Leonard heard it first and shook Penny awake, she looked at him disgruntled at first then she heard it too. Her eyes widen in shock and they both scramble out of bed. Three loud hacking coughs followed by wet sounding sneeze coming from Sheldon's room. They make a beeline for the door pulling on clothes as fast as they can.
"Wait ! Leonard I need shoes!"
"Screw shoes I will buy you new ones but we have to go now!"
"Do yo think he heard us?"
Just then Leonard's phone rings it is Sheldon
"Leonard I am sick!"
"Oh sorry buddy but me and Penny are going hiking today" Penny punches Leonard and hisses hiking!?
"We are already on the road we will be gone all day."
"Hiking? Leonard you hate hiking and you are allergic to almost all of nature."
"I started taking a new allergy medication and it has really helped and I wanted to try hiking."
"I did not hear about any new medication."
" Uh yeah, Bernadette gave it to me, very new stuff."
"Well I hope you know what you are doing, experimental pharmaceuticals are nothing to toy with."
"I got this you just lay down and feel better soon." Leonard hangs up the phone quickly and sighs.
"Hiking huh? you know that is not the worst idea in the world." Penny says as they make their way down the stairs.
"It would get us out of the house all say, and that was not a lie about the allergy medicine. It really seems to not make me feel like I am going to die when I go outside."
"Hiking it is then, we should invite everyone else too, get them away from Sheldon's wrath, should we call Amy and give her the heads up?"
"No need, I am sure Sheldon already has."
As soon as Amy hung up the phone with Sheldon she was out the door. She stopped by a deli and bought him some chicken noodle soup and headed to his place. Every since Sheldon had taken care of her when she was sick she had wanted to repay the favor. A sick Sheldon could either be sweet and vulnerable or s tremendous pain in the ass but she was prepared either way. Amy let herself into the apartment and goes to Sheldon's room. Amy knocks on his door.
"Sheldon, I am here is it OK if I come in?"
"Yes! What took you so long?"
"I had to stop and get you soup." Amy says walking into his room. He is laying in the middle of the bed and looks pitiful. His eyes are rimmed with red and his nose looks runny and sore.
"Chicken noodle soup?" he asks hopefully
"Yes."
"Not from the can?"
" No I stopped and got you the good kind from the deli. "
"Can you feed it to me?"
"OK," Amy sits down on the chair beside his bed and busies herself with the soup. Sheldon sits up in his bed and Amy blows on the soup and spoons him a small mouthful.
"Ahh that is good,you know chicken noodle soup used to be one of the few cures for the common cold before medicine was developed."
"Yes, I was aware of that chicken noodle soup as both physiological and psychological benefits when one is sick which is why I stopped and procured you some." Amy feeds him the rest of the soup. and then tidied up the mess While she is in the kitchen Sheldon calls for her.
"Yes Sheldon?"
"Can you rub vaporub on my chest?."
"You know they have done tests and determined that vapor rub does not actually heal anything the opening of the nasal cavities just makes think you feel better." but Amy is already unbuttoning his pajama top and rubbing the salve on him she was not arguing with him just pointing out a fact.
"Sing me soft kitty while you do it." Amy obliges him and rubs some more if the stinky salve on while to singing him. Rubbing on his chest would be sexy if he were not acting like such a little boy right now.
"Amy I want to watch TV now."
"Amy goes to turn on his television set inside his room. "No, I want to watch it in the living room."
"Then go watch it in the living room." Amy tries to mask her annoyance she likes taking care of him but he us being so demanding
"I want you to help me." Amy softens and leans over his bed.
"Come on put your arms around my shoulders."
"Why?"
"I am going to carry you to the couch." Sheldon snorts in derision
"Amy, it is physically impossible for you to carry me I am over six feet and you barely clear five."
"I think that if I can wrestle a full grown oraguntan into a cage I can carry you from the bed from the couch no stop being silly."
"Very well, but if you wind up hurting yourselves I am not well enough to take care of you." Sheldon wraps his arms around her neck and she lifts him up. He is not really that heavy and she carries him gently into the living room and lays him down on the couch. He places her hand on his head he is burning up.
"Sheldon you are so hot!"
"Thank you Amy but I think you are the only one who thinks so"
" Not that hot! I mean not that what you said is not true, but I meant your forehead is burning up, when is the last time you took your temperature? "
"It was 102 when I took it this morning." Sheldon says coughing
"Let's take it again how would you prefer I take it?"
"I have an ear thermometer by my bed." Amy retrieves the thermometer grateful he had not demands his temperature be taken rectal. She takes his temperature and it has risen to 104.
"Sheldon you might need to go to the doctor"
"No! it is Saturday and my doctor won't be there, and I hate hospitals."
"OK well let me give you some medicine, and but a cold compress on your head." she gets the supplies then she puts Star Trek on for him and comes back to the couch.
"Sit up for a minute and you can lay your head in my lap." he lifts up and Amy sits down and be lays his head on her lap. Amy lays the compress on his head and strokes his hair. He sighs and is quiet for a while Amy thinks he may have fallen asleep.
"You are in my spot but I do not care ."
"You are in the spot too because your head is in my lap."
" Amy can sit in my spot,Amy can do a lot of things that bother be when other people do them but not her." Amy smiles she knows the fever is making him woozy and that he is just babbling but it still feels good to hear.
A while later after he dozes on the couch for a couple of hours she checks his temperature again. It is still really high and Amy begins to worry. She thinks she should get him in a cold bath to take the temperature down.
"Sheldon your fever is really high still I think you should take a cold bath to get the temperature down. It will also wash some of the clamminess off your skin."
"OK" he says sleepily
"I will draw you the bath and then you can go in there and bathe yourself."
"No,I need your help!"
"Fine just let me get it ready first." He draws him a cold bath and checks the temperature with the bath thermometer. Then she goes to retrieve him from the couch. She walks him to the tub.
"You get undressed and and get into the tub and I will be outside waiting."
"Don't be silly! I need you to help me stay here." Sheldon starts undressing and Amy feels extremely nervous. Except for cadavers she has never seen a man naked before. She tells herself this is purely clinical it would be the same as a doctor seeing a patient naked. When she sees him fully disrobed though it is hard to think of it as purely clinical. Sheldon is much better looking than any cadaver she has ever seen, his skin is pale and smooth as thin as he is there is some muscle definition around his arms. Amy gulps as her eyes rake across his collar bones he has a little smattering of chest and a light trail of hair down his stomach she follows the trail down .This is the first time she has ever seen what a man looks like down there and she flushes. Amy thinks he might be slightly aroused not that she had anything to compare but she thought they started out much smaller. Amy helps him into the bath and then washes him, he shivers a little,she wonders if it is from the bath or something else.
After the bath his temperature goes down, and it is getting late.
"Sheldon, I am going to put you to bed now, then go home, Leonard should be home soon"
"Go home! but Amy what if I take a turn for the worse in the middle of the night? What if Leonard does not come home?"
"You want me too stay?"
"Please." he looks at her with pleading eyes, she just can not say no to those beautiful blue eyes.
"Sheldon I do not have any of my things here, I do not even have pajamas or a tooth brush."
"You can wear one of my shirts not slated for wear this week and I have four unopened tooth brushes just in case of contamination. Please Amy I need you." With that the last of her defense crumples, he needs her. Not just to do something for him but he needs her body and soul. He does not say that in so many words but the way he looks at her she knows it.
"Fine as you wish, which drawers are your extra shirts in and wear do you keep your extra linens?"
"Why do you need extra linens? Did I vomit on my sheets and forget?"
"No, I need to make up the couch so I can sleep."
"You can sleep in here, what if I need you and you can not hear me ."
"Very well then, let me get you to bed ." Amy helps Sheldon I to bed and tucks him in. She finds an extra shirt of his to put on the Flash on she thinks. Amy has good memories of this shirt he was wearing it the night they went dancing together. The same night she kissed him for the first time. She discreetly inhales its scent it smells like him like baby powder. Maybe I will find a way to keep this she thinks to herself to remind her of this night. Sheldon needs her no but when he feels better the defenses will be back up.
"I am going to go change and brush my teeth ok I will be right back." He nods his head sleepily. Amy goes to the bathroom when she is done she stares at herself in the mirror for a while. Sheldon shirt his loose on her but not as big as she would like it to be. Bernadette could wear it like a dress. It barely covers the tops of her thighs and she is nervous about Sheldon seeing this much leg .Thank god Penny makes me get my legs waxed now she thinks.
She tries to sneak quietly back into the room, hoping maybe he has. fallen asleep already. It looks like he has he is laying on the left side flat on his back his arms crossed over his chest. Why does he sleep like Dracula? She tiptoes across the floor and he opens one eye.
"I like that shirt on you ." he says
"It is one of my favorites on you ."
"Fascinating." he replies and closes his eyes again.
Amy slides in beside him unsure of herself but excited to be sleeping next to him wondering what the morning will bring when he feels better.