Eclipse Day-- a Heroes Fic starring Claire Bennett (F)

[wannablessedbe]

Hey all,

So I was re-watching Heroes on Netflix recently, and I got a great idea for a sneezefic! This is for all of you who share my enjoyment of the “super-human character who normally can’t get sick/hurt suddenly catching a cold” fic. For those of you not familiar with the show, I will set this up for you: The world of Heroes is similar to X-Men (though all the heroes still look like normal people on the outside); they all have different powers, they discovered them all independently, and there are always some evil super-villains trying to destroy all the heroic deeds of the good guys. So there’s the show in a nutshell.

Claire Bennett (played by Hayden Panettiere) is the indestructible girl; her body regenerates instantly from any injury, even to the point of re-growing limbs when necessary. She can’t be killed, or even feel pain. She can’t even get drunk, because her liver cells regenerate too quickly. She’s sort of a Buffy-esque character, which I have a huge soft spot for; y’all know what I’m talking about here, the adorable blonde cheerleader who isn’t at all what she seems; wants a normal life but has to save the world once a week; can’t turn her back on her gift because she’s so serious and tortured inside. Sigh! She’s my favorite hero. And she’s freaking adorable.

Also, bonus: in the last season she gets a (somewhat disappointing, but it’s a start) lesbian storyline, where she has the beginning of a romantic relationship with her college roommate, Gretchen. Instant setup for a story! So, how does the indestructible girl get the sniffles? As with any superhero mythology, there’s always a loophole or two…and Claire’s about to fall into one! If this sounds like your cup of tea, read on

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Eclipse Day

A Heroes Fic starring the Indestructible Claire Bennett

By WannaBlessedBe

Note: set post-series; Claire & Gretchen are in their senior year of college

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Claire was wide-awake and staring at the ceiling for a good forty minutes before the alarm went off. She’d woken completely and suddenly in the pre-dawn darkness with one single thought, a thought which inspired equal parts anxiety and jubilation: full solar eclipse. Part of her was jumping up and down with excitement inside; today, for 24 hours, she’d get to be a really, truly normal girl, feel her body in its fully human fragility and aliveness, something the rest of the world never even had to think about. The optimistic side of her brain was already looking forward to the simple pleasures of human life—she’d made a list—ending with the highlight of taking her girlfriend out clubbing, getting buzzed on tequila, and maybe even ending up with that mythical thing called a hangover than every single one of her peers had already experienced. She was going to have a normal day of college life. And she wanted it so, so badly.

Yet the jaded and realistic side of her brain was already whispering that it was never that easy; not for her. Sure, things had been pretty quiet in the supernatural world for the last couple of years; as far as she knew, there was no evil brewing at the moment, no imminent danger that she ought to be on alert for. But still—the idea of deliberately letting her guard down was daunting; life had trained her to be vigilant, that she would always be a target. Not to mention, the last time there had been an eclipse, she’d had a very, very bad day that ended with her death. Just for an hour or so, until the sun came back—but still, it had been slow and painful, and she didn’t care to repeat the experience.

Was it stupid to think that this time could be different? Was it naïve? Was she asking for trouble, just considering it? But wasn’t her life different now? She’d given up on the idea of “normal” years ago, but at least she had a life that made sense now; college, academic stimulation, and a girlfriend who knew her and loved her for everything she was. Was she risking all that by thinking she could kick back and have fun as a plain old human girl, even for just one day?

The alarm finally interrupted her internal reverie, and with a groan she leaned across her girlfriend’s sleeping body and slapped it off, taking the opportunity to cuddle into the reassuring human warmth of the girl who, for whatever crazy reason, had stuck by her through it all.

“Mmm…happy eclipse day,” Gretchen murmured sleepily, her hand slipping up the back of Claire’s pajama top to rub the smooth, soft skin of her back. “Are you excited, baby? It’s your day to be boring and breakable like the rest of us.”

“Sure.” Claire felt her girlfriend’s body tense under her, as Gretchen shifted a little to lean up on one elbow and examine her face, one eyebrow going up suspiciously.

“Okay, I may not have a super-human ability, but my bullshit detector has been finely honed by years of regular, boring old practice. Let’s have a little pause/rewind here, and you tell me how you’re really feeling this morning?” The taller girl reached out with her free hand and smoothed a stray lock of blonde hair back from Claire’s cheek, giving her the little half-smile that always seemed to go right through her, down to the core of her being.

“What? I’m excited!” Claire shrugged defensively, sitting up and tossing the covers back, looking anywhere but at her girlfriend’s piercing brown eyes. “It’s just, you know, I want to be realistic. I mean, this is just the kind of global event that every wanna-be super-villain is always waiting to jump on. We could be off getting toasted at some stupid rave, and the next Sylar or Samuel could be torturing my dad or my friends for information, or getting ready to blow up New York City, or”—

“Claire, stop.” Gretchen stumbled out of bed, grabbing both her girlfriend’s wrists to halt her manic pacing across the bedroom. “We talked about all this, remember? You talked to your dad and your uncle just yesterday, and they both said there was absolutely, positively nothing shady going on right now, and that you should take a supernatural day off and have some fun. Seriously, Claire. Your dad. Mr. “you have no idea of the dangers you face” Bennett, actually wants you to have some fun. God knows, you’ve earned it. So let’s hit that list, huh?” Claire sighed and shook her head.

“I dunno, Gretch, I just…” But before the anxious blonde girl could complete her thought, her girlfriend grabbed her face and kissed her. Hard. Claire gasped, her body leaning instinctually into the taller girl, responding to her touch and her soft lips, combined with a totally new sensation: the slight, sharp pinch of her lower lip being snagged between her girlfriend’s teeth. Pain. It shot through her like a drug. She moaned and rubbed up against Gretchen’s body like a cat.

“Holy fuck…oh, that is…so not fair…”

“Item one,” Gretchen smirked, leaning over Claire’s shoulder to grab a sheet of paper titled Claire’s eclipse day list off the bulletin board by their bed, and holding it in front of the panting blonde girl’s dazed, aqua-blue-green eyes. “Rough sex.” Her devious smile widened, as she wiggled her eyebrows delightedly at her girlfriend’s hungry expression. “Ready to be spanked, my little supergirl?” Claire nodded enthusiastically, all her worries instantly vanishing like smoke as she let her smiling girlfriend push her back onto the bed.

Several hours later, the two girls sat down for their Advanced Theories in Quantum Mechanics lecture with huge, dopey smiles plastered to their faces. Claire couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this relaxed; her body was pleasurably spent in a way that felt totally unfamiliar, and wonderfully human. She was officially over her eclipse day anxieties, eagerly awaiting the next item on the list (happy hour at their favorite neighborhood pub, followed by dancing at a club where a friend of theirs would be spinning, and the drinks would be free). She could barely bring herself to pay attention to the lecture, she was so excited to finally find out what it felt like to be drunk…to completely lose control and let go of all her inhibitions…and then maybe, try out a repeat of that first item from the list before the day was over. Oh, yeah. Being human kicked ass.

Still in the midst of these thoughts, Claire was distracted—not by the actual content of the lecture, but by a funny, wiggly sort of feeling deep inside her head. She blinked a few times, and when that didn’t help, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head from side to side.

“You okay?” Gretchen murmured beside her, glancing up from her notes at the strange, distracted expression on the blonde girl’s face.

“Yeah…something just feels weird inside my head,” Claire murmured back, automatically keeping her voice low to avoid disrupting the lecture. Gretchen raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

“Weird how?” she asked quietly, her notes temporarily forgotten.

“I dunno…just…uh…strange…” The freckles splashed across the blonde girl’s nose scrunched briefly together as she screwed her face up, then relaxed again, her blue-green eyes opening with a glazed, hopelessly distracted expression.

“Claire? Are you okay?” Gretchen murmured, feeling the first stab of real anxiety for her girlfriend. What if something was actually wrong with her? Where could they go for help? What if it was something supernatural? The dark-haired girl watched her girlfriend’s face closely, her insides clenched with instant worry.

“I…think s-so…uhhh…” Claire’s eyes fluttered and slid shut, as her back arched and her little nostrils flared insistently to twice their normal size. “Hetshoo!! ” Claire’s whole body bobbed forward in her seat, her soft, perfectly ordinary sneeze misting her desk and the open pages of her notebook.

“Bless you,” a few people around her murmured unconcernedly, their attention already back on the lecture as Claire sat there blinking dazedly, looking like she’d just gotten hit in the head with something heavy. A tiny, clear trickle of moisture was clinging to the underside of one nostril as she looked up at her girlfriend with an incredulous grin.

“That…*sniff!*…wasn’t on the list,” she murmured, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “But it was awesome. I can’t believe I actually forgot what a sneeze feels like.” Gretchen giggled, relief flooding through her body as Claire beamed back at her. Then a few pointed glares from their classmates made them both turn back to the professor, saving their giddy eclipse day energy for after class.

“Oh my God, was it just me or was that the longest lecture in the history of higher education?” Claire groaned when they were finally on their way back across campus to their dorm. “I just could not wait to get out of there. We have so many more fun things to do today! C’mon, hurry up!” She grabbed her girlfriend’s hand, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet with excitement. “I can’t wait to find out what kind of drunk I am!” Gretchen laughed, allowing herself to be tugged along at a slightly brisker than average pace.

“Why do I suddenly feel like you’re fifteen and I’m supposed to be babysitting you for the weekend?” the dark-haired girl giggled, charmed by the sudden appearance of her girlfriend’s innocent, giddy, carefree side.

“Hey, I’m a legal adult,” Claire shrugged, spinning around to shake her finger at her girlfriend with an adorably fake scowl plastered to her face. “It’s about time I got to enjoy the perks of that, considering all the adult responsibilities that come with my life.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Gretchen nodded, still smiling, as she pulled her over-excited girlfriend in for a quick kiss.

“Mmm…good,” Claire sighed, her grin slightly more relaxed now. “So let’s go change, and…and, uhh…” She stopped dead in her tracks, slowly holding her hands up in front of her face as she recognized the sensations swirling teasingly around inside her head. “Ahhh…ashhiiew! …*Sniff, sniffle.* Whoa. That feels amazing. Double bonus points for eclipse day.” Claire giggled and wiped her nose again, blushing slightly.

“Bless you!” Gretchen exclaimed, a little bit of worry creeping into her smile as she cocked her head at her sniffling girlfriend, reaching out to rub her back. “Is the indestructible girl catching a little cold, hmmm?”

“Oh, please, let’s not overanalyze me on eclipse day,” Claire waved a hand dismissively as they continued to walk across the quad. “It’s not like every time you sneeze, you have a cold, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Gretchen agreed reluctantly, her eyes narrowing critically as she looked over the other girl from head to toe. She looked beautiful, healthy and vibrant; just like always. “But, I mean, you told me about what happened in the eclipse four years ago—you died of a simple infection. You have, like, no immune system, right?”

“I died of a gunshot,” Claire corrected with a roll of her eyes.

“An infected gunshot,” Gretchen corrected. “You said your dad had to send in that Haitian dude to wipe out the memories of all the doctors who treated you, because they were asking too many questions after. They said it was like you’d never been sick before. Maybe we should just take it easy for a few hours, and see how it goes, huh baby? I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I’m fiiiiiine,” Claire whined, sticking out her bottom lip in an irresistible pout. “Please do not start getting all parental on me now, okay? You were the one who convinced me to have fun today; and now I want to have it! So let’s go. I promise I’ll tell you if I start to feel sick, okay?” She was bouncing up and down again, energy and enthusiasm radiating from every pore of her tanned skin.

“Okay,” Gretchen agreed with a sigh, unable to stop herself from smiling back. “If you promise.” With a little squeal of victory, Claire grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and dragged her across the quad, determined to cram as many delightfully human experiences as possible into her day.

…Are you guys into this? Should I continue? R&R!

[Alexandria]

Like it.... wanna see where u take it

[tFM!]

Please continue! I love the setup of this story

[Whysprr]

PLEASE continue this!!! I was so happy when I saw this, mostly because I love Claire/Gretchen and Heroes! So please please please continue, it was great! It's kinda ironic because I watched both eclipse episodes just the other day

[atessouhaits]

This is great! It's been awhile since I've watched Heroes, but I've always liked Claire and I'm enjoying this fic!

[Miss.A.Tishoo]

I love it!!! Please continue! I've only watched a bit of Heroes, but I've watched a few Hayden films in my time so loving the characters

[wannablessedbe]

Yay feedback!!!! Here's another part to feed the fun

Eclipse Day

Part 2

By WannaBlessedBe

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"So this is what getting drunk feels like?" Claire sighed, putting her mojito down on the bar and dropping her head into one hand. "It's...*sniff*...not as much fun as I expected."

"No babe, this is what coming down with a cold feels like," Gretchen said gently, leaning over to feel the blonde girl's forehead with the back of her hand. It wasn't scorching, but she was definitely starting to feel a little feverish; and in the hour they'd been at the pub, her normally golden-toned skin had gone waxy pale, with dark shadows under her eyes. Not to mention, she was sniffling with every other breath. If it had been anyone else, it would've been a little alarming to see cold symptoms come on so quickly and dramatically; but with Claire, there was a much higher bar for what constituted "alarming," and truthfully her girlfriend had been half-expecting something like this.

"Do you wanna go home, sweetie? You look like you aren't feeling very well."

"No!" Claire whined, a cranky pout crossing her face as she sat back and crossed her arms. "I am not going to let a stupid little cold ruin eclipse day. It's...*sniffle*...my only chance to...have a...a normal human day for once...hht-tchshh!"

"Bless you!" chorused a few of the bar patrons around them. Claire just groaned and wiped her nose on a crumpled napkin.

"Awww, poor baby," Gretchen half-smiled and stroked back a stray lock of blonde hair from her girlfriend's pale face. "But you know, this is having a normal human day-- everybody gets sick once in a while, it's an utterly mundane human experience. You know that; you've taken care of me when I was sick plenty of times. Why don't you let me take you home and spoil you a little, hmmm? You might be surprised at how much better it'll make you feel."

"But you don't...*sniff!*...you don't cancel your whole day just 'cause of a dumb cold," Claire grumbled, still pouting. It was actually pretty adorable-- usually the blonde girl would keep a bad mood all to herself, and the only indication the world got that she was feeling cranky was a whole lot of sullen, stoic silence. Even now, when she was obviously feeling lousy, she wouldn't let herself say so; she wouldn't complain that her throat hurt or her nose was stuffy. She just sucked at covering it up.

"Yeah, that's true most of the time," Gretchen nodded thoughtfully, dropping her hand from Claire's hair down to rest lightly on her knee. "But some colds aren't as bad as others…and I have a feeling this one is just gonna keep getting worse till the eclipse ends. You have no immune system, remember? Your body has absolutely no idea what's going on right now."

"I wadt to...*sniffle*..." Claire paused and blew her nose into the crumpled bar napkin wadded up in her hands. The cheap paper napkins weren't exactly made for this use, and her cute little freckled nose was already turning a bit pink from the rough treatment. "I want to finish my drink. Then we'll see."

"Okay," Gretchen sighed, with a shrug. She should have known that stubborn Claire wouldn't give in that easily. The blonde girl gulped down the last dregs of her mojito, and with a triumphant grin, slammed it down on the bar and ordered another.

"You sure about that, Clarita?" The bartender asked, raising an eyebrow at her. He'd seen her slam back more tequila shots than frat boys more than twice her size, and it never seemed to faze her; but right now, he didn't know if he ought to serve her. She just didn't seem like herself. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look kind of sick. Can't have you passing out at my bar and scaring my customers away," he half-joked, hoping not to offend the pretty blonde girl who always left a good tip.

"I am perfectly fine, thank you Manny," Claire huffed. "Just a regular college coed, enjoying a regular happy hour at my regular neighborhood pub. So p-please, just...huhhh..." Manny took an automatic step back from the bar as her back arched and her eyes slid half-shut, her breath hitching erratically.

Gretchen watched her girlfriend with equal measures of sympathy and affection; because really, no one had ever been this cute in the grip of a sneeze. With no sense of context or familiarity, Claire was totally consumed by the sensation of having a tickle in her nose; a little crinkle formed between her eyes, glazed and unseeing, as she brought her crumpled napkin back up to hover in front of her face, where a thin, clear trickle of snot was just beginning to slip from one pink nostril.

"Huh...ah, ahhh...heiishoo!!"

"Bless you," Gretchen and Manny said at the same time, from either side of the bar.

"Ughh...thadk you," Claire sighed wearily. She gave her nose another soft, wet blow, then wadded up what was left of the napkin and shoved it in her jeans pocket. "Gretch?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I wadt to go hobe dow. I...ahhh...atshhiew! *Sniffle.* I'b sick."

"Aww, I know you are sweetie," Gretchen cooed, wrapping both arms around her girlfriend's feverish body. Claire sighed and dropped her head onto the taller girl's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go home and get you nice and comfy. I'm gonna show you just how much less sucky you can feel with a cold, before you go back to being unbreakable in a few hours." As usual, Manny didn't really understand what the hell they were talking about; but also as usual, they left him a nice tip, so he just smiled and told Claire he hoped she'd feel better soon as the two girls stood to go.

[Whysprr]

Still great!!! Can't wait for more!

[Miss.A.Tishoo]

Hahah awww so cute! Please update soon

[Alexandria]

i'm liking verymuch!!! cannot wait for more!

[Pearlised]

A lotta like coming your way Keep going!!

[facet]

.

[tFM!]

Still loving this! I can't wait for the next part

[Natto]

This is excellent! I love the idea of someone who is utterly unused to getting sick coming down with something. It can be very hard to find plausible situations where that happens, but this works beautifully. Poor Claire! It's well-written and interesting, and I love the way you described the process of the sneeze. Nice work.

[wannablessedbe]

This is so cute!!

And I love that it's a girlxgirl pairing if I may say so

Can't wait for the next installment!

thanks chica! I noticed that you are a newbie, and since you specifically mentioned in your post that you liked the girl/girl fics, I thought you'd appreciate some of my other fics too. hope this doesn't make me seem too full of myself... hope you will enjoy, and welcome to the neighborhood

everybody else-- thanks very much for all the positive reinforcement! I was on a family trip all weekend but I am home now, and I will definitely get another part out soon

glee stories (mostly Quinn & Rachel):

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=36763

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=37691

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=38791

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=39833

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=37186

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=36417

south of nowhere stories:

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=33562

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=29987

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...c=25256&hl=

other assorted girl-girl stories:

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=35593

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=34876

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=38213

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...showtopic=36023

http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/in...c=27339&hl=

[facet]

.

[sneeze@me]

this is awesome. i luv your description of claire's sneezes and how she gradually comes down with a cold. very nice.

[wannablessedbe]

Hey guys, thanks again for keeping the feedback coming-- you make my day! Here's another part for you...enjoy!

Eclipse Day

Part 3

By WannaBlessedBe

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"Almost home, sweetie pie," Gretchen cooed, half-dragging her girlfriend's limp body along as Claire leaned heavily into her shoulder. The walk from Joe's Pub to their small off-campus apartment had never seemed quite so long before.

"I'm so sleeeeepy," Claire sighed, wiping her nose again on the end of her sleeve with a deep, wet sniffle. "I feel like I'm melting..."

"Aww, baby-- you can melt right into our bed in a minute, I promise. We just have to make it one more block."

"'Kay," Claire nodded woozily, with another congested sniffle. "Can you just...make the sidewalk stop tilting?"

"It's not the sidewalk, Claire. You've just got a fever, and it's making you loopy. We're gonna get you home and into bed, and then I'll bring you some Tylenol and a nice hot cup of tea..."

"That...*sniff!*...sounds good," Claire murmured, leaning her head against the taller girl's shoulder with a huge yawn. Gretchen wrapped her arm more firmly around her girlfriend's waist, feeling the intense heat radiating from her skin. Even though she knew that the blonde girl would be one hundred percent fine in a few hours no matter what, she was starting to get freaked out by how fast Claire was getting sick. Twenty minutes ago, she'd felt a little bit feverish; now, she was burning up and she thought the sidewalk was moving. The poor thing really couldn't have one normal human day, after all. With her powers, she was an unbreakable superhero; without them, a simple cold could knock her completely on her ass in half a day.

"Okay, here we are. Can you stand up by yourself for a sec? I just have to get the keys..."

"Of course I can stand up by myself," Claire grumbled, swaying slightly and leaning against the doorway as she stumbled over her feet. "I'm not a God damn baby...I can go skydiving without a parachute, if I want to. *Sniffle.*"

"I know, sweetie. You're a total badass. But not today." Claire pouted at Gretchen's indulgent grin, pausing in the stairwell as her breath hitched in her chest and her damp, pink nostrils began to flare and quiver again. Blinking woozily, the blonde girl raised both hands to her face, letting go of her girlfriend's shoulder in the process. Gretchen held her steady with one hand on the small of her back, reluctant to let the woozy girl go completely.

"Hehh...hht-chshh! *Sniff, sniffle*...Etchiiew!" Claire's thin frame snapped forward helplessly, hands clamped firmly to her face as she felt the blast of warm, wet snot explode from her congested little nose into her palms. "Fuckidg hell," she groaned from behind her hands.

"Bless you baby," Gretchen said sympathetically, understanding from the way Claire stood bent over her cupped hands that she was in desperate need of a tissue. Unfortunately, they were still two floors down from their apartment.

"Jesus...where the hell did all that cobe frobe?" Claire whined, sniffling as she wiped her face on her sleeve and her hands on her jeans, leaving a long, shiny wet mark down the side of her leg. "Ugh. Gross."

"Aww, you're really getting stuffed up," Gretchen cooed, wrapping one arm around Claire's waist again to urge her forward. "C'mon baby girl, we're almost home...then we can get you some tissues and a nice big dose of NyQuil. Let's go, just a few more steps..."

"I feel like I'b...*sniff!*...underwater or sobethidg," Claire sighed, swiping her sleeve under her nose again. "Is this how you feel...every tibe you cadtch a...a cold? Iht-chhkx! *Sniff.*" Gretchen tightened her grip on Claire's waist as the shorter girl bent forward, nose pinched firmly between her fingers. Obviously, she didn't care to get another handful of snot before they reached the safety of their apartment.

"Bless you," Gretchen sighed, half in sympathy and half in relief as they finally arrived at their door. "Okay, here we are."

"Thadk God," Claire sighed, flopping down on the couch and reaching for a tissue from the coffee table. By the time Gretchen came back from the bedroom with a pair of Claire's pajamas and a blanket, there was already a small pile of crumpled kleenex littering the coffee table. "Wow...that's better," Claire sighed gratefully, dropping her head back against the couch cushions with one more half-wadded tissue still held loosely in her hand. "I'm not moving from this couch till the eclipse is over."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Gretchen agreed wryly, as she knelt down on the floor by Claire's feet and began unlacing her sneakers.

"What are you doing?" Claire grumbled, opening her eyes a crack in bewilderment.

"I'm helping you get undressed, dummy. You'll feel a lot more comfy in your PJ's, trust me...just relax, okay baby? I'll do all the work, you don't have to lift a finger."

"Just what every girl wadts to hear," Claire snickered sleepily, with another congested sniffle. Gretchen glanced up at the sound, pausing with Claire's foot in her lap to take in the sight of her beautiful, perfect girlfriend looking so woozy and helpless, with a fresh trickle of snot already dripping from one stuffy nostril. She sniffled sleepily again, and the thin trail sucked backwards into her pink nose for a second before streaming back out again, glistening wetly and inching towards her upper lip. God, she had never looked this helpless and vulnerable before. Not ever.

"My poor little supergirl," Gretchen sighed, gently peeling off Claire's jeans and helping her into the soft flannel pajama bottoms, then tugging her t-shirt over her head.

"Ughh, it's so cold id here," Claire whined, shivering in her bra as her girlfriend unfolded her favorite old pajama top. "Why is it so cold? Ahhh...itshhiew! *Cough, cough.*"

"Bless you, honey," Gretchen murmured, pulling the warm flannel pajama top over Claire's head as soon as she'd finished wiping her nose. "It just feels cold because you have a fever...your skin is so hot, everything around it feels colder than it actually is. Here, let's get you bundled up before you get the chills."

"I thidk it's t-too late for that," Claire sniffled, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she began to shiver. Gretchen shook out the heavy down comforter and tucked it snugly around Claire's feverish body.

"There we go, you're nice and toasty now," the dark-haired girl murmured, kissing her girlfriend's hot forehead and stroking a lock of messy blonde hair back behind her ear.

"Thadk you," Claire croaked woozily, with a yawn. Then she scowled when she realized her girlfriend was leaving the couch again. "Hey, where are you goidg? Ared't you...*sniff!*...gonna cuddle with be?"

"Aww, of course baby...I just want to get some medicine to make you feel better first. I'll be right back, okay? Then we can stay right here on the couch, and cuddle and watch bad TV for the rest of the day."

"Ohh...okay," Claire nodded, holding a fresh tissue up to her face as her eyes fluttered shut again. The ticklish sensations inside her head blossomed teasingly, making her damp nostrils flare and quiver with each hitching breath. "Ehhh...ahh, ahhh...ahhhhh...atchhiiew!" Claire doubled over inside the nest of blankets, sneezing a fresh blast of snot into the tissues cupped to her congested little nose. "Hht-chshh!! Ahh…ahchhiew! *Cough, cough, snifffff*..." Claire was still coughing and pressing a fresh tissue to her nose as Gretchen returned from the kitchen with a little cup of red cold medicine.

"Here you go, my poor little sick girl," the dark-haired girl cooed, offering the medicine to her sniffling girlfriend.

"Thag you," Claire croaked weakly, gulping down the medicine without complaint. “Ughhh, I feel so weird…everythidg’s all floaty…”

“C’mere, lie down baby…” Gretchen pulled Claire’s shivering body down against her own, and Claire cuddled contentedly against her girlfriend with a soft yawn.

“That feels good,” she murmured woozily, as Gretchen’s hand slipped under her pajama top and began stroking light circles around her bellybutton. “Thadks for…*sniffle*…takidg care of be, Gretch.”

“Oh, Claire…” Gretchen sighed, kissing the top of her girlfriend’s blonde head. “You don’t have to thank me for that. It’s just what you do when you love someone. I am sorry you’re having such a lousy eclipse day, though.”

“Aww, it’s not so bad,” Claire murmured, with a soft yawn. “I mean, as long as I’ve got you to cuddle me…”

“You’ve always got me, silly,” Gretchen giggled, hugging her feverish girlfriend a little tighter. Then she reached for the remote, and began flipping through the channels to find something goofy and vapid enough to take Claire’s mind off her rotten cold. It really could’ve been a lot worse, after all.

[Rolling Rebel]

How has this slipped down the board without anyone noticing the new part?? Although that being said I've managed not to notice the entire story so I suppose I can't judge.... Lovely job as always hun!!

[wannablessedbe]

How has this slipped down the board without anyone noticing the new part?? Although that being said I've managed not to notice the entire story so I suppose I can't judge.... Lovely job as always hun!!

I was starting to wonder that myself! ;p Thanks for keeping my ego from getting bruised, dear

[sneeze@me]

loved the third part. thnks!

[tFM!]

So. Freaking. Adorable. Sorry I didn't comment sooner. This is awesome. Please continue?

[ichixshiro14]

What a great idea for a story!! I loved it, thanks for sharing!!!!!

[Whysprr]

I can't believe I haven't seen this until now!! You did a wonderful job, as usual!

[wannablessedbe]

hey all,

thanks as always for reading & reviewing-- your feedback keeps me going every time! Here's another part, I hope you'll enjoy.

Eclipse Day

Part 4

By WannaBlessedBe

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Claire fell asleep pretty quickly on the couch, snoring softly with her mouth half-open and a crumpled tissue held loosely in her hand. Gretchen stayed curled up with her, stroking her stomach in soft circles and watching mindless daytime TV with the volume turned down low, until Claire started to whimper and twitch in her sleep.

“What’s the matter, baby?” Gretchen murmured absently, more to herself than anything else, as she slipped her hand up to check the sleeping girl’s forehead. “Jesus Christ,” she gasped, sitting up in instant alarm. Claire whimpered and opened her eyes blearily.

“What happehd…?” The blonde girl croaked, before breaking into a deep, congested cough that rattled her chest and took her breath away. “Fuck…ow,” She wheezed miserably.

“I need to take your temperature,” Gretchen said anxiously, slipping out of the blankets and running to the bathroom closet for the instant-read ear thermometer.

“I’b cold,” Claire whimpered when her girlfriend returned, shivering weakly under the blankets.

“I know, honey. Let me see how high your fever is, and we’ll get you feeling better…” Gretchen babbled anxiously as she slipped the thermometer into Claire’s ear. She hadn’t bothered before, because she figured it didn’t really matter; but now she was getting freaked out, and eclipse or no, she wanted to know how badly her girlfriend’s brain was getting fried right now. After a few seconds, it beeped, and Gretchen’s jaw dropped. “A hundred and three?!”

“Dod’t freak out,” Claire sniffled, dabbing at her nose with the crumpled tissue still held loosely in her hand. “I’ll be fide whed the eclipse is…*sniff*…is…ahh-chhsh! Hehtshh!!” The blonde girl cupped both hands to her face as her shoulders snapped weakly, the wadded tissues barely covering the thick dribble of snot that poured from her delicate pink nose when she sneezed.

“Bless you baby,” Gretchen sighed, reaching for the box of Kleenex from the coffee table and planting them beside the sniffling girl on the couch. “I know you’ll be okay in…” she glanced at her watch. “Three and a half more hours, but right now you are very, very sick. If anyone else had a fever this high, we’d be going straight to the emergency room, okay?”

“We cad’t go to the hospital,” Claire shook her head weakly, pushing herself up slightly so she was half sitting up on the couch. “They wod’t be able to help, adyway…ahd thed whed the eclipse is over, they’ll see be healidg, ahd that…*sniffle*…that would be…huhh…” The sniffling blonde girl shivered weakly as her head tilted back, the pink rims of her little nostrils shining with a fresh coat of snot that was already slipping down the divot in her upper lip. “Chhoo! …*Sniffle*…Hht-chhoo!!” Claire’s whole upper body jerked forward on the couch, despite the relative softness of her congested sneezes. “That would be bad,” she finished lamely from behind a handful of tissues.

“I know…and, bless you again,” Gretchen sighed, stroking a lock of sweat-dampened blonde hair back behind her girlfriend’s ear. “I just can’t stand to see you suffering so much, and not do anything about it…I’m gonna go get you an ice pack, okay baby? Just hang tight for a sec.” Gretchen kissed Claire’s hot forehead and sprang up from the couch, gathering not just the ice pack, but a bottle of Gatorade from the fridge and another dose of NyQuil. She knew it had only been a couple of hours since the last dose, but obviously there was no reason to worry about long-term liver damage or anything; so why not ease her suffering a little more? The poor girl was on fire with that fever, and half-drowning in congestion that sounded like it had taken over every inch of her respiratory system.

“Here we go…open up, cutie pie.” Claire obediently opened her mouth, allowing her girlfriend to tip the medicine down her throat without complaint. “Good girl. Now drink some of this…you’ll feel better if we keep you hydrated.”

“Thadks,” Claire smiled woozily, taking a few gulps of the cold Gatorade. Then she frowned. “I cad’t taste adythidg,” she sighed forlornly.

“Yeah, I’ll bet—you’re really congested, sweetie. It’s normal to lose your sense of smell and taste when you’ve got a bad cold like this.” Gretchen stroked Claire’s cheek, then pressed the ice pack to her hot forehead.

“Whed the eclipse is over…*sniff!*…I wadt to go out for ice creamb,” Claire grumbled, pulling a fresh tissue out and blowing her dripping nose into it.

“Sure thing, baby. That sounds perfect,” Gretchen smiled softly, urging Claire to lie back down on the couch, so the ice pack would stay put for a while. She grabbed a pillow and put it across her lap, and Claire obediently laid back against it. “There you go, nice and cozy,” the taller girl cooed, stroking a few stray locks of hair back from Claire’s face and pressing the ice pack more firmly against her forehead.

“I’b…*sniffle*…really sorry about this, Gretch,” Claire sighed sleepily, rubbing a finger absently under her clogged nose. “I dod’t wadt you to get all stressed out…okay?”

“Shush, don’t be an idiot,” Gretchen huffed, gently stroking her girlfriend’s fever-flushed face. “You don’t get to apologize for being sick, Claire; you can’t help it. And considering it’s the first time in the three years we’ve been together that you’ve even so much as sniffled, I think you’re entitled to some serious sick day pampering. It’s okay, baby…I promise.”

“Ohh…*sniff!*…okay,” Claire sighed, pulling another tissue from the box sitting beside her on the couch, and pinching it to her pink nose. “Hehh…hh…hkshh!” Gretchen could feel her girlfriend’s shoulders tense and jerk upwards for a moment, then relax again in exhaustion.

“God bless you,” the dark-haired girl sighed sympathetically.

“Ughh…thadk you,” Claire sniffled wetly, already reaching for another tissue. But she was so woozy from her fever, she accidentally knocked the box to the floor instead. “Aw, fuck…huhh…hh’kshhiew! Hehh…chhoo!!” She cupped her hands weakly to her face, catching the wet dribbles of snot that blasted from her congested little nose with each helpless sneeze. “Egscuse be,” she sighed miserably from behind her hands.

“Aww, poor baby—bless you! Here, let me help you…” Gretchen bent down and picked up the tissues from the floor, pulling a few out and handing them to Claire, who still had her hands cupped to her face. The blonde girl took the tissues awkwardly, wiping her hands down over her nose and mouth as she went in an attempt to contain the mess in her hands. While Claire was mopping up her hands, Gretchen pulled another tissue out and wiped it softly under her girlfriend’s damp pink nose, then pinched it lightly around her nostrils.

“Blow,” Gretchen instructed gently. Claire closed her eyes, and weakly complied, emptying some of the congestion from her clogged head into the tissue. “That’s better, huh?”

“A little,” Claire sighed weakly. “Thadks, baby.” Then she yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Cad we watdch sobe TV dow?”

“Of course,” Gretchen agreed warmly, flipping the TV back on and settling on the Cartoon Network. Claire yawned again, and pressed a fresh tissue to her nostrils as they flared warningly.

“Hht-chhoo! Ahhh…ehchiiew!! *Sniffle.*”

“God bless you.”

“How buch lodger till the eclipse is over…?”