#There are some tissues but they are rough and scratchy and there’s no trash can

[listenheresweaty]

they should make a therapy waiting room that doesn’t make your heart turn to liquid

[aggedyann]

Older Than You Used To Be

Ethan heard Tim cough as he walked past the table on his way to the shower. “How was the run?”

“Great. Should have joined me, lazy bones.”

Ethan chuckled. “I haven’t run since college. I probably wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

“You’re just afraid I’ll run circles around you.”

“I know you will.” Ethan pointed out as Tim started coughing again. “Asthma acting up?”

Tim nodded, taking a sip of water. “Not too bad. Just a bit of a wheeze and a cough. I’ll see how the shower helps.” He brushed off Ethan’s concern.

Ethan muffled a sneeze into his right elbow. “Want me to join you for the shower?”

Tim shook his head. “Run’s got me worn down.” He glanced at his watch. “Plus I’ve got that meeting for Alex’s special. I’ll be late if you do.”

“Don’t forget we’ve got dinner at Alex’s tonight.” Ethan called as Tim made his way down the hall.

Tim sat in the office, back against the wall. He checked once again to make sure that he wasn’t sitting underneath the air conditioning vent. This room had a definite chill to it. He couldn’t wait until they broke for lunch, and he could grab his hoodie. He rubbed his hands over his arms again, then coughed into his shoulder. He hadn’t stopped coughing since that morning’s asthma attack. He sniffled, noticing his nose was starting to run, blaming it on the blasting air conditioning.

He got up to grab a tissue off Freddie’s desk and immediately sat back down as a sudden pair of sneezes struck him. “HihChuussoo, Chuurrshoo!” He managed to sloppily cover with his forearm. Sam, on his left, started bless him, but stopped when he shook his head at her, feeling more brewing. “Huhrrruhhshoo, yyyurrshoo, Uhhrshoo, HuhhYuuhhhsheshh!” He didn’t stop there. Freddie, on his right, leaned over and snagged the tissues, pressing a handful into Tim’s free hand. Swiftly, between sneezes, Tim switched his arm for the tissues for another 10 sneezes.

“Bless you.” Alex frowned from the front of the room. They all knew what Tim’s explosion had meant. Freddie stepped behind his desk, dug in the top drawer and emerged with a packet of cold pills, holding them up.

Tim hesitated, usually he didn’t need anything following the sneezing fit that preceded a cold. But, the cough was new…and he noted, he suddenly felt a lot stuffier than he had 5 minutes ago.

He took the pills from Freddie, leaned against the wall and somehow made it through the meeting, though not contributing much than the odd joke, frequent coughs and occasional sneezes.

He got home to a note from Ethan. ‘Coffee with Dustin. Back around 4.’ He nodded at the note and crawled into bed. He grabbed the tissues off Ethan’s nightstand and collapsed around them. The next thing he was aware of was Ethan shaking him gently awake.

“Sneaking a nap?” Ethan teased. “That’s not like you.” He frowned, noticing the tissues the scattered the bedspread.

“Got a cold, I guess.” Tim sniffed, noticing that his voice sounded scratchy. He cleared his throat, swinging his legs over the bed, ignoring a momentary wave of dizziness.

“You ‘guess?’ It’s usually pretty obvious when you get a cold.” Ethan stated bluntly, in reference to Tim’s tell tale sneezing fit that preceded every cold he’d ever had.

“Hitting faster than normal.” Tim blew his nose, then gathered the crumpled tissues from the bed, depositing them in the trash can on Ethan’s side of the bed.

“Need to cancel on Alex and Alyssa?”

Tim shook his head. “I’m fihhne..Niihhshoo! Huhhhyyyehhshoo!”

“Bless you.” Ethan bit the inside of his lip, nurse brain noticing how pale Tim was, how red his nose was, just since he had seen him with a slight cough this morning.

He heard rough, hoarse coughs coming from the bathroom. “Yep,” he sighed; “that was worse, too.”

He met Tim in the kitchen with a glass of water. “Do you need to take DayQuil or something? Your inhaler?”

Tim shook his head. “Thanks. Freddie gave me some cold medicine around noon; I used my inhaler when I got home.” He rubbed his temples, then slumped in a chair. “I don’t even remember being around anyone sick.” He grumbled.

Ethan shrugged. “Could’ve picked it up at the grocery store for all we know. From a cart or something. The virus can live on hard surfaces up to 24 hours.”

Tim yawned. “Probably then.” He rubbed his nose with his sleeve.

Ethan sighed and handed him a paper towel. “Juice? Tea? Cough syrup?”

“Jus’ water for now.” He had to admit the cold water felt good on his throat, especially with the way the sneezing grated at it. A few rough coughs shook him. “Do you have cough drops hidden somewhere? I couldn’t find any.”

Ethan paused in thought. “If you don’t know where they are, we’re probably out. Leave early and pick you up some?”

Tim shrugged, looking at his watch, blankly.

Ethan looked at his. “We’d have to within 15 minutes. Gives you time to freshen up.”

“Ok.” Tim said, but didn’t move.

“Serious, babe. If you want to change, you need to do it now. And you’ve got to comb your hair.” Ethan paused for a second to grab his own paper towel. “Ashoo! I’ll grab you tissues and cold medicine. Go. Get. Ready.”

Tim slowly pulled himself out of the chair and walked down to the bedroom where he changed his wrinkled shirt, then the bathroom to fix his bed head. When he returned to the living room, Ethan was waiting, handing him a travel pack of tissues to stick in his pocket.

“Think this is enough?”

“I’ve got one, too.” Ethan offered a smile, passing over the blister pack of cold medicine. “You’re going to have your pockets full of inhaler, tissues, cold medicine and cough drops. I can carry the extra tissues. You have your inhaler, right?”

“Bedroom.” Tim mumbled, walking back to retrieve the item. When he returned, Ethan was standing there with his jacket. “It’s 55 degrees.”

“You’re sick.” Ethan’s tone left little room for argument, and Tim slipped the jacket on, not wanting to admit, he hadn’t warmed up since this morning, ‘Maybe,’ he mused, ‘it wasn’t the air conditioner after all.’

After a stop for cough drops, a move Tim’s tender throat wholly appreciated, they were 10 minutes early to Alex’s. Sitting in the car for a moment, Tim enjoyed the comfort of the soft seat on his sore joint before they headed up to the house.

“Hey man, how you feeling?” Alex asked Tim when he answered the door.

“Rough.” Tim admitted softly as Ethan and Tim communicated with their eyes next to him.

“Wasn’t your most impressive pre-cold fit, but it looks like it’s hitting you good.” Alex commented.

Tim nodded and coughed as they walked into the living room.

“Drinks?”

“Just water.”

“Ethan? Diet Coke?” Alex asked.

“Sounds great.” Ethan rubbed Tim’s back as more coughs shook him. He glanced down at his watch. “I think you could go for the inhaler and cold medicine now.” He whispered.

Tim slipped off to the hallway to discreetly use his inhaler, returning as Alex returned with Alyssa and drinks. He fished the cold medicine out of his pocket and swallowed it.

“Dinner in about 15 minutes. I lost track of time grading papers.”

Tim nodded, pushing hard against his septum with one hand while digging the packet of tissues out of his pocket and struggling to open it with the other. Realizing he was out of time, he turned to the side, shifting his elbow to block. “Yyehhshehh, heyyyehsshehhh! Yyehhshoo! YyyehhHehhsshoo!” With a wet sniffle, he managed to get the pack open, turn away again and blow his nose, louder than he had anticipated.

“Bless you.” Alex gave him a concerned glance as Ethan rubbed his leg. “You sounded better when you left the meeting.”

“Guess..” Tim’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “Must’ve settled in when I took a nap.” He shrugged. He slipped a cough drop in and leaned back into the couch, closing the subject…for now.

Ethan turned to Alex, asking him questions about his upcoming special which Alex was only too thrilled to talk about. For Alex and Ethan, the 15 minutes until Alyssa brought them in for dinner passed quickly, but for Tim, it felt like an eternity.

The food looked amazing; Alyssa was as good, if not better in the kitchen than he was. The taste was dulled, however, by his growing congestion, and he could hear it start to become apparent in his voice. He’d left the table four, or was it five times for harsh, powerful fits muffled into his tissues or simply to blow his nose when he felt it begin to start dripping. His head ached, his ears ached, his joints ached…his throat…well that, felt like someone was stabbing it with shards of glass. His head was fuzzy, and the lightheaded feeling from earlier had never completely gone away, making it hard to keep up with the conversation. Halfway through, they’d given up asking him direct questions, just leaving it open for him to chip in when he could. Considering, he was worn out, despite the nap, he didn’t chime in much.

Mentally, he gave a sigh of relief when Alex and Alyssa cleared the plates, brushing aside Ethan’s offer to help, and brought out dessert. Apple pie, normally his favorite, but he wasn’t sure he had an appetite left for another bite, despite picking at his dinner. He reached for his coffee, blinking, sure that the cold had affected his eyesight when he noticed it didn’t look right.

“Tea.” Alyssa informed him. “You should be drinking tea, not coffee. Don’t worry, I put plenty of honey in for that cough.”

“ThahhhHahAhshoo!” The first sneeze came before he had time to bolt from the table, and he quickly clapped his hands over his nose. The obligatory second sneeze was a split second later. “YyahhSchoo!” He paused for a second, starting to relax before his breath hitched again. “Yyehhschoo! Yyeehheescheshhh! Yehhhshescchhh! HeeeYyyaahhSschoo!” Catching his breath and flushing red, he took the tissues Ethan slipped him and slipped back into the kitchen.

“Bless you.” Alex rubbed his shoulder upon his return. “You could have cancelled. I knew you were sick.”

“Thought I was ok.” Tim mumbled. “Don’t know why I’m so sick all of a sudden. ‘S just a cold.” He took a sip of his tea.

Alyssa, Alex and Ethan exchanged looks around the table. They’d been through this, too. Tim was just the young one of the group and needed some time to catch up.

“You’re 40 now.” Alex pointed out.

Tim looked even more lost than he had most of the evening.

“Things hit you harder as you get older.” Alyssa explained. “Something that you normally would have powered through can knock you for a loop.”

“You get sick more quickly. Or are sicker longer. Or just plain get sicker.” Ethan explained

“Or a combination of all of them.” Alex chipped in.

Tim looked over at Ethan, still not fully grasping everything. He rubbed Tim’s shoulder. “I used to have colds for exactly 5 days.” He started.

“You’re sick for at least a week.” Tim corrected. “If not more.”

“Since I turned 40. I can still push through, but, yeah, there’s about 8 days…”

“Hits me harder.” Alyssa sighed.

“Add me to the sick longer group. And it’s not because I push through them.” Alex smiled. “You’re older than you used to be.”

“Things hit different.”

Tim nodded, yawning.

“And on that note, how does dessert to go sound?” Alyssa asked.

“Wonderful.” Ethan was scrutinizing Tim. “I want to get home and put someone to bed.”

Tim didn’t make it halfway across town before he had found dozed off.

[sylvanfreckles]

Sick Day

Just posting an old fic from my AO3 account. You can read it on that website here, it was a gift for someone who reviewed one of my other stories (I have been known to offer bribes in the past).

Summary: When Jack is stuck at home recovering from bad chest cold, all he wanted was for someone to spend time with him. And with Sam and Dean on a case and Cas working on an angel problem, that leaves Mary...and Rowena. Now, if he can only convince them to stop trying to out-mother each other and just be his friends maybe he would actually feel better.

...

Having the flu, as Dean put it so succinctly, sucked.

Never mind that Sam had scolded his brother up and down the bunker that Jack didn't have the flu, that what he had was a serious chest cold, Dean had kept calling it the flu until Sam stormed off to dig up a hunt to shut his brother up. After all, Mary was planning on spending a few days at the bunker brushing up on some current affairs and helping with some translation work for a novice hunter out in California, so it wasn't like they were leaving him alone.

Except, Jack reasoned as he tucked his blanket a little tighter around this legs, it would be nice if Sam or Dean had acted like they wanted to stay with him. Castiel was helping Heaven—they'd found an angel hiding on earth and he was trying to convince them to go home to help power up Heaven, but Naomi was refusing to send anyone else so he was the only one who could do it. So it was just Jack and Mary left in the bunker, and without the noise of the other hunters or one of his dads the whole place just seemed empty and sad.

Jack loved Mary, he really did, but just...he really wanted one of his fathers. Sam had said their case would only last a few days and Cas was coming home as soon as he could (and called or texted whenever he was able) but it just didn't compare to having someone here. His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts, and Jack's face lit up when he saw Rowena's name on the ID screen. “Row-” he broke off to cough away from the phone, “Rowena?” “Jack? Oh, poor boy, you sound awful,” Rowena's lilting accent was colored with sympathy, and Jack wiggled further down on the couch and closed his eyes. “Yeah, I'm sick.” “Oh no, that's just awful. My poor wee lad.” “I'm okay. Sam says I should be better in a few days.” Dean, of course, said he was probably going to be sick for the rest of his life, but even through the haze of NyQuil Jack had realized that was a joke. “Yes, Samuel. Is he there? I've tried to call him but he isn't answering,” “No, he and Dean are on a case,” Jack twisted away from the phone to cough again. “I see. Well, how about Castiel?” “He's been gone on angel business for a few days, but he should be back soon.” Rowena was silent on the other end of the phone. Jack frowned and pulled the phone away, checking that they were still connected. “Rowena?” “And...they left you there? Alone? And sick?” “Oh, no, I'm not alone. Mary's here.” Rowena was silent again for a few minutes. Jack turned the phone away to cough into a tissue, careful to throw it in the trash can to limit the spread of germs. “Well, if the boys aren't there, I suppose I can stop by myself for what I need.” Jack was blowing his nose, but he picked the phone up again as soon as he was done. “You're coming?” “Just to look for a few things,” the witch commented, but there was something warm in her voice. “I'll bring you some of the remedies I used to take when I was a lass. We'll have you back on your feet in no time.” Before Jack could argue, Rowena had hung up on her end. He let his phone drop into his lap and rested his head against the couch. At least it would be nice to see her again, he thought. He was pretty sure there weren't really any cures for a cold (at least Sam had said so, and even Dean admitted Sam was probably right about almost everything), but the bunker seemed so empty with just him and Mary that he was looking forward to another visitor. “Jack?” Mary was leaning into the doorway, a steaming mug in her hands. “Did Cas call again?” “No, that was Rowena,” Jack replied. He drew his feet up so the blonde woman could sit at the other end of the couch and pass him the mug. It was herbal tea laced with honey—the warmth always helped ease the ache in his chest while the honey soothed his scratchy throat. “She said she needed some information, but since Sam and Cas aren't here she's just going to stop by to look for it herself.” “Oh.” Mary's lips tightened into a thin line. He knew Mary had grown up viewing witches as nothing more than another monster, but he held out hope that she could someday at least see Rowena as an ally. After all, Bobby and Jules and most of the hunters from the apocalypse world had learned to accept Castiel, so there had to be hope for Mary and Rowena. “Thank you, Mary,” he said, after taking a sip of the tea. “You always make it so strong, I like it.” Mary's cheeks reddened. “Well, herbal tea isn't really my strong suit,” she replied. “If you wanted coffee, now...it would still probably be pretty strong.” “I like it like this,” Jack repeated after another sip. “Sometimes when I make it I just leave the teabag in while I drink it.” “You rebel,” Mary teased, patting his knee. “How are you feeling?” He shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” Mary leaned forward to rest her hand against his forehead. Jack closed his eyes, leaning into the touch just a little. Her hand was cool and dry, and just a little rough with callouses in the same places as Sam and Dean. She smelled nicer, though. He still didn't understand why it was somehow a taboo for boys to smell like strawberries, no matter what Dean

said. “You're not running a fever,” Mary commented. “At least not a high one. Is your cough any better?” Jack started to answer, but had to turn to the side to cough into another balled-up tissue. Mary's smile was sympathetic and she patted his knee again. “Maybe a little. Just get some rest, Jack.” “Wait,” Jack caught her wrist as she stood to leave. “Sam downloaded some old movies before he left, do you want to watch one with me?” “I wish I could,” Mary replied, gently brushing some of his hair out of his face. “I just have so much work to do right now. Maybe later.” He tried to keep the disappointment off his face as she left the room, but as soon as she was gone Jack sunk back down into the couch and picked his phone back up. Movies were just less fun by himself, and he didn't always understand the references. Cas had sent another update, at least—the angel he was talking to was living near a bird sanctuary, and he always sent Jack colorful pictures of parrots and songbirds and an old, scarred pelican the sanctuary workers had named Admiral. Not as good as having his father here, certainly, but it was nice to know Cas was thinking of him. Jack closed his eyes, letting his phone rest against his chest. Later couldn't come soon enough. * * * “Jack?” A cool, soft hand on his forehead gently pulled him out of sleep. “Mary?” he whispered. “No, dear. It's Rowena.” He cracked his eyes open to see the witch leaning over him, brilliant red hair cascading over one shoulder. “What time is it?” She glanced down at the gold watch on one wrist. “Almost seven in the evening. How are you feeling, Jack?” Jack grunted and shoved himself up, rubbing his eyes with the heel of one hand. “Better?” Rowena gave a little laugh, sitting down on the edge of the couch near his knees. “Was that a question or an answer?” “Both?” She gave another of those little, tinkly laughs and patted his knee. “Well, now I'm here, I'll have you back to health in no time at all.” He smiled at her, but had to bend over to muffle a cough in one hand. “Sorry.” “No apology necessary, Jack,” Rowena assured him. He fumbled for the tissue box but found it empty and jerked back in surprise when Rowena offered him a handkerchief. “It won't bite you, my dear. And it can be washed.” “Ah...thanks.” Gingerly, Jack covered his mouth and nose to cough. Rowena shifted around to place one hand on his back and rub gentle, soothing circles. “You poor thing,” she murmured. “And the boys just left you all alone?” “Mary's here,” Jack reminded her, when he could speak again. Rowena sniffed daintily. “Yes, of course. Lady Winchester. Well, Jack, I'll just pop over to the kitchen and put this on the boil,” she said as she stood up, picking up a paper grocery bag. “I've got a few things to check while it's stewing, but we'll have you right as rain soon.” Jack swung around to put his feet on the floor, fighting a wave of dizziness. “Rowena? Sam told me to just keep taking this stuff,” he explained, gesturing to a package of extra-strength cold medicine. “Maybe...could you just bring your research in here and we could watch a movie instead?” The witch scoffed at the packaged medicine. “Nonsense, Jack. Trust me, I'll have you up on your feet in a matter of hours.” With that, Rowena marched out of the room with the paper bag clutched close. Jack slumped back against the couch, head pounding and sinuses clogged. He really, truly was feeling better compared to the last few days. Just...lonely. A crash from the kitchen had him sitting back up, and with a sigh Jack shuffled to his feet and pulled his robe closed. He could hear raised voices as he got closer and realized Mary and Rowena were in the middle of a heated argument over something. “...need your...witches brew,” Mary was saying as Jack approached the door. “We were doing just fine without you.” “Oh, fine, of course,” Rowena's voice was sharp with scorn. “Explain how you burned tomato soup, then?” “It's harder than it looks,” Mary protested. “And it's not burned, there's just stuff stuck to the bottom of

the pan. That happens every time.” “This?” Jack could hear something scraping, and really hoped Rowena hadn't just taken a metal spoon to one of Dean's prized nonstick pans. “This is burned, dear. See how it's gone all dark and bitter? You actually burned the soup, no wonder the poor boy is ill!” “What would you know about taking care of a sick child?” Mary demanded. “I have raised a son of my own.” “Who became a demon! At least my boys have never done that!” Rowena gave a dark laugh. “Oh, dearie, there's so much you don't know.” “And what's that supposed to mean? Sam and Dean are good men.” “Oh, no one's disputing that, Mary. I'm merely suggesting that they became good men because of your absence, rather than in spite of it.” That was enough for Jack. Before Mary could make her retort he shoved his way into the kitchen, his dramatic entrance made somewhat pathetic when he stumbled into a chair and had to hang onto it for dear life. “What are you arguing about?” “Jack!” Mary rushed to his side, turning the chair around and trying to push him to sit down. She was trying to be calm, but he could see the angry flush in her cheeks and feel her hands shaking. “What are you doing up? You should be resting!” “Did we disturb you?” Rowena asked, straightening his robe and brushing his hair back. She almost appear unaffected, but her lips were tight and she kept glaring over at Mary. “Poor boy. I apologize, it won't happen again.” Jack shook them both off. “Why were you fighting?” When neither woman answered he folded his arms, though he did sit down as his cold made him feel weak, and attempted his best Dean-stare at them. “I want to know.” “Mary burned-” “Rowena was-” They started at the same time, but both stopped to glare at each other. Jack sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with one hand. “I really don't need all of this.” “I'm sorry, Jack,” Mary rested one hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “We'll keep it down.” “Aye,” Rowena placed her hand on his other shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You just trot back to bed. I'll take care of the mess here and bring you something in a wee bit.” “I was making soup,” Mary replied, her grip tightening just a little. “I'll bring you some soup.” “If you can call it soup,” Rowena sniffed. Her hand was tightening as well. It was almost uncomfortable. “I'll clean up this disaster and bring you some real food.” “Okay, that's it!” Mary leaned over Jack to get in Rowena's face. “I've had it with your little insults! No, I'm not a cook, but John and I survived just fine even if I burned the soup now and then!” “Oh, yes, of course,” Rowena replied. She leaned over Jack as well, until his vision was all but blocked by the two women. “That would by why you had such a long, happy marriage, hmm? Oh, wait...you died.” “Enough!” Jack stood up, pushing the two apart. He swallowed down another cough and took a few steps away so he could turn around and face them, waving his hands to include the two of them as well as the disaster in the kitchen. “It's all of this! I don't need this! Cas is away on important business that couldn't wait, and Sam and Dean wouldn't have left if I wasn't going to be fine. I don't need you to do this much for me!” “Jack,” Mary held her hands out, trying to soothe him. “I'm sorry, I got carried away. We just want what's best for you.” “But you never asked me! You just keep trying to be my mother!” Jack pushed both hands through his hair and turned away. He hadn't meant to say that...hadn't meant to express the awful, bitter feelings that kept bubbling up. “Jack?” Rowena was at his side, one hand on his elbow. “Is something the matter?” He sighed, turning around again so he could face both of them. “I already have a mom,” he explained, feeling that little twist of pain and love and regret that formed in his stomach whenever he thought of Kelly. “A really, really good mom. And I have Cas, and Sam and Dean. I just...I don't need another mom. I really...I just wanted a friend today.” Mary had looked down, blinking back tears.

Rowena had looped her arm through his and was studying his face with a gentle expression. “My poor lad,” she finally murmured. “I never meant to try to replace your mother, Jack. You just seemed so lonely...I just wanted to take care of you.” “Yeah,” Mary came close enough to take his free hand. “I guess...we just thought we knew what was best and didn't even think about what you really wanted.” Jack let out a relieved sigh, letting the two of them guide him back to the chair when his legs started to shake. “Can we please just watch a movie together? That's all I wanted.” “Of course,” Rowena said soothingly. “I'll take care of the dishes here, and maybe Mary can find some snacks.” “And make tea,” Mary offered. “Nice and strong, just how you like it.” Rowena pulled a face, but this time Jack knew it was because the witch didn't approve of the way he drank tea. “That would be great,” he said. “I'll set up the projector.” * * * “Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted the angel as he got out of the Impala. “You're back early!” “Susanna agreed to return to Heaven,” Cas explained. “How did your hunt go?” “Oh, just the best,” Dean replied. He hefted his bag up to his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “Poltergeists are just so much fun.” “Do you need me to heal you?” Cas asked worriedly, looking over Sam and Dean for injuries. “He's just being a baby,” Sam said. “The poltergeist didn't hurt his shoulder, he just won't admit that he's old and can't take the cold as well as he used to.” “I am not old,” Dean retorted, leading the way into the bunker. “Besides, if I'm old you are too.” “That doesn't even make sense,” Sam complained, but fell silent when his brother pulled up short. “Dean?” Dean held a finger to his lips and gestured to the small office they'd been using as a kind of family living room. There was a projector running one of the old black and white movies Sam had found. Jack was on the couch, fast asleep, head tipped back at an awkward angle and breathy snores rasping out of his open mouth. To his right, Rowena was curled up on the couch beside him with her head pillowed on his shoulder. Mary was at the opposite end of the couch from Rowena, her feet resting in Jack's lap and her head down against her chest. “Think he's feeling better?” Sam whispered. “Hope so,” Dean replied, turning away from the room with a grin. “Looks like he was in good hands.” Sam shook his head, casting one more look at the sleeping trio. "I don't know, I kind of feel like it was the other way around."

[duchessfics]

Lovesick

(https://clqrkkent.tumblr.com/post/179164121180/billie-dean-howard-medium-to-the-stars-in)

Billie x Sick!Fem!Reader x Audrey

Requested by Anon: A Billie x reader x Audrey fic where the reader has a cold and they both have to look after them is a very cute idea for a one shot. Just saying.😁😁. btw I absolutely love your writing. There is a serious decline in the sarah paulson story industry and I appreciate that you still write the amazing way you do🙏🙏🙌😍👌♥️👋 😂

Warning(s): Mentions of vomiting, and enough fluffy sweetness to give you a cavity. ;)

Summary: You catch the cold Audrey and Billie had, and try to deal with it on your own. However, your girlfriends care for you (even if you are stubborn about being fine). And in the process you realize how nice it is to have loved ones care for you while ill.

Word Count: 3900

A/n: I know this is another Billie x Reader x Audrey fic and I promise I have other ships in the process, but I was inspired to write this as soon as it was requested. Also I did a bit from Audrey and Billie’s perspective for a little extra content. So if you are into these three I hope you enjoy! :)

Audrey was the first one to come home sick. She said there was a bug going around on the set she was working on. So Billie took care of her for the next couple days. You were out of town at this time; however, you came home to see both of your girlfriends ill. Fortunately, Audrey was on the mend, but Billie was still in the thick of this cold. So, you helped them both to recover and everything seemed to go back to normal. That is until you wake up in the middle of the night feeling horribly nauseous.

You instinctively let out a groan and clutch your stomach, but freeze up, not wanting to wake your sleeping girlfriends. Both of the blondes continue to sleep peacefully and remain curled up together, so you sneak off to the guest room, trying to deal with this yourself. If there is one thing you hate, it’s to be coddled or nursed while injured or sick. Instead, your plan of action involves hiding in some room and suffering alone until the sickness passes on. However, as you throw up the contents of your stomach in the guest bathroom, you hear the door open and Audrey gasp, “Oh my god!” Then she yells out for Billie to come in. If you could speak, you would say you’re fine, but you are a little too occupied to say anything.

By the time Billie enters the bathroom, you have stopped retching and wipe your face with a towel, conveniently using it to hide from your girlfriend’s gazes as well. However, both Audrey and Billie kneel down near you and the latter softly murmurs, “Can you look at me, babygirl?” You hesitantly pull the towel away from your face and look over to see them both watching you closely. Before anymore can be said, you rasp through your scratchy throat, “I’m fine. I-I just ate something wrong.” Both sets of brown eyes look you over, clearly seeing the same symptoms they had, and the medium says, “Let’s just take your temperature. You look a little warm.” As she finishes speaking, Audrey rests the back of her hand on your sweaty forehead and says, “Oh darling, you’re burning up.” You shake your head, too tired to say anything, but know that whatever cold they both had is what you have now. Billie stands up and walks away to get the thermometer, ignoring your silent protest.

Meanwhile Audrey remains on her knees beside you, partly to offer help and support and partly to keep you from running off and hiding somewhere. Once Billie returns, she gets to her knees again and says, “Open your mouth for me, sweetheart.” You listen and let her place the thermometer under your tongue. After a minute or so, the device beeps and Billie’s eyes widen as she looks over the results. Then she looks to you and says, “Oh no, your temp is over 100 degrees.” As if the thermometer is wrong, you shake your head and scratchily reply, “I’m fine. I can take care of it myself.” But Audrey gently shushes you, cupping your face with her hands as she murmurs, “Love, I know we haven’t been together very long, but Bill and I want to take care of you.” 

Her gentle words make you look down to the tiled floor and you give a small nod as you rasp, “Ok.” So, you allow them to help you stand and lead you to the master bedroom. Then you brush your teeth to get that abhorrent taste out of your mouth before your girlfriends guide you to lay in the bed.

A sigh leaves your lips as you lay back on the bed and Billie pulls the blanket up, tucking you in while murmuring, “Audrey, dear, can you look in the medicine cabinet for our cold medicine?” She says yes and runs off while the medium smooths back the sweaty pieces of your hair that stick to your sweaty forehead and cheeks with her thumbs. As she repeats that gentle motion, she says in a quiet voice, “We’re gonna get you better, babygirl.” Your eyes fall shut as Audrey says, “Um…we don’t have any more cold medicine. Must’ve used the last of it when we were ill.” 

That makes you open your eyes to see Billie looking back to Audrey as she asks, “You’re sure?” The actress nods, biting her lip as she looks between you both. Then she hesitantly says, “Maybe we can run out to buy some?” Billie returns her gaze to you and her warm brown eyes look you over as she remains quiet. So you take her hand and say in a soft, scratchy voice, “I’ll be alright to be alone for a bit. I didn’t get much sleep last night so I’ll probably just rest.” Billie keeps quiet, tapping her nails on the bedspread as she looks to you. After a moment, the medium says, “Well at least let me set a couple things by you in case you need something.” Then she sets your phone, a box of tissues, a glass of water, and a small trash can within reaching distance.

Once that’s all set up, both women press light kisses to your forehead, noting how fast you are warming up, and Audrey says, “If you need anything at all just text or call us.” In response, you give her the best smile you can muster. But it must look rough, based on the expressions of concern they respond with. Then Billie soothes, “We won’t be gone too long.” You nod and rasp, “I’ll be here.” They head out and while you still feel very ill, your exhaustion from a lack of sleep leads you to doze off…

 Billie and Audrey’s POV

“Billie, if you go any faster, I’m going to be sick.” Audrey warns, gripping the car handle to the point of her knuckles turning white as Billie whizzes between cars. However, after hearing her girlfriend’s warning, she slows a little and replies, “Sorry, baby. I’m just a little worried. I’ve never seen her so weak.” The actress lets out the breath she was holding as Billie goes to driving only 10 over the speed limit. Once her heart rate has slowed, Audrey murmurs, “Me too, sweetheart.” Billie pulls into the nearest drugstore and as soon as she puts the car into park, both women rush in, walking over to the medicine section. While the medium scans over the different cold medicines trying to determine what will be best for their girl, Audrey walks up and says, “I got a couple things.” and Billie looks to see.

That’s when she sees Audrey has nearly filled up a shopping cart with packs of different cough drop packs, over 5 boxes of tissues, 3 containers of Vicks VapoRub, a new thermometer, nausea medicine, nose spray, and a first aid kit. Billie giggles and looks up to Audrey with a raised eyebrow while teasing, “A couple things, honeybee?” The actress blushes and defends, “Hey, you never know what she could need!” Billie walks up to Audrey and kisses her pouty lips before soothing, “I know. And I am sure y/n will appreciate everything you chose for her.” Then the medium sets the cold medicine she decided on in the cart before removing the first aid kit and thermometer. Once she does that, Billie interlocks her arm with Audrey’s and murmurs, “Let’s get home to our girl”

Once the women return, the first thing they do is check up on you. That’s when they see you fast asleep. You don’t even twitch at the sound of Audrey accidentally dropping the bags of items. After cleaning up that pile of items, Billie and Audrey step out to the kitchen. Then Billie places her hands on her hips before saying, “We could make up some soup for her.” Audrey comes up and replies, “I appreciate your enthusiasm, darling. I really do…But are you sure you don’t want to just order some to be delivered?” Billie chuckles, looking to Audrey with a smirk on her lips as she says, “It’s just soup. How hard can it be?”

 You wake up to the fire alarm, blaring its loud tone. But in the background Audrey’s voice yells, “Bill, get some water!” along with a string of expletives. Hearing all of that makes you concerned not only for your safety, but for Billie and Audrey’s as well. So, you slowly sit up and pull the blankets off of yourself before standing up. However, you immediately lean against the bed closing your eyes to prevent the room from spinning. After a moment, your vertigo seems to stop, but you hold your pounding head with one of your hands as you stagger out to the kitchen.

Upon stepping in, you see both of your girlfriends running around the kitchen, the sink water running while they use a towel to finesse the smoke out the open window. So, you croak, “Is everything alright?” Immediately both women freeze up, looking to you, and put on over enthusiastic smiles. Audrey lets out a forced laugh and chirps, “Everything is fine, sweetheart.” Then Billie whips out the stepstool, quickly ascending to turn off the piercing alarm. Once that is off, you come a little closer and ask, “What were you doing?” This time both of them chuckle and Billie purrs, “We were just making soup. But it’s no big deal, babygirl.” Your brows furrow, trying to imagine how soup could result in this, but it’s not too surprising with these two. So, you ask, “Do you need help?” They both step around the counter towards you and Billie replies, “No. We ordered some soup to be delivered.” Then each lady takes an arm and Audrey murmurs, “Let’s get you back to bed.” and they gently tug you towards the bedroom.

However, you root yourself and whine, “Can’t I at least sit in the living room please? If I spend all day in that room, I’ll go crazy.” Audrey looks to Billie for direction and the medium says, “I suppose.” So, you let them guide you to the living room couch. Once you’re seated, Audrey brings over the tissues and trash can while Billie coaxes you to drink a full cup of water. By the time the water is finished the doorbell rings. Both women walk over to door and within minutes return with a paper bag. Billie smirks at you and murmurs, “We got your favorite.” That makes you smile; however, you fall into a coughing fit.

Immediately both of your girlfriends rush over and sit on each side of you, patting your back. After a moment, the coughing stops, but you take a tissue and blow your nose, the sound obnoxious to your ears. Once that’s in the trash you take a deep breath and rasp, “Sorry.” Audrey kisses your forehead and soothes, “You’re just fine, darling. Let’s get you some soup.” Billie pulls out the bowl of steaming soup and hands it over along with a spoon. You thank her and begin to eat your meal, the warmth soothing your sore throat. It takes a long time to finish your meal, but you feel a little less bad after eating. Audrey takes the paper bowl and spoon from you to throw away. Meanwhile Billie takes out the cold medicine she purchased.

When you look back to see her pouring some, your body stiffens up and you whimper, “I-I don’t need medicine.” Billie chuckles and looks to you while teasing, “Y/n, sweet girl, I never realized how stubborn you are.” You keep quiet, eyeing the liquid down while keeping your distance. So, she takes your hand and soothes, “This will make you feel a lot better, babygirl.” Her smile and words of encouragement lead you to take the cold medicine before using the nose spray and Vick’s VapoRub.

The taste of cherries fills your mouth as you suck on a cough drop, laying back on the couch. Once you’re comfortable Billie places a blanket over you before planting a kiss on your forehead. However, after she does, the medium says, “You’re still burning up.” So, Audrey pops up and grabs the thermometer to take your temperature again. Once it beeps, Audrey gasps, her dark eyes wide. Billie doesn’t make any noise, but her brows furrow and she bites her lip before saying, “Still at 100.” But she looks to you with a calm smile, brushing your hair out of your face while soothing, “I’m sure the medicine will help you cool off a little.” Then your girlfriends give you some space, sitting together on the nearby loveseat and turning the TV on.

You look to them and see Audrey leaning against Billie, kept close by the arm Billie has wrapped around her shoulders. Audrey looks to you, noticing your expression, and soothes, “You’ll be back to yourself soon enough, love. Then we’ll give you all the cuddles you could ever want.” Her assurance makes you smile and feel a little better. Then Billie murmurs, “If you need anything let us know.” You swallow the tiny remnant of your cough drop and thank her. At first you watch the show that’s on, but as you continue to lay on the couch, snuggled under the covers, your eyelids get heavy and you fall asleep again.

You’re drawn out of sleep by Audrey murmuring, “Y/n, darling.” The first thing you can do is groan at how sore and achy your body feels. And as you wake up, your stomach churns and you feel nauseous again. The actress gently strokes your cheek and softly says, “I’m sorry, my love. But can you wake up for me? Then I’ll let you go back to sleep after a couple things.” So, you reluctantly open your eyes to see Audrey sitting on the edge of the nearby coffee table. Audrey looks you over with her brows furrowed before turning away to pick up something. When she pulls out a plate with toast on it you let out a weak noise of protest.

Audrey gives you a pitiful look and asks, “Can you just eat a little for me, darling? You’ll feel a little better with something in your stomach, I promise.” However, you turn your face away and mumble, “I’m not hungry.” Audrey tucks some of your unruly hair behind your ear and bargains, “Just one bite for me. You’ll get your appetite back as you eat.” Then she holds up the toast to your mouth. In an effort to please her, you turn back to face her and take a small bite, earning a smile. You continue to eat the toast but feel worse after finishing the whole thing. Audrey then helps you take your medicines, soothing you with her words the whole time.

Once that’s all done, you lay back down on the couch and squeeze your eyes shut, determined to not let your unruly stomach cause you to throw up. However, Audrey says your name, making you look to her. The actress bites her lip as she looks down at you, but timidly says, “You’ve done so well, honey. But can we take you back to our bedroom?” You automatically whine and look away. However, after a moment, you realize how childish you sound and hesitantly reply, “I guess.” your stomach lurching at the thought of moving. Audrey helps you sit up on the couch and murmurs, “I’m sorry, darling. I’ll leave you alone after this.” You let out a groan as you stand up, squeezing your eyes shut as you try to control your increasing nausea. Meanwhile Audrey apologizes and helps you start to walk. You manage to walk as far as the kitchen where Billie puts away dishes. She gives you a smile, but you break out into a sprint, covering your mouth as you run to the bathroom. Luckily you make it to the toilet before expelling the contents of your stomach.

As you continue your retching, you feel someone gather your hair and hold it away from your face. You realize it’s Audrey when you hear her whimper, “I’m so sorry, y/n. I shouldn’t have pushed you to eat.” Meanwhile Billie grabs a towel for you. A couple minutes later, you quit gagging and try to take a deep breath, groaning at the acidic burning in your throat and nose. Your nose runs and tears fall out of your eyes from throwing up, but there are also tears of humiliation as well. Billie’s hand gently guides you to look at her and she begins to tenderly wipe your face with the towel as she murmurs, “Let’s get you cleaned up.” Meanwhile Audrey flushes the toilet. After your face is wiped clean, Billie encourages you to blow your nose before disposing of the towel.

Your voice sounds even rougher than usual as you say, “I’m sorry. I’m making you treat me like a child or weakling.” They both shush you and Audrey soothes, “You’re absolutely no trouble to us sweetheart. And you’re definitely not weak.” Then her hand comes up to rub your back as she continues, “Your whole body is working to fight this off. Billie and I are just helping it along a little bit.” You look up to your other girlfriend and she gives you a warm smile with a wink.

Then Billie asks, “Do you feel a little better now?” By now you’re able to fully swallow and you reply, “Yeah.” Then Audrey murmurs from behind you, “Would you like to have a bath drawn? Maybe get cleaned off a bit?” The idea of washing off the different smells and sweat on you sounds appealing so you look back to her and rasp, “That would be nice.” So, the actress stands up and walks over to the large bathtub and turns on the tap. Then Billie helps you stand up and says, “I’m guessing you’d like to brush your teeth.” That makes you smile and croak, “Yes. If not for my sake than for yours.” The medium smiles back and sets out the toothpaste while you pull out your toothbrush. Then she keeps close, holding the hand that doesn’t hold your toothbrush.

After thoroughly cleaning your mouth, Billie helps you out of your clothes. Even though you’re sweaty, your body shivers in the cold and you cross your arms for some warmth. By now the tub is filled so you step into the bath and take a seat, letting out a sigh as the warm water soothes your sore muscles. The bathtub feels so empty with only you in it. But you are surprised when Audrey enters the bath. That makes you look back to see Billie undressing as well. 

You look between them and protest, “You don’t have to come in. I-I don’t want you to get sick.” Audrey’s hands come up to cup your face and she soothes, “Darling, we’ve both already been through this bug. And we want to be here for you.” Then she pecks your nose and continues with a smile, “Now if you try to protest our help again, I’ll have to insist on showering you with kisses.” That makes you smile and Billie sinks into the water as she purrs, “I’ll help you out with that, Audrey.” Then she gives you a wink, making you bite your lip as your cheeks warm.

Once they’re both settled, you rasp, “I just want to thank you both for taking care of me.” You look down and mutter, “I know I haven’t been the best patient today. I’m just…used to taking care of myself.” After apologizing, you venture to look up and Audrey pulls you into a warm hug, rubbing your back as she murmurs, “Oh you’re very welcome, love.” Then the actress backs up and asks, “How about Bill and I clean you up, so you don’t overwork yourself?” Your knee jerk reaction is to deny the offer. But after thinking about it, that would be nice. So, you hesitantly reply, “T-That would be nice.” In response, Audrey holds you close to her chest, encouraging you to wrap your arms around her slender middle and lean into her chest as Billie gently washes and conditions your hair. The way her acrylic nails lightly scratch your scalp makes you feel so relaxed.

Once that’s done, Audrey picks up the bar of soap and begins to wash your body. Her touch is gentle and intimate, but her face shows no signs of suggesting something more which you are grateful. It’s not that you don’t enjoy that, but the idea of having sex while feeling like a semi-truck ran you over is not appealing. After setting the soap aside and making sure to rinse any remaining suds away with the water, Billie guides you to lean into her front before murmuring, “Now we can just relax.” Her nails massage your scalp like earlier, making you feel tingly all over as your eyes struggle to stay open. In your relaxed state, you effortlessly melt into the medium’s chest, the warm water keeping you cozy.

Audrey comes up to sit beside Billie and asks, “Still feeling alright, darling?” Both of your girlfriends frown at your silence, however, when Billie tucks your hair away from your face, she sees your eyes are closed. She lets out a soft chuckle and says, “She fell asleep.” The actress peeks over to see and murmurs, “Poor thing. Hopefully she’s gotten through the worst of it.” Billie moves her hand to rub your back as she replies, “I would guess she has. Both of us only had it like this for a day.” Audrey hums in agreement, smoothing your hair down with her hand.

Billie and Audrey continue to let you rest until the water is no longer warm and all of you now have pruney fingers and toes. Billie shifts to sitting up while murmuring your name, pulling you out of your sleepy state. You take a deep breath and sit up, shivering as you realize how much the water has cooled. Both of your girlfriends smile at you and you drowsily ask, “How long was I asleep?” Billie kisses your cheek before replying, “Not that long.” Then Audrey rises out of the water while saying, “I’ll help you out.” You are too tired to protest and take her hands, glad she can compensate for your weakened legs.

Once out of the bath, you dry yourself off and put on the cozy flannel pajamas they picked out for you. Audrey and Billie also dry off and change, letting you brush your hair since it tends to be tangled and difficult to manage. Finally, the knots seem to be brushed out, so you head to the bedroom where Billie has you drink a glass of water before laying down.

For tonight you are the one in the middle with Audrey on your right side and Billie on your left. Once you're settled, Audrey curls into your chest and you use one arm to hold her close. Billie lays on her side so she faces you and nuzzles her face into the bend of your neck, placing her arms around both you and Audrey. Within minutes, you fall asleep once more, already feeling a little better with both of your lovers around you.

Tagged: @marilynroselleprentiss​, @saviorinsilk​, @chokemepaulson​, @versonstar​, @lush-les-lady​, @cordwliagoode​, @psychobitchtess​, @midnight-lestrange​, @mysweetdelia​, @venablesbitch​

Let me know if you would like to be tagged in later works!

[some-cookie-crumbz]

i have a request! :3 hubby Keith taking care of sick Pidge (or vice versa bc i would love either scenario??)

I’m so friggin’ weak for Domestic!Kidge; especially when it’s Keith being the soft one! Hopefully this turned out as cute as I wanted~! x3

Most nights in their home were pretty quiet. They’d gethome, settle in, determine whose turn it was to make dinner, eat, and then continuetheir relaxing. It was shortly after dinner that Monday night, as he wasfinishing up the dishes, that she’d asked him if he’d mind making her a cup ofhot tea with honey in it. He had been a bit baffled, but she had insisted thatit was simply a matter of it being cold and the hot drink being a good way towarm herself back up.

Keith, however, suspected that it was something else.

He was much more attentive than most people would have givenhim credit for, but he’d noticed the little things. Pidge had been having moretrouble than usual getting up for work in the morning. Additionally, he’dnoticed her popping Advil pills and chugging water. She looked quite a bitpaler, too, and she had to clear her throat a bit between sentences.

Over the years, he’d caught on to the hints leading up towhen his wife was starting to come down with sickness.

"Are you getting sick?" He asked as he gently setthe cup down before her.

She looked up from her project and stared at him. "Whydo you ask?"

"Because you normally only want tea with honey whenyou're sick," He said with a small frown. He watched her take a quick sipand the immediate relief that flashed over her face. "Specifically,because it helps soothe your throat. And that's always how it starts for you.First your throat's a little scratchy; then you get a headache, right betweenyour eyes, but it always spreads; then you move on to sneezing, and then you gobelly up with all three and coughing fits."

"You're over thinking things," She mused, takinganother sip. She then set the cup down and lightly tapped the monitor of hercomputer. "Besides, I can't afford to get sick right now. I've got to havemy designs for these medical bots ready before the end of the week."

"Just because you can't afford to get sick," Hesaid, leaning one hip against her desk and opting against pointing out theindustrial-sized bag of cough drops in her laptop case, "doesn't mean youwon't. Just make sure you pace yourself and don't overdo it. I'm sure if youneed an extension, Commander Iverson can find a way to make it happen foryou."

"Well, if I simply get everything done on time, I won'thave to worry about asking for an extension. Simple as that," She saidwith a dismissive shrug before returning her attention to her work. “But thanksfor making me the tea. It’s really good.”

He chose not to pick the fight with her, but as the weekprogressed, it was clear she was coming down with something. Every night she’dask him to make her a cup of tea and he, because he knew she was a stubbornwoman and wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded. He loved that about her, butsometimes he wished she’d keep in mind how such an approach could bedetrimental to her health and well-being.

She started sneezing on Wednesday morning, but waved him offagain and set a box of tissues on her desk. He managed to convince her to takea few immune system boosters, but she still wouldn’t concede on simplyrequesting an extension to nip the cold in the bud. Then, Thursday morning, herheadaches had gotten significantly worse, and he could tell her fever wasrising as well.

By the time Friday rolled around, her project was completedand ready for submission, but it was clear that the cold had won.

"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it outalive, Kogane. If I die here, tell our puppers I loved them," She huffedout before erupting in a bout of rough, harsh coughing. Bae Bae and Cosmo werecurled up, snoozing at the foot of the bed. Bae Bae lifted her head and let outa quiet little whine, looking from Pidge to Keith, as if aware of her master’swords and asking for reassurance that she was just being dramatic.

He shook his head as he popped open the first aid kit andtook out a small thermometer. He popped one of the little plastic cases overthe actual testing portion, then held it towards Pidge. She didn’t fight takingit and tucking it under her tongue, coughing a bit but keeping her lips sealed."Hmm. Your most heart-wrenching sick bed speech yet. I'm impressed withthe technique," He teased, waiting for the machine to beep. Once it did,he carefully checked the little screen and hummed, removing the thermometerfrom her mouth. "Well, just as I thought."

"Tell it to me straight, doc; will I make it toChristmas?" She asked, moving to settle back down in the bed.

"You've got a pretty high fever. Stay here while I goget you some things, okay?" He said while clicking the plastic cover pieceinto the trash and returning the device to the kit.

"Wouldn't move if I could, sweetheart," Sheoffered with a hazy, amused smile before hunkering down for another coughingfit.

He headed out to the linen closet and grabbed a smallwashcloth before heading downstairs to the kitchen. He popped some bread in thetoaster. While that was heating up, he pulled out a little container of margarineand a carton of orange juice. He filled up a glass with juice, fished a packageof cold medicine from the medicine cabinet, and then headed back over to thetoaster just as it popped. He spread a small amount of the margarine on thetoast, cut it in half, put everything away, set the packaged medicine capsuleson the plate, and then grabbed the washcloth and cup of juice.

When he poked his head back into the room, Pidge had shiftedto curl in on herself on her side, body spasming with her attempts to keep hercoughing fits small. “Hey, do you think you can sit up?” He asked as heapproached, setting the plate and cup on the small bedside table to help her.

“It’s a bit of a struggle, but I can,” She managed to wheezeout. He reached over, offering her one of his arms to help hoist herself up,but she waved him off and scooted back and up.

“I made you some toast, since it’ll be light on yourstomach,” He explained, reaching back to reposition a pillow behind her formore support. He then picked the place back up and offered it to her. “And Iused the margarine instead of regular butter, since dairy isn’t always the bestthing to have when you’re sick.”

“You’re too kind,” She mused, taking a bite of the toast. Hewatched her as she nibbled at the toast, going slow and carefully. She hadn’texhibited any vomiting or complained about nausea, but he figured that makingthings that were lighter on the stomach was a safer bet. When she was halfwaydone, he offered her the juice. “Here, drink.”

She took the glass and chug about half of it before resumingeating. While she finished eating, he disappeared in to the adjacent bathroomto get the washcloth wet. Once it was wet enough that it’d stay cool and dampfor a decent amount of time without dripping everywhere, he headed back out. Pidgehad her head tipped back, sipping the juice again, and he noticed one of thepills he’d brought in with him in her hands. “Thank you,” She sighed as shetipped her head forward again.

“I thought you’d appreciate that,” He chuckled as sheplopped the other pill in her mouth and chased it down with the remaining swigof juice. Once she was done, he helped her slide back under the comforter. “Ibrought this for you, to help with the temperature thing.” He explained, gentlypushing her bangs back so he could settled the folded washcloth over herforehead.

She let out a small whine at the feeling, but didn’tprotest. He made sure that it was settled so that she could still see but thatit’d do its job of keeping her cooled off. She offered him a small smile as shenestled down into the blankets and pillows. He sat on the edge of the bedbeside her until she dozed off, occasionally moving the washcloth so he couldlightly stroke her flushed cheeks with the towel to help with the cool down.Right before he left the room, he got the cloth wet again so that it’d be finefor a while yet, then took the dishes out with him.

He headed back downstairs and set to work. He logged intoher laptop and double-checked her email to find a few from her boss, Admiral Sanchez, as well as Commander Iverson, askingwhere she was and how much longer she’d be. He responded on her behalf,explaining who he was and including the completed files for the medical botsshe’d finished up. Commander Iverson responded first, stating that if Pidge needed extra time off to recover, to let him know. Then, Admiral Sanchez sent a response thanking Keith for sending thefiles along and asking him to let Pidge know he hoped she felt better soon.

With that done, Keith headed to finish up some minimal housework tasks. He folded up a load of towels, tidied up the dishes in the sink,then settled in and watched a bit of television. Once it got close enough, hegot up and prepared a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup and some crackers forPidge, pouring another glass of juice for her as well. When he took them up,she was blinking groggily into the room, her attention shifting from her clockto him. Bae Bae had moved to lay along Pidge’s back while Cosmo had also movedcloser, draping himself across her calves. She looked between the two dogs andthen back up at him. “I’m trapped,” She croaked out, voice crackling from thecombination of sickness and disuse.

He chuckled and set the small tray on the bedside table. “Comeon, you two. I know you’re worried and sharing your love to help make her feelbetter, but she needs to eat some food,” He chided gently, reaching over tolightly nudge each dog. Cosmo lifted his head and just stared at Keith, almostseeming defiant, before letting out a small huff and jumping down. Bae Bae tooka bit more nudging to get off, to the point where Keith thought he’d have toactually lift her up, but she, too, got off. After a moment, she and Cosmowandered out of the room and headed for the stairs. Keith didn’t feel the needto follow them. If they needed to go outside, Cosmo would teleport them bothoutside on his own.

He then reached over and helped Pidge slide into an uprightposition again, removing the cloth from her forehead and setting it aside. “Thankyou,” She said softly.

He nodded as he grabbed the tray and set it across her lap. “It’sjust some soup, but I figure it’ll be good. Oh, and I went ahead and emailedyour completed files to Admiral Sanchez for you. He said that the designsshould be fine and he hopes you feel better,” He said.

She blinked a bit, the last vestiges of grogginess startingto dissipate, and the stared at him. “You did that for me?” She breathedquietly.

“Of course. You ran yourself into the ground getting itdone; I’m sure you’d be really upset if you didn’t even get it sent in on time,”He said with a small shrug. He had known there was no way she’d be able to getout of bed and, even if she tried, he’d be inclined to pushing her to stay inbed. She needed to get some rest so she could bounce back from the illness. Buthe also knew she’d be devastated if, because she was bed-bound, her projectwasn’t submitted on time.

She offered him a small smile, shifting a bit on the bed. “Canyou sit with me? I mean, you don’t have to lean super close or anything since Idoubt you want to get sick, too,” She mumbled, grabbing a cracker from the trayand gently crushing it into the soup.

He shifted to sit beside her, staying on top of the coversbut pressing his legs against hers. He also shifted so they were close enoughthat she could set her head on his shoulder if she decided. “You know it takesa lot more for me to get sick,” He pointed out.

“Keep bragging, Clark Kent. See where it gets you,” Shesaid, tone just the slightest bit playful under the rasp, before pausing tocough into her elbow. He reached back and gave her back a light pat, wanting tohelp ease her through it. She offered him a small wince one the fit hadsubsided. “You’re a sweetheart, you know that?”

“It’s not like you haven’t done the same for me before,” Hemused as she started to slurp down the soup. The medicine and rest were clearlyalready having a good impact for her, as even though it was still raspy, her voicewas a bit clearer now. Additionally, the coughing fits weren’t nearly assporadic as they’d been before.

“You’re a lot better at it than me, though,” She pointed outafter a few minutes. He paused and shifted, gently draping arm around her andresting his chin on top of her head. “You seem like a big, gruff, bad boy toneveryone else… When really you’re just a total sweetie.” She took another fewmouthfuls of soup in before sipping her juice, then looking up at himaffectionately. “If you’re this soft with me, I can’t imagine how soft you’d bewith a sick baby someday.”

He felt his cheeks flush a bit, but he tightened his gripand pulled her a little closer. How, indeed, he wondered.

[calorieworkouts]

How Eating More and Moving Less Helped Me Lose Weight and Change My Life

My name is Julie Fredrickson as well as I am the founder of Minimum Sensible Fitness, a physical fitness and nutrition class created to fit the lifestyle of hectic professionals. I'm also a three-time start-up founder, a powerlifter, as well as an enthusiastic proponent for taking a balanced technique to entrepreneurship.

But I had not been always fit, and I really did not always have the most balanced strategy to my health. When I first tried to transform my life around using diet plan and also fitness, I discovered I was doing it all wrong.

Panic Room

In 2009, when I was 25, I was diagnosed with high cholesterol. My medical professional didn't mince words-- he stated that because I was 20 extra pounds obese as well as had a family record of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, it made feeling for me to take place Lipitor (a frequently recommended statin medicine) promptly. It had not been specifically a bolt from the blue. After several years of staying in New york city, I had become inactive, developed dreadful consuming practices, consumed consistently, and had a host of vague health and wellness issues that left me inactive, scratchy, as well as completely miserable.

Julie Fredrickson, December 2011 After my physician's session, I began taking the prescription, because I understood I needed to do something to improve my wellness. Yet I wasn't actually prepared to take place statin medication (which is usually prescribed to grownups 65 and also older) in my twenties. Rather, I quickly decided to tackle my wellness concerns with great old-fashioned self-control and "treatment" my high cholesterol with nutrition and also exercise. I would simply consume less and also move more-- the classic prescription for weight-loss. I tossed my Lipitor prescription in the trash and also obtained started.

All Work and No Play

My brand-new physical fitness approach was" all or absolutely nothing." I started waking up early to invest 45 mins on the elliptical device prior to job. I additionally enrolled in individual training, attended team health and fitness classes from spinning to yoga, and spent for a meal shipment service that supplied calorically restricted dishes. Everything helped-- I lost some weight as well as my cholesterol degrees enhanced. As well as though I was placing in a lots of work for fairly modest rewards, I felt sanctimonious and proud of my accomplishments. The "eat less, relocate a lot more" concept didn't actually solve my issue. It became a problem.

The 'eat much less, relocate more 'concept didn't actually solve my issue. As a matter of fact, it came to be a problem.

I kept my food intake low throughout the week by consuming only low-calorie foods, yet compensated myself on Fridays with pizza. On Saturdays I pushed (err ... penalized )myself with extended stints on the treadmill. I attempted eating "healthy and balanced" foods like bananas and peanut butter, kale, wonderful potatoes, quinoa, as well as grilled chick bust, but my weight management quickly plateaued, and also I still really did not such as the way I looked. I increased down and also required myself to atone for my" sins" with juice cleanses.

When ravenous cravings (unavoidably) set in, I got damaged down and also ate also much more. It was a savage cycle that continued for over a year. My yo-yo pattern most likely would have proceeded forever if my pal Michael Gruen hadn't pointered in with some wise advice.

Eating 101

Gruen, a fellow entrepreneur and also previous banker, had just recently used up weight training and also slimmed down himself. He did not have stellar fitness credentials, but I trusted his judgment due to the fact that I had actually observed his health and fitness makeover firsthand. He mentioned to me that my" consume much less, move a lot more" viewpoint simply had not been functioning. Amusingly, he recommended that I must try consuming more and also moving less. While I was undoubtedly skeptical, the suggestion stuck.

My previous efforts at health and health and fitness had actually left me with a collection of bad behaviors that I erroneously took into consideration "much healthier. "Because starting my journey, I had relied primarily on ladies' storage locker space chatter as well as mainstream health and fitness publications. According to those resources, the most effective ways to drop weight and also obtain fit were extreme cardio sessions, oat meal for breakfast, tidy foods, and calorie restriction. Considering that those 'tried and real' approaches obviously weren't benefiting me, I started to do my very own research study into nourishment as well as health for the very first time.

One of the initial points I discovered is that fat cells produce an essential hormone called leptin. The body is really delicate to the total amount in blood circulation, so when fat cells diminish( because of caloric limitation), less leptin is secreted. The mind detects this reduction as well as reacts by triggering an increase in hunger as well as a decline in metabolic rate.

By eating much less, I was not only making myself hungrier and reducing my total willpower, I was unintentionally reducing my capability to burn off calories.

By consuming less( during my crash-diet phase), I was not only making myself hungrier and also decreasing my total determination (greetings, Friday night pizza binges ), I was unintentionally decreasing my ability to burn calories. My low leptin degrees indicated I was hungrier than ever. Rather than listening to my body, I compelled myself to do extra workout to burn off the calories, which consequently triggered much more appetite. No marvel I would certainly been spiraling!

I began consuming a lot more protein and fiber-rich veggies( like spinach and also broccoli) at each dish. Much to my shock, eating' much more 'assisted-- I quit really feeling starving at all times, which meant I really did not devour on scrap almost as commonly. It makes good sense, because researches present to that raising healthy protein consumption could reduce the desire to binge on various other( commonly less healthy and balanced) food.

Gaining Weight

As I started to get involved in the behavior of healthier consuming, Gruen urged me to move much less, since, according to him, I was still functioning out way too much. Research recommends that working out for longer periods of time offers little additional advantage when it comes to shedding weight. The body will certainly wind up making up for those added minutes invested at the gym by slowing the metabolic process and stoking cravings. Rather, Gruen advised incorporated lifts like squats, bench presses, and also deadlifts, which could effectively exercise the whole body. Substance lifts could additionally improve endurance, accelerate cardiovascular feature, increase metabolism, reduce coronary danger, and also assist with mental well being.

As an added incentive, striking the weight rack as opposed to the cardio device is a big time-saver. To have adequate time for my morning cardio craze, I needed to cut right into my bedtime. I regularly discovered myself obtaining less compared to 7 hrs of rest to obtain up early adequate to place in time on the treadmill-- I was quite actually running myself rough. This also wasn't doing my body any favors. A recent research study discovered that merely 3 evenings of insufficient sleep( less than seven to 8 hrs )made individuals dramatically less delicate to insulin( Insulin sensitivity can help or prevent maintaining a healthy and balanced weight, given that it influences blood glucose degrees, which in turn control hunger.). With my new weight lifting program, I invested much less time in the health club, even more time in bed asleep, and, incredibly, located myself looking much leaner compared to I carried my previous all-cardio physical fitness regimen.

Healthy forever-- The Takeaway

Julie Fredrickson, September 2013 Offered my busy life, the timeless" move much more, consume much less" was specifically the incorrect strategy to take in regards to physical fitness and also health and wellness. After I allow go of my preconditioned ideas of just what was "healthy and balanced," educated myself about basic nourishment and physical fitness, and also found convenient consuming and also working out approaches, I was lastly able to constantly preserve a habit of health.

This isn't the kind of improvement you see glamorized in the fitness press-- in my instance, it took practically 4 years to find out ways to reach my goals and also maintain my" transformation. "And also while I lost 20 pounds of fat, obtained muscular tissue, as well as obtained my cholesterol back to a healthy location, the real" in the past as well as after" is my mental shift. Because in truth, the only diet plan( or physical fitness weight loss program) that functions is the one you stick with for life.