A/N: I can't apologize enough for how long it's taken me to update. A new semester just started, and I've been very busy with my internship. That being said, I don't anticipate this big of a gap between updates in the future.
Emma mentally counted to ten as she made her way back up the stairs. She loved Killian. She really, truly did, more than she'd ever loved any other man, but the one thing she absolutely could not stand was whining. Emma herself rarely ever whined, and when she did, it was usually in a joking manner. She simply didn't believe in it, because it never got anyone anything in life. Killian wasn't a whiner, either, which was wonderful. They thought so much alike and were so in sync, sometimes it scared her.
As she rounded the corner to their bedroom, she almost laughed at the sight: Killian had the comforter pulled all the way up to his chin and he looked almost comically miserable… like he was playing it up a bit.
If he thought she was going to put on a sexy nurse outfit and nurse him back to health he had another thing coming.
"Seriously?" She asked, arms crossed and eyebrow cocked.
"I'm sick," he stated as if it wasn't obvious.
"Yeah, I can see that," she said, frowning as she put a hand on his forehead. "You do have a fever… hold on, I'm getting the thermometer." When she reappeared from the master bath, he was shivering. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, she handed the thermometer out to him.
In response, he gave her the puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," she huffed, "Open your mouth."
He did as told, and she stuck the device into his mouth and held it until it beeped.
"Is it bad?" He croaked.
"101.7," the blonde answered. "That's not too bad." As she poured him a glass of the water from the pitcher they kept on a table near the window, he asked,
"Why are you dressed?"
"I was going to go to work," she replied.
"I figured as much," Killian said. "You stopped breathing through your mouth around midnight, and usually that means the unfortunate soul who is sick is feeling better."
"You stayed up just to keep an eye on me?" Emma asked, a touched smile replacing the annoyed downturn of her lips.
"Of course," he said, then took a greedy sip of the glass she handed him. "Love, could you put this on the nightstand for me? My body aches, and moreso when I so much as move."
"Sure," she said, offering him a patient smile as she slipped the glass from his hand and set it down on the table that was literally touching the mattress.
"What are you doing?" Killian whined as she turned around.
"Calling my dad…" she gave him a curious look. "The reception's better downstairs. I'll only be gone a few minutes, you'll be fine."
"I miss you already," he called after her.
"Emma?" David asked into the phone, hoping his voice didn't betray his worry.
"How do I stop feeing guilty for wanting there to be an emergency that requires me to, say, save a cat from a tree ‒nothing serious‒ just so I can get a break from Killian's whining?"
"You sound a lot better, how are yo ‒wait what?"
"I'm fine," Emma waved her hand dismissively despite her father not being able to see. "Killian isn't. He's sick, too. And he won't stop whining. He's like a clingy two year old. Hell, Henry wasn't this clingy when he was two. Well, at least, that's what my fake memories tell me, but still."
"Give him an extra dose of Nyquil and that'll be the end of that," David suggested with a smirk.
"He drinks rum like water, trust me, ten doses of Nyquil wouldn't touch him."
"Sorry, that's all I've got."
"It's okay," Emma sighed, walking up to the front window and looking out. "I had every intention of coming in ‒I snuck around the house like a pro, and right as I was about to go out the door, he woke up and asked me to take care of him. I can't leave him, no matter how much he's annoying me. But if something comes up and you need me, I can leave him for a li‒"
"No worries, kiddo. Things are calm and I've got everything under control. Seriously."
"Okay. Call me if you need me."
"I will," David assured her.
"I love you," Emma said after a moment. Smiling, he said,
"I love you too. Talk to you later."
With that, he disconnected the call. Biting her lip, Emma thumbed through her contacts and pressed the "Mom" button, as Killian would say. Of course, Mary Margaret answered on the first ring and did a far worse job of hiding her worry than David did.
"How are you feeling, honey?"
"I think I'm all better," Emma replied.
"I'm glad, but make sure you take it easy. It could still rear its ugly head again."
"I will. I'm actually staying home, to take care of Killian. I kinda gave my cold to him…"
"Have fun," Snow said, and Emma could hear the smirk on the other woman's lips.
"Oh, I'm having a blast," the blonde's words dripped sarcasm, and both women laughed for a few moments before remembering each had someone to take care of‒ baby Neal in Snow's case and, well, a grown up baby in Emma's.
"Your father is a whiner when he's sick, too," Snow said.
"That's why I'm calling. How do I get Killian to shut up?"
"You can't," the brunette said. "You just have to let it run its course, and when he's feeling better, he'll stop whining."
"Emma!" Killian shouted. "It's been more than a couple minutes!"
"Oh God… sorry mom, I have to go." With that, Emma promptly hung up and made sure to plaster a smile to her face before going back into their room. "I was talking to my mom," she said pointedly. "What was so important that I had to hang up?"
"I'm lonely," he stated.
"Let me get you some medicine," she said. Ignoring Killian's protests, she retrieved the Nyquil and poured the correct dose into the plastic cup; she didn't want him to know she was giving him Nyquil in a feeble attempt to get him to fall asleep.
"No," Killian said as soon as she put the cup into his hand. "It tastes bad."
"You made me take medicine yesterday, and you damn well better take it or so help me God I am going to punch you in the face and quite possibly far worse. You might have the patience of a saint, but I don't and I'm not good at taking care of people and I'm trying to be nice but clearly failing miserably. Take the damn medicine."
This seemed to scare him enough to down the purple liquid.
"Ack!" Killian sputtered. "That stuff tastes awful. It should be abolished!"
"I agree with you on that," she said quietly, stroking his hair. "But it'll make you feel better, okay?" With a huff, he weakly pulled her onto the bed.
"Stay."
"I'm not going anywhere," she said, carefully climbing over him and settling down on her side of the bed. After a few moments, she said, "You know, for the most feared pirate in all the realms, you're such a wuss when you're sick."
At that, Killian let out an indignant huff, but didn't try to argue. Surprisingly, he was sleeping again within minutes, and Emma realized she couldn't climb out of bed because her shoulder was currently his pillow, and she didn't want to wake him up. With a sigh, she pulled up one of the numerous games she had on her phone and resigned herself to an afternoon of gaming.