Peggy's alarm clock went off and she woke up to the realization that she was sick. She had a splitting headache and it felt like there was something living in her stomach that wanted to get out. She sat up to turn off her alarm clock and groaned as her headache got worse for a second.
Might as well call the hospital to tell them she couldn't come in. There was no way she could work like this. She picked up her phone and pressed the speed-dial button #2.
"Hi, Chrissy, it's Peggy," she talked to the secretary, "I can't come in today, I think I've got the flu virus that's been going around..... I know, but there's just no way I can..... thanks, bye"
She plopped back down on her bed and winced as her head reacted to her sudden move. It would be a good idea to get some sleep. She closed her eyes, but opened them a few seconds later as she swallowed and clapped her hands over her mouth. She sighed in relief. False alarm.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was noon. Declan was driving his truck down to the hospital. He figured he'd find Peggy in the cafeteria and they could eat lunch together. It had been almost a week since he had seen her last.
He arrived in the hospital parking lot and parked in the nearest space. He walked inside and made his way to the cafeteria and scanned the room for Peggy's familiar face, but she wasn't there. Slightly worried, he went to the front desk.
"Hey, d'ya know where Dr. Fowler is?" he asked the woman at the desk.
"She called in sick this morning," she answered, "said she had the flu virus that's been going around."
"Thanks," he said as he walked out the door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Peggy sat up in her bed, paying no attention to her headache. Her hands were once again clapped over her mouth as she looked frantically around the room for a bowl.
"Peggy?" she heard a voice coming from around her front door. It was Declan. How did he know? Pretty soon she heard footsteps coming toward her bedroom and the door opened. Declan came in at the exact moment when Peggy couldn't hold her puke in anymore.
Declan winced. "I'll go get a towel," he said as he put two thermoses and a brown paper bag on the table by her dresser and left the room. About ten seconds later, he came back. "Where do you keep the towels?"
"In the kitchen, to the left of the dishwasher, the third drawer down," she informed him.
"Thanks," he said as he flashed his cute little smile and left the room again.
Peggy lay down in her bed again. About a minute later, Declan came in the room once more. He was carrying a towel and a small bucket, but she had no idea where he had gotten the bucket from. He went right to work cleaning up the puke.
"You've definitely got good timing," Peggy commented.
Declan looked up and smiled, "It's a gift."
Peggy smiled weakly, "You really didn't have to do this,"
"'Course I did," Declan replied, "I wouldn't want to leave you here alone all day." He finished cleaning and disappeared from the room once more.
Peggy turned her attention to the two thermoses and the brown paper bag Declan had set on the table by her bed. She smiled. It was nice to have such a good friend.
Declan returned again.
"What did you bring me?" Peggy asked, nodding to the two thermoses and the brown paper bag.
"Oh!" Declan exclaimed, "I just got a few things from the store that I thought would help. This," he said, pointing to the first thermos, "is ginger tea. It's supposed to help your stomach. I guess I was a little late for that...."
Peggy nodded.
"This," he said, pointing to the second thermos, "is chicken noodle soup, because that always helps. Finally, this," he said pointing to the brown paper bag, "is what I call the sickness first-aid kit. It has aspirin, water, and a book of crossword puzzles."
"Crossword puzzles?" Peggy questioned.
"Well, I know how boring it can be when you're sick and you have nothing to do but lie in bed."
"Oh."
"And I almost forgot," he said, "I'll be back in a second with something else." He left yet another time. This time, when he returned, he had a single yellow rose.
"Just something for you to look at," he said, giving the rose to her.
"How did you know...." Peggy trailed off. Yellow roses were her favorite flower.
"I gotta go," Declan said, "I've got a class to teach."
Peggy nodded.
"Get some rest, okay?"
"I will."
"See ya later."
"Bye."
Peggy studied the rose for a moment, then set it down and took some aspirin, washing it down with the bottled water. Then she took the thermos of ginger tea and drank some. It was still nice and hot and it made her feel a lot better.
She was tired now, so she decided to go to sleep. She would do the crossword puzzles later.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan searched through the mess of papers, books, and magazines on his desk. He had put his lesson plan on his desk right before he went to the hospital, but it had disappeared into the mess.
He sighed. He would have to reprint it.
He opened up the document on his computer and clicked on the print icon. Then, he sat down to wait for the extremely slow printer to print it out.
He was soon lost in thought. About Peggy. I was sad to see her sick like she was. Of course, he knew that it was just a flu virus, but he just couldn't help feeling sorry for her. It's never very much fun to have to lie in bed all day and do nothing. He really hoped he had helped. Her happiness meant a lot.
Declan looked up to see if his lesson plan was done yet. It was half way finished.
Now back to his thoughts. Why did she mean so much to him? She was a friend, that's why. Of course, what had he done to help Miranda when she was sick? He offered to buy her a hamburger and fries, which he would have eaten on the way back. He went against her will and gave her the cloth, even when she had made him promise not to use it on her. Some friend he had been.
The lesson plan was now completely printed out. Declan picked it up, stapled it, and headed to class.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan entered Peggy's room. His class was over and he came to check up on her. She was asleep.
Her rose had been carefully laid on the table by her bed, which now held two empty thermoses, a crossword puzzle book that was now open to a half finished puzzle, an opened bottle of aspirin, and a half drunk bottle of water. The brown paper bag had now fallen on the floor.
Declan picked up the bag and placed it back on the table, then he turned his attention to Peggy. She looked much better than she had before. She was sleeping very peacefully.
She was beautiful.
Declan just stood there for a moment, as if hypnotized. Then he walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
That's when she woke up. She kept here eyes closed for a second, but when she did open them, she saw Declan standing above her. He looked surprised. He probably hadn't expected her to wake up.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Better," Peggy replied.
Declan smiled, "That's good,"
There was an awkward lull in the conversation at this point.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" Declan asked.
"No, I'm fine." Peggy said.
"Okay," Declan said, "listen, if you need anything, I'll be in my office pretty much all day, so you can just call me, okay?"
Peggy nodded.
"I'll just get going now," Declan said, "you get some rest, okay?"
"Okay," Peggy answered.
"Good-bye, Peggy," Declan said as he walked out the door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Being sick gave Peggy a lot of time to think, which was exactly what she had been doing for the past two hours.
There was only one thing she could think about. What exactly was her relationship with Declan?
Was it a friendship? That's what she thought it had been. It was sort of a partnership, too. They always had those mysteries to figure out. They were a perfect team.
Lately, they had grown even closer. They had gotten to know each other. It was almost on the brink of becoming more than just a friendship.
What if it did become more than a friendship? What if they actually started to date? For some reason, the thought didn't scare Peggy. She realized that she might finally be getting over Adam.
Of course, she would never forget him, even if she did move on.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was almost lunch time the next day and Declan was wrapping up his work in his office.
There was a knock on his door. It was Peggy. Declan motioned for her to come in.
Peggy opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her.
"Hey, Peg," Declan greeted her, "you feeling better today?"
"Yeah," Peggy replied, "much better."
"That's good," Declan said, "so what brings you here?"
"I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me yesterday," she said, "it really meant a lot."
"It was no problem," Declan said. He smiled, "What are friends for?"
That reminded Peggy that they were still friends. Not that it was a bad thing. Declan was a very good friend to have.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat," Peggy said with a smile.
"That's just was I was going to do," Declan said as he grabbed his coat.
"Great," Peggy replied, "let's go, then."
Might as well call the hospital to tell them she couldn't come in. There was no way she could work like this. She picked up her phone and pressed the speed-dial button #2.
"Hi, Chrissy, it's Peggy," she talked to the secretary, "I can't come in today, I think I've got the flu virus that's been going around..... I know, but there's just no way I can..... thanks, bye"
She plopped back down on her bed and winced as her head reacted to her sudden move. It would be a good idea to get some sleep. She closed her eyes, but opened them a few seconds later as she swallowed and clapped her hands over her mouth. She sighed in relief. False alarm.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was noon. Declan was driving his truck down to the hospital. He figured he'd find Peggy in the cafeteria and they could eat lunch together. It had been almost a week since he had seen her last.
He arrived in the hospital parking lot and parked in the nearest space. He walked inside and made his way to the cafeteria and scanned the room for Peggy's familiar face, but she wasn't there. Slightly worried, he went to the front desk.
"Hey, d'ya know where Dr. Fowler is?" he asked the woman at the desk.
"She called in sick this morning," she answered, "said she had the flu virus that's been going around."
"Thanks," he said as he walked out the door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Peggy sat up in her bed, paying no attention to her headache. Her hands were once again clapped over her mouth as she looked frantically around the room for a bowl.
"Peggy?" she heard a voice coming from around her front door. It was Declan. How did he know? Pretty soon she heard footsteps coming toward her bedroom and the door opened. Declan came in at the exact moment when Peggy couldn't hold her puke in anymore.
Declan winced. "I'll go get a towel," he said as he put two thermoses and a brown paper bag on the table by her dresser and left the room. About ten seconds later, he came back. "Where do you keep the towels?"
"In the kitchen, to the left of the dishwasher, the third drawer down," she informed him.
"Thanks," he said as he flashed his cute little smile and left the room again.
Peggy lay down in her bed again. About a minute later, Declan came in the room once more. He was carrying a towel and a small bucket, but she had no idea where he had gotten the bucket from. He went right to work cleaning up the puke.
"You've definitely got good timing," Peggy commented.
Declan looked up and smiled, "It's a gift."
Peggy smiled weakly, "You really didn't have to do this,"
"'Course I did," Declan replied, "I wouldn't want to leave you here alone all day." He finished cleaning and disappeared from the room once more.
Peggy turned her attention to the two thermoses and the brown paper bag Declan had set on the table by her bed. She smiled. It was nice to have such a good friend.
Declan returned again.
"What did you bring me?" Peggy asked, nodding to the two thermoses and the brown paper bag.
"Oh!" Declan exclaimed, "I just got a few things from the store that I thought would help. This," he said, pointing to the first thermos, "is ginger tea. It's supposed to help your stomach. I guess I was a little late for that...."
Peggy nodded.
"This," he said, pointing to the second thermos, "is chicken noodle soup, because that always helps. Finally, this," he said pointing to the brown paper bag, "is what I call the sickness first-aid kit. It has aspirin, water, and a book of crossword puzzles."
"Crossword puzzles?" Peggy questioned.
"Well, I know how boring it can be when you're sick and you have nothing to do but lie in bed."
"Oh."
"And I almost forgot," he said, "I'll be back in a second with something else." He left yet another time. This time, when he returned, he had a single yellow rose.
"Just something for you to look at," he said, giving the rose to her.
"How did you know...." Peggy trailed off. Yellow roses were her favorite flower.
"I gotta go," Declan said, "I've got a class to teach."
Peggy nodded.
"Get some rest, okay?"
"I will."
"See ya later."
"Bye."
Peggy studied the rose for a moment, then set it down and took some aspirin, washing it down with the bottled water. Then she took the thermos of ginger tea and drank some. It was still nice and hot and it made her feel a lot better.
She was tired now, so she decided to go to sleep. She would do the crossword puzzles later.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan searched through the mess of papers, books, and magazines on his desk. He had put his lesson plan on his desk right before he went to the hospital, but it had disappeared into the mess.
He sighed. He would have to reprint it.
He opened up the document on his computer and clicked on the print icon. Then, he sat down to wait for the extremely slow printer to print it out.
He was soon lost in thought. About Peggy. I was sad to see her sick like she was. Of course, he knew that it was just a flu virus, but he just couldn't help feeling sorry for her. It's never very much fun to have to lie in bed all day and do nothing. He really hoped he had helped. Her happiness meant a lot.
Declan looked up to see if his lesson plan was done yet. It was half way finished.
Now back to his thoughts. Why did she mean so much to him? She was a friend, that's why. Of course, what had he done to help Miranda when she was sick? He offered to buy her a hamburger and fries, which he would have eaten on the way back. He went against her will and gave her the cloth, even when she had made him promise not to use it on her. Some friend he had been.
The lesson plan was now completely printed out. Declan picked it up, stapled it, and headed to class.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Declan entered Peggy's room. His class was over and he came to check up on her. She was asleep.
Her rose had been carefully laid on the table by her bed, which now held two empty thermoses, a crossword puzzle book that was now open to a half finished puzzle, an opened bottle of aspirin, and a half drunk bottle of water. The brown paper bag had now fallen on the floor.
Declan picked up the bag and placed it back on the table, then he turned his attention to Peggy. She looked much better than she had before. She was sleeping very peacefully.
She was beautiful.
Declan just stood there for a moment, as if hypnotized. Then he walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
That's when she woke up. She kept here eyes closed for a second, but when she did open them, she saw Declan standing above her. He looked surprised. He probably hadn't expected her to wake up.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Better," Peggy replied.
Declan smiled, "That's good,"
There was an awkward lull in the conversation at this point.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" Declan asked.
"No, I'm fine." Peggy said.
"Okay," Declan said, "listen, if you need anything, I'll be in my office pretty much all day, so you can just call me, okay?"
Peggy nodded.
"I'll just get going now," Declan said, "you get some rest, okay?"
"Okay," Peggy answered.
"Good-bye, Peggy," Declan said as he walked out the door.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Being sick gave Peggy a lot of time to think, which was exactly what she had been doing for the past two hours.
There was only one thing she could think about. What exactly was her relationship with Declan?
Was it a friendship? That's what she thought it had been. It was sort of a partnership, too. They always had those mysteries to figure out. They were a perfect team.
Lately, they had grown even closer. They had gotten to know each other. It was almost on the brink of becoming more than just a friendship.
What if it did become more than a friendship? What if they actually started to date? For some reason, the thought didn't scare Peggy. She realized that she might finally be getting over Adam.
Of course, she would never forget him, even if she did move on.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was almost lunch time the next day and Declan was wrapping up his work in his office.
There was a knock on his door. It was Peggy. Declan motioned for her to come in.
Peggy opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her.
"Hey, Peg," Declan greeted her, "you feeling better today?"
"Yeah," Peggy replied, "much better."
"That's good," Declan said, "so what brings you here?"
"I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me yesterday," she said, "it really meant a lot."
"It was no problem," Declan said. He smiled, "What are friends for?"
That reminded Peggy that they were still friends. Not that it was a bad thing. Declan was a very good friend to have.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat," Peggy said with a smile.
"That's just was I was going to do," Declan said as he grabbed his coat.
"Great," Peggy replied, "let's go, then."