See Day 1 for all pertinent info and disclaimers.


Day 3

Llanfair

Natalie awoke, feeling better than she had in almost four days. She rolled over and was surprised to see Cristian sitting at the foot of her bed. She sat up, "What are you doing here?"

"Watching you sleep. Your mom made me promise I wouldn't wake you if she let me see you again today."

"How long have you been here?"

He shrugged, "Half an hour. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. My throat's still a bit scratchy and I think I might still have a fever but I can breath and I don't feel like I'm going to throw up, so I'm not going to complain."

He smiled and moved to the edge of the bed, closer to her, "Well, the important thing is that you feel better. You look it too."

"What?"

"Uh...you're not as pale as you were yesterday."

"Uh-huh," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"You're always beautiful, no matter what. Even when you're sick and telling me that you hate me for giving you my germs."

"Sorry about that. You think I'm beautiful even when I'm pastey and look like death warmed over?"

"Always," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss. The sound of someone clearing their throat stopped him. He pulled away and looked behind him to see Viki standing in the doorway. "Hi, Mrs. Davidson. Natalie was just telling me how much better she feels."

"I'm glad to hear you're feeling better," Viki said, walking into the room.

"Maybe now would be a good time for me to leave," Cristian said, standing up.

"That might not be such a bad idea. Natalie still needs her rest."

"I'll call you later," Cristian told Natalie. "Good-bye, Mrs. Davidson."

"Good-bye, Cristian."

"Bye, Cris," Natalie said as he walked out of her room.

Viki looked at Natalie, a small smile on her face. "So, you're feeling better?"

"Yeah. I think I might still have a fever, though. How's Jessica?"

"Her fever's still rising. I'm about to go check on her. She went to sleep yesterday afternoon and has only woken once since then, I'm afraid I'm going to have to wake her to get her to eat something and to take some medicine."

"How are you feeling?"

Viki smiled, "I'm fine. Thank you for asking. You get some more rest, I'll be back to take your temperature in a little while."

"Okay."

Viki left Natalie's room and went down the hall to Jessica's. Jessica was still asleep when Viki walked into her room.

"Jessica?"

She continued to sleep.

Viki sat on the edge of Jessica's bed. "Jessie, baby, can you wake up? You need to eat and take some more medicine."

Still asleep, she began to stir slightly, "Hmm?"

Viki squeezed Jessica's hand, "You just continue to rest. I'll come back later."


Bo & Gabrielle's Apartment

Gabrielle rolled onto her side and opened her eyes. Lying on her bed beside her was Bo, asleep. "Worn yourself out taking care of me."

He opened an eye, "I'm just resting my eyes."

"You're trying to get sick is what you're doing."

He blinked, both his eyes opening. "You sound better than you did yesterday."

"Yes, I know. Thank you."

"But that still doesn't mean that you should be talking a lot."

"I'm beginning to wonder if you're just trying to get me to shut up."

"What? Of course not. If I wanted to shut you up, I'd kiss you."

"And end up getting sick, no doubt."

"I told you, I've already had my flu shot."

"A flu shot doesn't guarantee that you won't get the flu. It's merely a precautionary measure that builds up your resistence so that if you do come down with the flu, it'll be relatively mild case," she said, her voice getting hoarser.

"See, now you're talking too much. I'm going to go make you some tea," Bo said, getting up.

She sat up, "Bo--"

"Stop gabbing. That means no protesting or worrying about my health."

She sighed and laid back down as he left the room.


RJ's Apartment

"RJ," Keri called softly. "RJ?"

He was asleep on his sofa, his robe wrapped around him, a half full box of tissues on the coffee table in front of him and a waste basket full of tissues on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table.

Keri smiled and went into his room to retrieve an afghan. She came back out into the living room, unfolded the afghan, and covered him up with it. She stood back and watched him sleep peacefully. "Aww..."

She then wondered if there was a camera and some film in the apartment and if he'd be too upset if she took a picture of him. It wasn't that often RJ looked so completely innocent and serene and she wanted to capture the moment.


Cramer Mansion

Blair and Todd continued to watch over Starr as she slept.

"'CHOO!"

Todd looked at Blair, "Did you--was that a sneeze?"

"No, Todd, it was a yodel. Of course, it was a sneeze."

"No need to get an attitude," he said, getting up out of the chair he'd been sitting in and walking across the room to lean against the wall. "Are you feelin' okay? I'm askin' because you look whiter than usual."

"I'm fine. And I do not." She looked at him, "Do I? Really?"

He nodded, "Oh, yeah. You might be coming down with the flu."

"I doubt that. I got my flu shot last month."

"Yeah, I'm real sure that'll keep you from getting the flu. Hey, wait a minute, how come the kids didn't get flu shots last month when you did?"

"I was planning on taking Starr to get her's this week."

"Well, that's not gonna do her any good now."

"Whatever, Todd, it's a long season."

"Stop arguing."

Todd and Blair looked at Starr, she was awake.

"Honey, I'm sorry, did we wake you?" Blair asked.

"Yes. And your fighting is making me feel worse."

"We'll try to keep it to a minimum, kid. And, hey, even better, we'll take it into a another room."

"Todd," Blair warned.

"I was only kidding. We'll try, Starr."

She gave them a small smile, "Thanks," and went back to sleep.

Todd continued to look at Starr as he talked to Blair, "You should take better care of yourself."

"I do the best I can, Todd, while putting my children first."

"Yeah, well, you're no good to them if you're sick. Just...make sure you take care of yourself too."

"You know, it almost sounds as if you care."

Todd shrugged, "Almost doesn't count."