As soon as the camera was turned off, Dan erupted in a loud fit of coughing.
"Dan." Phil said as Dan coughed up a lung. "Are you okay?"
"I am so sick." Dan admitted, sniffling.
"You should really take a break tomorrow." Phil advised him.
"I'm-" Dan interrupted himself with a nasty cough. "I'm fine."
"Ooh!" Phil clapped his hands excitedly. "I could take off the day too and help take care of you and make soup and there's an experimental mixture I've been-"
"NO." Dan immediately turned him down. "I'm gonna stop you right there. Every time you try to take care of me with science, something goes horribly wrong."
"But Dan, I've already run a fews tests-"
"Phil." Dan gave him a stern look. "If it'll make you feel better I'll head to bed early, but honestly it's nothing. I'm not taking the day off."
"Fine." Phil sighed. "But can I at least make you some soup?"
"That does sound good…" Dan thought it over. "Alright. One bowl of regular chicken noodle soup. But that's it!"
"Sounds good." Phil left for the kitchen as Dan got ready for bed. Phil set the pot on the stove, carefully cooking the soup. With a quick peek into the hall to see if Dan was watching, Phil quickly pulled out the recipe for the shrinking solution. If Dan was so reluctant to stay home and rest, Phil was going to force him to stay home for his own good. Not to mention, Phil had been itching to use this solution again.
"Perfect." Phil said, adding a few spoonfuls of the solution to the soup. It smelled a bit funky, but hopefully Dan's nose would be too clogged up to notice. For good measure, Phil added a dose of sedatives to make sure Dan slept through the night. That couldn't go horribly wrong.
"Hey, Dan?" Phil knocked quietly on his roommate's door. Hearing a quiet 'come in', Phil entered. Dan was looking absolutely pathetic in bed surrounded by tissues and a runny nose, only reassuring Phil of his plan. "I brought you some soup."
"You didn't put your new solution in it, did you?" Dan squinted suspiciously at Phil.
"Uh, I didn't put my new solution in it." Phil technically didn't lie, as the shrinking solution wasn't really new. Still, he felt a little guilty as he handed the bowl over to Dan. Dan gave it a cautious sniff, but evidently couldn't smell anything.
"Thanks Phil." Dan smiled at him, taking a few hearty sips. He grimaced. "Ugh, did you burn it?"
"Er, sorry." Phil came closer. "How- how are you feeling?"
"I think I'm feeling better." Dan's eyebrows furrowed. "I've kinda got this weird feeling in my gut. What do you-" He promptly passed out. Phil was ready for this, and grabbed the empty soup bowl before the remaining bits could spill on the bed.
"I'm sorry." Phil whispered to the unconscious Dan who was already beginning to change.
The next morning, Dan awoke feeling particularly groggy. Why did his mattress feel so unsupportive, like a giant bean bag? He opened his eyes.
"Oh god." Dan groaned. He was sat on his bed pillow, looking out at a giant version of his bedroom. A giant Phil was looming over him as Phil knelt next to the bed. Dan glared at him. "Phil!"
"You were going to try and go to work!" Phil's voice seemed deeper to Dan's tiny ears. "You clearly needed rest, considering you slept until noon. But that could be the sedatives…"
"Sedatives!" Dan tried to yell, but his voice was too scratched up. "What all was in that soup?!"
"That's all I swear." Phil said. "Cross my heart. Here, I brought you some breakfast." Phil set down a normal-sized plate carrying an array of tiny objects. Not only was there a meal fit to feed eight, but several shrunken containers of meds, water, and tissues. Dan approached the plate and grabbed some toast.
"You're nuts, Phil." Dan wouldn't look him in the eye.
"You can hate me forever later." Phil said, trying to be stern. "But right now I'm here to stay by your side until you are 100% healed."
"I never took you to be such a mother hen." Dan grumbled. "I'm a grown boy, I can heal myself."
"Well since you refused to do so, I took over." Phil argued. "Make sure to take two of those. They help with the clogged sinuses." He pointed to one of the pill containers.
"If you wanted to help you could just be normal for once and stick to soup." Dan said, but he did as Phil asked and took the pills.
"Noted." Phil looked unmoved.
"Phil, I mean it." Dan craned his neck to look up at Phil. Phil crouched down so it wouldn't be so difficult on Dan. "Next time this happens, I promise to stay home if you promise to stay relatively normal during the recovery."
"Fine." Phil nodded. "But one step out the door, young man-"
"And you'll turn me into your own personal doll?" Dan raised an eyebrow. Phil had the good sense to look embarrassed. "Phil, I don't always get you, but I understand how much you care for my well-being as well as your work. I'd appreciate if you kept the two separate."
"I'm sorry, Dan." Phil said. "Can I give you an apology hug?"
"Uh…" Dan wasn't sure that was such a good idea at this size.
"I'll be gentle." Phil promised, seeing Dan hesitate.
"You're gonna get sick." Dan warned, but Phil just shrugged.
"I don't care." Carefully, Phil reached out and picked up Dan. Dan stepped back carefully but for the most part held his ground. Phil cupped Dan to his chest, doing his best to protect his friend. Phil liked when Dan was small because he knew he could take care of him, but Phil also knew it was wrong to keep shrinking Dan.
"I'm sorry, Dan." Phil was clearly apologetic. "I promise, no more shrinking."
"Thank you, Phil." Dan's voice was muffled by his jumper. Phil carefully set Dan back into bed.
"Here's the growth serum." Phil handed Dan a small glass. "Drink all of it when you're ready. I'm going to go sleep for a bit and let you rest."
"Sleep?" Dan asked. "What time did you go to bed?"
"Uh, I kinda...didn't." Phil said sheepishly. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"You're the most possessive mother hen I have ever met." Dan rolled his eyes. "Go to bed, you great oaf!" When Phil finally left to get some much-needed rest, Dan ate a bit more of the breakfast. No sense in wasting all this stuff Phil had shrunk down, after all. A few extra hours tiny wouldn't kill him. In fact, Dan was beginning to find the shrinking process a little bit ...fun. Not that he'd ever admit that to Phil, though.
"I told you you'd get sick." A normal-sized Dan leaned in the doorway a few days later. Dan had made a full recovery, but Phil had now acquired the flu.
"Would you please make me some soup?" Phil sniffled, sounding weak. He put on his best puppy eyes.
"Only because you look so darn pathetic." Dan sighed, going to the kitchen. Noticing an abandoned bottle on the counter, Dan read the label: 'shrinking solution'. Dan grinned.
"Maybe it's time for a little revenge?" Dan considered, grabbing the bottle to save for later.