A/N: I have had a bad bout of insomnia this week (no work due to sick kids, and finding out dh is getting laid off in April) and came up with this crazy idea to write a SMK fanfic using the word of the day on . Yeah, insomnia's crazy like that. I chose SMK over any other stories because, for some reason, SMK always cheers me up, and Lord knows I can use some of that. :D
I apologize for the roughness of the grammar, etc. I wrote it all with my thumbs on Evernote and at 3am. :) I did attempt some editing so hopefully it's not too bad.
Oh, this particular story takes place toward the end of the first season. You can place it where you think it fits best.
chirk: to cheer (usually followed by up)
Lee Stetson lay in his bed wondering if calling in sick had been such a good idea after all. It wasn't that he wasn't sick, he was terribly sick, it was just that he should have suspected the result would have been his irksome partner showing up to "take care of him"
Partner? Wait. Not partner. Billy's idea of a partner.
Sighing, Lee burrowed down into the blankets as another round of chills caused him to feel like he was fighting hypothermia, not the flu. He tried to shut out the muted sounds just outside his bedroom door. Amanda was no doubt cleaning while she waited for the homemade chicken broth she'd brought to heat up on the stove. She'd also brought some aspirin, a heating pad, Vicks, a thermometer, and Epsom salts, "just in case. You never know what you might need when you're sick and I really didn't know what you had on hand and you just lay here now and I'll start the broth to heating and maybe pick up a little bit."
The last part of her run-on sentence she said quietly and as she shut the door behind her. Lee groaned. He just wanted to be left to his agony in silence.
After a while he heard the door to the bedroom open and Amanda walk into the room. She came up to the bed but Lee didn't open his eyes. Shortly he felt her lay her cool hand on his heard forehead. She gave a barely audible gasp and he heard her whisper something about hoping the aspirin would have helped with the fever, the he heard her walk into his bathroom. He waited for her usual admonition about how dirty the room was but she was silent. He heard the water run a while in he sink, then Amanda came back out. Next he felt a cool cloth on his forehead. She daubed his face with it, then his ears and neck.
At her ministrations Lee felt himself relax and he finally drifted into a fitful sleep.
A while later he awoke, the sounds of the street below in his ears. He opened his eyes and found the shutters and curtains drawn but the window open. He looked around his room and saw Amanda had been busy in here as well. He wanted to groan, but the prospect of uttering any sound was daunting. He lay his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes, hoping to get back to sleep. It was quiet except the street noises and he wondered if Amanda had left. He then immediately wondered why that idea bothered him.
He drifted off with an admonition to himself to stop thinking positive thoughts about his partner. Not partner, he reminded himself.
Lee woke with a start. He felt as if he was being smothered. Too many blankets, his mind told him, and he kicked the bedding off dutifully. As he lay a top his bed, wondering if he should remove his pajamas to help cool himself down, the door opened to reveal Amanda again.
She walked quietly toward him, her concern evident on her face. She sat down in a chair by the bed. He wasn't sure when she'd moved it there but was thankful she hadn't sat on the bed. Any movement on his part would have resulted in great pain, he was certain. She picked up the thermometer she'd brought, shook it, and held it toward him silently. He opened his mouth without arguing, because that would have brought pain as well, and let her tuck the glass rod under his tongue. She glanced at her watch, then back at him. The look in her eyes forced Lee to turn away. Had anyone ever shown that type of concern for him? He tried to tamp down the feelings the question evoked.
Amanda said nothing as she waited for the thermometer reading and Lee was grateful. The pain right then was so intense he was certain any more sound would cause his eardrums to burst. He couldn't remember the last time he was so sick.
Finally, he felt Amanda pull at the thermometer and he gave it up to her. She looked at the reading and her look of concern deepened. Pursing her lips, she went into the bathroom where Lee heard her fill a glass with water from the sink and shake out more aspirin from the bottle.
Returning, she set the items on his surprisingly clean side table, then she reached to him and helped him sit up so he could swallow the pills. Her touch was expertly gentle and Lee found himself slightly envious of her sons who must receive this sort of treatment regularly. He attempted to take hold of the aspirin she handed to him but his hand shook so wildly he would have dropped them. He was embarrassed at his weakness but Amanda simply mimed for him to open his mouth then she put the pills on his tongue and held the glass of water to his lips and helped him swallow the medicine down. After she helped him to lie down again, she pulled only the sheet up on him, whispering something about getting a chill; which Lee wanted to tell her he'd prefer to the painful heat he was feeling then, but that would have required more exertion than he could handle after the act of taking the medicine.
He heard her return to the bathroom, then, again, felt the cool cloth on his face and neck. He was almost glad for the fever in his body as he was sure it covered the blush at his humiliation at being so weak in front of her. Slowly he drifted back to sleep.
When he woke again, his body didn't ache quite as much. The sounds of the street were muffled, Amanda had obviously closed the window as the evening wore on. He opened his eyes and found his bedside lamp turned on and Amanda sitting in the chair she'd brought in earlier. A book lay open in her lap, her head lolled as her chin rested on her chest, a slight snore coming from her.
Lee's throat was parched but he was loathe to wake her. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was after 9 pm. He couldn't remember what time she'd arrived but knew it couldn't have been much after lunchtime. Sighing at her tenacity and care, he made to rise and get himself some water.
He was surprised when his movement woke her with a start.
"Lee," she whispered hoarsely, then cleared her throat.
"What do you need?" she asked, and Lee fought against the unusual feeling the question evoked. He smiled at her kindness. But shook his head.
"I'm just thirsty," he told her. " And, um, I kinda have to use the little boys' room."
He was surprised when she didn't blush but simply stood and came over to help him out of the bed. He wanted to protest when she walked beside him and held onto to his arm, while he held onto the wall with the other, but truth was, he was enjoying this.
When he reopened the door, he saw Amanda jump up from the chair again to help him back to bed.
When he was comfortable again she asked quietly, "Do you think you could eat something now? I brought some chicken broth."
He nodded and she quickly disappeared through the door. He could hear her ladling the broth into a bowl and for the first time ever he felt guilty knowing she'd probably had to clean all the dishes. The thought that he should get a dishwasher flashed briefly through his mind right before she came back into the room with a tray he knew she must have also brought from home. She placed it before him and the scent of the broth wafted to his nose. It was the first time all day that food had sounded good.
"Now, take it slow," she admonished. "You haven't had anything to eat all day and your stomach is liable to react poorly."
She spoke as if she were speaking to one of her sons, and while that would normally have irked Lee, at this moment he found it soothing.
He ate a few spoonfuls but had to stop.
She stood to remove his tray and he took her hand in his.
"Amanda," he said, trying to ignore the sensation the contact made. "Thank you for all your help today, but you should go home to your family."
A look of doubt passed across her face and Lee smiled.
"I think I'll be OK now," he assured her.
She pursed her lips and looked as if she was having an internal battle over which she should choose. Had anyone else he'd ever known found choosing between caring for him and their own family a difficult decision?
"Well, alright," she said, doubtfully. "If you're sure you don't need me."
Lee's voice stuck in his throat. He suddenly didn't know how to respond.
Finally he decided just to say, "I'll really be fine."
She lifted the tray and started the first ramble he'd heard from her since she'd first arrived.
"Alright, if you say so, I'll just clean these dishes up and set a few things to rights."
"Amanda," he interrupted before she walked out the door. "I can take care of that later."
She turned to him and quirked an eyebrow while giving him a knowing smirk.
"Right, Scarecrow," she retorted sarcastically, and Lee couldn't help but laugh quietly as he lay back down and she returned to the kitchen.
After barely any time Amanda returned. In her hands were a pitcher full of water and an empty glass. She set them on his bedside table. Then she went into the bathroom and brought out the bottle of aspirin and set that next to the pitcher. Lee watched her as she moved about. He never thought her constant motion could make him feel anything but dizzy but today it was a comfort.
Turning to him she admonished, "Now you call me if you need anything at all."
Lee smiled and took her hand again.
"I will," he assured. "And again, thank you."
"Of course," she smiled, then leaned over and ran her fingers through his hair and ruffled it. It was something he'd seen her do dozens of times to her boys and her affection touched him more deeply than he wanted to admit.
After she left, Lee settled in to sleep, an unusual feeling of contentment washing over him. He didn't want to think about why but he didn't argue with himself over it as he usually did.