101.4

Emma sighed at the flashing numbers on the screen as she pulled the thermometer from Killian's mouth, frowning down at him. His temperature had gone up over a whole degree from the night before, slightly worrying her. Running her fingers through the fringe of hair hanging on his brow, Emma scrunched her nose at him. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Killian groaned from below her, sniffling loudly as he did, and turned to bury his face in the pillow as a shudder ran through his body. "Give it to me straight, love," he said, his voice painfully nasally.

"Well, you don't look as bad as you did yesterday, but your fever has gone up," Emma said sympathetically. He'd started coughing two days before, sneezing coming not long after that. A bottle of NyQuil, two boxes of tissues, and a lot of moaning and groaning later, Killian had a full on case of the dreaded 'Man Flu.'

"Three hundred some odd years and I'm taken out by 'the sniffles' as you call them," he huffed, reaching for the tea she'd brought up for him minutes ago, taking a long sip, soothing his throat for a few moments. "My funeral will be the bloody laughing stock of the entire town."

"Okay. One, you're not being 'taken out' by anything. It's a cold," she replied dryly. His dramatics were the most entertaining part of taking care of him. "Two, modern medicine works miracles. It'll be out of your system in a few days."

"That's what you said when this started two days ago!" Killian set the tea back on the bedside table and flopped back down into the pillows, burying his head again to muffle the groan. "This is the worst I've ever felt."

She crossed her arms over her chest as she scooted closer on the bed next to him, trying not to laugh. "You've had your hand cut off," she tried to reason.

He turned his head quickly, glaring at her. "I said this is the worst I've ever felt, Swan!" As if to prove his point, he erupted in a chain of six sneezes. "This is what death feels like."

Emma couldn't help the chuckle that erupted from her throat, but she immediately stopped it after the glare she received. "Sorry. I'm going to go get a cold rag for your head," she said as she leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Don't go anywhere," she teased, standing a moving toward the bathroom door.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he tried to call but ended up in a coughing fit instead.

She walked to the small towel closet next to the shower, grabbing a small washcloth and wetting it in the sink, making sure it was good and cool as she wrung it out. When she returned to Killian's side, his eyes were closed, and he was moaning about being too cold. Emma apologized before laying the cool rag on his head, but he sighed, relief taking him for only a few seconds before his face was contorted in discomfort again.

"You know, we can go to the doctor if you really don't feel good," Emma had suggested the night before, knowing she could only do so much with at home remedies and cold medicine.

"I don't need a doctor, Emma," Killian said begrudgingly, but as soon as she made to leave, he was whining about needing her, and it was probably the most adorable and endearing thing he could've said, and it was what had put them into this situation in the first place.

"You're positive I'm not going to just keel over soon?" Killian asked, reaching for a tissue on the nightstand, throwing it away in the waste can by the bed once he'd blown his nose. "Because it bloody well feels like it."

Emma smiled slightly at him, shaking her head. "I promise you, it's just a cold. Everyone gets them. I'm sure you've had them before, you just didn't have anyone to baby you before."

Killian scoffed, turning his head away from her. "I never asked you to baby me."

Emma cleared her throat. "No, love, don't leave, please. What if I stop breathing in the middle of the night?" She mimicked in his accent, rolling her eyes.

"Well, it's a possibility!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest, defending himself. "It already feels like I'm barely breathing at all."

Emma sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with him, but hearing him being a drama queen over all of this was giving her more amusement than she'd had in years. "You're a mouth breather at night anyway, just so you know. You never breathe through your nose."

"I like having the option to breathe through my nose," Killian countered, coughing loudly, and hissing as a wave of pain went through his head. "I just want to be able to breathe properly again."

Emma brushed her thumb over his cheek, looking at him with sympathy again, knowing she always felt worthless and helpless when she was sick like this. "How about you take another dose of NyQuil, have a nap, and I'll run to Granny's and get some good comfort food and other supplies while I'm at it?" She chuckled as he started to protest. "And if anything happens, I'm a phone call away."

Killian contemplated long and hard over what she'd said, as if he would die at any moment, and he wanted her there to ease his passing. Eventually, he faltered, reaching for the green bottle on the nightstand, downing a quick swig like it was nothing. "If I die, I hope you feel terrible," he grumbled as he snuggled into the blankets.

"I highly doubt even Death wants to be around you right now," she teased, leaning down to kiss his temple before tucking the blankets around him slightly. "I hope you know I'm probably going to get sick from taking care of you."

Killian frowned, suddenly feeling bad for putting Emma through all this. "I would be at your every beck and call."

Emma smiled, never doubting that he would always be by her side. He'd proved that time and time again, being the one true constant in her life since he had entered it and turned it upside down. She was happy to do this for him, because that's what love was. "Get some sleep, pirate. I'll be back soon."

Emma retuned to the apartment an hour and a half later, carrying a bag of Granny's homemade soups, more tea and hot chocolate, and some Vicks VapoRub to help ease the coughing. Even from the door, she could hear his snoring coming from their room, and she cringed at just how horrible it sounded. Grabbing one of the soup containers from the back, along with the rub for his chest, she started making her way to her room down the hall.

As soon as she entered it, she somehow managed to smile and frown at the sight before her. Killian was sprawled out on the bed, head half buried under the pillows. He had a couple of stray tissues on the comforter, and his mouth was hanging open as another snore erupted from it. She hated to wake him up, happy that he was finally getting some kind of sleep, but she knew what she had would help.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Emma nudged him slightly until he groaned, rousing ever so slightly from sleep, looking up at her like she was his saving grace. "I come bearing gifts," she said, holding up the soup and the rub. "Are you hungry?"

Killian shook his head, sniffing loudly. "Not in the slightest," he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before they fell upon the small jar in her hand. "What's that?"

"It'll help you breathe and keep your muscles from getting all achy," she explained, popping the top, motioning for him to lie back again. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked, rubbing the Vicks onto his chest, knowing it would help at least a little.

"No, I'm bloody not any better," Killian huffed, sniffling once more to try and clear any room in his head. "My head feels like it's on the verge of imploding and exploding at the same time, my throat is completely raw, I can't breathe through my nose, and I haven't slept properly in two days."

Emma frowned, knowing that if she felt helpless, he had to feel it a hundred times over. "Is there anything I can do at all?" She picked up the cold rag from before that he'd tossed on the nightstand, wiping her hand free of the excess rub, waiting for another frustrated retort.

Killian sighed, waiting for her to finish rubbing his chest before he spoke. "Can I just…" He trailed off, looking up at her only to confirm just how helpless he felt. "Can I just ask you to hold me?"

Emma was surprised at that, the complete resignation in his voice making her want to cry. This man had looked out for himself his entire life, the three lifetimes over that he'd lived, and she knew feeling like this was dreadful for him. There was absolutely no way she could laugh this off and no way she could say no to him.

"Roll over," she said, lifting the blankets to get next to him. He immediately rolled onto his side, back turned to her as she wrapped herself around him from behind. Intertwining their legs, Emma moved as close as she good, wrapping one arm around his chest, letting her hand rest on his heart, while the other went above his head, running her fingers slowly through his hair. She always felt safe when he did this for her and hoped he felt the same.

The sigh of relief that filled the room made her feel that much more at ease, and she placed a kiss to the back of his neck, snuggling deep into his back. "Go back to sleep. I'm right here," she said. For the first time in two nights, Killian's sleep was undisturbed.