Dr Will Halstead had never been one for galas. Every year the hospital organized an annual fundraiser, a gala designed to raise money for new programs and improvements at Chicago Med. For most, it was a night of glitz, glamour and an opportunity to rub shoulders with the city's elite, of course the free bar never hurt. For Will, however, it felt like a forced gathering of ghosts, being forced to put on a dog and pony show for money that he was never going to see.

He had been looking forward to the gala, for once, this year. The thought of going to it with his girlfriend Dr Natalie Manning on his arm, looking stunning in whatever dress she chose was enough to make him weak in the knees. But Natalie had ended their relationship a week ago, and now the thought of seeing her, possibly dancing and laughing with someone else, made his stomach churn.

On the week leading up to gala, Will groaned as he reached his arm out to shut off his alarm. Slowly regaining his senses, he became aware of an ache in his muscles, a slight twinge in the back of his throat and a growing tickle brewing within his nose.

Will gasped as his body gave in to the growing tickle in his nose, his breath hitching as his nostrils quivered in anticipation as he succumbed to a flurry of sneezes.

" hehh..hhhRRSSCHHOO! hah..hhehhISSSHHOO! Hh...hhhihh..hahhkkRSHHHIEWW!..heh..?hhhh..hhheEESSHHIEWW"

He cringed as he saw a fine mist fill the air and spray across his bed.

"Eurgh gross," Will groans as his face becomes lightly misted in his own spray. Wiping his face, he sits up with a good productive sniffle. The tiredness he felt in his bones and the slight headache he was beginning to feel were sure indicators that he was coming down with something.

He cursed his luck as he pawed at his nose vigorously, as if he was punishing it for unleashing this onslaught of germs. He groggily drags himself out of bed, feeling weak and sick, and stumbles his way to the shower.

He hoped that a shower would help clear his sinuses out a little bit. Anything at all would be helpful because of course he was scheduled for a double shift today in an already understaffed ED and could not afford to call in sick. He was going to have to tough this out. As the hot water met his skin, he relished in the warmth, momentarily forgetting about everything else. That is until a splash of water hit his nose the wrong way. His already sensitive nose began twitching and he rolled his eyes before his body contorted in on itself.

"hEHh…hEH-hHEh-!hhhEH'iTSSCH-Eew!Snf-!hEHH…HEHh'iIZSCHEEw!" Dammnit," Will groaned as a stream of snot dangled out of his nostril before promptly being washed away by the shower. This was not going to be a good week.

Will's shift at Chicago Med was wholly unpleasant. As the hours stretched on, it became more and more obvious that Will was under the weather. When he had first walked in, he still had a bit of color to his face and his voice was only slightly raspy. By the time lunch time rolled around, his nose had morphed into a bright red color from being constantly rubbed behind his surgical masks and tissues and he was beginning to sound like Voight. He felt exhausted, in a constant state of his nose twitching and yearning for release and he had lost track of the number of times he had had to switch out his masks from sneezing fits that he hadn't been able to hold back.

"Dr Halstead!" Maggie called, handing him a tablet. Will took the tablet from Maggie then promptly twisted his body away from her, throwing an arm up infront of his mask "hH-'IZscHH'iew! Ugh, scuse be, sorry Bags."

Maggie frowned, "Caught the bug that's going around huh? On the week of the gala no less,"

Will shrugged, slightly embarrassed, "A dice liddle bresent frob by body."

"Have you worked out what you're going to wear to the gala?" Maggie asked excitedly.

"I'd turd ub id by scrubs if I could." Will replies nonchalantly.

At this point, Dr Connor Rhodes walks up to the nurses station to hand over the tablet for the patient he had just finished seeing. Seeing Will, Connor takes a good look at him, eyebrow raised.

"You're not looking so hot Halstead. What'd you do to yourself?"

"hh-hh-hih? Hi'GX!" Will stifled into his mask and elbow.

"Nice," said Connor teasingly "I'll be staying away from you all shift then."

"Woah, make sure you keep that mask on Dr Halstead, just cuz you want to skip the gala doesn't mean the rest of us do," Doris adds jokingly.

Will sniffs pathetically and clears his throat as he frowns, it's not like him to be this sensitive and he understands his colleagues desire to not get whatever the hell is coursing through his system at the moment, but he already feels like crap and being told he was essentially the walking plague did not help.

Towards the end of his shift, his brother Jay and Hailey had come in looking to interview a witness that had been brought to the ER. Seeing Will, Jay had ambled over to say hi, but immediately took a few steps back when Will bent over to muffle a coughing fit in his arm.

"What happened to you?" Jay asked,

"I'b dot feeling the greatest," Will rasped, hoping for a little sympathy from his younger brother.

"Yikes!" Jay chuckled with his hands up in mock surrender "Stay away germy boy, we're in the middle of a big case and can't afford to be side lined."

Will pretends this doesn't hurt.

On his way out Jay turns back and points at Will "Start working on feeling better huh, you've gotta be in tip top shape for all the richie rich people this Saturday."

Over the next few days, Will's symptoms became increasingly worse. He began to lose his voice, and had to resort to croaking out orders and quite literally coughing up diagnosis. Even Casey and Severide had found Will's voice rather amusing, likening to the sound of an old firefighter's who spent his life running into smoky buildings when they came by Med to drop off a patient. His nose was constantly dripping and his sniffling would not let up, he had also lost count of the number of times he had had to excuse himself mid-consult so he could leave and convulse into horrendous sneezing fits.

As his body's way of protesting his refusal to rest, it gifted him a lovely fever the day before the gala.

Will had woken up drenched in sweat, shivering yet feeling heat radiating off his skin. Last night was far from restful, he found himself caught up in a cycle of kicking off the covers to wrapping his entire body in them. He felt terribly lousy and exhausted. His body was so weak that it had taken him a good 10 minutes to get up. As he struggled to get up, he knew that the chances of him being able to last long enough in the shower were slim, so he passed. Instead he dry swallowed some cold medicine, coughing as he did so, and psyched himself up for another day in the ER.

As he exited the doctor's lounge, Will made sure to stuff the pockets of his scrubs and white coat with an endless supply of tissues.

Over the past week, Will had avoided his colleagues and friends as much as possible, not wanting to be responsible for starting the next epidemic. He had declined invitations for coffees, lunches, dinners and drinks at Molly's. He was just too sick, all he wanted was to sleep away this damn cold, but his shifts were endless and he was sick of being brushed off or being told to keep his distance every time he mentioned feeling unwell.

Jay had noticed that his brother looked more and more subdued each time he came past the ER. Knowing that the break-up had not been easy for Will, Jay decided it would be best to give him some space to mourn the relationship. Then this Sunday he would bring some pizza over to Will's place and they could hang out and catch the game, give Will a chance to loosen up a bit and get his mind off Natalie. Surely Will would no longer be contagious by then.

At this stage, Will was barely making it through his shifts. Instead of moving from consult to consult with the practiced efficiency he was used to, he found himself constantly having to withdraw to the doctor's lounge to catch a breath. He had stopped eating yesterday when he realized that he no longer had an appetite and his throat was too sore to bother trying.

As he stumbled into the doctor's lounge, he was grateful to find it empty and quiet, which was just what he needed, a break from the constant beeping and sounds of the ER that felt like they were drilling holes into his already tender head. Serve for one problem.

Will's nostrils twitched, his breath beginning to hitch. As his eyes fluttered shut, he desperately grabbed a tissue from his scrub pocket and buried his nose in it, trying his best to stifle the noise, no point in trying to stop the inevitable tickle.

"Hh-!hhEH-!HEHh-'IDDZSCHh!hHEHH'iDDSCHh!hhEhH-!H'IIDzZCH!Ugh," Will sneezed, the sneezes tearing their way out of his ailing body,

Seeing another doctor walk in, he tried to smile sheepishly in apology realizing he wasn't done.

His breath began to hitch again, tissues still clamped firmly to his nose. He could feel his nostrils quivering beneath the tissue as the tickle made its way down to the tip, he gave in to the tickle, pitching forward and releasing the sneezes, each one harsher and more progressive than the one before, unable to stifle anymore.

"hHEHh'iIZssCHH-iiEW!snf-! hHEh…HDDt'TSSCHH-iEEW! Hehh…hEHh'IIZSCHH-YYEEW! hHihhH'-iiTsSHHH-YYEW hHahhH'hAARRshooo!"

He tenses realizing how heavy and loud those sneezes had been. Awkwardly, he inches his way over to the napkin dispenser to reach for more napkins to mop up the mess, the tissue he had initially been holding to his nose now a soggy useless mess. Washing his hands, he reaches for a new mask and stumbles back out into the ER to finish up his shift.

At the end of his shift, Will sits in the doctor's lounge realizing that in order to go home, he would have to stand up, get in his car and drive, but at this point everything hurts and he's not sure he can keep his eyes open long enough to make it. Reluctantly, he pulls out his phone and dials a familiar number.

"Will?" Jay answers.

"Jay," Will whispers

"Hey Will, now's not a good time, I'm about to head into an interrogation. Text me and I'll get back to you." Jay quickly remarks.

Before Will can say anything he hears the line click and Jay's gone. Looking at this phone, Will realizes that his eyes are prickling with what might be tears but he knows Jay didn't mean to leave him hanging and it's his own fault that he feels this bad anyway. So with a resigned sigh, Will steels himself for the journey home.

As Will lets himself in to his apartment, he promptly collapses into his bed, heedless to the fact that he still has his scrubs on and curled up, wallowing in misery. He allows himself to feel horrible, taking in just how fatigued he felt. Feeling himself burning, but still shivering enough that he can't go without his blankets and despite those not being warm enough. He lets out a soft, shaky, pathetic sigh.

The next day rolled around, the day of the gala. Despite not being on shift and being able to sleep in, he felt even more exhausted and crappy than he had the day before. He shook violently, his head felt like it was packed with cement, he couldn't breathe and his throat was sore. Above all, he felt a familiar emptiness and sadness in his stomach as he realized that today was the day of the gala. He lay in bed with his head pounding, remembering the first time him and Natalie had grabbed a coffee, the first time she had called him in for a consult, the first night they had spent cuddled up in bed together.

Will forced himself to get up upon realizing it was already 4pm, as he sat up, his vision swam and he nearly lay back down again. Knowing that he only had about an hour till he had to leave for the gala, he forced himself out of bed and dragged himself to get ready. As he approached the mirror above his sink to brush his teeth, he grimaced at his own appearance.

An irritatingly familiar tickle began to evolve somewhere within his sinuses, forcing his face to morph into a pre-sneeze expression, head tilted back slightly, his nostrils flared as he began to gasp for air.

"Hh…hehh-HEh-HhehHh 'IIzSSCH-iEEw!Hh…. HEHh'DJSCCHh- IEew! hHHEh'I DJZSCHh-yyEW!"

Will slowly took this time to recover, his hands gripping the sink to steady himself. He sniffled weakly as he glanced up to see his reflection covered in his own spit.

Making a face, he swipes at the mirror, "God Halstead, could you be addy bore disgusting?"

He finishes getting ready and calls himself an Uber, feeling too tired to drive. He considers calling Connor for a ride, but then remembers how Jay rejected his call yesterday and can't quite bring himself to dial. He knows its stupid and that Connor would likely come, but he doesn't want to risk spreading his cold to Connor and just doesn't think he can face another rejection.

"Heh- shuh! Hup'tshh! Hep'chk! Hh… Ek'tchuh! Heh't chew! Hh... Hi'eshew!"

Will rubbed his nose with a worn tissue he pulled out of his suit pocket. He stood at the entrance to the lobby, glancing in at the flurry of activity. Doctors and nurses were mingling, dressed in their finest attire, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement. The event planners had outdone themselves and Will couldn't help but admire the decorations that transformed the hospital's main floor.

"Will! You made it!" April exclaimed, rushing over to him. Her vibrant dress swished around her as she clapped her hands together. "You look great!"

"Thanks," he replied, forcing a smile. "Just here to support the cause."

"Good! You'll have fun, trust me. You just have to dance!" April beamed as he dragged him into the action.

Before Will could respond, a wave of familiar laughter drew his attention. His heart sank as he turned to see Natalie, radiant in a floor-length gown, surrounded by colleagues and friends. Her laughter was infectious, and for a moment, he was frozen, watching her as she twirled in conversation.

His heart pounded in his overheated chest and his breathing became shallow.

"Come on, let's get a drink!" April said, pulling him back to the moment.

Will nodded, still struggling to shake off the anxiety. As they made their way through the crowd, he tried to convince himself that he could handle this. After all, he was a doctor. He dealt with life and death every day. Surely, he could navigate a party.

Heat radiated off the energized and cheerful bodies as Will's own body burned. The heat was beginning to make him feel stifled and suffocated. Watching as the people around him danced and partied, the joy on their faces a sharp contrast to exactly how crappy he felt inside.

He was beginning to sweat and shiver simultaneously, his fever climbing ever higher. All around him people were dancing and having a good time, but yet no one looked in his direction, no one spared him a second glance. Maybe he shouldn't have come out at all, surely it wouldn't have mattered if had just stayed home and died because of this stupid fever. Now in the midst of all these people, he had never felt more alone or more like shit.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit him, forcing him to take a seat on a nearby barstool. He didn't even register the familiar buzzing in his sinuses until his breath begain to hitch and his nostrils flared. He barely managed to grab a tissue out of his jacket and bury his nose in it as he released harsh and violent stifled sneezes that left his head pounding and his throat screaming.

"Hnnxt! H nxt! Ngksh! Hnnxt! H nxt! Ngksh… Hh… He' ngchk! Ugh!"

He swore as he began to wipe away the snot that had exploded out of him, realising how congested he was. Grabbing a napkin off the table, he envelopes his poor red nose in it and releases a gurgling blow.

With this head pounding and his entire frame trembling as if he was at the epicenter of an earthquake, he knew he couldn't handle this anymore. He was simply too sick. Will didn't want to ruin everyone's fun, but he could not keep up the pretense anymore, and figured that it was an easier option to leave than to faint in front of everyone and risk dampening the mood. For a moment, Will considered calling himself an uber home, but he wasn't even sure he could make it to the hospital's taxi stand with the way the world seemed to be spinning.

Will struggled his way through the crowd, he spots Ethan over in the corner dancing with April.

Tapping Ethan weakly on the shoulder, Will confesses "Ethan, I feel like crap," his voice devoid of all energy.

Ethan barely turns to look at him, his body coursing with adrenaline and drenched in sweat and alcohol. He shoves Will a little too harshly laughing.

"Come on Will. Lighten up! Just have some fun for god's sakes, even I'm not being a Debby downer today," Ethan encourages, every word a stab to Will's already fragile psyche.

Feverish, week and nauseated, Will realizes he's not getting anywhere with Ethan tonight. He stands there stunned for a minute, before his stomach begins to turn. The room begins to look a little fuzzy, too bright around the edges, and his stomach has taken to doing summersaults. Turning on his heel, Will pushes past people, completely invisible, as he makes a beeline for the rest room.

Stumbling into the restroom, Will collapses in front of the toilet and begins to heave. Except, he hasn't eaten in 3 days and has nothing left but water and bile to bring up. He grips the toilet, knuckles white, as his body retches as if exorcising some kind of demon. By the time he's done, he notices a high pitched buzzing in his ear that won't seem to go away, his muscles burn and it becomes quickly apparent that standing up is not going to be a possibility. Succumbing to his fate, Will curls up into a ball and lays on the dirty bathroom floor, praying for it to open up and swallow him whole to end his misery.

As he lay there unable to move, he replays all the jibes and offhanded remarks thrown out by his colleagues and Jay over the last week. None of them had intended to be venomous or hurtful, but the words stung all the same. A familiar tickle began to brew within his nasal passages causing Will's eyes to water. As the tickle intensified his chest began to heave, hitching and gasping for breath. The tickle squirmed its way to the front of his nose, causing his nostrils to flare wildly. Will pitched forward to a fit of violent, uncontrolled sneezes.

"hahhhh… HAHHHHH… HEHSHOOOH! heh… heh… HAT-CHOOO! YASSSHOOOOOO! ah… ah… HAT! CHOO! hhhh aaAAA-AARR SCHOOOhhh ! Shit! HAAA- HOOOOOSH- SHOOOO !"

A string of thick green mucus dangles from his nose, before Will could even attempt to sniffle the mess back up, his nose was already buzzing intensely and he was launched into yet another heavy fit of sneezing.

" ah…. ahhhh… agghhha… igghhiiie… AAAA-CHOOOOH! heh… heh… AHHH-CHOOOOOH! HAASS SSSHHHHHOOOooooo… hh… hhhii iiiIIIIIIIIICHOOOOOOO! Ih-CHOOO! haaahHH- CHOOOOOO! ahhhhhHHH- CHOOOO ! HAHH- CHOOOOOOOh "

Will blushed as he realized the amount of snot that covered his face and dangled off the tip of his nose. He contemplated sniffing it back up, but there was too much of it. The tissues he had stuffed his pockets with were long depleted and there was no toilet roll nearby but he desperately needed to blow. His pride all but gone, his desperation shining bright as ever, Will gave in and simply blew his nose into his already soiled hands. Gurgling blows filled the quietness of the bathroom while the faint thump of music played in the background.

Outside in the lobby, the emcee for the evening had called for everyone to gather for the raffle.

Ethan and April found their way back to Connor, Ava and Maggie,

"What numbers are you guys?," April asks excitedly.

"I've got 44," says Ava

"I'm 109," Maggie adds

"I'm 85," Ethan chimes in. "Wait, where's Will?"

Eyes dart around looking for a red head but there wasn't one to be found.

Connor shrugged, "Here watch for my number for me," Connor hands his ticket stub to Ava "I'll find him."

Connor weaves his way through the crowd and even attempts to give Will a call but can't find him.

Pushing the door to the bathroom open, Connor calls out "Will! You in here?"

Stepping inside, he sees Will in the fetal position on the floor, conscious but not present, shaking like a leaf.

"Will!" Connor gasps.

Will lifts his head slightly at the sound of his name but then almost immediately lowers it back down as his eyes flutter shut.

"Will! Hey, you with me bro," Connor kneels next to Will, shaking him gently.

"If I say yes, will you blease stob shaking be?" Will murmurs

"Shit Will! You're so sick," Connor says, completely stunned as he approaches him. Kneeling down beside Will, Connor cups the back of Will's neck, "Crap! You're burning up, Will."

"Mm hmm, glad you fidally doticed," Will slurs.

As Connor knelt on the floor with Will, frowning the heat emanating from Will's body, he watched as Will's features tensed, his eyes growing bleary and distant and his mouth parted slightly. Will's chest began to heave as he brought his hands up to his face and muffled a series of explosions.

"H ehhhh… ehhhhhh… EEHHHHH-SHOOOOOH! EH- SHOOOH! Eghhhhaaaa… haaaa… haaa… YAAAAAAA-SHHHEEE EEWWWWWWWW! SHIISSSHHHHH! ISSHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH-SHOOOH! AHHHHHHHH-SCHOOOO! AH- SHOOOOH "

"Bless you," Connor muttered.

"I'b sorry mand, this is bathetic," Will mumbles.

"Stop apologizing. Just let me help you," Connor said, his tone softening. "Do you think you can get up?"

Will nods shakily, and slowly peels himself off the floor, leaning against Connor for support the whole time.

Once he is upright, Connor helps Will over to the sink so he can wash his hands and face.

"Thadks Coddor," Will sighs, "I dink I'b jusd godda head hobe."

Connor studied Will for a moment, the concern etched on his face deepening as he crossed his arms. "You shouldn't be home alone, Will. It's not safe. You can barely stand up straight."

"I'b fide," Will insisted, but even he could hear the weakness in his voice. "Really, id's jusd a cold. I cad madage."

Connor shook his head, unimpressed. "You're not managing anything right now. I'm not letting you go home alone in this condition. Can Jay come over to watch you? It's that or I'm admitting you upstairs," Connor replied firmly, his expression resolute.

Will opened his mouth to protest again, but the exhaustion washed over him. He realized he didn't have the energy to argue anymore. Besides, Connor's insistence felt reassuring. "Fide," he relented, his shoulders sagging. "Call Jay."

"Good choice," Connor said, a hint of relief in his voice. "Let's get you home."

Will followed Connor out of the bathroom and through the gala, where the music was still pulsing and laughter filled the air. He felt a pang of regret as he glanced back, but he knew this was for the best. His body was telling him it was time to rest.

They stepped into the parking garage, and Connor led Will to his car, a sleek black sedan. As they climbed inside, Will settled into the passenger seat, grateful for the opportunity to relax.

The drive was quiet but not uncomfortable. Connor navigated through the streets, and Will stared out the window, watching the city lights blur past as his thoughts drifted. He felt a mixture of gratitude for Connor's support and sadness for the evening he had missed.

As they pulled up to Will's apartment, Connor noticed Jay's car already in the parking lot. "Good," he thought, "Jay had beat them here."

When the elevator dinged, they stepped into the hallway, and Will fumbled with his keys as he approached the door.

Just as he unlocked it, the door swung open, revealing Jay, who stood there waiting.

"Will," Jay breathed "You look awful."

Will shrugged, grateful to be home but honestly a little surprised that Jay had bothered showing up. He'd half-expected to convince Connor to drop him off at his doorstep so he could stumble in and wallow in his own misery.

Jay leads Will to the bedroom, supporting most of Will's weight. He leaves Will to get undressed and heads to the kitchen to make him a cup of tea.

As Jay walks back into the bedroom, he sees Will curled up under the sheets, shivering miserably.

Jay feltpang of guilt settle in his stomach. Why hadn't he checked in on Will sooner?

"Here," he hands Will the mug of tea. "Drink this, it should help. I put some honey in there for your throat as well."

Will takes the cup and manages a quick sip before he's quickly ducking his head into his shoulder while struggling to keep the tea from spilling.

"Hh'KSHH!Ngksh! Heigh-nnxt! H nxt! Ngksh!"

"Sorry, dat was gross," Will whispers.

"It's me that should be apologizing Will. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have avoided you all week, should have checked in sooner. I should have been there for you Will."

Will swallows with a grimace "Dot your fault, Jay".

The day after the gala, Connor dropped by to give Will a quick exam and prescribe some much needed antibiotics for the sinus infection Will had no doubt allowed his cold to develop into.

Over the next two weeks, Jay made it a point to stay home to nurse Will back to health. Will eventually had to beg Jay to go back to work, convincing him that he no longer felt overlooked. Upon this return to Chicago Med, Will noticed that his colleagues were more conscious of how hard he worked and often encouraged him to take breaks in between his patients. His roster also contained surprisingly less double shifts. As he continued to ease back into the swing of things, Will thinks maybe next year he can try enjoying the gala a little more.