Chapter 23

[Emily's POV]

I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible, aching feeling in my stomach. I moaned and rolled over to my other side, but that just made it worse. I rolled up my shirt so my stomach was exposed to the cool, night air. That brought some relief, but not much. I took a deep breath and suddenly felt a strong response begin to happen.

I leapt out of my bed and raced to my bathroom, sliding to a halt in front of my toilet. In one more shudder, I was vomiting all of last night's dinner. I shook hard and knew I looked like a pasty-faced monster. I slid to the floor and curled up in the fetal position.

The floor is nice and cold, I thought to myself. Emily likes nice cold floor. Emily doesn't want to move. Another shudder wracked my body and I groaned, shivering hard. Someone please help...

I laid there for what seemed like hours before I could find the strength to flush the toilet, wash my face off, and crawl back towards my bed. Once there, I curled up back in the fetal position.

Suddenly, a wave of cold washed over me and I shrieked, ducking underneath my covers. Goosebumps laced my arms and it hurt to just breathe.

There was a light knocking on my door, and I heard someone whisper, "Emily? Are you alright?"

I didn't want to answer. It hurt too much to do so.

I ducked my head under my covers and brought my knees up next to my chest to conserve body heat. The door creaked open and I could hear someone shuffling along the floor. The covers rolled back a bit and I hissed, ducking even further.

"Emily...why are you hiding underneath the covers?"

"Cold," I stuttered. "V-Very, very c-cold."

The person was silent for a moment before completely yanking all my blankets off my bed. I screamed with annoyance and lunged to grab them, but someone wrapped their arms around my stomach, squeezing ever so slightly.

Bad mistake.

Immediately, I felt the shudder and was able to disconnect myself from the person before I narrowly made it back into the bathroom and vomited once more.

"Oh Emily..." the voice whispered. They strode into my bathroom and flicked the lights on.

"Why...are...you...here?" I panted, leaning my head against the tub.

Loki raised an eyebrow at me before grabbing a nearby towel and turning the sink on.

"I was getting what you Midgardians call a 'midnight snack' when I heard you screaming. I figured I might as well see what was happening," Loki coolly responded. "Now, sit still." He flushed the toilet again and began to wipe all the icky stuff off my face. He placed a hand on my forehead and I purred when I realized how nice and cold it was. "You're running a fever." He washed the towel once he was done and laid it out to dry. "Get undressed and take a shower. The warm water will help relax your muscles and make you feel better. I shall grab a nice, warm towel for you to use once you exit."

"If you think that you will be helping me then, you are wrongfully mistaken," I spat, wincing as my stomach clenched up.

"Please, you already rejected my advances once, I shant waste my time again," Loki growled, rolling his eyes. "I will fetch the Scarlet Witch or the Black Widow. Either one will please you?" I nodded and he walked off, closing the bathroom door behind him.

After five minutes of waiting for my stomach to calm down, I slowly undressed myself and slipped into the shower, asking Jarvis to automatically turn on the water.

Loki was right. Just lying down in the shower as the hot water pounded my skin felt fantastic. I stayed there until someone knocked on the door. I flicked the shower off and used my magic to open the door for them.

"Emily! Are you alright?" Natasha asked from behind the curtain. I nodded, and when I realized she couldn't see, sheepishly added, "Yeah, I-I'm good. Not feeling too hot though."

"Loki's waiting in your room. Refused to leave, saying he was your 'healer' or whatever that was about," Natasha remarked, rubbing her eyes. She shut the door behind her and said, "But he does know how to pick nice towels. I grabbed you some clothes to put on once you're nice and dry."

"O-Ok."

With Natasha's help (and twenty minutes of time), I was able to dry off completely and slip into a loose, baggy men's t-shirt and sweatpants that fit me perfectly. She led me out and laid me down on my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin.

"I'm going to go get Clint," she said quietly, pushing any loose hair out of my face. "He'll want to know. In that time, I'm leaving you in charge of Loki. Also, don't push these covers down. The hotter you are, the faster your fever will break."

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered back, and she laughed.

"Atta, girl," she smiled before walking off. I did notice she sent a glare at Loki, who was lounging around on the floor by my bathroom door.

After a moment of silence, I asked, "What is a healer?"

Loki looked at me with confusion until I further explained, "Natasha said I was in charge. I can talk to you if I want to. So, answer me: what is a healer?"

"On Asgard, healers are the equivalent to your Midgardian 'doctors'," Loki said, crossing his arms across his chest. "They use their magic to help the conditions of their patients."

"Can you do that for me?" I asked, and he raised an eyebrow, shaking his head sadly.

"When I was forced to come to that blasted party, your 'Avengers' took precautions," he said, holding up his hands. I noticed in the soft, squishy piece of skin between his thumbs and forefingers, was a small, black lump. "These pieces of the Man of Iron's technology prevent me from using any kind of magic."

The door flung itself open and Clint stormed in, his eyes ablaze with worry.

"Emily!" he gasped, rushing to my side. He placed a hand on my forehead and almost 'melted'. "You're burning up."

"As I've figured out," I snarked, and his lips formed a thin line. "Sorry, sarcasm is strongest in me when I'm uncomfortable."

"I grabbed you medicine," Natasha said, handing me pills and a tall glass of water. "You want to drink that in sips. It'll upset your stomach even more otherwise."

"Thank you," I said, nodding to each of them (despite the pain). I took the pills with the water and then set it down on my bedside table. "C-Can I try and go to s-sleep?"

"It would be wise to do so, yes," Loki answered before Clint or Natasha could. "Sleep, while it will be difficult to achieve, will help dampen the side affects of your sickness." I whispered a thank you to him before snuggling up in my covers as best as I could, and falling asleep.

:/:\:

[Clint's POV]

I flipped around and glared at Loki, motioning for him to walk out of the room with Natasha and me. He obediently followed and once we were outside of her room, I jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Alright, start talking," I growled. "Why were you in Emily's room?"

"I was grabbing a snack and heard her cry out," Loki said, his face calm. "I decided I might as well help. Nothing eventful happens here, except with Discord."

"You do not have authorization to see her one-on-one," Natasha spat, folding her arms across her chest. She cocked her hip out and narrowed her eyes at Loki. "You have no right."

"I have every right, and you know it!" growled Loki, raising his voice for the first time since he arrived. "I have every right to see someone who was a light unto my life; someone who made me a better man!" He was silent for a moment, before adding, "You will see here, the Black Widow and the Hawk's Eye...neither of you, nor your pretty little Avengers, will stop me from seeing Emily Salgado. None of you."

With that, I properly punched him in the face and with Natasha, dragged him off.

A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Over 10,000 views! Guys, you have really made my week, despite the really bad one I had.

Why did I write an Sick!Emily fanfic? Well...tbh, I've been pretty sick this past week. It started on Thanksgiving, which made me only be able to have a King Hawaiian Roll for Thanksgiving dinner (great, right?), and now, today, so four days. I've been weak, feverish, vomiting, and diarrhea. I used how I felt and placed this in with Emily.

So...what do you guys think Loki meant by he has every right to see Emily and they (Clint and Nat) know it?

Please, leave any comment, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories y'all may have. (Start listening to that wonderful Christmas music as well!)

Have a great Sunday!

BecomingFearless1F