Steve groaned as he slumped back into his bed, after hurling into the trash can for what seemed like the hundredth time. He could hear the party still going on downstairs, and would much rather be a part of that than being on his own. But Danny frogmarched him up the stairs, got him out of his sweaty clothes and into his bed after seeing him dash to the bathroom four times in an hour.
All Steve wanted to do was sleep. But as soon as he was close to drifting off, a wave of nausea would hit him with full force and any ideas of sleep would go out the window. He'd stopped actually bringing anything up about an hour ago, and hoped that would mean the end of it. But alas, luck wasn't on Steve's side.
Flipping the pillow over, Steve relaxed into the cool (and dry) fabric and closed his eyes. He wasn't surprised when his thoughts instantly went to Danny - after all, Steve could still hear his voice as he talked with everyone downstairs. But truth be told, Danny was never far from his thoughts. The loudmouth Jersey native was always the first thing that Steve thought of when he woke, and the last thing before he went to sleep. If this was high school he'd be doodling 'SM 4 DW' surrounded by little hearts in his notepad and daydreaming about their wedding day.
Well… at least Steve wasn't doodling in his notepad. But he had a habit of imagining what it would be like if he and Danny were together, living in his home and raising Danny's children. Steve knew he had it bad when, one morning, he went to his office to fill in some paperwork on their latest case, but instead starting imagining different scenarios in which he'd confess his feelings to Danny. Next thing he knew, four hours had passed and he'd written nothing.
Steve sighed in relief as he realised that finally, the nausea had stopped, and soon afterwards he fell into a fitful sleep.
As everyone was leaving the party, Danny wanted to go upstairs to check on Steve. He made it halfway up the stairs before realising that he could hear faint snores coming from the direction of Steve's bedroom. Danny went back downstairs and busied himself with tidying up, cramming all the leftover food in the fridge and getting Charlie ready for bed, letting Steve get some much needed rest.
"But I'm not tired, Dannooo," Charlie whined as Danny carried him up the stairs.
"Too bad, buddy, it's way past your bedtime and I need you on your best behaviour tomorrow. Uncle Steve's not feeling too good and needs Danno to take care of him." Danny explained.
As if on cue, a groan could be heard from Steve's room, and Danny cringed as the tell-tale sounds of vomiting soon followed. He quickly settled Charlie down in the spare room (so much for not being tired, Danny thought) before heading for Steve's room. Danny came in just as Steve sagged onto his front, one arm hanging over the edge of the bed.
"Hey, babe,'' Danny whispered, pulling the door to behind him as he approached the bed. "Still being sick?"
"It had… stopped a little while ago." Steve breathed deeply, smiling faintly when Danny knelt on the floor by his head. "Until now."
Suddenly Steve's eyes went wide and shook his head at Danny, who instantly understood and shoved the trash can under his face. Danny looked away as Steve hung his head over the side of the bed and retched; crime scenes were one thing but he was never good when loved ones were sick.
Being this close, Danny could see that Steve looked ten times worse than when he sent him off to bed. When Steve had finished and resumed his previous position, Danny went and grabbed the thermometer from Steve's medicine cupboard in the bathroom, before coming back and sticking it in the man's ear without warning. Steve grimaced at the sudden intrusion and tried to move his head away, but Danny held him still with his free hand until the small machine bleeped.
"Damn." Danny muttered, the small screen blinking 102.7°F with an exclamation mark.
"Whasitsay?" Steve mumbled, and blearily opened his eyes so that Danny could show him the screen. "Shit."
"Definitely." Danny nodded. He set the machine aside and went back into the bathroom, coming back with a bowl of water and a washcloth. "You're gonna hate me, but please let me do this. It might help to lower it."
Steve glared at him. At least he would have, if he could open his eyes. Instead he merely grunted his acceptance and let Danny strip and wash his upper half, the cold water feeling like heaven on his flushed skin. Steve opened his eyes as Danny came back from disposing of his supplies to kneel back by his head, and smiled as he took Steve's outstretched hand.
"I meant what I said earlier, y'know." Steve grumbled, eyes half open.
"Which part, babe?" Danny reached up and toyed with Steve's damp hair, and chuckled when his motions caused the brunette to let out a throaty moan.
"... I love you."
Danny frowned. "I love you too."
Steve sighed in frustration, and shook his head into his pillow. "No, I mean that I really love you, Danno. More than-"
Danny rolled his eyes as he leant forward and cut Steve off by kissing his clammy face. "And I really love you too, you idiot." He said, taking great pleasure in watching the look on Steve's face grow into something Danny guessed was a mixture of relief and amazement. "I'm still pissed that you kept this from me, Steve, but all I care about right now is you, and making sure that you're alright."
Steve's tongue darted out to wet his lips as he mulled over the one question he'd longed to ask the man in front of him. "Stay here with me?"
"What a stupid question. Of course I will, babe." Danny pressed a chaste kiss to Steve's lips before getting to his feet. While Danny went to get some of his spare clothes from the closet, Steve grabbed the bottle of mouthwash he'd left on the side earlier, swirling some around his mouth before spitting it in the nearby trash can. He felt a bit more human now that his mouth didn't taste like something had died in it.
Steve felt his skin prickle with excitement as he felt the bed dip behind him, and rolled over to smile at Danny. His eyes didn't quite know where to focus and his heart was racing as he latched on to the front of Danny's shirt.
The first press of lips took Steve by surprise and he gasped, which Danny took as an invitation to slip his tongue into the other man's mouth while his hand slid up to the back of Steve's neck.
Steve gave as good as he got, and soon the kiss turned from slow to passionate. Until he had to break away as he didn't think Danny would appreciate him yawning loudly into his mouth.
"Sorry," Steve brought a hand up to scrub his face. "Probably not what you wanted to happen."
"No, but honestly I'm amazed that you're still awake. Besides, it's not like we can't try again when you're feeling better." Danny took Steve's hand away and nuzzled his face, pressing soft kisses on his still-clammy skin.
"I'm scared, Danno." Steve suddenly whispered, squeezing Danny's hand that still held his. "What if this is what gets me? What if-"
"Hey, look at me, Steve. It's gonna be alright." Danny pulled away to stare into those green eyes that were brimming with tears. "Trust me."
"I told you about the chef's hat in case I didn't make the jump… but I gave it to you now… in case I'm not there to give it to you when the time comes." Steve said, pausing to yawn again.
Danny could see that the fatigue and need for sleep was about to win its battle against Steve. "You're gonna be there, babe, you hear me? You're gonna drive me batshit crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
Steve smiled and nodded, before finally giving in and closing his eyes. "Love you, Danno." He mumbled, but with a strong conviction in his voice that belied how worn out he was. "Love you so much, and your kids… my world." Steve sighed, and then as if a switch and been flicked, he was out.
Danny wiped away a stray tear from his face as he settled under the covers, Steve so close that Danny could feel his soft puffs of breath on his cheek as he slept.
When Danny woke, the first thing he realised was that the house was quiet. Checking the time, he knew that by now Charlie was normally up and either watching cartoons or playing with his vast collection of toys while Danny was on his second coffee of the morning. Panic set in, but that instantly faded as he turned over and saw his son asleep on Steve's chest, face nestled in the man's neck.
The sight of Steve (who Danny could tell hadn't slept well, but that was a discussion for later) cradling Charlie, who rose and fall with each breath Steve took, would stay with him for a long time. Danny was loath to leave them, but someone needed to get breakfast underway.
Steve picked at his breakfast, blaming tiredness and the fear of being sick again. Danny could see his point and wasn't surprised when, apart from a very brisk shower, Steve remained in bed. He slept until sometime after lunch, and when he woke to see Danny propped up against the headboard next to him Steve broke into a grin.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Danny exclaimed when he realised that Steve was awake, "How you feeling?"
Steve answered by rolling onto his back with a groan, lifting his hips up and stretching his body from head to toe, making a satisfied noise when he slumped back down. "Better than I was, but still… like shit, I guess. Like flu." He said, voice still hoarse.
"Anything I can do, babe?" Danny shuffled down enough to rub circles on Steve's chest while he checked his temperature, sighing when the numbers flashed onto the thermometer screen. "100°F. Well… least it's gone down, I guess."
"Doc said infections are a side effect," Steve mumbled as he briefly leant over and took a sip from a nearby glass of water. "Where's Charlie?"
"He went to get you something just before you woke up," Danny said. "Why, missing your cuddle buddy?"
A mixture of embarrassment and fear flashed across Steve's face at that comment, but before he could reply Danny had leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a brief but passionate kiss.
"Don't you dare apologise, and yes I know that's what you were gonna say," Danny smirked at Steve's sheepish look, one hand still on his neck. "Waking up to that image was priceless."
"Uncle Steve!"
Both men turned to look as Charlie bounded into the room and climbed up onto the bed carrying a little plastic box.
"Hey Charlie, whatcha got there?" Steve nodded at the box that Charlie placed next to him.
"Danno said you were sick, so I got my doctor's kit!" Charlie said, opening the tub and dumping its contents onto the bed.
Danny watched in amusement as his son 'examined' a suspiciously quiet Steve with his plastic stethoscope, climbing all over him to do so, before whispering something in his ear.
"Where's it hurt?" Charlie said after a nod from Danny. Steve briefly gave his partner a look before turning back to his 'Doctor'.
"All over, buddy." Steve answered truthfully, a sad smile on his face.
"Oh," Charlie held up the two band aids that were in the kit and frowned at them. "I don't have enough to make you better…"
Slowly, Steve levered himself upright until his back was against the headboard. He paused for a second to let his body get used to being vertical again before looking down at Charlie, and was fairly sure that he saw his bottom lip twitch.
"It's okay, buddy. Uncle Steve's just got a really nasty bug. It'll go soon." Steve reassured him (along with himself, if he was being honest). "I just need to rest for a bit."
"And eat and drink."
"Yes, and eat and drink. Thank you, nurse," Steve rolled his eyes at Danny's shocked expression. "I'm sure Doctor Charlie knows what he's doing."
"Hey, how come he's a doctor and I'm the nurse?!"
"'Cause I have the stef-scope, Danno!" Charlie said, brandishing the toy. Steve nodded and pointed at it, as if to say see? Doctor.