Chapter Text
Benedict was just walking down the hallway to finally go to his own room and sleep when he heard a cough. Normally, he would've just kept going and completely ignored it, it was just a cough anyways, but something in his gut was telling him to stop this time. So he did.
It didn't take long for the small cough to turn into a pretty impressive coughing fit and since he was in front of his father's old office, there was only one person that could be in there.
A bug had been going through the whole village. It was nothing serious, there had been no fatalities, but it left the person out of comission for a few days. However, in order to get better, it was need to take easy and lots of rest which was exactly what his brother was not doing.
That was the reason his brother had been sick for the better part of the week and still was not getting well.
Benedict sighed tiredly, just imagining the battle that was going to be to convince his brother to simply get some rest, before raising his fist and knocking on the closed door.
When he didn't hear anything back, he tried the doorknob, smiling when the door eased open. He walked into the room but stopped right there on the doorway when he realized that his brother hadn't even noticed that he was there. So he took that as an advantage to analyze the situation.
Anthony looked absolutely dreadful. His hair that was always perfectly stylish was a sweaty mess, he had dark bags under his eyes and he had little color on his face, except for his cheeks and nose that were bright red.
Benedict loudly cleared his throat, leaning against the door frame and this time Anthony finally lift his eyes from the pile of papers that was surrounding him, a surprised look on his face.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Anthony asked, ignoring the way his throat burned just by asking that question.
"I did knocked, but you didn't answered it." Benedict quickly replied, walking further into the room. He saw that his brother was about to protest but was interrupted by another chesty cough that slipped from his lips. "Have you been drinking?" Anthony nodded but Benedict cut him off.
"Water, I mean, not alcohol." The younger Bridgerton said, looking directly into his brother's eyes and the glass of Whiskey that was in front of him.
"What do you want, Benedict? In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda busy." Anthony blurted out, madder than he intended, but he was exhausted. He sniffed, groaning softly when he felt his nose itching again. He quickly turned to his side, muffling his sneeze on his arm.
"Bless you." Benedict sat down on his brother's table, completely ignoring Anthony's dissaproving look. "You should go to bed, you look terrible, brother."
"I'm going to. As soon as I finish in here but I can't do that with you interrupting me." Anthony mumbled, massaging his temples when his little outburst made his head spike with pain. He let his slip close for a second but they popped right open when he felt someone beside him.
"Let me help then because I'm not leaving this room without you." Benedict said, crossing his arms over his chest. If Anthony wanted to be stubborn, he sure could be as well.
Anthony looked to his left where his brother had made himself comfortable on a chair beside him and knew he wouldn't be able to win this one. He groaned loudly but did take some of the papers that were spread all over the table and handed them to his brother.
"Here, you need to..." Anthony let out a small cough, but it must have triggered something inside of him because suddenly his whole body was trembling when another cough spell took over.
"Shit." Benedict said, patting his brother's back. He could feel the heat that was radiating of Anthony's body and the way that he was trembling underneath his hand. "Just take deep breaths."
"Argh." Anthony whispered when he finally felt like he could breathe again. "Thank you." He said to his brother, taking a sip from his drink.
Benedict nodded, wincing because the alcohol would surely burn his already destroyed throat but his brother didn't seem to mind it.
"Just fill these with the names of the families that requested help from us. Think you can do it?" Anthony asked, yawning afterwards. Gosh, he was tired.
"Yes, my lord." Benedict joked, getting right into his task. The faster he was done, the faster they could go to bed.
****
The Bridgerton brothers had been working for only fifteen minutes when Benedict saw that Anthony was starting to fade. His head that was resting on his hand, drooping forward every couple of seconds but he would quickly snap out of it and resume his work.
"Are you finishing?" Anthony whispered, laying his head on his folded arms. He sniffed and rubbed his hand over his face, coughing slightly.
"Almost." Benedict said, concern evident in his voice. His brother looked ten times worse from when he first saw him. "Then we will go to bed, no arguments." The fact that Anthony didn't even protest and just gave a small nod was enough to make him a bit more worried.
Twenty minutes later and Benedict was finally done. He stretched and looked to his right where his brother had been dozing off for a good few minutes. His cough had gotten worse in the last half an hour but it hadn't disturbed Anthony. Benedict wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
He was sure Anthony would kill him with his own hands if he found out about this but his brother really looked like a baby when he was sleeping and not worrying about everything else.
Taking the chance, he gently placed his hand on his brother's forehead, noticing that he was boiling. Unconsciously, Anthony leaned on his brother's hand, a softly sigh escaping his parted lips.
Benedict chuckled and then moved his hand to his brother's back, to try and wake him up. "Anthony, brother, let's go to bed." The only reaction he got was a deep cough but his brother remained dead to the world.
"C'mon Ant." Benedict called, gently moving his hand up and down on his back. This time glassy brown eyes slowly opened, but unlikely what he had been expecting, Anthony didn't pull away right away. Instead, he took some time to fully wake up and just then he sat up.
"I'm cold." He mumbled sleepy, wrapping his arms around his torso. He sneezed again, rubbing his nose on his sleeve.
"That my brother is because of the awfully fever you're sporting." Benedict replied, standing up from his chair. He went over to Anthony's side, hovering closer just in case his brother needed help.
"I hate this." Anthony complained as he brushed off his brother's help. Once he was up, however, a unexpectedly wave of dizziness wash over him and if it wasn't for Benedict's arms holding him up, he would surely be on the floor right now.
"Just take it easy." Benedict whispered, as he waited for the spell to pass. Anthony had his face buried on his chest so he couldn't see what was going on.
" 'm good." Anthony said, a few seconds later. He pulled away when another cough made it's way out and he couldn't help but whimper.
"C'mon, brother." Benedict placed his hand on the small of his brother's back and guided him to the door. He turned all the lights off before closing the door behind them.
A shiver went through Anthony's body at the suddenly change of temperature from inside the office to the hallway and for the first time in what felt like forever he couldn't wait to get under his covers and sleep the night away. Benedict, of course, noticed that and gave his brother's shoulder a gently squeeze before they both made their way upstairs.
Reaching the top, Anthony had to muffle a couple of chest coughs. He felt his brother's hand on his back again, but this fit was thankfully short.
"Finally." Anthony said happily when they reached his bedroom's door. He pushed it open and went straight to his bed, getting under the warm covers. "I think I've got it from here."
"Well, I don't believe in you." Benedict blunt said. He knew that the moment he turned around, his brother would simply fall asleep. So instead, he got some warm and comfortable clothes for Anthony to sleep in and threw them at his brother. "Put these on. I'll be right back."
"You don't have to." Anthony said but his brother didn't hear or decided to completely ignore him.
Anthony whined but he did sat up again and changed his clothes, throwing the used ones on the floor. He would take care of it in the morning. He didn't waste time and immediately got under the covers again, burying his face on the soft pillow.
It felt like he had only closed his eyes when another round of painfully coughs came on stronger than ever. He placed the covers over his head in attempt to not awake everyone else since the door was slightly open and just kept coughing and coughing.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Was the first thing Benedict said as he returned to the room. He ran to his brother's side and pulled the covers off his face. He sat him up easily, holding him up with one arm while with the other he rearranged the pillows so his brother could sleep better.
When the coughs started to subside, Benedict grabbed the cup of tea that he had brought it from downstairs and handed it to his brother's.
Anthony took a cautiously sip but when the warm liquid hit his throat, easing up some of the pain, he downed the whole thing.
"Good?" Benedict asked, placing the cup on the nightstand. He then poured a spoonful of cough syrup and gave it to Anthony. "Take it." He said incisively when his brother looked disgusted at the medicine.
"I hate you." Anthony whispered but he did swallowed it. "That's the nastiest thing ever."
"Good boy." Benedict praised jokingly as he helped Anthony lay down. Anthony just gave him a look but he ignored it, ruffling his brother hair.
"Stop it." Anthony mumbled, pushing Benedict's hand away from him. However, after the tea and the medicine, there wasn't any strength behind it.
Benedict laughed at how childish his brother sounded and then grabbed the cold washcloth and placed on his brother's boiling forehead. Anthony shivered but otherwise didn't say anything else.
"All done." Benedict said as he stood up from the bed, admiring his work. "I'm gonna let you get some rest now. If you need anything, just come get me. Understood?"
Anthony nodded, his eyes already closed but before his brother could leave his room, he whispered quietly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, brother." Benedict whispered back, slipping out of the room. He closed the door and finally went to his own room.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out.
****
The next time Benedict woke up was to someone roughly shaking him awake. His eyes shot open and he quickly sat up when he saw Eloise beside him, a panic expression on her face.
"It's Anthony. He can't stop coughing." Benedict quickly jumped out of the bed and ran to his brother's room with Eloise hot on his track.
It was quite the scene when he walked into his brother's room. Anthony was sat up on bed, red faced, as his body was engulfed by some harshly chesty coughs. He had tears running down his face as well from the force of the coughs.
"Just take some nice deep breaths, brother." Benedict instructed urgently, sitting beside him on the bed and gently started patting his back while Anthony gripped his brother's shirt tightly as he tried to get his breathing under control.
When Benedict thought the fit was ending, he felt his brother's muscles clench underneath his hand followed by a small gag that escaped Anthony's mouth. Before he even had to say something, Eloise was already grabbing the bowl that was on the floor and handing it to him.
Another harshly heave and then Anthony was throwing up everything that he had eaten for the past day. Eloise sat on Anthony's other side and took Benedict's place, rubbing her brother's back.
"Mmm" Anthony mumbled sleepy, when the nausea was finally over.
"Think you're done?" Benedict asked, placing the bowl back down when Anthony nodded. Eloise grabbed the discharged towel and gently cleaned Anthony's mouth.
"You good?" Benedict questioned, placing his hand on his brother's forehead. "Fever feels higher."
"Tired." Anthony mumbled sleepy and to the surprise of everyone in the room, buried his face on his brother's chest. Another chesty cough shook his shoulder and he whimpered quietly. "Chest hurts." He whispered, rubbing at the sore muscles.
"El, can you grab another washcloth and a heat bag, please?" Eloise quickly nodded, gladly to be able to do something useful. Before leaving the room she grabbed the used bowl so she could empty it.
"Are you nauseous as well?" Benedict asked when they were alone, but his brother just shook his head. "Too much crap in your lungs, hum?" He knew that sometimes having a lot of congestion build up could cause someone to throw up.
"Think so" Anthony answered quietly, sniffing.
The brothers stayed in a comfortable silence, the only sound being the occasional cough or sniff, until Eloise arrived with the requested items.
"Feeling better?" Eloise asked, returning to her place. She placed one of the cold washcloth on her brother's forehead and the other one on the back of his neck.
"A bit." Anthony mumbled, his eyes already drooping shut from exhaustion. Benedict shifted a bit so he was leaning against the pillows while his brother used his chest as a pillow. He grabbed the heat bag from Eloise and put on Anthony's sore chest muscles.
Immediately, a sigh escaped from Anthony's lips as his body instantly relaxed.
Eloise grabbed another blanket because the other one was soaked in sweat and draped over both of her brothers. Then she laid down on the end of the bed, watching as Benedict unconsciously rubbed Anthony's back.
"Thank you." Benedict whispered to her but she just brushed him off.
"You can go to bed, it's late. I got him." Benedict whispered after a while in completely silence. Anthony was definitely sleeping deeply now, snoring softly against him.
"I'm okay." Eloise whispered.
"How did you hear him?" Benedict asked, curiosity getting the best of him. His bedroom was closer to Anthony's than Eloise was and even then he had heard nothing.
"I couldn't sleep so I decided to go downstairs and make some milk to see if that helped but as soon as I opened my door I heard someone coughing pretty bad. I followed the noise and walked in here. I didn't know what to do but getting Mother seemed a good idea, but he was adamantly that he only wanted you." Eloise told her brother.
At first, she had no idea of why Anthony would want Benedict help, it's not like he had any idea of what he was doing, but looking at them now, with Anthony peacefully sleeping on Benedict, she finally got it.
"That was quite the night." Benedict whispered through a yawn more to himself than to Eloise. He heard her hummed in agreement and through the moonlight that was sipping into the room saw that she had her eyes closed.
Benedict couldn't help but smile at scene, his own slipping closed.
****
The little cold that had gotten everyone in Anthony's case had turned into pneumonia because of Anthony's resistance to rest and take easy. He was on bed rest for almost two weeks, sleeping and coughing away, but finally he was back on his feet.