Sick Days

Derek realized something was wrong the instant he woke up. Two things in particular stood out: 1) his girlfriend of the last five years was not next to his side in their king sized bed and 2) the sound of vomiting assaulted his ears from the bathroom coming off of his and Chloe's master bedroom.

He jumped out of bed and rushed to the source of the sound, only to see Chloe panting over their toilet. She smiled weakly up at him for a brief moment before returning to her previous actions of emptying what was left in her stomach. Derek made a small noise of sympathy as he hurried to her side to gather back her hair and whisper small words of encouragement. It was rather similar to what Chloe did for him during his Changes, minus the whole turning into a wolf bit, of course.

Derek turned his attention back to his poor girlfriend who seemed to, for the moment, have a brief reprieve from her sickness. Chloe closed the lid and flushed the toilet before grabbing her toothbrush. As she brushed her teeth, she looked up at her boyfriend who was looking down at her with concern flooding his eyes. Looking at Chloe, Derek still saw the most beautiful woman in the world, even with a light sheen of sweat covering her face and eyes that glittered from fever.

"You okay?" He asked, in his traditional blunt but concerned manner, which grew even more concerned when he noticed she was starting to shake. Whether it was from fatigue or from the chills, he was determined to stop it.

"Not really." This was an answer he was expecting. He could tell she was exhausted and after she finished with her teeth, he scooped her up in his arms and took her back to their bed.

"Stay here and try to relax. I'm going to call Jess for you and let her know you won't be in today. I'll be right back." He tucked her in and with a final kiss to her forehead, he swiftly left the room to make his calls.

Chloe closed her eyes, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep without her human wolf by her side, and tried to relax anyway. She drew in a deep breath and let it all out slowly as she sank into the sheets and tried to get comfortable. She was just so cold. Minutes later, she felt a warm body slide in next to her. She snuggled up to the source of heat and let out a relieved sigh. Derek let out a small chuckle before whispering to her, "Baby, I know you don't feel well, but we need to keep you hydrated. I brought some Gatorade up for you. Do you think you can drink just a little?"

With a small nod, she sat up and took the bottle from his hands. Careful not to spill, she took a few sips before handing the bottle back to him to put on their nightstand. Derek picked up a thermometer to take her temperature. "101. That's not good, but it's not terrible. We'll have to keep an eye on it for the next few hours." Noticing her tired eyes, he pulled her to his chest and whispered, "Sleep."

And sleep she did. Until she woke up to a familiar churning in her stomach.

Chloe's eyes flew open and she struggled to untangle herself from the sheets. Her werewolf was awake this time around, and simply pulled her off the bed and carried her to the bathroom himself. The previous routine ensued and Derek carried Chloe back to bed and had her drink some more Gatorade and took her temperature again.

"100. That's an improvement. Maybe in a few hours you can eat a little something." Her drooping eyes tipped him off that she wasn't really paying attention to him. She managed a small nod anyway and pulled herself closer to the space heater she called her boyfriend, drifting to sleep.

When Chloe finally woke up, the sun was setting. She took a quick inventory of how she felt and realized that she felt much better. She attempted to sit up only to find that she was trapped by a hot, heavy arm. Glancing up at the owner of said arm, she was momentarily distracted by his beauty. The strong planes of his face and his soft, thick black hair were mere frames for his stunning green eyes. Green eyes that were now looking back at her. When Derek realized that Chloe was staring at him, he let out a soft chuckle, to which she responded with a blush.

Brushing the hair back from Chloe's face, he gently asked, "How are you feeling?" She gave him a soft smile before saying, "Better. Thank you for taking care of me."

He took her temperature once again and cried out in victory. "Hah! 98.6. Perfect." A wide smile graced his face and widened even more when he saw hers. "This calls for a celebration."

Derek climbed out of bed leaving a stunned Chloe behind. "Wait here, love. I'll be right back." And he continued into their bathroom.

Chloe sat in silent confusion until she heard the water in their bathtub turn on and a new smile spread across her face. She leaned back on the bed until Derek came back for her. She went to stand up when Derek rushed to her side. "No, no, no. I don't want you to stress your body out anymore. You need to stay relaxed." With that, he once again scooped her up into his arms and carried her back into the bathroom.

Candles lit the bathroom in a soothing glow as Derek sat her down gently next to their oversized tub. He helped her undress and quickly undressed himself. Stepping into the bath, Derek helped her into the tub and adjusted them so Chloe leaned against him and he leaned against the tub. She relaxed against his chest with a sigh. "I love you."

"I love you." He replied, placing a kiss on her shoulder. Derek picked up a bath sponge and gently washed the stench of sick off the love of his life. She placed a kiss on his lips and whispered, "Thank you." He simply nodded and kissed her again.

When the bathwater started to turn cold, Derek lifted Chloe out of the water and dried them both off. For the final time, he carried her back to their bed.

He pulled her to his chest once more and kissed her, making her feel more alive than she had all day.

"Hey Derek?"

"Yeah Chloe?"

"Can we do this tomorrow? Minus the sick part."

"Love, I think that is a fantastic idea."

And with that, they slipped into the realm of sleep with hopes and desires of what would come.

A/N: And that's that. Reviews are always appreciated and I'm also thinking about taking suggestions so if you have a story that can be put into a oneshot, let me know.