Chapter 8 Illness
A/N: Might be medically inaccurate.
One morning Lenetta wakes up with a headache and stomachache. She groans as she presses a hand to her forehead and wraps an arm around her stomach. She curls into the fetal position as she coughs hard. Oh no. She suddenly remembers the flu has been going around and she had been around someone who later started showing symptoms.
She stopped coughing but she felt awful. Zuko suddenly walked in. "Good morning my love." Zuko walked over and kissed her temple but was alarmed to find her warmer than usual. "Lenetta, are you feeling ok?" Zuko asked her. She moaned in response and shook her head. Zuko frowned worriedly. "The flu is going around, I wonder if that's what's wrong with you." She nodded.
Lenetta rolled onto her back so she could look at her boyfriend. He had a concerned frown on his face so she gave him a small smile. "I'm ok, it's like you said, it's more than likely just the flu." Her voice sounded weak even to herself. She frowned at the scratchiness in her throat.
"You stay in bed, I'll go get the doctor." Zuko told her. She nodded. After he walked out she pressed her hands over her face and groaned. Her head was pounding and she felt like she could throw up.
A few minutes later Zuko and the doctor walked in. "Lady Lenetta, how are you feeling?" The doctor asked her. "Awful." The doctor chuckled softly. "Well I can see that milady. Could you explain your symptoms to me?" The doctor pressed a hand to her forehead. "My head and stomach hurt, I feel really nauseous, I'm really cold, my throat is also sore." The doctor nods and then puts a thermometer into her mouth. He then takes a stethoscope and listens to her heart and lungs. He took out the thermometer and read it. 101.5 degrees.
"Well milady, you have contracted the flu." Lenetta nods, she figured as much. "I want you to stay in bed and get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids, if you can handle it make sure to eat something as well. Take a fever reducer as well. If anything changes for the worse, come and get me straight away." Zuko nods and shakes his hand. "Thank you doctor." The doctor nods. "Of course milord. Get well soon milady." Lenetta smiles weakly. "Thank you doctor."
The doctor walks out and Zuko immediately gets to work. He brings her a glass of ice cold water, and sets a cold wet rag on her forehead. She sighs at the relief it brings her as it eases her headache. Zuko gives her a fever reducer which she tosses back with a drink of water.
"I have a meeting that I need to get to. Will you be alright by yourself?" Lenetta smiles and nods. "Of course, go on now Fire Lord, I'll be fine." Zuko kisses her forehead. "I love you." "I love you too." Zuko walks out.
She closes her eyes and attempts to go to sleep. The fever reducer was working and it even eased her aches. She goes to sleep in a few minutes.
A few hours later Lenetta wakes up and moans. She feels even worse now that the medicine has worn off. Everything hurts and she's so cold. She sobs softly and wants to call for Zuko but her throat hurts so bad. She clenches her eyes shut and a few tears slip out. She coughs a few times and they grate on her throat. She buries her face into her pillow.
Zuko walks in with a fresh glass of water and a bowl of soup. He sets them down on the bedside table. He pets her hair and she turns over. He frowns at how terrible she looks. "Do you feel worse?" Lenetta nods. "The doctor did tell me that the symptoms tend to get worse before they get better. Do you feel like eating anything?" Lenetta shakes her head. "Won't you at least try? You need to eat something." Zuko tells her.
Lenetta finally agrees and sits up. She takes some medicine and then starts to eat. She takes a small sip of soup and realizes she can eat. She eats half of the bowl before she loses her appetite. She settles back into bed and realizes she feels a little bit better, she feels stronger. Zuko replaces the rag and her headache eases as the cool rag is placed. Zuko holds her hand gently and rubs her knuckles. She eases back into sleep.
The next morning Lenetta wakes up and finds she feels a little bit better but not completely. She still has to stay in bed and rest. She reads books while she's alone and servants will come in and check on her when Zuko can't. She nibbles on crackers occasionally and for bigger meals she eats things that won't hurt her stomach. She still sleeps sometimes but not as much as yesterday.
She's able to hold longer conversations now but her voice is still scratchy and she coughs sometimes. The doctor came to check on her. "Well you're progressing well milady, how do you feel?" The doctor after checking her vitals. Her fever is slightly lower at 100.6 and her heart and lungs sound good. "I feel better, but I still have some body aches and I'm still fatigued." He nods. "All of this is very normal, you should be back to normal in a few days. I will continue to check on you." Lenetta nods. "Thank you doctor." He bows and walks off.
Lenetta lays back and decides to take a nap. She takes a drink of water and takes some medicine since it's time.
Zuko walks in and sees her sleeping and he takes her things off her bed so she won't knock anything off in her sleep. He feels Lenetta's forehead and is glad her fever hasn't worsened. The doctor told him she was doing fine and that eased his worries. He had heard that people had died from the flu and he was worried that would happen to Lenetta.
Zuko had no more obligations today so he settled into a chair and read a book. Love Amongst the Dragons. His mother's favorite book and play. He groaned internally as he remembered how the Ember Island Players always managed to ruin it. His mother would read this to him as a bedtime story and he really loved the story as a child. He hadn't read it in years, not since his mother left.
Zuko had wondered all these years what had happened to her. Was she alive or dead? Was she happy? Did she miss them? Zuko shoved those away as he settled into his favorite childhood story.
That is what Lenetta woke up to an hour later. She smirked at the sight. She had started reading that story earlier and she was enjoying it so far. Zuko looked nostalgic as he sat there reading the story. "Are you enjoying that book?" Zuko flinched and looked up to see his girlfriend smirking. "My mother used to read this story to me before bed." Lenetta's face softened. "It was one of my favorite things to do, read Love Amongst the Dragons with her. She would take us to see the Ember Island Players perform it. They butchered it badly." Zuko laughed at the memories. His mother seemed to think they would improve but they never did.
Lenetta laughed softly. "That must have been nice." Zuko nodded. "It was one of the few times we were a happy family." Lenetta reached for his hand and he took it and she squeezed it gently. Zuko smiled at her.
"Are you feeling ok?" Lenetta nodded. "As well as I can be." Zuko nodded. "How's your pain?" Lenetta rubbed her eyes. "It's more of a dull ache than a pain right now. I'll let you know if it changes." Zuko nodded. Zuko handed her a glass of water and she took a drink.
A few days later Lenetta was as good as new. Zuko never caught it but he made sure to be careful to stay away from people and not touch them. Once the incubation period passed everything returned to normal in the Fire Palace.