9:00am, Sunday

Brian woke up with Olivia in his arms. He felt her stir and kissed her hair. He smiled and said "Hey, Liv. Did you sleep okay?" Olivia tried to answer but all should could muster was a miserable groan. Brian quickly rose up in alert.

"Liv, Liv. Babe. Are you okay?"

"Mmmmm…"

Olivia broke out in a series of coughs. Brian put his hand to her forehead: she was burning up.

"Whoa. You definitely need to stay home today."

"But, Bri. We were supposed to go out this Sunday. Remember?"

"I know, I know. You need to stay home today though, Liv. We'll go out next Sunday, okay?"

"That's what you've been saying for the last ninety-ninety Sundays."

"I know. But this time, I mean it. I promise."

He kissed her forehead and told her to stay put while he went to make her a cup of tea. As Brian reached to get Olivia's favorite tea cup from the cabinet, he heard shuffling behind him. He turned his head only to see Olivia struggling to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen. She nearly fell over before she caught herself on the bookshelf. Brian rushed to her side.

"Liv. What are you doing? I thought I told you to stay put."

"Bri. I'm not a little girl. I can take care of myself. I don't need you to baby me."

"Oh? So what about that time when we first moved in together and you specifically told me to take care of you?"

"Um…"

"Exactly. Now sit down, would you?"

Brian guided Olivia toward the couch. He put out his hand as if to say "Stay." Olivia rolled her eyes and reluctantly stayed seated. She thought about how lucky she was to have a man like Brian in her life even if she was annoyed by his attempts to take care of her. Brian brought Olivia's tea to her. She noticed it was in her favorite tea cup. Did he do that on purpose? Or was it a coincidence? She thanked him and slowly sipped on the hot tea. Brian left the room and returned several minutes later.

"Sorry, Babe. I couldn't find the thermometer."

"I wish you still hadn't. Stop nursing me."

"No. Now open wide."

Olivia attempted to swat Brian away with all her might only to break out in another series of coughs.

"Briiiiii! Quit babying me!"

"Look. The sooner you let me take care of you, the sooner you'll get better, and the sooner I can stop babying you. Alright?"

"Oh my god. Okay, Brian. Do what you want."

"Thank you. Now open up."

Olivia opened her mouth to let Brian put the thermometer inside her mouth. She sat in annoyance until the thermometer beeped, letting them know it was finished measuring her temperature. Brian looked at the thermometer with surprised yet relieved eyes. He gathered his coat and keys saying "99.7. I'm going to the drugstore to get you some meds. I'll be back as soon as I can." He kissed her forehead before heading out the door.

Olivia was typing on the computer when she heard the door open an hour later. Damn, she thought. As soon as Brian entered through the threshold, she could feel the panic eluding from him when he saw that she wasn't resting. Brian practically ran to her after he dropped the medicine on the table.

"Liv, Liv, Liv. What are you doing? Why aren't you lying down?"

"Because, Bri. I have work that needs to be done. If we're not going to go out, I might as well do something productive. And I can't do that very well with you being an overprotective ass."

"I'd rather be an overprotective ass than just sit around and watch you suffer."

Brian closed Olivia's laptop and led her over to the couch. He gave Olivia her medicine, wrapped her in a blanket, and headed toward the kitchen. He came back 30 minutes later with a hot bowl of soup. He picked up a spoon and blew on the soup to cool it off. He started to put the spoon in Olivia's mouth when she held her hand up to stop him.

"What do you think you're doing? I can feed myself."

"I know you can. I'd rather feed you myself though."

He kissed her nose and said "Now open wide. Choo! Choo!" Olivia rolled eyes and let out a small laugh. She let him feed her the soup hoping it would stop the babying sooner than later. When she finished all her soup, Brian gathered Olivia into his arms and she drifted off to sleep.

Olivia woke up with Brian nowhere in sight. She frowned and sat up as a chill went down her spine. Looking around the room, she called out "Hey, Bri?" Brian appeared several seconds later.

"Hey. You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, actually. I am. Thanks."

"No problem. But you look kind of cold."

"I am…"

"Good. Then you won't mind if I carry you to the bath I got ready for you."

Brian and Olivia sat together in the candle lit bathtub that Brian had prepared for Olivia. It was originally only meant for Olivia but she insisted that Brian join her. They sat in silence as Brian embraced Olivia in his arms. Olivia felt content as she traced her fingers along the scar on Brian's thigh.

"Hey, Bri?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

"I… I love you."

Brian hesitated for a moment but then kissed the back of Olivia's head.

"I love you too, Liv. I love you too."

THE END