The first few spoonfuls of chili had tasted so delicious, and the Coke felt good, too. It wasn't until the fifth tiny spoonful into I felt nauseous. I tore myself away from Shane, than ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me. Locking it swiftly, I threw myself in the direction of the toilet, than was immediately sick. Oh, my God…. I hadn't felt so horrible in forever…. This wasn't my normal fever-headache sick. No, this was something else all together. Damn it to hell…. This was going to be absolutely God-awful.

Shane's fist beat against the bathroom door, and he began yelling through it. "Claire, open the door! Shit! Yo, Eve! Get your ass in there and make sure she's okay!"

I heard Eve pounding up the stairs, Michael directly behind her. Oh, God. If I thought they were going to freak out before, it was nothing compared to what I was about to face.

"Claire Bear? Do you want to let me in?" Eve asked worriedly, knocking quietly at the door. I could vaguely hear her shushing Shane and Michael, who were arguing lowly beside her.

I flushed the toilet, than pressed my cheek against the cool bathroom floor. "No… I'm fine. I just want to lay here for a little while…." I closed my eyes, curling into a small ball. "Plus, I don't have any pants on, either."

Everything went quiet outside of the door, and than I heard Eve's knocking again. "I've got your pants in my hand, Claire. Just let me in, and than we can get you back to bed. You need to rest, chickie. Trust me, hun; you're pretty damn sick."

I managed to reach up and unlock the door, and Eve slipped in, shutting the door behind her.

"Fuck." She said, blinking in surprise. "You look like shit, CB. Now, c'mon, let's get you back in your pants and than back to bed." She knelt down beside me, holding out my pants. I accepted them with a shaking hand, than managed to wriggle into them.

"I'm ready." I said a few minutes later, leaning against the sink for support. As I glanced at the mirror, I cringed at my reflection and how pale I looked. Vampire pale. Unnatural.

Eve nodded, smiling encouragingly, and helped me walk out the door. Shane and Michael were standing there, both of them looking tense. As he saw me come out of the bathroom, Shane's face softened considerably, and he pulled me to him, and I snuggled against his chest.

"Let's get you back to bed." He said hoarsely, then scooped me up, ignoring the shock on my face.

I began to protest and wriggle to get back down on the ground. "I can walk—"

"Just shush, Claire. It's not that far," He chuckled, kissing my forehead as Eve and Michael drifted back to the stairs and the living room.

"Fine…." I muttered, than shut my eyes, resting my head against his chest. I was exhausted, and I felt like shit. For now, I just wanted to go lay back down with Shane and try not to think about eating. Or barfing. Ewww…. It was making me sick just thinking about that. I struggled to distract myself, and began speaking again. "Will you stay with me? You don't have to if you don't want too, though."

Right as I opened my eyes, I saw Shane roll his.

"Claire, quit being weird. You know that I'll stay with you." Shane laughed as he walked through my bedroom door, than slowly laid me down on my bed. "Provided that we can watch TV, of course." He smirked down at me, and my eyes narrowed slightly. Fine. If he wanted to watch TV, we would watch TV. But, it would be the show that I wanted to watch. Not his.

I smiled sweetly, nodding. "Of course, Shane. There's only one, teeny-tiny condition. We get to watch Bones, and you can be jealous of the all-sexy David Boreanaz."

Shane's face darkened a little, and a playful growl escaped from him. "Fine. But I'm sexier than whoever-the-hell-you-just-named. You know that, jail bait."

"Ugh. David Boreanaz." I said slowly, giving a teasing roll of my eyes. "Oh, fine. You are sexier than him, Shaneykinz." A blush appeared on my face, and I giggled reluctantly before burying my face in the pillow.

"Shaneykinz?! What the fuck?!" He laughed, tousling my hair. "Is that the thanks I get for calling you jail bait, than? Gah, Claire, wait to be a sweetheart." He snickered, than laid down next to me, nuzzling my shoulder.

Oh, yeah. That felt really nice.

"Do you mind if I go to sleep for a little while?" I asked suddenly, looking up. My face was, once again, flushed from my fever. I watched his eyes fill with concern, and then he smiled a sweet smile down at me.

His voice was soft when he spoke. "Don't worry, Claire. You can sleep for as long as you want to. I'll take care of you. I always will." His warm, damp lips pressed against my forehead for a moment, and than he wrapped his arms around my waist, snugly pulling me against his chest.

All in all, I was nice and cozy now. "Thanks. I love you…." I murmured, closing my eyes as I rested my head against his toned chest.

"No problem, jail bait. I… I love you, too." He whispered, squeezing me gently. "I'll be right here if you need anything. If I fall asleep and you wake up, I expect you to wake me up, too, alright?"

I nodded my consent, than yawned softly as sleep pulled me under.

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Several foggy hours later, I awoke from my slumber. My eyes rose drowsily to look at Shane, only to find that he was fast asleep. A smile quirked on my lips, and I didn't have the heart to wake him. He just looked so adorable when he slept... It had to be a sin to be that sexy.

After a few more moments of just watching Shane, I closed my eyes again, figuring I would sleep for a few more hours until Shane woke up. I could vaguely hear Michael and Eve in Eve's room, murmuring quietly to each other. No doubt they were picking out what they would name their children, when they had any. I couldn't help but grin at that thought, but re-closed my eyes as they stopped speaking. That, or they had begun to whisper.

After several more minutes of trying, I finally fell back asleep, and began dreaming. There were bright colors everywhere, and vast pools of icy water. My eyes studied these things curiously, and I leant forward to pluck a strange looking flower from a bush. The flower tried to bite my hand, than I dropped it before I took off running. I suppose dreams like these should scare me a bit more, but they don't.

It's actually kind of amusing, if you think about it the right way.