Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Numb3rs.
"Good book?" Amita jumped at the sound of Charlie's voice. She could feel her face turn red as she turned to face Charlie, who was now in sweat pants and t-shirt.
"Uh, yeah. Good shower?"
"Yeah, it felt good." Charlie said falling into Don's Lazy-Boy and closed his eyes.
"You're still flushed." Amita commented.
"I know. My head is still spinning too." Charlie responded.
"Let's see if your fever went up." Amita said getting up. Charlie opened his eyes to find Amita standing over him, thermometer posed.
"Um, no thanks."
"I wasn't really asking. Open." Amita's voice was firm. Charlie's eyes opened farther as if laughing at the bossiness of Amita and yet he opened his mouth and accepted the device.
"Thank you."
Charlie just nodded and closed his eyes again. Amita could see in the lines around his eyes that he had a headache. She randomly started playing with one of Charlie's curls as she waited for the three minutes to be up. She pushed the curl to the side, feeling the heat radiating off Charlie's skin as she did so. She removed the thermometer from Charlie's mouth and looked at it. Charlie cracked an eye open and looked at her. She sighed and put it back in its case.
"Still one oh two. Do you want some tea or anything?"
"Could I have some water?"
"Sure." Amita hurried to the fridge and pulled out an ice cold bottle of water. She handed it to Charlie, who broke the seal and downed half of it.
"Why don't you lie down on the couch?" Amita suggested. Charlie made some sort of noise Amita couldn't decipher and then stood up and walked the three steps to the couch and then fell into its cushions.
"Ah, much better." Charlie said, his eyes closed again. Amita smiled.
"Good."
She moved to the couch, lifted Charlie's head, sat, and then placed his head in the lap. She began playing with a curl again and for a long time she and Charlie just sat there in silence. After an hour, she wondered if Charlie had fallen asleep. Just as she was contemplating how to get up without disturbing him, Charlie said,
"Thank you Amita."
Amita stopped moving and looked down at Charlie's flushed face.
"Thank you for what?"
"For putting yourself at risk for me."
"You'd do the same for me, Charlie."
"You remind me of my mother."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Amita knew the answer but she wanted to hear it directly from Charlie.
"A good thing. You act a lot like her." Charlie opened his eyes.
"In what ways?"
"You try to protect me from the world a lot, you encourage me to strive for the impossible, you take care of me. You put yourself at risk to do what's best for me."
Amita had tears in her eyes again and this time, she let one of them fall.
"Wow Charlie. Who would've guessed that of all the things you say to me, the ones you say when you're sick are the ones that make me cry. It means a lot to me."
Charlie and Amita's eyes connected and Charlie reached over his shoulder and wiped the tear away.
"Well, every cloud has a silver lining."
A/N: So this is the end. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and read; it really means a lot to me. Watch for some updates on my other stories! Thanks again!
~StoryLover18