet and shaky. At last, she let out a breath and tried to stand. Her hand slipped on the tub's edge and she stumbled against it with a grunt.

Alexei scowled and picked her up, right off her feet, before she could hurt herself further. She made a surprised sound but sagged in his grasp. He carried her the few steps to bed and laid her down. Returning to the bathroom, he soaked the face cloth in cold water again. He carried it out to the bedroom, where Charlotte was already drifting off, pressing it to her hot forehead. Her eyelids fluttered but she said nothing, her head turning an inch before her breathing deepened and evened out into sleep.

Standing up, Alexei stared down at her for a long moment. Backing away with quiet steps, he tidied up the bathroom and then left the bedroom, leaving the door open a crack so he could listen for her.

Then he made himself comfortable on the couch. He wasn't going anywhere for a while.

─────

Charlotte wasn't sure how much time passed between the afternoon she left work early and when she woke without feeling like throwing up for the first time. She blinked her eyes as she woke and yawned, which led to a dry cough that had every part of her body jolting in pain.

"Agh." She gasped and tried to stifle the cough, which didn't help with the body aches. It subsided and she managed to roll to her side and get up from bed.

In the bathroom, she splashed some cold water on her face and drank two cups of water before taking a breath. After she brushed her teeth, she popped some extra vitamins, sure she hadn't had enough in the last however long it had been, hence the vomiting and sniffling. Then she washed up and grimaced when she took in the appearance of her hair. Brushing it out as best as she could, she tugged it into a ponytail and drank two more cups of water.

As she walked back into the bedroom, she checked the time. It was a little after eleven and from the light at her window, it was morning, not eleven at night. As she straightened out the bedsheets, she heard a low murmur of voices from outside the bedroom and wondered if Zoe had a movie on.

She wasn't too concerned. She had vague memories of Alexei saying he'd watch Zoe, and if it meant an impromptu night on her couch, she was sure he'd have done it. He might indeed be a grumpy jerk about their noise level, but he wasn't a bad guy, really.

She sighed and walked out, bracing herself for his scowl. Instead, she stopped and stood still, her eyes widening with every second that passed.

Alexei stood at the stove, moving a spatula around in a pan, making scrambled eggs, it looked like. In his other arm, he held Zoe against him. One of his strong arms was under her bottom and she had her head resting on his shoulder, her forehead pressed to his throat on that side. Her little arms were looped loosely around his big shoulders and she nodded once at whatever he was saying to her in a low tone.

As if sensing her appearance, Alexei lifted his head, his chin brushing Zoe's hair. His eyes met Charlotte's and his lips pulled up on one side in a smile. Or at least, as much of a smile as she'd ever seen him flash.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

Zoe twisted a bit to look over as well. "Hi, Mommy."

Charlotte swallowed with difficulty, her heart thudding a hard, quick rhythm in her chest as she took in the scene. "Hi, sweetie. I'm tired, but okay, I think."

Alexei's eyes swept over her and he turned back to the pan. Reaching over, he flicked the element dial off, careful to hold Zoe away from the heat. "We made eggs. Are you hungry?"

Charlotte was about to shake her head but her stomach gave a low rumble and she realized she probably hadn't eaten in twenty-four hours. Anything she'd had before work the day before was long gone anyway.

"I am hungry."

"Sit." Alexei pointed with his free hand at the kitchen table. "We'll get it for you."

Zoe hadn't reached for her once yet. She hung in Alexei's capable grasp as the big man grabbed plates, forks, and glasses from her cupboards. He poured orange juice for the three of them and dished up the eggs into three portions, giving Charlotte what looked like the most.

At last, he gave the little girl a firm squeeze before transferring her down to the kitchen chair beside Charlotte. Zoe didn't stay there though. She crawled into her mom's lap and Charlotte started when she realized how warm her daughter was.

"Zoe, are you not feeling well?"

Zoe shook her head, burying her face in Charlotte's neck, sagging in her grasp.

"Poor thing. I guess I made you sick, huh?" Charlotte pressed her lips to Zoe's hot forehead and sighed. She didn't have the strength to deal with a sick Zoe. Not that she had much choice. Such was the life of a single mother.

Across from her, Alexei sat down and passed over the salt and pepper shakers. "Here. Eat, please. You must be starving."

Charlotte nodded and picked up her fork. She managed a few mouthfuls and even Zoe had a couple, but even lifting the fork to her mouth a few times was wearing her out. She kept looking at Alexei, his big, quiet presence filling the kitchen. Not that he made her nervous. Oh no, it was far worse than that now, after seeing the way he'd been holding her daughter as he cooked them eggs.

"You look tired." Alexei's eyes scanned her face, flickering to her eyes and down. "Did we wake you?"

"No." Charlotte put her fork down and cuddled Zoe closer to her as she sat back in her chair. "I still feel like I could sleep for a week, though."

He nodded and finished his orange juice. Charlotte gave him a good look as well, noting his unshaven face and messy hair. It must have been a rough night for him as well.

"I'm sorry you had to stay all night."

His eyebrows shot up and he lowered his empty glass to the table. "All night? It's Sunday."

Charlotte blinked as his words sank in. Sunday? But she'd left work early on Friday. No. No way could she have slept through Saturday. Had she? She had been pretty out of it, but a whole day? "I don't understand."

Alexei shifted on his chair and lifted one hand to rub his stubbly chin. Charlotte realized it was thicker than a single night's growth. "You were pretty sick. You slept a lot."

"And you stayed?" Charlotte cleared her throat, her voice hoarse. "Since Friday night? You've been here?"

He shook his head. "Not the whole time. I took Zoe to the grocery store."

Zoe twisted in Charlotte's grasp and nodded once. "He let me carry the eggs."

Alexei's eyes dropped to Zoe and his whole face softened, the harsh lines evening out and his lips curving in a smile. "She was very good." He lifted his gaze back to Charlotte's. "And we went downstairs for a bit too while you were sleeping yesterday so I could get my phone and change my clothes."

Charlotte's mind spun. "But, you watched her? For two nights? And all day yesterday?"

He hesitated and nodded once. "We didn't do much. Watched movies, played Candyland."

Zoe nodded again, her hair tickling under Charlotte's chin. "He didn't win once."

Alexei agreed with a solemn nod. "She is the world champion."

Charlotte tilted her chin down to look into her daughter's face. Zoe was smiling at Alexei, her cheeks flushed. She was very warm and sniffed every few minutes, but that she was awake and still talking was a good sign. Maybe she wouldn't be hit as hard as Charlotte had been.