Danny groaned as the alarm kept beeping. He sleepily reaches for his phone, knocking it off the nightstand. Groaning once again, he reached for it and, once found, hit the snooze button. Five more minutes of sleep couldn't hurt—although, Danny was hurting all over. He wondered if it was from the recent surgery. He had caught two bullets, one in his shoulder and one in his calf. He had been cleared for desk duty a week ago, much to his wife's dismay.
The alarm went off again, this time being stopped by Linda. "Hey." She whispered, dropping the phone to the bed.
"'Ning." Danny mumbled, the first three letters of 'morning' getting left out.
Linda chuckled softly while her husband propped himself up with his elbows. His vision a little blurry, he looked at his wife. Rubbing his face, he wondered, "What're you doing up this early?"
"It's eleven."
"In the morning?"
"Yeah."
He sat up, "Do I not have work today?"
"Not anymore." Putting her book down, she looked at him. "Don't you remember? You were throwing up all night. So I called your boss, and said you had some sorta bug... I think it's the flu."
"Oh... and you're still sitting here?"
"Danny, I'm exposed to every germ imaginable over at the hospital. I think I'm immune. When was the last time I was sick anyways?"
"Two Christmases ago, I think."
"Somethin' like that." She reached over to the bedside table. "Here. Put your glasses on."
Danny took them from her and put them on, grimacing. He had moved his shoulder too fast.
"You okay? How're the injuries?"
"My calf's fine, since it was only muscle. My shoulder's being finicky."
"I'll get some Tylenol." Linda swung her legs over the side of the bed and retreated to the bathroom.
Danny groaned and settled into the covers. He hated being sick, whether it be a simple cold or the full blown flu. He smiled weakly when Linda came back with the Tylenol, water, and the thermometer.
Setting them on the table, she opened the drawer where she kept a stethoscope. She slung the stethoscope around her neck, almost as if she were on autopilot. She handed Danny the pills then the water. "Hold still." She softly commanded as she climbed in bed next to him. She put the thermometer in his ear, waited for the beep, then read him his temperature. "One-oh-two point five." She repeated the motions in the other ear, "one-oh-three." She sighed, "the Tylenol should bring down the fever."
Danny smiled a little bit as she put the ear pieces of the stethoscope in her ears. "You're so good to me."
Linda smiled but shushed him. "Deep breath... and again... once more..." she took the stethoscope out of her ears and returned it to the lazily slung position around her neck. "I think it's the flu, but you've got a doctor's appointment at two."
Danny nodded, "I love you."
Smiling, the nurse responded, "I love you more."
"I love you most."
"It's not the end of the world if you kiss me."
Danny grinned and gave Linda a soft peck, desperately wanting the usual tongue access, but not wanting her to get sick.
It turned out Linda was right, Danny had gotten the flu. When asked about the flu shot, the detective answered "I have no idea if I got it or not."
"Danny!" Linda complained.
"I Maybe got it with the tetanus shot..."
The doctor looked it up, saying Danny had received it, but was probably too late. She sent him home, with instructions to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.
Once all better- from the flu and bullet wounds- Danny thanked Linda all night long for looking after him. She just shrugged and said it was her job, as a wife and a nurse.
