Ryan rubbed at his eyes, and tried to ignore the headache that throbbed slightly at the base of his skull. His eyes ached as he tried to force them to focus on the computer screen as the small black letters danced in front of his eyes. It was nearly 2am and he knew he should probably go to bed, but he had to finish this paper. It only had to be four pages and three were done. He took a sip from the water bottle next to his computer. It felt like a knife being dragged down his throat. Focus Ryan. Focus. He told himself, as he forced his hands to finish writing. There. A long, drawn out conclusion statement. So it was barely four pages, but it counted. He added the paper as an attachment to an email and his send. Then climbed into his soft bed, shivering slightly as he pulled the blankets tightly over him.

It was the heat that woke him up. He'd had trouble falling asleep, but now he felt like he was burning up. He kicked the covers off, but as the cold air hit his sweat soaked body he began to freeze again. He pulled the blankets back over himself, teeth chattering. He glanced at the clock, it was almost 6am. He had to be in class in three hours. He rolled over, trying to get comfortable but his muscles ached and refused to allow him to get comfortable. And he was burning up again. Giving up, he climbed out of bed, trying not to wake his roommate who was sound asleep on the other side of the room. He rummaged through his side drawer and found the Advil in the well- stocked First Aid Kit that Kirsten thoughtfully provided. Of course, he hadn't had much use for the tape, gauze, face mask, or rubber gloves… But the Advil was handy for the rare headache or days his muscles hurt after a tough workout at the gym. Still, this was the first he'd really felt this crappy since school had started.

He sat on the edge of the bed, and winced as he swallowed a sip of water to take the pills, then slowly, aware of his achy muscles slid back into bed. He was so tired, he just wanted to sleep, but as he shifted in bed, he couldn't seem to comfortable, and he was burning up again. After tossing and turning for almost an hour, he gave up and stumbled out of bed. He stripped of his sweat- soaked pajamas, wrapped a towel around his waist, and slipping on his shower shoes headed towards the bathroom for the bathroom, hoping a shower might make him feel better.

Goose bumps raised on his arm as he waited for the shower to warm up, and he coughed a few times, aches radiating from his shoulders as they heaved with the coughs, and the coughs themselves raked painfully through his throat. In the privacy of the bathroom, he groaned slightly.

The shower water was finally warm enough, and he stepped under the jets. It felt good to stand there, the warm water cascaded down his chest and back, and relieved some of the ache from his muscles. He hung his head, let the water slide down his neck and off his shoulders. The tightness in his chest seemed to loosen somewhat, and he took a deep breath, sighing in relief. It was just a little cold or something. His eyelids felt heavy, and he wanted just to lie down and go to sleep, and let the warm water keep washing over him. Fighting the urge, he kept his eyes open, and forced himself to turn off the shower. Stepping out of the steam, and into the cool air, he began to shiver almost immediately. He toweled off quickly, and headed back to his room. He found a fresh t-shirt and a new pair of boxers and slid under the covers. He fell asleep quickly after that.

****

The alarm blaring in his ear brought him rudely back to consciousness, even though he had fallen asleep barely two hours earlier.

"Will you turn that thing off?" His roommate was glaring at him from across the room.

"S-Sorry Matt…" Ryan said, struggling to sit upright, and surprising himself when his voice came out in hardly more than a whisper. He tried to clear his throat, and winced slightly at the pain, and then coughed.

"You alright?" Matt asked, not sounding particularly concerned as he rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Yeah… Fine…" Ryan said, climbing out of bed despite his muscle's protests, and coughing again. He was so tired, he wasn't even sure why he was climbing out of bed when every fiber of his being was protesting and telling him to climb back in.

"You sound like crap…" Matt muttered. "Don't cough on me…" Ryan grunted in response, deciding that talking just wasn't worth the effort. He was exhausted after his rough night. He felt hot all over, despite the fact that he was wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and boxers.

He stumbled to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face and brushed his teeth quickly. Then went back to his room, swallowed two more Advil, and started getting dressed, deciding it must be hot out, and opting to wear only a t-shirt. Then he dragged himself out of the dorms and off to class. By the time he was halfway there, the heat seemed to have dissipated and once again he was freezing, and wishing he had done a better job choosing today's outfit. His hands shook with cold as he attempted to take notes in his class. It was more effort to keep his open than usual as the teacher droned on and on about… Something. He glanced at his notes, his usually meticulous handwriting had been reduced to little more than scribbling. He felt relieved when the little hand finally reached the 10 and they were released from class. One down. One to go. Then he could go home and sleep.

"Hey Ryan," A perky voice by side said as he shuffled to his next class. He looked around, slightly bleary.

"Taylor?" Him and Taylor had broken up a few months ago, but had remained friends. They had both felt that with their busy lives and schedules, plus the excitement of being in a new place and making new friends, it wasn't the best time to have a relationship. Better to just be friends. They still had the occasional amicable cup of coffee… And the occasional sleepover…

"Yeah, me." Taylor smiled, but her forehead crinkled in concern. "You alright Ryan? You don't look so good…"

"Yeah, I'm fine… I was just up late writing a paper…" Well, it was the partial truth. The paper writing probably had nothing to do with him feeling sick.

"Alright… Well… See you around." Taylor waved and was gone. Ryan was a little disappointed. He wanted Taylor to be more concerned about him, but he realized he was being childish. Besides, they were in the middle of a hallway, and headed to class, what could she do?

***

His bed had never felt as inviting as it did the moment he slid his tired body between his sheets and lay his head down on the pillow and willed the pounding in his brain to go away. He managed to force himself to take another sip of water, and took another Advil. They seemed to work, at least temporarily. Of course, no sooner had he closed his eyes that his phone started to ring. Kirsten. Home. He realized guiltily he hadn't called him in over week, so he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ryan, how's it going?" Kirsten's voice was cheerful.

"I'm good…"

"How are classes?"

"Good… Busy..." A lame excuse to cover how long it had been since his last call home.

"Have you talked to Taylor at all?"

"No… Not really…"

"Well, meeting any nice girls?"

"Uhmm…" None that were permanent enough to tell Kirsten about.

"Ryan, are you feeling okay? You're voice sounds a little scratchy…"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just caught a little cold." Or the plague.

"Are you getting plenty of rest? Lots of fluids?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright… Well, take care of yourself. Okay? It's only freshman year, don't wear yourself out too much!"

"Thanks…" Ryan managed to smile, then coughed.

"Are you sure it's just a cold?" Kirsten's mothering skills even from a distance were impressive.

"Yeah,"

"Do you have a fever?"

"Uhmm… Don't think so." Ryan lied.

"Take your temperature for me okay? If it's over a hundred, will you promise me that you'll make an appointment at student health?"

"Okay, sure." Ryan agreed.

"Don't make drive down there and take it for you," Kirsten warned.

"I promise…" His eyes were sliding shut. The gravity of sleep was pulling him down to his bed.

"Alright, love you."

"Love you too." He muttered. The phone dropped from his hand, as he fell asleep.

***

"Dude! Kegger at Alpha Phi!" His roommate stormed into his room, blasting open the door.

"Wha-?" Ryan sat up and looked around confused. He glanced at his clock. He'd been out for almost five hours!

"Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty! You've been out all afternoon. I tried waking you up earlier for Ultimate Frisbee, but you were totally out man…"

"Sorry dude... I think I'm gonna have to sit this one out..."

"But it's Friday night!" Matt protested. "You alright man? You look like crap."

"Thanks... Feel like it to."

"Alright, later dude. Don't wait up for me," His roommate winked and was gone. Ryan sighed with relief, glad for the peace and quiet. The headache had dulled to a throb, but despite his long afternoon into evening nap, he still felt too tired to move. He slowly circled his shoulders, trying to get rid of some of the stiffness, but to no avail. He debated taking Kirsten's advice and taking his own temperature, but couldn't see the point. Instead he drank a few sips from his water bottle, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

"Ryan?" A soft voice was saying.

"Mmm?" He asked, rolling over and slowly opening his tired, glassy eyes. The room was mostly dark, but the light on his desk had been turned on. Taylor's softly illuminated face was leaning over his. "Taylor? What are you doing here?" He managed to croak.

"I saw Matt at a party, asked him where you were. He said you weren't feeling well, so I came by to check on you."

"Really?" Ryan said, slightly surprised, not that he wasn't sort of happy to see her. "What time is it?" He managed to sit up.

"Almost ten,"

"Oh..."

"So you're not feeling well?" Taylor asked.

Ryan shook his head, "It's nothing, just a little cold." He coughed, making sure to cover his mouth. He didn't want Taylor to get sick. He'd feel terrible if she ended up feeling the way he was right now. When the coughing subsided, Ryan felt a cool hand brush against his face, and then a soft palm settle on his forehead.

"You have a fever." Taylor said matter-of-factly.

"It's fine..." Ryan muttered, feeling another chill coming on, and trying to discreetly pull the blankets over himself before he started to shiver. He really didn't want to look that pathetic in front of Taylor.

"Open up..." Taylor said, authoritatively. Where had she found a thermometer? Yet, strangely Ryan found himself unable to resist her commands, and allowed her to place the thermeter under his tongue.

"You don't haf-"

"Stop talking," Taylor said, readjusting the thermometer. They sat in silence for a few moments, Taylor's forehead creasing in concern as she watched the temperature rise. Ryan had closed his eyes again. The headache was back. "Wow Ryan..."

"Bad?" He asked, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Yeah... 102."

"Not that bad..." He said, eyes still closed.

"Ryan, that's pretty bad."

"It's just been awhile since I've had any medicine..."

"Come on... Get up..."

"What?" Ryan asked, opening his eyes and staring at her.

"I'm taking you to my room."

"What? Why?"

"So I can keep an eye on you."

"Why can't I just stay here?"

"Where would I sleep?"

"Sleep?"

"Yeah, I have my nice big suite apartment. With a big comfy pull out couch."

"I'd rather just stay here..."

"Ryan, you know I'm going to win this fight, so why not just save your energy..." Taylor stood and went to his drawers and dropped a pair of sweats on his bed. "Get dressed, and come with me."

"You're very demanding, you know that?" He said, tiredly climbing out of bed.

"So I've been told," Taylor said, with a slight smile.

"Are you gonna..." He started to say.

"What?"

"Watch me?"

Taylor laughed, "Come on Ryan, it's nothing I haven't seen before..."

"Right..." He climbed out of bed, and pulled on the sweatpants, fresh t-shirt, sweatshirt and jacket that Taylor handed him. As soon as he got all the layers on, he was burning up, but Taylor didn't seem to notice as she bustled him out the door of his dorm, and practically marched him to her dorm across the quad.

Up in her dorm room, she pulled out the bed from the couch, while Ryan deposited himself in a chair. Even the short walk had been draining. He watched as Taylor went about making up the pullout- couch bed and then added pillows and blankets. It was in the main area of her dorm apartment. Taylor and another girl shared one of the bedrooms, two other girls shared the other bedroom, and they had their own bathroom. Ryan was relieved at the convience of the bathroom.

"Are you sure your suitemates won't mind my being here?"

"Well, Christy and Ronnie have a track meet and are gone all weekend. And I doubt Sarah will reappear tonight. So we have the place to ourselves..."

"Too bad I'm sick..." Ryan said, managing a small smile as he climbed in between the soft sheets. Taylor fluffed the pillows behind his back and pulled a blanket over him.

"Yeah, too bad..." Taylor said, giving him knowing- smile. "Here," two capsules and a glass of water had appeared in her hands, and she thrust them towards him.

"Thanks..." Ryan said, not even asking what he was taking. He took a small sip of water and swallowed the pills, then went to put the glass down.

"No way, finish it."

"Finish it?"

"You're dehydrated,"

"How can you tell?"

"I just know," Ryan finished drinking the water, the coolness felt good against his throat. The placebo affect of taking medication had already helped his headache. "Wanna watch some tv?" He asked.

"Sure..." Taylor said, tentatively looking back and forth from the chair to the bed where Ryan sat. He patted the place beside him. With a smile, Taylor climbed onto the bed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled next to him.

"I missed you..." He said softly.

"Me too..." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist, and letting her head rest on his shoulder. It wasn't long before they were both asleep, feeling safe in each other's arm. "Best cold ever..." Ryan thought, as he drifted off to sleep. "Thanks Taylor..."