I think I might publish a couple of chapters a day. Otherwise, it's going to take forever to upload it all. Any complaints? I thought not... :-) Enjoy!

Part 3: What Friends Are For…

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Weiss contemplated the slim layers of fabric that covered Sydney. It wouldn't be enough. She had felt like a mass of ice in his arms when he'd transported her to the bed. She would need more than a few covers to warm up.

She seemed to be settling down a little, however. He hoped he could leave her for a few minutes while he gathered supplies to help her out. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sydney, can you hear me?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tried again. "Yeah…"

He smiled at her, as she looked up at him with tired, vacant eyes. "Hey, Ariel, welcome back. You sure scared the bigibies out of me for a moment back there… That's not good for my blood pressure, you know."

The corner of her mouth moved up ever so slightly.

"Listen, if you're ok for now, I'm gonna go get a few things settled, alright?"

"…'kay," she whispered, her eyes closing as her body started to shake again.

"Hang in there, Syd." He said in his most caring voice. "I'll be right back."

He tucked her in a little more and headed towards his apartment in a hurry.

.*.*.

.*.*.

.*.*.

In under five minutes, Weiss had gathered the heat packs he used when he skied, a bunch of towels he'd sprayed with water and heated up in the microwave, and even a hot water bottle. How he'd ended up with the last item made him smirk briefly. It was his mother who had insisted he take it along, a couple of years ago; according to her, it was the ultimate cure to everything. He'd never used it, of course, but he'd also never had the heart to throw it out. At least now, he knew why…

Back in Sydney's apartment, he surrounded her with the warm towels. Briskly, he tore the heat packs out of their plastic enclosure in order to activate them. He placed them between the towels on her torso and at her feet. The task wasn't easy, as Sydney's body was racked by sudden shakes she had no control over. But eventually, he got her mostly wrapped up in warmth and tucked under the doubled-over comforter he'd also brought from his place.

The water bottle was a little more complicated. After her stint in the shower, it seemed Sydney had temporarily deprived their small building of hot water.

Weiss walked to the living room and into the kitchen. At the sink, he filled the large kettle Sydney usually used for her tea. Hurriedly, he put the kettle on the stove and cranked the dial up to "high."

He went back to the bedroom and started rummaging through her clothes, looking for something warm and with a lot of coverage. He found jogging pants and a matching sweater. In another drawer, he picked out pair of wool socks. Soon, the towels would cool down. Sydney would need to change in order to stay warm. Hopefully by then, she'd be well enough to change into the sweats and socks by herself. If not… Well, he'd cross that bridge if and when...

In the kitchen, the kettle whistled. Weiss was there immediately. He filled the water bottle up with the boiling liquid. When he was done, he screwed the cap back on it. He opened the cabinet above the sink and took a mug and a tea bag from the cookie jar where Sydney kept her favorite: Earl Grey. He put the tea bag in, poured the remainder of the boiled water over top, and turned off the dial on the stove.

Armed with the tea and water bottle, he made his way back to the bedroom and its occupant. Sydney seemed a little better. Her complexion had lost its ashen tone. She opened her eyes at the sound of the mug hitting the hard surface of the coaster on her nightstand.

"Hey…" She smiled feebly.

"Hey to you too…" Weiss quipped gently. "Syd, can you sit up and put these sweats on?"

She nodded without energy.

"… think I can manage." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Atta a girl..." Weiss cooed with a smile.

He helped her sit up on the edge of the bed. Putting the sweatshirt on was easy. Sydney took care of that while Weiss put the socks on her feet. The pants presented more of a challenge. Sydney's back was stiff from its long immobilization earlier and she had trouble bending down far enough. In the end, it was Weiss who put them through her legs. He then turned around to give her some privacy while she briefly stood up and finished pulling the pants up around her waist.

She sat back down. She was shivering again. Quickly, Weiss took out all the discarded wet towels and the top sheet. He helped Sydney lie down and covered her up, not without sprinkling her body with heat packs and putting the hot water bottle in her arms.

When he was done, all Weiss could see was Sydney's tired face half-hidden behind the fat, doubled-over white comforter and various piled-up covers.

He smiled at the sight, happy to see her more relaxed and with a slight blush slowly gaining coverage of her pale features. "How are feeling, Syd? Gotta tell you: love the Michelin guy look on you," he joked softly, hoping to get another pale smile out of it. He wasn't disappointed. "Are you warm enough?" He enquired, trying to keep the worry out of his tone.

"Getting there." She looked up at him. Her brain was slow working, fogged up with fatigue and muted, persistently dark feelings. But she was aware enough to see all the trouble Eric was going to. Her right hand snaked out from underneath the comforter, looking for one of his to hold. Weiss took the still icy fingers between his warm paws. "Thank you, Eric. I don't know wh…"

"Hush." He said while putting a finger near his lips. "You can thank me later with ridiculously large gifts. But right now: no talking and no moving. Just resting and warming up those digits, ok? Are you hungry?"

She frowned slightly. "I don't know…"

"Well, here's some tea to help you warm up. Careful," he added as she sat up half-way and brought the mug he was holding for her to her lips, "it's pretty hot."

After she had a few sips, she laid back down, almost exhausted by the effort. She was beginning to feel a little warmer. Her back, however, was still very cold.

Weiss got up and left the room for a moment. When he returned, he gave Sydney a couple of butter cookies and he put the remainder of the pack on the nightstand, by the tea mug. "Here. A little sweet goodness to make you feel aaall better…"

She munched on one of them, and put the other one back as a slight bout of nausea came over her.

"How do you feel?"

"Like blood is starting to run through me again… except for my back…"

"Sit up for a minute, will you..."

Sydney did so while holding on to the covers in the front. Weiss moved closer and started rubbing her back with a lot of energy. Within minutes, the blood flow was accelerated and the sensation of cold was mostly gone.

"Better?" Weiss asked as he helped her lay back down.

"Much. Thanks. God, I'm so sor…"

"Hush! You're not very good at following directives, are you, Agent Bristow?"

She smiled. Not a fully dimpled happy smile, but one that had more color than any of the others so far. "Not if they're unreasonable, no."

He grinned. It was good to see some life back in her eyes. "Well, if you can spare me for a few minutes, I'm gonna go to my place for a bit. Be back in 20, ok?"

"Ok."

He smiled at her one last time and squeezed her right hand that had somehow found its way out from under the covers again. Then he was up and he quickly disappeared through the door.

Too drained to stay awake, Sydney was asleep within seconds. She didn't even see Weiss come back to check on her one last time before heading towards his apartment.

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tbc

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Next time, in Part 4: Aftershocks

"Whatever the hell had happened, it was very bad, Weiss decided…"

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