It had been a week and the team were quickly discovering that Toby was the worlds most annoying ill person.
He'd consistently told everyone that he was fine in the beginning but after a near miss with a suspect and Sylvester constantly complaining about germs and contamination, he finally acquiesed and admitted he was coming down with the flu. He'd headed up to the loft to get some rest and ended up staying there, the rest of them agreeing it was more efficient. They'd be better able to take care of him if they were nearby. Except really, it was Paige that was doing the work. Sylvester neared a panic attack everytime someone brought up going upstairs and Walter was just being... Walter. Although Cabe had brought him chicken soup and they all looked at him like he'd grown a second head.
Toby had been up there for five days now, calling out to them for trivial things like magazines and for them to pass him the remote for the tv. Happy hadn't seen him since he'd finally admitted he was ill. She'd been to his apartment to get extra clothes and a toothbrush, you know, the usual. She just felt weird seeing him like that, was all. He was the Doc, for crying out loud. Granted, he was a behaviorist, but it felt like he was the one that was supposed to take care of them, no matter how crazy he might be, you know?
Day five of the Doc being sick and the rest of Team Scorpion, including Ralph, had gone on an outing (something about a museum, Happy seemed to recall), seeing as it was the weekend and Cabe hadn't called them with case. Happy was content to stay and work on a motorcycle she'd been waiting to claim as her new project.
They'd been gone for a few hours when Happy decided to go and check on Toby. She hadn't heard a single noise coming from upstairs since the rest of them had left and if she was honest with herself, she was worried. Not that she'd ever admit that out loud, of course.
She made sure she was relatively quiet going up the stairs as she didn't want to wake him if he was finally getting rest. Happy found him on the couch, blankets strewn all over the floor. He was covered in a thin veil of sweat and he was shivering. Yep, his fever had broke. She padded over to him, picking up the stray blankets along the way. She pressed her palm gently against his clammy forehead. As was to be expected, his temperature was elevated.
Placing the covers on the edge of the couch, she decided to put some water in a glass and sat on the coffee table opposite him, watching his eyes slowly flutter open.
"Hey Happy." His voice was croaky and his constant shivering was causing him to elongate syllables. He tried to smile but winced instead as he tried unsuccessfully to prop himself himself up on his arm. The leather material of the couch combined with his sweaty skin and quivering body were not a good mix.
"Easy, Doc." Happy had an overwhelming urge to reach out to him but instead settled for putting some more pillows under his head. It was then that she noticed the open bottle of painkillers on the side table. "How many of those have you had?" She nodded towards the bottle.
It took him a few moments to process what she was referring to. "Umm..." he suddenly looked her right in the eyes, "enough to be so confident as to tell you how pretty you look today. Actually you look pretty all the time. Except when you're fixing motorcycle engines. You look sexy when you fix motorcycle engines."
Yep. He was fucking delirious.
She opted to ignore his comment (and the ridiculous fluttering of her heart while she was at it) and next to him on the sofa. "Here, drink some water." She grabbed the back of his head, it was absolutely soaked with sweat. "I'll get you a wet towel."
Toby laid his head back on the pillow, instantly missing her comforting touch but Happy was back within what seemed like seconds, a cold wet towel in hand.
"Is that better?"
He could only hum in response, his eyes fluttering closed softly. "You'd be a good nurse you know. If only you could keep your anger issues under control. Bet you'd look great in the uniform, too."
Happy rolled her eyes. If he wasn't so ill and actually knew what he was saying, she would have punched him in the shoulder. "Maybe in your dreams."
"Oh, it has been."
Happy smirked. Even sick, he never missed a beat.
Toby managed a languid smile."Thank you, Happy."
She simply nodded, a thin albeit genuine smile crossing her features.
It seemed as though he was already drifting off into a slumber, drowsiness being one of the many side effects of his medication. Happy decided to let him rest some more, goodness knows he needed it. Before she had a chance to rise from the couch, she heard it. Or at least, she thought she did. It was mumbled, barely there. Stay. No, it couldn't have been. She was hearing things. She made another move to get up. A hand was on her wrist. Her eyes snapped to look at him and he was staring right back.
"Stay. Please."
That is how she ended up with Toby's head in her lap, stroking his hair until they had both fallen asleep. She wasn't sure how long she been out, but from the sounds of it, the rest of the team were back, so it must have been a few hours. From the look Paige was giving her as her eyes adjusted to the lights that had been turned on while she was asleep, the both of them like this must have been quite a picture.
"You know, he's been asking after you for days. I think that's why he kept asking for silly things. He just wanted your company and when it was me that showed up at the door, he had to make up something on the spot."
Before she had a chance to respond (not that she could, she was kinda speechless), Toby stirred in his sleep, muttering Happy's name.
"I'm here. I'm here." She shushed him back to sleep. Her fingers were in his hair and he calmed immediately.
Paige regarded her knowingly, grabbed a bottle of water and quickly left to go back downstairs. Happy could feel her cheeks start to warm a little, out of embarrassment or she was beginning to contract Toby's flu, she didn't know. But she didn't care. He'd look after her, either way.
This was uploaded for the Quintis Fic Challenge over on Tumblr. It's unbetaed so all the mistakes are mine. I hope you like it. I had trouble writing Happy, so I hope she didn't across too sappy near the end. Reviews are always appreciated! :)