"Oh, Tammy~" Felix called in a singsong voice as he pushed open the door to the sergeants quarters. "I was waiting for you at the station but Kohut told me you came in here."
The handyman stepped further into the room, the door closing gently behind him. He was perplexed when he realized he was the only person there. Felix craned his neck to peer into the kitchen. No sign of Tamora there either.
"Tammy?" he repeated, concern replacing his previous tone. The fixer approached his lady's bedroom door, which was closed, and politely knocked. "Are you, uh—decent?"
Felix heard some muffled words from inside but couldn't make any of it out.
"Uh, alright…" he said hesitantly. "I'm coming in, okay?"
Cautiously he opened the door, finding Tamora lying on the bed on her stomach, face embedded in a pillow.
"What's wrong, Sugarplum?" Felix approached her bedside, placing a hand on her armored back.
Tamora mumbled some words into her pillow.
"What?"
More muffled mumbling, and despite himself, the handyman chuckled.
"Tammy Jean, I can't understand a word you say with your head buried like that. Come on out."
Tamora heaved a sigh and turned her face towards Felix with a grimace. Now he could see what the problem was; a dozen of small, red bumps dotted along her skin.
"Oh Sweetheart," Felix sympathized, lightly touching her cheek with his hand. "You've got the Pixel Pox."
"They showed up this morning," Calhoun huffed turning onto her back. "Did my best to conceal them during hours. It was a living nightmare."
"I'm sorry you had a bad day," Felix hopped up to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "Not going to sugar coat it, you and your men are going to have a…very unpleasant time these next couple of weeks."
"Not you though?" Calhoun realized how close Felix was to her. If this illness was as contagious as he was letting on, he was certainly doomed to share her fate.
"Nope, already had it—let's see, twenty-four years ago?" the handyman pondered on it a moment. "Anyhow, it's very unlikely for anyone to catch it twice. At least you're fortunate enough to get it out of the way so soon after being plugged in."
"Lucky me," Tamora deadpanned, calling out his poor attempt to make her feel better.
Felix removed his left glove and reached his bare hand forward to feel the sergeant's temperature.
"You're burning up," he said, frowning. The fixer paused to think a moment, then his face alighted with an idea. "I've got just the thing."
Felix pecked his gal on the cheek and hopped off of the mattress.
"You go on and take a warm bath and get into something comfy," he said. "I've got to go out and grab some things. I'll be right back!"
And while the handyman was away doing who knows what, Calhoun followed his directions. The bath helped ease the itching, if only for the time being. The sergeant had just gotten into her loose-fitting nightwear and crawled back in bed when she heard Felix knock on her door once more.
She chuckled at his gentlemanly gesture and called for him to come in.
"Hi," Felix waved as he peeked into the room. He spoke softy, almost at a whisper.
Calhoun saw in his opposite hand a bag filled to the brim with food items he'd most likely gotten from various games throughout the arcade.
"I've got some things to make a soup Mary gives me when I'm feeling low, that sound okay?" he said.
"I'm up for anything," Tamora replied, a smile crossing her lips.
"Okay," Felix beamed; he moved the close the door. "Try to get some sleep."
"Leave the door, Fix-It," Calhoun requested.
And as she lay in bed, she focused on the sound of Felix at work in the kitchen through the door he left ajar. The occasional metallic clack of a pot lid, his humming while he chopped vegetables; it was all oddly soothing to Calhoun.
And as she continued to listen she slowly drifted off to sleep, savoring the feeling of contentment the little handyman never failed to instill in her every time he was near.