I'd decided to stop writing, but I got a request for a little prequel to last week's episode describing the flu Sharon was recovering from. I'm recovering from the flu, myself, so I went for it :). Rusty seemed a little too not-self-involved, so I wondered if he'd gotten it first and felt guilty that she might have caught it from him, so I started with him.

Also, I loved MikUSC's description of Sharon not being a snuggly sleeper, so (with her permission) I included a variation of that when she started to get sick in this chapter. On that note, if you haven't read Freaking Out, I highly recommend it! It does a great job of balancing the story with material for both Shandy and mothership fans.

Sharon looked up from her coffee cup as Andy came in the kitchen one Tuesday morning in October. "Is Rusty up yet?"

Andy shook his head. "No, but he doesn't have class until this afternoon, right?"

Sharon nodded. "He's going to court with Andrea this morning, though. They're supposed to get a verdict, and he's been looking forward to being there for it." He was usually good about getting up with his alarm, so it was odd that he wasn't awake yet. She walked down the hall and knocked on his door before opening it. "Rusty, it's time to get up." When the lump under his comforter didn't move, she went farther in and opened his blinds. "Rusty! If you don't get up now, you're going to be late."

"I'm uuuuuuuupppppppp," Rusty moaned as he slowly sat up. He regretted that decision when he started coughing and immediately flopped back down.

"Rusty!" Sharon rushed over to his bed and sat beside him. She put her hand on his forehead without bothering to ask if he was okay. He obviously wasn't.

"I feel like crap, Mom."

"I can tell, honey. You feel like your temperature's a little high. Do you feel achy?" Rusty nodded. "You probably have the flu. It's been going around at work, and it's probably going around campus, too. I'll be right back." Sharon went to the kitchen and sifted through the medicine cabinet for the thermometer and Tylenol.

What's wrong?" Andy asked, seeing the items in Sharon's hand.

"Rusty woke up with a high fever. I'm afraid he has the flu." Sharon poured a glass of juice and went back to his room. She pulled his comforter back and slipped the thermometer into his mouth. "103.4," she sighed a couple of minutes later. "I'll make you a doctor's appoi—"

"Noooo, Mom, Tamiflu tears my stomach up. It doesn't really help, anyway." Sharon had dragged him to the doctor the last time he had the flu, and the stupid medicine hadn't done much but make him throw up.

Sharon hadn't had the flu since Emily and Ricky were in elementary school, which was before Tamiflu was available, but she remembered thinking that it didn't help Rusty as much as she'd thought it would when he had it in high school, so she agreed. "Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. I'll come check on you at lunch, and I'll leave early this afternoon." She was tempted to stay home with him, but she had to remind herself that he was twenty-one. That didn't make it any easier for her to leave her sick son by himself, though. He looked miserable. She opened the Tylenol bottle and fished out a couple of tablets. "Here, take these." Rusty groaned as he sat up and took the pills and the glass of juice from her. "I'm guessing you don't want any breakfast?" Rusty grimaced and shook his head. Sharon tucked him back in after he'd swallowed the pills and kissed his forehead. "Don't forget to text Andrea and let her know not to expect you for the rest of the week. Need anything before I leave?" He shook his head again. He kind of wished she would stay with him, but he was way too old for that. "Okay. Call or text me if you need me. There's not much going on today, so it's not a problem for me to come home." Sharon patted his back and started to leave the room, but another thought occurred to her. "Are you sure you don't need to go to the doctor? Are you missing a test or anything that you would need a medical excuse for? Or do you need one for missing internship hours this week?"

"No, Mom, I don't have anything like that until finals," Rusty answered irritably from under his covers. "My internship hours just matter for the quarter. I can make them up next week, it doesn't matter if I don't do a certain amount this week."

"Okay," Sharon said, smiling as she mimicked his annoyed tone. "Let me know if you need anything."

By Friday, Rusty wasn't feeling any better, so Sharon decided to work from home. Julio was now out with the flu, which confirmed that it had found its way to Major Crimes. She knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of them started dropping like flies. While Andy was getting dressed that morning, she sat on the couch, still in her pajamas, and sipped her coffee as she watched the news. "You're not going to work?" Andy asked when he came in for breakfast.

Sharon shook her head. "I'm just going to work from here today. Rusty's fever hasn't budged. I didn't wake him up when I checked on him, but he still looks terrible, and I heard him coughing all night. Being alone when you're sick isn't any fun, even as an adult, and I have plenty I can get done today from home."

Andy was only surprised that it had taken her this long to stay home. She was holding on to Rusty's childhood as long as she could. He couldn't really blame her, though. Most of his actual childhood had been terrible, and he knew she was still trying to make up for it.

Once Andy was gone, Sharon got another cup of coffee and sat at her desk to work. A little after 10:00, she got up to make her mom's recipe for chicken soup. Rusty hadn't had an appetite, but he had to be in a coma to not want her mom's soup. Once it was cooking on the stove, she put clean sheets and a pillow on the couch in case he wanted to watch TV. She was about to go check on him when he shuffled into the living room and flopped beside her on the couch. "Mo-om, I feel like hell."

"I know you do." Sharon gave him a sympathetic smile and felt his forehead. "Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the doctor? It's too late to take Tamiflu, but she might be able to give you something to ease the symptoms. Or it may not even be the flu."

Rusty shook his head. "It feels like the flu, just worse than the last time I had it."

"All right. I've heard that the strain that's going around is pretty bad. Let me get you some Tylenol."

"'Kay...Wait, what are you still doing here? You're not sick, are you?"

"No, honey. I had some things I could do from home today, and I didn't want to leave you alone again. I know you would've been fine, but it's nice to have some company when you're sick."

"Why do you have to take my temperature ten times a day?!" Rusty whined, eyeing the thermometer in Sharon's hand when she got back from the kitchen.

"Why do you have to complain every time?" Sharon responded. "And it's hardly ten times a day. Stop whining and open up." Rusty scowled as the thermometer beeped at slow intervals. "Hmm, still a little high," Sharon reported a minute later and handed him some Tylenol and a glass of water. She worked at her desk for the rest of the morning while Rusty watched TV. After lunch, she joined him on the couch and ran her fingers through his hair as he lay beside her. When Andy got home that evening with take-out for him and Sharon, they were both asleep on the couch. He changed clothes and walked over to the couch. He hated to wake her up, but she looked uncomfortable. He leaned down and kissed her until her eyes started to flutter. "Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Sharon rubbed her eyes and fumbled for her glasses on the table beside the couch. "Yeah. That last movie we watched must've put us both to sleep."

"How's Rusty feeling?"

"Not any better." Sharon carefully edged away from him and stood up. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too." Andy unpacked the take-out boxes while Sharon got out a couple of plates. "The flu has definitely hit the ninth floor. Mike and Wes both had to leave early today."

"Ugh, I'm starting to regret putting off my flu shot," Sharon groaned. "Do not say 'I told you so,'" she threatened, pointing a fork in Andy's direction.

"Okay, okay, I won't...But I did," Andy smirked.

Later that night, after being asleep for a couple of hours, Sharon woke up freezing. She usually hated for someone else to be touching her while she slept, but she spooned herself against Andy, trying to get warm. He woke up in the process and turned over to face her. "Hmm, look who can't stay on her side of the bed," he teased, completely misunderstanding her intentions.

"Shut up, it's just freezing in here," Sharon mumbled irritably. She'd been gradually bumping up the thermostat during the last couple of days when Rusty complained of being cold, but Andy must've turned it back down before they went to bed.

"Sharon. It's 74 degrees in here. It's not cold...Wait a minute." Andy pulled the comforter back and held his hand to her forehead. He wasn't any good at this, but he was pretty sure she felt too warm. "I think you have a fever."

Now that she thought about it and was a little more alert, Sharon realized that she did feel achy and had a sore throat. She wasn't about to admit it, though. "I'm fine, Andy, I'm just cold."

"If you say so." Andy kissed her forehead and held her until she fell asleep, trying to keep her warm.

TBC