Chapter 26 The caregivers soon arrived . But Ted refused to let strangers take care of him . He wore the two caregivers down to exhaustion in just a few hours . When Mick appeared , the caregivers immediately came forward to submit their resignations . Meanwhile , Ted's incessant crying led to another spike in his fever . Mick quickly called in the favors , and two pediatric specialists soon arrived to examine Ted . After a thorough check - up , they confirmed it was pneumonia . " The illness will last one to two weeks . Avoid giving him fruits , meat , or cold foods during this time . " Mick frowned . " Why is he crying so much then ? " " It's common for sick children to have strong emotional fluctuations . " Mick pressed further . " Why won't he let the caregivers look after him then ? " The specialist was utterly baffled . Why would Mick ask him that ? But he dared not offend Mick and pondered the question . Then , he replied , " When children are unwell , they tend to seek comfort from those they are most familiar with . Caregivers are strangers , who tend to make them feel insecure and trigger emotional outbursts . " Then , a nurse entered to change Ted's needle . His piercing cries filled the room again and shook everyone's eardrums . Mick couldn't take it anymore, but the specialist mentioned that children relied more on familiar caregivers when they were sick . He pulled out his phone to dial Mona's number , but it rang for a long time and no one answered . She was probably busy with work . She'd likely call him back after she was done with work . Ted had cried himself to exhaustion after the nurse administered the IV . He lay sprawled on the bed and whimpered in a hoarse voice , " Dad , why haven't you fired that nurse yet ? It hurts … I wanna go home … ". Mick massaged his temples . " Lie down for now . Let's finish the IV , and we'll talk about going home . " " You must be lying . The doctor said I need to stay for a whole week ' Ted was smart enough to realize that escape was impossible , so he started negotiating . " Dad , I Chapter 26 promise I'll obediently take my meds . Could you please let me go home ? " Mick asked , " You've always been obedient at taking your meds , haven't you ? " Ted was stunned by his question and momentarily forgot about his tears . He remembered he'd always needed Nydia to mollify him with reassurances or even a lullaby whenever he had to take his meds . Where was Nydia ? For the first time , it hit him that he wasn't from a single - parent family . His swollen tear- streaked eyes searched the room as he called out , " Dad … Why hasn't Mom come to see me ? " Whenever he'd been hospitalized , Nydia had always stayed by his side . Now come to think of it , the needles hadn't hurt that much , and drawing blood hadn't seemed so scary when Nydia had been around . Though he had a bad appetite , Nydia's home - cooked meals always managed to tempt him . Now that she wasn't her he felt like an empty battery . " Does she not know I'm sick ? Dad , I want Mom to take care of me !" Mick chided him without a second thought . " Ms. Poole is still single , and don't address her as Mom . ' It could ruin her reputation . " Ted was stunned into silence as he stared at Mick in disbelief . What had Mona got to do with this when he'd been talking about Nydia ? He felt utterly miserable as his body ached all over . He just wanted Nydia to hold him and massage his aching spots . my mom ! " " I don't care ! I want Mom ! I want my He didn't know how to express overwhelming feelings inside him , so he cried . He'd assumed that crying would work , but now he was in for disappointment . 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