Chapter 11: You Take Me Up

It wasn't his one and only trip to the bathroom for sure, but Joe settled back into bed quickly to stop from shivering. His churning stomach was already doing a number on him and it seemed to have affected his entire body's ability to function normally. Joe shuffled close to Cameron so he could curl up, cramps giving him agony for real. He stuffed both fists into his midsection as it momentarily gave the appearance of some relief.

"You're all soaked in sweat again," his lover remarked, leaning on an elbow so she could place her other hand on his forehead.

"I'm sorry but I can't take a shower right now. I just need to lie here if that's ok," Joe pleaded. His insides rolled and burbled awfully.

"Is it that bad?" Cameron worried, offering a sympathetic smile. "Would it help if I rubbed it?"

"Possibly," he allowed. Not as if anybody else ever rubbed his stomach for him to know.

"Turn on your back so I can reach properly," the blonde suggested.

Easier said than done. Joe winced and more wiggled on the bed a bit rather than outright turned, trying to comply in a way that didn't send him straight back to the bathroom with the upheaval. Noticing his struggles, her hands moved to his chest and under his back, supporting him instinctively. It didn't help much physically, but it assured him of her fretfulness and it felt good. Joe moaned in response to the stirring of his insides, throwing his head back and trying to get comfortable. His hands remained on his belly, cradling his midsection very gently.

"Where does it hurt?" Cameron's hands hovered indecisively.

Joe sighed and moved his fingers perpendicularly over his belly button, "here, mostly," he groaned, "it doesn't want to stop.." He moved one hand higher and one hand lower to allow her access.

Cameron reached and tugged on the simple grey t shirt he was sleeping in to uncover his abdomen. Biting her bottom lip, she took a second to appreciate the flat and freckled plane of his stomach. The programmer had always loved touching him, touching him everywhere. The scars she loved especially, despite their origins, her fingers were always drawn to them as if spellbound. This time though she placed her hand down firmly on the area he had indicated earlier and pushed the heel of her palm in for starters, believing to have been gentle enough, but he winced and his stomach growled loudly as he felt as if his whole insides shifted. "Sorry!" She panicked and just let her hand lie on his abdomen for a bit. Since he just closed his eyes and didn't push her away, she featherlightly, gingerly glided her fingers round his belly button, very gently this time as not to further aggravate the cramping she felt under his skin.

"That's good," he assured her, so she travelled further, fingers searching up and down carefully and circling wider as she did so on his alternatingly soft and hard and noticeably empty tummy. "You can go a bit harder," he requested, "to work out the pain."

"I'll try," Cameron answered soothingly. She edged closer against him for a better room for manoeuvre and started to rub around alternatively gentle and more rough, mindful of his facial expressions and soft whimpers he couldn't supress when her fingers sank a little too deep. "Are you sure you want me to continue?" She fretted. There were definite low groans and long gurgles marking her ministrations that came from inside his digestive system.

"It feels real nice," he whispered, blinking up at her with a candid expression, frown smoothed over. "belly rubs are simply the best." Her soft hands, her palm against his navel did actually feel good. It didn't lessen the pain, but the continued touches took his mind away from it. It took some more silent minutes, but he finally started to feel relaxed, his exhaustion due to not eating for days helping him quieten. Somnolence taking over, he yawned, moving a hand up haphazardly to cover his mouth. It was a bad idea. Joe grunted at the aching gurgle that they movement caused and her hand already moved towards it to soothe it out so he assumed it would just be a momentary discomfort, but he was wrong. The aching deepened and turned into a full blowing cramp that made him hold his breath and swallow against the pain. Then several sharp, stabbing sensations in his gut later that made him break out in sweat, he knew he had to make it to the bathroom immediately. Knowingly, Cameron let him wriggle out from under her and his own hands took over the grappling his very upset tummy, hands he continuously tried to move up and down to soothe the agony while he took the time to close the door and pull down his trousers, during which he wondered if taking those laxatives was really worth her giving him attention. Miserable, he whimpered and panted, cramps not easing even when he was finished and knew there was nothing else there to expel.

Cameron knocked on the door a moment later, "Joe? I could come in if you need help?" She offered.

"Wouldn't be a nice experience," he flushed and stepped out, "I'm really sorry about all this," he grimaced, expression gloomy and sincere.

She looked up at him, studying his appearance carefully for clues to his wellbeing, "it's ok. I don't have to be here, it was my choice. I just want you to feel better," Cameron pulled him into her arms and hugged him. "Come lie down," she gently pulled him in the bed's direction. "How is your stomach now?"

"Still kind of terrible," he flinched apologetically. His guts burbled again loudly to confirm.

"The belly rub isn't really helping is it?"

"Not really," he admitted, climbing onto the matrass carefully in a way he didn't need to move his stomach muscles much.

She smiled sadly, "is this normal for that illness you've got?" The young woman took care following his lead as she climbed up after him.

"Unfortunately," he concentrated on taking even breaths to get his attention away from the agonizing roiling in his belly, "and it's not likely to go away any time soon. Food does that sometimes. When my stomach decides it needs rest, nothing agrees with me, it just churns around."

"You could've said so I don't forcefeed you!" Cameron complained.

"We both know you would've not accepted that," Joe protested.

"So what could we do?" The programmer probed, always a woman of action.

"You could continue the massage," he pleaded with a pained expression, indicating what he wanted her to do by rubbing small circles on his own belly. "I was missing your hands more than I was upset by having to run to the toilet. It will help me get comfortable."

Cameron nodded sympathetically and without sound, she pulled his arms away gently and mimicked his previous actions, the way he was touching his belly himself, not wanting to hurt him. The noises his stomach was still making worried her and so did the constricting of the wall of his abdomen or the whinges he tried to stifle. It was obvious he was not comfortable, and that he was worse than before as he squirmed and twisted and sometimes couldn't help but rub a few fingers over an area she wasn't touching at the time. But she just stroked and rubbed for a bit till he suddenly sat up, cradling his midsection with both arms, shaking his head, "ahhhh…" He leaned forward, gripping his offending body part rigidly, body trembling.

"I can't watch you in so much pain," Cameron frowned, "we should get you back to hospital."

"I'm used to severe pain," he tried, but the keening voice didn't help his case.

"Severe?" The young woman leaned closer to his face, alarmed. "How much pain are you in? Has it been this bad before?"

"Of course," he squeezed his eyes shot against the awful yanking of his intestines, "no reason to run to hospital cause of a little diarrhoea." But to the bathroom he did run, repeating the procedure from earlier, with the girl hovering by the door as before. "Are you sure? You don't look good," the woman nagged as soon as he entered the room, "is it getting better at all?"

"It's maybe stopped," he held his belly, assessing it, "it grumbles, but it doesn't cramp like it's gonna rip me in half," he sighed thankfully. Hopefully the laxatives have finished doing their thing cause he wasn't sure he could take much more of that.

"So you're feeling better?" She put a hand on his abdomen, hopefully as well.

"Yeah." He nodded tiredly, "I just want to sleep it off." Even if she left on her innovative ventures the next day. This whole charade was too draining, he would gladly give it up for the night. "Let's just rest," he directed them both in the direction of the bed.

"I'll get you some water, you need to drink," Cameron untangled herself, "lie down, I'll be a minute," she went to get a glass.

Joe didn't care much. The fact that moving didn't aggravate his stomach had to be a good sign. It almost didn't bother him at all at the moment. He closed his eyes, sighing. Lying there will be perfect in a moment once Cameron joins him, who had just come back with the previously stated item, alerting him to the fact by fingers softly tangling into his curls. "I don't want to sit up," he complained.

"Then just lean up on your elbow?" Cameron frowned admonishingly. If he wasn't so sick, she would laugh, he sounded like a baby. "Small mouthfuls," she reminded when he complied with her prior suggestion. Babying Joe wasn't as unfun as she thought it would be. "And take these," she held out some pills.

Joe spotted the items on her palm, horrified, "what?" He muttered, unnerved, despite himself.

"There have been more than four hours since you've taken a dose of anti-inflammatories," she explained, "which means you can take more. If you are really going to sleep, you need these to have time to work on you while you rest."

He held his mouth open for a while, grappling with himself for a bit. The fake anti-inflammatories were not a welcome sight, but if he had time to put his fingers down his throat after within the next few minutes it will all be ok. It will be out his system before it could do much harm. Not as if puking should surprise her. Having done as he was told, he sat the empty glass on the nightstand and sank back, waiting for her to settle behind her.

Cameron nestled, with little kisses to his shoulders and back of his neck. She didn't know it was desire that made him shiver, not sickness, but she pulled the covers over them all the same. He shifted so that he could look at her and sneaked out a hand to cup her cheek fondly and pull her towards himself for a kiss. It was so much pleasure meeting her lips it almost hurt, he cared for nobody like he cared for her affections. The kiss was light and it was shortly followed by a next one and a next one as he lazily fingered her hair and stroked her arm. It was how he imagined sleeping for eternity, dozing on and off, peppered with gentle kisses in between. He shouldn't forget going to the bathroom though to get rid of those pills before he falls properly asleep.

Tbc