Okay! So, just a little something I dug out of my drive for you guys. This is one of those five-and-one stories that used to get written a lot. (Anyone else remember the times when our fandom wasn't almost deserted?) The five times Holly was sick and the one time Arty was. Just something short and sweet. So... enjoy!
1. Holly - during book 1
Butler winced again as he listened to the sound of his charge's prisoner hacking again. She hadn't stopped since she'd woken up, except a few times when she'd choked on it or ran out of breath. Looking in the monitor, he saw her doubled over on the cot, clutching her stomach as this bout of coughing lessened up and she tried to take in a few breaths. Her face was flushed and pained.
Artemis had ordered him and his sister both not to go down there under any circumstances, at least not yet, but for once in his career as Artemis's bodyguard, he was seriously considering going against his orders. He understood why Artemis didn't want him to go down there, but still. . . he was seriously beginning to worry that the elf was having an allergic reaction. What else could it be?
Finally, he got tired of sitting around and waiting for Artemis to come to him and give him orders. He left the monitor room and went down to the kitchen, where Artemis sat at the table, messing with the elf's equipment, and went up to him.
"Sir," he said, standing at attention beside his charge.
It was another moment before Artemis looked up. "Yes, Butler?"
"When are we going to be allowed to go check on the hostage?"
Artemis sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them to stare at his bodyguard. Butler inwardly frowned a little; his boss's gaze was piercing. "Why are you so adamant to go down there, Butler? Is there something wrong that I don't know about?"
"No, sir," Butler answered quickly. "But she's still down there hacking. It hasn't stopped like you thought it would. . . ." He let the sentence trail off at the look Artemis gave him.
"So what are you saying, Butler?" Artemis demanded icily.
Butler swallowed, then blurted, "sir, I think she may be having an allergic reaction to the tranquilizer."
His charge frowned. "A reaction? Quite possible. . . I never considered that her system may not be able to handle certain human drugs. . ." He cocked his head and looked up, licking his lips. "Alright, Butler. I'll go check on Captain Short. Will that make you feel better?"
Butler held his tongue on the counter that wanted to escape his lips and simply nodded.
"Fine. I will return later, then. You can go, Butler," he added, when his bodyguard didn't move. Grudgingly, the man did, and Artemis sat there for a moment after he left before sighing and rising to his feet.
He got up and went over to the fridge, grabbing a few things out of it before turning and heading out of the kitchen and down the steps leading to the basement.
He was shocked when he saw her. And that said a lot, because one does not even surprise Artemis Fowl easily, let alone shock him.
Holly truly looked terrible. Her normally beautiful hazel eyes were darker than usual and glazed over, and her coffee colored skin was pale and clammy. Right now, she was sitting on the floor with her head resting against the metal rim of the cot, the thick wool blanket off of it wrapped around her as she shivered harshly. Her coughing bouts had stopped for the moment, but from her shallow breathing it was easy to tell she was afraid it was going to start up again.
He took a few small steps towards her, and she jumped at the sound, gasping softly once. It was a barely audible and small gasp, but it was enough to make her start coughing again.
Artemis groaned inwardly as he walked over the rest of the way and knelt beside her, grabbing her arm and pulling her over so she was practically on his lap. She tried to fight him, but she was so weak by now it had no effect, and at any rate her struggles stopped when he wrapped his hand firmly, though not tightly enough to choke her, around her throat.
"Please," she rasped out, tilting her head up obediently when he pushed. "D-don't. . . ."
"Quiet," he ordered, opening the first item he had brought with him: a bottle of water. He grabbed it with the hand that wasn't holding Holly tightly against him and tilted it slightly over her mouth to let the liquid run in. She choked for a minute, then finally managed to make it go down her throat. After a little more, her coughs finally subsided, and she just laid there and let her head rest in his neck for a few moments as he dropped the water back down and sighed. "Do you feel better?"
"No," she answered honestly, her voice barely a whisper. "But at least I can breathe now." She looked up at him, searching his face with dark eyes for some emotion. "Why did you help me?"
"I can't have you choking to death down here before I even find out if you're worth anything, can I?" Artemis replied, smirking deviously down at her. "At any rate, my bodyguard was getting a bit antsy watching you down here, so I had to come check on you." He paused, his smirk fading as he remembered why he was down there. "Holly. Are fairies allergic to tranquilizer?"
"It's. . . it's not good on our systems," she replied, after a moment. "But I'm not sure exactly what it does. That's not my job, and I'm not really interested in that kind of thing, so I don't know."
He nodded. "I understand. But I am pretty sure that that must be what it is, so I brought something that should help." He reached down and grabbed the second item he'd brought with him: a smoothie. "Here. Drink it."
"Is it natural?" Holly asked, leaning forward slightly and sniffing the cup gingerly. She had no wish to get sicker by letting him trick her into drinking poison, nor did she want to lose her magic because of similar tricks, either.
"Yes, and even so, does it matter? It will flush what remains of the tranquilizer out of your system, and, assuming that is what is making you so ill, you should feel better shortly." He raised the cup and put it to her lips. "Tilt your head back and drink. I'm going to keep pouring it into your mouth until it's gone." His vampire smirk grew back again when she scowled. "How much do you really want to feel better?"
She didn't look happy about it, but she tilted her head back with no more argument and let him pour the drink in her mouth. She downed it quickly, then shuddered and drew the blanket closer around herself. "Cold," she mumbled, through half frozen lips.
"I know. It rather keeps better frozen," he remarked. She gave him a death glare and shivered again. "The drink should drive the tranquilizer, or what remains of it, out of your system, and then you should be fine."
"Alright." She paused, licking her lips and then finally looking up at him again. Her hazel eyes were hard, but sincere. "You. . . You didn't have to do that. But you did. You helped me. Thank you."
He squeezed her and sighed as he pushed her off his lap again, standing and right his blue tie before answering. "Considering it was my fault, I really should have been the one to fix it," he replied. "It seemed rather like an obligation of mine. So I suppose you are welcome." He bent and picked up the water bottle and the empty cup, then tossed her the third item: an apple. "Give it a minute for your stomach to settle down, then eat that. It should help."
And this time, she didn't get a chance to thank him as he threw the apple to her and swiftly turned for the door, ignoring her protests for him to wait as he exited and locked the door behind him.
What do you think? Want to see the rest? I suppose it can't really be called fluffy, given the circumstances, but just a little "what if?" to remind us all Arty isn't a jackass all the time. :)