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Miranda was torn from her slumber by the sounds of your terrible coughing, her head bumping up and down as it lay on your chest.
“Love?” she croaked, blinking one of her eyes open, she could barely make out anything with the little moonlight the blinds let through.
Another coughing fit had you bolt up into a sitting position, Miranda’s head slipping off of you and back onto the mattress.
She was up in an instant, laying a cool hand on your sweaty back and stroking it slowly up and down until the coughing subsided and you could relax back into her touch.
“I’m sorry for waking you.”
Your voice came out as a croak, nose blocked off and throat dryer than the Sahara. Miranda waved you off, offering you her glass of water that she always kept on her nightstand.
"Slowly, I don't want you to choke", she said softly, before clicking on her bedside lamp.
Despite the soreness in your throat, you couldn't resist letting out a quiet chuckle which immediately turned into a pained groan.
Miranda shook her head, a bright smile illuminating her lovely pink face as she caught your train of thought.
Your eyes strayed over to your alarm clock: 3:35 am. You winced. You knew Miranda had to get up in less than two hours.
"Sorry," you muttered again, carefully sipping on the water.
"Stop apologising."
Miranda's gaze softened even more, as her hand slipped lower and then off your body. She slid out from under the covers.
"Wh–"
"Stay right there, I'll be right back with a cup of tea and some cough drops."
Your heart swelled at her eager tone, but you couldn't possibly keep her up any longer.
"You don't have to–"
But Miranda cut you off again. "But I want to take care of my sick girlfriend. My little sick girlfriend who looks stunning even when she is coughing her lungs out."
As if on cue, another coughing fit started which was soon followed by a sneeze that surprised you so much, you barely had time to put a hand in front of your face.
"Oh, disgusting," you groaned. Breathing was suddenly a lot easier.
"And with snot all over you."
You looked from your snot covered hand up into Miranda's face and the complete sincerity in her eyes hit you like a punch to the face. There was not an ounce of disgust to be found, only love and the earnest desire to take care of you. So you didn't complain further as she bent over to hand you a tissue, kissing you on the forehead and then skipping away into the direction of the kitchen.
With a sigh, you cleaned yourself off, placing the water on your nightstand and leaning back into the pillows. In the surrounding silence, all sounds seemed much louder, and as the kettled bubbled, you wondered how you'd ever gotten so lucky as to land yourself a girlfriend as amazing as Miranda.
When she eventually came back with a chamomile tea and the cough drops she insisted on having on stock (and how thankful you were for that now), you drank both without complaining. Well, perhaps you winced at the taste of the tea, but the pleasant cherry note of the drops made up for the herbiness of the drink.
“There you go, now come on,” Miranda said, patting her chest and motioning for you to use her as a pillow now.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get sick, too. I don’t mind taking the couch.” Miranda had just been assigned to a case that she had been wanting to work on for quite a while now. You’d hate for her to miss out on it because you couldn’t stay away for a few nights. Who knew when her bitter ass of a boss would acknowledge her talents again?
“Oh, absolutely not. What kind of monster would make their sick partner take the couch?” The genuine look of shocked horror on her face had you giggling softly, and soon she was grinning widely at you again. “Now, come into my arms. If I get sick, it just means I can spend my whole day with you and what better thing is there in the world?”
Your heart fluttered as you laid your head on her chest and you could hear the steady beating of hers. Yawning, you threw an arm over her, cradling her waist. Miranda flicked off the lamp beside her, and then buried her face in your hair, inhaling what you imagined to be a mixture of your shampoo and the sweat you had accumulated as you tossed about.
Feeling loved and safe in Miranda’s arms it didn’t take long before you were asleep again.
The next time you awoke was from your phone ringing. Slightly disoriented, you blinked a few times to let your eyes adjust to the light. Your head was killing you and the brightness of the room really didn’t help. The first thing you noticed was Miranda’s absence. That wasn’t surprising, as she had to be at the station by 6am. Then, your gaze swept to the side and you saw a big bottle of Advil next to the cough drops and a big thermos of what you presumed to be more chamomile tea on your nightstand. You smiled as you pictured Miranda hastily getting ready, yet taking the time to make sure you had all of this available when you woke up.
Your phone had stopped ringing, and you were almost ready to go back to sleep, when your tired eyes registered the number on your clock: 10:22 am. Shit. Frantically, you pulled your phone towards you, dialling your boss's number and pressing the call button at exactly the same time another call came in.
Miranda’s face lit up your screen, all bright smiles and eager eyes, but it quickly changed into a frown as she saw your expression.
“I’m sorry to wake you, darling. Is everything alright?”
You forced a smile. “Yes, everything is peachy.” Your words were accentuated by three quick sneezes. Miranda laughed and you heard some rustling next to her. Only then, did you notice that she was in a car, and the rustling was probably Robin angrily eating her breakfast.
“Then why do you look so worried?”
Shaking your head you prop yourself against the headboard. “I just totally forgot to call my boss. She’ll be furious with me.”
Miranda’s smile grew into a self satisfied smirk and Robin groaned next to her before leaning into frame and glaring at you.
“Great, thank you. She’s already been absolutely unbearable all morning, talking about taking care of you. Now, I’ll have to deal with her being smug about it, as well.”
You couldn’t contain your laughter and neither could Miranda. The corners of Robin’s mouth twitched just a little. Gently, Miranda shoved Robin back into her seat. “You,” she said to her colleague, ”focus on finishing your sandwich so you can drive us. And you, my darling girl,” she continued, looking back at you, “don’t need to worry about your boss. I called her this morning and she is giving you the rest of the week off. Now, I woke you up because it’s time for the next round of meds and I know you hate chamomile tea, but please drink one cup for me?”
Reaching for the bottle of Advil, you nodded your assent.
“Thank you, love. I’ve got to go now, but I will pop home at lunch and bring you some soup, okay?”
You really didn’t know what you did to deserve your girlfriend, but you would fight anyone and anything to keep her.
“Yes, thank you,” you couldn’t help that you sounded absolutely smitten with her. Miranda beamed at you, and you could just imagine Robin rolling her eyes at the both of you.
“Alright, I will see you then. I love you.”
And you loved her too, with every inflamed fibre of your being.