Title: Come Flu with Me
Author: Marcel Bestebroer
Spoilers: Being set right after the premier, just that one episode.
Beta: Chaz
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Not mine and I make no money with this.
Notes: In response to a challenge from a fellow writer having the flu. Once again, a two year old fic not previously posted here.
"It's just the flu, Blue. I'll get over it." The two sentences were separated by a sneeze and a cough. Secretly he felt like he was about to die, but his mom had told him once that nobody dies because of a simple cold and to stop acting like a baby. Of course, his mom had died because she refused to believe her illness was anything that could kill her, but this felt like a run-of-the-mill flu.
Zhaan sighed and shook her head. "You are being stubborn, John. There's nothing ordinary about this. I admit I'm still largely unfamiliar with your physiology, but I am certain this is dangerous to you."
John eyed her, or tried to, but his eyes were watery and didn't allow him to see that clearly. Still, the big blue shape beside his bed was most likely Zhaan. "What's dangerous?"
"You seem to have contracted the Blinix virus. Normally you get inoculated at birth."
John sneezed. "Great, I end up at the wrong side of the universe." Sneeze. "Bake Captain Crunch bad at me." Cough. "Banage to get away frob hib and the space Nazis." Sneeze and cough. "Only to get killed by the blinking virus."
Zhaan chuckled lightly. "You're not dead yet, John. I'm certain I can find a cure. I just need to get some blood samples from you so I can study them."
John nodded. "I know. Sorry. I get cranky when I get the flu. Or sobething like it." He stuck out his arm. "The blood bank is now open." He waited until Zhaan was finished getting some of his blood. "Zhaan? What does this blinking virus do?"
"Blinix, John. It starts as an infection of the respiratory organs, but moves to infect your other organs and eventually your muscles. Before it gets that far, you usually get an extremely high core temperature..."
John held up his hand weakly. "Zhaan, Zhaan. I get the picture. It's bad. Forget I asked."
Zhaan nodded. "I'll find a cure, John."
"Get out of my way, Luxan."
D'Argo looked at Aeryn as she walked past him, confused. Admittedly, he and the former Peacekeeper didn't really like each other, but she usually just called him by his name, not the name of his species. She didn't look back at him at all, just briskly walked past him until she disappeared around the bend of the corridor.
He shook his head. He knew where she was going. That corridor would lead her straight to the workout bay. "I'm glad I'm not a sparring dummy." He turned around to continue his walk towards Command, wondering what had made Aeryn so irritable.
Aeryn was busy punching and kicking at the dummy, not understanding why she was so upset. True, the Blinix virus was dangerous, but she was inoculated and had therefore no need to be worried. If Crichton would get Heat Delirium and transit into the Living Death, she would just kill him.
For now, she could give Zhaan some time to find a cure. In the meantime she would stay here and work out her current state of mind.
On his way to Command D'Argo passed Zhaan, who looked worried.
"Oh, D'Argo. May I ask you a question?"
D'Argo nodded.
"Have you ever heard about a cure for someone infected with the Blinix virus? I know everyone gets inoculated at birth, but what if one wasn't and became infected?"
D'Argo shook his head. "No, to my knowledge there's no cure." He remembered his earlier encounter with an irritable Aeryn. "Is Aeryn infected? I assumed that as a Peacekeeper she would have been inoculated."
Zhaan shook her head. "No, John is the one that is infected. Why did you think it was Aeryn?"
"She, uh, went to the workout bay and was very irritable. More than usual." He amended upon seeing Zhaan's questioning look.
"Odd. Well, I better get to the apothecary and see if I can find a cure."
D'Argo nodded and resumed his route to Command.
John sighed. This blinking virus was definitely becoming worse. In the past two hours he'd gone from coughing and sneezing and generally feeling bad, to violently throwing up and feeling pain in the area of his kidneys. He got the feeling his temperature was becoming dangerously high, but he still hadn't figured out how to convert the temperature unit they used here to Fahrenheit.
He'd asked Zhaan to inoculate him for anything the others, especially Sebaceans, where inoculated for. If he'd managed to contract this virus within the first two solar days of arriving here, with his luck, he'd probably contract more alien illnesses. Zhaan had agreed, but only after his current condition was cured, and she'd check the inoculation first to make sure it wouldn't have any adverse effect on him.
He knew he was snapping at every one who had visited him. He apologized each time he'd done so. Luckily, they all seemed to understand this was because he was ill. One person hadn't come to check up on him. Aeryn hadn't shown herself at all.
It was possible she didn't know he was ill, but everyone else, including the big purple dude, knew he was. If Aeryn spoke to any of them, they would've told her. At least, he thought they would.
Aeryn was taking care of her hands in the apothecary, watching Zhaan trying various potions on drops of Crichton's blood. "How is he?" She didn't think she needed to elaborate on who she was talking about.
"Getting worse by the microt. His core temperature has risen to eighteen above normal and..."
"What?! You let him slip into the Living Death? He can't be cured from that!"
"Sweet Aeryn, John is not like you and other Sebaceans. But from what I can tell, he is dangerously close to what his body can handle."
Aeryn nodded. It was so easy to forget Crichton wasn't Sebacean. "But there's still a chance you can find a cure?" Why was she still so concerned about him?
Zhaan nodded, but didn't look particularly convinced. "Possibly."
"Well, get on it then!" Aeryn briskly walked out of the apothecary, realizing she had once again snapped at someone because of Crichton's current condition. Well, no amount of workout was going to help in this case; she'd already proven that with the previous workout.
"Are you sure there isn't any way to get his quarters colder, Pilot?"
"Dominar, I already told you Moya has regulated the Commander's quarter's temperature to its lowest possible setting."
"Is there any place aboard Moya that is even colder?" Aeryn asked as she walked across the bridge.
Pilot seemed to be consulting Moya for a microt, before nodding his head. "Yes, Officer Sun. On Tier six Treblin side are Moya's Frilan chambers. The second room is currently empty, but its temperature is well below the lowest temperature Moya can regulate any of the quarters."
Aeryn palmed her comms as she turned around. "D'Argo, meet me at Crichton's quarters. Moya and Pilot found a colder place..."
Rygel watched her walk out and then turned to Pilot. "It seems our resident Peacekeeper isn't as cold-hearted as we assumed."
John realized his room had suddenly gone way colder than before. It did wonders to his headache, and even his sinuses were giving him less trouble. Had he passed out? Now that his eyes were open he could clearly see he was not in his quarters. Or in any quarters for that matter. It smelled funny in here, too.
"Good, you're awake again."
John turned his head, slowly, in the direction of the one person who hadn't come to him; the one person he'd wanted to see.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than before I passed out." He paused. "Did Zhaan find a cure?"
Aeryn shook her head and looked down momentarily. "No, not yet." She looked back up again. "She's still trying. A quarter-arn ago she came to get some additional blood samples."
"It appears there's no use to keep searching." Zhaan walked in.
"Why the frell not?! As long as he's alive we should try to..."
"What I meant, child, was that the virus inside John is dead."
"This thing went away on its own?"
Zhaan shook her head. "No. The virus, apparently, is unable to function and multiply once your core temperature rose too high. Luckily, your body was able to hold on long enough, though I fear you would have died if D'Argo and Aeryn hadn't moved you into this chamber."
"So I can get out of here now? It's freezing in here, you know."
"No, you must remain here for at least two arns, to get your core temperature back to normal. It will probably take a few solar days before you regain movement in your legs."
After two solar days of just lying in his bed, John was getting bored. He could move his legs a little, but there was no strength in them yet. He knew he was getting on everyone's nerves, too. For some odd reason, he had reverted back to the way he behaved when he was sick as a child.
And he liked it, especially the fact that Aeryn was usually the one coming to see what he needed. And it never took her long to get to him, either. Too bad Zhaan inoculated him against all the common illnesses. Even the common cold he was unlikely to catch now.
Bored as he was, he was going to do his best to drag this out for as long as possible. Who knew how long it would be before Aeryn would run to take care of him again? Of course, if she ever found out he pretended for any amount of time, she'd kick his ass. May even come close to killing him. But for the life of him, he couldn't really see a downside to it.