She woke up with a racing pulse. "Ah, must have been a bad dream. I know I have reason enough to be haunted by nightmares," she thought. But then, other symptoms were beginning to make themselves known. A stuffy head, sore throat, and achy muscles primarily among them. "Oh no", she realized, "I'm sick! But I have an important mission to do today. Hmm, maybe if I hop in the shower I can at least hide the fact that I'm sick. And luckily Carson is still working, so I won't have to run into him. Not too easy to hide being sick from a doctor.
Getting out of bed, feeling dizzy, she knew it was going to take more than a shower to get through the day. Probably need an Advil or something. As she was finished showering, and was drying off, a huge coughing spell hit her.
The bathroom door opened and Carson came in, seeing her doubled over coughing, helped support her through the coughing paroxysms with a worried look. "Come on, and get back into bed. You're not going anywhere today," he said.
"But I'm fine, it's just a small cough."
"Oh really? And where did you get your medical degree? I'll use my authority as CMO to keep you in bed, if I have to," he said with finality.
"Ugh, fine, you win." (She knew it was pointless to argue about being sick with him, he tended to take even the smallest problems and make a big deal out of them.) He helped her change, get into bed, and then went about checking her temperature. "Hmm, it's 101.3, you're officially sick. Take two of these pills" (and handed her two nighttime cold pills) "they'll help you with the cough, and will make you sleepy. Rest well my love; I'll be back to check on you later.
"Okay, thanks", she replied with a tired smile.