In The Outback - (9 Parts)

[ooo]

Title: In The Outback

Author: Me (Lizi)

Fandom: Hugh Jackman! My new love-of-the-moment...

Disclaimer: I make this all up. But not for profit.

Authors Notes: First, a disclaimer that obviously, I have never been on a film set, and thus have no idea how a movie is filmed - I'm making it up. Second, please let me know what you think, good or bad - I live off feedback, it is an author's bread and butter. Third, hope you enjoy!

***

For what felt like the thousandth time that day, Hugh Jackman poured a bucket of lukewarm water over his head, letting it cascade down his shirtless body. They been filming the Drover-Takes-A-Shower scene for more than an hour now, but hopefully this would be the last take - he didn't know how many more times he could stand here pouring water over himself in the increasing cool air without starting to shiver in a most un-Drover-like fashion.

'Mr Drover,' came the voice of Nicole Kidman from behind him.

'Yeah?'

'There's only one tent.'

'Right.'

'For the four of us?'

'We're not really used to, uh...'

'A woman?'

'Cut!' yelled the director, and Hugh let his body slump, tired from the long day of filming. 'Thanks very much people, I think we've got enough for today. I suggest you go and dry off,' he said, with a smile at Hugh.

Hugh smiled back, accepting a towel from a nearby assistant. It was late in the evening, and the sun had set quite a while ago over the wide, open desert. Feeling relieved at the reprieve, Hugh gathered his belongings, bid the people around him goodnight and headed back to his trailer for the night.

Walking along in the desert with his hair dripping now-cold water down his back, he felt a shiver run through his body. It was strange how the incredible heat of the desert could fade so quickly with sunset. Still, Hugh didn't feel cold easily, and this was odd.

I hope I'm not getting sick, he thought to himself. He swallowed experimentally and winced to find his throat feeling quite raw, something he hadn't noticed during the day, caught up in filming.

Still, he could be imagining it. It was probably nothing - he was wet, and the air was cold, and maybe he'd just overused his voice today during filming. He repressed another shiver and told the nagging voice in his brain to be quiet.

Making it back to his temporary home on set, he headed gratefully for a hot shower, resolutely ignoring the way it didn't quite warm him up the way it usually would. Sometimes, after a long day of filming, he had slept outside, loving the peace and quiet beauty of the Australian desert. Today, however, he went straight from the shower to a warm, welcoming bed, and despite his increasingly sore throat (which he was still deliberately not noticing), fell asleep almost immediately.

***

Hugh woke in the early morning feeling oddly sluggish, but otherwise fine. He sat up in bed, apparently too quickly because his head throbbed as soon as he did it. He felt strangely as though his brain was moving less quickly than his skull. He sat for a few seconds waiting for the pain to clear, and then stood up, considerably more slowly. He moved himself onto the floor, where he began his morning yoga and meditation routine to clear his head for the day.

Halfway through, however, his nose began to itch, and he rubbed at it, irritated. The rubbing did little to abate the sensation, however, and soon his breath was hitching and he snapped forward: 'HehASHUHH!' Alone in his room, he sneezed into the open air. He rubbed at his nose again, which was still twitching. 'Hah - ehHASSHOO!'

'Damn it,' he muttered, reaching for a tissue to wipe his nose lightly. He rarely sneezed twice, except when he was getting...

No, stop it, he told himself. You are not getting sick. You're just overthinking this.

Having convinced himself, he ate breakfast quickly and wandered over to make-up for the morning. The woman doing his make up this morning - Helena, that was her name - greeted him with a big smile, and he smiled back, feeling the familiar surge of energy he had always got from his work as an actor.

However, as Helena was putting the first layer of powder onto his face and the brush ran under his nose, Hugh felt some of the tiny particles flying around in his sinuses. The powder had never bothered him before, but his nose had been tickling lightly before and he suddenly knew he needed to sneeze.

'Excuse me,' he managed to say, brushing Helena's hand away from his face with all the politeness he could manage. She looked confused, but soon understood as Hugh cupped both hands over his face and sneezed forcefully. 'HupSHOO! HupSHOO! Ugh. Sorry,' he muttered.

'Bless you, Mr Jackman,' she said politely.

'Thanks, Helena,' he replied, registering without much attention her surprise at his having remembered her name. She smiled widely at him.

He managed to make it through the day's shooting without much event, despite the fact that the horse hair was bothering his nose now more than usual. No-one seemed to notice, and since he'd managed not to sneeze in any important filming moments, no-one had commented either.

Later in his room though, his nose was driving him crazy. He'd been suppressing or stifling sneezes all day, determined to go on with filming as normal, but now he was left with a twitchy, sniffly, irritated nose. He reached for a tissue to blow his nose, thinking to clear some of the irritation, but a light blow was all it took to irritate it to critical point.

'Heh...HAESCHHUU! HahhSCHAAA!' He doubled over with the force of two very satisfying sneezes, wincing as his head throbbed in protest.

He picked up his phone and dialled his wife's number, but maybe it was too early in the evening and she'd gone out to the store because no-one picked up. He left a message, too tired to stay up and call back, knowing she'd understand.

Foregoing his shower for tonight, he rubbed his nose again and crawled into bed, pulling the covers tight around himself and drifting off to sleep.

***

TBC?

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

TBC?

Oh, good God, yes please! *fans herself; shivers in delight*

~Me

[ilovesneezing]

yyeeeess!!! yum yum yum

[ooo]

Thanks for the encouragement, SneezeChick and ilovesneezing!

Hope you enjoy!

***

He woke in the morning to a ringing phone beside his bed and a head that ached with every loud ring. Biting back a curse, he fumbled around until he found the receiver and answered the phone.

'Hello?' he mumbled, groaning internally at the sound of his cracked, hoarse voice and matching sore throat.

'Hugh? You sound terrible!' Deb's voice was filled with concern over the phone, and Hugh felt suddenly much happier than he had a second ago.

'Thanks a lot,' he laughed, grabbing a bottle of water off a nearby table as the laugh threatened to become a cough.

He could almost hear her blush down the other end of the phone. 'Sorry - you know what I meant. Is everything alright? I got your message last night - I'd taken the kids out for dinner, that's why I wasn't home.'

He smiled. 'I figured. I was just so drained last night and didn't want to wait up to ring back later.'

'Of course,' she said. 'Are you alright though? You don't sound well.'

He shrugged, finally having to admit it to himself. 'I'm not feeling too well either.'

'Ohh, honey. Do you want me to come out there? Are you going to be alright? Can you take the day off?'

He smiled at her fussing. 'Deb, I'm not dying! It's just a stupid cold or something. It sounds worse than it is, honestly.'

She hesitated. 'You sure you don't want me to come out?'

He shook his head, forgetting she couldn't see. 'Nah. I don't want you getting this, anyway.'

She sighed. 'Okay. Were you calling for a reason last night?'

He smiled. 'Not really. Missed you. Missed the sound of your voice.'

Over the phone, his wife was melting slightly. 'You know, honey,' she teased, 'there's a reason they voted you the Sexiest Man Alive.'

Hugh laughed and rolled his eyes. 'Oh, stop it, you'll swell my head.' A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. 'Oops, sorry - better go.'

She understood immediately. 'Have a good day, then. Call me if you feel worse.'

He nodded. 'Thanks. Love you.'

'You too.'

Hugh ended the call, and managed to struggle into a sitting position before calling out, 'Come in!'

A nervous head poked around the door. 'Mr Jackman, sorry, I've been sent to tell you they're ready for you in make-up...'

What?! He sat up straight, stunned. Usually his internal body clock woke him well before they were even serving breakfast, and he was well-known on set for being early to almost everything they needed him for. 'Er, sorry - I'll be there soon.'

The head nodded and retreated and Hugh hurriedly checked his watch. He'd never needed a wake-up call because his own body did such a good job. This morning, however, he'd managed to sleep right through until Deb's call, and would have kept on sleeping if she hadn't phoned!

I really am getting sick, he thought tiredly, dragging himself out of bed. Despite the heat in the room, he shivered slightly as he stepped in for a quick shower and hurriedly dressed himself. His muscles felt slightly achy as he moved and he regretted not having time to meditate and clear his head. It would have been useful, today of all days.

'HehhASCHAHH! ASCHHHAA!' he sneezed powerfully as he left his rooms, heading straight for make-up. He groaned as he straightened, glad he was alone since he hadn't quite managed to cover those sneezes.

If Helena noticed the dark circles under his eyes and slight red tinge to his nostrils, she didn't say anything. Despite a nose which seemed to be tickling with a force about ten times stronger than yesterday, he managed to only sneeze twice as she was powdering his face, both times into cupped hands.

'Bless you, sir,' said Helena, a faint look of concern passing briefly over her face. He thanked her without further comment.

He finally made it to the set, and was very thankful when no-one commented on his lateness.

'Right, let's make a start,' said Baz Luhrmann, the director. Hugh touched the arm of a passing assistant as he moved into place.

'Is there a bottle of water around, please?' The assistant nodded and hurried off. Hugh was suddenly missing his own personal assistant, who he could have discreetly sent for panadol, but she was on an enforced holiday for two weeks, being something of a workaholic. Hugh usually didn't use her overmuch while filming, anyway, liking a more hands-on approach to his own life, and so hadn't bothered with a replacement. But today, he had to admit, he could have used one.

They were about half-way through the scene and Hugh was in the middle of a line when his voice, struggling and hoarse, finally cracked and died, sending him into a fit of coughing.

'Cut!' called the director.

Hugh managed to stifle his coughs and looked up, feeling slightly light-headed. 'Sorry,' he said. The assistant he'd talked to before passed him a bottle of water and Hugh thanked him before gratefully gulping down half the bottle.

'Okay. Sorry,' he said again, voice stronger, the itch in his throat faded.

'Not a problem - everything alright now?'

He nodded. 'Okay - from the top. Action!'

He made it through filming until they broke for lunch, seemingly by some miracle. Sitting at the lunch table, however, he could feel his head pounding in the heat of the burning outback sun. Nicole came to sit by him, and he greeted her with a smile.

'It's great out here, isn't it?' she murmured, looking around her. 'It's something about it...the heat, the colour...it just feels so alive.'

On any other day, Hugh would have agreed enthusiastically. But today his head ached and he wanted a dark room and a cool cloth, not a hot Australian desert. In any case, any reply he might have made was cut short by a sudden sensation in his sinuses.

He cupped his hands over his face quickly, bending away from Nicole as the forceful sneezes bent his body forward. 'ASCHHAA! Huh...huh-ASCHHAAHH!'

'Bless you,' she said politely.

'Thadnks,' he muttered, trying to discreetly sniff back the congestion in his sinuses.

'Are you alright?' asked Nicole quietly. He smiled at her concern. Hugh was glad to be filming this movie with one of his long-time friends. In fact, it had been Nicole who had suggested the movie to him, without ever having read the script - much to his surprise at the time. However, out here in the outback, seeing the passion this film was being made with, he thought he understood.

He shrugged in answer to her question, thinking there wasn't much point in hiding it now. 'Actually, I think I'm coming down with something. I've been feeling a bit off for a couple of days now.'

She shot him a sympathetic look, but someone was calling them back on set and they moved off without saying anything more, Hugh still rubbing at his irritated nose.

The rest of the afternoon went fairly smoothly until, right in the middle of a scene, Hugh felt an itch his nose couldn't contain. His face went suddenly slack and he twisted away from the camera: 'Hehh...ASHHAAHH! Ash-HAAHH!'

'Cut!'

'Excuse me - sorry,' he muttered, still rubbing at an itchy nose.

'Again, not a problem. People, I think we're gonna take a break - be back in ten.'

People milled around Hugh as he slid, exhausted, off the horse he'd been riding on. His body was aching from the heavy riding, and his throat felt raw every time he had to yell a command to the horses. He'd had to break off into coughing fits several times - not very manly-Drover-like of him, he thought.

Baz appeared beside him and drew him over to one side.

'Are you alright, Hugh? You've been looking unwell all week.'

He sighed. 'Actually, no, I think I'm...I - hang on - HESCHHHA! Urgh, excuse me,' he sniffed lightly to clear his nose.

The director's concern increased. 'You are sick. Are you okay to keep filming?'

Hugh nodded emphatically. 'I'm fine. Really.'

Examining his expression, the director nodded. 'Okay. We'll take that scene again from Nicole's entrace, everyone!'

Amid the scramble, Hugh rubbed at his nose and surreptitiously massaged his temples, hoping this cold wouldn't get any worse.

***

[ilovesneezing]

squeeeeeeeee this is yummy

[i think Nicole should catch it.....]

[The Sneezster]

Hugh rubbed at his nose and surreptitiously massaged his temples, hoping this cold wouldn't get any worse.

And I'm hoping that it WILL!

[ooo]

Thanks for the feedback guys! ilovesneezing, I did think about getting Nicole sick but I'm not sure where my muses are taking me on that at the moment, so I guess we'll see! And The Sneezster, your wish is my command...

***

The next day, his phone rang at 5 in the morning with the wake-up call he'd asked for. He'd just managed to turn it off when he realised how ridiculously itchy his nose was.

'ESCHHAA! ESCHHAA!' He sneezed, head snapping forward. He pulled himself into a sitting position before the next sneezes hit: 'Huh...ECHHOO! ECHHOO!' He groaned, muscles aching, head pounding. This was not going to be a fun day.

He pulled his jumper on, folding his arms around his chest for warmth. Why was he so damn cold all of a sudden? He fought back shivers as he made his way to the bathroom and splashed warm water onto his face, which woke him up a little.

Moving back into the main room, he settled himself onto the floor and began his normal yoga routine, wincing as his body ached in protest. Still, the meditation managed to clear his mind as usual and he headed off to breakfast feeling slightly better.

For once, make-up went smoothly, although Hugh noticed that he had a lot more make-up around his nose and eyes. As soon as he stepped outside, though, he felt his nose itching unbearably and knew as though by premonition that filming would not go smoothly today.

He was right. It seemed that every second take was interrupted by a 'Cut!' as Hugh succumbed to his itching, twitchy nose. Even when he tried to hold back his sneezes, the take was ruined by his vacant look, twitching nose and odd, deep breathing. He was having trouble controlling his horse with the constant itching and sneezing and over all felt he was making a right mess of everything today.

He almost wanted to cry when the director stopped the filming for the millionth time that day and walked over to where he stood with Nicole. 'Hugh, are you sure you're alright to do this?'

'I feel fii...haESCHHA! fine, honestly, it's just this da...damn...HARSCHHAA!' he sighed, rubbing a finger under his nose. 'Dambd sdneezig.'

Nicole looked on in sympathy as one of the assistants brought forward a tissue box, from which Hugh gratefully snagged several tissues.

'Thangk you,' he said, ever polite, before folding them over his nose and blowing thickly.

Baz looked at him in concern. 'Are you sure? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get these scenes done today - the light conditions are perfect - but I don't want to push you further than you can handle. You've got to know your own limits.'

Hugh shook his head. 'I'm okay. I'm only sorry I k...khuhh...ESCCHHHAA!, excuse me, sorry I keep wrecking the scenes.'

'Don't worry about it - we can use more of it than you think. Well, if you're sure - let's go again, everyone!'

Everyone took their places and Hugh took a deep breath, trying to get his head where it should be. Unfortunately, all the deep breath managed to do was irritate his nose again - 'Heh-esch-HAHH!'

Somehow, he managed to get through the rest of the day, and Baz seemed satisfied with what they'd filmed even if Hugh was sure he'd wrecked the whole day. He practically crawled back to his trailer and sat heavily on the bed, exhausted.

He wanted almost nothing more right now than to phone his wife and complain a lot about how terrible he felt. Almost nothing - what he did want more, was to lie down in bed. Just for a second. Or two.

Within minutes, he was fast asleep, still in the clothes he'd been wearing that morning.

***

[ilovesneezing]

awwww poor baby!

[ooo]

Thanks for commenting, ilovesneezing!

***

He woke on the fourth day feeling like shit. Really and truly. His head ached, his body ached, his nose itched and moving made everything feel ten times worse.

Somehow, he managed to drag himself out of bed and into the shower, the heat of the water making him sway on his feet as the blood rushed away from his brain. He stumbled out of the shower and into a towel, and finally had to sit on the edge of his bed for a full ten minutes, shaking violently as his wet hair grew cold against his skin, before he felt he could stand without falling over.

He pulled on his clothes and managed to look relatively normal as he wandered down to make-up, where he noticed that everything went on about ten times thicker than usual. I must look as bad as I feel, he thought wryly. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and the single sneeze that wracked his body as Helena worked - 'HehASCHH-HAA!' - set his body positively aching.

He arrived on set to find that the director had changed his mind and, supposedly based on something about a change in natural lighting, wanted to film his kiss scene with Nicole first thing. What the director hadn't told him was that he'd chosen one of the few scenes they could shoot now that didn't involve heavy horseback riding, which he had thought might be too much for Hugh to handle today.

'Baz - sorry - I don't think...' Hugh started, and then stopped, not sure if this was his place.

'Don't think what?'

'I just - I'm really - not well, I don't know that I should be kissing anyone right now.' Especially not for the million takes it will take us to get it right, he added mentally.

Nicole shook her head. 'Don't be silly, Hugh, I -'

He interrupted. 'Nicole, I really don't want you to get this. It's awful,' he added fervently, rubbing his temples and trying to shade his eyes against the rising sunlight that was shooting pain through his head.

She looked at him, worried. 'Are you okay working today then, if it's that bad?'

He nodded, though he was becoming less convinced of the fact with every second that he had to remain standing. 'I'm fine. I'll be fine. Let's just get started.'

***

They did end up filming quite an intimate scene, and Nicole couldn't help but notice the state of her friend as he struggled through the day. He was sweating, and though she kept asking assistants to bring him water and making him drink, his voice sounded cracked and parched. He seemed to be having trouble staying upright, a lot of the time, and even Baz had noticed and was frequently scheduling breaks for "everyone" to sit down.

Currently in the middle of a scene, Nicole reached up to touch Hugh's face as the script called for her to do, lightly brushing his skin. She was alarmed by the clammy feel of it, but didn't show this on her face as she continued to act, calmly continuing with her lines until they'd finished the scene.

"Cut!" called the director, and Nicole's face morphed into concern.

'Hugh, you're trembling,' she said quietly, her hand still on his arm, which was indeed shaking, though he wasn't sure whether it was from cold or from the effort of standing.

He made an attempt at a smile. 'I'm not feeling too great,' he admitted.

Her concern deepened and she raised her delicate white hand to his forehead. 'You're burning up!' She looked into his face, which she could now see was white beneath his make-up. 'You're really not well, are you?'

He shook his head, but even that motion made his temples throb. His face felt ice-cold, drained of blood and yet somehow he was sweating. He managed to focus in on Nicole looking at him worriedly.

'You need to sit down,' she said firmly, and in no mood to argue, he followed as she tugged on his arm.

Soon, though, he stopped walking. His head felt utterly disconnected from his body. He could see flashes of white creeping in at the edges of his vision... 'I can't see,' Hugh said, fear soaking his voice, as the whiteness overtook his entire vision.

Nicole stopped and turned to face him. 'What?' she demanded. He tried to sink down onto his knees, lie down on the ground right there because somehow that would make it better. But before he could do anything, his legs buckled beneath him and he crashed forward onto the hard, red ground.

***

[ilovesneezing]

AAAAAHHH NOOOOOOO

*flails*

how on EARTH did you manage to make me a Hugh fan!?

I love this!!! But that cliffhanger!

KIssing Nicole....I like it!

[cara]

this is really good im totally into hugh at the moment!!

[ooo]

Thanks for the feedback!! ilovesneezing, were you not a Hugh fan before? Love that I've potentially converted you And cara, he is amazing, isn't he?

***

'Hugh! Hugh! Are you okay?'

What on earth had just happened? He felt as though he was waking up from a very strange, very brief dream. 'M fine,' he managed to mumble, blinking his eyes open in confusion.

'No, you're really not,' said the voice, though it sounded slightly relieved. He blinked again and his eyes focused in on Nicole bending over him, Baz in the background, and several assistants standing at the ready, waiting for instructions. 'He fainted,' she said to the rest of the crowd at large.

He struggled to sit up. 'I'm okay,' he said, still a bit unsure of what was happening. But as he sat up the world spun dizzyingly and he let himself drop back to the ground. 'Okay. Maybe we'll try that again later,' he muttered to himself, and heard Nicole laughing lightly, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

'Get a car. We'll send him home,' he heard the director's voice saying. He thought about arguing, but decided against it. Home was sounding pretty good at the moment.

He could hear people moving around him, and someone bent closer to his head and spoke to him. 'You're alright, but they're bringing a car, they're going to take you home. Deb'll look after you.'

He didn't want to open his eyes again in case the world started spinning, but talking seemed okay. 'Thank you,' he said softly, and settled back to wait.

***

By the time they'd got him into the car, he'd been lying down long enough to feel a bit better, and was feeling like a bit of an idiot. Everyone seemed so worried and he must have looked so out of it, when all this was was a stupid cold - or flu, he had to admit. This was probably a bit severe for a cold. But still.

He hated that he'd interrupted filming and had everyone make a fuss. But he was sick enough that he couldn't regret that he was on his way home, to a nice warm bed and his wife to look after him, which was all he wanted right now. Ugh. He just felt so terrible and thinking about this was all too hard. He really just wanted to sleep...

The car pulled up outside the house, kicking up a swirl of red dust. He stumbled out of the car, letting himself be supported slightly by the driver who'd come around to help him out.

'Hugh!' he heard a familiar voice call, and he turned towards its source in utter relief.

'Deb,' he croaked out, smiling.

She threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly. 'I've been so worried - when they phoned to tell me you were sick enough to come home I thought - '

He shook his head. 'Deb, I'm fine, really - it's just a stupid cold...' But she was looking at him closely, her hand up to his forehead as she hissed in surprise at his temperature.

'Flu, more like,' she commented, and he shrugged tiredly.

'He collapsed while filming earlier today and Mr Lurhmann thought he should come home to rest,' volunteered the driver, and Hugh shot him a glare. They'd already established that he was sick, hadn't they? No need for more fuss.

'Collapsed?' repeated his wife, and he sighed, squeezing her hand.

'Honey, I'm fine, really. I'd just really love to lie down and sleep right now.'

She nodded, linking her arm around his waist and letting him lean on her lightly as she guided him towards the house. 'Then let's get you inside.'

***

As they walked through the front door, a bundle of colour came rushing at Hugh in the form of his two gorgeous children.

'Daddy!' exclaimed his little girl excitedly.

Hugh smiled weakly, wanting to return her affection, but in truth more worried that he would fall over in a minute and squash both his children underfoot. Fortunately, Deb had a scarily accurate ability to read his mind.

'Honey, Daddy's not feeling very well right now, so we need to give him a bit of space, okay?'

The little girl's face crumbled and Hugh made an attempt to reassure her. 'It's okay, baby, I'm alright - we just don't want you to get sick so you have to stay away for a little bit.' Unfortunately, his croaky, stuffed-up voice had probably done more harm than good on the reassuring stakes. Ah well. In any case, the two children seemed to understand and didn't follow as their parents walked down the hall.

Deb managed to lead him into the bedroom where he promptly collapsed on the bed. She helped settle him in, tugging off his shoes and pulling off his jeans, pushing him around until he was lying fully on the bed, and settling the cover around him. She tucked the doona around his now-shivering body and smoothed his forehead with a hum of sympathy.

'Do you think you can get some sleep, honey?' she asked him gently.

He moaned his assent. 'I don't think I can do anything but sleep,' he managed. She smiled. 'Well, and...heh...hhand..HASCHUH! hah-HAH-CHOO!'

She rubbed his back sympathetically as the sneezes made his body convulse painfully on the bed. 'And what?' she prompted, after a while.

'And sdneeze,' he said, and she had to laugh at her husband's sense of humour.

'Poor thing,' she murmured. He smiled faintly as she began to massage his back and shoulders, relieving the tension that had been building up from nights of shivering under the covers.

'Thad feels really good...'

She smiled. 'You sound really congested,' she commented.

'Ughh,' he moaned. 'I cadn't breathe...'

She reached over, pulling the tissue box within his reach and grabbing a couple of tissues, passing them onto him. 'Here. Blow.'

He had to laugh. 'You sound like you're talking to Oscar.' But he did wrap the tissues around his nose and, turning away from her out of courtesy, blew wetly and heavily into them until he could finally breathe through his nose.

'Better?' she asked.

'Much.' He snuggled further into the covers, eyes closing of their own accord. Deb gave him one last sympathetic touch and left the room, flicking off the light. He was asleep in seconds.

***

[ID2006]

very sweet

[ooo]

Thanks for commenting ickydog!

***

He woke up feeling groggy, hot and confused. Tiredly, he blinked his eyes opened, just as Deb poked her head around the door.

'Oh good, you're awake. I made you some tea,' she said, coming into the room.

He smiled. 'See, this is what I was looking for. Some good old-fashioned tea and sympathy.'

She laughed. 'Here,' she said, coming closer to hand him the mug, but stopped at the look on his face.

'Th-thanks,' he managed and then jerked sideways suddenly, muffling a powerful sneeze into the bedcovers. 'HUSH-HAAAHH!' Deb tried to help him roll back over but he resisted, his breath hitching for another sneeze as he clapped his hands over his nose in anticipation. 'Ehh...hehh--HESHAAH!'

The force of his sneeze snapped him up, jerking his body involuntarily off the bed. Deb jumped backwards in surprise, slightly spilling the hot tea she was carrying. 'Bless you, honey,' she said emphatically.

He groaned quietly. 'Thanks. Sorry.'

'Sorry for what?' she asked, and he was too tired to articulate and not really sure what it was he wanted to articulate in the first place.

'Don't know,' he muttered.

She put the glass of water down on the bedside table and put a warm, comforting hand on his arm. 'Shhh. You've got nothing to be sorry for.'

'Okay,' he mumbled.

'Now, do you think you can sit up to drink this?' she asked gently. He nodded slowly and began the struggle to sit up. She sat beside him and helped to prop him up from behind, straining somewhat with the effort of holding up his heavy, Wolverine-hard body.

He sipped at the drink, but all it managed to do was send him into paroxysms of coughing through which she struggled to support him. Eventually, he managed to stop coughing long enough to drink the whole cup and she helped to slide him back into bed.

Outside the room, he could hear the phone ringing. 'You can get that,' he said hoarsely, and she nodded and slipped out of the room.

A minute later, she was back with an incredulous look on her face.

'What is it?' he asked.

'You're not going to believe it,' she told him.

'Tell me anyway.'

'It's flooding. Pouring rain.'

'In Central Australia?' He was suddenly a lot more awake.

She shrugged. 'Apparently!

'You're kidding!'

She laughed, holding out the phone. 'You want to talk to her? It's Nicole.'

He nodded, holding his hand out. She handed it to him and he put the phone to his ear. 'Hello?'

'Hugh! How are you?'

He smiled wryly. 'Been better. But is it true?'

Nicole laughed. 'Absolutely. You should have seen Baz's face. He's caught between being pleased because of the drought, and incredibly pissed off that we've had to all but suspend filming...'

He laughed, a perfect image of that face popping up in his mind.

'So what are you all doing then?'

She laughed again. 'Really, nothing! We're all just hanging around waiting for a weather update, but by the looks of... heh...thi...it-CHEW, sorry, things, we're not going to be getting anything done for quite a while...'

At the sound of her discreet, feminine sneeze, he felt suddenly colder. 'Nicole - you're not getting sick?' he demanded.

She hesitated. 'Oh, well I've been feeling a bit funny for a couple of days. Not a big deal though.'

'Nic, I'm so sorry,' he said softly, feeling ridiculously guilty.

'Don't even think about it! I feel fine...'

'So did I, at first. Oh, I feel awful...'

'Oh, stop it,' she said firmly. 'It's not going to bother me. I have a really strong immune system,' she told him reassuringly.

He snorted lightly. 'Well, don't I feel - HEH-ESH-HAA!! - excuse me, don't I feel pathetic now!' he laughed.

She laughed too. 'Oh, you know what I mean. Anyway, really I just rang to check on you and to tell you not to hurry back to work, since there's not much going on here either! You can just concentrate on feeling better.'

He smiled. 'Thanks. And you too,' he said firmly, though he could imagine her rolling her eyes on the other end.

They said goodbye and he hung up the phone, still feeling guilty.

'What's up?' asked Deb, coming to retrieve the phone.

He shrugged miserably. 'Nicole's sick,' he frowned.

Deb sighed. 'Poor thing. But I guess it was pretty likely.'

He shook his head. 'I feel terrible. But listen,' he said, and then broke off to twist sideways and catch a sneeze in cupped hands, 'heh...ESHAAA! Sorry. You shouldn't come near me too much - I don't want you catching it as well!'

She laughed. 'Oh, shush. In sickness and in health, remember? I don't even want you to think about it.'

He thought about arguing, but from years of marriage, knew he'd lose and so wisely kept his mouth shut. 'Thanks, Deb. I love you,' he said quietly.

She smiled. 'You too. Now, if I reason correctly, you won't be needed back at work now for quite a while?'

He nodded. 'Funny how things work out.'

'Good,' she said, tucking the covers back around him and cupping her hand gently on his face. 'Plenty of time for you to rest and heal.'

***

[sneeztensia]

Aaaww..so sweet...

And Nicole too... well, i guess it's hard to be some big actor's wife, you should let your hubby share his precious cold with other women.. (yeah, am a cold lover)

[ilovesneezing]

WOOOOOOOOOO I love this!!!

and to clarify, I was not a Hugh LOVER, but i didnt mind him

You have definitely converted me!

More more more with Hugh, and the kids are adorable, and Nicole !

[LovelyLinda]

Oww my goooood,

I love this story.

My heart's melting, poor Hugh,

oww I love him, even though I don't know him.

Please please please continue that!

Best story I read for a long time!

Thanks soo much!!

[ooo]

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone!! sneeztensia, haha, yeah, wish Hugh would share his cold with me! ilovesneezing, so glad you're enjoying, and very happy to have converted you as I had been recently converted too (it's what prompted this burst of fic-writing)! LovelyLinda, thank you for your kind comments even though you don't know who Hugh is (he really is lovely if you ever want to look him up). I'm just so thrilled you're all enjoying the story, it makes it so much easier to write so a big thank you to all of you!

***

The next time he woke, he was covered in sweat and shivering. He opened his eyes to find Deb watching him closely, a brief smile lighting her face when she saw he was awake.

'How are you feeling?' she asked softly.

He groaned quietly. 'Pretty terrible.' A violent shiver wracked his body. 'I'm freezing,' he said.

She reached over to touch her hand to his forehead, and her own crinkled in concern. 'You're pretty hot.'

He thought about making the almost-obligatory joke there, but somehow his mouth didn't really feel like opening for him anyway...until a second later, when it opened involuntarily, gasping in air: 'Hah - hah - HASCHHAA!' he sneezed, his body jerking forward on the bed. He groaned again as his muscles and head protested at the movement.

'Can I get you anything?' asked Deb.

Hugh licked his lips, which were suddenly feeling very dry and cracked. 'Glass of water'd be great,' he said gratefully.

She nodded. 'Anything else?'

He looked up at her, thinking about it, but his thoughts didn't really seem to be under his control at the moment. He felt a little bit disconnected from the world, and confused, but his wife looked down on him with a gorgeous half-smile on her face and that was all that mattered right now, wasn't it? 'Have I ever told you you're beautiful?' he said sleepily.

She grinned. 'Right back at you, gorgeous. And now I'm going to find you water - I'll be right back.'

He nodded and closed his eyes for a minute, and in no time at all he heard footsteps approaching the bedroom once more.

'I should be working,' he said as Deb came back into the room with a glass of water. 'Should I? I should be...I should be doing something.' He was trying to focus, but the fever was making him confused, and the glass of water Deb was holding out for him felt so good slipping down his burning throat that it was difficult to think of anything else.

'Shh. It's okay - you're too sick to be worrying about any of that.'

'Gene Kelly performed Singing in the Rain with a thirty-nine degree fever,' he mumbled, and Deb looked down at him in surprise.

'Where on earth did you pick that up? I didn't even know you'd watched that movie!'

'I didn't either,' he mumbled, dazed.

Deb bit back a giggle. 'You don't even really know what you're saying, do you?'

'Not really,' he admitted, words a bit slurred.

She smiled down at him, face tender with concern and love. 'My poor baby,' she said softly, smoothing his hair back from his forehead in a way that somehow managed to feel so incredibly good. 'Go to sleep,' she murmured.

He tried to say something, but he was already in that strange state halfway between sleeping and waking. 'Love you,' he managed, or at least he thought he did, before sleep claimed him.

'I love you too, baby,' said his wife, curling up next to him on the bed. 'I love you too.'

***

[ilovesneezing]

AAAAWWWWW-ness!!!!! I love love love this fic!!!

[zakandsara]

I'm really into this story, it's so enjoyable to read. Loving the Nicole, too ( keep it up ) ! Can't wait to see more!

[ooo]

Thanks so much for the lovely feedback, ilovesneezing and zakandsara! I know I sound like a broken record but it means so so much to me that you're enjoying my writing.

***

The dream started with a memory, a nice one, of a few years back when, on a rare day off for the whole family, they'd taken a trip to a local nature reserve with a simple but delicious picnic. The kids were running on the grass and he'd been chasing them around, but he was getting tired and flopped on the picnic mat next to Deb, laughing in spontaneous happiness.

But somehow, he knew something wasn't right, the way you always do in dreams. The air was darkening, growing thick until he could reach out and not touch anything that felt familiar. He was lost, helpless, powerless, and he felt a growing anger and frustration that threatened to overtake him.

'Hugh! Hugh!' Someone was calling to him, a voice that seemed intangibly familiar. Who was it?

'What do you want from me?' he yelled, eyes darting about. And the next second he was doubled over in pain as his head seemed to explode, a bright light forcing his eyes shut.

'Hugh!'

He startled and his eyes flew open, to find Deb sitting over him, the bedside lamp shining in his eyes. Weakly, he put his hand up to shield himself from the glare, which Deb noticed and quickly pointed the light the other way.

'You were having a nightmare,' she said gently, running a hand through his messy, sweat-dampened hair. He took deep breaths to steady himself, fighting back the urge to cough - he felt light-headed enough as it was.

'Did I wake you?' he muttered, still slowly growing more aware of the world around him. She nodded. 'I'm sorry,' he said, but she shook her head and simply passed him a cup of water.

'Drink this,' she said gently, and he sipped at it slowly before passing it back to her.

'Anything else I can do?' she asked, feeling a bit helpless.

'Ask the room to stop spinning,' he breathed, closing his eyes against the rush of dizziness overtaking him.

She moved closer, smoothed his hair back from his forehead. 'You poor thing. You really are burning, you know,' she said softly, feeling the heat of him against her hand.

He didn't reply, trying to fight waves of extreme exhaustion that were scaring him. Just lifting his hand off the bed seemed to require a world of effort he didn't have. 'Deb,' he said hoarsely.

'What is it, honey?' She leaned over to catch his words, frightened by the weakness in his voice.

'Think I'm...gonna sneeze...'

She almost laughed, but instead reached over to grab a couple of tissues from the box beside the bed. She held them gently over her husband's nose. 'It's okay. Go ahead.'

His nose was itching beyond belief and he had no strength to contain or muffle the explosion. He twitched his nose twice, and then suddenly he was being propelled forward, bent almost in half by the force of his sneezing. 'Hah - HEPSHAAAAH! Ahh...HAHSHHAAAHHH!'

His stomach muscles clenched and ached and he moaned as his wife helped to lower him back onto the bed. He felt her wipe his nose gently with the tissues and replace them with fresh ones, commanding gently, 'Blow.' Too exhausted to worry about how disgusting he felt, he complied, blowing wetly until his nose was clear enough to breathe through.

'Thanks,' he said softly and she smiled, squeezing his hand.

'You feel like you want to go back to sleep?' she asked.

'Yeah,' he said, though he wasn't sure how he could still feel so tired when it felt like all he'd been doing was sleeping. 'But Deb?'

'Yeah?'

'Stay with me?'

She smiled, curling up next to him on the bed, rubbing a hand on his shoulder. 'Of course, honey. I'm here. I'm always here.'

***

[The Sneezster]

Poor baby! If Deb needs a break, I'm volunteering to come by and take care of the poor thing.

Unless, of course, Nicole gets sick and needs me. Then I'll be busy taking care of her.

[ilovesneezing]

WOW WOW WOW I loooooove this!

[ooo]

Thanks so much for your lovely comments, ilovesneezing and The Sneezster!

***

He woke several times over the next few hours, each time feeling less aware of his surroundings and more aware of the disorientating sense of burning heat and shivery chills coursing through his body. He knew Deb was worried, but the outside world seemed distant and difficult to connect to, and he couldn't work out how to reassure her.

He went through occasional periods where he seemed to drift in that strange place that seems like dreaming but is really just a skewed representation of reality.

'I think he's really sick,' he heard Deb saying, her voice tinged with fear. 'He's starting to scare me.'

In the dream world, he managed to call out to her, tell her not to worry, but somehow she couldn't hear.

'No, I know. I think I'm going to ask the doctor to come over. His fever's pushing forty, I've never seen him this bad before.'

Funny. He didn't remember anyone taking his temperature recently...

He slipped away from the confusing conversation, back into blissful unawareness.

In his dream, something cold was pressing against his forehead, mercifully decreasing the burning heat rampaging through his body. God, that felt good. But then suddenly it was taken away and with it, the warm and comforting presence he'd felt nearby all through his long sleep. He heard footsteps and felt a wave of loss falling over him.

'No - don't leave - come back. Please, don't leave me...' Disorientated to the extreme, he felt alone and frightened.

'Shh, honey, I'm here. I'm here. You're safe.'

***

He'd never been so confused by how time was moving around him. It seemed to move in surges and swells, and Hugh had never taken physics at school but he knew that couldn't be right. He'd lie there for what felt like hours and open his eyes and the midday lighting hadn't changed a bit, and then he'd close them again and seconds later it would be the middle of the night, Deb sleeping quietly on a pull-out bed next to him.

A pull-out bed? His mind grasped onto that fact, bewildered. He didn't really know what was going on, but this must be bad if she wasn't sleeping in the same bed anymore. What on earth had happened?

He closed his eyes again, and the next time he woke up he seemed to see and hear everything through a screen. Everything around him felt somehow intangibly surreal, but he was feeling more alert than he had over the past...well, he couldn't quite tell how long it had been. But in a while.

Deb, seeing his eyes flickering, bent over him hurriedly. 'Hugh? Are you awake?'

He licked his lips, throat dry. 'Yes,' he rasped.

Her smile was shaky, hand trembling as it lowered down to touch his forehead. Then she let out a deep, slow breath. 'I think it's going down. Oh, thank God.'

He was more awake now, and feeling confused. What was going on? 'Deb, I'm okay,' he said, ignoring the weak, raspy quality to his voice.

She shook her head. 'Hon, I'm going to take your temperature, okay? Just lie still for a sec.'

As though he could do anything else. Still, he obediently lay on the bed while he heard the thermometer click in his ear, and waited as Deb took it out to look at the reading. A smile broke over her face. '38.5,' she breathed. 'The fever must have broken while I was asleep.'

He shook his head, still confused. 'What's...what's been...?'

She picked up his hand, squeezed it tightly. 'I had to call the doctor - I've been so worried. You were so out of it...they were going to admit you to hospital if the fever didn't break in another day or so.'

His eyes widened. 'That's why you were sleeping in the camp bed?'

She glanced over at the pull-out as though she'd forgotten it was even there, and then shook her head. 'No. You were having nightmares. Really bad ones.'

He vaguely remembered feeling very lost in confusion and fear. 'Sorry,' he muttered, but she shook her head and lovingly smoothed his hair back from his sweaty forehead.

'It's okay. I'm just so glad you're alright...'

He smiled, and then almost rolled his eyes as he felt an all-too-familiar sensation in his sinuses. 'Ehhh...ash-HAAA! ash-HAAHHH!'

He sniffed, rubbing his nose ruefully. He raised his eyes to meet Deb's, and at the expression on her face, had to laugh. She looked such an odd combination of relieved, exasperated and amused, and at his laughter she couldn't help but join in. It was contagious.

'Ahhh-HAAAA! HASHHAAA!'

She shook her head, amused. 'After all this...' she commented wryly.

'I can't help it! It's my nose...' He rubbed at it again, already feeling another sneeze beginning there.

She laughed again, curling up next to him on the bed and rubbing his shoulders as another sneeze wracked his body (ASHAAA!). 'My poor, sick baby,' she murmured, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. He smiled, pressing himself into the contact.

'Mmm still so tired,' he mumbled sleepily, bemused - after all that sleep he'd had for the past few days!

She kissed him again. 'That's okay, baby. Sleep and heal.'

He nodded, head drooping further into the pillow. He would rest peacefully now, with his beautiful wife beside him, until he recovered. That is, if he could ever get his nose to stop tickling...

'ETCHH-HAA!'

~The End~

So, that's it...Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading & commenting!

[ilovesneezing]

aaaaawww amazing!!!!

You should do a sequel with Nicole