RPF Fic: Safari
Done for a prompt over at the J2 meme at spn_hurtcomfort
First time doing real J2 and anything remotely slashy (and it probably shows), only second time trying out RPF (and my first attempts suuuucked).
Unbeta'd.
Prompt: J2 (though gen's okay). Jared's used to getting over colds really quickly, so it's no big deal to him when he gets sick--until it gets unexpectedly nasty and hangs on for a really long time. Jensen is awesome at taking care of Jared through it all. Bonus cookies for Jared passing out on-set and for schmoopiness. ♥ (prompt by whitereflection
I'm not sure it really qualifies with the schmoopiness, but I tried!
Jared has an immune system made by the Gods, or so he likes to brag. People who wander around set sniveling miserably during cold and flu season often ask him how it is he manages to not catch everything that gets passed around. He doesn't have a good answer, so he's taken to saying that he thinks it's the gummy worms protecting him. It's as good a theory as any.
And it isn't that he doesn't get sick at all, it's just that within 72 hours he's shrugged off whatever it was and is back to moving full steam ahead.
So when he does get sick this time, he doesn't worry. He takes his Tylenol Cold & Sinus, he gives himself an extra fifteen minutes to laze around in the make-up chair, and he goes about his day. It's just a cold - after all, it isn't even like a real sickness. It even has a silly name - rhinovirus. Jared can't be made to take it seriously. So he doesn't.
Half way through day three, when he's normally starting to feel better, Jared feels worse. His face feels stupidly full, heavy - even though it is clear that snot is pouring out of his face and dripping down the back of his throat, which in turn - has given him a sore throat. Still, he knows he'll be better by tomorrow. Those are the rules.
Except that rules are made to be broken - and over week later he's still sick, which is pretty much unheard of in his universe. He's trying to play it down, but people can't help but notice - his voice is coming out low and nasal and his face is looking puffier than usual, the way it looks when he's gotten next to no sleep for several days.
Jensen's been awesome about it - getting a chicken soup recipe off of Jim, stocking the house with every available remedy, even walking Sadie and Harley a couple times so he could crash a little longer. Hell, massages with VapoRub have been worked into foreplay somehow. Jared is pretty much feeling like the luckiest man alive - aside from the fact that he feels godawful.
Jensen's sitting with him in his trailer, they're going over lines. Jared can't help not paying attention; there's a bed not three feet away. A bed with a comfy pillow - a girly therapeutic pillow with lavender stuffed in it for extra sleepy-time goodness - that Misha had given him. Jared would never admit it to Jensen, but that pillow - girly or not - is way more captivating than his best friend/lover is at the moment. The thought of laying his aching stuffed head down on its softness sounds like pure heaven. Much better than the crap heaven they filmed last week.
"Dude, you okay?" Jensen looks at him expectantly.
Jared clears his throat, blanches at the pain. "Yeah, man, why?"
"Well, you had a line - but besides that, you kinda look - well, like shit. Still."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Jen." Jared smacks his co-star's leg with his rolled up script.
"Yeah, well, you know what I mean. Seriously, you okay?"
"Yeah? I mean, this cold sucks - but everyone on set has had it. It's just my turn. Besides, by tomorrow I'll be fine."
"So you've been saying - for a week."
:::
The rest of the day goes by and Jared continues to feel worse. He's hoping it doesn't show in his work, and from what he can tell from reviewing the dailies, it doesn't. And the director seems satisfied, so he figures it's okay.
Back in his trailer he's getting out of the Sam wardrobe and into his own gear when a wave of dizziness hits him and he grabs onto the cabinet until his vision evens out and he can tell up from down. He's startled when a voice chimes in from behind him.
"You okay?" Jensen asks. Jared feels hands which are chilly and gentle wrap around his middle and pull his shirt down the rest of the way.
"Yeah, fine." Jared replies a little hoarsely. "Why?"
"Well, you were hugging the cabinet for dear life and you feel a little warm."
"The cabinet was feeling unloved," Jared jokes as he turns to face Jensen "And I always run hot."
Jensen smirks and tugs him closer until their bodies are flush against each other. "Yes, Jay, you are hot. And yes, you always run hot. But that's not what I mean and you know it."
Jared tilts his head downward and gazes into the green eyes that are observing him with concern. "So, we'll go home, I'll chug some Nyquil and hit the hay early. Tomorrow I'll be back to normal."
Jensen raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn't say anything.
Except - it doesn't go according to plan. The first part does. They go home. At first he skips the Nyquil, because he feels so exhausted he doesn't think he'll need it. But he ends up tossing and turning, the sheets feeling like they are irritating his skin. He's still awake when Jensen comes in to go to bed.
Jensen just gives him an indecipherable look for a moment, goes and gets the Nyquil. He takes his hand and strokes Jared's cheek, and Jared kind of thinks that if he could fall asleep in Jensen's hand, it'd make a much better pillow than the one Misha gave him. Smelling Jensen is far better than lavender.
He chugs some Nyquil while Jensen climbs into bed and throws an arm over him. After that, Jared sleeps the sleep of the dead.
:::
Jared wakes up in the morning with his head throbbing. It is like a very drunk dentist decided to do a root canal on him and missed completely, instead drilling into his forehead and cheeks. His honest-to-god face hurts.
He needs Tylenol now-ish, so he struggles to get standing up, surprised when the dizziness that visited him yesterday comes back - with friends. His head is absolutely swimming and he feels this - plugged - sensation in his ears, like after you've gone swimming and water is stuck in there.
He blindly reaches out to the bedside table for a tissue from the box of thick lotion-infused Kleenex that Jensen immediately installed there when it was apparent Jared wasn't going to shrug this hellacious virus off. He tries to blow his nose, but the crusty goop that's using his sinuses as a cement mixer is hardly budging. His snot stays in there tenaciously, even when he tries to blow hard against it to get it out - the tried and true one-nostril blow, which is a mistake - the pain in his noggin immediately increases, reverberates through his whole skull.
Jared is sitting there on the edge of the bed, hunched over with his hands threaded into his hair, trying to ignoring the pulsing pain in his face when he feels the bed shift behind him. Footsteps gently pad across the carpet and the mattress creaks beneath the weight of Jensen sitting down next to him.
The cool hand on his neck feels spectacular. "Jay? You're not better today - are you."
"Not really." Jared admits grudgingly, even though Jensen was more stating a fact than asking.
"Feeling bad enough to call in today?"
"What? No! No." Jared replies vehemently.
"You sure? I mean, you feel warmer today. I think you might be running a temp."
Jared shrugs Jensen off, which he immediately regrets, because feeling those smooth hands on him made him feel infinitely better. "Look, I'll probably feel better by the end of the day anyway."
"Wonder where I've heard that before." Jensen scowls.
Jared bites his lip to stop himself from smiling, because Jensen scowling when his hair is ruffled from sleep is all kinds of adorable. Besides that, smiling kinda hurts right now.
"Seriously, dude, I'll take a shower, take some meds, and it'll be fine. Sera and Misha had this damn cold and they didn't miss a day."
And so they go. The steam from the shower helps a little and a couple Tylenol help dull down the roar of the death metal drummer using his head for practice space.
He's closing his eyes in the make-up chair, running lines in his head while Shannon is swiping his pale skin in shades of beige much darker than she normally uses when exquisite pain chimes in.
"Ow! Shit!" Jared sits up straight immediately, his cheeks flush with embarrassment rather than fever.
"You okay?" Shannon says, her eyes filling with concern.
"Yeah, just, sorry. Just headache, y'know?" Which is an understatement. When Shannon had pressed on his face with the sponge he thought his eyeball was going to shoot out of his head.
Shannon calmly resumes making him look less awful, and to her credit she's a lot gentler. "Did you take something for it?"
"Yeah, some Tylenol at home."
"I have some Advil in my purse. Let me know if you want any, honey."
"Thanks."
:::
He makes it through until lunch. Nearly every person he's come into contact with is asking him if he's okay. He's gone through two wardrobe changes on the basis of sweat alone, which is ridiculous because now he feels all shivery. His head feels like it is swimming and he just knows Jensen purposely changed the blocking on a scene so that he could stay sitting.
He hasn't decided whether to punch him or kiss him for that.
Jared is in his trailer avoiding the idea of eating, the sounds of people swarming the catering table when there's a knock on the door. For a second he contemplates feigning sleep and ignoring it, until there's another series of raps on the door.
"Jay, you awake?"
Jensen. Shit. If he wasn't concerned before, skipping lunch is pretty much turning on the red alert.
"Yeah, come in."
Jensen comes in - worried look etched on his face, and he's not alone either. He's got the medic with him.
Jared is pretty sure that whatever bitchface he utilizes when he's playing Sam is nothing to the one he's giving his boyfriend right now.
"The medic, really?" Jared raises an eyebrow at Jensen, but immediately becomes apologetic when he turns to the stocky 30-something brunette. "I'm sorry, no offense. I know you're just doing your job."
"That's alright," she says. "You two look like you need a minute, so why don't I wait a couple minutes - er, outside."
She leaves her kit on the floor, giving Jared a look that says - yes, she is coming back, and makes her way awkwardly out the door.
Before Jared can even open his mouth to fuss about this, Jensen is already down his throat. "Can it, Padalecki. You look worse than this morning, and I gotta tell you - you looked pretty friggin' awful then."
"Thank you," Jared bites out sarcastically. "You get the medic, you change the scene around, what are you gonna do next, say my lines for me?"
It's uncalled for and he knows it, knows Jensen is coming from a place of concern. And he regrets being a bastard to him the moment the words come out of his mouth and he sees the hurt look on Jensen's beautiful face. If this is what being sick does to him - turns him into a jerk, he's really glad he's generally a healthy guy.
"You wanna know why I changed the blocking?" Jensen says quietly, right as Jared opens his mouth to apologize.
No, Jared doesn't want to know, to be honest. Doesn't want to hear an answer he knows is going to make him feel like even more of as asshole.
"Every time you had to stand up - you were swaying. I was afraid you were gonna fall over. And I know how hard you're trying to make it through today, I get it. I do the same thing. But if you're really actually sick for once, you need to take care of yourself now."
He closes his eyes as his head cranks up the throbbing in time to the rhythm of Jensen's words, before he knows it he feels tender squeezing on his shoulder.
"Jay, you with me?" Jensen says, standing right in front of him.
Jared leans forward until the top of his head is resting comfortably on Jensen's stomach. He can't smell anything today - and of all the scents in this world, he knows it's Aroma du Jensen he misses the most.
"Yeah, sorry, man. And sorry I'm being such a douche, just - this friggin' sucks. I do feel kinda awful, but this is just a cold. You've been awesome, and I shouldn't be taking out my suddenly crap immunities on you."
"Hey, I get it. And I know I'm not exactly a joy to be around when I'm hurting either, so don't apologize. Just let Carly come in and look at you, okay?"
"Okay. Can you do me a favor, though?"
"Name it - up to and including the sexual ones."
Jared chuckles lightly, doesn't have to look upward - he can hear the lascivious grin on Jensen's sporting. "Shannon said she had some Advil if I needed it. Can you go grab a couple for me?"
"Sure, be right back." Jensen strokes his hand through Jared's hair one final time before he heads out from the trailer, and it's all Jared can do to not ask him to stay. Apparently being sick turns him into a pile of neediness as well. Awesome.
Once Jensen leaves, Carly comes in - rolling up her sleeves and immediately gets down to business.
"So, what's going on?"
"Just a cold - had it for a week, it sucks. Everyone on set has had it."
"Okay," she says in acknowledgement, taking his blood pressure, "But Jensen seemed to be under the impression that you were getting dizzy."
"A little bit," he admits, as she lets the cuff deflate with a hiss.
"Anything else with this cold?"
"My head hurts. Well, more my face," he says, using his over-large hand to gesture to pretty much his whole throbbing cranium.
"Your face?" Carly reaches out and presses her thumbs right over Jared's eyebrows. "There?"
MARYMOTHEROFGOD!
"YES!" Jared's eye close tightly. Why did he agree to let this devil woman examine him again?
Her probing thumbs reach out again, pressing on either side of his nose, into his cheeks. This is even worse - it's burning and pressure and pain. He'd really rather fall face first on a cactus.
"Yes! There too!"
"Huh," she says noncommittally, and then shoves a digital thermometer in his ear.
So long as she isn't sticking more thumbs into his throbbing skull Jared think he'd just about be fine with anything she did from here on out.
"100.5. Hrm. Well, you probably have a sinus infection going on. Which means you might want to see a doctor, get on some antibiotics, although some doctors just let you heal up on your own. I would encourage you to leave early, but it's your choice. We can get you something to bring the fever down a little - see how you do for a couple of hours, and I can recheck you then, okay? If I were you, I'd try and make the appointment now. Maybe they can get you in this afternoon."
"So," Jared says slowly, "You're not sending me home."
"Nope. If the temp was any higher, I would though. So - believe me, I'll be keeping an eye on you the rest of the day."
"Fair enough."
Jensen comes back with four Advil, which Jared swallows gratefully with the bottle of water Jen also brought along. "What's the verdict?"
"She's not sending me home," Jared says.
"Not yet," Carly amends. "You start getting dizzy again, let me know, okay?"
Jared nods - which does nothing for his head, the feeling of fullness sloshing around in there.
Carly leaves him with Jensen, who immediately asks, "Not yet, what does that mean?"
"She says she thinks I have a sinus - thing." Jared says, being purposely vague. "She said to make an appointment with my doctor, but she's not sending me home."
"Yet." Jensen says pointedly. "Sinus thing, like - infection?"
"Yeah, maybe."
Jensen shoots him a look - the 'don't bullshit me' look.
"I've had sinus infections before, Jay. They're fucking miserable."
"It hurts, okay? Look, I'll call the doctor, I'll get some antibiotics. Carly is going to check on me in a couple of hours. But I'm really sure I can make it the rest of the day, Jen. Really." Or, he will be sure, once the Advil has knocked the pain back.
Jared does make it the rest of the day - under Carly's hawk-like watch, does call his doctor - who can get him in the next day. Jensen puts him to bed immediately when they get home, serves him leftover soup on the tray they normally reserve for breakfasts in bed. He even gives Jared a little bowl of oyster crackers to dunk in the broth, which makes Jensen some kind of magical Feel Better Fairy - because that's Jared's favorite part about soup, those damn crackers. They curl up together under the covers and watch the flatscreen until they fall asleep.
The next morning, it is even worse. His entire head is one giant ball of screaming nerve-ending, he can barely hear - his ears are so blocked, his sinuses have taken on a life unto themselves. This life involves country line dancing, he's pretty sure.
He's also pretty sure the reason colds are called rhinoviruses is because there is a herd of rhinos stomping around in his inflamed his nasal passages.
He stifles a groan into his pillow, but Jensen's immediately awake. "Jay? You okay?"
Jared nearly admits it right there - No, I'm really not okay, please chop my head off, please. "I've...been better."
Jensen reaches a sleepy hand over him and feels his forehead, and Jared can hear the worry and displeasure in his voice. "You're a lot warmer than yesterday. What time are you going to the doctor's?"
"One."
"You want me to send Clif here to take you?"
"Huh? Send him?" Then it occurs to him what Jensen is driving at. "I'm going in to work, Jen. We're not going to be behind because of me. I have an appointment already."
Jensen is muttering something, or maybe he didn't mutter it - Jared can't really tell, because he can't really hear.
"What?"
"I said you're a stubborn jackass and it's a good thing I love you."
"Both true things." Jared says, smiling softly to himself when Jensen curls around him in response, kissing his shoulder.
"You sure you're alright to go in?"
"Yeah, and I promise - if the doc sends me home, I'll be a good little patient, okay?"
"You better. Don't make me call your mom, Jay."
It's supposed to be a joke - but the tone falls a little flat, a little worried.
"Dude, I'm fine, man. I mean, being sick sucks and all - but this never happens to me."
"Exactly. It never happens to you. So you don't know how to slow down and take care of yourself." Jensen hugs him closer and sighs a little in frustration.
Feeling bad for being the cause of that frustration, Jared leans down and kisses Jensen's arm - taking his time and nibbling softly at warm flesh, grinning stupidly to himself when he sees the goosebumps that trail up the arm he's clutching. Even when he's feeling incredibly mega-unsexy-awful, he's still got the power to do that. That makes him feel slightly better.
Jensen murmurs, "You're not off the hook, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, we gotta get ready."
:::
Clif drives them in together and Jared is willing himself not to hurl, something about the throbbing headache/earache/face-ache and the motion of the car doing terrible things to his stomach. Eventually Jensen pulls his head down into his lap, and Jared doesn't hesitate, just nestles into the softness of worn cordoroys and clings as Jensen strokes his hair for the entire drive.
Coming in was a mistake today - Jared knows that as soon as the lights are on and the director keeps calling take after take because he's squinting and wincing and can't get his face to relax. Plus, every time he stands up the room starts spinning, and there is only so many blocking changes they can do today - the action is dependent on Sam. Eventually a break is called, and Jensen just brings his chair to him rather than making him walk over to it.
"You are so going home after your appointment."
Jared just looks at Jensen wearily, takes the Advil and the ginger ale being offered. "Yeah, I know. Apparently, I'm sick."
"Finally. Took you long enough to figure it out." Jensen chuckles, relief in his voice. He reaches out to grab Jared's neck and offer some comfort, but draws his hand back at the heat he finds. "Shit, dude, you're a goddamn furnace. I'm getting the medic, don't move."
In a flash Jensen has hopped down out of his chair and is moving away, so quickly that Jared doesn't have a chance to tell him to stop, because - really, he just wants to finish out the next few hours, score some antibiotics, and curl up at home. He showed up today, he might as well try and finish up a couple of scenes.
So Jared stands up to tell Jensen just that.
"Jensen, wait up!"
Jensen turns just in time for something in Jared's vision to shift, the room to spin, and for him to fall down spectacularly. Being so tall, there is really no other way to fall.
And - oh - is it spectacular.
His arm flails outward when he tries to get his hands down to break the forward tumble and he snags one of the lights and takes it with him, an explosion of sparks and glass as the bulb bursts and the metal scrapes along the warehouse floor.
If he didn't have Jensen's attention before he knocked the light over, he's pretty sure he does now. In fact, from the vague buzzing of voices he hears in his plugged up, throbbing ears, he's pretty sure he has the attention of the majority of the set.
Jensen is immediately kneeling down next to him, taking off Dean's jacket and putting it under his head, and refusing to let him get up.
Carly jogs across the lot, and she does a quick trauma assessment before she lets up sit up slowly. "Oh, boy. Not feeling better, I take it. Did you lose consciousness?"
"No, just - stood up too fast and fell." He feels stupidly embarrassed, especially when he's aware that someone is sweeping up the glass from the light.
"Did you hit your head?"
"Nope."
"You see your doctor?" Carly says, moving his head from side to side and up and down.
"The appointment's in a couple of hours." Jared speaks through clenched teeth. When his face is tilted downward, the pressure increases tenfold. His head is pulsating - honest-to-god pulsating.
"An hour and a half." Jensen chimes in, laying his hand softly across Jared's arm, brushing his thumb lightly across the hairs on his arm. It's irritating to his shivery aching skin, but it's soothing to his psyche - and goes a long way to dulling down the humiliation of drawing a crowd.
Carly takes his blood pressure again. "Dizzy still?"
"Yeah."
"Head still hurt?"
"Yeah." Jared glances at the sturdy brunette warily, "Just...don't poke it, okay?"
Carly chuckles lightly. "No, I'll take your word for it."
She takes his temperature again. "Okay, this is not good. 102.3 - this is official send-you-home weather your body has going on. Do you feel bad enough that we should have the ambulance take you to the ER? You didn't pass out, you didn't hit your head - so it isn't strictly necessary since you're going to the doctor anyway, but you definitely may not return to work."
"No, ER."
Jensen is biting his nails, but doesn't argue with his decision.
"Okay, I'll go find the director, let him know what's going on. Go home, go to the doctor. Take care of yourself."
Carly leaves and then Jensen speaks up, "Okay, you think you need help to the car?"
"The car?"
"I'm taking you to the doctor. Maybe they can fit you in early."
"Dude, I can wait the hour and a half."
"Yeah, well, I can't. So deal with it."
And so, Jared deals with it.
Jensen has Clif drive them to the doctor, keeping his hand firmly on Jared's elbow the entire way, which is a really good thing, Jared is forced to admit to himself, because the dizziness does not subside and he finds himself clinging to the banister as they make their way up the short flight of stairs to the physician's office.
Jensen sits him gently down in a waiting room chair and he sort of slumps over onto himself, shivering slightly even as he can feel the clammy sweat on his body. How do people do this whole - illness - thing? Screw gummy worms, he clearly needs to start chewing Flintstone vitamins instead. They are sorta like candy anyway.
By some magic - or possibly just by being his charming self - Jensen manages to get him squeezed in an hour earlier. This is pretty much the best news Jared has ever heard, because it means he's an hour closer to curling up in bed.
Which is what happens.
Jensen gets him some comfy clean sweats and tucked into bed, doles out antibiotics and a prescription pain med for his head, brings in the tray again with a new soup this time - a hearty veggie soup recipe he got from Misha - and the oyster crackers, of course.
He finishes half the soup and the pain meds start to kick in, and he feels blessed, blessed relief as he leans back against the pillows. The mattress creaks as he hears Jensen sit down and begin kicking off his own shoes.
Absurdly grateful, he lets his aching limbs get tangled up in Jensen's. "You aren't going back in?" he asks sleepily.
"Not today. Which is y'know, the day the stubborn jackass I love collapses at work because he has a raging sinus infection and a double ear infection. When I do that - people call it character bleed. When you do that - it's just dumb." Jensen's trying to keep it light, he can tell - but there's still that tone underneath, that speaks of worry, of the unease at seeing someone you love sick.
Jared blinks through the medication haze. "Hey, you know I'm okay, right? People get sick all the time."
"You don't. And while the Padalecki Light Show was thrilling, I'd really hate for it to become an annual thing." Jensen pokes him lightly in the ribs with a knuckle as he's reaching for the VapoRub with his other arm.
"Asshole."
"Petri Dish." Jensen's face becomes a little serious as he's unscrewing the blue cap on the small jar he's holding, "You gotta take care of yourself."
"I know." Jared says, to reassure Jensen. In his head, however, he's thinking that he does take care of himself - he has Jensen in his life.
Jared relaxes into the feeling of strong hands massaging tingling menthol cream into his chest. He drifts off to sleep dreaming about Jensen on safari, hunting down some rhinos.
First time doing real J2 and anything remotely slashy (and it probably shows), only second time trying out RPF (and my first attempts suuuucked).
Unbeta'd.
Prompt: J2 (though gen's okay). Jared's used to getting over colds really quickly, so it's no big deal to him when he gets sick--until it gets unexpectedly nasty and hangs on for a really long time. Jensen is awesome at taking care of Jared through it all. Bonus cookies for Jared passing out on-set and for schmoopiness. ♥ (prompt by whitereflection
I'm not sure it really qualifies with the schmoopiness, but I tried!
Jared has an immune system made by the Gods, or so he likes to brag. People who wander around set sniveling miserably during cold and flu season often ask him how it is he manages to not catch everything that gets passed around. He doesn't have a good answer, so he's taken to saying that he thinks it's the gummy worms protecting him. It's as good a theory as any.
And it isn't that he doesn't get sick at all, it's just that within 72 hours he's shrugged off whatever it was and is back to moving full steam ahead.
So when he does get sick this time, he doesn't worry. He takes his Tylenol Cold & Sinus, he gives himself an extra fifteen minutes to laze around in the make-up chair, and he goes about his day. It's just a cold - after all, it isn't even like a real sickness. It even has a silly name - rhinovirus. Jared can't be made to take it seriously. So he doesn't.
Half way through day three, when he's normally starting to feel better, Jared feels worse. His face feels stupidly full, heavy - even though it is clear that snot is pouring out of his face and dripping down the back of his throat, which in turn - has given him a sore throat. Still, he knows he'll be better by tomorrow. Those are the rules.
Except that rules are made to be broken - and over week later he's still sick, which is pretty much unheard of in his universe. He's trying to play it down, but people can't help but notice - his voice is coming out low and nasal and his face is looking puffier than usual, the way it looks when he's gotten next to no sleep for several days.
Jensen's been awesome about it - getting a chicken soup recipe off of Jim, stocking the house with every available remedy, even walking Sadie and Harley a couple times so he could crash a little longer. Hell, massages with VapoRub have been worked into foreplay somehow. Jared is pretty much feeling like the luckiest man alive - aside from the fact that he feels godawful.
Jensen's sitting with him in his trailer, they're going over lines. Jared can't help not paying attention; there's a bed not three feet away. A bed with a comfy pillow - a girly therapeutic pillow with lavender stuffed in it for extra sleepy-time goodness - that Misha had given him. Jared would never admit it to Jensen, but that pillow - girly or not - is way more captivating than his best friend/lover is at the moment. The thought of laying his aching stuffed head down on its softness sounds like pure heaven. Much better than the crap heaven they filmed last week.
"Dude, you okay?" Jensen looks at him expectantly.
Jared clears his throat, blanches at the pain. "Yeah, man, why?"
"Well, you had a line - but besides that, you kinda look - well, like shit. Still."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Jen." Jared smacks his co-star's leg with his rolled up script.
"Yeah, well, you know what I mean. Seriously, you okay?"
"Yeah? I mean, this cold sucks - but everyone on set has had it. It's just my turn. Besides, by tomorrow I'll be fine."
"So you've been saying - for a week."
:::
The rest of the day goes by and Jared continues to feel worse. He's hoping it doesn't show in his work, and from what he can tell from reviewing the dailies, it doesn't. And the director seems satisfied, so he figures it's okay.
Back in his trailer he's getting out of the Sam wardrobe and into his own gear when a wave of dizziness hits him and he grabs onto the cabinet until his vision evens out and he can tell up from down. He's startled when a voice chimes in from behind him.
"You okay?" Jensen asks. Jared feels hands which are chilly and gentle wrap around his middle and pull his shirt down the rest of the way.
"Yeah, fine." Jared replies a little hoarsely. "Why?"
"Well, you were hugging the cabinet for dear life and you feel a little warm."
"The cabinet was feeling unloved," Jared jokes as he turns to face Jensen "And I always run hot."
Jensen smirks and tugs him closer until their bodies are flush against each other. "Yes, Jay, you are hot. And yes, you always run hot. But that's not what I mean and you know it."
Jared tilts his head downward and gazes into the green eyes that are observing him with concern. "So, we'll go home, I'll chug some Nyquil and hit the hay early. Tomorrow I'll be back to normal."
Jensen raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn't say anything.
Except - it doesn't go according to plan. The first part does. They go home. At first he skips the Nyquil, because he feels so exhausted he doesn't think he'll need it. But he ends up tossing and turning, the sheets feeling like they are irritating his skin. He's still awake when Jensen comes in to go to bed.
Jensen just gives him an indecipherable look for a moment, goes and gets the Nyquil. He takes his hand and strokes Jared's cheek, and Jared kind of thinks that if he could fall asleep in Jensen's hand, it'd make a much better pillow than the one Misha gave him. Smelling Jensen is far better than lavender.
He chugs some Nyquil while Jensen climbs into bed and throws an arm over him. After that, Jared sleeps the sleep of the dead.
:::
Jared wakes up in the morning with his head throbbing. It is like a very drunk dentist decided to do a root canal on him and missed completely, instead drilling into his forehead and cheeks. His honest-to-god face hurts.
He needs Tylenol now-ish, so he struggles to get standing up, surprised when the dizziness that visited him yesterday comes back - with friends. His head is absolutely swimming and he feels this - plugged - sensation in his ears, like after you've gone swimming and water is stuck in there.
He blindly reaches out to the bedside table for a tissue from the box of thick lotion-infused Kleenex that Jensen immediately installed there when it was apparent Jared wasn't going to shrug this hellacious virus off. He tries to blow his nose, but the crusty goop that's using his sinuses as a cement mixer is hardly budging. His snot stays in there tenaciously, even when he tries to blow hard against it to get it out - the tried and true one-nostril blow, which is a mistake - the pain in his noggin immediately increases, reverberates through his whole skull.
Jared is sitting there on the edge of the bed, hunched over with his hands threaded into his hair, trying to ignoring the pulsing pain in his face when he feels the bed shift behind him. Footsteps gently pad across the carpet and the mattress creaks beneath the weight of Jensen sitting down next to him.
The cool hand on his neck feels spectacular. "Jay? You're not better today - are you."
"Not really." Jared admits grudgingly, even though Jensen was more stating a fact than asking.
"Feeling bad enough to call in today?"
"What? No! No." Jared replies vehemently.
"You sure? I mean, you feel warmer today. I think you might be running a temp."
Jared shrugs Jensen off, which he immediately regrets, because feeling those smooth hands on him made him feel infinitely better. "Look, I'll probably feel better by the end of the day anyway."
"Wonder where I've heard that before." Jensen scowls.
Jared bites his lip to stop himself from smiling, because Jensen scowling when his hair is ruffled from sleep is all kinds of adorable. Besides that, smiling kinda hurts right now.
"Seriously, dude, I'll take a shower, take some meds, and it'll be fine. Sera and Misha had this damn cold and they didn't miss a day."
And so they go. The steam from the shower helps a little and a couple Tylenol help dull down the roar of the death metal drummer using his head for practice space.
He's closing his eyes in the make-up chair, running lines in his head while Shannon is swiping his pale skin in shades of beige much darker than she normally uses when exquisite pain chimes in.
"Ow! Shit!" Jared sits up straight immediately, his cheeks flush with embarrassment rather than fever.
"You okay?" Shannon says, her eyes filling with concern.
"Yeah, just, sorry. Just headache, y'know?" Which is an understatement. When Shannon had pressed on his face with the sponge he thought his eyeball was going to shoot out of his head.
Shannon calmly resumes making him look less awful, and to her credit she's a lot gentler. "Did you take something for it?"
"Yeah, some Tylenol at home."
"I have some Advil in my purse. Let me know if you want any, honey."
"Thanks."
:::
He makes it through until lunch. Nearly every person he's come into contact with is asking him if he's okay. He's gone through two wardrobe changes on the basis of sweat alone, which is ridiculous because now he feels all shivery. His head feels like it is swimming and he just knows Jensen purposely changed the blocking on a scene so that he could stay sitting.
He hasn't decided whether to punch him or kiss him for that.
Jared is in his trailer avoiding the idea of eating, the sounds of people swarming the catering table when there's a knock on the door. For a second he contemplates feigning sleep and ignoring it, until there's another series of raps on the door.
"Jay, you awake?"
Jensen. Shit. If he wasn't concerned before, skipping lunch is pretty much turning on the red alert.
"Yeah, come in."
Jensen comes in - worried look etched on his face, and he's not alone either. He's got the medic with him.
Jared is pretty sure that whatever bitchface he utilizes when he's playing Sam is nothing to the one he's giving his boyfriend right now.
"The medic, really?" Jared raises an eyebrow at Jensen, but immediately becomes apologetic when he turns to the stocky 30-something brunette. "I'm sorry, no offense. I know you're just doing your job."
"That's alright," she says. "You two look like you need a minute, so why don't I wait a couple minutes - er, outside."
She leaves her kit on the floor, giving Jared a look that says - yes, she is coming back, and makes her way awkwardly out the door.
Before Jared can even open his mouth to fuss about this, Jensen is already down his throat. "Can it, Padalecki. You look worse than this morning, and I gotta tell you - you looked pretty friggin' awful then."
"Thank you," Jared bites out sarcastically. "You get the medic, you change the scene around, what are you gonna do next, say my lines for me?"
It's uncalled for and he knows it, knows Jensen is coming from a place of concern. And he regrets being a bastard to him the moment the words come out of his mouth and he sees the hurt look on Jensen's beautiful face. If this is what being sick does to him - turns him into a jerk, he's really glad he's generally a healthy guy.
"You wanna know why I changed the blocking?" Jensen says quietly, right as Jared opens his mouth to apologize.
No, Jared doesn't want to know, to be honest. Doesn't want to hear an answer he knows is going to make him feel like even more of as asshole.
"Every time you had to stand up - you were swaying. I was afraid you were gonna fall over. And I know how hard you're trying to make it through today, I get it. I do the same thing. But if you're really actually sick for once, you need to take care of yourself now."
He closes his eyes as his head cranks up the throbbing in time to the rhythm of Jensen's words, before he knows it he feels tender squeezing on his shoulder.
"Jay, you with me?" Jensen says, standing right in front of him.
Jared leans forward until the top of his head is resting comfortably on Jensen's stomach. He can't smell anything today - and of all the scents in this world, he knows it's Aroma du Jensen he misses the most.
"Yeah, sorry, man. And sorry I'm being such a douche, just - this friggin' sucks. I do feel kinda awful, but this is just a cold. You've been awesome, and I shouldn't be taking out my suddenly crap immunities on you."
"Hey, I get it. And I know I'm not exactly a joy to be around when I'm hurting either, so don't apologize. Just let Carly come in and look at you, okay?"
"Okay. Can you do me a favor, though?"
"Name it - up to and including the sexual ones."
Jared chuckles lightly, doesn't have to look upward - he can hear the lascivious grin on Jensen's sporting. "Shannon said she had some Advil if I needed it. Can you go grab a couple for me?"
"Sure, be right back." Jensen strokes his hand through Jared's hair one final time before he heads out from the trailer, and it's all Jared can do to not ask him to stay. Apparently being sick turns him into a pile of neediness as well. Awesome.
Once Jensen leaves, Carly comes in - rolling up her sleeves and immediately gets down to business.
"So, what's going on?"
"Just a cold - had it for a week, it sucks. Everyone on set has had it."
"Okay," she says in acknowledgement, taking his blood pressure, "But Jensen seemed to be under the impression that you were getting dizzy."
"A little bit," he admits, as she lets the cuff deflate with a hiss.
"Anything else with this cold?"
"My head hurts. Well, more my face," he says, using his over-large hand to gesture to pretty much his whole throbbing cranium.
"Your face?" Carly reaches out and presses her thumbs right over Jared's eyebrows. "There?"
MARYMOTHEROFGOD!
"YES!" Jared's eye close tightly. Why did he agree to let this devil woman examine him again?
Her probing thumbs reach out again, pressing on either side of his nose, into his cheeks. This is even worse - it's burning and pressure and pain. He'd really rather fall face first on a cactus.
"Yes! There too!"
"Huh," she says noncommittally, and then shoves a digital thermometer in his ear.
So long as she isn't sticking more thumbs into his throbbing skull Jared think he'd just about be fine with anything she did from here on out.
"100.5. Hrm. Well, you probably have a sinus infection going on. Which means you might want to see a doctor, get on some antibiotics, although some doctors just let you heal up on your own. I would encourage you to leave early, but it's your choice. We can get you something to bring the fever down a little - see how you do for a couple of hours, and I can recheck you then, okay? If I were you, I'd try and make the appointment now. Maybe they can get you in this afternoon."
"So," Jared says slowly, "You're not sending me home."
"Nope. If the temp was any higher, I would though. So - believe me, I'll be keeping an eye on you the rest of the day."
"Fair enough."
Jensen comes back with four Advil, which Jared swallows gratefully with the bottle of water Jen also brought along. "What's the verdict?"
"She's not sending me home," Jared says.
"Not yet," Carly amends. "You start getting dizzy again, let me know, okay?"
Jared nods - which does nothing for his head, the feeling of fullness sloshing around in there.
Carly leaves him with Jensen, who immediately asks, "Not yet, what does that mean?"
"She says she thinks I have a sinus - thing." Jared says, being purposely vague. "She said to make an appointment with my doctor, but she's not sending me home."
"Yet." Jensen says pointedly. "Sinus thing, like - infection?"
"Yeah, maybe."
Jensen shoots him a look - the 'don't bullshit me' look.
"I've had sinus infections before, Jay. They're fucking miserable."
"It hurts, okay? Look, I'll call the doctor, I'll get some antibiotics. Carly is going to check on me in a couple of hours. But I'm really sure I can make it the rest of the day, Jen. Really." Or, he will be sure, once the Advil has knocked the pain back.
Jared does make it the rest of the day - under Carly's hawk-like watch, does call his doctor - who can get him in the next day. Jensen puts him to bed immediately when they get home, serves him leftover soup on the tray they normally reserve for breakfasts in bed. He even gives Jared a little bowl of oyster crackers to dunk in the broth, which makes Jensen some kind of magical Feel Better Fairy - because that's Jared's favorite part about soup, those damn crackers. They curl up together under the covers and watch the flatscreen until they fall asleep.
The next morning, it is even worse. His entire head is one giant ball of screaming nerve-ending, he can barely hear - his ears are so blocked, his sinuses have taken on a life unto themselves. This life involves country line dancing, he's pretty sure.
He's also pretty sure the reason colds are called rhinoviruses is because there is a herd of rhinos stomping around in his inflamed his nasal passages.
He stifles a groan into his pillow, but Jensen's immediately awake. "Jay? You okay?"
Jared nearly admits it right there - No, I'm really not okay, please chop my head off, please. "I've...been better."
Jensen reaches a sleepy hand over him and feels his forehead, and Jared can hear the worry and displeasure in his voice. "You're a lot warmer than yesterday. What time are you going to the doctor's?"
"One."
"You want me to send Clif here to take you?"
"Huh? Send him?" Then it occurs to him what Jensen is driving at. "I'm going in to work, Jen. We're not going to be behind because of me. I have an appointment already."
Jensen is muttering something, or maybe he didn't mutter it - Jared can't really tell, because he can't really hear.
"What?"
"I said you're a stubborn jackass and it's a good thing I love you."
"Both true things." Jared says, smiling softly to himself when Jensen curls around him in response, kissing his shoulder.
"You sure you're alright to go in?"
"Yeah, and I promise - if the doc sends me home, I'll be a good little patient, okay?"
"You better. Don't make me call your mom, Jay."
It's supposed to be a joke - but the tone falls a little flat, a little worried.
"Dude, I'm fine, man. I mean, being sick sucks and all - but this never happens to me."
"Exactly. It never happens to you. So you don't know how to slow down and take care of yourself." Jensen hugs him closer and sighs a little in frustration.
Feeling bad for being the cause of that frustration, Jared leans down and kisses Jensen's arm - taking his time and nibbling softly at warm flesh, grinning stupidly to himself when he sees the goosebumps that trail up the arm he's clutching. Even when he's feeling incredibly mega-unsexy-awful, he's still got the power to do that. That makes him feel slightly better.
Jensen murmurs, "You're not off the hook, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, we gotta get ready."
:::
Clif drives them in together and Jared is willing himself not to hurl, something about the throbbing headache/earache/face-ache and the motion of the car doing terrible things to his stomach. Eventually Jensen pulls his head down into his lap, and Jared doesn't hesitate, just nestles into the softness of worn cordoroys and clings as Jensen strokes his hair for the entire drive.
Coming in was a mistake today - Jared knows that as soon as the lights are on and the director keeps calling take after take because he's squinting and wincing and can't get his face to relax. Plus, every time he stands up the room starts spinning, and there is only so many blocking changes they can do today - the action is dependent on Sam. Eventually a break is called, and Jensen just brings his chair to him rather than making him walk over to it.
"You are so going home after your appointment."
Jared just looks at Jensen wearily, takes the Advil and the ginger ale being offered. "Yeah, I know. Apparently, I'm sick."
"Finally. Took you long enough to figure it out." Jensen chuckles, relief in his voice. He reaches out to grab Jared's neck and offer some comfort, but draws his hand back at the heat he finds. "Shit, dude, you're a goddamn furnace. I'm getting the medic, don't move."
In a flash Jensen has hopped down out of his chair and is moving away, so quickly that Jared doesn't have a chance to tell him to stop, because - really, he just wants to finish out the next few hours, score some antibiotics, and curl up at home. He showed up today, he might as well try and finish up a couple of scenes.
So Jared stands up to tell Jensen just that.
"Jensen, wait up!"
Jensen turns just in time for something in Jared's vision to shift, the room to spin, and for him to fall down spectacularly. Being so tall, there is really no other way to fall.
And - oh - is it spectacular.
His arm flails outward when he tries to get his hands down to break the forward tumble and he snags one of the lights and takes it with him, an explosion of sparks and glass as the bulb bursts and the metal scrapes along the warehouse floor.
If he didn't have Jensen's attention before he knocked the light over, he's pretty sure he does now. In fact, from the vague buzzing of voices he hears in his plugged up, throbbing ears, he's pretty sure he has the attention of the majority of the set.
Jensen is immediately kneeling down next to him, taking off Dean's jacket and putting it under his head, and refusing to let him get up.
Carly jogs across the lot, and she does a quick trauma assessment before she lets up sit up slowly. "Oh, boy. Not feeling better, I take it. Did you lose consciousness?"
"No, just - stood up too fast and fell." He feels stupidly embarrassed, especially when he's aware that someone is sweeping up the glass from the light.
"Did you hit your head?"
"Nope."
"You see your doctor?" Carly says, moving his head from side to side and up and down.
"The appointment's in a couple of hours." Jared speaks through clenched teeth. When his face is tilted downward, the pressure increases tenfold. His head is pulsating - honest-to-god pulsating.
"An hour and a half." Jensen chimes in, laying his hand softly across Jared's arm, brushing his thumb lightly across the hairs on his arm. It's irritating to his shivery aching skin, but it's soothing to his psyche - and goes a long way to dulling down the humiliation of drawing a crowd.
Carly takes his blood pressure again. "Dizzy still?"
"Yeah."
"Head still hurt?"
"Yeah." Jared glances at the sturdy brunette warily, "Just...don't poke it, okay?"
Carly chuckles lightly. "No, I'll take your word for it."
She takes his temperature again. "Okay, this is not good. 102.3 - this is official send-you-home weather your body has going on. Do you feel bad enough that we should have the ambulance take you to the ER? You didn't pass out, you didn't hit your head - so it isn't strictly necessary since you're going to the doctor anyway, but you definitely may not return to work."
"No, ER."
Jensen is biting his nails, but doesn't argue with his decision.
"Okay, I'll go find the director, let him know what's going on. Go home, go to the doctor. Take care of yourself."
Carly leaves and then Jensen speaks up, "Okay, you think you need help to the car?"
"The car?"
"I'm taking you to the doctor. Maybe they can fit you in early."
"Dude, I can wait the hour and a half."
"Yeah, well, I can't. So deal with it."
And so, Jared deals with it.
Jensen has Clif drive them to the doctor, keeping his hand firmly on Jared's elbow the entire way, which is a really good thing, Jared is forced to admit to himself, because the dizziness does not subside and he finds himself clinging to the banister as they make their way up the short flight of stairs to the physician's office.
Jensen sits him gently down in a waiting room chair and he sort of slumps over onto himself, shivering slightly even as he can feel the clammy sweat on his body. How do people do this whole - illness - thing? Screw gummy worms, he clearly needs to start chewing Flintstone vitamins instead. They are sorta like candy anyway.
By some magic - or possibly just by being his charming self - Jensen manages to get him squeezed in an hour earlier. This is pretty much the best news Jared has ever heard, because it means he's an hour closer to curling up in bed.
Which is what happens.
Jensen gets him some comfy clean sweats and tucked into bed, doles out antibiotics and a prescription pain med for his head, brings in the tray again with a new soup this time - a hearty veggie soup recipe he got from Misha - and the oyster crackers, of course.
He finishes half the soup and the pain meds start to kick in, and he feels blessed, blessed relief as he leans back against the pillows. The mattress creaks as he hears Jensen sit down and begin kicking off his own shoes.
Absurdly grateful, he lets his aching limbs get tangled up in Jensen's. "You aren't going back in?" he asks sleepily.
"Not today. Which is y'know, the day the stubborn jackass I love collapses at work because he has a raging sinus infection and a double ear infection. When I do that - people call it character bleed. When you do that - it's just dumb." Jensen's trying to keep it light, he can tell - but there's still that tone underneath, that speaks of worry, of the unease at seeing someone you love sick.
Jared blinks through the medication haze. "Hey, you know I'm okay, right? People get sick all the time."
"You don't. And while the Padalecki Light Show was thrilling, I'd really hate for it to become an annual thing." Jensen pokes him lightly in the ribs with a knuckle as he's reaching for the VapoRub with his other arm.
"Asshole."
"Petri Dish." Jensen's face becomes a little serious as he's unscrewing the blue cap on the small jar he's holding, "You gotta take care of yourself."
"I know." Jared says, to reassure Jensen. In his head, however, he's thinking that he does take care of himself - he has Jensen in his life.
Jared relaxes into the feeling of strong hands massaging tingling menthol cream into his chest. He drifts off to sleep dreaming about Jensen on safari, hunting down some rhinos.