Work Text:
A wet nose nudging at her hand brought Sarah slowly into consciousness. Her head felt fuzzy as she blinked her eyes open, Rex coming into focus.
“Hey, buddy,” she croaked, voice hoarse. “Did you come to check on me?”
The dog whined and laid his head on her leg, looking up at her with sympathetic eyes.
“Hey,” said Charlie as he entered the bedroom carrying a tray, a tote bag slung over one shoulder. Setting the tray on the nightstand, he took a seat on the other side of the bed next to his girlfriend, handing her the bag.
“What’s all this?” Sarah asked, propping herself up on one elbow.
“This,” Charlie replied, handing her a couple of pills and a glass of water, “is cold medicine. And that,” he continued, indicating the steaming bowl on the tray, “is Grandma Hudson’s famous chicken soup. Guaranteed to cure what ails you.”
“Is that so?” Sarah asked. Sitting up, she took the glass from him, swallowed the pills with a generous gulp of water. Scooting over to the nightstand, she took a spoonful of soup, blew on the hot liquid before bringing it to her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoured. “That is…probably the best chicken soup I’ve ever tasted.”
“Told you,” Charlie said with a grin. “I wasn’t sure how hungry you’d be. Figured you might still be asleep.”
“I was for a while.” Sarah ate a few more spoonfuls of soup, then leaned back against the pillows. She was still fighting the fatigue. “How was work?”
“Not as fun without you.” Charlie slid an arm around her shoulders. “The team says get well soon.” He gently kissed her forehead.
“I hope to.” Sarah opened the bag he’d brought her, then smiled. “This is quite the assortment of reading material.”
“I wasn’t sure exactly which of those celebrity gossip magazines you liked, so I got a few different ones,” Charlie explained with a laugh. “I can bring your laptop in too, if you want to watch a movie or something.”
“Thanks, Charlie.” Shivering involuntarily, she steadied herself against his shoulder.
“You cold?” he asked. “I can grab more blankets…”
“Just chills. Been feverish on and off all day.” She yawned sleepily.
“Still tired?”
“Yeah.” Nuzzling into his side, Sarah closed her eyes.
“I’ll let you sleep some more if you want,” Charlie said sympathetically.
“Would you…could you stay with me for a bit?” Her voice sounded small.
“Of course. Here, lie down.” Shifting over, Charlie slid under the blankets, then pulled them up to Sarah’s chin before lying down next to her. “This okay?” he asked, sliding an arm over her waist.
“Mmm.” Sarah was almost half-asleep. “Definitely the best medicine.”