Ben's P. O. V.
I let Jay be for a while, peeking in to check on him every so often. He's fallen asleep on the couch with half his limbs dangling off and his head shoved into a pillow.
I smile softly and go to wake him. "Jay." I whisper. I gently run my fingers through his hair and say his name again. He mumbles incoherently and readjusts.
"Hey, wake up. How are you feeling?" He blinks his eyes blearily and sits up slowly with a pained expression, holding his head. A powerful sneeze shakes through his frame and he falls back against the couch with a groan.
"Not great." He whispers, and I wince at how congested he sounds. "Tell me what's wrong." I say gently.
He sighs deeply and ends up going into a coughing fit which makes him shoot up. I rub his back and he finally manages to catch his breath.
He leans against me and closes his eyes, clearly exhausted. "Jay." I whisper, and he seems to remember my question.
"Killer headache but that's nothing new. I've been a little nauseous since this morning. Cough is new, and now my sinuses are clogged up. I'm also just really tired, can I go back to sleep now?" He mumbles.
I frown. "Why don't we try to get some medicine in you first? Probably food and water too, I don't want you getting dehydrated." I suggest.
"Kay." He says quietly, his eyes still closed. I gently lay him against the couch. "Do you need anything else before I go grab those things?" I ask.
He sits up after a bit of struggle. "I'm going to go grab a blanket from the bedroom." He tells me, but as soon as he gets up he sways on his feet. I quickly steady him and pull him back to the couch.
"Stay here, I'll get it for you." He sighs and ends up coughing harshly. I rub his back with concern until he's finished, then bring him a blanket.
"Here." I say, but he's already fallen asleep by the time I return. I cover him with it and purse my lips, knowing I'll have to wake him again soon.
I gather some medicine, crackers, and water from the kitchen and set it on the living room coffee table before deciding to grab the thermometer too. I add it to the table and slide onto the couch by Jay, feeling guilty that I have to wake him.
"Jay. I know you don't want to wake up but we've got to get some food and medicine in you." His eyes flutter open just as my phone rings. He groans and holds his head as I scramble to find it.
I finally grab it from the kitchen and answer it. "Hello?" "Hey it's Emerson. I tried calling you earlier but you didn't pick up." I can sense a cautious tone to her voice.
"Oh, the power was out for a while, maybe there was something wrong with the cell tower too? Anyway what's up?"
"I talked to River a bit today and they're letting me visit tomorrow. I just..." She pauses. "He said he was worried about you because of the storm and he usually calls you to check in. I guess I just thought maybe I'd do it for him? Check in?" She stumbles out, and I realize this is her own stubborn way of making sure I'm okay.
"Oh, yeah I'm alright now. Jay is here and that helped a lot." I breathe, settling my thoughts and trying not to think too much about it.
"Okay. Do you need anything? I can come over too if you want." "No, it's okay. I think he's coming down with something and I don't want you to catch it."
"Well what about you? Now you'll probably catch it." "That's okay. He needs someone to look after him and I'm happy to do it." I say with a small smile. "Listen, I've got to go check on him but I'll explain more later okay? I'll try to call you again..." I pause, glancing at the clock. "Tomorrow."
"Okay, but let me know if you guys need anything." She pauses. "It's what River would want." She says quietly.
"Okay, will do. Talk to you later." We each hang up and I rush back to the living room, expecting to find him sleeping.
Instead he's sitting hunched over and curled up in the blanket with his eyes open. "Tried to sleep again. Head hurts too much." He mumbles, blinking in the light.
"Do you want to go to my bedroom? It's darker in there and if we need light I'll just turn on the lamp." I suggest.
He nods and ends up wincing. I watch with a careful eye as he stands up, and reach out to steady him when he sways.
He lets out a heavy breath then waves me away. "I'm fine." He insists. He takes a small step and sways again so I take hold of him.
"Just let me help you." I say softly, supporting him. He doesn't resist again which makes me think of how tired and in pain he really must be. He stumbles down the hall with my help walking and I put him in my bed.
I quickly go get the medicine and come back into the room to find him sitting up and breathing heavily, doubled over.
I shove everything I'm holding onto the nearby nightstand and rush over in concern.
"Jay?" I crouch down in front of him near the edge of the bed, but he shows no signs of response. "Blink twice in a row if you can hear me." I say, searching his eyes. His face is scrunched up completely in pain but he manages to blink twice.
"Can you point to what's wrong?" I ask quietly, cupping the side of his face in my hand.
One of his shaking hands slowly raises to point to his head as he lets out a strangled gasp. His arm lurches forward to grasp my shoulder. He starts blinking rapidly and I realize he must be trying to ward off dizziness.
He lets another cry and his body falls limply into me. I manage to catch him before he hurts himself and pull him to lay down on the bed. "Jay?" "Jay!" I say, trying to wake him.
I gently tap his face with no result until I resort to shaking him. I rush down the hall and grab a spray bottle in a desperate attempt.
I spray him in the face and shake him by shoulder again and his eyes finally flutter open. His hands immediately fly to his head as he utters, "Holy motherf*cker" and shuts his eyes again.
"Turn off the lights." He says in a strained voice. I flip them off and go back to his side.
After hesitating, I drop my voice to a whisper and begin to speak.
"Look, I was going to wait a bit to ask you about this but it's becoming increasingly clear that it can't wait. I've talked with my father and he really thinks it's a good idea to run tests on you. None of this stuff you're experiencing is normal for anyone. We need to figure out what's wrong with you. Since you're still a minor, we have to get guardian permission, or wait until you're 18 or move out."
He grimaces and mutters, "Think that's taken care of."
My face shifts into a confused expression. "What do you mean? Your birthday isn't for another week."
He hesitates before speaking. "No, not being 18." He inhales a shaky breath. "Do you mind if we talk about this later?" He asks.
"Yeah, that's fine. Why don't you try to get some sleep?" I suggest. "Okay." He whispers.
I pull the covers over him and turn to leave, pulling the door closed. I stop when he calls out, "Ben?"
"Yeah?" I whisper cautiously. "Thank you." He says with a slight waver in tone.
"No problem." I smile and close the door behind me, heading off to find some food and tidy up my apartment.
Jay's P. O. V.
Ben closes the door and I let out an unsteady breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. My hands are shaking and I'm trying to get myself under control, but the more I tell myself not to think about things, the more I think about them.
Where am I going to live now? I'm all on my own and I've got no job or money. Even if I did have a job, my health is getting worse no matter how much I try to deny it.
Ben's right, I do need to get tests done, probably as soon as possible. I run my fingers through my hair a few times and take a few deep breaths. Maybe if I just get some sleep I'll feel better.
A cough rattles through my body and I sit up as it run its course. The movement makes my head spin and I have to look down for a few moments and catch my breath.
No. I'm fine. I lay back against the mattress and close my eyes, trying to get sleep though my stomach has begun to flip.
After tossing and turning for a while I end up over the toilet, emptying the contents of my stomach. I hear a knock on the door I hurriedly closed and Ben's voice penetrates through. "Can I come in?" He asks.
"I'll get you sick." I whisper shakily. "I don't care." He tells me.
I sit there in silence until he says, "I'm coming in." The door opens and he strides over to my body that's sitting slumped limply on the floor. He carefully moves the hair stuck to my sweaty forehead.
"I'm going to get you sick." I insist, but end up over the toilet again. He rubs my back and I slump into him, deprived of energy. "I really don't mind." He says softly. "I just want you to be feeling better."
Maybe it's the fever, but his words make me overcome with emotion and I start to cry. He pulls me into his chest, holding me close.
"Why don't we go back to the bedroom, yeah? Then you can lay down." "Kay." I whisper, and next thing I know he's carried me back to bed.
"Ben?" I say softly. "Yeah Jay?" I can't help the tingle that runs down my spine when he says my name, and I have to fight to contain a smile even though he probably can't see it in the dark.
I take in a shaky breath, remembering what I was going to say. "Thank you." My voice cracks halfway through and part of me mentally curses myself while the other half is too tired to care.
"It's no problem." I can hear the smile in his tone. "Try to get some sleep okay? I'm going to grab a few things."
I frown in the darkness. "Lay with me instead?" "I'll come right back." He promises. "Kay." I murmer, feeling the exhaustion kick in. Before he can even leave the room my eyes are fluttering closed.
Ben's P. O. V.
I climb back into bed with Jay and find him fast asleep. I spend the next half hour working on things for the bookstore event on my laptop before I notice that Jay has started to toss and turn in his sleep and mutter under his breath.
I put my laptop aside and scootch a bit closer to him. I gently jostle his shoulder and after a few moments his dazed eyes flicker open with a look of confusion. He sits up rapidly and looks around as if trying to get his bearings.
"What's going on?" He slurs, his voice laced with sleep.
I place the back of my hand on his forehead and find it alarmingly warm. I study his face a bit closer to find his eyes slightly unfocused.
"Hey Jay. Can you take some medicine for me?" "Medicine?" He repeats, struggling to understand, at least if the look on his face is any indication.
"Yeah Jay, medicine. You're sick, remember?" I ask cautiously. My words only seem to make him more confused.
"Then why're you here? You're gonna get sick." His eyes widen and he repeats himself with a tone of panic. "You're gonna get sick. You have to go."
He nearly faceplants into the bed as he weakly tries to push me away. I catch his wrist before he can hurt himself.
"No Jay. I need to take care of you." He stares at me for a few seconds before simply stating, "No, mom said you'll get sick. Give me things and leave. That's how you get better."
I can tell that he's delirious but I don't have the heart to flat out refuse to leave. I run his words over again in my head and realize that's how his family must handle sick. Keep you away in your room with minimum contact or someone else will catch it.
"How about I give you some medicine?" I ask. He thinks, then nods hesitantly. "That's what mom does."
I dig through the medicine I put on the bedside table, thankful that I actually brought it in with me. I find a few pills to bring down his fever and decide to start with those; they're likely to make him fall asleep as well. After a bit more convincing he finally swallows them, sleep following soon after.
A/N
Thanks to everyone who has read so far! It means a lot to me :) If you are enjoying this story, hit the star to vote, or leave me a comment! I'll be updating again hopefully within a week or so.
Much love, C