"Shawn."

"Come on Shawn, we're here."

I hear his voice through a haze and I struggle to open my eyes. Pain shoots through my forehead as awareness starts to filter into my mind. I can feel something cold up against my right cheek and my neck is sore. I try to reach up a hand to rub at my neck but it will not obey the command my fog filled mind is giving it. It lays lifelessly on my lap, palm up and fingers splayed.

"Shawn, can you hear me?"

As I become more awake, I realize that not only can I not move, I'm having difficulty in breathing as my nose is nearly completely blocked and my sinuses feel like they have been filled with quick-set concrete. I struggle to take in a breath of air and find that useless to do through my nose, so I open my mouth and breathe that way.

My eyes are now open, my vision is going from bleary to a bit clearer, and I see Hunter sitting across from me in the car. I realize now that the cold upon my cheek is the window and my neck hurts because I've been sleeping with my head pressed up against the glass in an undignified manner.

"Mhmumhgh?" I mumble to him, trying to draw some moisture into my mouth. I must have been breathing with my mouth open while sleeping as my tongue has dried out. I finally get my hands to listen to the signals that my brain has been sending and raise one to rub at my tired eyes.

Hunter reaches over to nudge me with one hand. "We're here. Wake up, Shawn."

"M'up." I mumble again and shift my body so that I'm not smashed against the door any more. Hunter unbuckles my seatbelt and I shrug my way out of it. "Wader?" I ask while trying unsuccessfully to lick my lips.

He reaches behind the seat and grabs a bottle of water from his bag and hands it to me. It takes me two tries before I'm able to take the cap off and bring the bottle to my lips. It's not easy to both drink and breathe at the same time, so I alternate between taking a breath and taking a sip.

I try to sniff at one point but the thin stream of air that does manage to make it past my nostrils is barely enough to sustain life and to top it off I start to cough from the effort. Hunter takes the water from me and raps me a few times on the back until the fit passes. I slump weakly in my seat, spent from just that little effort.

I look around the car, trying to remember exactly how I got in the car, and the only thing I can recall is being half dragged from the locker room. I don't remember walking but I do remember seeing the ground passing while my head was spinning. Hunter must have aided me to the vehicle. He's attempting to get my attention. "Huh?"

"Can you make it in the building or do I have to carry you?"

"I can wadlk," I try to tell him, hoping that I could walk. I might need some help, but I think I can stand on my own two feet. I'm certainly going to try.

Hunter exits the car and walks around to my side, opening the door for me. I feel the cold of the night hit me square in the face and I shiver. Now I wish I had remembered to grab my DX beanie from my bag as my head is rapidly cooling off. I pull my jacket tightly around my body as I swing my legs out of the car.

I pull myself up and out of the seat, holding on to the door for support as the ground swayed drunkenly in front of me. Whoa, I think to myself. Can't the Earth sit still for just a moment?

I go to take a step and would have taken a sharp nosedive into Hartford's grey slush that pooled at my feet if not for Hunter's hand upon my arm. He must have suspected that I wouldn't be able to walk after all.

I hear him sigh as he draped one of my arms around his shoulders and kicked the door closed once I was clear. "Let's go, Shawn. The sooner we get you inside the building, the better."

I couldn't agree with him any more as a cold gust of air blew across us and mussed up my hair. I shivered in his grasp as he slowly helped me and my wobbly legs into the foyer of the hotel. The lights were bright inside and I reflexively closed my eyes against the unwelcome intrusion of extra pain into my forehead. I hear Hunter telling something to the bellhop about our bags in the car and then feel myself being aided in walking again.

I squint my eyes open and find us heading towards the elevators. Luckily they are deserted and available on the ground floor at this time of the night. The doors open up at the push of a button and we enter. I'm starting to feel a bit more sturdy with the more time I spend in an upright position and I lean towards the wall as I release my grip on my friend.

Hunter presses the button and the doors slide closed. In less time than it takes me to think, we arrive at our floor and the doors open again. He goes to help me out of the elevator, but this time I refuse his help. He backs away a bit and allows me to walk, albeit a bit shakily, out of the elevator first. He then passes me and leads the way towards our room.

We were sharing the room tonight as Stephanie and Aurora were visiting Shane and Marissa this week. It was too cold to keep taking the baby out, and Hunter had insisted that she keep the baby safe. She had agreed and arrangements had been made so that she got to see her older brother and his wife for the duration of their stay in Hartford.

Hunter uses his keycard to open the door and steps inside, turning the lights on as he does so. I follow him in and then collapse on the first bed I see. Guess this one will be mine.

Part of me wants to stay exactly the way I fell, spread-eagle out on top of the covers, but the other half of me wants to crawl under the blankets. I lack the energy to decide right at the moment so I just lay there and listen to the sound of Hunter moving about in the room.

A knock shortly signals the arrival of our bags and Hunter helps the bellhop deposit them in the room before giving him a tip and sending him on his way. I'm finally able to sit up and struggle to at least get myself into a more suitable position on the bed.

The effort triggers another coughing fit, and I'm left feeling worse than crap when it ends. Hunter is busy rummaging through his bag, putting a few things in the drawers provided.

I reach down and pull off my boots and drop them to the floor where they land with a heavy thud. My stocking feet now feel more comfortable and that alone was worth the effort I put into taking the darn things off. Next I remove my jacket and toss it onto a nearby chair. Hunter walks over to my bed and hands me a glass of water and a small bottle of pills.

"Whad are deese?" I try to ask through my blocked up nose.

"Antihistamine," he responds. "It'll help you breathe by reducing the swelling in your sinuses."

Sounds good enough to me, so I take the bottle and shake out a couple of the pink pills. I swallow them easily with a gulp of water then hand him both the bottle and the glass back. He places both on the table between the two beds.

I shove my hand in the front pocket of my jeans and pull out the handkerchief I had stuffed there before while getting dressed. I turn away from Hunter, and attempt to blow my nose but the effort only frustrates me as very little is accomplished by this maneuver. I'm lucky to get any air in my nose, so getting it back out is futile.

Hunter has moved back across the room and I can hear him undressing for bed. I was comfortable as I was, and wasn't about to expend any more energy in stripping. For tonight I could sleep in my clothes. I didn't care.

He comes back over once he's done changing and helps me lower the covers on my bed. I slide under them, thankful for the warmth they provide as he covers me. I'm just settling down and starting to feel completely comfortable when yet another coughing spasm grips me and I have to sit back up to allow it to pass.

I whimper, knowing he should understand how I feel, as he just had this cold less than a week ago. Hunter pats me on the back, and then changes to rubbing it until the coughing stops. I weakly fall back against the pillows.

"It's going to be okay, Shawn."

"I dow," I respond and stubbornly try to sniff again. I wish the medicine would just kick in so that I can take a normal breath of air.

"Do you mind if I watch some TV?" he asks me while picking up the remote on the table.

I shake my head no, he can knock himself out with it if he wants. Having the TV on in the room wasn't going to bother me.

"Anything you want to watch?" he asks as he begins flipping through the stations, browsing for something to catch his interest.

Another shake of my head and now he's heading back to his bed while I settle back down in mine. I don't think I could follow a television program at this point. I just wanted to get back to sleep.

He finds some old movie and relaxes as he slides beneath his own sheets. I punch at my pillows trying to make them comfortable. I'm in the process of fluffing the last pillow when that itchy, crawly feeling begins inside my nose. I pull out the handkerchief just as the sneezes hit. "Hxest!! Eheshh! Heh-Exhst!!!" Unlike the earlier sneezes that were wet and productive, these ones felt like a pressure cooker was building up behind my eyeballs. I fully expected them to pop out and roll around on the bed.

Hunter leans over to look at me. "You alright?"

I rub at my nose and moan. "No," I whine. "I'm sidck."

He gives me a sympathetic smile. "The pills will be kicking in soon, you're going to feel drowsy and you'll fall asleep. When you wake up, you'll be feeling a lot better." he assures me.

"Eady for dou to say." I grumble. I reach over and take the water glass and drain the rest of it before putting the empty vessel back down. I stare daggers across the room, not wanting to, yet I'm unable to feel anything but jealous over his good health. He's gone back to watching his TV show now and I'm feeling a bit neglected.

I whimper some, hoping he will take his eyes off the TV and at least ask me if there was anything I wanted.

He ignores me.

I frown at the TV set that has my best friend's attention. Evil box of doom. If those pills would only work then I could breathe and fall asleep. I wouldn't have to worry about that boob tube and my partner's lack of interest in my well being.

I sniff loudly, and of course, start to cough, this time dry hacking coughs. I put a little more effort into them, making them a bit louder than they needed to be, and sure enough I got his attention.

He slides out of his bed and comes over to mine, helping me sit up and begins rubbing my back until the spasm passes. Once it does he gets up and refills the water glass and hands it to me which I take with a small smile. A few sips has my throat calm and I settle back against my pillows. "Thadks."

"No problem." he then returns to his bed and back to his show.

This continues for the next hour or so with me starting to get settled then either having a coughing or sneezing fit which brings him out of his bed and back over to mine to check on me. He brings me more water, fresh handkerchiefs out of my bag, rubs my back and tries to calm me down enough that I could fall asleep.

Truth be told I was more than ready after the fifth time I got him up, but I was enjoying the attention a bit too much. The pills were now kicking in and my nose had gone from being blocked to running like a freight train. I spent more time blowing it now and the tip was turning bright red, I was sure, as it was certainly sore.

I was miserable, and I wanted to make sure he knew it. He gave me this rotten cold, he was going to suffer as much as I was suffering right now. It had been about 15 minutes now since the last time he had checked on me. I yawned and felt my ears pop. Maybe I could fall asleep and let him have the remainder of his night in peace.

As I was considering this, my nose begin tingling, signaling another oncoming sneezing fit. I sat up and grabbed the hanky as my eyes squeezed closed. "Heh-KESHHhhh! Hah-Chuhhh! Heh-HEKT-chuhh!!!"

This time Hunter did not get up.

I blew my nose loudly and heard him sigh. "Can you keep it down a bit, Shawn?"

Obviously I was disturbing him. Too bad.

I rolled over in my bed and put my back towards him. I cough again, this time I keep it to myself, smothering most of it in my pillow. Whatever movie he had been watching ends and I hear him turn the TV off. The room is now covered in darkness.

"Night, Shawn." he yawns over to me.

I grumble silently to myself, not wanting to be left alone like this. I was overtired, frustrated, grumpy and I wanted some more attention. Actually what I wanted was just to fall asleep and forget this miserable cold but I couldn't seem to accomplish that on my own for some strange reason.

I was also starting to feel cold, even though I still had all my clothes on and was covered by the blankets. I bundled them up tightly towards my body and try to relax. No good.

I rub my nose now on the blankets, I'm too irritated to go looking for my hanky. The rough fabric only serves to irritate my nose and instigates another sneezing fit. "KHET-chhhhhh! Heh-HEKT-Chuhhh! heh- HEHHEeCHIshh!!" I make that last one a bit louder than all the rest.

All I get from Hunter is a few spoken words. "Bless you, Shawn. Now go to sleep."

"I'm trying," I mutter back at him. I feel my teeth begin to chatter and I try to stop them from making too much noise. Why can't I just get warm? I whimper again, more out of instinct than to really bother him now. Everything hurt, and all I wanted to do was to fall asleep.

Something I did must have gotten his attention as I hear him get out of his bed and feel the comforting weight of his presence on my bed. "Jesus, Shawn, are you cold?" he asks me as he places his hands on my trembling form.

I nod and chatter and whimper. I feel his cool hand brush against my brow. "You're hot," he advises me. I start to lean into his touch but he moves his hand away and gets up off the bed.

"Not hot," I protest, wanting him back next to me. "I'm freezing."

"You've got a fever."

I just chatter back instead of responding as I curl into a tighter ball, trying to conserve what little body heat I had left.

He comes back to the bed and tries to get me to uncurl. Where I had wanted his presence earlier, now I just wanted to be left alone. Or something. I don't even know why I was fighting, except that I was.

He tries again. "Shawn, you need to take the Tylenol for the fever."

"Go away."

"Just take the damn pills so that you can feel better, sheesh." I hear him place something down on the table then feel his hands yanking the blankets away from my body.

"HEY!" I yell, reaching for the blankets back. The room now feels icy cold to me.

"Take the damn pills, Shawn and I'll give you the blankets back." He's holding them just out of my reach.

I shoot daggers from my eyes and roll over to take the pills, uncurling myself, yet still shivering while I do so. "hah-Hahchuhh!! KHET-chhhhhh!" The sudden sneezes were directed into my elbow as I reached for the pills. Hunter picked up my hanky and handed it to me. I took it with one shaking hand and doled out three pills with the other. I swallowed them quickly with a sip of water then blew my nose, looking miserably at him while I did so.

True to his word, he replaced the blankets and tucked them in around my shaking body. I'm moaning now and stifling coughs into my pillow.

"Shh, shhhh," he tells me while rubbing his hands up and down my hidden arms.

"Sick," I say as if he didn't know this already.

"I know," he states while continuing to try to keep me warm. "I'm sorry."

After a few more minutes of my shivering and whimpering, he shoves me over a bit on the bed.

"Huh?" I croak out around a cough.

"Move over, Shawn." he uses his strength to push me to one side of the bed. I feel the bed shift as he climbs under the covers. "Come here," he states matter-of-factly.

"Whatcha doin'?" I'm puzzled, yet I scoot next to his warmth.

He wraps his arms around me and I already start to feel calmer. My trembling slows as he continues to rub his hands up and down my arms. "Just relax, Shawn. Close your eyes and let your body relax."

His mouth is near my ear and his breath is warm upon the side of my face. I stop fighting my body's reactions and allow him to soothe me and comfort me. Even my coughing settles down. I do end up stifling a few sneezes into my pillow but he doesn't seem to mind. He continues to speak softly near my ear, telling me that I can rest now, that I can fall asleep and I would be warm now.

Eventually my eyes begin to droop, and my breathing levels out. I yawn a few times and hear him do the same from behind me. Still, he doesn't let go, and his presence is a comfort that I'm grateful for. Finally it all becomes too much for me to stay awake and the last thing I am conscious of is his rhythmic breathing as he drifts off next to me. I follow him into dreamland seamlessly with a final yawn and a slight squeeze of his arm.