It was 6:30 AM as the alarm clock began to go off. Nick reached over to turn it off, then slumped back down in bed. It wasn't unusual for him to still be tired in the morning, but today he felt even worse than usual. He tried to take a deep breath, but his nose was all clogged up. He began to cough as he sat up and felt pain in his head; it was clear that he was coming down with something.

"Hey, wake up." he muttered as he nudged his younger brother. Jake groaned and rolled over before he also began having a coughing fit. Nick turned on the lamp next to the bed, and both boys shielded their eyes until they could adjust to the light. When he could get a better look, Nick saw that Jake looked just as miserable as he did. "You too huh?" Nick asked. Jake nodded as he rubbed his eye. "Well, I guess I'll go tell mom."

Nick got up and started making his way towards the kitchen. "Mom?" He called out as he entered the room. "I think me and Jake are getting sick."

His mom turned and looked at him. "Oh? Yeah, you don't look so good." She walked over and placed her hand on his forehead. "And you feel a little warm too. Why don't you go lay back down, and I'll be in there in a bit, okay?"

"Okay."

"Sorry you're not feeling well. I'll bring you guys some medicine in a sec."

Nick started walking back to his bedroom, but was dreading the thought of taking medicine. Every time he has taken medicine before has been disgusting, no matter what the bottle says it's supposed to taste like. But, he didn't have much of a choice given that he's sick.

Nick flopped down on the bed and got back under the warm covers. Soon after, his mom followed in with a few medicine bottles. "So, I've got a question for you Nick. How old are you again?"

"You don't know how old I am?"

"Well you kids grow up so fast it gets hard to keep track of."

"I'm twelve."

"Hmm..." His mom was looking at one of the medicine bottles. "Well, I was thinking: we're almost out of children's medicine, there's probably one more dose left in here. But we still have plenty of adult-strength medicine. It says it's for ages thirteen and up, so I was wondering if it would be okay for you to take that instead."

"Uh... well I'm almost thirteen."

"Yeah, I can't imagine it would make that much of a difference. If you want to try it you can. Plus I figure it might be easier; since it's a pill, you can swallow it and there's no taste."

The idea definitely resonated with Nick. He had never swallowed a pill before, but if it meant not having to deal with the yucky taste, he was willing to give it a try. Nick took the pill from his mom and popped it in his mouth, then followed it up by drinking a glass of water.

Mom put her hand on Jake's forehead. "Yeah, looks like it's got both of you." She pours the last of the children's medicine into a small cup and hands it to Jake. He takes it. "Do you need a change before I leave?"

"Yeah..."

His mom walked over to his drawers and pulled out a clean diaper, a bottle of baby powder, and a pack of wipes. Jake had been dealing with a bedwetting problem his whole life. He never made it to the point where he could make it through the night without having an accident. His mom pulled back the blanket and started to undo the tapes on his wet diaper. Nick rolled over facing the wall to give his brother some privacy while their mom wiped down his nether regions. She slid the clean diaper underneath him and sprinkled some powder, then got him all taped up. After a pat on the bottom, she covered him back up with the blanket.

"Okay, you boys get some rest now. I'll come check in on you later." Mom said as she left the room. The boys laid their heads down, and within a few minutes they were sound asleep.

* * *

A few hours later, Jake woke up. As he sat up in bed, he could feel that the sheets were wet. He put his hand against his diaper and could tell that it was pretty full. It's not often that it leaks, but sometimes accidents happen. So Jake got up and headed out to find his mom.

"Mom?" He called out as he walked down the hall. He could hear her getting up in the living room, and shortly afterwards she came around the corner. "What's wrong?" He stopped and looked down at the floor. "My diaper leaked."

"Oh, it's okay sweetheart." She walked over to him and hugged his head against her torso. "I know you didn't mean to." She rubbed his head for a moment before letting him go. "Come on, let's go get you changed."

The two of them walked back to the bedroom and Mom turned on the overhead light. Nick was still sound-asleep in bed, completely unphased by the sudden brightness. Jake found a dry spot near the foot of the bed, laid down, and started undoing the tapes. His mom brought over his supplies and helped him get cleaned up and changed.

"Alright, go lay down in my bed. I'll take care of everything here."

Jake nodded and left to go lay back down. Now she just had to take care of her other son. She walked over and nudged him on the shoulder. "Nick, wake up sweetie. I need to change the sheets." But he just groaned and turned his head away. "Sweetheart, I know you're tired, but I need to you to get up." She pulled back the covers, hoping to get him to get up, but instead she made a shocking discovery. The wet spot on the bed was concentrated underneath Nick. His boxers and the bottom of his shirt were completely drenched. "Oh Nick..." Unlike his brother, Nick didn't usually have any bedtime problems. His mom nudged him again. "Nick, you need to wake up." Nick's eyes cracked open. He struggled to sit up, so his mom put her hand on his back and helped him. Still dazed, he looked down at himself and seemed confused. "It's alright." his mom reassured him. She helped him to his feet. "Go wash up and put on some clean clothes." Nick still couldn't open his eyes all the way and could only respond by mumbling incoherently at her.

His mom turned her attention back to the bed. She began by throwing the covers and the pillows down into the floor. Then, as she was pulling off the sheets, she stepped back and nearly tripped over something. She looked down and saw Nick laying on the floor, still in his wet clothes. "Nick, I told you to go get changed." He didn't respond, so she shook him again. "Nick! Wake up!" But he just grunted and rolled away from her. His mom sighed and folded her arms. "That medicine really did a number on you, huh." Trying to get him to wake up and do anything seemed impossible, he was completely zonked out. Still, she couldn't just leave him laying on the floor in his pee-soaked pajamas. "What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

Hours later, Nick began to wake up. As he stretched and opened his eyes, something didn't seem right. "...Where am I?" he wondered. Looking around the room, he didn't recognize anything at first. But as the grogginess wore off, he realized that he was in his parents' bedroom. "How did I end up in here?" Nick's head was still congested, so he sat up to try to breathe a little easier. While he was rubbing his face to ease the pressure, something else started to bother him. It felt like there was sitting on something. He reached down and grabbed something plastic, but it tugged on his underwear when he tried to pull it out. Confused, Nick pushed the covers away to get a better view. "...WHAT THE-!?"

He was wearing a diaper.