The day had started off fairly normal for Will Truman, or at least, what he considered fairly normal. He wasn't sure how normal it was to drop by your clients' houses at nine in the morning, but Stanley Walker was his best and definitely richest client. Whether he would admit it or not, Will would have bent over backwards to do anything in his power to keep Stan happy with his law firm, even though Stan often assured him he would stay put with his current lawyer. Will was more than just a lawyer to him; he was also Stan's friend.
That's why, so early in the morning, he was standing on the doorstep of the Walker mansion, waiting for one of the many maids inside to let him in. With the way he frequented the place, he was almost willing to ask for a key as to not further bother the already overworked maids.
The door opened a few seconds later to reveal Rosario, who looked worn and too pissed off for such an early time, but smiled slightly upon seeing Will, "Mr. Will, good morning."
"Good morning, Rosario. Should I just assume you've had a long night or long morning?" Will asked, stepping inside when Rosario gestured him to do so.
She sighed heavily, heading over to the intercom on the wall, "You don't even want to know."
Will gave her a sympathetic look as he switched his briefcase to his other hand, "Is Stan up and ready to see me yet? I actually gave him a later time than now, but I thought if I came by earlier, we could finish earlier."
"He should be, but let me check in case he went back to sleep," Rosario said, pushing a button on the intercom console and leaning towards it. "Mr. Stan."
There was a short pause as she waited for a response.
"Yes, Rosario?" The man's disembodied voice finally came over the intercom.
"Mr. Will is here to see you if you're ready," she explained, glancing over at Will.
"Of course. Send him up to my room," Stan replied, before the intercom cut off.
Rosario released the button and turned to look at Will, gesturing towards the staircase in front of him, "He is ready to see you in his bedroom, which I'm sure you can locate by now."
Will nodded and climbed the stairs slowly, wondering off-handedly why Stan had not requested they meet in the man's office, as usual. He didn't think he had ever seen the master bedroom of the mansion, which wasn't surprising. They valued their privacy more than anyone he knew, and he knew they were several parts of the mansion he had never seen and probably never would.
As he neared the double doors leading to the master bedroom, he saw one of the doors cracked slightly. He knocked on the slightly open door and within seconds he heard Stan's voice permitting him entrance into the room.
He pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, his eyes widening slightly as he realized Stan was still in bed. Well, the man looked dressed and ready for their scheduled meeting, but he was sitting in his unmade bed beside his beloved wife, who was still sleeping soundly. As Stan caught Will gaze, he reached for a blanket and brought it up to her shoulders, cutting off his view of her scantily clad form, despite him being gay and his un-interest in her.
"Stan, why exactly did you have me come up here if you knew she was still asleep?" Will asked, making sure to keep his voice quiet as to not disturb her.
Stan sighed, glancing at his wife before running a hand over his slightly balding hair, "Because I wasn't quite finished here, but by the time you got here, I would be." He paused, standing up. "Rosario and I been up half the night trying to get her to sleep. She didn't feel too well and was too uncomfortable to allow herself to sleep. I think it might be the flu."
Will nodded in understanding and looked back to the woman in the bed, surprised at how innocent and small she looked when she wasn't throws insults at someone or teetering on her impossibly high Chanel heels.
As he watched her, she stirred restlessly and turned onto her side, finally facing Will. She moved a hand out and never opened her eyes, but Will knew she was at least somewhat awake.
"Stan," she murmured, her usually high-pitched voice sounding much lower and very tired.
Stan immediately crossed the room and joined her on the bed, moving her blanket back over her that she had already manage to kick off and kissing her forehead gently, "I'm here, sweetheart. Go back to sleep, Kare, you need it."
She mumbled incoherently, too quiet for either Will or Stan to hear, before curling up on herself and going still as she finally reclaimed her sleep.
Stan stood up slowly as to not jostle her and met Will near the door, gesturing to the younger man for him to follow. They walked down the hallway and into Stan's office, where they were already two cups of steaming coffee, courtesy of Rosario.
"Karen didn't look so good. Are you sure it's just the flu?" Will asked, sitting in a chair facing the desk.
"It has to be. She took a pregnancy test last night and we ruled that out pretty quickly," Stan said quietly, his voice tinged with sadness.
Will knew how much both Stan and Karen longed for a child together. Stan already had Mason and Olivia and he had experienced being a parent, but Karen hadn't been given that chance. Despite her addictions, sometimes dislike for children, and brash exterior, Will was sure Karen had the maternal extinct inside of her. It showed every time she was with Jack.
"Is she still drinking or taking her pills?" Will asked curiously. If she was, it might take longer for her to get better.
"Not since yesterday morning. I haven't let her near anything and even if I had, she can barely keep her eyes open, let alone keep a martini glass in her hand."
Will nodded, knowing it was probably true. In the few seconds Karen had awoken, she hadn't even opened her eyes or even acknowledge he was there. He had never seen her so drained and he knew she wasn't faking or that it was the result of her pills or alcohol.
"Anyway, let's get on with the meeting. You said you had something to tell me?" Stan asked, changing the subject quickly.
"Yes, I do. A man contacted me yesterday from Parade magazine who would like to interview you about Walker Inc. I told him I would talk to you first and then get back to him about the interview tomorrow," Will explained, pulling out a paper from his briefcase and sliding it across the desk to Stan.
Stan picked up the paper and looked at the information on the paper; some information about Parade magazine and the interviewer, Frank Wooley, "It looks good, but I've got another meeting tomorrow afternoon. We'd have to reschedule."
"What about Karen? Could she handle it?" Will asked.
"Of course," Stan said quickly, "She could, but I'm not about to let her do anything until she gets better."
"How about I keep the meeting planned for tomorrow and assume Karen will be there? You can let me know how she is tomorrow morning and if she can't go, I'll just cancel," Will said.
Stan nodded, "That could work. I'll call you tomorrow morning then and let you know how she is, but I have one requirement if she does the interview. I need you to be there at all times with her."
Will nodded, "Of course I can be."
Stan nodded, satisfied, "Good. I trust her with all aspects of the company, but she's not too experienced with interviews and people asking questions about the company. I want you to be there in case the interviewer decides to ask some personal questions that she shouldn't be answering." He paused, turning to see the clock for a moment before facing Will once more. "Listen, before Karen got sick, we were planning on inviting everyone to dinner tonight. So, unless you have plans, we'd love to see you tonight."
"Sure, I'd love to come," Will said.
"I've already asked Jack, but I haven't been able to get a hold of Grace. I think she might be out of the office, so could you please ask her whenever you manage to see her?" Stan asked.
"I'm going to be seeing her for lunch, so I'll ask her then. So, unless there is another crisis before dinner, I'll see you tonight," Will said, standing up, his briefcase in his hand.
Stan laughed, "I believe this is the fastest meeting we've ever had. We're getting better each time."
Will shook his head, amused, and reached out to shake Stan's hand, "We are. I'll see you tonight and hopefully Karen will be feeling better."
"I hope so too," Stan sighed as Will gave a sympathetic smile and left the office.
--- --- ---
Just as Stan had said, Will was also unable to reach Grace through out the day. He was relieved when he walked into her office and saw her sitting on her usual stool, her phone pressed up against her ear. As soon as he got within hearing range, however, she sighed and hung up, nearly jumping when she spotted Will by the door.
"Good, you're here. I thought you were going to be late," she said, grabbing her coat and her purse.
"You must have been out of the office all day. I haven't been able to reach you once yet," Will said, helping her into her coat.
"I was looking at an apartment. You know, since I'm a designer. Remember that?" Grace asked sarcastically, waving her hand in front of Will's face.
Will rolled his eyes, ignoring her, "Oh, by the way, in case you haven't figured it out, Karen isn't coming in because she's sick and Stan has invited us to dinner tonight."
"Yeah, I know. He just called. He told me about dinner, but why did he tell you about Karen?"
"I was over there this morning to talk to him. I saw Karen and she didn't look so good. Stan thinks she may have the flu, but whatever she has, it isn't good. He said both him and Rosario were up half the night with her."
Grace sighed, "Maybe the pills and alcohol are catching up with her."
Will shook his head, "No, it wasn't that. Stan said he hasn't let her near anything and just seeing her this morning got rid of any doubts I had. I have never seen her look so tired or just…out of it before."
Grace shrugged, slinging her purse over her arm as she opened the door, "Well, whatever it is, I hope she gets better soon. And we're going to arrive there separately tonight. I have to meet with someone pretty late tonight."
Will grinned, "Well, then I guess I'll just leave straight from work. C'mon, let's go to lunch; I'm starving."
--- --- ---
Will had spent most of his day trying to convince a client they would not lose their case. He found the man quite annoying and often had to excuse himself to keep from ringing the guy's neck, but the man was putting out millions of dollars to win his case. Will's boss would be furious with him if they had lost a high-paying client willing to pay anything to win a case.
Despite having doubts about whether or not he should have accepted Stan's dinner invitation, he had been looking forward to it all day. Anything to take his mind off his work was a welcome relief.
When he arrived at the mansion and Rosario let him in, he realized no one had even arrived yet, including Stan. He had arrived earlier than planned, but Rosario didn't seem to mind as she offered him a glass of wine.
"Thanks, Rosario," he said, accepting the glass, "Is Karen still asleep?"
"No, Miss Karen is in the kitchen if you'd like to speak with her," Rosario replied.
Will nodded his appreciation and headed down the hall to the large kitchen, a room he was certain Karen didn't even know existed. He knew she couldn't cook and since her chef cooked the food and Rosario served it, he didn't think she ever knew where it was in the mansion.
As he rounded the corner and stepped into the room, he nearly fell over in shock as he spotted Karen standing at one of the counters, making herself a cup of tea.
The usually flawless socialite, who usually donned the most expensive clothes a woman could buy, was wearing a simple pink tank top and loose-fitting pants he was sure were at least two sizes too big on her. Between her bare feet, which were usually encased in heels, her face free of makeup, and her hair up in a high ponytail, even though several pieces had fallen around her face and neck, he thought he might have crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
"Karen?" he called softly, not wanting to startle her.
She turned, her mug safely in her hands and smiled softly upon seeing Will, "What are you doing here so early, Wilma? Dinner isn't for an hour."
"I know. I somehow got the times mixed up or something; I'm not sure what happened. You look a little better than you did this morning," he commented, even though she still look tired.
"You haven't seen me today," she said slowly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, I did. I was here this morning to talk to Stan and I saw you asleep. You didn't look too good, I have to admit. Stan told me you probably have the flu," he said.
She seemed to think for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, probably. I don't know what I have, but I just wish it would go away."
"Speaking of which," Will said, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a pill bottle, "I got you a little present. I swear by this medicine. If you take two tonight and two tomorrow morning, you should be feeling wonderful very soon."
Karen nodded, taking the bottle and squinting at the writing on it, "You just want me to get well by tomorrow afternoon. Stan told me about the interview tomorrow."
Will watched as she opened the bottle and took two out before downing them with a sip of tea. He was almost waiting for her to try to take more, but realized she was truly sick when she placed the bottle on the counter and turned back to him.
"So, you're going to do it if you get better?" he asked, taking a sip of his wine.
Karen shrugged, looking down at her mug, "Yeah, sure, honey. I mean, I have to do something for this company. I am Stanley's wife, after all."
"Wow, you must be insanely sick," Will said, somewhat relieved to hear Karen's trademark high-pitched giggle. She came towards him, probably on her way to the living room, when he stopped her with a hand on her arm. He moved the hand up to her forehead, before sliding it down to her cheek. "You're burning up."
"I know. I've had a fever all day. Rosario keeps giving aspirin, but it doesn't help," she said, looking slightly worried at the thought that nothing was helping.
"The medicine you just took should help. Within the hour your fever should be gone," he said, moving a stray piece of hair out of her face.
Karen looked up at him, cocking her head to the side in confusion, "Why are you doing this, Will? Why are you being so nice to me?"
Will smiled slightly, placing his wine glass down before grasping Karen's upper arms in his hands, pulling her to him, "Because, for once, it's good to see there really is a person inside there somewhere. You put up so many masks in public and hide behind so many designer outfits and shoes and makeup, that it's good to see you're just like everyone else. Let's not forget that it's never right to insult anyone when they have the flu. Being sick is punishment enough for you."
Karen smacked his chest playfully, but finally grinned, "Thank you, Wilma, and I truly mean it. So far, I've had Grace yell at Stan because I couldn't come in when she was busy and Rosario get fed up with me staying in bed all day."
"We all need to get our revenge, Anastasia, but not even you deserve that," Will said, winking at her.
Karen laughed at the mention of her alter ego's name before moving her hand down to entwine her fingers with Will's, "Let's go watch a movie or something. I'm bored and we still have an hour or so until dinner or anyone else arrives."
Karen led Will down the hall and into a room with a big-screen television and several large couches. Karen took a seat on the couch directly in front of the television and Will joined her a few seconds later after grabbing the remote from a side table. He tried to give it to Karen, but she refused, letting him choose the movie.
He finally decided on a romance movie and when he noticed Karen showed mild interest, he left it and leaned back against the couch, placing an arm around Karen. She leaned into him heavily and he finally grabbed a pillow from beside him and placed it in his lap, urging Karen to lay down, which she finally agreed to, making herself comfortable.
Will kept an arm around her waist as they watched the movie in silence. It wasn't more than twenty minutes later, when he realized she had fallen asleep and had turned to face him instead of the television screen. She had pressed her face into his stomach and Will forced himself to keep from laughing; he didn't want to wake her. She needed all the sleep she could get.
He reached for the remote and turned the movie off before placing it back on the table and leaning his head back on the couch, careful not too move to much to disturb the woman on top of him.
It was silent for several moments before he heard the front door open and then close. Knowing he hadn't heard Rosario's voice or the doorbell, he knew it could only be one person. Sure enough, he heard footsteps getting closer before Stan stepped into the room, pausing and smiling at the scene of his wife asleep on top of his friend.
"You know, when I invited you to dinner, I didn't invite you to my wife," Stan teased.
"I didn't think so either," Will replied flippantly, looking down at Karen.
Stan stepped closer and ran his fingers gently over Karen's forehead, brushing away stray pieces of hair and checking her temperature, "She's still warm. I told Rosario to check her constantly and keep the aspirin coming, although it looks like Karen got into her stash of pills. I found a bottle on the counter."
Will shook his head, "No, she didn't. I brought that over. I always take it when I'm sick and it works very quickly. She took some a little while ago, which should be working any time to lower her fever and if she takes some tomorrow morning, she should be feeling better later tomorrow."
"Good. How long has she been asleep?" Stan asked.
"Not long. Maybe a few minutes. Should we wake her for dinner?" Will asked.
Stan nodded, "Yeah. I'll see if she wants to eat or go back to sleep. Are you stuck under her or can you get out?"
Will smirked and held the pillow under Karen's head steady before sliding to side of the couch, proud when he laid the pillow flat on the couch and Karen didn't move a muscle. He stood up and Stan took his place, sitting above Karen's head.
"Karen? Karen, wake up, honey," Stan said softly, smoothing a hand down his wife's arm, which was cold to the touch, despite her fever. He was expecting the chills to kick in any time.
She stirred slightly and flipped over, her eyes finally opening and looking toward her husband's face above her, although her eyes took a moment to focus before she realized who was looking back at her. She drew her eyebrows together in confusion and sat up, propping herself up with an elbow when she felt another wave of dizziness and nausea hit her.
"How do you feel?" Stan asked, cupping her face and trailing his thumb over her cheekbone.
Karen blinked a few times, and finally noticed Will standing a few feet away, "The same. Maybe a little better, but not much. When did you get home?"
"Just a few minutes ago. Do you want to go upstairs and go back to sleep or do you want to chance eating something? Are you hungry at all?" Stan asked.
Karen sat up fully and turned to Stan, rubbing a hand over her eyes, "I think I'll join you for dinner. I'm still tired, but I haven't eaten anything in awhile."
Stan nodded, wrapping an arm around Karen and helping her up to her feet, keeping an arm around her when she swayed slightly, "Are you sure you're going to be all right? I don't want you falling asleep at the table and drowning in your soup."
Karen laughed, hanging onto Stan to keep from falling as he tried to lead her to the doorway, "Wow. I need to go change. I look like synthetic fabrics threw up all over me."
Will grinned, "Karen, we all know your outfit cost more than…the television set."
"Well, yeah, but who honestly wears this to dinner?" she asked rhetorically, gesturing to her outfit and scrunching her nose up in distaste. She finally caught her balance and let go of Stan, making her way out of the room and upstairs to make herself presentable.
"It seems she hasn't lost her amazing wit," Will commented dryly, once Karen was out of earshot.
Stan chuckled, "I don't think it's possible for her to lose that."
Will paused for a moment, turning serious as he looked at his friend, "Stan, I want to be completely honest with you right now. Do you remember the first time we met?"
Stan looked confused as he nodded slowly, "Yes, I do. It was at a dinner party of mine. Karen had invited Grace and a date and she ended up bringing you." He paused. "What are you trying to say, Will?"
"It's just…I remember meeting you for the first time and not two minutes later, you and Karen had a fight that I don't think anyone forgot about. I actually forgot what it was about, but it was fairly quiet and then Karen was screaming at you and you know how her voice carries," Will said, smiling slightly. "I wondered at that moment why you both married each other. Only seeing Karen when I visited Grace at work didn't help. We didn't like each other too much and I thought she was quite annoying. I had always thought she married you for your money and you married her because she was the perfect trophy wife. Even as a gay man, I can see that she's beautiful and not your typical blonde bimbo."
"I'm still confused. What are you saying?" Stan asked.
"What I'm saying is that, about a year ago, I finally realized you two are in love. Even Jack, who constantly watches over her, isn't even as protective of her as you are. If anything, I think you've demonstrated that perfectly today with her being sick," Will explained.
Stan shook his head, smiling slightly, "I'm just sorry if took you so long to realize that. I have to admit that I even had doubts about Karen when we were getting married. My first wife was with me for my money and after I realized it, I kicked her out. I truly loved Karen and I think it took me awhile to realize she loved me too and not just for my money. She isn't as shallow as she makes people think, you know?"
"Oh, I definitely know that," Will said, holding his hands up in surrender, "She's proved many times she's quite smart and that scares the hell out of me. A smart drunk?"
Stan laughed, cut off when the doorbell sounded throughout the mansion. He gestured to Will to follow him as they headed for the front door, where Rosario was just opening the door for Jack and Grace.
"Will, what are you doing here already?" Grace asked, seeing him standing beside Stan.
"I think I must have gotten the times mixed up. I didn't intend to be here so early, but I was," he said, shrugging.
"Thanks, Rosie," Jack chirped, as the maid took his jacket from him, as well as Grace's, "This is always my favorite place for fast food."
Stan rolled his eyes, amused, "But not so fast for our cook. Make yourself at home and I'll go see how dinner is coming along."
As he left the room, the remaining three headed into the living room and sat themselves upon the selection of couches, each spacing out to their own at separate corners of the room.
"How's Karen doing?" Grace asked.
"What do you mean how is she doing? What happened?" Jack asked, confused. He looked between Grace and Will as he waited for one of them to supply the necessary information.
"She has the flu. She'll be at dinner though. I brought over some medication for her so hopefully by then she'll feel a little better," Will explained, leaning back against the pillows behind him.
"She must have gotten sick pretty quickly. She was perfectly fine on Saturday when we went shopping," Jack said, looking sad.
Will had never seen anybody who were closer friends than Karen and Jack, except for possibly himself and Grace. He was almost certain, had Jack been straight, the two would've hooked up a long time ago. He knew for a fact Karen was attracted to Jack on some level, but even if Jack were straight, Will knew Karen wouldn't risk her marriage for a relationship or even a one-night stand with Jack. He also knew Jack would've found the perfect partner in Karen, had she been male. The two got along better than Jack had with any past boyfriends and even though he loved Karen more than anyone alive, he was still gay.
"Damn, I hope I don't catch it. You can't catch it from making out, can you?" Jack asked, completely serious.
Grace blinked, opening her mouth to try to reply, but nothing came out, so she closed it again and settled for staring dumbly at Jack while motioning to Will to try to answer. Will would've liked to take his cue, but he was trying too hard to hide his grin and bubbling laughter behind his hand.
"Do I even want to know why you were making out with my wife?"
Both Grace and Will breathed a sigh of relief of not having to risk answering Jack when Stan walked into the room, juggling three glasses of wine, one each for Grace and Jack and a third for himself.
"Hey, she made the first move," Jack said, smiling innocently.
"No, I didn't. You wanted to make out with me in the dressing room," Karen said, coming into the room, a fresh cup of tea in her hand.
Will was amazed at how quickly she could pull herself together and look presentable for company. She had looked fine to him before, but according to her standards, she was incredibly underdressed. Of course, compared to what she was currently wearing, she had been underdressed.
She was currently wearing a very low-cut pink top that had a slight sparkle to it, a plain black skirt, and her usual Chanel sling backs. She had applied makeup and clipped her hair up with a few pieces framing her face. Had Will not seen her earlier, he wouldn't have believed she had the flu.
"Still not my fault," Jack said forlornly to Karen, hiding a smile from his best friend.
Karen eyed him strangely for a moment before sitting beside her husband on the couch, "I'm not saying it was anyone's fault, honey, because I'm not sorry for it. I would be if you were straight, but…" She trailed off, waving a hand in Jack's direction.
"You clean up pretty nicely when you have to, Karen," Will commented, smirking slightly to show he was joking.
Karen pouted, turning sad eyes on him, although he knew they were just an act, "I don't have to clean myself up, Wilma. I'm just naturally beautiful."
Will pretended to choke on his wine as Grace leaned over from her couch and smacked him on the arm irritably before taking a long sip of her own wine, "Can't you even be nice to her when she's sick?"
"Oh, he has been, Grace. Believe me," Karen said, winking at Will.
Stan grinned, wrapping an arm around his wife before he looked up to the doorway just in time to see Rosario enter.
"Dinner is ready," she announced, leaving the room.
The group got up and headed to the dining room where covered dishes covered the large table as well as fresh glasses of wine for each of them, with the exception of Karen. They seated themselves at the table with Stan at the head, Jack and Karen to his right, and Will and Grace to his left.
"Oh my goodness," Grace said, eyeing all the food, her mouth practically watering.
"You'd think you'd never had dinner here before," Stan commented, grinning at Grace, who immediately began piling food on her plate well before anyone else could even grab for anything.
Karen's nose wrinkled as the different smells of the various dishes hit her and she began to feel nauseous once more. She took a deep breath and managed to keep herself under control as she turned slightly, "Rosie!"
"Right here, mami," Rosario said, coming into the dining room, a bowl of soup in her hand. She set it down in front of Karen, who smiled at her gratefully before picking her spoon up and tasting it cautiously, surprised when it seemed to agree with her and her nausea.
"Okay, Kare?" Stan asked, glancing at his wife to make sure she didn't need anything else before he sent Rosario on a break. When she nodded, not looking up at him, he waved a hand at Rosario, for which the older woman smiled gratefully at and made a quick exit.
"I just love how Rosario seems to appreciate you much more than Karen," Grace commented playfully, looking at Stan, and completely missing Karen's hard glare in her direction.
"That would be a result of my wonderful other half tormenting her and keeping her up all night," Stan said, smoothing a hand down Karen's back when she choked and looked at him incredulously.
"I get the feeling I'm not loved around here," Karen said, taking a sip of her tea and clearing her throat.
"Wow, you must be sick, Karen. I was only playing with you," Grace said, feigning shock.
"And not in the good way," Jack added in, popping a carrot into his mouth, pausing slightly when he saw Will and Grace eyeing him strangely. "What?"
Grace shook her head, "I don't even want to know. You're the only ones who could get away with making out and possibly even more with the husband killing both of you."
"The joys of being gay," Jack said wistfully, leaning over to kiss Karen's cheek.
"Hey, I'm gay and you don't see me making out with Grace every chance I get," Will said.
"And believe me, we're both mourning that fact," Grace muttered, stuffing her mouth full of food once more, ignoring the small talk coming from the rest of the table. She was too involved in eating all of the wonderful dishes surrounding her.
"So, guys, you never did answer me. Can you catch the flu from making out?" Jack asked.
Karen raised an eyebrow, but never looked up from her soup as she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud, "Poodle, of course you can. This isn't like clueless teenager girls thinking they can get pregnant from kissing. This is a virus we're talking about here."
Jack gasped, bringing his closed fist to his chest dramatically, "Oh my God! I can't believe you! You're going to get me sick and make me look all pale and gross." He paused, sending a sweet smile to Karen, "But you look fabulous though."
Karen sighed, rolling her eyes, "Good save, Jackie. And for the last time, it wasn't my idea to make out and could we please drop this subject?"
"Yes, please," Stan said flatly, although he turned an amused look at Jack, who simply shrugged and went back to eating.
The dinner had passed by pretty quickly and the group had moved into the living room, even Karen, who despite feeling terrible, was bored and didn't want to go to bed so early in the evening. She ditched her heels and stayed curled up against Stan while her three friends took the couch across from them.
"You really should go to bed, Karen. You don't look so good," Grace said, smiling when she realized what she had said, "I'm sorry, that came out wrong, but you really should be getting some rest."
Karen nodded, closing her eyes briefly before raising her head from Stan's shoulder, "I know, but I get bored up there by myself, honey. Besides, if I fall asleep, I already have a pillow."
"Good to know my wife thinks I'm good for something," Stan muttered, moving his arm around Karen so she sunk into his side comfortably.
"I can still call off the meeting with the interviewer if I need to," Will said, leaning his elbow on the armrest before lowering his head to rest his chin on his fist. He glanced over at Karen, who seemed to be fighting off sleep as her eyes kept closing.
"I should be fine to do it. A few hours with an interviewer shouldn't kill me or get me any worse than I already am," she said.
Stan ran his palm over her forehead, pushing her hair back in the process, "It feels like your fever dropped, probably thanks to Will's medicine. If you don't feel any better tomorrow morning or the same, call Will and he'll cancel the meeting. I know how awful it is to try to have a meeting when you're sick."
"I know, Stan, I know," she muttered, sighing heavily as she closed her eyes once more and fell silent.
"Maybe we should go. I mean, it looks like Karen needs all the sleep she can get and I'm sure you have a million things to do," Grace said, smiling slightly.
Stan waved her off with his free hand, "Of course not, Grace, don't be silly. Karen could sleep through a herd of charging bulls and I have nothing to do relating to work. I'm enjoying your company and the possibility that I'm not the only here to take care of Karen."
"Stan, I can take her up to your room if you want. She might be comfortable where she is now, but she'll be sore later and wishing for a bed, but being too tired to get to one," Jack suggested.
"Sure, if you want to," Stan said, carefully removing his arm from around his wife as Jack stood up and came to stand in front of them.
He bent down, getting his arms around Karen, without her making a sound or moving, and lifted her up and off the couch. She was so light in his arms and shifted her gently to make sure he didn't drop her before turning to the doorway.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," he threw over his shoulder at his three friends.
He maneuvered himself and Karen up the stairs and into her bedroom, nearly tripping over a misplaced pair of her heels which Rosario seemed to have missed. He placed her gently on the closest side of the bed before she moved slightly and turned to her side, her eyes opening.
"Jack?"
"What do you need, Karebear?" he asked, kneeling down to see her face.
"Something to sleep in," she said, smiling at his confused look.
His eyes narrowed before he laughed to himself and located the same outfit she had been wearing earlier, the tank top and loosely fitting pants and brought it to her. She didn't even bother getting out of bed as she changed, simply moving around to get her top and skirt off and slip into the other outfit.
"All set?" Jack asked, looking down at her.
"Stay with me until I fall asleep, Jackie," she requested quietly, reaching for his hand and squeezing slightly.
Jack knew it wouldn't be that long until she did fall asleep, but he climbed over her to the other side of the bed anyway. He wrapped an arm around her and trailed the fingers of his other hand through her hair, pulling the single pin out that was keeping her hair up. It fell to the pillow, surrounding her head like a dark halo. Jack was mesmerized by the stark contrast between her dark hair and the perfectly white pillow and kept watching it as he sat up and reached for the blankets, drawing them around Karen, whose arm was cold to the touch, now that her fever had broke.
"How do you feel, Kare?" he asked softly, in case she was already asleep, even though he already knew she wasn't.
"Better than before. I was miserable this morning. I think Will's medication really helped, even though I still feel sick," she answered, turning in his arms to face him.
"You're going to; you have the flu. It will take a few days to get rid of," he said. "And I better not catch it because I made out with you, although it would give me a good reason to miss work."
Karen giggled as Jack kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips softly. Her eyes closed and it was only a matter of minutes before he felt her breathing even out and he knew she had fallen asleep.
He carefully pulled away from her and got out of the bed, making sure to close the bedroom door before he headed back downstairs to join his friends, who looked as if they hadn't moved since he left them.
"Is she asleep?" Stan asked.
Jack nodded, taking a seat on the couch beside Grace, "Yeah, she's asleep. She did say she was feeling a little better, so that's a good thing."
"Very good. As I said, that medicine is the best thing in the world when you're sick. It cures anything and everything. I'm willing to bet it cures things you don't even have yet," Will said, stopping when he felt Grace smack his arm, "Okay, I'm rambling, but there's no need to hit."
"Stan, we really should be going. We all have work early tomorrow and you have a wife to keep company upstairs," Grace said, standing up.
"Of course, that's fine," Stan said, getting to his feet.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening," Will said, shaking Stan's hand. "I guess I'll be hearing from either you or Karen to let me know whether or not to keep the interview."
Stan nodded, "Of course. We'll see how she feels in the morning."
He walked his guests to the door, shook Jack's hand, and hugged Grace before they headed out to the street to catch a cab. He made sure they were safely in the cab before he shut the door and locked it, heading upstairs.
"Goodnight, Mr. Stan," Rosario called, passing him in the hallway.
"Oh, goodnight, Rosie, and thank you for staying up last night. Karen seems to be fine for now so get a good night's sleep. If she keeps going like this, I'm going to need to up your bonus," he replied, smiling.
Rosario nodded, returning the smile, "As long as she's fine."
Stan watched her head towards the stairs before he opened the door to his bedroom and stepped inside and shut it quickly, not wanting the hallway lights to seep in. He made his way to the bathroom and changed for bed before he slid into the bed, careful to jostle the woman on the other side of it.
He got comfortable and turned onto his side, wrapping an arm around Karen and placing a soft kiss on her bare shoulder before he readjusted the blankets around them and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.