for Logan

[more_flexible]

Jack was cold. He snuggled deeper under the covers and pressed closer to Logan, but it didn't help. His head ached and his mouth was dry so he sat up to get a drink. He was surprised by the fact that his nose was so clogged he couldn't breathe and his chest was tight. He coughed and pulled the covers up around him, unwilling to get out of bed.

"Logan," he said, pitifully congested. "Logan, I don't feel good."

He couldn't recall the last time he'd been sick. Not since he was young, that was for certain. The Time Agency had pumped him so full of vaccines and things that getting sick simply didn't happen. Ever.

Comments

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan made an annoyed sound and squirmed away, too hot for the covers Jack had dragged back up, and too congested and achy to deal with Jack complaining.

Kicking the blankets off himself, he found himself freezing suddenly, as if there was no middle ground. Just hot or cold. Nothing else. Sniffing a little, he hid his face in his pillow, the familiar feeling of a winter cold leaving him miserable and even more short tempered than usual.

"Join the fucking club," he replied finally, his voice muffled until he reluctantly rolled over to look at the other man.

Jack didn't look good. In fact, the other man looked about as bad as Logan felt.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He felt weak and shaky. Looking at Logan, he could tell the younger man felt the same way. It was horrible.

"I think I'm sick," he said, as if it wasn't pitifully obvious. Sweat beaded at his hairline, just making him feel sticky. His eyes had dark circles beneath them and his lips were parted so he could breathe through his mouth.

"I don't get sick. I think I'm dying," he moaned, sliding back down so he could curl up and hold the blankets tight to him as he shivered.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan sniffed loudly in an attempt to clear his nose, and curled up a little as he looked Jack over.

"You're not dying. You have a cold, Jack. ...I have a cold. We have colds," he muttered, coughing a bit and sniffing loudly again.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I've never had a cold," he replied. He reached up to rub his eyes and forehead, just feeling worse for doing it.

"I feel terrible. Is it supposed to be like this?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"No, it's supposed to feel like a mini vacation," Logan replied flatly. "If you don't stop bitching, I am so making you sleep on the couch," he muttered, scowling to himself and sniffing again.

"Stay here, I'll get you water and... I dunno. Maybe I can walk to the oompound for soup."

He didn't look as if he should be walking anywhere though.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"No, stay in bed," he protested. "I'm not hungry, I swear. How long until it goes away? A few days or what?" He couldn't imagine feeling like this for much more than a day.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Days, a week- it's hard to say," Logan replied, flopping back down with a groan. "It could be a cold- could be flu... I dunno. I just know I feel like shit."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Oh, gods...I'm gonna die," he groaned, snuffling loudly only to cough immediately afterward. "Can't we do anything to make it go away?" Of course, he knew there wasn't. Nothing available on the island, anyway.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Sweat it out," Logan replied. "Chicken soup and sleep. That's about it," Logan said, coughing again and clearing his throat.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack squirmed lower beneath the covers, so cold he wasn't sure he could sweat it out. He rolled this way and that, finally finding a comfortable way to lay facing Logan.

"I've never been sick," he said again, sounding strangely weak and almost naive. "Inured, yeah...but not just, you know, sick."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan couldn't help but feel a little guilty for being so harsh, and he slipped under the covers as he moved closer. "I know. I know, okay? Just try and get some rest," he insisted, turning his head away as he sniffed again.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He nodded and dutifully closed his eyes. He was extraordinarily tired but he couldn't quite fall asleep. It felt good to lay still, though. Very still. Listening to Logan sniffle and cough made him wish he felt good enough to get up and get him...something. Soup or something.

"Are you okay?" he asked, slowly lifting a sore arm to lay his hand on Logan's side. "You sound bad."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine," Logan lied. "I'm just a little congested. I'll be fine."

Except he couldn't get comfortable and he couldn't sleep. And while part of him wanted to curl up close to Jack, the rest of him didn't want any contact.

The hand on his side was a nice compromise, and he sighed as he sniffed again.

"I'm gonna get you some water," he insisted again, this time actually getting up and out of bed.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

When Logan got up, Jack rolled into the space he'd vacated and stretched out. Having the whole bed to stretch out on made him think that maybe sleeping alone wasn't the worst idea.

He tossed and turned for a minute, then got out of bed himself. Laying down just made his face throb. He shivered as he grabbed up some sweat pants and one of Logan's long sleeve shirts. As soon as he was dressed, he wandered down the stairs after Logan, grabbing a spare blanket and wrapping it around him. His hair stuck up all over and he looked exhausted, but being on his feet helped. A little.

"I'm up," he announced. "I can't lay down. I'm not sleepy. I'm just exhau..." That thought was interrupted by a hard sneeze.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan kept his distance, not wanting to get sneezed on, and thrust a glass of water at the other man.

"I wish we had a hot tub. Or a steam shower. ...Anything. Even just a bath. A bath would be awesome right now," he said thoughtfully, coughing loudly and clearing his throat again.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Ooh, a shower sounds good," he agreed. It didn't sound good enough to actually venture outside, though.

"Do you want some tea or something? I'm going to build the fire," Jack continued, moving slowly but determined to do what he always did even though he felt awful.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, okay. ...You sure you can manage though?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned. "Maybe I should do it..." he suggested.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I can do it," he insisted, waving Logan off before pulling the blanket tighter around himself. "You look like hell. I'll get the fire going and we can sweat it out."

Any other day he'd have suggested working up a sweat in a better way, but right now he couldn't even conjure up anything like desire.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Nodding, Logan sat down in one of the chairs, pushing his hair back and wiping a little sweat from his brow.

"Aren't you hot already?" he asked. "I feel like I'm burning up," he confessed, though his arms were covered in goosebumps.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I'm freezing," he said, shaking his head. Slowly, Jack got to his knees. He groaned with the effort, but it put him at the heart so he could stoke the remaining coals and add kindling and wood to bring the blaze back to life.

"And I'm sore. And my head hurts. And my face hurts. And I can't think," he listed slowly. He didn't mean to whine, he didn't. He just couldn't believe how awful he felt.

"How in the hell did this happen? No one gets sick here. This is crap."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"It's your fault," Logan decided. "You threw me down in the snow. You did this," he accused, glaring a little and then frowning as he sank down to the floor and shuffled closer.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Snow doesn't make you sick like this," he protested. "We didn't get sick last year. I haven't been sick since I was a kid. And never like this. This has to be your fault. It's a twenty-first century thing, viruses like this."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Oh, well, sorry I'm not evolved enough for you," Logan scowled, grabbing one of the small cushions off the couch and whacking Jack's shoulder with it. "Me and my twenty-first century self will be upstairs," he decided, whacking Jack again and struggling to get back on his feet.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack started to get up to follow, not willing to let it go, but he found he had absolutely no energy. He sank back to the sofa with a groan and practically fell over. He knocked a festively adorned pillow to the floor and rested his head on another and closed his eyes.

"I'll be up in a minute," he said, his voice deep and rough. He coughed twice to try to clear his throat and then sank into sleep. He slept fitfully, tossing the blanket off only to pull it back and wrap it tightly around him. As bad as it was to be congested, it was the fever that laid him low.

He didn't even know how long he'd slept, but he finally got up. Groggy, he wandered around, stoking the fire, taking a piss, then setting on a pan of water to make some tea. Jack found he felt moderately better. He made two cups and eventually found his way upstairs with both of them.

"Hey," he said softly. "I brought you some tea."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan had curled back up in bed, drifting off quickly and sleeping hard as his body fought off the cold.

He woke up slowly, sniffing loudly, and rolled over to look at the other man. Jack looked a little better, but he was still pale.

"Thanks," he said quietly, slowly sitting up and moving over so Jack could join him on the bed. "You feeling better at all?" he asked.