A Prayer for Every Year

December 18th

To say Sue felt like a train wreck the next morning would have been an understatement. She was lucky that Lucy was a heavy sleeper because otherwise she was sure she'd be in for one hell of an interrogation when she came out of the bathroom about the fourth trip. Now she shivered in bed, curled up under every blanket she could find. She'd taken painkillers and flu medication to attempt to get rid of her nausea. She smelt Lucy's morning breakfast of eggs and found herself bent over the side of the bed dry heaving into the bucket by her side. Levi barked, and Lucy came running. She was by Sue's side in an instant, feeling her forehead and just generally fretting.

"Sue, you can't go in today!" she exclaimed utterly worried. Sue curled further into her pillow and away from the harsh light that came through the open window, not responding. Lucy tapped her shoulder and she reluctantly turned back.

"Do you want anything?" she signed. Sue shook her head slightly, that action in itself causing her head to swim and her vision to fog.

"You have to eat something, Sue. Soup? I can run out and get some Popsicles if you want." Sue shook her head again. Lucy sighed and squeezed her hand slightly.

"Okay, I've got to get going to work but I'll talk to Garrett for you and get you a sick day. I don't want you to move if you don't have to. Of course, that excludes bathroom runs and kitchen runs for light things. I'll talk to Mrs. Carles next door and see if she has any Popsicles for her kids. Maybe she'll let you have some?" Then Lucy was gone, leaving Sue with Levi and her muddled brain. When she came back, she was also carrying a stack of old magazines. When Sue questioned her, Lucy shrugged.

"She had some extras. I figured you could use them." Sue smiled as Lucy went off to work.

Two and a half hours later – she realized she'd been clock watching – there was a knock on the door. She pulled her aching body out of bed and slowly made her way to the door, yelling to the person on the other side that she'd be right there. Tiredly she opened the door and they day got a little brighter.

On the other side of the threshold was the one and only Jack Hudson.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, concern more than evident. She smiled weekly and wordlessly allowed him into the apartment, closing the door behind her.

"Lucy says it's the flu," Sue said, wandering to the couch and plopping down unceremoniously onto the couch. Jack sat on the edge by her hip and reached out to feel her forehead.

"You are a bit warm," he conceded. She smiled slightly.

"I'm freezing." He grinned at her and stood, putting his arms under her knees and shoulders and lifting her into his arms. Realizing how much effort it was going to take to protest, she curled into him and let him carry her to her bedroom. He deposited her gently on her bed and tucked her in tightly.

"I told Garrett I was coming to take care of you. As your training agent –"

"And all that jazz," she finished drowsily, falling back against the pillows and promptly falling asleep.

Jack shook her awake hours later presenting her with a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"It's not homemade but it'll have to do," he told her, sitting by her side. She tentatively took the spoon and, upon smelling it and not dry heaving the nothing she had in her stomach, polished off the whole bowl.

"Some one was hungry," he commented.

"I didn't eat last night. I came home and collapsed on my bed. The next thing I know, I woke up and had to run to the bathroom," she explained, substantially more awake than she had been a long time before. He was immediately concerned.

"Sue…" She waved her hand, replacing her spoon in the bowl.

"It's in the past, Jack and I don't do it on a regular basis," she assured him. "I was just really tired last night." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Lucy's back, so I'll get going, but I didn't get to give you today's calendar prize," she smiled and shook her head.

"It's okay," she told him. "I have just spent the day in bed." He shook his head and pulled from behind him a box. She blushed as she took it from him and shook her head.

"You didn't have to," she told him, putting down the box and signing the words. She smiled as she opened the box, pulling out a bracelet of bells. She gasped, the movement churning her stomach and making her gag. She heroically threw up as little as she could, wanted to keep down the soup that Jack had made for her and wanting to keep something in her stomach. Jack rubbed her back and held back her hair as she heaved, murmuring in her ear as he did. She calmed down after a few moments and looked quite rumpled.

"You okay?" She nodded reluctantly.

"I was trying to save some for my stomach," she explained.

"There's more in the fridge. Lucy can heat it up for you if you'd like," he told her.

But it's not from you, she thought, resisting the urge to say it out loud. She almost laughed at herself and her sudden dependence on him. Lucy interrupted their moment, coming in to check on her roommate and best friend. Giving her one last kiss on her forehead and telling her he hoped she got better soon, he left the girls to their gossiping.