Notes: TBD.

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The pods can only heal physical injuries and some of the more extreme sicknesses commonly found in the universe. Keith finds that out after a frustratingly vague conversation with Coran that had involved something that sounded suspiciously like chicken pox except weirder. Keith may or may not have nightmares later in the night about weeping sacks of green growths trying to eat him alive because of that conversation.

Later though, for now he's balancing a bowl of goo –frighteningly vivid in color, but more watery and still steaming from whatever Hunk did to it– and trying not to spill any of it when the door to Shiro's quarters opens on the man clumsily trying to dress himself. Again.

"Shiro!" Keith carefully sets the bowl down before going over to the bed and pulling Shiro's hands away from his boots. It doesn't take much work to pull them off this time. The fastenings of it too complicated for Shiro's muddled mind to make sense of. "I told you to sleep!"

"Rest," Shiro corrects him, his voice low with tiredness and he blinks way too much when focusing on Keith. His face is still red, and Keith doesn't need to touch him to know he's still burning with fever. "You said to rest, not sleep."

Anger licks out through Keith's veins. Resting is not the same as sleeping, not for Shiro these days at least, and Keith is all too aware of that. He hates the Galra more and more with each passing night he makes up some excuse to go to the training deck at night. To find Shiro already in the midst of a training program and taking one minute too long to recognize Keith's presence beside him.

"Rest then," Keith tosses the boots aside and pushes on Shiro's chest lightly to get him to move back further onto the bed. The skin under his fingers it worryingly hot and Keith worries about the hot liquid for a moment. Hunk knows his way around food though, and Keith will have to trust the other man's knowledge in this. "I'm here now, I'll keep watch."

Shiro relaxes visibly in a way that he'd never allow himself to if he were in his right state of mind. Too selfless to let on how much his captivity has changed him to the rest of them. He'll go out of his way to act like nothing is wrong, even when only Keith is around to see him falter. It's one of the things he understands best about Shiro even as it annoys the hell out of Keith.

"You should be sleeping," Shiro stares almost listlessly at the bowl Keith holds out to him. Zero inclination to take the food even as he settles slowly back down on the bed. Faint bits of lucidity surface in the eyes that lock onto Keith even as he struggles to form words. "I don't want to- You shouldn't-"

"Shut up," Keith snaps out without any real anger. He settles down on the edge of the bed and stirs the bowl's contents. It doesn't smell all that good but Shiro doesn't flinch or gag when he spoons the first bit to him. Careful not to spill any of it on him, or give him too much. "Just rest, I'm here now."

Shiro obeys, though it's probably just his illness making him so pliable and not insisting Keith stop worrying about him.

"I'm here now," Keith mutters more for his own sake than Shiro's as he feeds him as much of the bowl as he can take before Shiro slips into an uneasy and feverish sleep. He keeps his word though, through the sleep cycle, and is there every time Shiro wakes up from fevered nightmares with the one phrase that seems to work better than any healing pod. "Rest, I'm here now."