Author's Note: 500 words on the dot. Enjoy! ~lg
oOo
Jennifer woke the next morning with a stuffy nose and aching head. As she stared at her ceiling, she took stock of her symptoms. Stuffy nose? Check. Headache? Check. Clogged ears? Check. Tickle in the back of the throat? Check. "Great," she muttered as she sat up. "It was too much to hope I'd get by without this cold."
Then, another thought hit her. She'd shared a late lunch with Evan. What if she'd given this cold to him? "Oh, I hope not!"
After a trip to the bathroom, Jennifer reached for her radio and contacted Dr. Cole. She refused to go to the infirmary. After all, the cold that swept the base was some twenty-four to forty-eight hour bug that seemed to clear up on its own. She didn't need to take up the infirmary's time when she knew how to treat it. She just needed to crawl back into bed after swallowing some Tylenol and a decongestant.
Late that afternoon, Jennifer woke to the sound of someone at her door. She pushed herself up and frowned when the room turned. Fever and vertigo weren't symptoms of this cold. Letting out a deep breath, she pushed back her blanket and padded to the door.
Evan blinked when she opened the door. "Whoa! You okay?"
"Yeah," she croaked. "Just caught the crud that's been going around."
Rather than staying away from her, he pushed into her room, taking her hand and guiding her toward her bed. "Yeah, I'll say. You're burning up!"
Jennifer waved a hand. "It'll pass. Some Tylenol will help with that."
He gave her an irritated look. "You're the doc, so I'll let it slide for now. But if you start feeling worse, I'll make sure you end up in the infirmary. I don't care what you think. You need to take care of yourself."
She nodded. "Thanks, Major."
"Evan," he corrected. "I'll be back in a couple of hours to see how you're doing."
Jennifer shook her head. She didn't need Evan hovering. Not with her resolution to ask him out. If she never got around to it, she'd feel awful. Sort of like she did now. Ignoring the pressure in her head, she settled back on the pillows and imagined that she could have Evan hovering for the rest of her life. That put a smile on her face before he even left the room.
That evening, he returned with a tray of food. He used his override codes on her door and called before he entered. Jennifer watched from her bed, her hair plastered to her forehead as she shivered under the covers. This wasn't that cold, and she wasn't getting better. She needed to get to the infirmary. Unfortunately, the world turned when she sat up, and she couldn't breathe past the band around her chest. She waited to speak until Evan got to her bedside. "I need some help."
~TBC