-Part 2-
For the next couple of days, it continued that way. Abbie and Joe remained about the same under Adam's and Hoss' s care.
"Adam." Ben said, walking into the room.
"Oh. Hey, pa." Adam said.
"How is she?" Ben asked.
"About the same. Sometimes she'll wake up and try to talk to me, but, she goes back out again just as quickly." Adam said.
"Adam, you have to get some sleep. You haven't slept since she got sick." Ben said.
"Pa, she needs me right now." Adam said.
"Adam, you're of no use to her if you wear yourself down. I'll take care of Abbie for a little while." Ben said.
"Alright. Yeah, you're right, pa. At least let me sleep here next to her." Adam said. Ben sighed.
"Alright. But, get some sleep, son." Ben said before leaving the room. Adam sighed, lying down next to Abbie on the bed. He stroked her blonde hair and kissed her on the head.
"Come on, Abbie." he said softly, "I know you can do this." As tired as he was, it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.
Abbie's blue eyes slowly fluttered open. She could see that she was in her room, in her bed. She felt as if she had just awoken from a deep sleep, the deepest she had ever been in. Her body felt heavy, and it took almost all of her energy just to move. Her body was soaked with sweat, and she was still confused as to what was going on exactly. She looked beside her and there lay Adam, fast asleep, still in his clothes, his arm draped across her body protectively. She felt him stir slightly, realizing that he must have felt her move. He opened his blue-grey eyes to look at her. He sat up quickly, staring at her.
"Abbie." he said quietly, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Adam." she said, looking at him, still confused, now even more so by his reaction, "Adam, what's going on? What's wrong?" He placed a hand on her forehead, then her cheek.
"Abbie." he said, smiling at her, "You're going to be alright." He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, more tightly than usual. She wasn't sure what was going on with him, but she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. Just then, Ben came into the room.
"What's going on in here?" he asked, confused as to what all the commotion was about. Adam let go of Abbie and looked at his father.
"Pa, she's alright. I think her fever has broken." Adam said. Ben looked at her, then felt her forehead.
"I think you're right, Adam." Ben said, removing his hand from her forehead, "She looks much better and she doesn't feel warm anymore."
"Fever?" Abbie asked, looking from Adam to Ben and back again.
"Abbie, don't you remember?" Adam asked.
"I... I remember falling to the floor." she said, "That's the last thing I remember."
"You were sick. That's why you fell." Ben said, "Adam stayed with you the whole time."
"Thank you, Adam." she said, looking at him with her grey eyes.
"Abbie, you don't have to thank me. I just wish I could have done more for you." Adam said.
"You said I was sick. Was it the illness you talked about, the one in Virginia City?" Abbie asked.
"Yeah. I'm afraid I could have been the one who brought it back to you. This could have been my fault." Adam said. Abbie shook her head.
"Adam, this is not your fault. Do you hear me? It would have happened eventually, whether you had gone into town or someone had come here and exposed us to it. But, don't you dare blame yourself for this." Abbie said, gently placing a hand on his face, looking him in the eyes.
"Thank you, Abbie." Adam said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "How are you feeling?"
"I feel... tired." she said.
"You should get some rest. Both of you." Ben said before leaving the room.
"Yeah, pa. We will." Adam said.
"Thanks, Ben." Abbie said. Adam layed back down on the bed, wrapping an arm around Abbie, pulling her close to him, and the two of them drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Hoss walked into Little Joe's room to check on him. He was surprised to find that Joe was awake, looking right at him as he entered the room. Hoss stopped in his tracks for a moment and looked at his little brother.
"What're you staring at me like that for, Hoss? You look like you've seen a ghost." Joe said, grinning.
"Dad burn it, Little Joe. You had us us all so dad burned worried." Hoss said, walking over to him. It was then that Ben walked into the room.
"Pa, look at Little Joe. He's awake. He's gonna be fine." Hoss said, smiling. Ben smiled at the sight before him.
"It looks that way." he said. Sarah walked into the room behind Ben.
"Look, Sarah. I reckon Little Joe is gonna be just fine." Hoss said, smiling at Sarah as she walked over to them.
"It's all thanks to you, Hoss." Sarah said, smiling at him, "You took care of him while he was sick." She placed a hand gently on Hoss's arm.
"Aw, it wasn't nothin'." he said, smiling and looking to the ground.
"That Sarah, she can turn anything into a compliment for Hoss." Joe said. Ben, Sarah, and Hoss laughed.