"Jethro, are you alright?" Ducky turned on the light on the nightstand after his lover woke him up for the thousandth time that night due to his coughing.
"Fine." Gibbs replied with a hoarse throat. "Just a little dust in my throat… can't get rid of it."
"Shall I fetch you some water, dearest?" Ducky asked worried.
"No, I'm fine. Go back to sleep." Gibbs sighed tiredly. "I'll go sleep on the couch if I keep waking you up."
"It's alright, dearest."
Gibbs got up and pulled on his t-shirt. "I'm going to work on my boat." His voice sounded as raspy as the plane Gibbs used on his precious boat. Gibbs got into his sweatpants and walked out of the bedroom.
"Jethro!" Ducky objected.
"Go to sleep." Ducky heard a mutter.
Gibbs switched on the light in his basement and walked down the stairs. Immediately, his eyes fell on the bottle of Jack Daniels Ducky had bought for his entertainment. It was the first thing he reached for, didn't even bother of pouring it in his cup and put the bottle to his lips. Without breathing as much, he downed the whole bottle in just a few seconds and it numbed the pain in his throat a little. He couldn't be sick. He never got sick. He knew he had an immune system that even scared his own body. He knew that… He sunk to the floor and sighed deep, an action which resulted in another fit of coughing. Aw man, DiNozzo is going to wear this "I told you so" face all day long… Gibbs thought and closed his eyes. Unless… He silently grinned. He was going to keep Abby company all day long.
The next morning Gibbs woke up his lover by gently kissing him on his lips. "Duck." He whispered. "Wake up, we need to go to work… breakfast is ready."
"You don't have to whisper, dearest." Ducky smiled sleepily. Gibbs couldn't help but smiling widely. His doctor looked absolutely adorable.
"Can't talk."
"What?"
"Don't worry. Just a bug."
"Are you sure?" Ducky sounded concerned. "Do you want me to take a look?"
"Duck, I'm fine." Gibbs said as loud as he could. "Come on, get dressed."
"Did you sleep?"
"Yes." Gibbs coughed. "Like a daisy, after my conversation with Jack Daniels."
"Oh dear."
"I'm fine." Gibbs assured him and went downstairs again to have another cup of coffee. Caffeine would save him. He was assured of that. Caffeine would be… But who was he kidding? Jack Daniels had only worked for 5 minutes.
A few minutes later, Ducky joined him at the table. They always had breakfast at the table, it was a more relaxed way to wake up, instead of grabbing a few sandwiches and rush off to work. Ducky was staring Gibbs in the face while sipping his Earl Grey tea. "You look like hell, dearest." Ducky noted.
"I'm fine."
Ducky put a hand on his Jethro's forehead. "You're running a slight temperature. I think you should stay home."
"I'm fine." Gibbs growled and took Ducky's hand, slightly by force. "I've been drinking coffee ever since 5 am. Of course I feel warm." He put his hand in front of his mouth and coughed again.
"Jethro, you're getting sick. Coffee isn't a good way to…"
"I don't care." Jethro rudely interrupted him. "I want caffeine. I always drink at least 5 cups before going to work, you never complain."
"But Jethro!" Ducky protested.
"End of discussion Duck!" Gibbs snapped at his lover. He was getting aggravated, he didn't need his lover to be worried about his health. He should be concerned of his own health. If Ducky would continue with this annoying nagging of his, he'd be…
Ducky knew he had to be quiet now. Not that his Jethro would hurt him, but he wanted to have a pleasant day at work. Especially if they would have a departed soul today, he wanted his lover to be on his good side.
"I'm sorry." Gibbs apologized. "I'm acting like a little kid."
"That's okay dearest."
"No, it's not okay, Duck." Gibbs coughed. "I'm sorry."
"You just don't want to give in to the fact that you ARE getting sick."
"I'm never sick!"
"There's a first time for everything." Ducky grinned. "You should visit a doctor."
"I have you."
"You're not letting me be."
"I don't want you to be."
"What?"
"I'm fine."
"Then you are fine, dearest." Ducky sighed, giving in. At least Jethro had lightened up a little. Even though Gibbs didn't like to admit he was indeed getting sick, Ducky knew him well enough to know that something was up. His lover was probably angry with himself too, as if being sick meant that he was less-Gibbs. Ducky snorted slightly and shook his head. He finished his tea and his sandwich and looked at Jethro who was waiting impatiently at the door.
Ducky drove to headquarters, despite Gibbs' annoyance. Gibbs hated to sit in Ducky's old Morgan, it felt dangerous and not right. Gibbs kept on coughing anyway, he wouldn't have gotten the pair of them at HQ safely in one piece. Before entering the building, Gibbs went to the nearest coffee shop to get his fix of caffeine and a Caf-Pow for Abby. Abby was going to help him today. Well, he was sure that she would help him. She'd make some sort of yucky herbal tea to fix his throat… if he asked nicely.
He didn't go to his office either. He kissed Ducky and went straight to Abby.
"Gibbs!" Abby squeaked and hugged him, and then taking over the Caf-Pow. "I'm honoured!"
"I need your help." Gibbs whispered.
"My help? And… oh you're whispering! Are you thinking of a surprise for Ducky?" Abby bounced.
"No." Gibbs answered annoyed. "I can't find my voice."
"Oh!" Abby exclaimed. "Am I allowed to leave the premises so I can buy some herbals for you? You're going to have a steam and…"
"Go." Gibbs laughed, obviously being amused by his young Forensic Specialist. The laughter didn't last long, as he had to cough again.
"Oh, and don't speak." Abby urged him. "And ask Ducky to check you over."
"Yes Ma'am." Gibbs signed and smiled.
Abby left, and he took a swig of his coffee. To entertain the young Specialist, he went to see Ducky – again – reluctantly. "Ah! Jethro!" Ducky coo-ed.
"Abby told me to allow you to check me out." He sighed and sat down on one of the Autopsy tables.
"That easy? I've been trying to…"
"YES!" Gibbs snapped. "I'm fed up with the…" he coughed. "coughing."
"I'm sure it's just a slight irritation of your vocal cords, Jethro." Ducky smiled. "But I am going to take your temperature. You might have the flu."
"Flu is nothing."
"You'd be surprised what flu can do to a person. I remember…"
"Duck, not now." Gibbs interrupted him. "I'm really not in the mood for your stories."
"Well then." Ducky sighed. "Pants down." He said sternly as he turned to his medical bag to get a regular thermometer.
"What?!"
"Do as I say."
"But!"
"Yes, the thermometer will go in your bottom, Jethro."
"BUT!"
"Shush. Don't strain your voice."
"Is Jimmy in?"
"No dear, Jimmy is having a sick day." Ducky said "sick day" a little bit louder than normal.
"Rub it in." Gibbs muttered. "Are you sure no one will walk in?"
"I am quite certain, Jethro."
Gibbs sighed and lowered his pants reluctantly. "If that's the only thing you're putting in that hole…"
"Jethro!" Ducky said surprised. "I'm not…"
"I know." Gibbs winced as Ducky put the cold thermometer in his anus. "Do you really have to do this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"If you're running a temperature I'm going to instruct Abigail to take you home and take care of you while I'm staying here."
"I'm not running a temperature." Gibbs moped.
"Oh dear." Ducky said after he pulled the thermometer out. "You're running a slight fever."
"I don't want to know."
"102." Ducky stated. "Lay off the coffee. When Abigail returns, you're going home."
"I'm going to work. Thanks." Gibbs coughed. "I'll be fine."
Gibbs kept quiet, or tried to keep quiet, most of the day. It was a slow day anyway and he was catching up on paper work. He had sent DiNozzo on a wild goose chase, he ordered McGee to check up on the computer things and he instructed Ziva to… entertain Jen. He was all by himself until 5 pm and waited for Ducky to come and take him home.
Gibbs didn't want to admit that he was feeling like a pile of crap. He was a little unsteady on his feet, so he tried to avoid going to the head for a long time until he couldn't hold it any longer. He switched to water or tea instead of coffee, as he thought that Ducky was probably right that the coffee would only make things worse. He couldn't think clear anymore, or at least he wasn't focused enough to concentrate on the paper work. He had spent the last hour or two playing patience on the computer and lost most of the times.
"Jethro?"
"Huh?"
"Let's go home, dearest."
"Okay."
"Abigail has given me her herbal tea. She told me to give it to you when we get home."
"Okay." Gibbs didn't make an attempt to get up.
"Jethro? That means you'll have to get up."
"I know."
"What's stopping you?"
Gibbs started to cough when he got up. "Nothing." He sighed and coughed again. "Talking bad… silence… good."
"Okay dearest." Ducky smiled and put his arm around his lover's waist. Not because he loved him, because he did, but to support his lover, as he obviously had spaghetti legs.
Once home, Ducky immediately helped Jethro go upstairs and lay down in bed. His temperature was still the same, but his lover was obviously tired. When Jethro was asleep, Ducky went downstairs to prepare dinner. Not that he expected Jethro to be hungry, but he needed to eat something. Fresh chicken soup always helped with sick people and he'd make sure that Abigail's tea would be drunk by Jethro as well, when he woke up again.
When Gibbs woke up the next morning, his head felt heavy. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that there were little ducks quaking in his head and hitting their beaks against his brains. Ducky looked awful. He had bags underneath his eyes, and was awake. "Did I keep you awake?" Gibbs tried to speak but the only thing coming from his mouth was a high pinched squeak.
"Good morning dearest. I guess Abigail's tea made your sleep all the way through the night." Ducky softly kissed him.
"…" Gibbs sighed.
"Don't worry about me. I phoned Director Shepard, and told her we were both sick. I'll have to ring Abigail so if you want to talk, you can do that in sign language."
"No." Gibbs mouthed.
"Yes." Ducky nodded. "Now, I'm going to get you breakfast. Toast."
Gibbs sighed and closed his eyes again. If only Ducky would get him some Tylenol to kill the ducklings in his head. He had another fit of coughing and tried to sit up. It felt like something was stuck. Coughing hurt his throat and his head. He now knew why he never got sick. It was awful.
When Abby came in the afternoon, Gibbs decided to go downstairs so Ducky could rest some and hopefully sleep. He didn't understand why Ducky stayed home just to take care of him, and he didn't understand why he called Abby to entertain him. Ducky had checked him over before Abby came and concluded he had the flu and laryngitis. Ducky had set the humidifier ready for Gibbs to use, and for a moment, Gibbs actually had felt relieved. Abby entertained him by giving him more of that nearly lethal tea and playing cards. It wasn't a good thing to work on his boat right now.
"You know Gibbs… most men act like little children when they're sick." Abby told him.
"I know… DiNozzo is one of them." Gibbs signed.
"That's not nice!"
"I don't care." He stuck out his tongue.
"I just wanted to compliment you for not behaving like a little kid."
Gibbs snickered. "Should I feel special now?" he asked.
"Not anymore."
Gibbs shot a glare at Abby and shook his head. "I'm feeling damn worthless." He signed angrily. "I want to go to work. I want to talk. I want to… walk without falling down because I'm dizzy."
"You want Tylenol?" Abby grinned.
"Thank you." Gibbs smiled. "Then you can go home, as Tylenol makes me want to sleep."
"I'm staying. Ducky is dog tired. Besides, it's fun to take care of you for once." Abby giggled.
Abby cooked that night. She made Asparagus and Eggs, and vegetable soup and it was quite nice, even though there wasn't any meat in the food at all. She stayed until Gibbs and Ducky were both showered and in bed, after giving Gibbs another mixture of her special – ‘nearly lethal', as Gibbs had said – tea. She just told Ducky to give her a call when he needed help.
A few days later, Gibbs was happy that his fever was gone. He was feeling better too and was now taking care of a sick Ducky even though his head was still refusing to work perfectly again. Ducky had a fever too, which was probably Gibbs' fault and the lack of sleep. His voice was still a bit raspy but it was getting better, due to the humidifier and lots of tea. He still stayed clear of coffee, but had taken up the other bad habit of smoking again. He'd swear off the cigarettes when he would start drinking coffee again.
He actually liked spending a few extra days at home. He never really liked having a vacation, but ever since Ducky had moved in with him, he started to like vacations. Being sick, meant more time with Ducky, even though they couldn't do much. He wasn't even growing restless from not spending time with his boat, he enjoyed doing things for Ducky, to take care of him, and even tried to learn to cook decently, which meant spending time with one of the many cooking books Ducky had in his possession.
Ducky enjoyed the extra time together as well. When he was up to it, he tried to assist his Jethro with the cooking and cleaning, before collapsing on the couch and doze off again. Ducky was getting older, and it was noticeable now he was sick. It took a long time for him to recover, and Gibbs didn't mind at all.
When they finally got back at work, both still having the sniffles and Gibbs' voice hadn't really returned to normal, the rest of the team was relieved. Apparently, DiNozzo had made a major screw up when he had lost patience with Jimmy during an autopsy, and had contaminated the body. Because of that, the body was automatically discarded as unusable for evidence and Gibbs walked back in during that mess. It was hard to right a wrong like DiNozzo's, and had spent days and days on the crime scene, combing out every inch, every piece of dust and what not. Checking alibi's, checking them again. Checking testimonies, double checking them.
Of course, in usual Gibbs style, he rode DiNozzo's ass. He was sure going to pay for this mess.
----------------
Note:
Asparagus and Eggs.
Take cold asparagus, and cut it the size of peas; break four or five eggs into a dish, and beat them with pepper, salt, and the asparagus. Then put it into a stew-pan with a spoonful of butter, set it on the fire, and stir it all the time till it thickens. Put it upon toasted bread in a hot dish.
Source: http://www.housemouse.net/hkitch6.htm#recipes
Story Notes:
Blame yahoo. Oh, and blame causticquery and feenixandashes. I’ve written this for them.
Don’t own them. Don’t make money. Everyone got safely returned to their rightful owner, DPB.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs gets sick.
Chapter End Notes:
Blame yahoo. Oh, and blame causticquery and feenixandashes. I’ve written this for them.
Don’t own them. Don’t make money. Everyone got safely returned to their rightful owner, DPB.
Don’t own them. Don’t make money. Everyone got safely returned to their rightful owner, DPB.