A/N: Welcome back! This is the second and final chapter of "Side By Side," which I must say I've very much enjoyed writing :3 Thanks a million to those of you who have read, reviewed, and favorited! It really means a lot, and it definitely encourages me to keep going in this fandom. I need to finish the series first though, hehe - I'm still in season four!
Side by Side
Claudia woke to gravel crunching beneath their tires and caught a glimpse of Leena's before her lungs seized and she curled into herself in a coughing fit. She was only half aware of Steve's hand on her back.
"Breathe, Claude," he soothed her, his voice tight with worry.
The fit couldn't have lasted more than a minute or so, but by the time it ended she was light-headed and panting, and her chest felt like someone was sitting on it. "I feel like shit, Jinksy," she said, wincing. He squeezed her shoulder.
"You're going to be all right. Pete and Myka are — "
"Claude?"
She glanced up in surprise as her door opened, revealing the two in question. Myka reached in to unbuckle her seatbelt and helped her out of the car, something Claudia wouldn't have said she'd needed until she tried to stand on her own. As it was, she grasped Myka's arm woozily and allowed the older agent to steer her back towards the B&B.
Behind her, Pete whistled softly. "Damn. I would have said she looked fine this morning."
"Yeah, it happ— started pretty quickly," Steve replied, trying to keep his voice clear of the consonants that he knew would make his congestion obvious. Pete was oblivious.
"I'll go see if Myka needs any help. Thanks, man." He clasped Steve's shoulder briefly and took off at a jog after his partner. Head pounding, Steve leaned up against the car and closed his eyes for a moment as the world tipped around him. If he could just sneak some of the new cold medicine that Pete had picked up…well, honestly he had no idea if Claudia's symptoms would disappear at this point, but at least he'd be able to think straight.
Heh, think straight. He chuckled, then bent forward with a violent "AEESCH'huh" that made his dizziness even worse.
"Damb."
Steve must have tipped them off, Claudia mused as she huddled on her bed beneath a thick quilt and tried to keep from sneezing. Myka chuckled at her from the door.
"That's an interesting face," she teased. Claudia's concentration lapsed for all of a second, and: "h'ehhCHOO!" She sniffled and reached for the box of tissues Myka had set on her bedside table.
"Thagks," she replied. "And thagks for, you dknow, tagkig care of be." She blew her nose thickly.
"It's no problem." Myka came over to press the back of her hand against Claudia's forehead. "You're still warm, but not as much as before. How are you feeling?"
Claudia chuckled, then coughed. "Stellar, thanks for asking, Doctor Bering." The congestion was finally clearing enough that she could speak clearly, though she could still feel the pressure pounding in her sinuses. She flopped back onto her pillows with a dramatic sigh. "I don't know what happened, I felt fine this morning."
"You said there wasn't any artifact in Featherhead, right?" Myka frowned.
"No, just a power grid that's about seventy years out of date." Claudia sat up, her interest piqued. "What, do you think an artifact got me?"
The older agent shrugged. "I mean, it's always a possibility. But I wouldn't be surprised if you'd just caught a cold on your own."
Claudia made a face. "Humor me. Tell me it's an artifact and you'll goo it and I won't have to deal with this anymore." She grabbed a handful of tissues and folded them around her nose.
Myka squeezed her shoulder. "I'll go see if Leena's finished with that soup."
"HURAASCH'uh, h'AASCH'uhn." Steve blew his nose for what had to have been the tenth time in the last half hour. His sinuses were so clogged he could hardly breathe, and yet his nose kept running, the shifting congestion making him sneeze again and again.
He dabbed at his nose with his handkerchief — now looking quite worse for the wear — and winced as the fabric brushed his chapped nostrils. He hadn't felt this sick in a long time. Even the new cold meds he'd been swiping from Claudia's stash didn't seem to take the edge off things.
Steve turned back to his computer screen and once again attempted to make sense of the words swimming before his eyes. The article may has well have been written in Ancient Greek for all that he was getting out of it right now. His head throbbed, his body ached, and the heaviness in his chest made his breath come in a wheeze, punctuated by staccato coughing fits.
In short, he felt like crap.
He was nodding off to sleep when Pete crashed into Artie's office with a bang that nearly made Steve fall out of his chair. He shook his head, heart racing.
"Geez, a little warning next time?" He grumped, straightening the papers that he'd knocked aside in his flailing. For the second time that day, Steve found a manilla folder hurtling straight at his face. And, for the second time that day, he missed it.
"Artifact ho, Stevie-o!" Pete said, grabbing his coat and stopping behind Steve's chair. "Let's get a move on!"
"Haven't I already been out in the field today?" Steve knew he was whining. He also knew that he felt like his head was stuffed full of cotton balls.
Pete raised an eyebrow. "Someone's grouchy." He spun Steve around to face him. "Come on, I've already got the car warming up. We're heading for Sioux City, Iowa."
"Wait…why isn't Myka going with you?"
"She's taking care of Claudia," Pete answered, with a clear 'duh' in his tone. "And Artie wants us close by in case either of them need anything, why is why — " he bent down and tipped Steve's chair up at an angle, so the former-ATF agent had no choice but to stand up or be thrown out of his chair, " —we should get a move on so we can get back ASAP."
Still grumbling, Steve brushing himself off and was following Pete to the door when his chest tightened, sending him into a coughing fit. He panted, wheezing, as the coughs kept coming, forcing themselves from his lungs in violent spasms that made the edges of his vision go grey. He didn't notice he'd fallen to his knees until Pete was kneeling in front of him, his hand on his shoulder as his lips formed words Steve couldn't hear over the rushing in his head.
The last thing he heard was Pete speaking to someone, although there was no one else in the room. And then, his vision faded completely to black.
Steve awoke to the feeling of something cold pressed against his chest. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned.
"Whadt happedd?" He rasped, congested and hoarse. His throat felt like he'd swallowed a cheese grater.
His vision cleared to reveal Dr. Vanessa Calder at his bedside, her stethoscope in hand. She offered Steve a glass of water.
"You passed out in the Warehouse," she said, watching him closely. "Pete was with you — which was quite lucky on your part, I may add."
Steve just blinked at her, his head still far too fuzzy to make much sense of anything. Vanessa seemed to notice his confusion and continued on.
"You have pneumonia." She narrowed her eyes. "And by how you're looking, it seems like you've had it for a little while. How long have you been feeling sick?"
"Claudia," Steve whispered, a spike of panic penetrating the fog weighing down his body. "The — the metronome." He struggled to sit up, and Dr. Calder pushed him back down with no more than three fingers.
"She's fine, Agent Jinks," Vanessa said. "Just a cold. Which I'm guessing is where this all started for you as well."
Steve wilted against the pillows of his bed, avoiding her gaze. "A few days ago," he answered her earlier question.
"And why didn't you say anything?" She asked. "Difficulty breathing isn't exactly par for the course with the common cold."
He felt his cheeks warm. "Didn't want anyone to worry," he mumbled, so softly he wasn't sure if Vanessa had heard him.
She touched his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. "You have a family here, Steve," she said, her voice gentle. "They care about you just as much as you care about them. Let them."
There was a knock, and doctor and patient looked up to see Myka just outside Steve's room.
"Hey, Steve." She smiled. "How ya feeling?"
He coughed. "Fine." Dr. Calder glared at him, and he backpedaled. "Um, actually, not great."
Myka laughed. "You know, for a Human Lie Detector, you're a horrible liar."
"…So I've been told."
She stayed by the door, one hand on the frame. "Are you feeling up to a visitor?"
Who on earth would be coming to visit him? The confusion must have showed in his eyes, for Myka smiled and stepped to the side, revealing a pale and bedraggled-looking Claudia wrapped in a thick purple blanket.
"I am pissed off with you," she announced. Dr. Calder chuckled.
"I'll be back in a bit. Play nice, you two." She left with Myka, leaving Claudia and Steve together. Steve wriggled up a little higher on his pillows, guilt tugging heavily at his chest.
"Claude, I'm so, so sorry," he said, brows furrowed. "This — this damn metronome — "
"That's not why I'm pissed," Claudia interrupted him. Her tone was going for haughty, but she ruined it by turning to cough into her fist. Steve was relieved to hear that her coughs weren't nearly as deep or painful-sounding as his felt.
"I'm pissed because you didn't tell me, you asshole." She shuffled into the room, blanket dragging behind her like an oversized cape. "What, did you think we weren't going to notice that you were a viral time bomb?"
"I…was hoping not." Steve's gaze dropped to his lap. Someone had removed his jacket and shoes and had substituted them with fuzzy socks.
His mattress shifted as Claudia plopped down, then scooted across towards him. "Move over, stupid-head."
"Stupid-head?" Steve teased, though a smile was beginning to tug at his lips, and he did as she said.
Claudia sniffed plaintively. "I'm sick. I can't be expected to perform at my highest level of snark."
Steve chuckled, though stopped with a wince and held his hand to his chest. "Ow," he wheezed.
It was Claudia's turn to look remorseful. "Damn, sorry. Here." She lifted the covers and slid underneath with him, wriggling around until her head rested in the hollow of his neck and her arms wrapped loosely around his chest. "Human heating pad."
Steve suddenly felt incredibly, pleasant warm, and it wasn't because of the fever or the physical heat of his best friend against him. He tucked her snugly against his side and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Sorry I made you sick," he mumbled into her hair, his eyes already drooping shut again. From the cadence of her breathing against him, he could tell Claudia was doing the same.
"Shut up and let me sleep."
He chuckled, then coughed. The fit tapered off after a few seconds, and Claudia held him tighter.
"Feel better, Jinksy," she mumbled into his chest, sending the happy warmth all the way down to his toes. This — this was where he belonged.
"Feel better, Claudia," he replied, and then fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.
Till next time, fellow Agents! Do me a favor and let me know what you thought - and if you have any ideas for a second story :)
