A/N First of all I do not own any claim to Covert Affairs, I just enjoy playing around with the characters.

Bunnies gave me this as an idea to feature Jai's mother again and to occupy myself while being held captive by the snowpocalypse. Enjoy.

TENDER LOVING CARE

Jai immediately knew the day wasn't going to off to a good start when he awakened with a headache and what he suspected was the beginnings of an annoying cold. With a frustrated sigh he set about getting ready and making a mental note to pick up some cold meds and tissues on his way into Langley. With luck his cold would be of relatively short duration and he could work through it. Or so he hoped.

After downing the cold meds with the aid of a cup of coffee Jai was feeling almost his usual self by the time he arrived at CIA headquarters. Slipping off his jacket he set the tissues on his desk and sat down turning on his computer. Just as he was about to start work he smelled familiar perfume and felt a hand land on his shoulder. Glancing around up he saw Annie standing by his desk.

"Hey," he said in an attempt at cheerfulness.

"Hey." Dropping her voice so low that only Jai could hear she asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

He nodded and replied, "Just coming down with a cold. I took some meds and actually feeling much better."

"That's good," the young woman commented, deciding for the me moment not to mention that she could feel how hot he was through the fabric of his dress shirt. "If you need coffee or anything let me know. Okay."

"I will. Thanks," Jai replied. He watched her make her way to her desk and sit down before returning to his own work.

Annie sat down at her desk and started to work resolving to keep a close eye on her friend. Although he was attempting to downplay his symptoms, she suspected that he'd soon be feeling worse than he was letting on.

Lunchtime arrived and Annie got up to ask Jai what he'd like her to get him for lunch since she doubted he'd be wanting to go out to eat with her and Auggie. As she approached Jai's desk she saw that he had his computer open to a report but obviously wasn't reading it. His fingertips were pressed to his temples and his eyes were closed.

"Jai? Are you all right?" she asked quietly.

"Headache," he answered. "It should pass in a few minutes" He heard her moving away from his desk only to return a few moments later.

Annie removed his left hand and dropped a couple of pills into it. "Here, these should help," she said quietly setting an opened bottle of water in front of him.

"Thanks," he murmured quickly swallowing the pills followed by a sip of water.

The brief touch to his face had served only to confirm what Annie already suspected. That his fever was getting worse. "Jai, you really need to go home," she pointed out.

He went back to massaging his temples. "I'll be okay in a few minutes."

Shaking her head in exasperation the young woman stated. "You mother was right. You are stubborn. Now I'm going to leave for lunch and when I return in forty-five minutes I'd better not find you sitting at that desk." Still shaking her head she started to march back to her desk.

"You know you'll make a great mother someday. You've got the voice down perfectly," Jai commented.

"I'll learned that from Danielle," Annie replied. She turned and walked back to his desk. "Look, if you don't feel like driving home I'll gladly cancel lunch with Auggie and take you home myself."

"I doubt Auggie would like that very much," Jai replied.

"Hey, if he was the one sick instead of you, I'd be saying the exact same thing," she pointed out. "Now are you going to do what I said?"

"I'll think about it. At least let me finish up with what I'm doing," Jai answered.

Sighing Annie headed for the tech ops room muttering the word stubborn under her breath.

Jai waited until he saw her leave before giving up in frustration. Whatever painkillers he'd been given weren't doing a damn thing for his headache and he was finding it hard to concentrate. Making sure he saved what he'd been working on he shut down the computer and sat resting his head in his hands for a minute.

When he raised his head he could see his boss heading toward him a stern expression on her face. As soon as she reached his desk, the young man said, "Don't even say it. I was just about to get up and go home."

Joan stood with her arms crossed as she looked at Jai. "Good. I was going to make sure you left even if I had to call in security to escort you out. Look I know you hate being out sick so soon after last November but you're not doing the agency or yourself any good by being here right now."

"I know," Jai answered. As he got to his feet he had to grab onto the desk feeling suddenly dizzy.

Joan reached out a hand to steady him saying, "Do you need me to call for a car to take you home?"

The agent shook his head as the dizzy spell had quickly passed. Straightening up he reached for his jacket to put it on. "No. I'm okay now. If you get a chance you can tell Annie I left here voluntarily," he said.

"I saw here talking to you. Now take care and get out of here," the DPD director replied. She watched him gather up his tissues and head for the door.

A/N Next chapter a couple of our excellant fic writers just might be in for a surprise.