Work Text:
“John, have you been eating well? Have you taken your medication? How are you feeling? ”
“Rose, stop worrying, I’m fine.” You say, suppressing a sneeze. Obviously you’re not fine, but no reason to worry her. Besides, it’s not like she can do anything with her being all the way on the other side of the world.
“Strictly speaking you are not fine. Doctor’s orders said you still need 1 more day of complete bed rest. Besides, I heard you trying to suppress your sneeze.” Drat.
“Fine, to answer your questions, yes I’ve been eating all the food you’ve ordered me and what you suggested, I drank all my medicines like the doctor ordered, and I’m fine. Really.”
“That’s good. I’m sorry I’ve been busy John. I should be there earlier helping you recover.”
Earlier? “It’s alright, I know this is important for the both of us.”
“I know, and I’m grateful. Oh, that reminds me, a package I ordered should be arriving today, so don’t be surprised if there’s someone coming by to drop it.”
“Alright, Tavros can bring it in. Anything else?”
“That’s all. Oh, and John?”
“Yes Rose?”
“I love you. Now get some rest.”
“Will do. Love you too.” She ended the call, so you drop your phone on the nightstand and close your eyes, trying to follow her request.
Here you are, on bed rest due to a fever that just won’t go away, while your wife is in a completely different country. Practically on the other side of the planet really. Where was it? Malaysia? Indonesia? You can’t remember.
You’re starting to regret pushing her to take that book signing tour. She was hesitant, because that would mean you’d have to be separated for quite some time, since she’ll be going on a world trip. You had a fight that ended with her begrudgingly going off to promote her latest book, and you feeling like such a heel. And sick, don’t forget the sickness.
Fortunately you made up the next day over the phone, but you miss having her here. Especially now that you’re sick. When she found out she went into full mom mode, calling up your doctor, making sure the neighbors check in on you every once in awhile , and even made sure food and groceries are delivered to you. She means well, and you appreciate what she’s done… but mostly you just miss having someone there with you on the same bed.
Sometimes when you feel so hot that everything is starting to spin, you start wishing that she’d make a crazy romantic gesture like in the movies and drop everything to take care of you 24/7. But, real life doesn’t work like it does in the movies, as you’ve sadly learned the hard way. If she does the irresponsible thing and just come back home immediately, you just know her publishers would have their lawyers ready to sue her or something. Wait, maybe you’re getting things mixed up with one of your movies.
You hear the door open. Probably Tavros bringing in the package. You turn over to try to get to sleep. But then you bolt upright, dizzying yourself, as you remembered that he had something to do. LARPing at the next state over or something. You unsteadily get to your feet, panicking. There’s an intruder in the house! From the sound of it, they’re making their way here!
You rummage through your closet and pulled out the first thing that feels comfortable to swing. You quickly stand next to the door, just in time for it to swing open. You raise your weapon and was about to swing it down when you sneeze repeatedly, dropping your weapon and causing you to fall to your knees. Huh, for a stranger breaking in they sure are wearing familiar shoes.
“John, if your plan was to murder me, I can think of at least 10 reasons why your current method is a horrible idea.” Rose, your Rose, said. You just stared at her in disbelief as she helped you up and dragged you back to bed.
“Ha ha. I thought there was a burglar or something.” You say, dropping to the bed. Ooh, that’s comfy.
“So instead of doing the sensible thing such as calling 911, you decided to confront them with a hammer? When did we even have a foam Warhammer?” She asked, tucking you in. So warm.
“Cut me some slack Rose, I’m sick. As for the hammer, it was a birthday gift remember? Tavros gave it to me.”
“Ah. Right.” You enjoy the toasty feeling of being in your bed before Rose coughed and continued. “Is there anything you wanted to ask me John?”
“Oh, yeah. What are you doing here Rose?
“Well, we had the misfortune to set the day wrong for my book signing event in Indonesia. My publishers and the bookstore are working it out, but the quickest is by next week. Since we had a few days to kill, I took the first flight home so I can take care of you. I also wanted to surprise you, though I dare say I was the more surprised one.” She rubbed her temples as she finished her story. You have no idea what you did to deserve this woman, but you’re thankful all the same.
She left you in the bed as headed back out to cook you something. As you wait for whatever it is she’s cooking, you hear her yell out “John, where do we keep the knife?”
“That’s odd,” you say loudly, “it should be right there next to the fridge. Like always.”
“Here it is. Thank you.”
Soon Rose came in carrying a bowl of porridge, which she helpfully fed you. Ahh, this is the life John. After you finished your bowl, Rose got ready for bed. “It’s still 6 o’clock Rose.”
“I know, but I’ve still got some jet lag. You don’t mind if I catch some z’s do you?”
“Not at all.” You scooch over to make room for her. Grateful she took her rightful place beside you and soon closed her eyes
Poor girl. You snuggle up next to her, cuddle, and drift off to blissful sleep.
————
You woke up muttering “Die Zazzerpan- wait, where am I?” Rubbing your eyes, you look around and noticed John next to you, his hand on your shoulders. That must have been why you felt a shaking sensation as you woke up.
“Rose? We’re here. Come on, I’ll help you with your bags.”
Bags? Then you realized when and where you are. You’re in the drop off zone of the airport, after spending a few lovely days taking care of your sick husband. But now is the time to get back to work, there are fans to meet, books to sign, and money to be had.
Yawning, you step out of the car and gratefully take the bags John handed to you. You’re still a bit sleepy, but those books aren’t signing themselves. As you head off through the gates you notice John calling someone on the cell. You wave to him, which he feverishly returned. Giggling, you go inside, ready to return to Indonesia.
Truth be told, taking care of him until he’s better was just half the reason you came back early. You missed him. You've been traveling all over the world, taking in everything. You wish he was there with you every step of the way though. Sometimes you wish that life were more like your dramatic fictions where John will just cast aside his job as a meteorologist, damn the consequences, and accompany you to exotic places.
But real life isn’t like that. He’s got obligations, and until both of you are more financially stable, his dreams of being a professional magician/comedian will have to wait. Until then, there’s bills to pay. After checking in all your luggage, you’ve got time to spare. You open up your word processor and continue writing the draft to your next book. It’s… not going well lately.
For some reason you just can’t focus. At first you thought this was due to you feeling guilty about leaving a sick John alone back home. You thought that coming back and taking care of him would ease your conscious but if anything, it’s getting worse. Frustrated, you close your word processor with a huff, and just waited for your plane. A good long nap sounds good now.
————
You step out of the taxi you took from the airport and enter the mall. According to your latest email, the book signing would be held in the bookstore here. You pay the driver, though it took you sometime to find the right bills from your bag. Ugh, you need a drink, and the way that driver drove you here left your stomach turning. To top it off, you can’t get a good long nap on the plane. You just can’t get comfortable and kept waking up every few hours. Your head is killing you right now, and you hope that you can get some rest before you-
For some reason the world is turning sideways…
————
You can hear murmurings shortly before you open your eyes into a world of light. You stare blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, as you recognize a familiar voice talking nearby. The voice stopped, followed by some light footsteps before the frowning face of your husband entered your vision.
“Hey Rose. How are you feeling?”
“Awful, but better now that I can see your face.” You look around, groaning as you turn your head. You’re in what appears to be a hospital emergency room. “I’m not sure what happened to me.
“Oh well as I heard it, you collapsed in the mall suddenly, so they rushed you to the nearest hospital. Don’t worry though, it’s nothing really serious, you’ve just got some fever. They’re worried that you had a concussion when you fell, but they saw no signs of it. As soon as you’re feeling better you’re free to go!”
“That is good news indeed. But satisfy my curiosity John, why are you here?”
“Oh right. Well, ever since you came back to the states, I’ve noticed that you’re having trouble remembering things and you keep rubbing your temples. Then I remembered you coughing on the phone, you being sleepy all the time, and whenever I see you typing you never really wrote much. I got worried so after I dropped you off I called up my boss and asked for a long leave. He didn’t really want me to just suddenly get up and leave, but he finally agreed with me. Then I just found the next flight to Indonesia and well here I am!”
It’s moments like these that make you truly appreciate your husband. John is frequently underestimated by others, dismissing him as a foolish doormat due to his cheery and easygoing nature. But you know first hand that he’s one of the most insightful and clever people you know, and when it comes time to do what he believes to be right, he’ll stand his ground. All while being friendly to everyone. It’s one of the reasons you love with him.
“I’m sorry that you had to go all the way to Indonesia.” You say.
“Pfft, it’s no big deal.” He dismissed, before putting a cool towel in your forehead. Oh that feels nice. “Anyway, imagine my surprise when I got to the bookstore, and they said you you fainted and had to be taken to the hospital!”
“Sorry you had to hear that.”
“Yeah, well, I sort of panicked, but the staff helped direct me to where you’re being treated, and here I am. Ready to take care of my wife. Just say the word and I’ll do it. Or get it. Whatever you need.”
“My hero.” You smile. You have no idea what you did to deserve this man, but you’re thankful all the same. “I’m fine for now John, you should get settled into your hotel.”
“Pfft, I’m fine. Just give me a chair to sit in, and I’m here for you until they can discharge you.” You notice that he’s not quite looking you in the eye.
“John.”
“... yes Rose?”
“You forgot to book a place to stay didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
“... yeah.” He admitted, smiling sheepishly in the hopes of melting your heart. It’s working, even as you can’t help but marvel how such a paradoxical combination of goofball and wit can possibly exist.
Then again, you’re the one that tried to cheer him up just a few days ago with a one woman re-enactment of The-Fanfic-That-Must-Not-Be-Named, complete with Wizard Robes and Wizard Hats and Wizard Wands. And ‘goffic’ apparel of course. Life is weird like that.
“It’s alright John, you can stay here. You can stay with me in my room.”
As you two discuss all the plans of where you’re going while you’re here, you slyly move your hands to grasp his. Considering his hand was open and it closed right after touching yours, he was thinking of the same thing. You feel better already.