A/N: Rated T for the suggestive language.

:: In Sickness and In Health ::

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If there's anything that can act as an instant mood-booster for Abhijeet, it's seeing the pretty face of his wife after many hours of missing her. And if those hours extend into days, the effect increases by at least a hundredfold.

Therefore, when the aforementioned lady shows up at their door a day earlier than her expected arrival from her medical conference trip, it takes merely a fraction of a second for the senior inspector's face to light up like a luminous bulb.

"Hello husband!," exclaims Tarika, literally crashing in Abhijeet's waiting arms with all her might and he coils his hands around her, his eyes shining brighter than the moon.

"Hi sweetheart! Why didn't you call me? I could have picked you up!," he says, without letting go of her and taking his own sweet time to have a good look at her and bends forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

The forensic doctor's long hands snake around his neck as he whispers in an affectionate tone, "well, I wanted to surprise you!"

Abhijeet smiles heartily as he stares at her. However, the next instant a light frown creases his forehead as he takes a good look at her. Her face fails to exude the usual glow and her eyes appear slightly dull. "Are you okay?," he asks with a tinge of concern.

His wife nods in response. "Yeah! I missed you so much!," she says in an impatient tone as she leans forward to kiss him.

"Talk about it!," he whispers with the same fervour before sealing her lips with a deep, heated kiss, pouring in all the days that he's missed her – the softness of her lips against his, the feel of her curls underneath his fingers and the warmth of her body snuggled between his arms.

However, it's hardly a few seconds into the kiss when she abruptly breaks the kiss and pushes him back, much to his annoyance. For the intensity with which he's been kissing her, he knows how quickly she melts under it otherwise, and for such a kiss to be broken apart so rudely, it sure shocks him.

Needless to say, he gets his answer the next second just as he's about to question her.

"Aaaachooo!," comes her frenzied voice as her head drops down to her elbow to cover her sneeze.

The sharp shooter's eyes widen in horror. "Are y- are you sick, Tarika?," he enquires in a worried tone, and his wife shakes her head violently as she answers, "No! No, I'm not sick! It's just a sneeze! Come here!" She stretches her arms to him with an intention to continue where they have left off.

Abhijeet's concern, however, is escalating by now. "Tarik-," he speaks as he cups her face, but utters is dismay once he feels her bare skin with his hands. "Oh my God, you're burning up!," he exclaims, touching her forehead to confirm his statement. Unfortunately, it's true. She does seem like having a fever.

The forensic doctor, however, appears in no mood to agree. "I'm fine!," she states adamantly, not long before her face contorts yet again indicating another sneeze. "Aaaacchoooo!," she wheezes into her palms as her husband watches in shock.

Before he can speak anything, she quickly rubs her palms on her sweater and comes closer to him, clutching the collar of his t-shirt and eyeing him seductively. "Let me show you how much I missed you, baby!," she says in a tone as alluring as her sore voice can muster.

The senior inspector does a double take, holding back her hands that have started to tease his body. "Are you kidding? You have a fever! Go and freshen up, and I'll make something for you!," he says in a slightly irritated tone.

Indeed, they're aching to get intimate, but for her to act so absurd in sickness is something he finds bewildering.

Tarika declines his demand vehemently, while holding on to him more tight than before. "I don't need anything! The only thing I… aaaachhhoooo… need is… aaacchoooo… you! Aaacchoooo!," she manages to speak amidst a series of interrupted sneezes.

The sharp shooter gives his wife a highly baffled look, before saying in a firm tone, "I don't know what this fever is doing to you, but we both cannot afford to fall sick at the same time!"

For his own good, he's well acquainted with the instances like this when a kind of inexplicable craze gets into her and she behaves like a stubborn five-year-old kid. And he knows well how to make her see sense.

The forensic doctor pouts with the same adamance of the five-year-old kid, as she grumbles, "I'm not…. Aaacchooo… sick! Come on, Abhijeet! I'm seeing you after 10 days!" She tries pulling him closer but he stops her right away.

"I'm very happy to see you too, my dear! But you should look at yourself! Your face is swollen and your nose is red and puffy…," he speaks and mildly scrunches her face in disgust when he sees her wiping her nose with her bare palm, "…and not to mention, runny!," he adds.

Tarika rolls her bloated eyes in exasperation. "It's just the tiredness! Once I get under the sheets with you, I'll be fine!... aaaachhooo!," she says with an air of mischief which later flows out with a sneeze.

The sharp shooter releases a sigh of evident defeat, trying to convince her for one last time. "Please… please go and change into something comfortable! I'll make noodles for you," he says in a persuasive tone, calculating how much longer is she going to behave so adamantly.

The forensic doctor shakes her head yet again, still not giving in to his pleading request – or bothering to act sensibly. She's missed him terribly all these days and all she wants is for him satiate her desire for him in the most tantalizing way.

"No, I ate during the flight!," she says and adds rather naughtily, "the only thing I'm hungry for is you and a whole night of some hot, passionate love!" Through her choky voice and swollen face, she still manages to bring that sensuality which normally drives him crazy. Looking at her miserable attempt at seducing him with a body heavy with fever, Abhijeet cannot help but wonder how adorable she appears even in sickness… until she moves away to sneeze again. "Aaacchoooo!"

By now, he's nearly exhausted his quota of reasoning with her, so without protesting any further, he simply says, "please go and change first."

He figures that while she changes, he will need those few minutes to gather his patience back to deal with her later… for he knows her stubborn self won't let go of something so easily.

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Ten minutes later..

The senior inspector is the living room, checking his phone when he hears a voice from the direction of the bedroom. His eyes travel to the source of the voice… only to widen to twice their normal size in sheer alarm.

"Hi handsome!," speaks Tarika as she stands at the door of their bedroom. She's wearing nothing but a rather flimsy, thin-strapped satin slip dress that ends way above her knees – a dress she knows too well to make her husband go hungry with lust and desire.

This time, however, it has a completely opposite effect on him. The sharp shooter stares at the audacity of his wife with utter disbelief and subconsciously, a voice escapes his lips. "NO!," he exclaims.

Although her body is trembling and she's failing to lure him with her moves, he cannot deny the fact that she's looking extremely enticing even in her current condition. But, it is time for her to behave sensibly and with such a demeanour, she's making things more difficult.

She makes a futile attempt to walk to him with sexy moves, failing yet again as the cold air hits her bare arms, making her shudder. She still refuses to give up, walking close to him and brushing her fingers across her revealing chest. "Does this turn you on enough? Aaaachhooo!," she whispers seductively only to be followed by a sneeze.

Abhijeet gives his quivering wife an indignant look, now deeply annoyed by her antics. "You're shivering, Tarika!," he yells exasperatedly, only for his concern to go neglected yet again.

"My body is burning for you!," says Tarika playfully, rubbing her arms to stop herself from shaking, but still refusing to admit it.

The senior inspector takes a deep breath as he responds in mild anger, "your body is burning with fever!"

"Isn't this sexy for you, baby?," asks Tarika pointing to her dress, and not bothering to pay heed to the truth he's just spoken.

Her husband gives a frustrated sigh as he answers, "it is, trust me! But you know what else is sexy? Wearing a sweater is sexy! Getting under the blanket is sexy! Taking medicines? Very sexy!"

The forensic doctor runs a teasing finger over his chest amidst her relentless shivering, much to the sharp shooter's chagrin. "Not as much as you!," she says in a sore voice.

Abhijeet's had enough now, all the patience mustered a few moments ago having consumed. Therefore, he eyes her with a deep frown and shakes his head viciously. "You won't listen like this!," he says and proceeds to swoop her up in his arms before carry her to the bedroom.

Thinking he's finally given in to her seducing, Tarika loops her hands behind her neck and whispers in his ear, "have I ever mentioned how romantic it is to have you carry me to our bed? Aaaccchhhoooo!"

'Ohh, all the germs entering my system!,' thinks Abhijeet to himself warily as she sneezes while still in his embrace.

He places her on the bed and goes ahead to search for something in her wardrobe. He glances at her momentarily, only to find her seated on the bed in a tempting pose, her puffed face adorning an attractive grin. Rolling his eyes, he ignores her before drowning his head back in the cupboard. Once he's found everything he's looking for, he approaches her again. "Alright! Legs up in the air!," he commands.

Without bothering to notice the set of clothes he's holding, Tarika speaks in a voice as erotic as she can garner, "look at you talking dirty!" Her body still hasn't stopped shaking but she chooses to ignore it.

The senior inspector closes his eyes while releasing an aggravated sigh. "Legs up in the air so I can put these trousers and these socks on them!," he groans in frustration as he holds up the said thick trousers and the pair of woollen socks.

His wife shakes her head in a childish manner. "I don't want trousers!," she pouts and adds in a deep, tantalizing tone, pointing to her satin dress, "I want you to rip this off my body, and move your tongue all over my hot skin!" She winks at him, a smirk dancing on her lips, and bends a bit to expose her cleavage to him.

Her already weary husband speaks in a tone as firm as he can manage. "Tarika, as much as I admit that offer is extremely irresistible, your health is my top priority right now!," he says, before proceeding to sit on his knees and push the trousers and socks on his wife's bare legs, blatantly ignoring her complaints of doing so. Having achieved half of what seems like a strenuous task, Abhijeet finally stands up and heaves a tired sigh of relief.

By now, the forensic doctor's body is quivering uncontrollably. "What's wrong with you, Abhijeet? Do I n-not look h-hot enough for you? Aaaachoooo! Should I ta-take this off too?," she asks pointing to the straps of her dress, while failing to stop her teeth from chattering.

"You are not going to touch that!," growls Abhijeet angrily.

"Then slip it off me, darling," says Tarika with an imploring look which she often dons to attract him.

The sharp shooter slumps his shoulders in defeat, having lost against her stubbornness. "Wear this!," he displays her sweater and struggles to put it around her neck while she whines annoyingly. "Tarika! Let me put this sweater on you!," he snaps in a furious tone and his wife obliges with a timid scowl.

After much of a hassle, the senior inspector heaves another sigh of relief. "I'll get your meds!," he says and she scrambles on the bed in a comfortable position while he rummages through the box of medicines for the needed tablet.

He holds it in his palm to hand it to her but she refuses to take it. Instead, she grabs him by his t-shirt and makes him fall on top of her. "Come to me, baby!," she hisses seductively while pulling him closer by his neck.

It has now gone beyond Abhijeet's forbearing capacity when all his efforts go in vain, and he decides to resort to the last solution, which he himself hates implementing on her. But he knows she won't listen otherwise.

Fixing her with his infamous dangerous glare, he yells at her in a strict tone. "Tarika, this is the last time! You are not well and you need to sleep; I'm not telling this again! Stop behaving like a kid! What's gotten into you?," he snarls and the forensic doctor instantly winces in fear.

Her adorable features contort in a frightened expression as she explains the reason for her irrational behaviour. "I missed you, sweetheart! And I want you so bad!," she says, looking into his eyes earnestly and her husband momentarily gulps, already feeling guilty for having shouted on her.

For someone who aches to be with his wife after returning home from a long mission and yearns to give her all his love, he can relate to the longing she's garnering for him. And although he's avoiding getting physical with her right now to give her body its required rest, he has missed her awfully.

He adopts a softer tone as he speaks again. "I know, dear, I missed you too! But you know what's right and what's wrong! You know we can't do this when you're down with fever! We don't want your health to worsen now, do we?," he says affectionately.

His wife looks at him with a sad pout. "Don't shout! You scare me," she mumbles.

"I'm sorry!," he apologizes, smiling at her as he kisses her on the forehead, and she smiles back half-heartedly.

He moves away to look for a small bottle of VapoRub in the bed-side drawer and comes back to her once he finds it.

"Now take your medicine, lie down quietly and let me rub this VapoRub on your chest," he orders her and she obeys, nodding like a little girl.

"Lie down," he instructs after she's swallowed her medicine and starts rubbing the VapoRub on her forehead once she obliges.

The forensic doctor closes her eyes as his fingers gently massage her head, throat and chest. Abhijeet stares at her beautiful features for a moment, before leaning close to her ear and whispers, "you know… once you're fit and fine, I'm going to give you the kind of love I've never given you before… and make you scream my name through the entire night." When she opens her eyes, he's looking at her with an expression she knows too well, his orbs gleaming with mischief and she is unable to stop the blush from creeping on her face, no matter how hard she tries.

"Thank you, Abhijeet! For taking care of me so lovingly!," she says endearingly as he caresses her hair.

Her husband shrugs through a smile. "Well, since you don't do that yourself, I have to take it upon myself," he replies, getting under the blanket beside her and pulling her in his embrace.

"But you do it much better," says Tarika, feeling the calming effect of the medicine, the VapoRub and importantly, his caresses on her aching body.

"Like you do for me!," mumbles Abhijeet and she smiles back through droopy eyes. He continues patting her head and she falls asleep almost immediately.

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:: The End ::