So this a little thing I thought of while I myself am sick...Being sick is so awful...
A few things to mention first. Brennan may seem a little out of character, but she's sick. Being sick makes people miserable and being miserable makes people not act as themselves...SO DEAL WITH IT! BWAHAHAHA!!! *Cough* ...Also, I have no clue if Brennan is vegan or not. I'm just going by the fact that Miss Deschanel is...And I feel I should note that I'm not vegan, so even though it's only minorly mentioned, I wanted to point that out in case there's something I got wrong....
And the though of Zack cooking just made me giggle. After all, they do say science was born in the kitchen! (Aaaaaand Zack makes such a cute little housewife! D'aww!!!)
Yesh....So this is 25 Flu! ENJOY!
Brennan sniffled and reached for another tissue before a violent coughing fit took over. She hated being sick. When she was sick, she couldn't go to work; she couldn't be comforted by the bones she held so dear to her.
She groaned when she heard her doorbell ring. Tossing her warm comforter off, she slipped off the makeshift bed she had created from the sofa and made her way to the door. She opened it and was a little shocked to see Zack standing there, four bags hanging off each arm.
"Hello, Doctor Brennan. I heard you were sick so I thought I might try to help you get better. The lab is quite dull without you there."
Brennan placed her hands over her mouth as another coughing fit attacked. "Thank you, Zack, but I really don't want to get you sick as well."
"It's no problem, Doctor Brennan. I don't normally catch whatever's going around, so I doubt you'll get me sick."
She nodded. "If you're certain." She stood aside for him to come in and then closed her door.
Zack looked around. Her apartment was dark; all the curtains had been closed tightly. Bowls littered her coffee table, some empty and some with a little bit of soup left in them. There were two cups on the table and three water bottles. The rest of her coffee table housed an array of pills.
"Sorry about the mess." He realized she had been watching him as he observed their surroundings and he blushed a little.
He shook his head. "You've been sick for three days; no need to apologize."
She plopped back down on the sofa, coughing once more.
"You rest, Doctor Brennan. I'll clean up. Do you mind if I use your stove? I brought the ingredients for my mother's homemade soup. It cures any illness." He smiled at her.
"Of course not, Zack. Just don't burn anything." She gave him a half grin before her throat set about its ritual of coughing every time she tried to speak.
He nodded weakly, a concerned expression gracing his features. "Can I get you anything for now?"
"Maybe some more tea. It's been helping so far."
"Of course." He grabbed one of the empty cups, eager to assist in her recovery. He bounded over to her kitchen, filled the cup with hot water, and proceeded to look for tea bags. Upon finding some, he set one in, swirling it around, and made his way back over to his mentor.
He gently handed her the cup. Picking up the bags, he made his way back into the kitchen, digging around for cooking utensils.
"Are you allergic to anything, Doctor Brennan?" he called from the kitchen.
"No, but I don't eat meat."
"I know, Doctor Brennan." Whether she had mentioned this at work sometime, or had just observed this for himself, he couldn't remember. But he did know she was vegan.
So he set about fixing up a soup that he hoped would make her feel better. Any time he or one of his siblings was sick, his mother would fix this very same soup. It had always made them feel better and he was sure it'd help Brennan.
He smiled to himself as he stirred the broth. He felt like such a housewife, fixing her soup and planning on cleaning up her apartment. But she was sick and he wanted to take care of her. It was the closest he'd ever get to really showing her how much she meant to him.
He spooned some of the soup into a bowl and headed back over to his mentor. Brennan sneezed three more times, reached for a tissue, and sneezed again. Zack sat on the edge of the sofa.
"Are you okay, Doctor Brennan?"
She nodded. "Sorry, Zack. I usually never get sick." Zack felt awful; Brennan looked miserable and there wasn't much he could do to make her illness go away. But the soup was as good a try as any. So he lifted the spoon from the bowl, gave it a second to cool a little, and held it close to Brennan's mouth.
"You're feeding me?" she half smirked.
"Yes. If you were to go into a sneezing or coughing fit while holding the bowl, you could burn yourself. This seemed the most logical course of action." And if Zack ever allowed himself to admit it, he had always wanted to do this.
She smiled at him. "Very well, then." And she opened her mouth.
The soup was nice and warm against her scratchy throat. "This is exceptional, Zack. I had never realized you could cook."
His ears turned reddish as he smiled. "My mother taught me."
He continued feeding her until the soup in the bowl was gone.
"You should rest now, Doctor Brennan." He smiled at her as she settled back onto the sofa. He was so pleased to be able to help her, even just a little.
He then set about cleaning her apartment. He grabbed bowls, cups, any sort of dishes and set them in the sink. He decided to wash the dishes first so when he was done with the rest of the apartment, the dishes would be dry and he could put them away.
Once done washing the dishes, he wandered around the apartment, fixing up anything he could. After a while, he went back and put the dishes up.
There was so much he wanted to do, but only so much he could do. And eventually he ran out of things to do. He plopped down on one of her arm chairs and sighed.
What else could he do?
Brennan rolled over, coughing once more. Her comforter slipped down a little.
Zack smiled and pulled it back up.
He supposed it'd just be the little things from now on.
He'd help her get better, one bowl of soup at a time.
