In Sickness...
by Darkchilde
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Marvel does. I was very sick when I wrote this, which is WHY I wrote this. :)
Tabitha Smith woke up with a headache. And a runny nose. And chills. Moaning, the small blonde rolled over and buried her head in the pillow. A sudden spasm of coughing shook her small body. Tabitha moaned again, and curled into a small ball, whimpering.
There was no doubt about it. She was sick.
Coughing again, Tabitha pulled the blankets up over her head, and tried to make the chills that raced through her body stop. It didn't work the way she intended it to; all she succeeded in doing was tangling herself up in the sheets.
Tabitha pushed the blankets away and sat up. A sudden wave of dizziness forced her to lay back down, and she did so with a soft thump.
"I'm sick. I am SO sick." Tabitha whimpered out loud. Once more, harsh racking coughs stopped her from talking. After she had gotten control of the coughing, Tabitha curled herself up into a little ball and began to cry softly.
That was how Sam found her, when he poked his head in her room about fifteen minutes later. "Tabitha, are you-okay?" He asked, noticing his small girlfriend curled into a ball on her bed.
"No!" Tabitha whimpered, trying to keep from coughing. "I feel terrible."
Sam opened the door all the way, and crossed the distance between himself and Tabitha. He sat down on the edge of her bed, and placed a deliciously cool hand on Tabitha's forehead. The girl cringed from the chill it caused in her, and hugged herself to get warm.
"Geez, honey. You're burnin' with fever." Sam told her, his face worried.
"Then why am I so cold?" Tabitha asked pitifully, more tears slipping down her cheeks.
"That's why." Sam said knowledgeably. After taking care of his brothers and sisters through bouts of their sickness, he knew the normal manifestations of everything from a fever to chicken pox to the common cold.
"This sucks." Tabitha whined, trying to curl herself up into a tighter ball. Sam noticed the bed sheets and blankets, rumpled and unfit to warm the small girl currently lying on them.
"Come on, Tabs." Sam said, standing up, and wrapping his arms around Tabitha.
"What?" She moaned as he pulled her out of bed and set her down on a nearby chair.
"Your never gonna get warm like that. Hang on for just a second." Sam commanded, stripping the blankets and sheet off Tabitha's double bed. He quickly remade it, and turned to his sick girlfriend.
Tabitha was curled up into a small ball on the chair, crying and shaking from cold. Her normally bounce blonde hair looked pale and listless, lying around her pale little face. Her nose, unlike the rest of her pallid face, was bright red. Another spasm of coughing shook her tiny body, nearly tipping her out of the chair.
Sam felt his heart lurch in sympathy. She looked like she felt horrible. He hurried to her side and gently collected her into his arms. Tabitha huddled close to him, not out of affection, but out of an attempt to get warm. Sam hugged her tightly, and laid her in the newly made bed, pulling the covers up around her.
Tabitha sighed gently, and started to say something, but was cut off when she once more began to cough. Sam looked down at her, gently pushing her hair out of her face, his eyes soft and concerned.
"Mah poor Tabby. Is there anything Ah can get for ya?" He asked, dropping to kneel by her bed. Tabitha sniffed loudly, but shook her head. Sam pressed a gently kiss to her forehead.
"Hang on, alright? Ah'll go get you something to drink and some tissues." Sam promised, rising to leave. He winced again when Tabitha began to cough, harder then ever before.
Sam moved quickly, gathering the needed supplies: cough syrup, aspirin, tissues, her drink, and an extra blanket. Unfortunately, Hank was out of the mansion for a week, gone to lecture at Princeton. Sam hoped Tabitha was seriously sick; he hoped it was just a cold.
He reentered her room, about fifteen minutes later, loaded down with all his supplies. Tabitha was once more curled into the pitiful ball she had been when he had first seen her, and was shaking. Sam dumped the medicines and her Coke on her dresser, and moved to her bed, still holding the blanket. He gently spread it out over her, smoothing back her unruly hair as he did.
Tabitha smiled slightly at him, her eyes dulled from their lively blue to a dark blue-gray. Sam felt another tug at his heart, and stroked her cheek gently.
"Ah'm sorry you feel bad, honey." Sam told her, pouring the drink from the can to the cup he had brought with him.
"You and me both." Tabitha whispered, reaching out a shaky hand to take the cup. Sam noticed how bad the hand was shaking, and wouldn't let her have the cup. Instead, he helped her sit up, and held the cup to her lips. Tabitha gratefully sipped the drink, leaning heavily on her boyfriend's arm. He slowly eased her back down onto her pillow, watching her with worried eyes.
Tabitha lay in bed all morning, feeling like what could only be described as shit. Sam stayed with her through the entire morning, talking to her, holding her hand and getting her whatever she needed. At about noon, the nausea started.
The tiny blonde forced herself out of her bed, and stumbled out the door to the bathroom. Sam followed quickly, his face worried. The girl collapsed by the bowl and waited for a second.
Tabitha gagged, and hung over the toilet. Sam kneeled behind her, holding her hair back away from her face. He talked soothingly to her while she threw up everything in her stomach, trying to avoid looking directly at it. It was…less then a pretty sight.
When she was finished, Sam gently scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to her bed and lay her down. Tabitha moaned, her pretty face pale and her mouth dry.
"I feel so bad." Tabitha told him, the disgusting aftertaste of vomit still in her mouth.
"Ah know you do sweetie. Is there anythin' Ah can do?" Sam asked, wiping her forehead with a wet cloth to cool her fever.
"I must look awful." Tabitha moaned, more tears slipping down her cheeks.
Sam smiled gently at her, kissing her right temple. "Ah have seen you lookin' better, honey."
Tabitha closed her eyes and sniffed. "I really wish you weren't seeing me right now."
"It's okay, baby. You're still beautiful to me." Sam told her softly, tracing her jawbone.
Tabitha opened her baby blue eyes and stared at him. "Really?"
Sam kissed the top of her head. "Yes, really. Ah love you, you know that. That means Ah love you ALL the time, even when your not lookin' yoah best."
"I love you too." Tabitha murmured quietly.