Part 6 of Series.

Title: Grantaire is Sick

Prompt from dansrusse: If you don't follow this up with a sequel in which Grantaire is totally sick and Enj has to deal with it I might just DIE.

Summary: Grantaire gives in and goes to the Student Health Services building after class.

Note: Takes place just after Twists and Turns on the Pole, January of their first year in College. I'm posting this now but I'm going to check it over for errors later, I just wanted to get this up before I leave with my sister for the hockey game. Forgive me for the title, I hate having to name things so this is the best I can do right now.


"You should really go see a doctor man" a classmate said to him as they were walking out of the art studio, Grantaire had a canvas under one arm and his backpack over his shoulder.

He was glad it was a Friday and that had been his last class, he needed a break and he just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up for about a week.

"That doesn't sound very good, but hey the campus has a health program that is pretty good I'm sure the doctors there will look at you and it won't cost very much, if anything, unlike going to a hospital!" he said before waving as he went left and Grantaire kept walking straight down the path he was on.

He could hear himself wheezing and sometimes he couldn't even catch a breath to cough, that scared him the most, not being able to breath but he wasn't going to tell anybody that.

Since his wheezing and coughing has been getting worse he's been staying clear of Joly as best as he could, he knew that he would tell him to go to a doctor.

Going to see Joly or Combeferre didn't count, not really since Joly was the only one still in Pre-Med and he wasn't in the mood for Joly's theories about him giving him Scarlet Fever or something.

He might check out the Health Centre and see if they could give him a puffer or something to help his breathing, Enjolras was at him to get to a doctor to get it seen to.

"I think I'll give in…you win this time Enjolras" he said heading down the path to the Health building where he knew he could find the centre for students, they took care of all their health needs.

He didn't have the student insurance but Enjolras did so he was going to try and see if they would let him go on that, but if he had to pay he would have to pay, it was still better than going to a real hospital.

He sent a text to Éponine telling her he wouldn't show up for class tonight, he sent one to Joly telling him he was going to the Health Services to see if he was there, and then another to Enjolras telling him he might be late for supper and where he was.

He got back a text from Feuilly telling him that no, Joly wasn't working there today and that Joly was hyperventilating and to not come near him if he was really sick, Éponine said alright and Enjolras told him he'd come and sit with him while he waited to see someone.

'You don't have to E I'm fine…it shouldn't take every long and it's just a cold or something' he sent back to Enjolras in a text, he knew Enjolras wouldn't listen to him and come down anyway.

He could see the building as he rounded the Social Services building, it was 3 floors and red brick, it had a statue by its front door but it couldn't tell what it was until he got closer.

'We have no choice, it's you who are the bad guys, you've taken it all and yet you still dare to fault, who are you to judge and condemn us' Grantaire laughed when a girl glared at him when his phone started playing music at its highest volume before she went back to the book she had been reading.

It was Enjolras texting him back, he made a mental note to show the song to Enjolras when he got home, he would surly get a kick out of the song and its lyrics.

'I'm still coming, I'll drive then you can put your stuff in the car and not worry about anything getting wrecked, you know what waiting rooms are like' Grantaire nodded, the weight of the canvas heavy in his arms.

'Alright. Thanks. Love you' he sent back before slipping the phone into his pocket putting it on mute, he didn't need Enjolras's text tone ringer playing, he loved the song but he didn't think the people around him would.

He looked at the statue as he passed it, it was dirty and had bird droppings on it like every other thing that a bird could fly by, it was a granite statue of Claude Bernard.

The statue in front of this building wasn't as old as the one in front of College de France, which was done in 1946 by Raymond Couvègnes, in stone, to replace the original bronze one from 1886 that was melted down by the Germans during the occupation.

This one was done sometime in the 1960's and not by Couvègnes hand, maybe a lesser known sculptor that had once been associated with him or just a nobody but it was granite so it was still nice, the plaque at the bottom of it was just as dirty as the statue itself, but Grantaire wasn't going to read it so it didn't matter.

He remembered the reading they had to do on sculptors and the stone statue by Raymond Couvègnes was one of the ones they learned about, he laughed as he walked into the building which was not as busy as a hospital but busier than a doctor's office.

He gave a woman sitting at one of the reception desks his student number and information, asking about a doctor and telling her he had no student insurance, she told him it didn't matter the small fee would be added to his tuition.

She gave him first time patient papers to fill out and gave him back his student id card telling him to bring the papers back when he was done and pointed him to a row of chairs on the left of the hallway.

Dropping into a corner seat with a table beside it he placed his canvas against the corner after pulling the table away from the wall just enough he could fit it in the space he had made, dropping his backpack at his feet and kicking it as far under his seat as it would go.

He filled out all the general info questions that doctor offices always asked you like name, weight, any allergy's or disabilities and the sort, some were way to personal, asking if you had bladder issues or were sexually active, but whatever he just checked the right boxes and moved on.

He turned to the third page and started to fill out the questions there, they were asking him basically what was wrong with him, breathing problems check, nausea check, coughing and a slight cold or maybe even a fever check, he was exhausted and yeah now that the paper mentioned it his chest did hurt.

He wrote down his name and student number on the front page and checked it before putting the pen at the top of the clipboard and taking it to the desk, the woman smiled and ripped his pages off the stack and put them into an open file folder, his name and student in big bold letters along the top of it.

"The doctor will get to you as soon as possible, it's not that busy in here as it's been the last 2 weeks so it shouldn't be very long" he nodded and went back to his seat, taking his phone from his pocket.

'Just filled out some papers, I'm told it shouldn't be long' he sent that text to Enjolras and waited for his reply 'I'm not far I'll grab us a coffee' he sent back a smiley face and started to play Skee Ball and tried to beat Musichetta's high score.

After a few dozen games and a few texts from a people in his group from the latest art project they were given, checking with him about some details they never got to finalize in class, Enjolras walked in the building spotting Grantaire in his paint splattered wind breaker.

He dropped into the chair on Grantaire's right and smiled as he held Grantaire's cup until he put his phone away, sending off the last of his texts before taking his cup with a happy sigh.

"Thanks for this, I never got my coffee after lunch, I never had time I was meeting my department head about the studio space I might get a lend of for some of my bigger projects that are coming up" he said taking a drink from his cup, closing his eyes as the liquid felt like heaven in his throat.

"I'll take your stuff out to the car" Enjolras said standing up and putting his cup on the table beside Grantaire, pulling out his canvas while Grantaire kicked his backpack out from under his seat, Enjolras picked it up and turned to walk out of the building.

Taking his seat once he returned, and taking his cup from Grantaire who then rested his head on Enjolras's shoulder "I'm here but you still don't win…I listened to me not you" Grantaire said as Enjolras laughed.

"Alright so I'll be sure to have that put down in writing then" Grantaire hit him then took another drink before letting out a body wracking cough, his whole body trembling with the effort.

They both finished their coffees, Grantaire tossing them into the garbage bin that was tucked under the table, and then started to talk about going out for dinner or going to the apartment Combeferre shared with Courfeyrac and Marius.

They decided to go if Grantaire was up to it, Jehan, Feuilly and the others might show up but Joly wouldn't for sure since finding out Grantaire was sick.

They were talking about a band Bahorel had told them they needed to check out when a nurse walked out holding a chart and called Grantaire's name, they both got up and followed her into one of the many rooms that lined the hallways.

She took his blood pressure, and checked his temperature and wrote down her findings then smiled and told them a doctor would be in soon, leaving them in the room alone, Enjolras sat in the only chair and Grantaire on the bed, his feet swinging.

True to her word it wasn't long before a doctor did come in, saying his hello and then getting rid to the point, asking Grantaire questions, what was wrong, how has the last few days been, how long has he been feeling like this and the like.

"Ok take deep breaths from me please" he placed his stethoscope at Grantaire back and moved it around a few times before doing the same thing at his chest "any pain right now?" he asked Grantaire who nodded.

"My chest and I've had a headache hanging around for almost a week" he told the doctor, who wrote that down then asked him if his wheezing just started or has it been around for a while as well before asking if his coughing brought up any mucus.

"I noticed the wheezing a few days ago, the coughing has gotten worse and yea a bit of mucus but not much. I feel like I can't catch a breath to even get out a cough some of the time" Grantaire told the doctor who nodded and pulled a piece of paper from the back of the file and started to fill it out.

He handed Grantaire a pink slip of paper and motioned him to get down, he slid off the bed and Enjolras stood up from his chair.

"Ok I want to send you for a chest x-ray, I'll know more after that but I think we're looking at pneumonia or bronchitis. But after I get the films I'll know for sure" Grantaire nodded and followed him out of the room, Enjolras at his back.

"X-ray is at the end of the hall on your right, give them that paper and come back to the room you were just in when you're finished" he walked off to a large desk and Grantaire and Enjolras took off down the hallway to find the X-Ray place.

"You think its pneumonia? The only things I know about that are what I've learned from movies…it won't kill me right?" Grantaire asked his voice hoarse from all his coughing, after handing the pink paper over to a man that was behind a desk, Enjolras shook his head with a tiny smile.

"You won't die dummy, that's only in the worst cases in people who are over 65…I guess I should make you read one of Joly's basic medical books" Enjolras said taking Grantaire's hand.

"You know you really should of come here sooner" he said as they were leaning on the wall beside a billboard with a dozen different coloured papers tacked to it "should of but I didn't" Grantaire said with a smirk.

"I'll text Combeferre and tell him we can't make it, you need me to nurse you back to health" Grantaire smiled and sighed "you would make a pretty hot nursemaid" Enjolras laughed, it rang through the empty hall, Grantaire yawned but laughed as well.

Once a lab tech took Grantaire back to the room where he'd get the x-rays Enjolras sent off the text, telling Combeferre he was waiting for R to get a chest x-ray before they knew anything for sure, but they wouldn't be going to his place for dinner and the whole weekend he might be at home with Grantaire, it was looking that way right now anyway.

'Alright, I'll text the others and tell them not to bug you guys, let me know when you find out for sure, I'm sure Joly well send one of us over with soup later on' Enjolras nodded to himself, Joly would always send someone over to the sick person with soup, he'd never bring it himself but that was because he's Joly and he might get sick.

Joly was Joly and that was all there was to it, you understood once you got to know him, and even then it was really only Bossuet and Musichetta who really got him.

Grantaire came back out 5 minutes later, he was rubbing his eyes and wheezing as they headed back down the hall to go back to the room with the bed, where he jumped up on and closed his eyes, letting his head fall forward onto his chest.

"I'm not sleeping, just rest my eyes" he mumbled to Enjolras who nodded "I believe you" he placed his hand on Grantaire's back and started to rub circles into this back, putting a little bit of force into his motions, he knew this felt good to Grantaire.

Grantaire lifted his head and opened his eyes every few minutes, just so he didn't actually fall asleep and so he could make sure the doctor didn't come in the room, which he did after 15 minutes.

Enjolras had stepped away and sat back down, Grantaire made himself sit up straight and he yawned, his eyes had bags under them and he looked pale, he had looked that way for over a week.

The doctor placed his stethoscope at Grantaire's chest again before listening to him breath for a few seconds, changed to his back and doing the same thing.

"It's bronchitis" the doctor said as he stepped back from Grantaire, putting the stethoscope back around his neck before he picked up Grantaire's chart from off the bed to write something in it.

"You really should of seen someone sooner" he said giving Grantaire a look that he gave many college students, the one look that said 'I know you have been neglecting yourself you silly student', the ones that put off their own health for their studies or because they didn't care enough to get checked out.

"I'm going to give you a prescription for antibiotics and some puffers, then I want you to get a breathing test done at Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, you'll get the results faster going there" he said handing Enjolras a paper with his chicken scrawl that was a doctors handwriting.

"Get this filled out, take 2 of the pills every 6 hours until the bottle runs out, it should last a week, if you need a refill I've added one but I think they should knock it out of you. Take the puffers every 6 hours for a week, you should have your appointment at the breathing clinic at Hôtel-Dieu de Paris by then, follow up with your own doctor, if you have one" he eyed Grantaire who grinned sheepishly, even sick as he was he could still pull of a look like that, not many could.

"After the week keep taking the puffers for another week but drop it down to three times a day if your breathing has improved, take them as you feel you need them which might include the night before you go to bed and when you wake up in the mornings. Even after the two weeks, if you still feel like you need them keep taking them."

Both Grantaire and Enjolras nodded, they'd follow what the doctor said, Grantaire would try not to forget and Enjolras would be there to make sure he took his pills, he'd put a timer on R's phone reminding him if he had to.

"I can give you a name of a doctor, he's taking new people, and he's a general doctor so he'd be good to see one a regular basis and to follow up with, once you find someone if you don't like the doctor I have a name for let us know and we'll fax your chart over to them" he said stepping to the threshold of the open door.

"Alright that's it, these pills will make you feel even more nausea then you already have, you can take some gravol for that and eat some crackers that should help. You should take these with food and you might feel better to lie down, sleeping is the best thing for you, it will help you get better faster. Oh and no alcohol with these pills."

The doctor knew he was a college student, they like to drink and party, so he was telling him like everybody he sees, he stepped backwards out of the room "alright that's it, if you feel worse tomorrow you can come back, if you feel worse through the night you can go to Hôtel-Dieu de Paris" he said nodding his head.

"Thank you" Grantaire said, he nodded "very welcome" he left the room leaving Grantaire and Enjolras "I'll take the prescription to the drug counter by the lobby, you can go wait in the car" he told Grantaire with a smile, he really did look like he could drop.

"How do you know there is even a place in her to fill that out?" Grantaire asked as they walked out of the room "with the amount of times Joly is here not for learning for class, and how many times Bossuet comes here I know the layout of this place pretty well" Enjolras said laughing.

Grantaire headed out of the building and Enjolras took a left at the lobby and headed down a short hallway and turning right coming to a pharmacy, he handed in Grantaire's prescription and walked around looking at the shelf's to waste time.

15 minutes later he was handed the white paper bag with the puffers and pills and was given instruction about how to take them before he headed back to the car, Grantaire was sleeping with his head on the window, his seat belt was already on.

He smiled, Grantaire was still sleeping when they pulled into the parking lot of their building 'I wish I didn't have to wake him' Enjolras said to himself before placing his hand on R's shoulder and calling his name a few times.

"Come on R we're home, get upstairs then you can sleep" he got out of the car, the white paper bag in his hand as he opened the backdoor and pulled out the canvas and R's backpack, Grantaire was closing his door rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Come in the elevator, if you take the stairs you'll just aggravate your breathing" he told him as they walked in the building, Grantaire nodded almost too tired to care he was going to use the elevator, almost being the word because he took hold of Enjolras's arm, not to tight but enough to know he was holding onto him.

Getting up and into the apartment was easy enough, Enjolras placed both of Grantaire's things on the couch as Grantaire headed for the bedroom, Enjolras filled a glass of water for him and grabbed a few crackers, they should take care of the 'take with food' part for now until he had a sleep and then got some real food into him.

Walking into the bedroom, the light was on and he saw Grantaire sitting on the edge of the bed, he was wearing his sleeping pants and a light t-shirt, his shoes by the closet door and his clothes where he dropped them by the door.

"Here" he handed him the first of the 3 puffers, Grantaire did 2 puffs of each, 2 minutes between each different puffer before eating the few crackers Enjolras handed him, taking 2 pills then the water.

"Why is it so much to do" he moaned falling back into bed, pulling his legs into the bed and rolling over so he was on his side, he pulled the cover over his body, Enjolras laughed.

"Go to sleep, I'll wake you up in 6 hours if you're not already up to take your stuff again" Grantaire lifted his hand, his way of saying ok since his eyes were already closed and he sighed, he was very comfy.

"Alright" Enjolras turned off the bedroom light, taking Grantaire's phone from his jeans pocket and taking it out with him to the living room, before he shut the door as he walked out, Grantaire was already snoring lightly.

He set his phone to go off in 6 hours, but turned its volume low so it wouldn't blare through the quiet apartment, he headed to the kitchen to make himself some tea and a fast sandwich before settling on the couch with a book.

He checked on Grantaire after a few hours, he hadn't moved and his breathing hadn't changed but he knew it would after a few days.

He sent a few texts off telling the others that no they wouldn't see him or R this weekend and to have a good time, he'd see them Monday and got back to reading his book.

Notes:

*Wow, ok that was longer than I thought it would be, dansrusse I hope this is ok for what you want, I know it's not really Enj taking care of him but I did what I could.

*Ok so it turns out France has a health care system but I'm not sure how it works, if it's like what we have here in Canada or not so please just go with it, I don't know if what I wrote made sense but oh well it's done now.

*The text tone Grantaire has set for Enjolras is Hunting Pirates by Turisas, a really good song and a great band you should check it, them out.

*Claude Bernard was a French physiologist (born July 12 1813, died February 10 1878)

*The original statue of Claude Bernard that stood just in front of the main entrance of the Collége de France, at N.11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, was done in bronze in 1886. I'm not sure who did the original bronze statue, but it had been melted down by the Germans during the occupation in WWII. The stone one that stands just in front of the main entrance of the Collége de France stands in the same place the bronze one had. The stone statue that stands there now was done in 1946 by Raymond Couvègnes, to replace the bronze one.