Disclaimer: Jay, Totheark, Alex, and all that Marble Hornets jazz belongs to Troy Wagner, Joseph Delage, and Tim Sutton.
Pairings: Maybe Jam if you squint and tilt your head. Maybe.
A/N: Request from someone on Tumblr. They wanted a fic in which either Tim or Jay got sick and the other had to take care of him. :) Slash was optional, but I said "meh."
Warning: Not really.
Feedback: It makes me write more, you know.
Jay could tell Tim was getting feverish. He looked flushed and was coughing more often, though he chalked it up to smoking or the symptoms that he took his pills to relieve. After the second day, however, even Tim had to acknowledge it was worse than that. By the third day, they had to stop driving and had to check out three more days in their current hotel just to allow Tim time to rest.
They stayed in the same room with two queen-sized beds. It was what they usually did to keep an eye on each other nowadays. Now, with Alex running around and the tall, faceless thing doing God-knows-what, anything that brought a sense of security was a blessing.
Tim stayed in his sleeping clothes for the better part of the day, alternating between shivering and sweating too much. Jay wanted to offer him Tylenol PM to help him sleep, but neither of them knew how well it would mix with his seizure medication and they decided not to risk it. They stuck to water and tea, hoping that they could just wait it out. It didn't seem too serious; nothing that Tim would have to go to the hospital for, anyway. He never slipped into a delirium.
Neither of them asked what would happen if Tim did lose his mind to illness. Would his Other Half come out? Would delirium have the same effect on him as the seizures? Jay prayed they wouldn't have to find out.
When they needed groceries or supplies, Jay would make very brief, ten-minute trips to the Walgreens not far from the hotel. He bought soup, crackers, and herbal supplements. Tim offered him money for them, knowing that Jay must have been running low on funds, but Jay refused. They were this close to pooling their money together anyway. Tim could pay for the next night in a hotel if he still felt guilty.
Jay didn't want to leave Tim's side too often and when he did, it wasn't for too long. They couldn't afford to be alone in case they were found. But in most cases, when Jay returned to the room, he found Tim curled on his side, fast asleep. Jay would flop down on the couch, watching TV with the sound on very low.
While he slept, Tim was constantly tossing and turning, muttering in his sleep. Jay's name came up a couple of times, though he never deciphered the context. Brian and Alex were mentioned…and Sarah. Jay didn't know what to think of that last one and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. It was another bit of their old lives they wouldn't be getting back.
In one instance, Tim woke up coughing, deep coughs that would leave his chest feeling very sore in the morning. Jay came over and helped him sit up, rubbing and thumping gently on his back to loosen up the crud in his lungs. He made a mental note to get vapo-ointment the next time he was out.
Jay used the washcloths from the bathroom to make cold compresses to set on Tim's forehead. Once his appetite returned, he ate more complex stews and sandwiches. Eventually, the fever broke and Tim got the first full night's sleep he'd had in weeks.
The next morning, they got dressed and went down to the continental breakfast. Tim ate lightly, but it was more than soup.
"We can go today. I'll be fine," Tim said over a plate of bacon and eggs.
"Are you sure?" Jay said.
"Yeah. If I need to stop, I'll call you."
Jay nodded. "Okay. We should probably get moving again, anyway. Do you need anything from the store before we go? I can make a trip."
Tim glanced up at him and Jay looked down. "I'll pick up some meds before we go. Do you need anything? Film?"
Jay gave him a smile. "No, I'm fine."
They packed their bags and checked out. It was a surprisingly warm spring day which helped bring some life back into Tim's cheek. Just before they got in their cars, Tim stopped Jay.
"Thanks for taking care of me," Tim said, scratching his head. "You didn't have to."
"Yeah, I did. We're in this together, right?" Jay said with a smile. "I'm just glad it didn't get too bad."
"Still, thanks." Tim returned the smile and for a second, Jay thought Tim was going to hug him. But the moment passed. Neither of them were very big on physical contact; Tim having had a hard life without much affection and Jay living in isolation for four years. But Jay got the point and both of them left the hotel with new warmth towards each other, warmth that would hopefully hold them out for the rest of this nightmare.