Hey everyone, I just realized that there are almost no fanfics about Jack and Lisa out there which is a shame! I had a couple of scenes I wish we would have seen on screen and a couple of ideas for storylines based on scenes we DID get to see. First one is one of the ideas I got when I was watching season 8 episode 13 again :). I hope you'll enjoy it, it's a little fluffy and easy oneshot (I could add one more chapter to continue the "chickenpox-storyline" if you'd like me to).
If you have anything you would like me to write just let me know!
"Peep, peep, peep, peep, peep", Lisa's alarm kept buzzing unceasingly. "Urgh", Lisa grunted, not ready for the night to end. She pressed the snooze button and snuggled up in her cozy sheets. Even before she swung her legs over the side of the bed she knew that today wasn't going to be a very good day. Her legs were heavy, her body aching. Please don't let it be the flu, Lisa thought and then dragged herself to the bathroom to take a long hot shower. Afterwards she drank an extra cup of coffee, hoping it would give her some of her energy back. She spent the nights at Heartland quiet often since she got married to Jack and usually missed the busy mornings when she slept at Fairfield. But that morning Lisa was glad she had some peace and quiet before she had to start the day. She kept instilling herself coffee and diet coke to get through the day and was relieved when the flower shop confirmed her order for Amy's wedding bouquets because that meant that she could finally drive over to Jack. He always knew a way to cheer her up.
She found him in the barn, giving Paint a brush. "Hey cowboy", Lisa smiled weakly as she saw her husband.
"Hey there", Jack greeted her and placed a kiss on her cheek. "You're hot", he exclaimed. Lisa chuckled gently: "Thank you, Gentlemen."
"I mean figuratively hot. As in feverish hot – are you feeling OK?" Jack asked concerned. "
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit under the weather", Lisa answered and smiled reassuring. "Well, you should get some rest", Jack said. He put away the brushes while Lisa sat down on a couple of hay balls that were near enough to Paint so that she could gently stroke his nose.
"So, how was your day?" Lisa asked Jack.
"Better than yours, I suppose", Jack laughed. "Charming", Lisa smiled sarcastically. Jack leaned forward to place another kiss on Lisa's lips and then said: "I really think you should lay down on the couch for a bit. You look beat! I'll only have to feed the horses and then I'll be with you."
"How can I say no to that", Lisa agreed. As soon as she got up for a split second everything went black before she could see clear again. She held on to the wall until she steadied herself. "Lisa, are you sure you're OK?" Jack rushed to her side as soon as he noticed Lisa becoming unbalanced.
"Yeah", Lisa answered slowly, "just got up a bit too fast." She sighted and then said: "I'm good now. You go, feed the horses, I'll lay down." Now Jack knew for sure that Lisa had to feel pretty bad – otherwise she never would have agreed to get some rest before dinner. He was glad when he saw her walking towards the house though and concentrated on the horses.
As soon as Lisa got into the house she knew that she wouldn't find a second of peace if she would lay down in the living room. Katie was laughing hysterically at a story Georgie was telling her, Lou and Peter were discussing their issues in the kitchen and Ty and Amy were sitting at the dining table, trying to make a couple of decisions about their wedding.
"Hey everyone", Lisa greeted the family and got a couple of "Heys" back but was relieved when no one noticed her disappearing in Jack's bedroom.
"What a day", she sighted and was asleep almost before she got the shoes off her feet.
A little later Jack walked into his crowded house and wondered where his wife went. "Hey Grandpa, dinner is almost ready", Lou greeted him.
"Have you seen Lisa?" Jack asked.
"Um, yeah, she got home maybe half an hour ago. I don't know where she's now, though", Lou answered while handing Georgie a couple of napkins that she was supposed to place on the table. "Dinner, everyone", Lou called through the house but instead of sitting down at the table Jack made his way to his bedroom where he found Lisa lying in his bed. He sat down on the side of the bed and watched her sleeping for a while. Lisa's face was as pale as the sheets, cold sweat covered her forehead. After a couple of moments Lisa woke up with the feeling that someone was watching her and found her husband staring at her. "How long have you been sitting there?" she chuckled weakly.
"For a minute maybe. You want some dinner?" Jack asked.
"Ugh, no thank you."
"'kay. Let's get you out of those clothes though", Jack suggested, noticing that Lisa was still wearing her pencil skirt and blazer. Lisa sat up and even though it made her feel a little like a child she accepted Jack's help when he handed her one of his T-Shirts. "Looks like you got hit by the flu, hm?" Jack remarked when Lisa was just about to drift off to sleep again.
"I'll be better tomorrow", Lisa whispered. Jack doubted it when he kissed his wife on the forehead before he got her some water. By the time he placed the water bottle on the nightstand Lisa was already asleep again. Jack joined the rest of the family for dinner.
"Where's Lisa?" Amy asked Jack when he sat down, "she was here a couple of minutes ago, wasn't she?"
"Yeah, she's feeling a bit under the weather, she's sleeping right now", Jack explained.
"Oh no, does she need anything?" Lou asked concerned. "No, just some sleep", Jack smiled. Even though Lou and Lisa have differences every once in a while Jack knew they cared a lot about each other.
Lisa slept through the night but when she woke up the next morning her body was still as heavy and aching as the day before. She got out of bed anyway and dragged herself under the shower to wash off the dried sweat the feverish night has caused. Jack was already out as usual and when Lisa walked into the kitchen to grab a drink Lou and Katie were the only ones still sitting at the kitchen table.
"Good morning", Lisa said. "Hey Lisa, how are you feeling?" Lou asked even though she could tell from her pale face that she couldn't be feeling too good. "Oh, I'm fine", Lisa smiled, "just a cold."
"Well, you look like you should spend the day in bed anyhow", Lou remarked, "Why don't you stay here? I can guarantee that Katie and I will nurse you back to health in no time, right Katie?"
"Yeah, in no time", Katie nodded very seriously. Lisa laughed: "That's hard to decline but I have a couple of potential customers coming to look at some horses at Fairfield in an hour. I better get there to see if everything is prepared."
"The offer persists", Lou smiled. Lisa was just as stubborn as her Grandpa when it came to these things. "Have a good day, you two", Lisa stroke Katie's hair and then grabbed her keys. "You too. And get better soon!"
At Fairfield the staff had already prepared everything for the clients so Lisa decided to get some paper work done in her office from where she could overview most of Fairfield through the window. Her head was throbbing even though she had already taken some ibuprofen and she was freezing despite the layers of pullovers she was wearing. At that point Lisa knew that Lou had been right and that she probably should have stayed in bed. But it was too late for that anyway so she could just as well get some work done. instead of concentrating on her work Lisa stared outside the window for a while, watching a couple of horses grazing, her staff brushing two horses, a dog chasing a cat across the fields. Before she knew it she fell asleep with her head resting on the table until a very familiar voice woke her up: "Here you are!" Lisa lifted her head and saw her husband standing in the doorframe of her office.
"Jack! What are you doing here?" Lisa asked while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I was surprised when you weren't at home anymore when I got back from letting the horses out and got worried when you didn't answer your phone. You were pretty beat last night."
Lisa got her phone out of her purse and realized that Jack had called her four times. "Sorry, I must have turned the sound off last night." Jack walked towards her and leaned against her desk: "Are you feeling any better?" "Yeah, thanks", Lisa lied and Jack knew it right away. "You don't have to lie to me", he said gently and kneeled down so that he was face to face with his wife. "Lisa, look at you – you are shaking! You need to get back to bed!"
"I can't, I have –", Lisa argued but Jack stopped her in the middle of the sentence: "I'm not taking no for an answer." He gently forced her out of the chair and stabilized her when he realized that she was a bit weak on her feet. He looked at her concerned and then noticed a nasty rash on her collarbone. "What's that?" he asked while carefully inspecting the red marks on Lisa's skin, "does that hurt?"
"What do you mean?" Lisa asked confused and looked down at herself, "oh. I haven't noticed that. No, it doesn't hurt."
"Lisa, did you have the chickenpox when you were a child?"
"Uhm... Yeah, I think so, why?"
"Because I think Georgie might have passed them onto you", Jack answered.
"Oh no", Lisa moaned, "please not!"
"Come on, let's get you to bed and I'll get the doctor to take a look."
"I can't believe it", Lisa groaned, "I'm sure I had them as a child."
Minutes later Lisa was settled in her bed, sweating and freezing in turns while waiting for the doctor. "You really don't have to stay here with me", Lisa whispered. Jack was sitting next to her on the bed, reading that days newspapers. "I know. But I'll stay", he remarked. Finally the doorbell rang (which was a sound Jack hasn't heard since years) and a little later the doctor confirmed Jack's suspicion. Lisa had the chickenpox! He left something against the fever and the rash and when Jack led him to the door he said: "Chickenpox are much more dangerous for adults than they are for kids. Don't let her out of your eyes, Jack. If she's becoming weaker or drowsier, if the fever won't go down despite of the paracetamol, if she's having trouble breathing: Call me right away! She needs to drink plenty even though she's not feeling like it, don't let her a choice."
"I'll watch her like a hawk. Thank you for coming so quick", Jack shook the befriended doctor's hand and then got back to the bedroom with a fresh water bottle.
"I can't believe I have the chickenpox, Jack", Lisa said quietly while Jack drew the curtains together. "Quite frankly: Me neither", Jack chuckled, "but we'll get you back on your feet in no time. Get some rest now, I'll be in the living room if there's anything you need, just call me."
"Hmm", Lisa, whispered, "thank you, Jack", before she drifted off to sleep.
Jack sat down in Lisa's tastefully decorated living room and called Lou.
"Oh no, poor Lisa", Lou sighted when she heard the news, "is there anything we can do?"
"No, thank you, honey. I'll just stay here with her for the next couple of days or so, so don't expect me back tonight."
"Of course," Lou answered but then asked, "why don't you take her to Heartland? We can all keep an eye on her here."
"Yeah, that's what I thought at first, too. But she's really not feeling that well and with all of us rushing through the house all day – I think she'll get more rest here. At least for now."
"Ok. Should I bring you some clothes?" Lou asked.
"That would be great!" Jack answered. Lisa had taken over parts of his closet at Heartland because she spends most of the nights with Jack when she's not in France but since they were rarely at Fairfield together Jack had next to nothing stored at her place.
The day passed and Lisa spent most hours sleeping. As soon as the drugs eased off the fever rose again and Lisa was tossing and turning in bed. Jack was infusing her as much water as possible and unsure whether or not her state of health was already concerning or not. Jack laid another blanked over the shivering Lisa when Lou knocked gently on the bedroom's door.
"Hey Grandpa", she whispered, "I got your clothes." "Thank you, sweetheart", Jack whispered back and took the bag out of her hands.
"How's she doing?" Lou asked in her normal voice as soon as Jack closed the door behind them. "I don't know. I called Jon earlier and he said that I should keep an eye on her because apparently chickenpox aren't as easy going for adults as they are for kids. I'm not sure if she's just having the normal symptoms of chickenpox now or if I should already be concerned", Jack confessed.
Lou, as an experienced mother of two daughters that got sick every once in a while, entered Lisa's bedroom again. Lisa was still sleeping uneasily. The rash had started to spread and even in her sleep Lisa was scratching her arms. Seems like it caught her hard, Lou thought, feeling bad because Lisa obviously got sick because she took care of Georgie the week before when Lou was away. Georgie still had red marks on her skin all over her body so Lou knew that Lisa was just at the beginning of the illness. She opened a window to let some fresh air in and felt Lisa's forehead for a moment. When Jack walked into the room she asked: "Can she take another paracetamol? She burning up."
"Yeah, it's been long enough since she took the first one."
Jack gently woke his wife up. "Hm?" Lisa "asked", forcing her eyes to open. Then she saw the pill in Jack's hand and knew why he woke her up. She thankfully took the medicine and the water. "How are you feeling?" Lou asked. Lisa didn't even wonder what her husband's granddaughter was doing in her bedroom. "A bit drowsy maybe", Lisa mumbled and leaned back again. "Are you warm enough?" Jack asked.
"I'm melting", Lisa smiled weak. She was buried under layers and layers of blankets that kept her warm when she was freezing but felt like they were smothering her as soon as she started to feel hot again. Lou opened another window and refilled the water glass. "I have to get back to Heartland to feed the rest of the pack but you call me as soon as you need anything, ok?" Lou asked. "Thank you, Lou", Lisa said. "Don't mention it!"
"Thank you for coming by", Jack thanked his granddaughter when he came along with her to her car. "Of course. Lisa is family, even though it may not seem like I feel that way sometimes", Lou smiled. "Drive safely," Jack said, touched by Lou's words. Then he warmed up the soup Lou brought for Lisa and made himself a sandwich. He scanned the kitchen for a tablet until he finally found one. When he got to the bedroom Lisa was still awake with her phone in her hands. "Lisa, you are supposed to rest!" Jack scolded her, glad that the pills were kicking in though. "I am resting", Lisa defended herself, pointing at herself in the bed, "I am in bed at 6pm!" "That indeed IS very unusual for you", Jack laughed, "here, Lou brought some soup over."
"Oh, she's such a sweetheart!" Lisa exclaimed and took the bowl out of Jack's hands. She didn't feel like eating at all but Jack looked so sweet with the tablet in his hands that she couldn't say no.
"Thank you", she said and forced a bit of the soup down. Jack sat down at one of the armchairs that stood close to the bed and rested his feet on the bed. "Do you need me to cancel you meetings for the next days?" he asked, remembering that Lisa was on her phone when he walked in.
"I just wrote an E-Mail to my assistant, she'll deal with it. Thank you, though."
"Wow, you must feel really bad if you cancel your schedule voluntary!"
Lisa chuckled while she placed the bowl on her nightstand: "Have you looked at me lately? I look like a swarm of mosquitos tried to eat me. I don't think I'll leave the house for the next couple of weeks", Lisa joked. "You look just as beautiful as always", Jack countered. "Liar!"
"Well, to me, you do. Though you are outshining Georgie's rash."
"You always know how to make me feel better", Lisa joked and then yawned. "You get some sleep", Jack laughed and stood up in order to collect the dishes. He noticed that Lisa hardly ate anything but didn't mention it. It was obvious that she felt badly enough already. By the time he got back with a cup of tea Lisa was asleep already and Jack decided to watch some TV before he went to bed too.
