This story takes place during Rapist Anonymous after Nick and Amanda argue/fight.
A dog getting the flu isn't very common but it does happen. Some symptoms were added for dramatic effect.
Amanda rushed home after she and Nick bit off each other's heads. She was still worked up about the argument. Where did he get off trying to be in charge of her life and checking out guys she dated? Her personal life was her and he needed to keep his nose out of it. Nick had the nerve to say she did not look happy to him…like he knew anything about happiness. She was happy; Nick was just full of shit. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She decided to go for a jog and try to calm down. She would try to calm down because she wanted to, not because Nick had told her to.
Amanda woke the next morning trembling with chills, her entire body ached. Still she got up and tried to get ready for work, during her shower she felt nauseous and dizzy. Climbing back into bed, she called Cap to let him know she was home sick. She spent the rest of the morning falling in and out of sleep. Frannie kept coming into the room giving Amanda her best looking puppy dog eyes. She knew she had to get up and take Frannie out for a walk, poor girl hadn't been out all morning. She decided to suck up this sickness and take her best girl out for a bathroom break.
The following morning she woke up to the sounds of Frannie crying and making a hacking noise. Amanda got up, still feeling like crap, to check on her dog. Frannie was lying on the kitchen floor surrounded by puddles of vomit. Amanda immediately freaked out, racking her brain to recall the last 24 hours, searching for a reason Frannie could have gotten sick. She called the vet and was told to bring Frannie in to get checked out. How could she take her dog to the vet when she couldn't even get herself to work. Amanda woke up feeling worse than the day before, sharp pains jabbed at her body, chills came and went, she felt weak and nauseous. Who could she call to help her out with Frannie? Nate? No way. Liv? Not a chance, Liv hated her especially after the snide remark she made about paying a therapist to listen to her problems. Nick? Ha! Yeah that would be so smooth of her to call and ask him for help after the huge blowout they had. She smiled when Fin popped into her mind, she could count on her partner for help. Amanda called Fin but was disappointed when she didn't get an answer. Was he mad at her too?
Without realizing it, she had fallen back asleep. This time when she woke up Frannie was laying beside her in bed, whimpering. Amanda's heart broke seeing her dog looking so sad and crying. Frannie never cried…. Again, she went through a mental list of people she could call for help. She listened to the voicemail from Fin; he must have called while she was asleep. He let her know he had gone to Atlantic City for the weekend but to call if she needed something. Amanda wasn't about to call Fin and ask him to come back to New York just to take her dog to the vet for her.
She decided to swallow her pride and call Nick. He sounded surprised to hear from her but despite their blowout, he told her he'd be right over. 20 minutes later, Amanda got up to open the door for him. Embarrassed at her vomit filled kitchen, she apologized to Nick for the mess but she could barely stand, she was too weak to clean up. Nick offered to make her some soup but she refused; she was more concerned with Frannie getting checked out.
Nick did as he said and took the dog to get checked out. She didn't look too well, her body was extremely warm, she constantly whimpered, her eyes were tearstained and she seemed to have a runny nose. After about an hour, the vet came into the room to let Nick know that Frannie had the flu. Nick was surprised, he never heard of a dog catching the flu. The vet prescribed meds, plenty of fluids, and rest for Frannie. He said it would be best to allow her to have wet food because of the water content and her throat may be sensitive to dry food. However, if she continued to vomit then she needed to be brought into the ER.
Nick got back to Amanda's apartment and found her asleep; her body was covered in a thin film of sweat. He thought she probably had the flu, too. Should he wake her? A part of him felt like dumping off her dog and leaving, she had said some pretty mean things to him when he was just trying to help her. He knew she had this independent, "I can do it all" attitude but didn't she know it was okay for people to look out for her without wanting to control her?
Instead of leaving, he decided to follow some of the vet's suggestions. He gave Frannie a cool bath to help her fever come down, dried her up and set up her dog bed close to Amanda's bed. Frannie was a good girl, she let Nick give her the meds and she slurped down some water. Frannie licked Nick's face leaving behind a lot of slobber. Once he knew she was comfortable he left the room and let go of what Amanda had said to him. He cleaned up the kitchen, as disgusting as it was, he couldn't leave a mess like that, especially when both girls were sick. Nick went down to the drugstore, got some meds and chicken soup. He came back to Amanda's apartment and heated up the soup.
Nick gently woke Amanda up, she was a beautiful woman with an ugly temper. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, Amanda gave him a confused look. He let her know it was something his mother used to do to him to check his fever. He offered her meds and water, which she accepted without complaint. Nick gave her an update on Frannie, she had stopped crying, so the meds must be working. He was surprised she didn't fight him when he brought over the soup. She got down most of it before she remembered to thank him for taking care of Frannie. Amanda let him know that she was feeling better herself, she should be able to take care of Frannie herself now.
Nick accepted what she said but deep down he wanted to ask her who would take care of her? He wanted to offer to stay and see to it that she and Frannie were taken care of. But he knew Amanda would never allow herself to be that vulnerable around a man.
It had been a long day for all three of them, Nick said he would see himself out but Amanda insisted on walking him out to the door. She noticed the place was cleaned and she threw her arms around Nick thanking him over and over for helping her out. Amanda apologized for saying such harsh things to him, she knew he was trying to look out for her but it wasn't something she was used to. Nick accepted her apology and offered one himself. He told her to call him if she needed anything, he would always help her out. He kissed her on the cheek and her standing there. Despite feeling so sick she smiled as she realized Nick had kissed her twice in less than 2 hours, he was a good man. But she knew she would never deserve a man like Nick….
This was a quick "Eh" story. Not much detail and no dialog, I'm sorry. But it was just something to show what a good guy Nick is and for Amanda to get a glimpse of what kind of guy she could have if she stopped beating herself up.
Next story I have planned is full of detail, dialog and Rollaro. Amanda takes care of Nick, too!
Thank you for reading, reviews are more than welcomed.
