A/N: Madhouse is out in some places, but not my place, so I write fanfiction whilst sitting by the window, yearning for the call from my bookstore, saying that it's in. Or something like that. Anyway, here we go. Warning: Uh...having read at least Nightlife is kind of a prerequisite for reading this. I mean, go ahead and forge on if you want, but you might be lost if you have yet to step into Rob Thurman's wonderland. (And also, if that's the case, go read the books. You won't regret it.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Nightlife or any of the Cal Leandros books, which are the sole property of our queen, Rob Thurman.

I don't get sick. Despite what Niko says about my nutritional habits, I don't get sick. Something about the combination of supernatural blood and Niko shoving vitamins down my throat has given me an immunity to all illnesses. Until now, that is.

Now, I was laying in bed at three in the afternoon, which is a little late, even for me, moaning to myself about how awful I felt. It was my day off, thanks to my lucky stars, and Niko had left before I woke up to go to the dojo he now worked at. He hadn't been home all day, and probably wouldn't be for a few more hours, so I was left to fend for myself. Fending for myself pretty much consisted of trying to decide whether or not getting up to find the phone to order food would be worth it. In the end, realizing that that plan would require me to get up a second time to answer the door and pay for the food, I decided I could wait for Niko. He wouldn't let me have anything that didn't bear a resemblance to grass, but I didn't care too much at that point. Food was food, and Nik loves me enough not to take advantage of my weakened state to force too much vegan hippie crap on me. Maybe.

I was feeling feverish, and my skin was clammy, and I was freezing, so I curled into a fetal position and tried to fall asleep. I kept coughing, and my throat was killing me, but again, retrieving water or cough syrup would require getting up. I couldn't wait for Niko to get home. However, that didn't happen until five. Having been unable to fall back asleep, I had my ears trained on the door, trying to pick up any sounds of movement. When I heard keys being inserted into locks, I relaxed and scooted deeper under the blankets. It occurred to me that I was only assuming it was Nik at the door, and that he would disapprove of me not being prepared to fight off a slimy swamp monster, but the thought only lasted for a second because the door opened and my nostrils picked up on the familiar scent of my brother. The door to my bedroom wasn't closed all the way, and I could hear him dropping his keys onto the table and taking off his shoes.

"Cal?" he called out.

I didn't answer. I opened my mouth, but that only irritated my throat further, and I decided to just let him come to me. Sure enough, within seconds he was poking his head into my room. "Cal," he said, his voice exasperated. "You are still in bed? Please tell me you haven't been there all day."

I lifted the blanket from my head and peeked out at him. "I think I'm sick," I rasped out.

"I think you're lazy. Since when do you get sick?" he asked, flipping on the light.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the brightness. "I'm not kidding, Nik. I feel like crap on toast." I accentuated this with a small coughing fit that had Niko moving closer to my bed and sitting down on the edge. He brought his hand to rest on my forehead. It felt cold, and I leaned in to the touch. Niko frowned and pushed back my hair.

"You do feel warm…" he said reluctantly. "You look rather awful, too." He drummed his fingers against his thigh. "I must say, this is unexpected. I can't remember the last time you were sick."

I nodded. "It's cold."

Niko stared at me for a moment. He seemed like he was unsure of what to do, which is something I'd rarely seen in him before. "Nik?"

He shook his head. "I'll go find a thermometer, then. Do you want anything?"

"Water," I said in a small voice. "Please," I added, feeling truly pathetic.

The corner of Niko's mouth turned upwards slightly and he ran a hand over my hair. "Sure. I'll be right back."

He left, and I curled myself back under the blanket, coughing a little. I let my eyes close, knowing I wouldn't fall asleep, and waited for Nik to get back. When he did he was carrying a plate that held a thermometer, water, various pills, and a cup of tea. Or at least, I think it was tea. It probably was once upon a time before Niko added all sorts of weeds and dirt and grasshoppers to it. Maybe not grasshoppers, but still. It smelled awful. He handed me some of the pills—I didn't bother asking what they were—and the water. I dutifully swallowed them, and allowed Niko to place the thermometer under my tongue.

"'oo know, thwey 'ave disital oons now," I said around the thermometer.

Niko glared a little and snatched it back. "What?"

"I said, 'you know they have digital ones now'. Because they do. You just stick it in your ear and then it beeps and you're done," I said hoarsely.

"Unnecessary amenity," he said. "Now we get to start all over."

I held up a finger and gulped down some water before I let him put it back in my mouth. My throat was killing me. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the pillows. It really was cold, and I must have shivered, because Niko left and came back with the blanket from his bed and covered me with it. I smirked at this, because he was literally tucking me in, super ninja that he was.

Nik sat and stared at me for remaining two minutes that it took to be able to read my temperature, then removed the thermometer. Holding it up to read it, he frowned again.

"What's it say?" I asked.

"That you have a fever."

"Maybe I don't. I could have a different 'normal' body temperature than you."

"That's a valid point. Moot, for the moment, since we don't know, but we can find out later once you're well again."

I nodded, and he handed me the cup of tea. I made a face. "I don't want to," I stated.

Niko merely raised an eyebrow. I took the cup. "It's good for you," he said in what I'm sure he thought was an encouraging tone. Fighting off the urge to plug my nose, I took a drink. It tasted vile, but it actually soothed my throat a little, so I gagged the rest of it down.

"There's a good boy," Niko said.

I waved him off and settled back against the pillows.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked.

I shook my head and watched him get up. I guess he was going to leave me alone for a while. He left, and the room felt lonely. I barely had time to sigh, however, before he was back. Mythology book in hand, he sat down on my bed again. Situating himself against the foot of the bed and stretching his legs out to rest beside me, he opened the book.

"I think that this is an opportune time to learn, and I don't think you should miss it," he said. I groaned. He was trying to kill me. "Now, we're going to start at the beginning, with the Greeks. With Chronos, the god of time." Niko had taken on his teacher's voice, and it was scaring me. "Chronos was the father of Zeus, along with several other children, but it was Zeus who really changed things around." Niko droned on and on and on and on and on about Chronos eating his children and being imprisoned, etc. etc., and Zeus coming to power, etc. etc. He didn't stop until he finished the chapter about Prometheus. By that time I was mostly asleep, which may or may not have been Nik's original intention.

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TBC