Idiot
"This is a cruel, unusual punishment," Freddie said bitterly as he laid in his and Sam's bed. "What have I done that is so bad that-"
"Quit complaining, will you?" Sam said, placing a tray of soup on his lap. "You've got it made! You get to stay home from work, lie in bed all day and watch T.V., and since I've got that whole 'in sickness and in health' thing binding me, I'm stuck waiting on you hand and foot. I would love to be in your position!"
"You'd love to have mono?" Freddie scoffed, falling back against his pillows.
"Well I'll probably get it eventually, thanks to you germing up our room," Sam shrugged. "Man, I still can't believe you got yourself sick like this."
"This wasn't my fault!" Freddie coughed. "It was that jerk at the office! I had my bottle of soda sitting in the fridge in the break room with my name on it, and he just went and drank from it, knowing he had mono!"
"That's why you should do what I do," Sam said. "I put pepper and hot sauce in my sodas. Still tastes fine to me, but it makes anybody else puke."
"Yeah, I know, I drank one of those little creations once by accident," Freddie groaned. "But I still think I felt ten times better then than I do now."
"Well, you can't have any more of that medicine for another three hours," Sam told him gently, taking a small towel from his bedside table and carefully wiping his sweaty brow. "But just try to eat your soup. You haven't been able to keep anything down all day; you're probably starving."
"I will once I can lift my arms again," Freddie mumbled groggily.
Sam sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She picked up the spoon and held it up to her husband's mouth.
"You're going to feed me?" Freddie said slowly. "You don't have to, Sam, you-you've done enough."
"Well I don't want you sitting here starving," Sam said. "You know what your mom would do to me if that happened on my watch? Come on, eat."
"Thanks," Freddie said as Sam spooned the soup into his mouth. "I just really hope you don't catch this…"
"Don't worry, I have a pretty good immune system," Sam said. "Unlike your mom, my mom let me be exposed to all sorts of germs and dirt and chiz when I was little. My system can take it; it's not fragile like yours. Besides, mono's a kissing disease. As long as we don't kiss or share drinks, I'll be fine."
"I can't believe I have to go three weeks without kissing you," Freddie sighed sadly. "That's the worst part of this thing."
Sam gave him a small smile. "I know. It sucks. But…we'll be fine. And hey, once you're given that clean bill of health, we'll take a day to make up for all the lost time. I'll even wear that pineapple lip gloss you love so much."
"That is my favorite," Freddie said. "Ugh! No, I can't even think of that right now! I can feel my lips already tingling!"
"Well, I know, until you're better, just-just think about something really, really unattractive every time you start to get all antsy," Sam said.
"Sam, there's very little that can distract me from you," Freddie said. "Man…I knew there had to be a downside to having a super hot wife!"
"Come on, you can do it," Sam encouraged him. "Think of dead puppies or moldy bread or-or Gibby!"
"Ah!" Freddie cried. "Oh God…yup, yup that's working. That's bringing the mood straight down."
"Good," Sam said, spooning him more soup.
"You better hope I can get these images out of my head once I'm better," Freddie told her. "Or we're going to have some real problems."
"I promise, once we're able to do stuff, I'll make sure I'm the only thing on your mind," Sam smirked as Freddie finished the last of the soup. She got to her feet, picking up the bowl and tray with her. "Try to get some rest, nub. I'll come in with that medicine soon, but let me know if you need anything before that."
"You are really a lifesaver Sam," Freddie yawned. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
….
Later that evening, Sam returned to the bedroom with a glass of water and another dose of Freddie's medication.
"Here you go," she said, handing him the glass and pills. "You feeling any better?"
"Not really," Freddie mumbled.
Sam placed a hand on his forehead. "Your fever's still pretty high. You should maybe try taking a cold shower or something. Or the doctor said sponge baths might help."
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Oh…right," Sam nodded. "Well…maybe your mom can come by tomorrow and do that then."
"Gee, great," Freddie sighed.
Sam gave him a sympathetic smile. "Hey…I was thinking earlier, just because we can't do any, well, physical stuff right now doesn't mean we still can't have a little romance these next few weeks."
"What do you mean?" Freddie asked.
"Well," Sam said. "As much as I try to avoid it, there's that whole other side of romance. You know, the mushy kind; the stuff I always leave up to you in the relationship. So I thought since that's pretty much the only thing we can do without me winding up with mono too, I'd give it a shot."
"Give what a shot?" Freddie asked, confused.
"Being disgustingly mushy instead of skipping right to the fun stuff, you idiot!" Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh," Freddie said. "Huh…you know, that could work. It will be just as romantic as anything else we'd normally do just without the contact…we could give it a try."
"Alright," Sam said, giving him a small smile. "But remember, this is just because you're sick. As soon as you're better, we go back to leaving this stuff to you and I'll be in charge of the fun stuff, got it?"
"Deal," Freddie said, giving him a small chuckle.
"Good," Sam said, pulling a sheet of paper form her pocket.
"What is that?"
"Well," Sam said, her cheeks starting to match Freddie's own flushed complexion. "You know how you always tell all the reasons I'm a good wife?"
"Uh-huh," Freddie nodded.
"Well I-I thought that maybe it's time that I, you know, return the favor," Sam said softly. "So I made a list of all the reasons why you're a good husband."
"You did?" Freddie asked, his face lighting up a bit.
"Yeah," Sam said. "So-So just shut up and listen. Okay, well, for starters you always have freshly made bacon waiting for me each morning before I'm even awake because you say that I need to have a good breakfast to take on the rest of the day. You always let me clog up the DVR with my shows, even if it means you have to delete some of yours. You always leave the last of the orange juice for me and you make sure that we're never out of Fat Cakes."
"Well yeah," Freddie smiled weakly. "They're your favorite."
Sam looked back down at her list. "You never told anybody that I hate the dark. You always hold my hand in movies where the dog dies because you know I hate those. Every morning when I wake up, you kiss me. The second you come home from work, you kiss me. Before I fall asleep each night, you kiss me. Whenever I'm having a day where I feel ugly and gross, you tell me I'm beautiful and make me feel like a princess."
"Because you're always beautiful," Freddie told her.
Sam rolled her eyes playfully. "You were my first everything, and even though we've been together all this time, you still make everyday feel new and exciting. And…And most importantly, you love me, and you tell me that every day."
She looked over at her husband. "And well, there you go. There are all the reasons I think you're the most amazing husband I could've ever wished for."
"Sam," he said softly. "That was…That was so…Wow. I-Thank you; that was really nice to hear."
"Well you're sick," Sam shrugged.
"I love you much," Freddie said. "Really, Sam. I'm the luckiest guy in the world, having someone like you to come home to each day."
Sam smiled down at him. "The feeling's mutual."
As she continued to stare at her husband, she suddenly felt a familiar feeling bubbling inside of her. She quickly jumped to her feet.
"What's wrong?" Freddie asked.
"Nothing," Sam said. "It's just…that idea I had about the mushy part of the romance alone being able to get us through these next few weeks…turns out that might be harder than I thought."
"I know," Freddie chuckled. "You have no idea the self-control it took to stop myself from kissing you during that little speech."
Sam laughed. "Well…guess both of our nerves our gonna get the workout of a lifetime until you're better."
"Definitely," Freddie agreed. "But that's okay. It will be worth the wait. It always is."
