January 1933

Fatigue was the first sign of affliction, then the dizziness began and became so all-consuming that Grace could hardly stand, let alone walk. After that, a fever developed almost instantly and by the time she was crossing the office to get herself a glass of water after struggling to dictate for Mr. Warbucks for what seemed like an eternity but was no more than an hour, Grace could not bear her own weight and went tumbling to the floor.

Oliver jumped to his feet and rushed to her side. "Grace!" He shouted in alarm. He'd never known his secretary to be ill before and there had been no warning of it - or at least she'd done well to conceal her symptoms.

After making sure she was still breathing, he rushed to his telephone and called the doctor, instructing him to come immediately.

Oliver carried his chief of staff to her room and laid her on her bed. The heat of her skin was scalding so he removed her jacket and delicately unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse, allowing her to keep her dignity but letting her neck cool just a bit.

The doctor arrived promptly and examined her, determining that it was most likely a virus of some kind and that although the presentation looked concerning, the young woman would recover.

He gave Oliver some medicine to administer to Grace once she was awake. Oliver thanked him before returning to Grace's bedside.

Mrs. Pugh and Mrs. Greer came up to check on Grace several times over the following hours. They both expected Mr. Warbucks to ask them to take over his watch, but to the contrary, the billionaire was by no means prepared to move from his post.

When Grace did finally open her eyes, he sighed in relief, speaking gently to her. "Grace? How are you feeling?"

She squinted, her vision was hazy and her throat was incredibly sore. "Mr. Warbucks?" She croaked in disorientation.

"Yes it's me, Grace. I have some medicine I need you to take, alright? Doctor's orders."

"The Doctor was here?"

"Yes. He says you're going to be fine but you need to rest and drink plenty."

Grace scrunched up her face. "Resting I can do. I can't fathom drinking much right now." Her eyes flicked to the medicine bottle in his hand. Swallowing that's going to be difficult enough. My throat feels like sandpaper."

"Perhaps some water will help then."

Grace's stomach lurched. She groaned. "I'm just not sure I'll be able to stomach it. I feel so sick."

"Perhaps a brandy then?" He half-joked.

She groaned again, burying her face in her pillow.

"Goodness me. I don't think I could ever be so sick as to refuse brandy", Oliver mused, making Grace chuckle wearily.

"Here, at least take this…please." He held the spoonful of medicine up to her lips. Slowly, she opened her mouth and took the medicine, grimacing as she swallowed. It felt as if she were being stabbed by tiny knives.

She raised her eyes tiredly to look at her boss. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Uh…yes", he answered tentatively. He wasn't sure how she would take to knowing that he'd been by her side all day. Would she see it as some kind of invasion of her privacy in a time when she was at her most vulnerable?

But Grace wasn't offended. She was touched by his attentiveness. "Thank you for making sure I'm alright."

He pursed his lips in concern. "I'm not sure that you are alright yet."

"I will be." The pain and exhaustion she could feel so deeply-seated in her body was telling her otherwise, but she didn't want him to know that.

"Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

She could hear the immense care in his voice. It made her feel rather emotional herself. She blinked away tears, realizing how weak she really was. It frightened her.

"I…Oh, I feel like such a baby for asking this…"

"There's no shame in asking for what you need. Whatever it is, Grace, I'll give it to you."

Grace looked up tiredly into his eyes. They were intently focused on her and she was simply astonished to know that such an extremely busy person had really dropped everything to give his sole attention to her.

If she was ever going to request this of him, she knew now was the time.

"Could you…would you mind holding me for a minute?"

He blinked at her in surprise. Grace could scarcely believe she'd asked him the question herself. She'd never so much as shaken his hand before, aside from the handful of occasions they'd shared a dance, so to ask Mr. Warbucks to take her in his arms was far outside of the boundary of professionalism she had set up between them, and quite far removed from the strength and confidence she'd always tried to convey to her boss.

But Grace was feeling a crushing sense of fear and fragility in that moment. Like a child lost in the dark. Mr. Warbucks, although rough and ragged, was like a sturdy lighthouse on a hill of sanctuary.

With only the merest bit of hesitation, Oliver reached across and wrapped his solid arms around her petite frame. He rested his head against the side of hers, her hair was slicked with sweat and his lips were cool against her burning forehead as he peppered a few light kisses there.

For as scared and as ghastly as she felt, she also felt an overwhelming sense of safety in his arms. It may have been juvenile and entirely unprofessional of her but she could not regret asking him to do this.

Many minutes passed and his hold on her remained steadfast. Grace was shocked that he hadn't already moved away, but she wasn't about to ask him to either.

"You're going to miss your meeting with the governor", she croaked listlessly as tiredness began to consume her once again. As much as she wanted him to stay there with her, she did still have a duty as his chief of staff.

"We can reschedule once you're better", he whispered comfortingly and Grace would have smiled if she was any stronger. Instead, she let her head loll onto his shoulder as she was carried away to sleep, safe and secure in the arms of the man she secretly loved.

…

Three days later, Grace was strong enough to get dressed and make herself presentable enough to go downstairs. As she made her way carefully downstairs, she heard Oliver speaking to Drake, well rather he was yelling at him. The billionaire had been in quite a lot of distress without his loyal chief of staff by his side to help him out and to keep him calm.

"What is all this racket down here?"

Oliver turned around quickly at the sound of Grace's voice.

"Grace, what are you doing down here? You should be resting."

"I'm feeling better and I needed a walk. Besides which, how do you expect me to rest with all this commotion going on?" She frowned at her boss. "What has poor Drake done to deserve such a lashing?" She stepped up and laid her hand protectively on Drake's shoulder.

Oliver looked admonished. "Well…nothing. I'm just stressed and I'm afraid Drake is simply bearing the brunt of it."

"Well then, I think an apology might be in order, don't you?"

Both men blinked at her. She was surely the only person who would and could challenge Mr. Warbucks this way.

"Yes", he conceded, turning to his butler. "I'm sorry, Drake."

Drake's lip twitched but he fought hard to keep the smile at bay. "Apology accepted, Mr. Warbucks."

He walked off quickly before any more could be said, winking at Grace in praise as he went. She smiled discreetly at him before turning her attention to Oliver as he said, "Well, it's good to see you're back to your usual self, though I wouldn't have minded if you'd come back a little less forthright."

"Is that not one of the main reasons you employ me? I wouldn't be me if I weren't, now would I?"

"Yes, well, perhaps slightly less you would be good on occasion."

Her mouth fell open in indignation. "Well, that's a fine way to speak to someone who's just recovered from being unwell." She narrowed her eyes at him and he smiled. She knew he was only trying to perk her up by getting a rise out of her.

"I jest, Miss Farrell. I'm pleased to see you're feeling better."

She smiled shyly. "Well, thank you. I'm feeling much better. Thanks, in no small part to you."

"Me? What did I do?" He asked her earnestly.

She gave him a soft stare, "You gave me comfort without judgment. You made me feel safe and unashamed."

"Why would you have anything to feel ashamed about?" He questioned her in genuine confusion.

"Asking you to hold me after I first fell ill. Well, it wasn't very professional of me."

"Don't you think that as your boss, I would do anything to get you feeling better and back to work?"

She bowed her head, smiling tightly. "Yes, of course. You need me to keep working. That does make sense", her tone was slightly bitter.

"Grace…" She felt his index finger gently pushing her chin upward, trying to get her eyes to meet his. "Don't you also think I would do anything I can to make you happy?"

Seeing his expression so open and honest made her well up, and he wasn't finished yet. "Don't you understand that it makes me happy also?" He breathed.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words. Throwing propriety to the wind, she leapt forward to wrap her arms around his waist, sighing as his hand immediately came up to cradle the back of her head while his other arm curled around her shoulders. He turned his head and pecked the side of her temple in the same natural way he'd done when she'd first been ill.

Grace squeezed him firmly. "I'm certain this is the uttermost reason I've managed to recover so quickly."

He smiled against her hair. "I'm glad to have been able to help, and just so you know, my arms are available to you whenever you wish. Whether you're sick or not."

She laughed giddily, tilting her head to whisper in his ear. "I'll keep that in mind, Sir."

He couldn't contain his own boyish laughter. "It surely is a wonderous remedy." The true meaning of his words was hidden but he was quite confident that she understood what he was saying as he was further embraced by the woman he secretly loved.

…

A/N: Yes, it's an overdone trope and yes it's a bit OOC for these two characters but HCJ's portrayal in Annie Live! is so soft and I'm just so weak for them! Plus, my husband and I were apart for a few days and I REALLY missed his hugs!