Disclaimer: They aren't mine.
A/N: As you can see, I suck at titles. I also suck at dialogs, that's why the second part of the fanfic is so much worse than the first sigh I really think it got kinda lame, but well... comments & constructive criticism are more than welcome :D (it's not beta-ed, so the mistakes are all mine. I hope you won't find that many, though xD)
Olive Caught A Cold
Olive Snook's nose wrinkled and her blue eyes grew wide, before she let out a pitiful sneeze. Quickly grabbing one of the tissues from the box she'd wisely placed in front of her, she wiped her nose, hoping that none of the customer had realized that the waitress had a terrible cold. It was probably obvious, even without the sneezing, because when she'd last looked into a mirror, her eyes were red rimmed and her nose bore a remarkable similarity to the strawberries in the pies she served.
With a sigh she put her elbows on the counter, carefully placing her head in her hands. With every sneeze her head seemed to hurt more and as if that wasn't bad enough, her arms and feet felt as if they were made of led.
She had been stupid to come into work today. This was doing her no good, and even though she wore an orange cardigan over her green waitress-dress, there were still chills running up and down her spine. As soon as she'd entered the Pie Hole, though, the Pie Maker and Chuck had left the café in a hurry, telling her something about a case and Emerson Cod. Olive, in her haze, had not been able to make any real sense of the words, but by now she had grown used to neither Ned nor Chuck telling her much about what they were doing outside of the Pie Hole.
Without a second look at the petite waitress, they had left Olive alone to guard café. Saying that she was feeling miserable seemed like an understatement, she thought with self pity as she let her glance wander over the few guests. It wasn't any wonder there were only three or four of them, after all it was still raining cats and dogs outside.
That was how she'd gotten the cold in the first place, Olive thought, sending a dark look at the weather outside. Why did it have to start raining – no pouring – when she had just left the grocery store? With nothing to shield her from the rain, of course. She had tried to run, but that turned out to be not such a great idea after all, since she wore high heels and had a bag full of stuff in her arms.
The eight minutes it had taken her to reach the building in which the Pie Hole as well as her own apartment could be found, seemed to have been by far enough to make her sick.
Olive closed her eyes with a sigh, trying to block out all the noise in the room, but it wouldn't quite work and the buzz that was annoying her the most was in her head anyway. Feeling another sneeze coming, she reached for the Kleenex box again, muffling the sound with a tissue.
It was time the others came home, Olive thought, blinking a few times against the slight blur that had settled in her eyes. She had stopped trying to be her usual cheerful self an hour ago (and two hours after she'd started her shift), because it was simply too exhausting. The customers now were lucky to receive a half hearted smile and an excusing look with their pie, but she'd seen most of them before and hoped they wouldn't take her for a reason to not come to the Pie Hole again. She didn't mean to scare the customers away, but it was too great an effort to be even half as sunny as usual. At least she hadn't sneezed onto any of the pies...
Not even Digby was here to encourage her or at least to keep her company. They had decided to take him with them, of course.
At the thought of Ned, Chuck and Emerson, Olive's glance wandered to the door again, her look quite longing, but they were nowhere in sigh. Another sigh escaped the blonde's lips as she turned around and decided to make herself another cup of tea. She didn't feel like the other four had helped a lot, but at least tea would be hot.
She zoomed out again, staring at the pot, waiting for the water to start boiling. Today it wasn't even a day-dream or a fantasy, she just stood there with an empty look on her face until the sound of Chuck's well known voice made her snap out of it.
„We're back!" The brunette announced cheerfully and Olive had never felt so happy to see her before when she turned around to greet them. She had to look horrible, for Chuck's face fell the instance she caught sight of Olive's.
„Oh Olive, why didn't you tell us you're not well?" she exclaimed, hurrying over to the blonde and placing a hand on her forehead as soon as she was close enough.
„You're burning up, Olive! You'd better get into bed! How can you even stand up?"
The waitress shrugged. „I don't know..." Her voice trailed off and all of the sudden she felt dizzy. For a second, everything went dark and Olive was sure she would've fallen, if it wasn't for Ned's grip around her shoulders.
„You really should have said something... We could've changed our plans and one of us would've stayed here." Ned said, agreeing with Chuck.
Olive would've loved the worry in his voice if she had been any better, but as it was, the only thing that was on her mind at the moment was her bed – and sleep.
„I'll see that she gets upstairs safely." Chuck reached for Olive's arm with a caring smile on her face. „Come on, the faster you're in your bed, the better." she told her and the two of them made their way out of the café.
After Chuck had tucked Olive safely into bed, she left the petite blonde's apartment with a feeling of remorse. She shouldn't have gone with Ned and Emerson in the first place, when it was so clearly visible that Olive wasn't feeling well... On her way back to the Pie Hole, she tried to think of something to make it up to the waitress, and not just to relieve her consciousness.
Olive had fallen asleep the moment her head had hit the pillow. Her sleep had been anything but peaceful and she had gotten up again a few times, though more asleep than awake.
Woken by a soft knock on her door, she stumbled out of her bed and made her way to the apartment's door, opening it without bothering to look through her peep-hole. Stifling a yawn, she stared at Chuck for a moment, surprise written in her bright blue eyes, before she opened the door further and greeted her brunette neighbor with a weak „Hey".
„I brought you food... and Digby." Chuck said with a warm smile on her lips, looking at Olive and trying to detect any signs about the blonde's state of health. Though she was still pale and missing her usual perkiness, the waitress definitely seemed to be better.
As soon as the Golden Retriever had entered the apartment, he walked up to Olive and gave her a soft nudge at which she smiled. While she softly talked to the dog, Chuck set the large basket she had brought with her on the small table.
„You look a lot better now." she said as she turned around and smiled at the interaction between Digby and the blonde. „Are you up to eating? Because I brought pie... and ice cream... oh, and I think there's also something healthy in here. Noodle soup?" Chuck smirked while throwing a glance at the content of the basket.
„Hmm... I guess I could eat. I'd never say no to pie." Olive replied with a soft giggle as she turned to face Chuck again, after petting Digby for a while. „And thanks... I feel better, too. How long have I slept anyway?" the blonde's glance wandered around the room, although she knew exactly that there was no clock in sight.
„Quite some time. Looks like you needed it, though." Chuck replied, a smile still playing on her lips. „So pie it is." Without any hesitation, the brunette grabbed the basket and disappeared in the kitchen, leaving Olive and Digby alone. The waitress' glance stayed where Chuck had gone for a while, before she turned her attention to the dog who gladly accepted any caress she gave him.
She was still wondering about Chuck's behavior. It felt good, but Olive wanted to know the reason. It couldn't only have been a guilty feeling for leaving her alone when she was sick, could it? They were slowly becoming friends, but still the blonde hadn't expected something like this.
With a slight shake of head, she fallowed Chuck into the kitchen, asking if she could help anything.
„Not at all. You should go and lie down or something. It's not like you're perfectly healthy again and your body needs the rest." Was the rather stern reply. „I'm sure I'll find everything I need." Chuck added with a smile.
Even more confused, Olive went back to her bedroom (fallowed by Digby) and sat down on her bed, only to be joined by the dog. She cuddled him for a moment, but then most of her attention was fixed on the door, waiting for Chuck to return.
When the brunette finally did return, she held a tray in her hands that Olive hadn't seen in years. On it there wasn't only a piece of rhubarb pie, but also a cup of tea, an apple cut into pieces and a glas of water. Chuck set the tray down in front of Olive and sat down next to her.
„I hope your stomach will be ok with that." she said, stealing a piece of apple from Olive's plate before leaning back and waiting for the blonde to start eating.
„Oh, my stomach has been ok with worse." Olive replied with a grin on her lips, before picking up a piece of pie with her fork. After she had enjoyed the taste of her favorite pie long enough, she swallowed the pie and decided to finally ask the question that had been on her mind ever since Chuck had entered her apartment.
„What you've done is so sweet... but why?"
Chuck answered with a bright smile, after reaching for another piece of apple. „Because I think you deserve it."
The End