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Sebastian groans in his sleep, eyelids flickering as his brain dreams, and once again he can’t even get respite from his anxiety in his sleep. He dreams about his father and that awful court case and how much crap he has been through, and his face forms a grimace as the memories bombard him.
But even without the nightmares, his sleep would be restless. Sebastian has been dealing with the flu for three days, and between coughing and sneezing and feeling sick, he keeps getting fevers, his body temperature shooting up as he shivers, before the shivers ending and his body just radiating heat as he lies there, feeling awful. Kay has been a wonderful caregiver, but there is only so much she could do.
So, for multiple reasons, sleep isn’t really practical for Sebastian. He groans again, his head thrashing on the pillow, and he grimaces, something horrible happening in his dream.
Kay awakes when Sebastian groans, her eyelids flickering. Sebastian sleeps with a nightlight, so she can see him in the near darkness, and spots his tense face—and then she notices how the sheets stick to him with sweat, his cheeks bright red.
And despite being used to both his nightmares at his recent fevers, her guts clench. She’ll never really get used to seeing poor Seb in a state like this.
So Kay switches on the light, sits up and starts whispering his name, trying to wake him without scaring him. it takes her saying “Seb,” five times before Sebastian awakes, his droopy eyelids opening slowly. He stares at her, his eyes glassy, and it’s like he looks straight through her.
“Seb, you’re awake,” she says.
He groans, trying to free himself from his tangled sheets but just making the situation worse. “I…”
“Here, let me help,” Kay says, and she quickly peels his damp, sweaty sheets away from his damp, sweaty skin, showing the damp patches on Sebastian’s pyjamas and making him shiver. “That’s better.”
“I… K-Kay, I don’t…” He can barely get his words out, slurring and stumbling over them as he stares at her. “Wh-What…?”
“Seb, it’s okay. Try to calm down, okay? Just take it nice and slow.”
But no matter how calm he can make himself, he can’t speak with any more clarity.
And that’s what it hits her: Seb has a fever and is acting really groggy and confused… might he be delirious? In that case, she should work on helping him feel better without forcing him to talk.
“Okay, Seb, you’ve got a really high fever, so let me just go get the thermometer—” Kay tries to get out of bed, but Sebastian grabs her wrist. “Seb?”
“Don’t… leave…” he mumbles, his hand burning as it loosely grasps her wrist. “Scared.”
“Oh shit,” Kay mutters. “Okay, I’m not going anywhere.” She points to the flannel and jug of water she left on the bedside table. “Can I put a wet cloth on your forehead?”
“O-Okay,” Sebastian mumbles, smiling weakly.