Sniffles

Though Shepard was quite comfortable with the heat, there was a limit to what she could endure. And today, that limit had been reached. When she wasn't working, you could normally find her by, or in, the pool. But now, she was sitting inside, where it was cooler. It wasn't too cold, since her family members preferred warmer temperatures, but it was still not as warm as outside.

While sipping on a glass of cold water, she looked at the biotiball game on the vid. Armali Angels were playing against Illium Illuminators. Of course she was cheering for the angels, since Liara came from Armali, but Shepard couldn't really claim that she was too into biotiball. No, she preferred a good ol' human ice hockey match or soccer.

"And the Illuminators score! It's now sixty to forty-two." The turian commentator pointed out as the camera cut away from the field and to the studio with him and his asari co-host. "I don't think the Angels will be able to do make eighteen goals in the remaining minutes of the game. What do you think, Nyira?"

Shepard was distracted from hearing what Nyira thought about the game as she saw the door to her and Thane's bedroom open. Out came Thane, still dressed in his signature sleeping clothes (a t-shirt and loose cotton trousers). There was something off about him, though. His gaze was fixed on the floor and he seemed to be shuffling instead of walking. A crease of worry formed between Shepard's eyebrows.

"Hey you. Everything okay?" She said as her beloved plopped down into the sofa next to her. He placed his head in her lap before curling up into a ball.

There was no answer from Thane and his eyes had closed. The knot of worry in Shepard's stomach grew. She ran her hand over Thane's head and sighed as she felt how warm he was. Normally, Thane's body temperature was a few degrees below her own, but today he was boiling.

"Damn, Thane." She said and grabbed a blanket to drape over his slender body. "You're burning up."

"I don't get sick." He muttered, his eyes still closed.

"Says the guy who had Kepral's." Tucking him in, Shepard stroke over his forehead again.

"That was different." His nose sounded stuffed.

"Oh really?" She shimmed out from under him. "Just going to get you something to drink. Don't want you getting dehydrated."

A low hmph came from Thane and he pulled the blanket up to his chin. It was rare that Shepard got the opportunity to doctor Thane. She was normally the one who got ill, since they lived on Earth with a lot of human bacteria floating around in the air. But the others did get sick, of course. Miyo more than the others. Kolyat hadn't gotten ill since he came back from Kahje after getting the treatment to prevent Kepral's.

In the kitchen, Shepard found her step-son at the table, looking at something on his omni-tool. As Shepard entered, Kolyat looked up.

"What's up with father?" He asked and nodded towards the living room.

"He has a fever." Shepard shrugged. "Hopefully, he's not contagious, but you never know."

"Do you want me to pick Miyo up this afternoon?" Kolyat asked while Shepard filled up the glass of water.

"You're an angel, Kolyat." She gave him a wide smile before returning to walk back into the living room to tend to Thane.

While she had been gone, Thane seemed to have fallen asleep again. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep. A quiet snoring came from him. Thane never snored. He was as quiet while he slept as he was when he was awake. Apart from when he had a cold, apparently.

There was something extremely endearing about seeing him like this. Shepard had seen him on the brink of death from Kepral's and on the verge of an emotional break down. But in all the time she had known him, he hadn't been like this. He had once been the most infamous assassin in the galaxy and he was now sleeping on the sofa, under a pink blanket and snoring from a stuffed nose.

"Come on, babe." Shepard gently shook his shoulder. "You need to drink something."

"No." Thane muttered and turned around in the sofa, burying his face in the cushions. "I just want to sleep."

"My god." She sat down next to him. "Pretty please?"

Thane turned back around and his large, black eyes fixed on Shepard's face. She had to fight an overwhelming urge to pull him into a hug.

"If I agree to drink a glass of water, will you let me sleep then?"

"Promise."

Grumbling under his breath, Thane eased himself into a sitting position. With the blanket still wrapped around his body, he cuddled up close to Shepard. With a small smile on her face, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and handed him the glass of water.

"Poor little Thane." She cooed as he drank the water.

"I am not a child, siha." He pointed out.

"If you say so."

The glass was now empty and Thane lay back down. Once more, he placed his head in her lap. It didn't take long before he was sleeping once again.

Even though Kolyat had offered to go and fetch Miyo once she was finished with school, Shepard ended up going. She just needed to get out of the house for a bit. While Thane had always been very independent and capable, he was completely useless while ill. All he wanted to do was sleep. Getting him to eat or drink was nearly impossible. He was stubborn as a mule.

"And, and then Jules threw the monkey over the fence!" Miyo exclaimed as Shepard pulled into the driveway.

"Oh no." Shepard said, only listening with half an ear to the monkey story.

"Mrs. Brown had to go and get it and Jules couldn't have biscuits."

The young drell continued chatting non-stop as they walked up towards the house. A bead of sweat ran down Shepard's back. It was way too warm today for a human to be outside. The cool air inside the house was a blessed relief.

"We're home!" Shepard called out as she closed the door behind her.

Kolyat walked into the hallway, holding a cup of tea. How the hell could he drink tea in this weather?!

"How is he?" Shepard asked as she placed Miyo's shoes in the shoe rack.

"He's asleep in the bedroom. Managed to get him to drink some water."

"You're a life saver." Shepard gave him a quick hug before advancing into the house.

However, when she came into the living room, she came to a halt. On the door to her and Thane's bedroom sat several yellow post-it notes with the symbol for biohazard drawn on it. Shepard turned to Kolyat with a raised eyebrow.

"Who knows if he's contagious?" Kolyat said with a shrug. "Better safe than sorry."