A/N: This story is written for my friend and fellow author, Wepdiggy who hasn't been feeling well. I hope you enjoy it and feel better soon. I hope the rest of you enjoy it as well.
Sarah thought this kind of thing was over. She wasn't a spy anymore. She didn't expect to ever experience so many cuts, scrapes, gashes and bruises simultaneously again. However it seemed that even though her career may have changed, the beatings her body suffered hadn't. Her entire body ached after being slammed around in a violent crash.
Some jerk who obviously wasn't paying attention to the road had barreled straight into the side of the car. Luckily her car was okay. Chuck's car however wasn't so lucky. His car was totaled while taking Sarah out for a date night. Not that Chuck cared that much about the death of his car. He wasn't a car guy who treasured his car like Sarah.
He was far more concerned that Sarah had barely evaded death after a rogue vehicle slammed into her. Her injuries weren't so severe that she was in the hospital for more than a couple of days, but her recovery would take some time. Making matters worse, Sarah had also come down with something and was now sick, very sick.
So while lying in bed, battered and bruised from her recent involvement in a vehicular crash, Sarah was battling a nasty illness as well. It wasn't a cold that Sarah had caught, but it's more sinister cousin the flu, and she felt awful. If she ever figured out who gave her the flu she had a message from her powerful fists for them. Sarah would need to be able to actually stand on her own two feet for more than five seconds before that was even a possibility though.
With every violent cough the tough-as nails Sarah nearly wept. The coughs were already bad enough on their own, but when put together with her sore and aching muscles the pain was intense. The way she shook when she viciously coughed and caused the bruises spread over her whole body to be beat against the mattress only added to the pain she felt.
Sarah's head was pounding as well. Both the injuries sustained in the crash that Sarah refused to call an accident and her infection of influenza had her head screaming. Sarah had a message for the guy who didn't take the privilege of driving seriously when he ignored the road and slammed his car into her as well, and it only started with her fists. He should consider himself lucky that he wasn't allowed on the road for a while.
Sarah also had a fever. The thermometer said it was only 102, but Sarah was convinced that the reading was inaccurate and that her temperature was actually 104 or 105 degrees because she was absolutely on fire. She would feel right at home in a freezer right now. The air conditioner that was blasting through the room just wasn't cutting it.
The only thing that made Sarah's current situation even remotely bearable was that she wasn't alone. She had a nurse and a servant on 24 hour call. Chuck had fully devoted himself to doing absolutely anything he could to try and ease her suffering. He was doing things for her that she didn't even ask him to do. Not that she was asking him for very much, both because she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity and kindness and because it just required too much energy to make any requests. All she really wanted to do was lie in bed and wait for it to be over.
Chuck had just returned to the bedroom with a 'gourmet' lunch consisting of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich which he had put together along with a few french fries. It wasn't anything fancy, but Chuck had made it specially for her and was serving it to her in bed so that she didn't have to try to walk to the kitchen. She was just too weak and in too much pain to try to make the journey. Even simply sitting up in bed was a chore, so Sarah was very appreciative of his efforts.
Chuck sat with Sarah on the bed and refused to eat anything himself until after he had taken care of her. Chuck would have fed her if she didn't insist that she could handle that herself. She may be weak and every muscle in her body may have ached, but Sarah would feel even worse if she couldn't even feed herself. So Sarah mustered all the strength she could and did her best to ignore the screaming of her muscles as she ate her sandwich and fries.
All of the attention Chuck was giving her was a bit concerning to Sarah. He may not have been hurt in the crash, other than a couple of minors scrapes which had already healed, but the way he was running himself ragged trying to take care of her, while ignoring his own health had her worried. The only way Sarah could think of get Chuck to take it easy for a while was to ask a favor of him.
The request Sarah made of Chuck was for him to lay in bed with her while she slept. Chuck fought it for a while, asking Sarah if there was anything else he could do for her, but Sarah continued to insist that all she wanted was for him to be next her during her much needed nap. Happy to do anything for Sarah, especially if it involved being near her, Chuck kicked off his shoes and pulled his feet up into the bed. Chuck then waited for Sarah to get comfortable, or at least as comfortable as she could in her current state before getting settled himself.
Shortly after Chuck laid down in the bed Sarah moved over next to him, but not without some effort and a few groans of pain. Even though she was still hot and feverish, Sarah wanted to be near Chuck. He was her only source of comfort during her ordeal. So she was willing to experience a little discomfort to get some comfort.
Despite being a little hot lying next to Chuck's warm body, Sarah was able to rest comfortably knowing that Chuck wasn't running around and trying to do too much to take care of her. She wouldn't get better if she was constantly worried about Chuck, so his resting was good for both of them. Partially to ensure that Chuck stayed in bed and partially due to the will of her subconscious, Sarah draped her arm over Chuck as she drifted off to sleep.
When they woke from their nap Chuck immediately went back to being a nurse and servant for his sick and injured wife. Sarah tried to protest, saying that she didn't any special attention, but she wasn't very convincing. Her skin was pale and clammy. Her voice was weak. She had a number of black-and-blue and purple bruises reaching from her face all the way down to her ankles. She had several cuts and scrapes that extended over that same area, as well as a few deep gashes which had required stitches. The most severe of those gashes was on her neck, where glass from the car window had embedded itself into her skin when it shattered upon impact during the crash.
Sarah didn't have the strength or energy to fight Chuck on taking care of her, so she just had him do as little for her as she could. There were times when she absolutely needed his help though. Having the flu while also trying to recover from a bad car accident had completely sapped all of Sarah's energy and left her too weak to really walk or stand without assistance. So when she wanted to take a shower, which would actually have to be a bath since she didn't have the strength or balance to stand for that long, she had to rely on Chuck's help to get to the bathroom.
Chuck filled the bathtub for Sarah and helped her get into it safely. The warm water felt so good to her aching body and she just wanted to lay there and forget about washing her hair, but her golden locks needed to be washed. So Sarah had to forget about relaxing in the soothing water and instead focus on getting cleaned up. Chuck stayed with Sarah and made sure that she had everything she needed and to make sure that she didn't attempt to get out of the tub on her own because she would almost be guaranteed to fall and that was the last thing she needed. Her body was already weak and battered enough.
After bathing, Chuck insisted that Sarah go back to bed, a decision which she tried to protest because she was so tired of being stuck in bed, first at the hospital and now at home. But when Sarah was ready to collapse after only getting halfway there, the bed started to look very inviting. When they reached the edge of the bed instead of having Sarah expend the energy needed to get into bed, energy which she didn't really have right now, Chuck lifted her into his arms and softly laid her down on top of the sheets.
Convincing her loving husband that she didn't need anything for the time being other than his company, Chuck joined Sarah in the bed and sat next to her. Sitting by his wife, Chuck brushed her freshly shampooed hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He then leaned in and kissed her forehead. The kiss was soft as he tried to convey his feelings for her without touching her lips.
Sarah had deemed her lips off limits because she didn't want him to catch the flu. So Chuck had to settle for her forehead or a cautious kiss on the cheek. Chuck also knew that he shouldn't expect to receive any kisses from Sarah, not even on the forehead. She had told him that she was withholding her kisses until she was no longer in danger of passing her sickness onto him.
Moments after the forehead kiss Sarah was racked another violent coughing spell. When the series of violent coughs had stopped Sarah's eyes were watery. The coughs were just so severe and her body was so sore that she couldn't prevent the watery buildup.
Seeing Sarah's wet eyes Chuck felt so horrible that there wasn't anything he could do to ease his wife's suffering. Knowing how strong Sarah was only made seeing her hurting that much worse. He knew that if Sarah got to the point that she was actually producing tears or releasing whimpers and winces, all of which he had witnessed, that she had to be experiencing unimaginable pain.
The following day Sarah seemed to be feeling just a little bit better and not in quite so much pain. Chuck could tell she was still feeling a great deal of anguish however. So he was still making himself fully available to her and taking care of her every need and want. When he wasn't providing care to Sarah however Chuck was busy with another task.
The wreck that could have easily killed his wife had occurred before Chuck and Sarah got to have their date night, so Chuck was trying to make up for that now, hoping that it would help Sarah feel a little better or at least lift her spirits. All of Chuck's planning and preparations were done in secret so that his surprise could be just that, a surprise.
When evening fell everything was ready for Chuck's make-up date night with Sarah. Sarah was in no condition to travel so Chuck had to plan something special at home. It wouldn't be nearly as fancy as what he had planned for their original date night, but a date night at home did come with the advantage of being a more intimate and private occasion. It would just be the two of them in the privacy of their own home, which would allow them to focus on each other completely without any outside distractions.
Going to the bedroom to retrieve his wife, Chuck helped her slowly walk into the dining room which was all aglow with candles. Beautiful, romantic music was also softly playing. And to try to bring some of that night out experience home, Chuck arranged for a special dinner from the restaurant he had intended to take Sarah to before the accident to be delivered to the house. Chuck had also pulled out all of their fine dinnerware, which up to this point had been unused.
Pulling out Sarah's chair Chuck helped her sit down at the table. To give Sarah a little comfort Chuck had cushioned her chair with pillows so that she wasn't sitting on a hard surface while her body was trying to heal. Once he got Sarah settled and made sure that she was comfortable, or at least as comfortable as she could be with the injuries she sustained in the wreck and having the flu on top of that, Chuck took his own seat.
"Chuck," Sarah said so softly that he almost couldn't hear her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I wanted you to still have your date night, even if we couldn't leave the house."
"I'd rather be alone with you anyway," Sarah replied, managing to give Chuck a little smile in spite of the pain she felt.
It was one of the first smiles Chuck had seen since she was hurt in the wreck and one of the only times where she seemed to be able to forget her pain, if only for a moment. Sarah's smile did wonders to warm Chuck's heart. Over the past few days he had witnessed his wife in so much pain that his heart had nearly shattered. Her smile had just helped heal it a little.
Following their date night dinner Chuck had planned to take Sarah dancing, but now Sarah wasn't strong enough for that, so he had to find a substitute. Because Sarah was still too weak to really be on her feet much Chuck helped her over to the couch and put on a movie they could watch together.
As the movie played Sarah's laid her head in her husband's lap and Chuck gently stroked the side of her face. The flu left Sarah feeling drained and she was unable to stay awake for the whole movie and the soothing way Chuck was stroking her skin allowed her to comfortably fall asleep. When he realized that Sarah had fallen asleep Chuck didn't wait for the end of the movie and cut it off. He then very carefully lifted his wife into his arms and carried her back up to the bedroom and put her in bed.
After putting Sarah in bed, Chuck went back to the dining room to clean up. When the candles were blown out and put back and the dishes were washed and put away and everything was in order again, Chuck returned to the bedroom and climbed into bed next to Sarah. Before laying down to go to sleep himself Chuck kissed his wife's temple, and with his voice barely above a whisper he said, "I love you, Sarah."
Chuck was certain that Sarah was still asleep, but she responded to his 'I love you,' by saying, "Me too."
Sarah's unconscious response to his expression of love brought a smile to Chuck's face, which remained in place as he fell asleep. When Sarah moved closer to him in her sleep and intertwined her legs with his, Chuck's smile grew. It was a blissful night of sleep for Chuck and he hoped the same was true for Sarah.
Throughout the rest of the week and the weeks following, Sarah slowly started to improve. Her flu symptoms started to dissipate and she began to get her strength and energy back. Her cuts and scrapes started to fade away. A week-and-half after the crash, Sarah returned to the hospital to have her stitches removed.
Her life was starting to get back on track and she was smiling and laughing again. Chuck was able to kiss her again and she could kiss him back. The intimacy and passion in their love lives was intensified after Sarah was almost taken away from Chuck in a severe wreck and her long recovery period. They didn't know it yet, but in nine months Chuck and Sarah would have a beautiful little baby born out of that love.
A/N: I hope you liked the story and feel better soon Wep.