A/N: I just want to thank everyone for the amazing feedback! I appreciate each and every single word. Thank you for all the amazing ideas you have put forward and for all the fluffiness and love you have shown kitty!killian! 3


Emma stopped in the middle of the street, taking a deep breath and trying to overcome the urge to throw up for the tenth time that day. She put a hand to her forehead. Yup, she was running a fever alright. She sighed and continued on her way home, trying her best to hurry her pace. Her only consolation was that Henry was at a slumber party and her parents were meeting Ruby tonight for some long overdue catching up so chances were they would be at Granny's till morning. That guaranteed her solitude in wrestling with her fever. And a kitty Killian who, she supposed, would take one look at her and get out of the way. She knew that Snow would kill her, if she found out that she had been feeling sick and hadn't called her, but Emma just couldn't picture someone holding her hair back for her. No one had done it before and she didn't need anyone to start doing it now.

Finally reaching her door, Emma walked in, throwing her jacket to the side, without caring where it fell, and heading for the kitchen to make herself some tea. Her throat was already killing her and she could only guess how much worse it was going to get during the course of the night. She was just putting the teapot on when Killian bounced into the room, coming over to her and bumping her leg with his little head.

"Hey," her voice was hoarse and she sneezed as she knelt down to the kitten's eye level, making him take an instinctive step back. "Sorry."

She ran her hand over her nose, her eyebrows drawing together as she felt the world start to spin, and sat on the floor with her back to the kitchen island. Killian jumped in her lap and she started scratching him behind the ears without even realizing it. Her head was pounding and she was just about to get up and look for some pills when an unusual sound drew her attention to the fluffy pirate in her hands.

"Are you purring?" she asked in disbelief, laughing out loud even though the action brought tears to her eyes because it felt like someone was using a grader on the inside of her throat.

Fuck.

Killian instantly got himself under control but it was already too late. The last of his pride had been shredded to pieces.

Emma saw him trying his hardest to restrain the sounds coming from him and only intensified her ministrations, giving her full attention to bringing pleasure to the furball in her hands.

Oh, God! Swan, you're playing dirty.

He knew he was fighting a lost battle. With a resigned groan, he turned over, letting her scratch his white belly, and resumed his purring. Even if his whole crew had burst through the door in that moment, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself, not when her magical fingers were doing such magical things to him.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself because I feel like I'm about to die."

Killian opened his eyes, which he really didn't remember closing, and looked at his Swan. She did look unusually pale, her nose red and her eyes shining kind of unnaturally. His curiosity, not concern, nope, his curiosity, won out and he let himself meow in question. Emma grinned down at him but her eyes were half-closed.

"I don't know," she whined a little. "I think I'm coming down with something."

She stood up to see if her tea was ready. And found out that feeling like she did and standing up too quickly were not mixable because in the next second she was running towards the bathroom, a confused kitten staring after her. Soon enough he heard her getting rid of everything she had eaten that day.

Think you're already down with something, lass.

Killian frowned, looking around.

Aha!

He jumped on top of the kitchen island, knocking a bottle of water to the ground. Once down again, he took the cap between his teeth, trying really hard not to twist it, and started walking backwards, dragging the bottle in the direction Emma had ran in moments ago.

He found her sitting on the tiled floor next to the toilet, her head leaning on the wall behind her. He left the bottle next to her, nudging her right hand with his nose.

"Oh," Emma looked down and accepted the water, taking a small sip. "Thanks."

Her hand automatically settled on his back, stroking back and forth, but he was pretty sure the action was more for her benefit than his own. She stood motionless for a few minutes, only her hand moving through his fur, and he started to think that she had dozed off when suddenly her eyes popped open and she was frantically pushing him away from her before leaning over the toilet once more.

It was gonna be a long night.


An hour later Emma still hadn't moved from her position on the cold bathroom floor and had resigned herself to the fact that she couldn't make Killian leave. She was just gonna pretend that cats didn't have heightened senses in order to retain her sanity.

For his part, the pirate was getting more and more worried every time Emma's hand reached out for him because it was always hotter than before. He shook off her touch, laying his paw on her palm and then pulling it back quickly as if it had burned him. The blonde watched him for a few moments before realizing what he was trying to tell her. Right. The nausea wasn't her only problem. She put her hand to her forehead, trying to clear her mind long enough to figure out what she needed. Deciding to start with some good old aspirin, she tried to get to her feet only to find the world spinning even faster than before, her hand going to her stomach as pain shot through her. She dropped back down, breathing heavily. Killian meowed in what, to her, seemed like great distress. Great, now she was getting delusional.

Dammit, Swan! Stay on your ass and tell me what to do!

"Oh God!" Emma doubled over for the hundredth time but by now she had nothing in her stomach left to lose so she just shook with dry heaves.

Once she had her breathing under control, she looked at the black-and-white kitten that was nervously bouncing on his paws.

"OK, Killian," her voice was barely audible. "I need you to go in my room an- dammit, you can't open the drawer."

Like hell I can't!

He growled at her, nodding his head vigorously.

"You- OK, fine, in the last drawer of my nightstand there is a little white box , it says 'aspirin' on it."

Before she could say anything else, Killian shot out of the bathroom. Reaching his destination in record time he stood up on his back legs and grabbed the handle with his front paws. He gritted his teeth and tried to pull, only to lose his grip and fall on his back, gasping as the air was knocked out of him.

Bloody hell!

He tried again. And then again. And then scratched the drawer in frustration.

Right. Of course. It's no harm staying a fucking furball for a few more days. It's aaall good. Idiot!

Suddenly getting an idea he stood up again, grabbing the handle with his teeth this time and starting to pull.

Fuck! That hurts.

He was pretty sure his jaw was about to break in half when the drawer gave a creak and slid open. He pulled harder anyway, making sure the crack was big enough for him to sneak in. Once inside he put his new night vision to use, locating the box Emma needed. Grabbing it in his teeth, ignoring how hard his jaw was throbbing, he ran back into the bathroom.

Emma's eyed were closed once more and she was simply concentrating on breathing in and out when she felt something bumping into her hand. She looked down into Killian's blue eyes.

"Oh my God! You're bleeding!" she picked him up, whipping away the blood in the corner of his mouth and trying to pray it open to see where it was coming from.

Killian, however, kept twisting around, trying to get out of her grasp, and nodding towards the pills on the floor.

"You're so stupid," murmured Emma, stroking his head. "I probably could have crawled there, you know?"

What and take away the only chance I'll ever get to play your knight in shining… fur? Come on, Emma, with a girl like you a guy has to seize the moment.

She put him down long enough to swallow two pills and then took him back into her arms, lying down on the tiles and waiting for the pills to work their magic enough for her to be able to reach her bed.

Mind you, nothing more amazing than a woman who can fight her own battles. But I do have an ego to take care of, lass.


After aabout half an hour Emma finally managed to drag herself into her bedroom, sneaking under the covers and letting out a sigh of relief. Her nausea was almost gone but her temperature had been barely affected by the pills and Killian was restlessly pacing up and down on top of the covers.

"I'll be fine," whispered Emma because her throat wasn't capable of much else by that time. "This is not the first time I have been sick, you know? I've had way worse than this. And I've never had someone taking care of me before."

She gave him a tired smile but Killian just scoffed back at her. Yeah, right! He was taking great care of her.

He thought about trying to dial Snow or the hospital.

And what? Meow?!

Then he thought about what he did when he was sick.

Yeah, don't think rum is the answer this time, mate.

Then he got an idea. One that he guessed any cat would be absolutely appalled by.

Good thing I'm not really one.

He jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom once again. He distinctly heart Emma going on about him not even leaving when she had been puking her guts out and running away now but he was too focused on his mission.

A minute later a very wet kitten jumped on Emma's bed, rubbing his cold fur onto her hot skin.

"Oh God!" she moaned in approval, trying to hug him to herself but he evaded her.

Killian knew which bases he had to cover. Her forehead, her wrists, the back of her knees and her elbows, as well as her neck. He ran back and forth between her room and the sink a dozen times. Finally he decided that, even he didn't know for sure if shewas better, she certainly looked like it.

I'll have you know, lass, I haven't made even one suggestive comment in my head through that whole process of getting you wet. Except this one.

Emma focused her gaze on him.

"You done running around?" she asked softly.

Killian rolled his eyes at her but nodded.

Why, you're welcome, Swan.

In the next moment Emma was pulling him towards herself, she snuggled him just beneath her chin and sighed softly.

"Good," she murmured before finally falling asleep.