"I shouldn't have taken you with me," Jack mumbled from the other end of the bed, his legs pulled up to his chest as he rested his chin on his knees. Coughing loudly she pulled the duvet around her.
"You couldn't have known I would get sick," she sniffled, but she had known. Even before the night was over had she felt the heaviness in her chest, indicating she was getting sick. Willow couldn't blame Jack, not being affected by coldness or warmth anymore, probably meant he forgot that she could. A cold, damp cloth was placed gently across her forehead, a feeble attempt to alleviate her fever. She coughed loudly, her body wracked with fits that left her breathless.
Jack reached over to push her back down when she tried to sit up, his concern etched on his face. He leaned closer, using the cloth to wipe away the beads of sweat that clung to her skin.
"Maybe we should get your clothes changed, it can't be nice laying in sweaty clothes." he got up from the bed and headed towards her closest while Willow summoned the strength to pull herself up.
"At least his nice enough to not tell me I stink." she mumbled, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and attempting to stand. However, her weakened legs gave out beneath her, and the room began to spin as she crumpled to the floor.
Darlia said that humans not from Enzaya that get sick there will be sicker than normal, but this is insane. Fahima wasn't even allowed to get near her due to the fact she could get infected too, leaving Jack to take care of her.
"What are you doing?"
When the bright splotches cleared from her eyes, she found Jack standing there, holding some clothes, his brows furrowed in concern.
"I'm gonna take a cold bath," she mumbled weakly, attempting to rise, but her legs betrayed her. In a matter of seconds, she found herself cradled in Jack's arms, being carried to the bathroom.
"May Death have mercy on us," he mumbled under his breath as he kicked the door open and turned on the light with his elbow before placing her gently into the water cabin. "Can you do it yourself?" He asked softly.
Nodding weakly, she tried to pull her blue shirt over her head, but the strength in her arms seemed almost nonexistent. Frowning, she kept grasping at the fabric, but it slipped through her trembling fingers each time.
"Apparently not, are we sure this isn't worse than a fever and a cold? Even if it's an Enzaya sickness is this a little insane." she wheezed, leaning against the back of the water cabin and closing her eyes as black spots danced in her vision once again.
"It is, their immune system is just better than the ones in ours as their sickness is different branches than ours." he explained, pacing around the room for a few moments before finally walking over to her. Jack crouched down, holding the showerhead in his hand. "Let me help you get the t-shirt off, and you just have to deal with wet shorts until you get out." he reached for the shirt, and she weakly pushed his hands away.
"I'm not that sick," she coughed so much she almost feels nauseated, contradicting her words. "I don't have anything under it." She mumbled after stopping coughing.
"Then I will close my eyes, wet clothes will definitely not help." He turned on the water and handed her the head as he closed his eyes and took a hold of the shirt and ripped it open. Willow sat there dumbstruck while Jack turned around and headed over to the sink where he placed her new clothes. "Tell me when you need help getting up." he mumbled facing the door.
Quickly, she washed off the sweat, keeping a close eye on Jack to ensure he didn't sneak a peek. To her relief, he didn't even attempt to.
"I'm done," Willow mumbled covering her front as he walked backwards with a towel. He turned the water off while handing her the towel with closed eyes. "This is absolutely stupid." Willow sighed as she wrapped it around herself and said she was done. He picked her up and walked over to the sink and put her on the table.
"It's been years since I had to do this," he chuckled as he helped dry her hair with a towel. Willow managed to get the button-up shirt on, albeit with trembling fingers. Jack took over with the buttons.
Looking at the shorts beside her, she asked him to help her stand up because there was no way she'd let him assist with those. With some struggle, she got the new black shorts on and sighed with relief as she leaned against the sink, feeling as if she had just run a marathon.
"I thought you were afraid of belly buttons?" she chuckled jokingly.
"Why do you think I closed my eyes?"He smirked before his eyes became soft. "I'm sorry I can't do more for you, but I'm not allowed to heal you." he said with a frown as he picked her up again and carried her to the bed.
"I know, its okay. Let's just never go to the north again," she half-chuckled, leaning against his pleasantly cold chest. Kicking the duvet onto the floor, she spread out across the bed with a sigh. "At least not without me being bundled up like we were going to the North Pole."
Jack gave her a little smile from the edge of the bed when someone knocked on the door.
"Jane, stay away." Jack yelled without even glancing at the door.
"I have some chicken soup for Miss Willow. I will leave it at the door."
Jack teleported to the door and waited for Jane to depart before returning with a tray bearing a bowl of chicken soup and a carafe of juice.
"It stinks." he wrinkled his nose as he approached Willow, who was sitting up.
"Stinks?" She couldn't smell anything.
"There's garlic in it."
Knowing that reapers doesn't like the taste of garlic, makes her wonder if this is Jane's doing as she yet to even get any food with any garlic while she's been here.
She ate the soup while keeping an eye on Jack, who sat by the window with a scrunched-up nose. When she finished, he came over and placed the tray on the nightstand.
"Remember to drink the juice and if you're not gonna use the duvet at least stay in bed and rest." he gently urged, pushing her back and placing the cloth over her forehead. "And if you need something call me." As he turned around to leave, she impulsively grabbed the hem of his grey t-shirt. He looked over his shoulder at her with wide eyes, and she quickly withdrew her hand, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He glanced at the balcony door, and sighed, climbing into the bed and making himself comfortable. He closed his eyes. "Try and get some sleep, I will stay here until you fallen asleep." He looked at her with one eye open.
Still a bit embarrassed by her own reaction, she lay down with her back to him. However, as she felt his coldness, she inched closer and sighed in bliss. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and she didn't object. She nestled into his cold body, making her fever more bearable. Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep because otherwise, it might slip out that she wanted him to stay.