Cold:It was downright embarrassing.
Kaidan hadn't been sick since he was a child, not counting his health after BaAT, and yet here he was, coughing and sneezing, running a fever like a furnace, and all because of their mission at Noveria.
His mom really had been right. He should have put on a sweater underneath his under-suit no matter how uncomfortable he would have been.
He really was the shame of the people in Vancouver, he should be used to the cold. Resilient to it. He had grown up in the worse snowstorms Vancouver could dish out, shrugging it off like it was a summer-breeze.
He guessed there were some things he just couldn't protect himself from. The natural "heating system" in his body from his biotics may have kept him warm, but not even his best biotic shield could protect him from the invisible mini-terrorists that were currently creating havoc in his own system.
The biotic was stubborn though and a little snot hadn't stopped him before. So when his alarm-clock started howling for him to get up, he got up. It went slowly, but he got up. He felt dizzy, but he wasn't about to just lie down and admit defeat. He was an Alliance soldier, the pride of the fleet!
Getting dressed went as slowly as getting up did and he almost fell over trying to get his boots on, but he managed. He grimaced when he saw the flushed face in the mirror while fixing his hair, hoping it wasn't as red as he thought it was.
Flushing down a pill for his slowly emerging migraines and one for his fever with some water, and Kaidan saw himself as good to go, walking towards the mess-hall for a cup with coffee. Terrible taste or not, he felt he really needed it that morning so he could jump-start his system. He did have to start his shift after all, there was plenty of intel from Noveria he needed to chew his way through.
That's when things started getting a bit fuzzier for him.
He could barely remember Ash patting him on the shoulder and saying "looking like shit there, LT," as well as Garrus commenting on the interesting new shade of pale on his face. "I already was under the impression that your skin-tone was unusual for a human, but you look even paler now. Is it some sort of chemical reacting to something?"
Kaidan had merely blamed it on the slug they called coffee before heading to his work-station.
He could remember turning on his terminal, wincing as the sharp light made his eyes hurt for a moment before they adjusted.
He could remember that he'd doubled over to try and mask his coughing to the best of his abilities so the people passing him wouldn't stare too much.
He could not remember sagging over in his chair, breathing hard as his fever slowly climbed upwards, leaving him exhausted and barely awake to register the voices that suddenly appeared around him along with blurry shapes and shadows entering his vision before everything simply went black.
xoxoxoxox
Kaidan wasn't sure how much time had passed when he woke up again or why his chair was suddenly so very soft.
He let out a small trembling gasp as he felt something cold and wet against his face, breathing in sharply while opening his eyes.
"Easy, Kaidan. 's just me."
"C-commander..?"
Even with his vision slightly fussy, having not yet adjusted to the dim lights, he could recognise his Commander's blurry form.
"That is my rank, yes, last time I checked." He could hear the amused tone in Shepard's voice as the cold and wet cloth stroked over his forehead, dabbing away the sweat forming there.
He wanted to protest, but all he could muster out when opening his lips was coughing. Badly at that.
"Steady now, Kaidan. Here, have some water."
A straw was placed on his lips and Kaidan happily drank, trying to get rid of that itch that seemed to have festered inside his throat.
"There you go, don't choke now."
When the straw was removed, Kaidan let out a small cough before his breathing settled back to normal, save from the wheezing that seemed to come from his throat. "I'm sorry, Commander."
"Don't be silly, Kaidan." Shepard smiled as he settled back onto his chair, just watching the biotic. "You didn't exactly ask to turn sick. It happens to the best of us."
"It shouldn't have happened in the first place," Kaidan rasped out, and then coughed as the itching started up again.
Shepard merely smiled though and offered Kaidan more water.
"Some things just can't be controlled, Kaidan. Even though we wish we could control it."
Kaidan just let out a grunt at that, drinking his fill before settling back down against his pillow.
"You don't have to sit here, Commander," he said after a while, not looking at Shepard because he was feeling so god damned embarrassed. "I won't run away from the bed. …doubt I would get far anyway."
"It's okay, I got an hour to kill before my next shift," Shepard mused, making Kaidan smirk just a little bit.
"Though in all honesty, I wanted to make sure that you were okay. Apparently you went down rather fast."
"I'm very top-heavy," Kaidan replied, making Shepard chuckle. "Big implants and all that."
"I'm not surprised. Unlike many Alliance soldiers, your head's not exactly filled with hot air."
"I'll take that as a compliment, sir," Kaidan rasped, then blinked as Shepard shifted, leaning over to brush a curl away from Kaidan's sweaty forehead.
"You gave us a scare there, Kaidan. Gave me a scare. I had to make sure that you were okay."
If Kaidan's face wasn't already red from fever, he was sure he would have blushed. "It's just a cold, Shepard," he murmured, trying to smile some.
"Yes, but we didn't know that when you went down. You didn't tell anyone that you were feeling under the weather. Hell, for all I knew, it could have been your implants acting up. Garrus sends his best too, he feels a bit guilty that he didn't notice you being sick."
Kaidan let out a mix between a chuckle and a cough. "Mm… He's not exactly an expert on the human anatomy or physiology, is he," he murmured. "But tell him thanks anyway."
"I'll make sure to do that," Shepard mused, giving Kaidan a smile that made the biotics' heart skip a beat. "In a cool fashion of course. We're men, we're not supposed to care and all that."
"Manly men in a manly place," Kaidan agreed with a cough, though flashed Shepard a tired grin.
"Exactly," Shepard smirked as he got up from the chair, leaning over Kaidan as he pressed the underside of his arm against Kaidan's forehead to check his temperature.
"Try getting some rest, okay? Ashley's already having some chicken soup whipped up for you. Or… Well. Pinch your nose, close your eyes and pretend its chicken soup, I don't trust the labels on those damn powder-packs. I'll drop by later with some cough-syrup from Chakwas as well as something for the fever."
"You really don't have to," Kaidan protested weakly, but Shepard just gave Kaidan that small, warm smile of his. The one he showed all too rarely in Kaidan's mind.
"I know I don't have to. But I want to. Just focus on getting better, okay? I suspect we will be dry-docked for a couple of days once we hit the Citadel so you don't have to worry about missing work. There will be enough waiting for you when you get better."
"I am already looking forward to it," Kaidan murmured, trying to smile, but he was feeling his energy rapidly vanishing.
Seeing how tired the lieutenant was, Shepard seemed to not wanting to steal more of his energy as he straightened up. "I'll let you get some shut-eye. Seem like you need it."
Kaidan just let out a small grunt as he slowly started to drift off, barely able to keep himself awake enough to know that Shepard was there.
As he closed his eyes, he could have sworn he felt Shepard's hand on his forehead for a moment before it was stroking against his cheek in an almost tenderly fashion, almost like that time in the Star Observation room.
It lingered for a second or two before he heard Shepard pull away, his footsteps slowly moving away from his bed and towards what he guessed was the door.
"Rest well, Kaidan."
Then the door slid open, followed by a few more steps and the sound of the door closing again, leaving Kaidan in the semi-darkness and silence.
"… Thank you, Shepard."