Flu House (a Full House at Bedside Manor)

[Likesn]

So..... a week ago I wrote a drabble in my drabble thread, by the name "Bedside Manor". I got the inspiration for that drabble after browsing the web for stock photos, for that exact purpose (similar to what's being done at the thread- "Picture Prompt Fic Meme"). The satisfaction I got from that drabble (as well as positive feedback from elizachoo) made me think about expanding it to something more than just another drabble, but I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to do it. One option was to turn it into a role- play thread, but I figured out I don't have the time or the energy needed to oversee a role-play at the moment. Finally, I came up with an idea for a continuation of the drabble, and decided to post it here, as an original one- shot, rather than another drabble. The original drabble (with more details about "Bedside Manor") can be found at the end of the second page of my drabble thread, here:

Don't worry- I haven't forgotten about "Blessed Harmony". More of that to come soon. And now for the story:

Flu House (a Full House at Bedside Manor):

Lisa had been running "Bedside Manor" for almost two years now, and she was certainly satisfied with the state of her business. After a slow start, due to an untimely opening, her motel had a major boost last year, when a flu epidemic hit the area. Since then, business was pretty much blooming. Young women from near and far came to Lisa's motel, all sneezing their noses off with colds or flu. The guests had been given the best treatment they had ever experienced in their lives for their illnesses, and all they had to do in return, aside from paying a small fee for the room, was let Lisa witness them sneezing, coughing, or blowing their noses, something that was bound to happen anyway, since each guest had to consent to Lisa taking care of her. All in all, it was a good deal for all the parties involved. It was evidently working, for the guests left the motel leaving excellent reviews on it's website, which attracted more guests. Things were much calmer during the summer, but even then Lisa had guests coming in with either an air- condition cold, an airplane cold, and even a few cases of summer flu. Obviously, Lisa had to be very careful not to catch anything from her guests, and she was mostly successful. One major exception was the flu she caught after taking care of four very sick guests last year. Lisa had been so sick she barely managed to get better in time to welcome new guests, but she somehow got through that flu without letting it affect her business.

This year, cold season started early. Since the beginning of fall, "Bedside Manor" had a constant flow of guests coming in with colds. Most of them didn't have really bad colds, and would only stay at the motel for two or three days, but they liked being pampered by Lisa. Flu, however, was a different story. After last year's epidemic, it seemed like this year the area might be spared. However, by the middle of spring, a sudden burst of spring rains and constant weather changes led to a serious flu outbreak. Sneezes, coughs, runny noses, and an occasional fever, Lisa took care of all of the symptoms her guests had shown. Her devoted caring had many young women coming to the motel and rooms were being booked left and right. Lisa had been very busy, but she didn't care- "the more the merrier" she thought. Three of the five rooms at "Bedside Manor" currently had guests in them, and Lisa was making her evening rounds.

The first guest Lisa visited was Lara:
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-young-beauty-caught-cold-sneezing-sick-woman-scarf-her-neck-sitting-bed-sneezing-her-country-house-image49172287

Of all the guests Lisa had that year, and maybe the previous year as well, Lara was by far the sickest. With her extremely red nose, producing an endless stream of mucus; her big, wet sneezes; and her hacking cough, Lara was feeling utterly miserable, and Lisa did all she could the ease her misery. Lara had been staying at the motel for over two days now, showing little to no improvement, despite Lisa's efforts.

"How's my patient doing?" Lisa asked with a smile as she entered Lara's room.

"Hea Eshoo!" was Lara's reply.

"Bless you. I guess that answers my question" said Lisa.

"Oh Lisa, I feel terrible" Lara croaked. "By head is so codgested. Do batter how buch I blow by dose, I just cad't get ady air through it. Add by dose is sore because I keep blowig it all the tibe. Alos, I'b pretty sure the codgestiod got to by chest as well" Lara let out a fit of hacking coughs, as if to emphasize her latest statement.

"Poor girl, you are as sick as one can be. I brought you some chicken soup for dinner. You should eat- it will help you get stronger" said Lisa.

"He Essssshhhhhhoo!" Lara turned her head away from Lisa and let out a long, wet, drawn out sneeze. "Soup would be great. Thadk you" she said before giving her nose several gurgling blows. Lisa then took a chair, sat next to Lara's bed, and fed her the soup.

"How did you like the soup?" Lisa asked when she was done feeding Lara.

"It was really good. I did't get buch of it's taste, I'b just too codgested, but it bade be feel warber add dow I'b ready to go to sleep" Lara replied.

"That's good. Sleep now and I'll see you tomorrow morning" said Lisa. "Good night".

"He He Tshoo, He Teshoo, Hae Tssssssshhhhhhhehoo!" Lara let out three more extremely wet sneezes. "Good dight".

Lisa left Lara's room and went to visit Sadie:

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-sick-woman-cold-flu-sneezing-754716298

It appeared that Sadie's illness started as a simple cold, and has gotten worse to the point where it was hard to tell if she had the flu or not. Staying at the motel for about a day and a half now, Sadie had mostly been busy sneezing and blowing her runny nose. She didn't have a cough, but she did have a slight fever.

"Hei Shoo, Ha Ishsh, Aaaa Tshioo!" Sadie was in the middle of yet another fit of her wet, girly sneezes, when Lisa entered the room.

"Bless you Sadie. Your nose still won't give you a break, I see" said Lisa.

"You said it. I cad't go bore thad two bidutes without Hu Ishoo! sdeezig" Sadie let out another sneeze, harsher than her usual ones.

"Bless you again. What about your fever?" Lisa asked.

"I took by tebperature about half ad hour ago. I still have a fever, but it's albost gode. Hopefully, it will be cobpletely gode by toborrow bordig A Tshioo"!

"Let's hope it will. For now, I brought you tea and some soup. Eat and drink while it's still hot" said Lisa.

"Thadk you so buch. Just leave it here please, I'll get to it id a bobedt Aaaa He Tshioo, Hu He Ishoo! *sniff* if I'b dot too bust sdeezig by head off" said Sadie before blowing her nose wetly into a tissue.

The last stop on Lisa's evening rounds was Rose:

https://www.videoblocks.com/video/sick-woman-in-bed-sneezing-in-paper-tissue-rjydknu

"Hhhhh Ha Pshoo, Hhhh Ha Ishoo!" Rose let out two breathy sneezes and then coughed for a little while, before noticing Lisa.

"Hey Lisa. Good evedig" Rose said and then blew her nose with a tissue.

"Good evening Rose. It doesn't look like you're feeling much better than when you got here this morning" said Lisa.

"Ugh! Dot really. This flu is kickig by ass. Excuse by ladguage" Rose quickly said, fearing Lisa might not be comfortable with the way she spoke.

"It's alright. I brought you some chicken soup. Would you like me to feed it to you or would you prefer to eat yourself?" asked Lisa.

"I prefer to eat it byself. Thadk you" Rose replied.

"Of course. I'll leave you to it then. See you tomorrow morning" said Lisa.

"Tahdks. See you thed Ha Pashoo, Ha Epshoo, Hhh Ha Epshoo, Haa Pshoooo! Oh wow, that was a big ode" Rose commented on her sneezes.

"Sleep tight" Lisa told her and left the room. She was about to call it a night, when a new guest appeared:

https://www.dreamstime.com/sick-girl-lying-sneezing-bed-virus-flu-image100852615

Her name was Sasha, and she clearly had a bad flu. She kept her nose covered with a tissue throughout the time she spoke with Lisa, but Lisa could still see it was very red. The reason Sasha had to keep a tissue over her nose the whole time was that it just wouldn't stop running. Lisa decided that before anything else Sasha needed to take a nice, warm shower and go to bed. She gave her the key to her room and shortly after went to sleep herself, looking forward to see how Sasha would sneeze. When she went to visit her the next morning, she was not disappointed:

"Haaa E Shoo, Ho A Shoo, Haaa Shoosh, Ha A Shoo!" Lisa found Sasha sneezing up a storm.

"Bless you" Lisa said, masking the excitement in her voice as amazement.

"Thadk you. I'b sorry I'b such a bess. I always sdeeze a lot whed I'b sick" Sasha said before giving her nose a long, wet blow into a tissue.

"I can see that. I brought you lots of tissues and a nasal spray. I had a feeling you might need it" said Lisa.

"Dasal spray? Oh, you're a lifesaver! Do batter how buch I sdeeze, by dose just keeps fillig right back up agaid Haaa Shoo, Hu Ushoo, Ha Shoosh!" sneezed Sasha.

"Then you've come to the right place- I have all the tissues and nasal spray you might need, and everything else to make you feel better" said Lisa.

"Ho Ashoo, Ha Shoo, Hhhhh Haaaaaa ShoooshShoo!" Sasha let out another loud, wet triple, only partially managing to cover her sneezes with a tissue.

"Bless you. I'll let you rest now and come back later to see if there's anything else you need" said Lisa.

"That would be great. Thadk you. Ugh! I cad't wait to be healthy agaid" said Sasha.

"I'll do my best to make sure it happens soon" said Lisa.

With four sick guests in the motel, Lisa worked non- stop throughout that day. Sure, it wasn't easy, but all the sneezes she had witnessed made it worthwhile. Sometimes, when she was busy taking care of one guest, she could hear another guest (mostly, either Lara or Sasha) sneezing from another room. Sneezes so loud they could be heard from across a wall- Lisa lived for moments such as these. By the end of that day, Sadie was almost back to health and Rose was feeling much better. Lara felt a little better, but she was still very sick, and as for Sasha- she had been unable to stop sneezing all day long, her illness clearly only just beginning. The motel only had one vacant room left, so when two young women entered the hotel from the rain that evening, Lisa was a little confused about what she should do with them. Her confusion grew when it turned out only one of them was sick.

https://www.videoblocks.com/video/young-sick-woman-sneezing-vnalbovvg

The sick woman's name was Olivia, and she had a bad case of the flu. The young woman accompanying her was her younger sister, Tori. As it turned out, despite how sick she felt, Olivia needed persuading,  provided by her sister, to come to the motel.

"I still dod't udderstadd why we had to cobe here" Olivia told her younger sister, as Tori talked to Lisa about getting a room.

"Because you're sick. You're really really sick, and this is the perfect place for you to get better" Tori replied.

"But why could't I just stay at hobe?" Olivia insisted, her face flushed with fever.

"I wanted you to get the best possible care. Now, stop arguing so that I can finish getting you a room. Looks like we're in luck- there's only one room left, and I'm making sure it will be yours" said Tori.

"But where will you sleep?" Lisa asked Tori, while Olivia was busy giving gurgling nose blows into a tissue.

"Is there any other motel close by? I want to stay as close to my sister as possible" said Tori.

"Not really. I would've given you a room, if I had any vacancies, but that won't happen until tomorrow morning at least, and even then it would take me some time to get the room ready for you, not to mention it would probably still be filled with germs" said Lisa.

"Do you have a couch or something like that? I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere, I just don't want to be too far away from my sister when she's so sick" said Tori.

"Huptch!" Olivia sneezed into a tissue, confirming what her sister said about her state.

"I do have a couch. I don't normally do this, but I could let you sleep on it, at least for tonight, and tomorrow we can see what to do next" said Lisa.

"Oh thank you!!" said Tori.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha Uptchoo!" sneezed Olivia.

"Why don't we take your sister to bed so that she can rest?" Lisa suggested.

"Yeah, Let's do that. Come on Olivia, let's get you to bed". Said Tori.

Olivia, too sick and tired to argue any further, blew her nose, coughed a few times, and then followed Lisa and Tori, who led her to her room. Tori stayed with Olivia and helped her get ready for bed, while Lisa made the couch for Tori to sleep on. As she was doing that, Lisa noticed her throat was dry and a little sore. She also felt very tired. However, knowing that she would soon go to bed, Lisa didn't think much of it. The next morning, however, Lisa woke up with a series of coughs, and just after she finished getting dressed- "Ha Ashoo, He Eshoo! Oh do. Dot agaid. This cad't be happedig right dow. Ha Eshoo! I cad't be gettig sick".

Lisa blew her nose thoroughly and started her morning rounds. First, she visited Sadie, who had made an almost full recovery, and was getting ready to leave. Lisa manged to send Sadie off without showing any signs of sickness. However, when she visited Rose, who was also feeling a lot better and told Lisa that she would be leaving later that day, she coughed a couple of times into her elbow. Fortunately for Lisa, Rose didn't make a big deal out of it.

"Dod't wear yourself out" was all Rose said about it, a little congestion still in her voice. Lisa nodded and moved on.

"Hea Tshoo!" Lisa was greeted by a sneeze from Lara.

"Bless you" she told her, but then- "Ei Shoo!" Lisa sneezed as well.

"Bless you Lisa" was Lara's turn to say. "Are you feelig alright"?

"I'b fide, it's just a sdeeze" Lisa replied and sniffled.

"You dod't soudd fide, you soudd like I soudded whed I was startig to get sick" Lara told her.

"I'b dot gettig sick. It's just sobe udexpected bordig sdiffles. It will pass sood" said Lisa, failing to clear the congestion from her voice.

"Hue He Eshoo! O.K., *sniff* if you say so" said Lara, sounding unconvinced. Lisa gave Lara her morning tea and then left. It was clear that Lara would need at least another day to fully recover, and Lisa had no idea how she would hide her own growing sickness while taking care of her. With Sasha, Lisa had a similar problem.

"Hae ShooshShoo, Hu Aaashoo, Ho Aeshoo, Hhhhhaaaaaaaa Sssssshhhhhhhhoooooo!" Lisa walked in on Sasha in the middle of a sneezing fit, the beginning of which she could hear from the hallway.

"Bless you. I brought you sobe bore tissues" Lisa said, still failing to hide the beginning of congestion in her own nose.

"Thadk you so buch" Sasha said and blew her nose wetly into a handful of tissues.

Lisa placed the fresh tissues, as well as the morning tea, next to Sasha's bed, and then turned away and coughed into her elbow.

"You dod't soudd too good" Sasha told her.

"I'b fide" said Lisa.

"If you're dot careful, you'll edd up sick, like be Haaa I Shoosh, A Eshoo, Haa ShooshShoo!" sneezed Sasha.

"I have to go check od the other guests" Lisa said and left the room in a hurry. Truth was, she only had Olivia left to visit. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, hoping that it would help her get rid of the congestion in her voice. However, as she was about to enter Olivia's room, a sneeze took her by surprise- "He Ashoo"!

"Was that you?" Tori asked Lisa as she entered Olivia's room.

"Was what be?" asked Lisa.

"Well, it's not really surprising, isn't it?" Tori said to Olivia. The sick older sister was lying in bed, a cold compress on her forehead for her fever, and a recently used thermometer on her nightstand, alongside a few used tissues.

"What are you talkig about?" asked Lisa, placing a mug of tea and a box of pills on the nightstand. "Adyway, why are you here? You should't get too close to your sister- she's really sick".

"Ha Ha Ha Uptchoo! Ah!" Olivia confirmed Lisa's statement with a sneeze and a tired groan.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get in your way. I was just taking care of Olivia while she was waiting for you" said Tori.

"I thidk she has bigger problebs  thad that dow, Tori" Olivia said after she blew her nose.

"What is it with the two of you speakig id riddles?" said Lisa, sounding a lot more edgy than she meant to.

"She means that it's pretty clear you're getting sick yourself" said Tori.

"I ab dot" Lisa said before bursting into a fit of coughs.

"Look at her- she's almost as stubborn as you" Tori told Olivia.

"Dod't try to dedy it. I did, add it was a bistake. I did't adbit I was sick udtil it was too late for be to dip it id the bud, add dow look at be" Olivia said before bursting into a coughing fit of her own.

"I.... I.... Haa He Shoo!" Lisa sneezed into her hand.

"Trust be- just adbit you're sick add go take care of yourself before you get buch buch worse Ha Ha Ha Ptchoo!" sneezed Olivia.

"But I still have guests who deed be to take care of theb" said Lisa as she sniffled.

"I can help!" said Tori.

"Cobe agaid?" said Lisa.

"I'll help you take care of the other guests. You can tell them I'm...... helping you run the motel during busy times. They don't have to know my sister is staying here. Please? I already owe you a lot for letting me stay here with my sister. Would you let me repay you by helping?" asked Tori.

"I dod't kdow.... I...... Ha Eshoo!" sneezed Lisa.

"She's good at this as well. Baybe dot as good as you, but she kdows what to do" said Olivia.

"*cough cough* Oh, alright. I guess you cad help be a little, just udtil I feel better" said Lisa.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!!" Tori rejoiced.

"Dod't get used to it- it's odly tebporary" Lisa told her.

"Of course. But, if you want to get better you need to go and rest now" said Tori.

"He He Ashoo! I will, but first I deed to idtroduce you to the other guests" said Lisa.

The other guests were actually glad to see that Lisa decided to take some rest, and were happy to be taken care of by Tori for a while. Lisa went to her room to rest, and while she was sneezing and coughing in bed, Tori took care of the other guests, as well as her sister. By the end of that day, Rose was well enough to leave, and both Lara and Sasha were feeling better, and were expected to make a full recovery within the next day or two. As for Olivia, her recovery was expected to take a little longer, but she was confident in her sister's ability to take care of her.

https://www.alamy.com/Imageresults.aspx/stock-photo-sick-woman-in-bed-blowing-nose-33485726.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=0743E204-B153-4A69-A2AD-2F6F75C4D260&p=37557&n=15&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=9&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3Dbar%26st%3D9%26sortby%3D2%26qt%3Dsick%20woman%20sneezing%26qt_raw%3Dsick%20woman%20sneezing%26qn%3D%26lic%3D3%26edrf%3D0%26mr%3D0%26pr%3D0%26aoa%3D1%26creative%3D%26videos%3D%26nu%3D%26ccc%3D%26bespoke%3D%26apalib%3D%26ag%3D0%26hc%3D0%26et%3D0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3D0%26loc%3D0%26ot%3D0%26imgt%3D0%26dtfr%3D%26dtto%3D%26size%3D0xFF%26blackwhite%3D%26cutout%3D%26archive%3D1%26name%3D%26groupid%3D%26pseudoid%3D37557%26userid%3D%26id%3D%26a%3D%26xstx%3D0%26cbstore%3D1%26resultview%3DsortbyPopular%26lightbox%3D%26gname%3D%26gtype%3D%26apalic%3D%26tbar%3D0%26pc%3D%26simid%3D%26cap%3D1%26customgeoip%3D%26vd%3D0%26cid%3D%26pe%3D%26so%3D%26lb%3D%26fi%3D0%26langcode%3Den%26upl%3D0%26cufr%3D%26cuto%3D%26howler%3D%26cvrem%3D0%26cvtype%3D0%26cvloc%3D0%26cl%3D0%26upfr%3D%26upto%3D%26primcat%3D%26seccat%3D%26cvcategory%3D*%26restriction%3D%26random%3D%26ispremium%3D1%26flip%3D0%26saveQry%3D%26editorial%3D1%26t%3D0%26edoptin%3D

"Ha A Shoo, Hei Shoo, Ha Eshoo!" sneezed Lisa the next morning, after taking the thermometer out of her mouth. She was still sick, no doubt about it. The thermometer showed that she had a fever, and she was sneezing and coughing. She put down the thermometer, gave several gurgling nose blows into a tissue and coughed a couple of times.

"Ha Tshooa!" Lisa heard a sneeze from the hallway.

"Tori? Was that you?" asked Lisa. A moment later, Tori entered Lisa's room, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"Did you call be?" asked Tori. "I......... Ha Tshoo! 'scuse be. I fidished bordig roudds. Everyode's feelig better" said Tori.

"Dot you, apparedtly" said Lisa.

"I'b fide, it's just Ha A Tshoo, Tshoo, Haaa Tshooa!" Tori pulled a tissue from her pocket and sneezed into it.

"Dod't tell be you're fide. You're gettig sick, add it's by fault for lettig you take care of by sick guests" said Lisa.

"Cad I tell you a secret?" asked Tori.

"Ubbbb...... sure" said Lisa.

"Well........ you're dot the odly persod who likes takig care of sick people. I...... sorta have a thig for it as well" said Tori and blew her nose with a tissue.

"Oh really? Were you pladdig od takig be out of busidess?" aske Lisa with a smile.

"Do! Of course dot!" said Tori.

"Relax, I was just kiddig" said Lisa.

"Oh, sorry. Adyway- I wadted to visit your botel for a lodg tibe, but I deeded a reasod to cobe here without beig sick byself, because I kdew you would't let a sick guest take care of the other guests. Whed I foudd out that Olivia was sick, it was the perfect cover. Dow that I'b here, it's just like I ibagided it. Add the best part? I bight eved get a chadce to take care of the owder of the botel, after she got sick frob her guests".

"Haaa E Shoo! *sniff* That sick botel owder would be be, I guess" said Lisa and blew her stuffy nose.

"You guess right. That rebidds be- I bade tea add soup for you id the kitched. I'll go add get it" Tori said and left the room before Lisa had a chance to say anything.

By the time Tori got back, Lisa thought about what she told her. Tori was in her early twenties, and probably not very different than Lisa was in that age, especially since it turned out that they both shared a passion for young women sneezing due to illness. Thus, Lisa decided that it wouldn't be so bad if she let someone else take care of her for a change, especially someone who would enjoy it as much as she would. There was just one problem, and Lisa remembered it as soon as Tori finished feeding her soup:

https://www.canstockphoto.co.uk/teen-woman-with-tissue-7882134.html

"Ha Tshoo, Ha A Tshoo, Ha Tshooa! Ohhh! By head hurts" Tori goraned.

"Do be a favor, will you?" asked Lisa.

"Adythig" said Tori.

"Go back to the kitched. You'll fidd ice packs there. Get ode for yourself.

Tori did as she was told, and returned a few minutes later, holding an ice bag to her aching head.

"Dow, doesd't that feel better?" asked Lisa.

"A Little" Tori replied. "What are we goig to do about the other guests, dow that we're both sick?" she asked.

"Well, sidce we both like takig care of sick youdg wobed, we'll durse each other back to health, all while doig the sabe for our guests" Lisa replied.

"Really? Because those would be the best sick days I've ever had id by life" said Tori.

"I could't agree bore" said Lisa.

The End

[M214186]

This was an unbelievably wonderful story

[elizachoo]

Thank you thank you thank you! This is just the best.

[Alex Hemmings]