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[blissimmunity]

He'd spent Friday soaking wet, running from dinosaurs, shirtless and sockless for at least half of the time.  By Monday, his cold is in full bloom.  He's feeling particularly cranky, achy, tired and just all over bad.  The rain has quit, but he's too busy lying in bed, trying not to feel too sorry for himself to enjoy it.  The fact that Carolyn has

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[blondieburke]

Juliet had taken up residence in the hut across from Joshua's just after the dinosaur incident. She was chased by a T-Rex and lived to tell about it - her first thought is that Steven Spielberg must have been brought to this damn island at one point for him to have made a movie about dinosaurs the way that he did.

Her feet are mostly sore, she has cuts and bruises, but she knows that Joshua is sick after everything, so she manages to get her hands on chicken soup. Somehow handling an extra blanket, the soup, and a new book for him, she makes her way to his hut just to check in. Doctors make the worst patients, so mostly she wants to be sure he's resting the way he should be. Opening his door, she calls out softly enough to be heard if he's awake, but not loud enough to wake him if he's sleeping. "Joshua? It's Juliet, I brought some things for you. I'm coming in."

[blondieburke]

"I did," Juliet confirms as she watches him carefully. "Just acetaminophen for the fever and your head. "You've been asleep for hours. Can I get you anything?"

She doesn't move though, letting him figure out how much help he needs on his own. He doesn't need her to coddle him, she's figured that out by now.

[blissimmunity]

He shakes his head at her question. After taking a moment to steady himself, he walks across the room and closes the door. It's pretty much an empty room that passes as a privy when needed such as late nights or sick days.

He goes back to lying down, feeling exhausted after the short walk. He's feeling listless, tired and like he should ask her a question or thank her for her time. Instead he just lies there.

[blondieburke]

Juliet doesn't prod or press, she knows he feels terrible. "I have more medicine if you feel like you need anything for pain, congestion, or any other symptoms. And I can go or stay, it's up to you. But know that if I leave I'll be back to check on you."

Her voice is quiet, it always is, and her tone is firm but gentle, never annoyed. She definitely has the 'bed side manner' part of being a doctor down pat.

[blissimmunity]

If he didn't feel so terrible, her reply might have actually won a smile from him. He could have just as easily been the one saying those words. Still he doesn't smile and he doesn't answer her. He gives a small wave of his hand. Perhaps a gesture meant to convey that he doesn't care. Despite the fact that he really wants company right now. The thought of being alone seems to feel a lot more like no one cares than like giving him privacy.

He pulls the sheet over him and lies on his side facing away from her. Then, after a moment, he worries she'll take that to mean he wants her to go so he flips on his other side.

[blondieburke]

Juliet has gone back to her book, but when he rolls over to face her, she looks up with a tiny smile.

And then, she starts reading out loud from the book she's reading - a non-fiction novel called The Center Cannot Hold. She doesn't mind if he falls asleep, it just seems like a way to relax him and assure him that she's not going anywhere. She read to her sister this way when she was sick, she reads to David like this when he's sick, and it makes her feel like she's doing something to help. Even if it's nothing.

[blissimmunity]

He doesn't care if she reads or not, he's just glad she doesn't leave. He certainly does relax, not that he has any energy to fight and soon he's falling asleep again.

[blondieburke]

She keeps reading until she's sure he's asleep, then she reads to herself. She has no idea how long she reads to herself before she gets up to eat some soup, then comes back to read.

She closes her eyes though, just for a second she thinks.

[blissimmunity]

When he wakes next, the sun has gone. He wouldn't move at all if it weren't for the chills he's feeling which are making his teeth chatter a little. He reaches for the larger blanket he kicked off earlier and tries to warm himself again. There's a mental note, as a doctor, that his fever hasn't broken.

He assumes she's gone by now and this only adds a feeling of sadness to the helplessness he's already feeling brought on by his inability to get warm. Or well.

[blondieburke]

Juliet hears him stir even through the haze of her dozing. She squints a little in the dark and stands, making her way to the bed and takes the blanket she brought, unfolding it.

"You're cold?" she asks softly in the dark, covering him before reaching to feel his forehead. She moves through the dark and into the other room, getting another glass of water (at room temperature, not cold) with medicine.

"Joshua, take this," she says softly, turning on a light in the hallway so that she doesn't blind him in the room. She helps him sit up just for a second, and helps him back down afterward.

[blissimmunity]

The sudden movement startles him enough that he jerks away and makes a sound which is more like an inhaling of air than a scream. He's too busy shivering to be able to do anything else.

His head feels like it's burning up, but his body is cold. He's too miserable to argue with her when she returns with water and medicine.

After a while under the blanket, he stops shivering. "Thanks," he says, finally finding the words and the will to say them. "For staying. And for doing this."

[blondieburke]

"Thank me when you feel better," she says with a small smile, sitting down on the side of the bed.

"Anything else you need?" She asks not because she's leaving, but because he's the only one who can tell her how he's really feeling.

[blissimmunity]

"Not to be feeling this anymore," he replies. He doesn't even mean it as a joke. "It's the first time I'm actually really missing something about home."

He's not even sure, once he's said it, if that's even right. He's just wanting to talk about home. And for once, home isn't this hut.

[blondieburke]

"I know, it doesn't feel good," she says sympathetically.

"Tell me about home," she offers, moving back to her chair but pulling it closer to the bed. "What about home would make this better?"

[blissimmunity]

"This wouldn't be happening. That's really the only thing about home that would make this better. Everything else is a struggle," he replies without hesitation, getting right to the truth if not still keeping the reality hidden.

He's almost feeling like himself again. He's still feeling tired, but it's more of a relaxed tired than an edgy need that seems unable to be met. His headache is gone though the fever remains. And the dark doesn't hurt his eyes or make them water.

[blondieburke]

"What do you mean, this wouldn't be happening?" she asks quietly, confused by the statement. "You mean you wouldn't be sick?"

She curls up into the chair, finding his eyes using the light from the hallway.