7A/N: I rewrote some of this because the writing was just so damn bad. It still could be though, so who knows? Hopefully there is an improvement anyway. This story is all about the fluff. There's no angst to be seen anywhere in here so y'know... just a warning if that's not really your cup of tea. Enough waffle. Read on.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I own squat.
Wednesday started off the usual way. I woke up to find a warm arm wrapped around my waist and a head snuggled into my neck. Contentment spread through me as I reached my own arm to run my hand through the soft hair of my bedmate. His low growl resounded deep in his chest and I felt the vibration against my back. We turned into each other then, ready to get the morning started in the best possible way. After a quick but satisfying lovemaking session and a procession of kisses, I escaped his clutches to ready myself for work. Half an hour later I emerged from the bathroom my eyes searching out the handbag I had tossed somewhere the night before. I felt his eyes on me as I picked clothes off the floor and looked under the bed, just in case.
He mumbled something and I looked up to find him leaning on his elbow checking me out.
"Did you say something, Edward?" I asked him, checking under the pillows for good measure.
He stared back at me, his eyes roaming over my grey shift dress. "Possibly the best girlfriend in the world," he said softly.
I paused in my search and leaned over to peck him on the mouth. As I went to move away, he grabbed my head and held me closer and I leaned in letting him. I decided to put a stop to his groping when he tried to pull my dress over my hips.
"That's enough of that now. I'll never get to work if we keep this up," I muttered, adjusting my clothes. "Besides, you're not a hundred percent yet and I don't want to over work you when you're still sick."
"You can over work me all you want, honey. I'm telling you I'm fine. A hundred and ten per cent even." He reached out for me and I swatted his hand away.
"Nuh uh," I shook my head remembering that I had left my bag in my car and made my way towards the door. "I'll see you later, hun. Don't forget to drink the juice I bought in the fridge and I'll call you when you need to take your pills."
"Good God, I'm fine woman! It's just the flu!" I heard him yell as I made my way down the stairs and out the door.
Once I got to work and settled myself into my routine with my trusty coffee by my side I noticed my coffee wasn't going down as smoothly as usual. My throat felt raw and dry. I rubbed my throat lightly and felt a slight heaviness in my head and decided to swap the coffee for a glass of water instead. As the day progressed, I started feeling strange. Like an odd mixture of cold and hot, drowsy and dizzy.
I left work early, a pounding headache making it impossible to think and staggered up the stairs barely making it to the front door before it was flung wide open.
"Hi honey, you're home early!" Edward bellowed, wrapping his arms around me and rubbing his hands up and down my arms as if to warm me up. "Poor thing, you're freezing! Let's get you out of the cold and warmed up!" This was usually one our favourite games to play and he often greeted me like this even though it wasn't cold. And the fact that it was also summer.
He started removing my shoes and unbuttoning my blouse. "You poor thing," he murmured. "Frozen to the bone..." Off came the skirt.
"Edward," I mumbled, not having the strength to stop him physically.
"What on earth were you doing out in the cold, young lady?" He said sternly, clearly enjoying himself. "Your legs are practically ice!" He exclaimed running his hands up and down the length of them.
"Edward, I need... I don't feel..." I protested meekly.
"You're lucky I'm here to warm you up!" He exclaimed now that I was completely nude and visibly shaking. He thought I was trembling from excitement. I wish I could say that I was.
In normal circumstances I would have played along and he would also have been less a few items of clothing of his own, but I just couldn't work up the effort. I was physically drained and wanted nothing more than to just drown out the rest of the world and sleep. He started kissing my neck, licking at my pulse.
"Hmmm. Particularly cold at this spot," he murmured, sucking at the area under my ear. "Needs special attention here..." He moved his way up to my face, brushing against my lips and waiting for me to respond. His eyes opened as he pecked my lips again, waiting for a reaction. He must have noticed that I was not nearly as eager as I usually would have been and peered at me warily.
"Sweetie? Are you okay?"
"Edward," I managed. "I feel weird."
"What do you mean, 'weird'," he asked, his eyes widening.
"I feel sick."
'Sick?' He repeated, his brow furrowed. He placed his hand on my forehead and jerked it away at almost immediately.
"Shit! You're burning up!" I moaned in reply. "She's burning up, she's burning up, she's burning up..." he repeated, whispering to himself. He hastily gathered together my discarded clothes and wrapped them back around me haphazardly, finishing me off by draping a large blanket around my shoulders.
"Sweetie, I'm so sorry," he murmured, contrite. "I never would have taken off your clothes if I had known. Come to the living room. I'll make up a fire."
"It's summer, Edward," I reminded him weakly.
"I don't care! We have to warm you up! It's what you do when you're sick, right?"
I nodded not listening. "Can you just take me to bed, please hun?"
His face brightened immediately. "Sure thing! Excellent. I didn't think you would be in the mood for... oh yes, of course," he said realising what I meant. "Because you want to rest. Not because you want to... do other things. Yes, I'll take you to bed."
Instead of taking my arm and leading me like I expected he picked me up bridal style, wrapped clothes, blanket and all, and carried me our bedroom. He laid me carefully on our bed, removing my clothes and wrapping me securely under the covers. The next thing I remembered was waking up to find Edward kneeling beside me with a glass in each hand.
"Are you thirsty? Do you want milk?" He asked proffering a glass, anxiously. "Water?"
I could only shake my head and roll over on my side, away from him.
"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have drunk all the juice!" I heard faintly as I drifted in and out of consciousness.
"Not thirsty," I managed to mutter. "Must be dying," I smiled deliriously.
"Stop it, Bella," Edward whispered. "Don't even joke about that."
I rolled my eyes, then groaned at the effort that took and rolled away from him again, instantly falling asleep.
I awoke what seemed like days later but must have only been hours to find Edward sitting in a chair beside the bed watching me anxiously. He started when he saw me looking back at him and immediately jumped up and pulled a huge bag out from his pants? No, it must have been under the bed. This flu business was really doing a number on me.
"I got you some things from the drugstore," he said sweetly. "Anything you might ever need is right in this bag. Chocolates, tabloids, aspirin, vitamins, cough syrup..."
"I don't have a cough,"' I interrupted him.
"Yes, but you might get one," he replied matter-of-factly. "I phoned Carlisle and he said to keep you warm. Like you did for me. Remember, sweetie?" He whispered, leaning in to push my hair away from my head. I whimpered as his cool hand soothed my heated skin. He stood up straight and ran a hand through his own messy locks. "But I'm sure I wasn't this bad. I'm just going to take your temperature now to check, okay?"
I tasted the soft plastic as he gently inserted it in my mouth and waited, my eyes closed.
"HOLY SHIT!" he exclaimed and I winced, the pounding in my head increasing at his loud words. I felt him frantically tucking in the blankets around me before I heard his urgent footsteps treading across the room.
I continued to wander in and out of consciousness over the next couple of days. I even vaguely recalled seeing Carlisle telling Edward he was doing a good job and to keep at it. Like clockwork, Edward would see to me taking my pills and drinking my fluids. He must have taken more sick days off work because not once did I wake up to find him gone. He remained at my side always.
By the third day I started to feel marginally better and Edward even carried me to the music room where I would watch him play the piano, wrapped up in my comforter. He carried me back to bed ten minutes later when I had started to droop to the floor again.
By Monday I was feeling much better yet still unable to make it into work. Edward was reluctant to leave me alone but I convinced him someone still needed to pay the bills.
I snuggled up in my warm cocoon in our bed watching him ready himself for work. I noticed his actions were hesitant and when he glanced back at me for the hundredth time with worry etched in his face, I sighed heavily.
"Stop it, Edward. I'm fine. Really."
"Will you call me if you're not well?" He asked kneeling beside the bed and stroking my hair.
"Yes, I'll call you if I'm not well," I replied softly, lying through my teeth.
"Liar."
"Just go, please." I smiled. "I have my juice, milk, water, Gatorade, tea, vitamins, cough syrup, magazines, chick flicks... Jesus, I could start up my own little drugstore here."
"Ha ha," Edward muttered dryly. "But seriously Bella, call me-"
"I will call you if anyone anywhere gets sick," I replied flatly.
"That's the spirit," he said pecking me gently on the lips. "I'll call you anyway, every hour to check up and I'll be back for lunch so don't you dare move from that spot." He called out as he made his way down the stairs.
"Yes, Dad!" I yelled back.
"Love you!" I heard him call.
"Love you, too!" I called back, snuggling in deeper only to be disrupted by my cellphone ringing.
I grabbed it not looking at the caller ID. "I told you I'm fine, now leave me alone." I answered thinking it was Edward.
"Bella?"
"Emmett?" I asked, alert now at the tone of his voice. "What's wrong?"
"It's Rose," he replied, his voice cracking slightly. "She's not making any sense and fuck me, her head's practically roasting!"
Oh for the love of God, Bella thought. Here we go again.
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