Drakken had gone on and on about a party this weekend to celebrate their two year partnership anniversary. (He clearly didn't remember her nearly killing Dementor at last year's fest). He promised this year it would be just them and the henchmen celebrating by having karaoke, serving drinks, and playing games such as the 3 legged race (the only part of the plan that seemed semi-enjoyable was the alcohol, which she would gladly overuse so that she could forget the whole thing).

Unfortunately (honestly, it was fortunate; she really did not want to partake in this silly party), she felt dizzy, her nose was stuffy, her fever had spiked, and she could not stop her nose from running. Kim Possible had freaking sneezed her nasty germs all over Shego while she and Drakken were stealing the Ray X (whatever that was, Drakken had no idea how to work the dumb thing when they stole it), and now she felt the repercussions.

She was so sick that she had to call him from her bedroom. He had left her alone most of the day (he said something about continuing the plan without her, which was fine by her.) She was able to catch up on some much needed sleep, but a knocking at her door woke her up. She groaned and looked at her clock, which said it was 6:17 pm. Drakken opened her door slowly, and his face filled with concern when he saw her. Her nose was pink, her hair was a disaster, and she had gone so pale that her green skin almost looked white. "How are you doing?" he whispered as he walked toward her bed, holding a plate.

Shego coughed. "Well, I now know that Hell is real because I'm currently there."

She struggled to sit up but finally managed to get there when he sat on her bed next to her. "Here. I made you grilled cheese."

She smiled weakly. "You didn't have to do that," she whispered, but she took the plate from him anyway.

He shrugged. "You won't get better anytime soon if you don't eat." He watched her take a bite, and he didn't know if he should leave her alone or keep her company for a little while. (He honestly did not want to leave her side- she looked so deathly that it scared him.)

It took her a minute to swallow just one bite, and she groaned. "It hurts to eat."

Drakken instinctively put his hand on her forehead. "You're burning up." Shego leaned into his touch- his hands were cold on her face, and it felt good. Drakken glanced at her bedside table, which was covered in tissues and had an empty water glass. He reached over her to grab the cup. "Let me refill this for you." She nodded softly but closed her eyes.

When he returned to her bedroom with a filled water glass, she had passed out. He smiled at her sleeping form. Even though she felt ill and definitely looked it, she was still beautiful to him. The thought made him cringe at himself. He knew she was a beautiful woman (shit, everyone knew she was beautiful- all they had to do was look at her), but to see her in this state of sickness (that hair is going to need some work done to it) and still think she's gorgeous was ludicrous. But here he was with a pounding heart because the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on was sick, and all he wanted to do was take the illness away from her.

His heart pounded louder as he began to register what his own thoughts meant. He only cared for her because they work together. It doesn't mean anything. But that wasn't right. He cared for his henchmen (he constantly did things to make sure they felt appreciated and valued in the workplace), but he never once wanted to be around one of them when they were sick. Okay, so she was special. She was far more than just hired help. They had a friendship. That sounded better, but it still didn't feel right. He shook his head. What difference did it make, really? Nothing would ever change between them. They were Drakken and Shego, and he was content with that.

Drakken set the glass of water down on her bedside table next to her half eaten sandwich (hey, at least she tried). He was about to leave when something stopped him- her shivering in her sleep. She was sweating profusely with blankets wrapped around her, but she was shivering. Logically, he knew her body was just fighting off the illness, and the fact that she was sweating it out was a good thing, but he wanted nothing more than to help her.

He sighed to himself and sat down in her vanity chair. He couldn't leave her. Instead, he would watch her and make sure she stayed breathing throughout the night. (He wasn't trying to be creepy, but this flu was really taking its toll on her). He took one of her magazines on her vanity and began to read.

….

Shego slowly opened her eyes to her clock telling her it was 2 am. She groaned slightly and turned on her back, and she noticed a figure by her vanity. She jumped and instinctively lit her hands. The fire in her palms allowed her to see who was in her room: Drakken. His chin rested on his hand, and he was snoring. She smiled softly at his slumped form (although she knew his back would hurt later). If it had been anyone else that stayed in here while she was sleeping and felt like absolute shit, she would have vaporized them, but it was Drakken, and she knew his intentions were pure. She thought it was kind of sweet that he stayed here to make sure she was alright (the tough 'I'm fine; nothing bothers me' act was a little difficult to do when she felt this crummy).

She slowly got up (even though her body desperately begged her to stay in bed), taking one of her many blankets with her. She used one of her hands as a flashlight, and when she reached Drakken, she noticed an open Cosmo magazine. She giggled slightly. Out of all the things he could have read, that was the one he chose. She quietly wrapped the blanket around Drakken, who let out another snore. She ran a hand through her own hair as she stared at him, her mind wandering. How did they get here? Two years ago, she fought him on moving in because the thought seemed so absolutely ridiculous. Her persistence on keeping their relationship strictly professional obviously did not work because the mere thought of not working with him made her queasy.

How did someone that wanted to take over the world do such caring things like bring her a grilled cheese sandwich when she was sick and stay in her bedroom to ensure she was still breathing? How did someone as hard shelled as herself care so much that he did these stupidly nice things? Her mind went to a few weeks ago when they were following Kim on her date. The whole night was supposed to be dedicated to Kim embarrassing herself, but if Shego was honest with herself, both she and Drakken were a little distracted by each other to focus that much on Kim. That night could have ended in a kiss had she not knocked him off of her (she swears she could still feel his breath on her face), and the thought made her tremble. Did she even want to kiss him? What difference did it make? It didn't happen, and her pondering it made her already pounding head hurt even more.

She sighed deeply and went back to bed. This weird relationship they have, whatever it was, she was content with it. She could mock him all day long, but at the end of the day, they cared for each other. And that was enough for her to fall back into a slumber.

…

The next few days, Shego spent in bed. Drakken had told her he was working with Duff Killigan on Ray X, but he still brought her three meals a day, and at night, he slept in her chair (which is something neither of them would talk about although they were both aware of it).

By the third day, she was feeling much better and was up to walking around the lair when she heard Drakken sneeze. "I'm fine," he said as he sneezed again.

She walked over to his lab chair with concern. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. It was just-" he sneezed again. "Dammit."

By the end of the day, Drakken had a horrible fever and felt light headed. Shego had to force him into bed, telling him he would never get better if he didn't sleep it off. She had left him to rest for a few hours, but by 9pm, she was checking on him again. (It was just the flu, but it was a nasty bug, and he didn't have the good immune system that she did).

When she made sure that he was indeed still breathing, she had intended to leave, but a nagging voice in her head made her stop. He stayed for her. Why isn't she doing the same? She groaned to herself. This is why she didn't want him to be nice. Now, she had to as well, and she hated being nice.

She looked around the room. He didn't have a chair in his room. All he had was a bed, a dresser, and a night stand. She could go get a chair she supposed, but she wasn't even sure if that was worth the neck cramps in the morning.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she watched his chest move up and down. He was sleeping on his back with his arms tucked in at his sides like he was Count Dracula (which she knew was the inspiration behind his alias name, but there was no need to sleep like him). She finally gave up on fighting with herself as she crawled into bed next to him, attempting to keep their bodies from touching.

Drakken felt the shift in the bed, and he opened his eyes to see her staring at him. "Shego? What are you doing?"

She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Just making sure you stay alive, alright?"

He coughed. "But my sick germs. You'll-"

"I've already had it, Doc. I'm fine. Just rest." He nodded and closed his eyes again, but before he could fall back asleep, she spoke once more. "I'm sorry we couldn't have our two year partner anniversary party."

He chuckled, which was minimized by another round of coughing. "That's okay."

She touched the back of her hand to his forehead, and when he glared at her, she laughed. "Your fever has to be really bad for you to say missing that party is okay."

He grinned. "I do feel like shit. Thanks for that by the way."

She smirked but otherwise didn't say anything. He shifted his arms so that they were under the blankets once again, and she turned so that her back was toward him, but she quickly switched to her other side so that she was facing him again. Watching him breathe made her feel much better. "Doc?" she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"If you ever mention this to anyone, I will light your ass on fire."

He chuckled and coughed some more. "I wouldn't imagine anything else, Shego."