Hullo again, dear readers! I'm totally overwhelmed with your admiration for this story! I'm so sorry I'm unable to update it more frequently, (and that I left you with a cliffhanger, hehe...) but as I've already stated-my job's pretty much been killing me. My new years resolution for 2012 is actually to resign, since it's no longer helping my career (if it ever was, to be honest).

Anyway-this chapter comes with a warning. If you're sickened/freaked out by rather realistic descriptions of illness, do not read on, and don't say I didn't warn you. Oh yes, there will be lots of TLC (Tender Loving Care) as this story *is* in fact a hurt/COMFORT fic, but I once again want to state that things will not be... too fluffy from now on. My hopes are, of course, that you'll still stick to the story, and also, please, feel free to tell me what you think, and correct my spelling/grammar errors!

I hope you all will have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. And once again, even though I can't guarantee the frequency of my updates, I will NOT abandon this story, so don't worry!

Lots of love;

BoMD

–––

"Howl… Howl! Sophie threw herself down by her husband's side, repeating his name over and over, trying to provoke some kind of reaction from him. For a bewildered moment, a suspicious thought crossed her mind–what if this was just an act, staged to gain her compassion? Maybe he was just expecting her to fall for his trick, and at any moment now, he'd open his eyes, laughing at her, knowing that he'd eventually charm her and make her laugh as well… and he would once more have managed to slither away from being scolded.

But as Sophie grabbed him by his shoulders, turning him over, any lingering doubts were put to rest as she saw his face. Fear gripped her with iron claws around her chest as she unfastened his coat, casting it aside. "Howl!" she repeated demandingly, but he was still unresponsive.

Sophie quickly checked the area below his ribs, but saw no visible marks, he didn't appear to be injured. She stroke his cheek and found it burning hot. She could sense his breath against her hand, and as she put her other hand on his chest, she felt his heart beating fast. By now, she was quite certain that he was very sick, whatever the cause might be. At the same moment, she became aware of that Markl was kneeling on his other side. "No, Markl!" she said in a cautioning voice. "Stay away!"

Markl obediently rose, backing away a few steps, but still within view. His eyes were wide with horror. Heen positioned himself right behind him with a puzzled look on his face.

Sophie took Howl's hands, realizing that they too were stained with dirt. In contrast to his flushed face, they felt cold to the touch. "Howl, please, wake up… you're home, you're safe now… it will be all right…"

Howl, however, remained unresponsive. She moved down to his feet, grabbed his legs by the ankles, positioning them in an elevated angle. Finally, after a few moments, he stirred, turning his head slightly, his eyes tightly shut. She was kneeling down once more, placing his legs on her lap as she knelt, still keeping them at an angle while reaching for his hand, stroking it softly. "Wake up now…"

A few moments later, Howl stirred again, rolling off her lap, curling up in an almost fetal position, once more grabbing his lower ribs on his left side. "Sffiiie… 'm so sorry, Sssfiie…" His voice was only a faint whisper.

"Shhh…" Sophie positioned herself by his head once more, stroking his hair. "Don't you worry…" She was surprised to hear that her voice sounded so calm, despite her throbbing heart and the burning knot of fear in her belly. "What's the matter?"

Howl closed his eyes even more firmly. "Pain… hurts…" He clutched at his ribs, and at the same moment, he started shivering. Sophie was just about to try and coax some more information out of him as the color of his face was suddenly turning several shades whiter. "S-Sophie…" He swallowed, and she could hear the urgency in his voice. "N-need to…" He gasped and swallowed anew. "B-bathroom… sick…"

Shuddering, he let out a hiccuping burp and tried to pull himself up a little. Sophie grabbed him from behind realizing that trying to get him up on his feet was definitely not an option in his state. Helping him sit, and leaning him away from his body, still careful not to touch the sore part of his ribs, she supported his forehead, keeping his hair out of his face.

"It's all right, now, Howl… don't worry, just relax… breathe…" She turned her head around quickly, in Markl's direction, and found that Calcifer had joined them, bobbing silently from a safe distance, his face a solemn mask of concern.

Markl was apparently on his feet already, and she could hear him rummaging about in the broom closet, obviously looking for a bucket or a basin, but Sophie knew that he was probably going to be too late. She felt Howl's stomach muscles clenching as he suddenly made a deep, gurgling sound in his throat. "Can't hold…!" he gasped, and suddenly he was retching violently, vomit protruding from both his mouth and his nose.

Sophie spoke in a low, soothing voice, close to his ear. "Oh, my poor dear… shh, don't worry, just keep breathing… I'm holding you..."

Suddenly, she saw Markl approaching with the basin with some length of toilet tissue inside it. "Slide it over, on the floor," she instructed. "Don't get near. He might be contagious."

Markl complied, and quickly, Sophie helped Howl move away a little from the vomit on the floor. Still holding him steady, she set the toilet paper aside and placed the basin in front of him. At the sight of the basin, he coughed and retched anew, over and over until the attack eventually subsided. Sophie kept talking in soft, comforting words. As she set the basin aside, Howl whimpered softly and sank down on the floor. Curling up in a shivering ball, he rested his head on her lap. "S-sorry…" he managed. "Sorry… couldn't make it home… hurts!"

Sophie gently wiped his running eyes, his mouth and his nose with the toilet tissue, softly massaging his scalp. "Howl, dearest, there is nothing to be sorry about, don't worry… You can't help it! And you're home now! You'll feel much better soon… Just rest for a moment… and we'll go to the bathroom and clean you up so we can put you to bed…"

He gave a small nod. "Hurts so much…" He pressed his hand against his ribs. "And I feel… I feel so sick, Sophie..."

"You'll be all right. Just rest a bit…" Sophie kept stroking his hair and his back. His shirt was all damp with sweat, and she knew that she'd better get him cleaned up before he got cold.

Within a couple minutes, his breathing had eased a little. "Would you like us to tuck you in on the couch, or think you can make it upstairs if I support you?" Sophie asked.

"Must… upstairs… our bed… bath…" came the muffled reply.

Sophie sat him up, helping him shifting positions so he was kneeling beside her. Gently, she uncurled his left arm, placing it around her neck instead, and her own arm around his waist. Slowly, she helped him stand. He groaned and staggered, leaning heavily on her. "What… what if I… I'm gonna be sick again?"

"Don't worry, dear," Sophie ensured him.

They began their slow ascent up the stairs. As expected, Howl hardly had the strength to walk, but he was determined to get upstairs and to the main bathroom. They had to stop several times so he could catch his breath, and even Sophie was panting heavily as they finally reached the bathroom door.

As they were just about to cross the threshold, Howl gave a small gasp, covering his mouth. They made it to the toilet just in time, and he got down on his knees, once again retching violently. Sophie held his head, still talking soothingly, but the knot in her stomach was tightening. Finally, after several minutes of what was mostly dry heaves, the vomiting ceased and Howl sank down, leaning his head against the cool porcelain, breathing in short gasps.

"My poor love…" Sophie soothed, trying to mask her own fear over the fact that this was the second time he'd vomited in just a matter of minutes.

Howl sank back in a sitting position, almost too tired to stay upright. But suddenly he tensed, making an attempt to rise, apparently trying to position himself on top of the toilet instead, fidgeting frantically with the fastening of his breeches. Sophie immediately understood and helped him out, as swiftly as she could. She saw the panic in his eyes and even heard his inside churning.

Normally, both of them would probably have found the situation embarrassing, and the humiliation would have made him sink through the floor, but now, Sophie had no intention of leaving the room, and Howl would not have let her. He was sitting, slumped forward, his left lower arm wedged between his upper thigh and the sore part of his ribs. He clasped her hands tightly, as she was kneeling in front of him.

"Oh, Howl…" she managed, her voice trembling with compassion and worry.

"S-Sophie… please, forgive m-me, I'm so sorry…"

"It's all right, Howl! It's not called "In Sickness and in Health" for nothing, you know…" She managed a weak smile.

Howl was shivering violently, and all of a sudden, he started retching again. Sophie quickly reached for the washbasin near the tub, and placed it on his lap. His body was convulsing as it was trying to empty itself from all ends. Eventually, his effort to vomit brought up a mouthful of green bile, and the rush of liquid down the toilet seemed to have ceased.

Sophie put down the basin and reached for the chain, flushing the toilet. For a couple moments, they both just sat there, Sophie gently stroking Howl's heaving back. His shirt was all slick with sweat. Talking softly, Sophie wiped his face and mouth. She grabbed a glass from the bathroom shelf, filling it up with water and putting it to his lips. At first, he pulled away, but she insisted. "You shouldn't drink it, just swirl it… there…" she encouraged him.

Howl did what he was told, but he seemed so drained that even rinsing his mouth proved to be a great effort. "Need… bath…" he hissed in a hoarse voice.

Sophie sighed. "Dear… you're running a fever… I know you'd like a bath, but in your state, it could be dangerous…"

Howl shook his head, his eyes closed. "But I need… that bath oil…"

"We'll just put some in the sponge water then…"

Howl gave a tired nod, then gasped, clutching his ribs tightly.

"It will all be over soon, you'll see…" Sophie soothed. "Just a few more moments now and we can put you to bed… and you'll wake up as good as new…" She hoped she was sounding more reassuring than she actually felt. Of course, both her and her sisters had come down with several bad colds and cases of the flu during their childhood, and being the eldest, she had often been given the task to care for them whenever her step mum attended the shop. But she couldn't remember ever seeing anyone this sick… She drew another deep breath. "Now… let's get you out of these clothes…"

Normally, such a comment would have made the wizard explode with wicked laughter, probably followed by some teasing remark regarding his irresistibility. Now, all he could manage was a barely audible snort, followed by a gasp of pain.

Sophie managed a smile as she gently grabbed his legs one at a time, freeing him of his boots and his socks. This did indeed feel rather odd… naturally, it was not the first time she'd helped him undress, but usually, the circumstances were… very different. Despite the situation, she felt herself blushing just a little as his pants and underwear dropped to the floor. The shirt proved a bit more difficult, though, since he was still hunched over, and she had a hard time getting to the buttons.

"Howl, dear…" she coaxed, stroking his hair. "Just let me–"

He understood and complied, with a great effort. As she was finally able to untangle his arms from the damp sleeves, his pain was so intense that Sophie suddenly became aware of that he was about to lose consciousness again. She grabbed his shoulders and helped him put his head between his knees.

"Dizzy…" he hissed. But at the same moment as his head cleared a bit, the nausea hit him again. He was totally drained of all fluids, though, and had nothing to bring up.

Once again, they sat waiting for the aftershocks to fade. Sophie looked around the bathroom and her eyes fell on the wooden stool next to the bath tub. Fortunately, it had once been magically impregnated to withstand water damage. She placed it inside the tub, and fortunately it fitted on the bottom, standing without wobbling. Returning to Howl, she placed herself beside him. "Let's get you into the tub, dear… think you can stand for a moment? Just put your arm around me now… there…"

The wizard weakly lifted his right arm, and put it around her neck, making an attempt to rise, but promptly sank back again, making a pained face.

"What is it?" Sophie felt her chest tighten.

"Legs… numb… toilet seat… mph…" Howl managed through clenched teeth.

Sophie couldn't hold back a smile. "All right, let's try again." Very carefully, she lifted each of his legs, softly massaging the pressure marks, until Howl gave a weak nod.

They eventually made it to the tub, and she assisted him as he climbed inside. His legs were still very wobbly as he placed himself on the stool, immediately slumping over once more, shivering violently. Sophie stroke him a few times along his back, silently musing that he was way too thin and this would hardly make it better.

Cleaning the basin throughly, she filled it up with lukewarm water, and added the proper bath oils according to Howl's instructions. Eventually, the water got a fresh, mint-ish smell to it, and a faint shade of blue. Hopefully, it would relieve his pain. Normally, he'd probably have read some spell over the water too, but there was no way she would have allowed him to do any magic in this state.

Grabbing a couple of smaller towels, she soaked one of them in the basin for a few moments, then wrung out the excess water until it was just wet enough. Softly and tenderly, she started sponge washing Howl's entire body. Initially, his shivering increased, but after a while, he seemed to be able to relax a bit, even if just sitting up was a horrendous strain, and he was either leaning heavily against the wall or slumped forward.

Normally, this kind of activity most certainly would have made them end up in a situation that made Sophie's cheeks burn at the mere thought… but now, all she did feel was a deep surge of compassion within her, and an overwhelming sensation of unconditional love… and protectiveness for the man in front of her. Like a burning fire within her, wishing she could somehow magically purge his body of this sickness… even if it meant that she would have to take some part of the strain herself.

She was very careful with the sore spot under his ribs–in fact, his white skin seemed to be blushing just a little within that area, but it was most likely caused by his own rubbing. After a few wettings of the towel, she changed the water, repeating the procedure several times.

"Feeling better?" She grabbed one of his severely stained hands, and placing the entire basin on his lap, she put his hand and lower arm in the water, carefully rubbing away the dirt with the wet towel.

"Not much… sorry..." Howl murmured as she gently pried away his other hand from his ribs, repeating the washing procedure.

"Would you like me to wash your hair as well?"

He gave a nod. "Please…"

She quickly fetched his hair brush from the shelf. Fortunately, his hair wasn't in such a bad shape as she had feared, and despite the fact that it was dirty and lifeless, only a few strokes of the brush were required to untangle the knots.

"There…" Sophie put the brush back on its shelf and refilled the basin with water and bath oil. After wetting Howl's hair, she chose one of his favorite shampoos from the shelf, massaging it into his hair. Howl made a small sound of delight as her fingertips were rubbing his scalp, but it was immediately followed by a gasp of pain. Her hand stroke his cheek as she reached out for the tap, refilling the basin anew. As she poured the first basin over his head, she grabbed another of the small towels that was not yet used, wetting it and washing his face with the excess water.

"Thank you… 'm sorry…" Howl whispered, his eyes closed.

"Howl, dear… there is no need to apologize." Sophie sighed. "You can't help it…"

After ensuring the shampoo was all rinsed out, and every inch of Howl's body had been properly cleaned, Sophie doused both of them with the drying powder, It immediately worked its magic, and her dress, that also had been soaking wet, was no longer clinging to her skin. Bringing out the largest towel she could find, she quickly wrapped it around her husband's shivering body.

"Feeling any better?" He was still slumped forward, but she was hoping for a positive answer.

But Howl just gave a small shake of his head. "No… sick… hurts…"

Sophie nodded. "Let's get you to bed, then."

Carefully, she took his arm and wrapped it around her neck. Howl made an attempt to rise from the stool, and nearly fell before Sophie was able to help him stepping over the edge of the tub. He had to catch his breath for a few moments, but fortunately it didn't provoke another attack of vomiting.

Slowly, they started walking toward their bedroom. Howl was wobbling, hardly able to lift his feet, and several times, he stopped abruptly tightly clutching his ribs. As they finally reached the bed, Sophie helped him sit down on the edge. She lifted his crumpled nightshirt from the floor and pulled it over his head. She had to help him putting his arms through the sleeves. As soon as the towel left his shoulders, the shivering grew even worse, and she quickly gathered the covers from the floor where they had ended up as she'd abruptly left the bed in the morning.

With a moan, Howl let himself sink down on his pillow, initially trying to stretch out as he usually did when lying down on the bed, but groaning, he winced, curling up on his side, clutching his midsection. He paled, swallowing.

"Gonna be sick again?" Sophie asked in alarm.

"Dunno… think I'm quite… empty…" came the muffled reply. "I just feel… it hurts so much…"

Sophie covered Howl's shivering body, pulling the blankets up to his chin and tucking him in. She stroked the bangs from his forehead. He was still burning hot to the touch. Her hand quickly traced his jawline down to his cheek.

"I'll be right back," she promised as she rose anew.

She hurried to the bathroom, retrieving the basin along with a roll of toilet tissue, and in the upstairs broom closet, she located the chamber pot that previously had been in use by Granny during the last weeks of her life.

Howl hadn't moved upon her return; but he wasn't asleep either, his eyes opened about halfway as she sat down on the stool by the bedside once more. "Look, I brought you a basin… and a chamber pot… I'll just leave the basin here on the night stand, and the chamber pot on the floor…"

Howl let one of his hands slip through the covers, finding hers. She squeezed it lightly, stroking it. "I'll be right here, dearest. If I need to leave you, it will be just momentarily…"

The wizard shook his head a little. "I won't hold you back… I… I know you're needed elsewhere too… but…" His eyes opened a little wider, meeting hers. "Sophie… I'm scared…"

Sophie had to fight the overwhelming feeling of compassion and worry that rose in her throat at his words. "I know…" she managed. "I think that we actually… should get the doctor."

Howl shook his head quite firmly. "No… just a waste of money we can't afford…"

Sophie sighed. "Then at least… try and tell me what happened, Howl… please… I'm all in the dark here…"

"Sorry… Not that I think it will be of any help … I still don't know…"

To be continued...