Red-Cricket Tails

By Shahrezad1

Summary: Welcome to Red-Cricket Week 2013 on Tumblr! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own, so please don't sue. And since this is based off of prompts…some of the ideas aren't even mine! *le gasp*

Day 4

Prompt Number Four: "Ruby is sick and Archie takes care of her."

The nausea had come after one too many turns in the motorboat. Billy had borrowed it off of his friend, some guy who dressed like he still lived in the seventies, sold tea and something like moonshine on the side. At first it had been fun, spending a day on the water after the fetid stretch of sweltering heat they'd been dealing with lately. But then Billy had suggested that they go, "one last time," and that had apparently been too much.

She'd used up all her sick days, however, so here she was stuck at work. Not that her grandmother would have believed such a claim, anyway—instead she would probably assume that Ruby was just trying to delay work even further in order to skive off with Billy.

Scrambling for the counter, Ruby allowed the coolness of the metal-rimmed Formica to seep through the palms of her hands. Keeping her eyes open made her feel more nauseous and so she closed them, and her balance was completely nonexistent. Granny had just barely left but she would be back any minute now, fresh loaves of bread in hand to replace what they'd sold. Then it would be back to work for the young woman, and she wasn't sure she would be able to manage such a feat.

"Ruby…are you okay?" the question was asked gently from her elbow, a soothing presence amid the hustle and chatter of the nearly-full diner. She forced herself to focus on the soft query, cracking one green eye open in order to find its owner.

Archie met her gaze worriedly, eyebrows furrowed and forehead creased with intense worry. Ruby tried to smile but said nothing, afraid that if she opened her mouth something other than words would come out, so merely shook her head.

"I thought not; you're white as a sheet," he murmured, and the truth of the matter was that she knew that her lips were probably bloodless from holding them so tightly. As it was she could see her hands and they were splotchy due to the frantic grip she had on the countertop.

She was surprised, however, as Archie almost immediately rose from his seat, coming around the counter to her and…leading her over to where he had just been sitting. The clasp he had on her shoulders was light and careful, but firm in her weakened state. She wanted to open her mouth to dispute the action but felt an immediate wash of relief once she was sitting.

"Lean forward and put your head against the table, you'll feel better," his words washed over like a soothing wind, just behind her ear, so without a thought she did so…

And felt coolness soak through her being. Ruby nearly moaned at the immediate relief which was gained simply by having a chill, stationary surface against her forehead, her eyelashes just barely brushing the surface. She felt more than heard people talking behind her, and the slightest shifting of movement, before someone was placing something in her hand.

"Eat a few of these and then let one just sit on your tongue, salt side down."

She did as instructed, chewing two of the soup saltines and vaguely wondering if Granny would get mad at her for eating on the clock. Or sleeping on the cloth, for that matter, she wondered as she began to dream about running…and then a fly in her cracker-filled soup. But the crackers quickly turned to the moon, and since her soup was tomato then there was a moon staring at her from a bloody sky.

The dreams might have continued had she not been gently shaken.

"Wha…what?"

"C'mon, Ruby, your grandmother has given me permission to take you to my office so that you can lie down until she gets off her shift."

"Oh, Archie, but…Granny will be angry," Ruby murmured through dry lips as she was hefted up, swallowing the last of the crackers. They went down painfully and she frowned at how the world spun even without her eyes open.

"Granny's right here," her relative answered, clutching her opposite arm in the dual lift they worked at to get her off of the stool, and beneath the gruffness Ruby could hear concern, "and if you're actually sick enough to worry about what I think, then you must be truly ill! Archie, I get off at eight so I'll pick her up then. You don't mind babysitting my granddaughter till then?"

"No, of course. It's really fine, Granny. No problem at all," his voice was just as anxious as the elder Lucas woman, but softer in consideration for her hearing, and instinctively Ruby leaned into his chest in an effort to cover one of her ears but that only succeeded in providing her with the thump of his heartbeat. Still, it was a soothing sound and she found herself unconsciously breathing slower, and deeper. Her grandmother had let go of her entirely by this point, and Archie had an arm around her shoulder, so Ruby placed hers round his waist as she stumblingly followed his lead.

Eyes still closed, blindly following at he escorted her out the door. The walk across the street wasn't too bad, but she did have to squint some tiny bit of sight as the therapist directed her through his office's entryway, up a flight of stairs, and down a long hallway. The lighting was somewhat dim, so it wasn't that painful, but entering his office nearly sent her into paroxysms with the harshness of the open window.

The redhead quickly deposited his moaning charge on the long couch before rushing to the window's blinds, but at that point Ruby had already turned into the cushions in search of the darkest cracks it could offer.

She didn't remember much after that.

Some strange dreams involving singing insects and that running one again, although the movement was a bit too much like the chopping waves of the ocean and so she awoke with a start. Trying to hold back the nausea climbing up her throat, she clamped her mouth shut only to blearily see the garbage pail Archie had quickly placed beside her. Her breakfast and lunch contents quickly took residence there, until there was only dry heaving left.

Crying for the hurt in her chest and the raw state of her throat, it took Ruby a few moments to realize that Doctor Hopper was sitting beside her, holding back her hair with one hand while the other rubbed her back. The feeling released another wave of sobs as she leaned into his shoulder slightly, moving back a time or two to cough up some last vestiges of her disorientation. Only when the young woman had finally spat everything out did he carefully place a glass tumbler in her hands, its contents clearly water.

"Rinse out the taste first, then swallow. You'll feel better," he directed soothingly, and she did. Then Ruby finished the rest of the glass, slowly, then had another. Only noticing afterward that he had taken off his suit jacket and tie, leaving his shirt and sweater-vest on. With his sleeves rolled up and outerwear thrown onto his desk chair, it was the most casual she'd ever seen him, and even while ill and distracted she thought that the look was pleasant and appealing.

Exhausted, it was second nature to lean into him again, his fingers combing through the tangles of her hair in long, comforting strokes. She fell asleep against Archie then, Ruby knew, and in another situation might have felt embarrassed had the position that they were in not been so comfortable. Perfect after a distressing, wracking hour of fuzzy incomprehension and ache.

When she finally woke up again the sun had gone down, the light which rebelliously tried to peek between his blinds having thankfully retreated. Her grandmother had been trying to wake her but had only received a muzzy response.

"How long was I asleep?" Ruby asked blearily, leaning against something tall and strong and soft, all at the same time.

"Three hours. It sounds like you had both nausea and heatstroke to deal with," the something said, and the waitress remembered anew that Archie Hopper had been taking care of her. He handed her another tumbler of water, which she sipped before handing back.

"Th-thank you, A-Archie," she whispered, trying to pat his arm and walk at the same time. But that even proved too much, the young woman's legs collapsing in on themselves. The psychiatrist noticed in time, however, swooping his arms underneath her to cradle her in a bridal carry. And wasn't that such good timing, she thought to herself, as they came upon his flight of stairs.

The rocking motion almost made her want to throw up again, so instead Ruby tucked her head into the redhead's neck, gripping the back of his head for a few seconds until the sensation passed. He paused a moment before continuing on through the door, but that was the only recognition he gave regarding her action. Then they were out the door, her grandmother sitting in the front seat of her own red convertible.

Ruby hardly recalled the exchange, especially a few hours later when she woke in the middle of the night to go get two Tums and some of her Granny's chicken noodle soup from the fridge to settle her stomach. But she did recall the coolness of Archie's hands at they brushed against the soft of her neck, his fingers combing through her hair.

~/~/~

AN: The nausea in this chapter is inspired by the nausea I felt on Tuesday. Yep, instead of writing I was at Lagoon! :D Unfortunately, there's a reason why I never ride the Samurai…and what's worse, I followed it up with the Tilt-A-Whirl.

It's a good thing that my roommate has practice taking care of sick individuals (given that she has eleven siblings, most of them younger than her). XD I'm much better now, due in part to her actions. Which makes both of us happy. :) And no, she didn't carry me up the three flights of stairs to our apartment—I just held on to the handrail very, very tightly.

The motorboat belongs to (David) Hatter from Syfy's "Alice." Thought that I'd throw another nerd reference in there. :3