#strep throat

[altocat]

My throat is burninggggg 😭

[somber-sapphic]

Loved your latest Carina fic! Can I request a reversal where Carina shows up to work at the clinic to find Maya sick and refusing to go home despite everyone telling her to. Maybe including “I sneezed twice, is that a crime?” “Baby, I’m saying this in the nicest way possible, you look like shit” and “It's chaos here. I can't just stop working because I have the sniffles.”  🫶🏼

Switching Things Up

〖Summary: After receiving multiple calls to come get her wife, Carina goes down to the station to drag her home.〗

〖Word Count: 500〗

〖Pairing: Carina x Sick Maya〗

〖Notes: I had a lot of fun with this! I don't usually write sick Maya so I hope I did the character justice. Also I'm running out of title ideas (again), can you tell?〗

☾Masterlists☽

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“It’s chaos here. I can’t just stop working because I have the sniffles. Who the fuck organized this?” Maya scoffed, frantically sifting through a stack of messy papers. She was searching for something, probably for an incident form that she had been rambling about when Carina walked in. There had been a mishap with a disoriented patient earlier, from what she could gather Jack had been hit but she wasn’t pushing. 

“It’s because you have the “sniffles” that you need to stop working,” She put air quotes around the word sniffles, emphasizing just how stupid that sounded given Maya’s current condition. “You are not at 100%, you’re missing things. Careless mistakes in medicine harm patients.” 

In any other situation, she wouldn’t have come out swinging like that, she would have tried to take a more gentle approach and chosen her words carefully but she was at her wit's end. Every member of Station 19 had called her, each one begging her to come get Maya. 

Some had been nice about it, Ben phrased it as a suggestion whereas Andy and Vic were demanding. Andy was similarly worried about patient safety and Vic was worried about herself. The ranting voicemail had been interesting, her loudly whispered words containing more expletives than Carina had ever heard from the leader of Crisis One. If it hadn’t been about her wife’s health she would’ve found it funny. 

“I sneezed twice, is that a crime?” The firefighter snapped, whirling around to glare at Carina. The brunette raised an eyebrow in challenge and studied Maya’s sweaty face. She hadn’t gotten a good look at her wife - it’s hard to see the face of someone you’re chasing - but her complexion wasn't too far off from that of a corpse. 

“Bambina, I’m saying this in the nicest way possible, you look like shit. You’re burning up, you’re too sick to be here. Let’s go home, I’ll make you pastina and you can watch whatever you want on the TV, even those horror movies you like. Please, Maya, you’re swaying.” 

Carina reached out and took her wife’s shoulders, holding her in place. She could feel the fever burning through Maya’s shirt and up close it was easier to the haze of confusion in her eyes. 

“What did you come in here looking for?” Carina asked, cupping her flushed cheek in a soft hand. Maya blinked, her brow crinkling as she tried to think. Her mask slipped slightly, allowing the doctor to see her true vulnerability. 

“I…I don't…” She trailed off, sudden tears building in her eyes. The fast switch of emotions was telling and arguably more concerning than the fever. To make Maya come even close to tears she must have been feeling worse than Carina originally thought.

“It’s okay Maya. Let's go home, your team can take care of everything here, let me take care of you.”

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[ask-thirteen]

On a iv rn,,,,,

Yes I’m in a hospital—

Fun fact, what I’m going thru is what thirteens going thru 🧍‍♀️….

[jurassicsickfics]

Fluffy Sore Throat Prompts🤒😫:

1: Weak, raspy cries to caretaker

2: Wincing and whimpering in pain while trying to swallow food, a drink or even their own spit

3: Coughing with a severe sore throat and immediately bursting into tears of pain

4: Being fed spoonfuls of honey or ice cream by caretaker

5: Trying to call for caretaker but their poor throat won't yell loud enough to be heard

6: Gagging/Puking after a throat swab test at the doctor

7: Vomiting (for any reason) making the pain just that much worse

8: A singer or actor being very distraught because "I need my voice to be in top condition!"

9: Horror character actually being thankful for their sore throat because, when they accidentally screamed, it was silent and didn't blow their cover

10: On the flipside, a horror character trying desperately to scream for help but nothing comes out of their raw throat

[onemoreattempt]

Why is it that when I get sick I can’t ever just get a normal illness? Like I can’t just get the flu, we’ve gotta have bronchitis in there too. I can’t just have strep throat, I also need a sinus infection and an ear infection (which took 10 weeks for the medical system where I was to actually fix btw l, and during that time a medical professional told me I could get meningitis). And now, when I thought I got normal bronchitis, it turns out I have fucking pneumonia?!?!

[bellysoupset]

OMG, the strep throat fix is so good!! Any chance for a part 2???!

LETS GOOOOO

Part 2 bc I thought of a way to use it for Part 3 🙈 Queen of self control.

------------------

"This is so embarrassing," Leo grumbled, rolling on the couch and pressing his feverish face to Jonah's tummy, voice coming out even more muffled by his sweater.

He felt, more than heard, his boyfriend chuckle, a hand resting on Leo's shoulder. The movement caused the sweater to slightly suffocate him, which would've been fine any other day, but given that he could only breathe through his mouth since his nose was stuffed, it caused a coughing fit and Leo sprung up.

He coughed and coughed until his ribs hurt, a horrible taste flooding his mouth and his head spinning from the lack of oxygen. The hot soup he had had for dinner tickling his throat, but Leo swallowed it back down.

It was embarrassing enough that he had crashed into Wendy's apartment five hours earlier than he should be, sick, and had caused Vince to stay behind from hanging out with his girlfriend. It was mortifying that he had to shower in her private bathroom, just to bring the fever down. Leo didn't want to add throwing up in her couch to the list of offenses.

"Here," Wendy's voice broke through the fog and Leo wiped at his eyes. It felt like they were burning and his head was throbbing. He really wanted to go home, but after all the stress he had put Jonah through in the morning, Leo was willing to sit around since the other man seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself.

Normally Vince's personality — earnest, warm, positive —, brought out all the sass Jonah had. It wasn't that he didn't love the guy, Leo knew damn well that wasn't case, it was just that he couldn't help the sarcasm with someone who was so sincere. However, that wasn't the case today.

Leo wasn't sure if the fever was playing tricks on him, but it seemed like Jon had forgotten his walls at the door... He had missed Vince, even if he would never say it out loud.

"What?" Leo asked tiredly, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead and rubbing at it, as if he could remove the pain. Wendy sat near his foot on the couch, holding a metal tin.

"I knew I had this somewhere," she said, showing him the case and Leo stared at it, his brain refusing to cooperate.

"Vicks VapoRub?" Jonah sounded amused, "that's some mum stuff."

Wendy rolled her eyes at him, opening the tin, "lean back, Leo," she instructed and Leo frowned, instead of obeying.

He blinked owlishly at her, "I'm fine," the rasp sounded ridiculous even to his own ears and Jonah let out a scoff, while Wendy completely ignored him, pushing him back against his boyfriend.

"Get his shirt?" She asked, grabbing a dollop of the gel and Leo's frown deepened as he felt Jonah's hands pulling his shirt up.

"What the- No!" Leo whined when Wendy promptly smeared the gel on his naked chest. His whole face burnt with embarrassment and he brought his hands up, angrily covering his face, "this is so humiliating."

"You're really not my type, don't worry," Wendy teased him, "I don't do blondes," she continued to spread the gel around. Leo felt Jon press a kiss to his temple, but he still didn't pull back his hand, hoping the ground would open and swallow him. He couldn't believe he was getting rubbed down by Wendy, of all people.

"Shut up," Leo groaned, then whined when Jon pushed his hands down. Wendy was grinning at him, her cheeks pink and her green eyes alight with mischief.

"Leo, relax," she rubbed the gel up to his clavicle, her cold fingers making goosebumps spring up and causing Leo to blush even more, if that was possible. He was sure he looked great, swimming in an old sweats set from Vince, with the large sweat shirt all but tucked under his chin; His hair had dried all weird and was sticking out as if he was part of a grunge rock band, and now Wendy was sitting near his hip, lathering him in minty gel.

He let out a heavy sigh and sniffled grossly, reaching to wipe at his raw nose with the sleeve, only for Jonah to manifest a soft tissue in front of him.

"D-anks," Leo mumbled, blowing his nose again and clutching the tissue in a fist when the action caused his head to swim again. He groaned and slumped on Jon's shoulder, breathing through his mouth, "this is horrible."

"I know," Jonah continued to hold him, almost halfway across his lap like an overgrown baby, "let's head home?"

Yes, Leo thought, but he could clearly tell Jon did not want a positive answer. Not with how large he was smiling. He shook his head no, closing his eyes.

"In a bit," Leo said, shivering as Wendy tugged his sweatshirt down and then the minty cream started to warm up his skin and unclog his nose. He cuddled up even closer to Jonah as he could, trying to melt in his arms.

"So you were saying about school?" Jon said, his voice a note lower, rumbling in his chest, "how are the kids treating you?"

"The little ones are easy," Vince answered and Leo heard a squeal, probably him grabbing Wendy and causing her to fall on his lap, on the opposite couch, "the seniors are a bit of an issue. I don't think they give much of a fuck about my class at all."

"I mean, I sure didn't give a fuck about my history classes," Jonah teased him, while Wendy interrupted with a delighted sigh.

"Tell him about the pies," Leo could clearly hear the smile in her voice and the smugness in Vince's as he answered.

"I got five different moms bringing me pie this week, as a welcoming gift to the school board."

Jonah laughed, "you're already getting bribes?"

"Not bribes," Wendy sounded more smug than Vince, "they're flirting with him."

"No way," Jonah, incredulous, eagerly sitting up and causing Leo to groan as it moved him. Immediately Jonah settled back down, combing his fingers through his hair, "sorry, sorry- No way?"

"Yes, way," Wendy scoffed, "he's the new hot teacher, did you expect anything less?"

"Hot is an overstatement," Jonah teased, while Vince chuckled.

"Go fuck yourself, Banks- Leo, do you want a blanket?"

Leo was nearly drifting off, but almost as if he had missed a step in a set of stairs, he jerked from the slumber, forcing his eyes open. His stomach felt weird and his head cottony, vision slightly fuzzy as he rolled on the couch in order to see his friend.

True to what he had guessed, Vince was sitting in the other couch, with Wendy perched on his thigh.

"Whaa-"

"Do you want a blanket?" Vin repeated the question, looking concerned and before Leo could nod in agreement, Jon interrupted.

"He's still really warm, better not."

Leo whined, whole face scrunching up. He was freezing. He dug his feet on the couch, burying them in the crack between futons, and curled up, trying to prove that he did need a blanket. Lucas would've gotten him one.

"No, he wouldn't," Jonah answered him with a huff and Leo frowned, confused and blinking drowsily, all his limbs feeling heavy.

"Uh...?"

"Go to sleep," Jon rolled his eyes, stroking his cheek, "I'll wake you in a bit."

"Mmm'kay," Leo sighed, leaning against the soft touch and vaguely hearing as Vince tried to argue with Jon and Wendy that one blanket surely wouldn't kill him... Then the words all became white noise and all Leo could feel was Jon running his fingers through his hair and suddenly a blanket being tucked around him by rougher, bigger hands.

[saintmichale]

Hey there sick girlies, just a heads up: flu A and B, Covid, and strept are all best treated within the first four days. If you’re experiencing symptoms don’t “wait it out.” Go get tested and get help right away. You don’t have to prove anything by suffering through the symptoms, and you’ll heal faster and avoid spreading disease if you recieve treatment in a timely manner 👍

[belladonna-undead]

this is what keeps me free ·˚ ◌༘͙. ☕️

[alysserofficalgacha123]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 500 likes! I really appreciate the support to my art and etc

Two tpot in hospital real!!!!

[isaacsapphire]

Scarlet fever usually gets called strep throat nowadays, I think. This may have been a change that took place over the past 20 years? But it has the effect of making "scarlet fever" sound charmingly old-fashioned despite the fact that it was still in use very recently in the popular consciousness.

Strep throat turns into scarlet fever if untreated, which in my case was because I had weird strep throat and didn’t have a sore throat because I just didn’t have sore throats as a kid, so it wasn’t diagnosed until I turned bright red.

[altocat]

Alto! I didn't know you had strep!

Neither did I until my doctor's visit yesterday haha. It's gotten way colder where I live and my throat was really acting up these last few days. I was feverish last weekend, too. Every time the weather changes slightly, I ALWAYS end up getting sick. I go outside ONE (1) time and my body immediately tells me to fuck off and die. It's so exhausting lmao

But it's all good! I got meds, juice, and lots of other stuff to help me out. I think I'm already on the tail-end of the illness. I'm mostly just stuck in bed trying to swallow lolol and I got the good stuff to knock me out later too so I can get some sleep. Hopefully I'll be well enough in time for Thanksgiving.

Thanks so much for all the care and concern! Cognitively, I'm feeling okay right now. Brain fog comes and goes. But I'm a lot more with it today than I was yesterday. So that's already a very good sign.

[somber-sapphic]

Hi!!! I rarely request but your writing is so good I could not resist the urge. I love the Carina x Maya x Reader fics you posted, theres not enough writing for the Station 19 universe. I was hoping you could write another one, or even just a Carina x Maya. I feel like because Maya has such a dangerous job, Carina definitely slips into doctor mode every time she gets hurt or sick. Could you write where Maya gets sick with strep throat or something but Carina is unable to get her to Grey Sloan or the E.R (maybe they went on a vacation or there is bad weather) so she decides to examine Maya herself. (P.S. I hope you’re having a good day and if not tomorrow will be better💕💕)

17, 17A,🌸

Sickness At Sea

〖Notes: Alrighty my basement flooded and I think I've got carpal tunnel so lets write some sickfics! (PS, I love this request, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get to it, please feel free to send in another when my asks are open <;3〗

〖Summary: Maya and Carina finally get to go on a vacation. Of course that's the perfect time for Maya's immune system to give out.〗

〖Word Count: 〗

〖Pairing: Carina DeLuca x Sick Maya Bishop〗

☾Masterlists☽

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Maya groaned and stared out the window at the crashing waves caused by the torrential downpour that was ravaging the east coast. She was inwardly cursing Carina for convincing her to come to Maine, especially when they lived so close to the beach in Seattle, but she had decided that they should leave Washington for a bit.

The two didn’t get time off together often so two weeks paid vacation at the same time was huge. So huge that her Italian girlfriend insisted that she and Maya had to see the East Coast. The blonde had argued that they could go somewhere a few hours’ drive rather than a seven-hour plane ride, but Carina had made it seem too good to refuse.

And it had been. The first week was wonderful. They’d spent time walking along the beach in the cool October weather and explored the nearby town, doing the regular touristy things. They’d found the restaurant with the best reviews and had the first proper date night in a long time, complete with fancy wine and even a violinist to serenade them.

Then the storm started. It was nice for the first day, it was relaxing. Then one day turned into two. And two into three. And how they were sitting in their beautiful house on the beach with the sea raging in front of them. There would be no walking on the sand, there would be no exploring the quiet town, there would be no anything.

The rain was coming down in sheets and Carina had been running around the house yelling in Italian about the damage and how they couldn’t stay there if the storm continued. Maya was starting to agree, it wasn’t entirely safe to be this close to the sand and she was beginning to worry that the beach would wash out.

“Car, it’ll be okay. I’ve seen beaches in Seattle handle worse than this.” The blonde croaked, wincing as the words grated against her throat. Carina, who was pacing around typing away furiously on her phone stopped and whipped around, her brow furrowing as she hyper-focused on a new target: Maya.

“What is wrong with your voice? Are you sick? Tell me your symptoms.” She had switched from panicking about the storm and settled right into her doctor persona. The firefighter rolled her eyes, trying not to wince at the action. She was finding herself wanting to let Carina do her job, but her pride was far more important than her wish for assistance.

The woman had been feeling more and more weary as the week went on, but she had chalked it up to all of the things they had been doing, refusing to admit that they hadn’t been doing anything particularly strenuous. Now, after two days of doing just about nothing, she was sort of out of excuses. She was tired, her throat was killing her, her body ached, and she couldn’t deny the presence of a fever bubbling under her skin.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine. Sit, take a breath. I made coffee, you need some.” Maya said softly, lowering her voice to try to ease the pain in her throat. It didn’t help. The level of her voice didn’t matter, it was the act of simply breathing that caused her discomfort.

Carina hmphed unhappily but went to grab herself a mug, pouring what her girlfriend considered to be way too much creamer into the dark liquid, followed by what could be considered enough sugar to feed an entire town.

“How can you drink it so sweet?” She joked, trying to put a little humor into her voice as thunder clapped loudly over the small town. The EMT jumped, frightened by the suddenness of the loud sound. A blush crept across her cheeks as she glanced over at Carina, who had a concerned expression on her face.

Her brow was furrowed, and her lips pursed, looking wholly unhappy with the situation. The rain pattered down on the roof, a nearly deafening sound. It probably would’ve been relaxing if not for the sick feeling that was growing in Maya and Carina’s nerves beginning to fray.

This was supposed to be a vacation and the OBGYN really didn’t want to beat around the bush right now. She wanted to treat the woman she loved so that they could have her feeling better as soon as possible.

She wasn’t interested in playing Maya’s “embrace the pain” game and couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for even thinking that way. It wasn’t the blonde’s fault that she was so hard on herself, but it certainly didn’t make Carina’s job of taking care of her any easier.

The moment she sat down she felt Maya curl up against her, moving so smoothly that she may not have noticed if not for the way she was shivering, her muscular body trembling like a leaf. The brunette squeezed her eyes shut and sighed, pressing her head into the woman’s hair.

“You are sick Maya. Just tell me what’s wrong.” She murmured, moving so that she could hold the woman a little bit closer. Maya nestled close, humming her unhappiness as she felt tears fill her fever-clouded eyes. She really didn’t want to be crying, it was barely 8 in the morning, it was too early to be crying. Especially over a silly little sore throat.

“Bambina, please. Don’t make me play urm…twenty questions.” Carina said gently, tilting Maya’s head up so that she could look into her beautiful green orbs. The blonde blinked quickly as she held back tears, her lower lip beginning to quiver. She hadn’t realized just how bad she felt until her girlfriend had brought it up, but now it was all that she could think about.

“It hurts.” She whimpered, her voice small and full of humiliation. She hated every part of this, admitting weakness was hard enough but it was even worse that this was happening while they were on vacation. Sure, that meant she had time to recover, but she was supposed to be spending quality time with the woman she loved, not sleeping while the brunette fed her medicine. That was no fun for anyone.

“What hurts Maya?” The doctor prodded, needing far more information than what she was being given. Maya just shrugged and pulled the throw around her shoulders as she continued to stare out the large glass windows, watching as the waves ravaged the sandy shore.

“Okay, how about we switch out that coffee for tea, yeah?” The idea of swallowing anything (even her own saliva) made the woman want to cry. At this point, she didn’t even care. She sniffled back tears and tried to hide her face, embarrassed to be crying over something so trivial. She came across people every day who were in far more dire positions handling their pain or fear with so much more grace.

“I-I can’t. My throat just hurts too much.” Maya rasped, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. Her shoulders began to heave as she cried, the action just serving to hurt her throat even more. That in turn made her cry harder, which just repeated itself in a vicious cycle.

“Hey, hey, hey. I’m here. Just tell me what’s wrong amore. Let me help.” Carina pleaded, feeling so utterly helpless. She hated when her girlfriend got sick, she hated not being able to do anything as a person she loved so much suffered in silence.

“I can’t, I don’t know! M-my throat hurts! It, it shouldn’t!” The blonde spat, her words barely comprehensible through her sobs. The Italian woman put her coffee on the small table and took Maya’s hands in hers, forcing the ill firefighter to meet her eyes.

“Maya, take a deep breath. I can help you, but you need to let me. I’m a doctor, I take care of people for a living. Let me help.” she asserted, raising her eyebrows as she tried to get through to her sweet, sick girlfriend. The blonde’s lower lip was still quivering, but she managed to quiet her sobs as she matched Carina’s slow breathing.

“Good. Now, can you let me give you an exam? I will be quick.” After a few moments, Maya nodded, her breath still hitching as she tried to calm down. Maybe she was overreacting, but she had such a hard time with the out-of-control feeling that came with being sick. She would rather be put in a blazing fire than be physically incapacitated and need to rely on others for help.

True to her word, Carina’s exam took barely five minutes. She had raced to the bedroom to get her medical bag and then began to look Maya over, starting with what she figured was wrong. She looked at the back of the blonde’s throat, sighing when she saw those familiar white splotches that she’d seen all too many times.

“And a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is…too high. Stupid imperial system.” She said that last part under her breath as she mentally tried to convert the imperial temperature to the metric system that she had grown up with.

Her distaste over the different systems of measuring made Maya smile a little as she leaned back against the cushions of the couch, shivering a little.

“What’s the verdict, Doc?” She teased, getting a frown out of her girlfriend. She may have felt terrible but the cute look on Carina’s face was worth the forced humor.

“We won’t know for sure until we get a culture, but I believe you have Streptococcus. The weather is too bad to go to the Urgent Care, but we will go as soon as the rain stops, okay? For now, it's Tylenol, soup, and rest.” The brunette said, sounding fully like the doctor that she was. Maya smiled a bit from where she was laying, closing her eyes as she curled back against the comfortable sofa.

“Can rest happen first?” She mumbled; the tears having taken a lot out of her. Carina made a sound in the back of her throat as she thought it over, weighing the best option here. Technically she should have Maya take the medicine to get the fever down, but it was very hard to say ‘no’ to the woman in front of her.

“I suppose. Would you rather go back to bed?” The blonde shook her head as she lay down, taking up the ample space on the couch.

“You gotta join me. ‘s the rules.” She mumbled, her voice slurring with exhaustion. Carina chuckled quietly and climbed back onto the couch, slipping her thermometer and stethoscope back into what Maya annoyingly called her “doctor bag”. She wasn’t wrong to call it that, but it irked the brunette to no end for reasons she simply could not explain.

She pushed the bag aside and lay down against Maya, wrapping an arm around her waist. She settled in, pulling a bit of the blanket up over herself, resigning that she would probably get this illness. Strep was incredibly contagious and she refused to be away from the woman she loved.

Any time they could spend together was worth a week of antibiotics.

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[flamingpen18]

GRRrrrrrrrr.......

I hate needing to do this once again. My youngest has been battling strep throat on an off for 2 months. She's been on several antibiotics and steroids.

The school nurse just called me to let me know my offspring is again with her and has very swollen tonsils. She suggested taking my daughter to her primary care doctor to find out what is causing all the throat issues.

I set the appointment up for first thing tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we don't have enough gas to get there and no money to put in the tank. I only need $20 to put in the tank. That should be enough to get her there and back.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

@helly-watermelonsmellinfellon

[sodapop-hospice]

So it turns out I just have really bad strep. And bro it is insane I’m managing to type coherently cause these meds are WILD. I don’t even think I’ve been fully conscious in the past 8-ish hours.

Is this shit even legal?

[bellysoupset]

So I was wondering 👉👈 with Wendy adjusting to Vince being Gone maybe she gets really sick and just misses him but doesn’t want to call but like maybe Jonah comes to check on her and she’s very emotional and he finally calls Vince to talk to her while she is sick or something ? sorry I’m a sucker for their love 🏳️

Hiiii, I LOVED this ask and it was overdue Leo as a caretaker to Wendy, so I did a little switcharoo, I hope you don't mind!

Also this was 🦦's request and someone else's as well!!

This is part 3 of the strep throat fic. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.

----------------------

"Are you sure you don't wanna tag along?" Jonah asked with a pout, for the 5th time.

Leo rolled his eyes, stealing another peck and shoving Jon towards the front door of their apartment, "no, it's your sister. She wants to hang out with you-"

"You were invited-"

"Jonah, it's fine. I'm not gonna die one night alone at home," Leo grinned, kissing him again, "I have a lot of reading to catch up on. And don't even worry about dinner, I'm goin to order something in."

Jonah let out a huff, looking conflicted, "Okay... We're going to be back around ten," he grimaced and Leo chuckled, stealing another kiss and shoving him out.

"Get out of here. Have fun with Angie," he rested on the threshold, "love you."

"Love you too," Jonah sighed, fixing his trench coat and walking to the elevator, while Leo crouched down to stop JD from darting out of the front door.

Leo let out a happy sigh as soon as he shut the door, looking forward to his lazy night in. He loved Jonah, but it was good to have some time apart from each other and Leo had many plans to do ten different shades of nothing.

He sprawled on the couch and JD jumped on top of him, butting her head against his chin, "you're so cute," he cooed, scratching the kitten and smooching the top of her head, "the cutest cat ever."

She let out an indignant meow at being squeezed, but didn't pull back at all and Leo happily continued to pester the animal, kissing her all over.

He hadn't been lying, there was a lot of reading to be done and at least two different actions movies he wanted to watch. By the time he finished going through his copy of Copyright Wars, JD was purring like a little engine against his belly, curled up in a way that her fluffy tail was nearly tickling her nose.

Leo lowered the book, opening a smile at the kitten and smoothing a hand down her spine. JD didn't even stir.

He gave up on the double movie idea, since it was already almost 9 o'clock, and instead ordered food, yawning already. Leo sighed, he was getting old, sleepy at 9 PM.

It was 10 already when Leo finished scrapping the bottom of his food container and he stretched on the couch, glancing at his phone briefly. Not a text from Jon, which was good, meant he was actually enjoying himself with Angie.

Deciding he should watch the movie in bed, since he was going to most likely fall asleep through it, Leo got up to go fix the guest room for Angie's stay.

He fully expected it to be Jonah when he heard a phone ringing, so Leo took a second to realize that his own phone was in the pocket of his sweatpants, not ringing.

JD was already inspecting the source of the noise, Jon's phone fallen under the couch, and Leo picked it up without thinking, just wanting to make the noise stop.

"Hi?"

"Jon, can you- Leo?" Wendy interrupted herself and Leo let out a small chuckle, squishing the phone between his shoulder and cheek and getting back to the task of fixing the guest room.

"Jonah forgot his phone home," he entered the guest bathroom to make sure they had extra towels and then jumped at a loud noise, taking a second to realize the rattling cough was coming from the phone, not inside his apartment, "are you alright? That didn't sound good..." He paused against the bathroom door and heard as Wendy wheezed and gasped for air.

"I'm fine," she scoffed, her voice completely shot, "I'm fine, I just-" Wendy didn't sound fine, not even remotely. Not only she sounded terribly sick, and it was probably his fault by being all germy in her apartment, but she sounded sad.

"Is anyone with you?" Leo asked, biting his bottom lip and nervously looking around.

"I don't need a babysitter, I'm fine," Wendy groaned, causing him to sigh.

"Taking that as a no," he ran his fingers nervously through his hair, "alright, you need anything from the pharmacy?"

A small hesitation and he realized this had probably been the reason she called in the first place.

"Wendy?"

"Uhm- More tissues and cough syrup? I'm out," because she had fed him half the bottle.

"On it," Leo turned around and left the bathroom, heading to the kitchen where they kept a notepad to list down groceries and scribbling a note for Jon, "I'm gonna be there in twenty, don't die."

He hung up before she could complain.

-----

"You look great," Leo said sarcastically, the minute Wendy opened the door of her apartment. She had a blanket wrapped around her as if it was a cape and her face was waxy white, nose all red and raw.

He expected a response, their usual back and forth, but all Leo got was Wendy staring at him drowsily, swaying on the spot. There was a feverish haze to her eyes and she seemed really unsteady on her feet.

"Oookay," Leo cringed, planting his hands on her shoulder, "let's sit down before you collapse."

"Uhm..." Wendy allowed him to guide her back inside and Leo steered her to the living room couch, where she clearly had already set camp. There was a waste basket next to the couch, filled almost to the top with little tissue balls, an empty box of tissues, one of those tacky inspirational water bottles that showed someone's liquid intake for the day, currently stuck on "halfway there!"

Wendy collapsed on the couch and promptly fell back against the cushions, pressing her eyes closed, "what are you doing here...?"

Her voice wasn't above a whisper.

"Can't let you die, I'll never hear the end of it," Leo shrugged, dumping the contents of his paper bag on her coffee table, "when was the last time you took medicine?"

"How'd you get in?" Wendy frowned, confused, and the man paused, raising his eyebrows.

"You just let me in..." he trailed off and planted his hand to Wen's forehead, hissing at the heat, "isn't that just great. Give me your blanket."

"Uhm?" Wendy shivered violently, "no."

"Yes," Leo sighed, "c'mon, you're boiling up," he manhandled the blanket away from her and Wendy let out a pitiful whine, sounding and looking dangerously close to tears.

"I'm cold..." She groaned, frustrated and trying to grab her blanket back, "Leoo..."

"Sorry," he threw the blanket on the armchair, "when did you last take medicine, Wen?"

"I don't know," she sniffled, rubbing at her eyes angrily, "my head is killing me."

"Because you have a raging fever," Leo crouched in front of her, grabbing the brand new thermomether he had purchased and removing it from the plastic case, "under your tongue, c'mon."

Wendy opened her mouth to complain, only to immediately be hit by a terrible, painful coughing fit and Leo jumped to hold her by the shoulders as she folded in half with the coughing.

He could hear her lungs rattling and Leo cringed in sympathy and guilt, sitting next to her and rubbing her back in firm circles. Wendy let out a whimper and reached for the waste basket, as her coughs turned into gags, tears streaming down her face. She gagged fruitlessly over the basket, before finally stopping, panting as if she had ran a marathon. Leo could feel her heart hammering just by touching her.

Deciding he really didn't care if she had taken medicine already or not, Leo reached for the antibiotics that Jonah had fed him when sick. It was in syrup, which he had appreciated immensely because his throat hurt too much to swallow, and Wendy clearly shared this opinion, because she obediently took the dosage off the measuring cup.

"Alright, now-" Leo pushed her to the side, until she was lying against the pillows, and folded her legs as if Wendy was a doll, "lie down and get some rest."

Wendy let out a sigh and curled up, shivering, "Leo, I'm freezing."

"I'm sorry," he pouted, "but you're really, really warm, I don't think you should have a blanket..."

She didn't answer him, only let out a little teary whine and hugged herself, continuing to shiver. It broke his heart, so Leo started rubbing her arm up and down as if to generate warmth.

He assumed the worst was over, as nearly one hour passed without Wendy so much as stirring, so Leo got up to fix up her place. He picked up the tissues that had missed the waste basket, as well as her water bottle and went to dispose of the trash and make her some tea.

Leo was lying against the fridge, waiting for the kettle to whistle, when his phone started to buzz. He glanced at the picture of Jonah, him watching the sunset in Italy, and picked it up, "hey..."

"Hi, I'm going over," Jon sounded worried, "switch places with me."

"No, you're not," Leo sighed, rolling his eyes, "Angie is here, you're gonna stay with your sister and preferably not infect her with this bug. I can handle Wendy..."

There was a second of silence as Jonah clearly tried to argue, but found no fault in his logic. Instead he let out a groan, "how is she?"

"She's got a really high fever, but I fed her some medicine and now she's asleep," Leo shrugged, before he remembered his boyfriend couldn't see him, "it's just strep, she'll live, babe."

"Uhm," Jon didn't sound convinced, "that's a bummer, we were supposed to have lunch with her tomorrow. Angie and I."

Leo felt a flash of jealousy that he wasn't included in those plans, but he quickly pushed it away. It was good that they weren't tied by the hip, he reminded himself.

"Yeah, you'll have to reschedule, there's no way she's going anywhere tomorrow," Leo removed the kettle from the stove, "do you know what her favorite tea is?"

"Lemon and ginger," Jonah answered and Leo could vaguely hear Angelina's voice in the background, cooing over JD.

"How's Angie?"

"She's fine, planning to steal our cat," Jon teased and Leo heard Angie let out an offended gasp at his words, causing him to smile fondly at the interaction.

His smile promptly slipped away as he heard Wendy cough and choke in the living room.

"Gotta go, bye. Love you," Leo said quickly, not waiting for an answer and rushing out of the kitchen. He was a second too late, because just as he was about to circle the couch he heard Wendy's cough turn into gags and then pink liquid covered the front of her hoodie.

She groaned, hiccupping and sobbing, "I'm sorry, I- I don't feel good, I'msorry-"

"Hey," Leo frowned, crouching in front of her and pushing Wendy's short hair away from her mouth. She was still really warm, like the medicine had done nothing at all, "hey, Wen, it's fine. Nothing laundry can't fix, it's okay..."

"Itsssgross," she groaned, her pale face all red, scrunched up as she cried. Big fat tears running down her cheeks, "I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," Leo rolled his eyes, tucking her hair behind the ear, "look at me," he forced their eyes to meet, "you're alright."

She sniffled, "I feel disgusting."

"Shut up," Leo scoffed, grabbing a tissue and wiping her lips and her chin. Wendy didn't say or do anything, looking every bit a kid as he fussed over her, "arms up."

It was more than a little unnerving to not have her sass him. Leo fully expected at least one comment about him removing her hoodie and leaving her just in her bra, but instead Wendy only shivered violently, curling up and coughing again.

"I'm gonna get you a new hoodie," he grabbed the ditched blanket from the armchair and wrapped it around her shoulders, "be right back."

Once she was changed into a new outfit, Wendy curled back up on the couch, sniffling and continuing to cough every five minutes or so. Leo was tired, but he couldn't imagine just how exhausted she was.

"I made you tea, do you wanna try it? Might help your throat," he walked back to the cough with the mug and Wendy shook her head.

"Gonna come back up," she rasped, breaking into a new coughing fit and whimpering, touching her throat, "I want Vin..."

Leo's heart all but broke in a million little pieces. He couldn't help but put himself in her shoes, "how about we facetime him, what do you think?" he suggested despite his better judgment and the fact it was nearly midnight on a school night.

Wendy immediately perked up, before she frowned and shook her head, "gonna bother him," she curled up more, "then he'll break up with me."

He frowned at that, "...What? No, he won't, what the fuck?" Leo rolled his eyes, pushing Wendy's feet on the couch so he could sit next to her and then grabbing his phone, "you're not a bother, you're his girlfriend."

Wendy let out a little scoff at that, sniffling once more and Leo glared at his phone, suddenly feeling a lot more protective than he would've liked.

The phone rang and rang and then suddenly Vince's face appeared. Tired and alarmed, with a glittery star glued to one side of his face and red marks that indicated he had fallen asleep on top of a notebook.

"Leo? Kid, is really late, is everything okay?"

"No," Leo shook his head, "Wen's sick, can you just chat-"

Vince's frown deepened, as he interrupted, "sick? How sick? I can go over-"

"No!" Wendy exclaimed at that, before whimpering when that caused her throat to hurt and starting to cough all over again. Leo rolled his eyes, thumping her back.

"She's got my strep bug," he explained, "you don't have to come over, just talk with her a little, will ya?"

"Yeah, of course," Vince eagerly nodded, rubbing a hand over his face in order to look more awake. Leo passed Wendy the phone and then heard Vin's voice twice as soft as he said, "hey honey, not feeling well?"

"I'm fine," Wendy lied, causing Vince to laugh given her tone wasn't above a raspy whisper, and Leo to snort. He patted Wendy's calf, getting up from the couch.

"I'm gonna get you some more medicine," he whispered, messing Wendy's sweaty bangs and moving away when she tried to slap his hand.

He put away another dosage of the syrup, before heading to Wendy's bedroom and fixing up her pillows, pulling on the blankets as well. Once he returned to the living room, Wen was half asleep lying on her side, giggling as Vince explained why he was covered in glitter.

Leo saw as the man panned the camera, revealing his baby sister passed out on his bad, surrounded by crayons and glitter glue, "I didn't have the heart to wake her up. She was helping me grade the kid's papers."

"Cute," Wendy sniffled, "get a picture for me."

"Of course," Vince yawned, "here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna check with Daniels if he can get my seniors last period tomorrow and I'll go over to be with you, alright?"

"You don't have to do that," Wendy mumbled, rubbing at her forehead, "I'm an adult and Leo is here and-"

"She'd love it," Leo interrupted, "sounds like a great idea."

Because he knew she was lying through her teeth. Wendy's shoulders dropped with visible relief as Vince shrugged in agreement.

"It's not a big deal, honey, Daniels already keeps my seniors half my class anyway, he might as well keep them for the remaining forty minutes too."

"Who's Daniels?" Wendy yawned, smiling and Vince let out a loud huff.

"Some asshole," then his voice softened up, "get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you."

"I love you too..." Wendy's eyes were already closed and it came out more like a wheeze. Leo took the phone from her, wordlessly waving to Vince and hanging up.

"Hey," he touched Wendy's arm, "let's move you to bed, c'mon."

"Uhmm?"

"C'mon," Leo pulled her up on her feet and Wendy slumped against him, pressing her feverish forehead to his chest. Once they entered the bedroom, he handed her the medicine, "big gulp."

"It's gonna make me sick," Wendy groaned, barely seeming to be conscious.

"It won't," Leo pushed it in her hand, "and the waste basket is right here and I'll be in the couch, okay? It's gonna be fine."

"You're staying?" Wendy asked, before gulping the medicine down and shuddering at the taste. She curled up under the thin blanket Leo had left on the bed and hugged her pillow.

"Duh," Leo smoothed her hair, "of course."

"Uhm," Wendy hummed, smiling and didn't say anything else until he walked to the door and hit the lights, keeping the hallway light on, "hey Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an ass," she whispered and even in the half dark he could clearly see the smile on her face. Leo smiled back.

"Yeah, well, game recognizes game, Wen. Get some rest," he grinned, leaving her door open and walking to the living room.

[sing-you-fools]

i hate when i'm curious about something but like. i can't just google it. and not even because google is dead now! just because the information isn't there. i hate going "hmm, i wonder" and realizing that if i really want to know, i'd need to get a whole-ass phd so i can find out myself. sure i'm curious but not that curious but ughh now it's gonna bug me.

my mom got strep throat all the time when she was younger. neither my brother nor i has ever had it - or, been diagnosed, at least. but every time it's going around i start getting that "fire creeping up my throat" feeling, and it resolves itself. is this psychosomatic? or do my brother and i have ridiculously strong strep antibodies due to some sort of epigenetic something-or-other? do people generally have stronger immunity against illnesses their mothers had a lot? has this been studied and i just don't even know enough about the subject to know what to search for? where the fuck is hank green when you need him?