The Ultimate Compromise. Sequel to “I don’t get sick” with Samantha and Dylan

[macrotwentytwo]

Oh man, I wish they would have stayed the night there. I loved the first story SOOO much because he was getting sick but in denial so he still kissed her, was intimate, was close, went out with friends and just got sicker and sicker around everyone while denying it and exposing them. I'm interested to see how this turns out

[Privatedancer]

Can’t wait for an update.  I really like this couple

[ggorm22spqr]

So, Samantha and Dylan are two characters from my favorite book (what if it's us) and I just think it's funny that they're your characters too. Great story, too. 

[marina<3]

First off, I want to thank you all for your nice comments!!! I so appreciate them!! Secondly, I want to apologize for this update taking forever. But I am finally back with the next part (if anyone is even still interested in reading it haha). 

I hope you all had a great holiday and the New Year is off to a great start for everyone. I’m not sure that this is my favorite part I have ever written but here you go!

*******************************************

At 6:00 am sharp, our alarm blared its annoying ring. 

 

“Ughhhhh,” I groaned. The alarm continued to beep. “Dylan, turn it off.” I whined. When he didn’t budge I rolled over. Dylan was still fast asleep, slightly snoring. It was no wonder why he was exhausted. If I knew him, he had been practicing as soon as I fell asleep and would have stayed up all night if I hadn’t brought him to bed. He probably got less than four hours of sleep. I reached over him and shut off the alarm. I kissed his cheek, while gently shaking his shoulder. 

 

“Baby, wake up. Baby.” I murmured, softly. His eyes finally fluttered open. 

 

“Morning,” He said in a deep, rough voice. He cleared his throat and coughed. 

 

“Come on, sweetheart. You’ve got to get ready so you’re not late! Today is the big day!!” I said excitedly, referring to his meeting today. The entire company has meetings periodically to discuss goals and future plans. All of the big shots are there, too. But what was special about this meeting in particular was that Dylan was pitching his personal new marketing strategy for the company. He had been working on this presentation for months and it was obvious he was nervous. 

 

He nodded, rubbing his eyes. He grabbed his Yeti cup off the nightstand that he always filled with water before bed and took a swig. I noticed as he winced when he swallowed. 

 

“You okay?” I asked. 

 

“Never better,” He said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He kissed my forehead lightly before making his way into the bathroom. 

 

I frowned, but chalked it up to him just being tired and nervous for his presentation. After he closed the bathroom door, I snuck downstairs to make him breakfast. I knew he would be so nervous that he would forget to eat all day. I could also feel the guilt nagging inside me. He had spent the whole weekend taking care of me instead of preparing. I shook my head. I couldn’t make myself feel guilty about something he chose to do. 

 

I started brewing coffee before cracking open some eggs. Being able to smell the food I was cooking was a good sign. I sniffled, but felt better than I had all weekend. My body didn’t ache anymore and I finally wasn’t sneezing my head off. I smiled to myself, thinking about how sweet Dylan had been all weekend and just how caring he was. God, I loved him so much. Neither one of us had brought up THE conversation again, but it loomed in the back of my mind. I started to picture this morning a little different, me cooking breakfast while Dylan was upstairs helping the kids get ready. I imagined their little footsteps thumping down the stairs, racing to see who could make it to the table first. I could even almost hear their little voices talking as I put breakfast on the table. Dylan would walk up behind me and give me a quick kiss on the cheek before swiping a banana, kissing the kids goodbye, and heading out for work. 

 

I shook my head. Dear god. Who. am. I?? And what was wrong with me. This cold seriously must have messed with my head. I plated Dylan’s breakfast and poured him some coffee, pushing any remaining thoughts out of my head. 

 

I wondered why he wasn’t already downstairs. It normally didn’t take him long to get ready at all. I climbed the stairs up to our bedroom to find Dylan in our closet, wearing only a nice pair of dress pants. He was shirtless and inspecting which shirt he wanted to wear. I leaned against the doorway and oogled his body while he was unaware of my presence. His dress pants fit perfectly, hugging his cute man butt. My eyes made their way from his toned stomach, up to his chest, all the way to his muscled arms. His brown hair was tousled and dried to perfection swooping just above his left brow. I noticed his eyes looked a little tired. He sniffled, while riffling through his shirts, absentmindedly rubbing his nose. 

 

“Uhh... ashieww!!” I suddenly sneezed, surprising both myself and Dylan. 

 

“Shit! Bless you. I didn’t even realize you were standing there, Sam.” He laughed nervously. “What should I wear??” He asked me with desperate puppy dog eyes. “I need help.” 

 

I giggled and picked out a light blue shirt and matching tie, holding it up next to him. 

 

“This is perfect. And it makes your eyes pop.” I assured him. 

 

“Okay, babe. Thanks. But I don’t think that’s what they will really be looking at today.” He said, as he put his arms into the shirt. I began to button it for him, starting at the bottom. Suddenly, I heard him intake a sharp breath. I watched his ab muscles tense before 

 

“HUHSHOO! HUHSHOO!!!” He jerked his head away from me and sneezed openly to the side. 

 

“Bless you...” I said, hoping that it was just another random sneeze. 

 

“Thanks, babe.” He sniffed. 

 

I began to tie his tie when he jerked his fist up to his face. 

 

“HETCHOO!! HUHSOO!! Ugh” he groaned, swiping under his nose with his finger. 

 

“Bless you, again.” I said, putting emphasis on the again part. I looked at him incredulously and placed the back of my hand on his forehead. He swatted it away. 

 

“Sam, I’m not sick.” His voice dripping in annoyance. 

 

“Maybe you should take some medicine just in case.” I suggested as I finished with his tie, and looked him up and down with an approving nod. God, he was so hot. 

 

“No, you know it makes me fuzzy.” He argued. 

 

“Okay, okay.” I conceded. Dylan always said that cold medicine made him fuzzy and tired, preventing him from thinking straight. I always wondered if that was true or if that was just his excuse when he wanted to deny he was sick. Guilt bubbled up in my stomach once again. I really hoped he hadn’t caught my cold, and if he did that it held off long enough for him to at least finish his presentation.  

 

“Well I originally came up here to tell you that I made you some breakfast.” I said, changing the subject. “It might be a little cold by now though.” I slipped on a pencil skirt and blouse while Dylan put on his shoes. 

 

“Awwh thank you, baby!” He said, coming over and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. 

 

“I know. I know. Chef, personal stylist. How did you ever get so lucky? The world will never know.” 

 

He smirked and the twinkle in his blue eyes let me know a smart remark was brewing. “You’re right. I got to spend the entire weekend getting sneezed on and picking up your tissues. How could this get any better?” 

 

I rolled my eyes at him. Trying to concoct a comeback, but he interrupted me. 

 

He nodded towards my clothes. “You’re not going to call out?”

 

“No, I feel okay enough. Besides, you know today is a day I can’t miss at work.” 

 

“Just don’t work yourself too hard, babe.” He said in a concerned voice, brushing a piece of hair out of my face. “Damn, you look good.” He said, slapping my ass playfully as he left the closet. He looked back over his shoulder at me with a sultry stare and winked playfully. I couldn’t help but blush and giggle like a teenager. Maybe he wasn’t feeling sick after all. 

 

I went into the bathroom and brushed on a little makeup. My eyes were still dark underneath and my nose was just a little red, but that was the best I could do for today. I brushed my hair and pulled it up into a slick bun ontop of my head. 

 

As I made my way downstairs I saw Dylan standing at the sink rinsing off his dishes from breakfast. 

 

“HUTCHOO! HUHCHOO!! CHOO! ASHOO! ” He sneezed openly towards the floor and shook his head, grabbing a paper towel to wipe his nose. 

 

“Bless you.” I said. 

 

He jumped a little, apparently unaware that I was behind him once again. 

 

“Thangs,” He mumbled and I thought I heard congestion in his voice. He quickly crumpled up the paper towel and tried to disguise what he was doing by wiping his mouth. I rolled my eyes, why could the man never admit that he was sick?

 

“I’ve got to get going, babe.” 

 

I nodded and closed the space between us, embracing him in a tight hug. “You’re going to crush it, Dylan.” I smiled up at him and squeezed his arms. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to watch it.”

 

“It’s okay, baby. You go save the world from all of its environmental dooms.” He kissed me affectionately on the forehead. 

 

I couldn’t help but smile. Most people had always laughed at my environmental aspirations, but never Dylan. He had always supported me and thought my work was amazing. That was one of the things I absolutely loved about him. 

 

“I’ll be thinking about you kicking ass up there,” I reassured him. “We will celebra—..” I was cut off as Dylan jerked away from me. 

 

“ACHHSHOO! Huh..huh… ahhhhh…. HuhCHOO!” He caught the sneezes in his hand and sniffled wetly before cautiously removing his hand. 

 

“Bless you,” I said, frowning. I almost asked him again if he was okay, but decided against it. He wasn’t going to admit it anyways. “I love you. I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight.” 

 

“I love you too, sweetheart.” He leaned in and kissed me. It was sweet and gentle. I smiled and pulled away. 

 

“Knock ‘em dead!” I encouraged him, playfully smacking his butt on the way out. 

 

He shook his head laughing, walking out to his car. Before he got into his car he jerked to the side. “Huh… HUHCHOO!! CHOO!” 

 

“Bless you!!” I yelled before closing the front door. 

 

Little did Dylan know, I had been lying to him for weeks. He had invited me to watch the presentation, but I had told him that unfortunately today was just not a day I could miss at work. However, I was able to take the whole morning off in order to surprise him. I only had to swing by the office afterwards. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I surprised him there. 

 

I finished getting ready and headed out. Before leaving, I threw some cold medicine and tissues into my purse. Just in case. 

 

I had to ensure that I left late enough so that Dylan and I wouldn’t somehow end up arriving at the same time. As I drove, I thought about him. There was no doubt he was coming down with my cold. I felt awful. I definitely should have been more careful. Normally, we just kind of accepted when one of us got a cold, the other was bound to. But with this huge presentation, I should have at least not slept in the same bed with him. I felt so selfish. This cold was impacting one of the biggest presentations of his life, all because I wanted a little care taking. I tried to push the thought out of my mind as I pulled into his office parking lot. 

 

 

I walked inside and made my way up to the pretty receptionist. She looked about my age and had her long brown hair tied back into a pony tail and was wearing thick-black rimmed glasses. She stopped typing when I walked in and looked up at me. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue which contrasted beautifully with her ivory skin. I glanced at the name plate: Mckenzie Macintyre. Of course she would have a cute name, too.  I could feel my eyes involuntarily rolling. 

 

“Hi, can i help you?” She smiled warmly and I felt just a slight bit of annoyance bubble up in my stomach. Of course the most attractive receptionist ever would work at Dylan’s office. I shook my head to clear it. Jealousy had always been one of my biggest faults, and I could literally feel my skin turning green. 

 

“Yes, I’m here to see Dylan.” 

 

“Oh, Dylan Parker? I don’t think he is available to meet with anyone today,” she said looking down at her computer. “He is preparing for a big presentation.” 

 

“I know. I’m actually his girlfriend. I’m here to surprise him for his presentation. I’m on the guest list- Samantha Sanders.” 

 

“Oh, okay!” She said, “Let me look..hmmmm… Here you are! She printed out a name tag for me. The presentation will be in room….hmm… sorry I’m looking for it. Ah! Conference Room 233. She smiled up at me and I couldn’t help but notice how white and straight her teeth were. “Anything else I can help you with?” 

 

“Yes, what room is Dylan’s office?” 

 

“Oh, that’s Office 547.” 

 

“Thank you,” I tried to say as warmly as possible. I couldn’t get the nagging thought out of my head, though. How did she know off the top of her head where Dylan’s office was, yet she had to look up where the conference would be help, How many times had she visited his office? And why in a company this large did she visit him so much? Samantha, I told myself. Let it go. You are over-reacting. I cleared my head of the thought and made my way to the elevator. I got off at the fifth floor, hoping that Dylan would be in his office. I walked around until I found Office 547. The marketing company had just recently moved into this new building, so this was the first time I would see his office. I knocked lightly on the door. 

 

“Cobe id.” I heard. 

 

I slowly swung the door open and I saw Dylan sitting at his desk staring at his computer. His eyes flicked up from the computer and he did a double-take. 

 

“Samantha?!?! What are you doing here?” He smiled his 1,000 watt smile and it covered his whole face. The surprise was so worth it. 

 

“Did you really think I had something more important to do than coming to watch you present?” I smiled. 

 

In a few short stride he closed the distance between us and wrapped me in a tight embrace. He lifted me so just my feet were off the floor and spun me around in a twirling hug. 

 

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” He said, kissing my forehead. I couldn’t ignore the sniffling, though. 

 

When he placed my feet back on the ground, I observed him closely. His shoulders sagged like he was exhausted. His nose already looked pink, his skin was pale, and dark circles were definitely forming under his eyes. The poor thing. He definitely had a cold. Before I could say anything else there was a tap on the door behind us. 

 

 

“Hnnxxttt. Cobe id,” Dylan said in a congested voice after stiffling a sneeze into the back of his fist. Dylan rarely stifled his sneezes. At least not around me. He sniffled and I saw him swipe is finger under his nose. “Sabadtha, this by boss, Johdathad.” 

 

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I said, reaching my hand out. 

 

“Likewise,” his boss smiled, warmly. “Dylan has told me so much about you.” 

 

“Good things I hope.” 

 

“Welll....” Jonathan teased, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “I’m just kidding.” 

 

“Hnnxtt….Huhhh huh Hnnnnxx…CHUH” Dylan turned around and tried to stifle two more sneezes, but the last one escaped him. 

 

“Excuse be.” Dylan sniffled. 

 

“Oh no. Don’t tell me you’re sick?” Jonathan said. 

 

“No, no. It’s just allergies.” Dylan assured him. 

 

I cut my eyes over at him. What. A. liar. 

 

“Phew, that’s a relief. You know the CEO is a germaphobe. You know, like full on. Like fist-bump instead of handshake to avoid germs.” 

 

“Good to know.” Dylan mumbled. “Are you ready to head over?” He asked, quickly changing the subject. 

 

He kissed me on the cheek. “See you soon. Do you know where to go?” 

 

I nodded and squeezed his arm wishing him good luck. Dylan and Jonathan made their way down the hallway and I leaned against his office door for a moment. I groaned inwardly. I had given Dylan the worst cold ever and now he had to go present not only in front of his entire company, but also his germaphobe CEO. I made my way down into the conference room and found a seat in the middle. I wanted to be close enough to see Dylan, but I wanted to save the seats up front for people who actually worked there. 

 

There were only a couple of people in the room, but it was still early. A girl sat down next to me and I glanced over at her, smiling. 

 

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Autumn.” 

 

“I’m Samantha,” I said, extending my hand. “I don’t actually work here. Dylan is my boyfriend and I’m just here for moral support.” 

 

“Oh, no way! He is amazing.” She exclaimed. 

 

“I definitely agree.” I smiled. 

 

About 15 minutes later the conference room was filled and I saw Dylan and his boss up on stage. I assumed the impeccably-dressed man with them was the CEO. 

 

“Greetings, Everyone!” The CEO announced. He welcomed everyone for coming and gave a summary of the items that would be discussed today. 

 

Jonathan then took over and talked numbers: profit margin, return on investment, employee turnover, and daily functioning. I honestly zoned out, because all I could do was watch Dylan. He stood beside the CEO towards the back of the stage. His hands were hanging laced together in front of him. He kept bringing his finger to swipe under his nose every minute or so. Then I could see his face begin to scrunch up. His eyes began to flutter quickly. He turned around and I saw his shoulders jerk forward silently. When he turned around, I saw him rubbing his nose. 

 

One of the things I loved most about Dylan was that he just radiated positive energy. He was energetic, upbeat and always cracking jokes. I always desired to be this way, but I often found myself slipping into negativity or worry. Sometimes my worry or my perfectionist tendencies would get the best of me. The stress would normally manifest into me sobbing on the bathroom floor. My heart would begin to race a hundred miles a minute, my head got dizzy, and I would feel nauseous. Every time, Dylan would come sit across from me and put my hand on his chest. 

 

“Breathe,” he would say. “Match my breath. In…Out….In….Out…” 

 

He would continue to hold my hand to his chest until I calmed down. He would then pull me into an embrace on the bathroom floor and rub my back and I would sniffle into his shirt. My mind flicked back to our argument from a few day ago. He was right, he took so many of my broken pieces and fit them back together. I still wasn’t sure why he had fallen in love with me out of all the girls he could have been with.

 

 I suddenly jumped slightly when I heard the audience give a slight applause. I realized that I had completely zoned out of the presentation. I clapped quietly to fit in.

 

“And now, I would like to introduce one of our own fellow colleagues. He has been a great asset to this company and today you all will get to hear his proposal.” 

 

“Goodborning, everyode. If you don’t kdow be, by nabe is Dylan Parker. Today, I’ll be talking about…” 

 

I cringed when I heard him speak. His voice was rough and he had to clear his throat. Even then his voice was still deep, and in a weird way sexy. But it was marred by congestion. Perhaps, if you didn’t know Dylan personally, you wouldn’t pick up on the other signs, but I did. His normally bright, blue eyes were dull and glassy and he didn’t stand quite as tall. His voice didn’t have quite the same joy in it either. 

 

Besides his voice, he was doing really well with his presentation. I noticed others in the audience murmuring and nodding in approval. I also watched the CEO  nodding from the back of the stage while listening to his presentation. I couldn’t have been any prouder. Dylan had worked SO hard to move up in his company. Suddenly he spun around, facing away from the audience. I watched his shoulders hunch and released not once, but twice. He must have stifled two sneezes. 

 

“Excuse be, as I was saying..” Dylan continued, clearing his throat. 

 

My bottom lip pouted out involuntarily. His next sentences were punctuated by sniffles. If there was one thing I knew for sure about Dylan it was that if he stifled his sneezes, his nose would definitely make him pay. 

 

“Therefore, you cad see that with this dew strategy we would be able to expand our barketing to at le..uh..uh.. east snff 30% bore people. This pu-uhh..uhh.uhh. snff..snff. Ex-ex-uh uh…excus-

 

“HUHCHOOO!! Hah hah HURSHOOO!! CHOO..CHOO..HUH HUHSHOO!” 

 

Dylan sneezed wetly into his fist that wasn’t holding the microphone before he switched over mid-fit to the crook of his elbow. My heart broke as I watched his normally strong body hunch over and shake with every sneeze. A chorus of “bless yous” came from all around the room. 

 

“Excuse be snnnff” He sniffled wetly. His cheeks flushed with a light pink from embarrassment. My heart ached for him. “Truth be told I was a little nervous this borning and forgot by allergy beds.” This elicited a couple sympathetic chuckles from the audience. 

 

“As I was saying,” He paused to sniffle thickly which cleared some of the congestion. “This market expansion allows us to reach 30% more people, increasing our sales projection by about 40%. As you can see here,” He motioned to the presentation on the screen behind him. “This only slightly increases our costs, leaving us with a large profit margin. Thank you for your time today, folks!” 

 

Everyone clapped and Dylan began to quickly walk to the back of the stage, handing the microphone over to his CEO. The CEO shook his head, grabbing a different microphone to use. Poor Dylan had covered the other one in his “allergy” germs. 

 

“Thank you, Dylan. Are there any questions from the audience?” His CEO inquired looking out at us. When multiple hands shot up around me, I saw Dylan’s shoulders visibly sag. He had his wrist pressed up under his nose as discretely as possible and I could tell that he was sniffling. He let his wrist fall to his side as he walked back up to the front of the stage. He called on people one by one and answered their questions as enthusiastically as possible. He even threw in a few jokes. If you didn’t know him well, you probably would have thought he felt fine. 

 

“Tha—that—uh uh HUHSHOO!” He sneezed abruptly into his elbow. “Sorry,” he apologized, sniffling. He made it through the rest of the question before “HUHSHOO…huh huh HACHOO…HUHSHOO” he sneezed desperately again. When he removed his face from his elbow, we locked eyes. He gave me tired smile and winked discretely. 

 

“He sounds awful! Is he sick??” Autumn leaned over and whispered to me. 

 

“If he is, he’ll never admit it.” I whispered back, shaking my head. 

 

“You’re lucky! My husband is a complete baby if he gets the slightest sniffle. It’s Man Cold DEFCON 1” We both snickered quietly. 

 

Jonathan finally walked up to the front of the stage to relieve Dylan. 

 

“Alright, folks.” He announced as Dylan handed him the microphone. “That is all we have time for today. Besides, this man is allergic to his own presentation.” Dylan seemed grateful for the lighthearted joke, “Keep an eye out for the coming emails.” He said, giving Dylan a sly look as he slapped him on the shoulder. A smile spread across my lips, everyone was impressed. 

 

Everyone began to stand up and the boss, CEO, and Dylan all made their way off the stage. A couple employees stood around waiting to talk to them. I hovered on the side by the refreshment table waiting until Dylan freed up. He kept stealing glances at me until he finally made his way past all of the people. 

 

“You did amazing!!” I said as I reached my arms out to embrace him. 

 

“Woah, hold up, babe. I’m famous now. You’ll have to make an appointment with my personal secretary first.” 

 

I rolled my eyes and he laughed as he gave me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Despite his lighthearted mood, I could tell with one glance that he wasn’t feeling well at all. It was evident in his eyes. The were tired and glassy even with that mischievous twinkle in them. 

 

Then, the CEO walked up. 

 

“Jared, this is my girlfriend, Samantha.” Dylan introduced me. 

 

Jared stuck his fist out for a bump. I had to bite my tongue not to chuckle. 

 

“You’ve got a smart one here,” he said, slapping Dylan on the back. “If you two don’t have plans, we were planning on having a company dinner this evening. It’s only right that you come.” 

 

“I would be honored.” Dylan couldn’t hide the glowing smile on his face. He spun around quickly and buried his face in his elbow. 

 

“Huhchoo!” He muffled his sneeze. 

 

“Bless you,” I sympathized, rubbing his arm. 

 

“Of course, if you are feeling unwell, we should post-pone to another time,” Jared suggested with a mildly disgusted look on his face. 

 

“No, no. I assure you its just my allergies,” Dylan smiled convincingly, “as soon as I go home and take those pills I’ll be good as new.” 

 

Jared hesitated, but nodded. “I’ll send you the time and place. 

“Nice meeting you, Samantha.” He added, before walking away. I noticed him pull a travel-size germ-x out of his pocket and cleanse his hands. 

 

“HUHSHOO… huhh…hahhh…HAHSHOO” 

 

I jerked my head towards Dylan. “Bless you. Allergies my ass.” I mumbled. 

 

“I’b not sick and I’b not missing this opportunity.” He sniffled wetly. 

 

“Dylan. You are sick. You need to at least take some medicine before you go and sneeze all over your CEO’s dinner and freak him out forever.” 

 

“Seriously, Samantha? You’re the one who got me sick in the first place.” 

 

Before I could tell if he was joking or being serious, we were interrupted. 

 

“Dylan, you did fantastic!!” A vaguely familiar voice squealed behind me. 

 

I turned around to see the receptionist, Mckenzie, strutting towards us. She enveloped him in a hug. 

 

“Woah, you’re super warm. Are you feeling okay?” She asked him, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. 

 

I thought that I actually might combust. What in the world was she doing? And she was doing it IN FRONT of me. I tried to wrack my memory for any time that Dylan had mentioned her, but I couldn’t remember a time. Was it worse that he hadn’t mentioned her? Had he been trying to hide something? Or was it better than he never mentioned her? Did that mean he didn’t even think about her? My overthinking was definitely on overdrive. 

 

“I’m fine,” he replied curtly, taking a step back. “Have you met my girlfriend, Samantha?” 

 

Mckenzie spun around. “Oh yes! We already met this morning!” She smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth. She squeezed Dylan’s arm. I noticed a desperate look on his face and he tucked his head into the elbow of his opposite arm. 

 

“HURSHOO!! Hahh HAHSHHOO” 

 

“Oh my, bless you! You definitely sound like you’re coming down with something, hun.” She cooed. 

 

Hun?? Hun?? I thought in my head. Was I dreaming?? Was this girl flirting with my boyfriend right in front of my face. 

 

“I’m actually not feeling so hot,” He admitted in an increasingly hoarse voice. “We should actually be heading out.” 

 

“Well I hope you feel better! Nice meeting you, Samantha.” 

 

Dylan took my hand and walked me towards the elevator. I was silent and tense the entire walk over. It was silly, but I was hurt that he had admitted to her that he didn’t feel that well. After all these years he was rarely even that vulnerable with me. Yet he could admit it to her easily. I shook my head. I was definitely over-reacting. He hadn’t flirted back with her at all. Chill, Samantha. I told myself.

 

 A rattling cough from Dylan broke me out of my thoughts. I rubbed his back, and he gave me a sad smile. His eyes were glassy, his nose was pink, his skin was pale, and dark circles were forming under his eyes. He was sniffling consistently now. When the elevator opened we stepped inside and he pressed the button to bring us up to the 5th floor. When the doors shut we were the only ones there. He slumped against me and rested his head ontop of mine. I heard him sniffle and my heart absolutely melted. I wrapped my arms around his body and let my jealousy wash away. 

 

He jerked both of his hands up to cover his mouth and nose. 

 

“ASSHHOOO!! Huh HUHSHHOO” He sneezed wetly into his cupped hands, sniffling miserable afterwards. 

 

“Bless you,” I offered. 

 

He gave me a tight smile before placing his hands on the rail in the elevator. I cringed thinking about the poor, unsuspecting person who would touch that rail next and inevitably be exposed to his cold. 

 

We made our way to his office and I explained that I had to swing by work to take care of some things. He nodded. His elbows were on his desk, his head resting in his hands with his fingers massaging his temples. 

 

“I’ll text you the information about dinner tonight. Thank you so much for surprising me today, babe.” 

 

I smiled and walked behind him, placing my hands on his strong shoulders and massaging them. I kissed his cheek, affectionately. Then, I slipped the cold meds and tissues out of my purse that I had stashed there earlier, leaving them on his desk. 

 

“Just in case,” I said. 

 

He visibly rolled his eyes. “I’m not-“ 

 

“Not sick. I know” I finished his sentence. “I love you.” I blew him a kiss before leaving the office.

 

*******************************************

Thank you all so much for reading! I am not super set on where I want to take the next part. Does anyone have any requests/suggestions? Do you all want to see Dylan suffer through dinner with the CEO of the company while trying to hide he is sick? Do you all want some drama with the receptionist, McKenzie? I am honestly having some serious writer’s block. So let me know anything you all might want to see!!  

[Alabaster]

This is so great! I was physically pissed off when McKenzie did that-- I don't think I could handle drama there! Probably struggling through dinner before he fiiiinally lets Samantha in!! <3<3

[Privatedancer]

So excited to see this update!  I will be happy with anything but look forward to seeing Dylan let Samantha take care of him.  I immediately pictured someone I used to work with in Makenzie.  The type of beautiful girl who flirted with every guy, loved causing drama, and only the smartest guys saw what she was all about....hopefully Dylan is one of them

[marina<3]

Soooooo, It has taken me 5 months, but I finally finished the next part! This semester has been insane, but I am about to graduate so I will be able to finish it up shortly! 

 

 

I glanced at the clock as I was driving home. 4:30. Ugh. It had taken much longer than I thought to finish up at the office. That meant I was going to have to rush to be ready for dinner tonight. I was also hoping that by some miracle Dylan had gotten better or at least was going to get a break from his symptoms for this dinner. The poor thing was so stubborn that he couldn’t just admit he was sick. I let my mind drift off for the rest of the drive. 

 

When I pulled into our driveway, I saw that Dylan was already home. I gathered my things and fumbled with the keys to get inside. 

 

“Shit” I cursed to myself as I dropped the keys and they clattered on the tile entrance way. I scooped them up and walked into our living room to find the most pitiful sight I had ever seen. 

 

Dylan was laying on the couch on his stomach. His handsome face was smushed into a pillow and his mouth hung open to breathe. He snored lightly giving me the hint that he was still congested. His hair that was impeccably styled this morning was ruffled up and messy, sticking up in some sections. Even though he had a blanket draped over him, he was still in his suit, socks on, but shoes thrown haphazardly to the side. One of his arms was hanging over the side of the sofa and resting on the ground. I noticed that there was a tissue that he was loosely holding onto. 

 

I scanned the rest of the room and noticed his briefcase was laying on the floor next to the couch and the coffee table had a couple of tissues spread out across it. Then, I noticed the package of cold medicine that I had given to him earlier was laying on the table. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the package was opened and one of the pills had been punched out. My lip pouted out in sympathy. I leaned down and placed my hand on his forehead. It was warm, but not too bad. I readjusted the blanket ontop of him so it covered him better. 

 

The clock read 4:58. Hmm I calculated in my head. We could make it if we left at 6, and that meant I could probably let Dylan sleep until about 5:30, maybe 5:20 to be safe. I picked up the tissues on the table and threw them away. I put a pot on to make some tea from Dylan to help his voice (whether he wanted it or not).  I gathered up his briefcase and shoes and put them away. 

 

When I came back downstairs, I could hear Dylan snoring even louder. His breath would catch every now and I could hear him sniffle in his sleep. I just wanted to help him change into some comfy clothes and cuddle up to him all night long. 

 

I put the teabags into the water on the stove and let the tea steep while I went upstairs to shower quickly. I headed back downstairs in my robe and pulled the tea off. I glanced at the time, 5:22. I made my way over to the couch and crouched down next to Dylan’s face. I rubbed his arm and kissed his forehead. 

 

“Dylan, baby. It’s time to wake up.” I ran my fingers through his hair and he started to stir awake. His eyes fluttered open, but they were glassy and had a faraway look in them. 

 

“Huh…huh… huh…” His breath hitched and I could tell he was struggling to hold back the sneezes. His eyelids fluttered and he finally lost the fight. He turned is head away from me and into the pillow completely. 

 

“Huh… HUHCOO… HUHHHSHOOO… HURSHHOO” He sneezed wet and congestedly into the pillow. He groaned and sniffled afterwards. I plucked a few tissues out of the box on the table and handed them to him. 

 

“Bless you.” I said rubbing his back soothingly as he pushed himself up on his elbows and blew his nose.  

 

“Thanks. Fuck, what time is it?” He said, glancing around frantically as he was still rubbing under his nose with the tissue. 

 

“Don’t worry, it’s 5:24. You have time to get ready before we have to leave.” 

 

He nodded before ducking his head back into the pillow to cough. I squeezed his arm before getting up to pour him a cup of tea with honey. 

 

When I came back he was sitting there with a tissue in his hands held away from his face. His eyes were at half-mast and his mouth hung open. 

 

“Huh..huhh..huuhhhh” 

 

“Bless you!!” I yelled, preemptively, teasing him. 

 

His eyes cut over to me with an annoyed expression. 

 

“Huh…ugh. Lost it. I’m going to go take a shower real- HUHHSHOOO. Found it- take a shower real quick.” 

 

Okay babe. I handed him the tea to take with him and followed him upstairs to find something to wear. 

 

I searched around trying to find a nice dress, but I couldn’t ignore Dylan in the shower. The warm water and steam must have been loosening up his congestion, because he was coughing wetly. I found a nice black dress that would look both professional and flattering. 

 

When Dylan came into the closet, any sign of him not feeling well or vulnerability was masked. 

 

“Nice outfit. It really brings out your eyes.” He smirked, nodding towards my bathrobe.

 

I smacked him playfully on the chest. “You’re one to talk.” I retorted, yanking his towel off of his waist. 

 

He turned around and grabbed the towel from me. Rolling it up and playfully snapping it and whipping it towards me. I giggled and squealed until he stopped and put his hands on my waist, pulling me close. His lips crashed into mine and we kissed passionately, only the sound of his miserable sniffling interrupting us. 

 

“Come on we have to get ready.” I noted. 

 

 

 

At 6 o’clock sharp we were both in the car and on the way to the dinner. 

 

“Babe, I can’t believe we are going to this. I am so huh..Huhshoo Hurshooo- ugh- so excited.” 

 

“I am sure they are super excited for you to share more of your ideas, and your cold, with them.” 

 

He looked over at me and rolled his eyes, but he didn’t argue. We chatted for a couple more minutes before turning up the music for the rest of the ride. I was singing along and scrolling on my phone, until I heard Dylan breathe in sharply. When I glanced over, he was once against struggling with a sneeze. 

 

“Huh….huhhh…huh.” He pressed his wrist up under his nose and finally fought it off. “Hah, take that.” He mumbled quietly to himself. 

 

I couldn’t help but giggle at him. He was so cute, even when he wasn’t trying to be. 

 

“Oh, what? You think my struggle is funny?” He teased me. “I didn’t hear you laughing when you had this cold.” 

 

“SO YOU ADMIT YOU’RE SICK?!” I remarked, triumphantly. 

 

“Laugh away, but we will see who is laughing the next time you’re sneezing your head off.” 

 

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was probably right. I squeezed his arm and leaned over the center console to kiss his cheek, his notably warm cheek. 

 

“Seriously, babe, what can I do to help you tonight? I am the one who got you sick in the first place.” 

 

“Sam,” He took one of his hands off the steering wheel and grabbed mine. He squeezed it, affectionately. “I am fine, don’t worry about it.” 

 

I just nodded. Dylan was always so strong and he always felt like he had to take care of everything. His Dad died when he was just a teenager, making him the man of the house. He always did his best to take care of his mother and his sister. After that, I think he felt like he couldn’t show any weakness or any vulnerabilities. What he didn’t realize was that it was okay to not be okay with me. He could let his guard down and finally let someone else take care of him for a change. 

 

Instead, I continued to steal glances at my sick and stubborn boyfriend for the rest of the drive. He sniffled occasionally, swiping at his nose and I almost thought I saw him shivering. Finally, we pulled up to the restaurant. 

 

“Well, damn. I really hope he is paying with the company card.” Dylan smirked. 

 

“They are going to kick us peasants out of somewhere this bougie.” I replied. 

 

We pulled up and the valet took our car. 

 

“Hold up.” Dylan mumbled, before we went inside. 

 

“What? Why?” 

 

He turned around, facing away from me. But I saw him reaching into his pocket, and pulled out a couple tissues. I heard him blow his nose wetly, before stuffing them back into his pocket. I was shocked that he had actually brought tissues, another small admission of how terrible he was actually feeling. 

 

“Ready, my lady.” He smiled, flashing his white teeth. His deep blue eyes sparkled even through his cold. He held out his hand for me to take. 

 

“Why sir. I am appalled to think you would offer me such a germ infested hand to hold. The only gentlemen I will be seen with are those high-class enough to at least have a handkerchief! This is blasphemy!” I mocked in an elegant voice, gasping dramatically and placing my hand on my chest. 

 

He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smirking. “Please forgive me. Just one more chance, madame.” He played along. 

 

We both laughed as I grabbed his hand and we made our way inside. We hadn’t even walked 5 steps inside the building before Dylan stopped in his tracks and jerked his elbow up to cover his face.

 

“Hehhhh hehshoo!!” He let out a muffled sneeze. Oh boy, I thought, tonight is going to be interesting. He sniffled, before straightening up and continuing on like nothing ever happened. 

 

“So much for a second chance! You peasant in disguise.” I teased. 

 

“God, I love you.” He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my waist and kissing my temple.

 

We checked our coats (something so fancy I had only witnesses it in movies) and then the hostess greeted us and led us to our reserved table. We had made perfect timing considering we were not the first guests, but also not the last to arrive. We sat down and began speaking with Jonathan and Jared who introduced us to their wives. Everything was going well, until I saw that sneezy expression fall over Dylan’s face. I watched his eyes flutter and I heard him take a couple of shaky breaths. 

 

“I’m g-g-going to the bath-huh-room real quick.” He whispered to me and quietly excused himself. 

 

I watched him like a hawk as he walked away and I noticed his shoulders hunch over. I knew the only reason that he excused himself was because he had to sneeze. Hopefully, if he let it out now, his nose would give him a break until the end of dinner. 

 

I felt awkward at the table without Dylan, and I began to chew on the side of my lip. I had no idea how to start a conversation with his coworkers. 

 

“So, Samantha, what do you do?” Thankfully, Jared broke the silence. 

 

I was explaining the work that I did as a Chief Sustainability Officer as Dylan returned to his seat beside me. I have his thigh a quick, affectionate squeeze. 

 

When the conversation finally shifted away from me, I took the opportunity to inspect Dylan. His nose was definitely pink and his skin was paler than normal, but he looked okay. I couldn’t wait to get him home and in bed so he could finally rest. 

 

Towards the end of dinner, Dylan started to sniffle and I would watch him surreptitiously swipe his finger under his nose. I could tell that he wasn’t going to last much longer. We were drinking post-dinner coffee, something that I had never done before, I could hear Dylan’s breath hitching next to me. I glanced over and he was desperately fighting off a sneeze. I quickly tried to brainstorm a way to help him. I knew his nose wasn’t going to let him get away without sneezing much longer and by the way he was sniffling I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to contain. 

 

“Dylan, I am absolutely freezing, would you mind checking if you could get my coat?” 

 

He nodded, shooting me a grateful glance before quickly excusing himself. I knew that as soon as he made it out of hearing distance from the table, he would finally let the sneezes take over. 

 

I spotted Dylan making his way back to the table with my coat, and I saw him desperately catch a sneeze in his free hands. He wiped his nose with his finger before he sat down. 

 

“Dylan, would you mind passing me the cream?” Jared asked. 

 

“Of course! So where were we?” Dylan inquired, jumping back into the conversation as he passed the cream. Jared poured some cream into his cup before setting the container down and rubbing his face. 

 

“Oh right, we were just talking about next quarter..” Jared continued. I zoned out of the conversation, cringing as I imagined all of the germs Dylan had just spread to his germ-conscious CEO.  Dylan was absolutely amazing, but one thing he was not amazing at, was keeping his cold to himself. I guess I couldn’t criticize him too much, because apparently, neither was I. 

 

After about 30 minutes longer, the conversation was wrapping up and Jared paid for the meal. We graciously thanked him, before saying our goodbyes and heading out. As soon as we were out of earshot, Dylan pulled out a tissue and blew his nose wetly. Afterwards, he sniffled and let out a cough. I looked over at him and whatever facade he had put on tonight was completely gone. I leaned into him as we walked, wrapping my arm around him to rub his back soothingly. When we made it to the front of the restaurant, Dylan got his coat and gave the valet the ticket for our car. As we waited, he let his body lean into mine and he rested his head ontop of mine. 

 

“Cad you drive?” He asked in a quiet, congested voice. 

 

I pulled away from him so I could look at him. I was absolutely shocked. In all of the years we were together he rarely ever asked me to drive. It wasn’t that he didn’t think I was capable of it, he just knew I preferred being the passenger. He must have felt absolutely awful. 

 

I tipped the valet as I walked around to the driver’s side of the car. Dylan slumped down in his seat, kicked his shoes off, and turned the heat on full blast. I looked over at him as I switched the car to drive and started to pull away. He sat with his elbows propped on his knees and his face in the palm of his hands. I could hear him sniffling. I reached over to place my hand on his back, but I could his breath hitched and he sneezed down toward the floor without even lifting his head. 

 

“Huh..huh… HUHCHOO!! hah…HAHSCHHHH!! HUHCOOO!! huhh…huhh….snffffffff.” 

 

“Bless you, baby..” I could help but pout my lip out at him. He fumbled for the pack of tissues in his pocket and as he pulled them out, several used ones scattered onto the floor. He blew his nose wetly before. 

 

“Ahhhh AHCHOO!!” He sneezed, again. 

 

“Bless you..” 

 

“Huhhhshooo” 

 

“Bless-“ 

 

“HUHSCHHH” 

 

I waited as his breath hitched again. His eyelashes fluttered and his nose quivered and he held a tissue out from his face. Finally, he set the tissue down and let out an exhausted sigh. He glanced over at me. 

“I’b done now.” He noted in a congested voice, before coughing into his fist. 

 

“Bless you, sweetheart.” 

 

“Danks.” he responded, before resting his head against the window and eventually nodding off for the remainder of the drive home. 

 

It seemed like the cold had finally won out and he was done openly denying the fact that he was sick. I drove as quickly as I could so I could get him in bed and take care of my sweet, overachieving, very sick boyfriend.

 

 

Thank you for reading and sticking with this! Please let me know if you would like me to continue! If you have any requests, feel free to ask! Comments are always appreciated! 

 

 

 

 

 

[chronic reader]

Please continue! I would love to see what happens with Dylan’s boss and this cold

[RipleyToo]

Oo can’t wait to read more about Dylan! He’s cute and I love how the characters interact with each other, very cute. 

[LimeyBlimey]

This is soooo good!! It is well-written and I was immediately drawn into the characters and the story! Please keep going! Can't wait to see how Dylan is doing, will he go back into work the next day to push through it, or stay home sick for a couple days now that's finally admitted he's sick?

[Hellbent for Feather]

I'm loving this and would be so happy to see it continue, if you're inspired to keep writing it.  There's something about an overachieving guy being brought down by a cold and finally admitting defeat that just amplifies his fall to vulnerability, I'm melting while reading it!  Ditto about what might happen to the CEO, but even more curious to see if that over-flirty receptionist is going to regret hugging and getting so close to Dylan.  It would serve her right!

[Heather]

So good 😁

[Privatedancer]

On 5/6/2019 at 7:28 PM, marina<3 said:

nose

 

[Privatedancer]

Would love to read more

[marina<3]

Thank you all so much for your nice comments!!! I really appreciate them!! I am so glad that you all are enjoying this story!! Here is the next part. I have tried to include some of your ideas you all mentioned in this part and the next one which will be posted soon (not to spoil it, but someone else might be sick). As always, please let me know what you think and let me know if there’s anything you want me to include in the next part!!! Thank you all for reading! You’re the best! 

 

 

 

I pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. Dylan stirred beside me and I brushed aside some of the hair that was matted down on his damp forehead. My eyebrows knitted together in concern as I realized how warm he was. His eyes fluttered open and he rubbed his nose with a deep sniffle. Without saying a word, he unbuckled his seatbelt and made his way towards the house. 

 

“Huh ISHHHH….HUHISHHHHO” Before he reached he door, he doubled over at the waist, sneezing into his hands. He groaned audibly afterwards and wiped his hands on his pants. 

 

“Ugh. I’m disgusting.” He mumbled. 

 

I decided against joking with him. Instead, I placed my hand on his arm sympathetically “Bless you, baby. I’m so sorry you don’t feel good.” 

 

In return, he just sniffled and gave me a tight smile with sad eyes. I realized how crappy he must have felt then. It wasn’t like him to be so quiet and down. 

 

As we made our way inside, he went straight for the stairs and into our bedroom. I made my way to the kitchen to put another pot of tea on for him. Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was already 10:45. I prayed Dylan would call out sick the next morning so he could finally get some proper rest. 

 

A few moments later, I heard soft footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw Dylan making his way toward me. He had changed into black, comfy joggers and his deep blue hoodie from college. His brown hair was tousled and his pink nose stood out against his now pale skin. My heart fluttered at the sight, because I always had a soft spot for a cute boy in a hoodie. 

 

He must have noticed my face, because he chuckled. “Oh right, this is the hoodie that made you fall in love with me.” 

 

I giggled, coming up to him and leaning up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Can you blame me? You still look just as adorable.” I mused. He closed the remaining gap between us and wrapped his arms around me. He rested his head on top of mine and I flashed back to that moment. 

 

********************************************

 

It was the middle of our finals week in college, and I had been cooped up in my dorm room studying for about 6 hours straight. I was obsessed with keeping straight A’s and was so anxious about the exams coming up. I was wearing myself out and only getting a couple hours of sleep each night. 

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I hadn’t made any plans, so I figured it must have been someone looking for Kelsey, my roommate. To my surprise, I opened the door to find my boyfriend’s charming face staring back at me. He was wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a blue hoodie. He also had a backpack slung across his shoulder. 

 

“Surprise!!!!” He exclaimed. 

 

“Oh! Hi...” I replied. I felt my cheeks flush as I suddenly realized that I wasn’t wearing any makeup and I was dressed in fuzzy socks, sweats, and an old t-shirt. We had been dating a couple months, so I wasn’t sure why I was embarrassed by my appearance. I guess it was just that I really liked him and always wanted him to see me looking my best. “I didn’t know you were coming!” 

 

“Well, you see, that is kinda the whole point behind a surprise.” He teased, brushing my bangs affectionately out of my eyes. 

 

I rolled my eyes and smacked his arm playfully. “Well I’m so happy to see you, but I’m studying right now.” 

 

“I know. Just like you have been all week. And now, you should be thanking me, because I’m giving you an excuse NOT to keep studying.” He chuckled. 

 

“But-“ I tried to argue.

 

“Nope. No buts. You are the smartest girl I’ve ever met. You are going to ace these exams and a 2 hours break isn’t going to change that. In fact, it’ll probably refresh your mind.” 

 

I look back longingly at my books and then back at my handsome and sweet boyfriend. 

 

“Okay, you’ve convinced me. But 2 hours MAX and not a moment longer” I emphasized. 

 

“Yes ma’am. Now go change into some hiking clothes.” 

 

“Hmmmm I wonder what the surprise could be then....” I remarked sarcastically. 

 

“Oh hush and go change already.” He laughed, kissing my temple. 

 

About 30 minutes later I had changed and we arrived at what Dylan had deemed one of the best hiking spots around. It was my favorite time of day, where the sun was just beginning to set and the world had a calmness to it. We began hiking and I felt my stress melt away. Dylan was right, this was a great idea. God, he was amazing, I mused. 

 

“Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed this.” 

 

Before he could answer I interrupted him. 

 

“Hihchuu!! Hahhh ashiew!” I sneezed twice into my elbow. 

 

“Bless you!” He said, glancing over at me. “And you’re welcome. You deserve a little break. And I’ve missed hanging out with you this week.” He admitted, his eyes flicking away. 

 

“Awwww.” I exclaimed, snuggling up to him. He wrapped his arm around my back as we continued to walk and I nestled my face into the side of his chest. Suddenly, my nose tickled again. 

 

“Hahachieew!” I sneezed, wetly. I turned my head as much as I could and covered it with my free hand. 

 

“Bless you, again! Are you okay, Sanders?” He chuckled, calling me by my last name. 

 

I nodded “Yea, I think I’m allergic to something here. Now whenever I go outside I sneeze like this.” 

 

As if to disprove myself, I shivered from the chilly air outside. I definitely should have worn an extra layer, especially at this time of day.

 

Dylan definitely noticed and he looked down at me, his eyebrow knit together in concern. “Well, either way,” he paused and unwrapped his arm from my body, sliding the backpack off his shoulders and handing it to me for a moment. “Take my jacket. I don’t want you catching a cold and being sick for your exams because of my spontaneous adventure.” 

 

“Come on, even a Florida girl like me knows that’s a myth.” 

 

“Better safe than sorry.” He shrugged, handing me the hoodie. 

 

I barely pulled it over my head before I sneezed again into my cupped hands.

 

“Bless you, babe.” Dylan said, before he launched into telling me a story. 

 

I noticed he was shivering and I felt so bad. “Do you want your hoodie back, babe?” I asked.

 

“No, no. You keep it. I’m immune to the cold.” He replied, ironically as he still shivered. It warmed my heart that he cared that much about me. Actions had always meant more than words to me. 

 

Finally, we made it to a small clearing that overlooked an absolutely gorgeous view. I gasped at how magnificent it was and the setting sun made it all the more perfect. 

 

“Here we are.” Dylan announced, triumphantly.

 

As I admired the view, he pulled a blanket out of his backpack for us to sit on. I plopped down next to him and he pulled out a bottle of wine, sandwiches, and red velvet cupcakes (my favorite). 

 

Looking at everything he had planned, I was overwhelmed by emotion. My heart felt so full. 

 

“Oh my god. I love you!” I exclaimed and then gasped, cupping my hand over my mouth. My eyes must have widened to three times their normal size. 

 

“What was that??” Dylan asked, looking up from opening the bottle of wine and smirking. 

 

“I love wine! That’s all I said.” 

 

“Pretty sure that’s not what I heard.” He could not contain the smile on his face. 

 

I blushed and couldn’t make eye contact with him. What had I done!?!? We had only been going out a few months. Did I really even mean that, yet? Had I just ruined our whole evening? 

 

“Hey.” Dylan mumbled, softly. He placed his fingers gently on my chin and turned it to face him. He let his hand slide to the back of my neck and he pulled my face so close to his that my forehead rested on his for a moment. Then, he pulled back just a little so we could look each other in the eyes. I chewed on my bottom lip, nervously. 

 

“I love you, Samantha Sanders.” He said confidently. 

 

My mouth fell open and I just stared at him. He laughed. 

 

“I love you, and I brought you up here to tell you that tonight, but you kinda beat me to the punch.” 

 

I didn’t say a word. I just grabbed his face and kissed him. “I love you,” I mumbled against his lips. 

 

We ate and talked and I definitely drank too much of the wine. As we hiked back down the trail, I was too giggly and too unsteady on my feet. Dylan just laughed with me the entire way. 

 

We were almost back to the car, when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. 

 

“What’s wrong, my little drunkie?” Dylan teased. “Come on, we should get back before the sun totally sets and it’s dark.” He encouraged when I continued to stand there and not move. 

 

“Huhitchuuu!!! hahh ahsiewww!!! Huh.... huh... huhichuuu!!!” I sneezed completely uncovered in front of me. “Oops.” I blushed and giggled, sniffling and rubbing my nose. My head still felt pleasantly fuzzy from the wine. 

 

“Bless you.” Dylan laughed. I sprinted to catch up to him. 

 

Before we got in the car, I insisted he take his hoodie back and to my surprise he agreed. I talked the entire drive back, because drunk me had a tendency to never be able to shut up. Dylan walked me to my door and I asked him to come inside. 

 

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to keep you for a moment longer than 2 hours.” 

 

“I think that arrangement can be- ASHIEWW!!” I sneezed loudly and surprised myself. “Woah.” My still tipsy self commented. “I think that can be disregarded.” 

 

“Damn. Haha. Bless you!!! Hmmm I’m not sure, I mean do I really want to listen to you sneeze for the rest of the night.” 

 

“Well I guess if you don’t want to....” I began, closing the door. 

 

He stopped it with his foot. “I was just kidding-“ 

 

I cut him off by pressing my lips against his and grabbing his hoodie to gently pull him inside. 

 

 

********************************************

 

“Babe?? Babe??” Dylan inquired, pulling back from our hug. “Did you hear anything I just said?” 

 

“What? No. I’m sorry.” I giggled, glancing up at him with puppy dog eyes. “Tell me again.” 

 

“I just asked if we could go to bed.” He repeated, quietly. 

 

“Of course, baby. Can I take your temperature first?” I almost begged, noticing the heat radiating off him even through that hoodie. 

 

“If you must.” He replied dramatically, sniffling. He moved to one of the stools at the island in our kitchen. He folded his arms on the counter and rested his head on top of them. 

 

“Huhchoo...huh-huh-huh ISHHHH” he sneezed wetly and uncovered to his side. 

 

“Bless you, baby.” I said, walking over to him. I kissed his forehead affectionately and handed him the thermometer. He took it without objection and placed it under his tongue. As I waited for the beep, I took the tea off the stove and looked around in the pantry for some honey.

 

When I heard the thermometer beep, I walked over to Dylan. He glanced at the thermometer and got up to put it back in the cabinet. 

 

“What did it say??” I inquired. 

 

“I have a fever.” He replied, curtly. 

 

“Well, no shit, Sherlock. But what is it??” 

 

Dylan tried to slide past me, but I was too quick. I swiped the thermometer out of his hand. 

 

“Hey! Swiper, no swiping!!!” He exclaimed, defeated.

 

“103.1,” I frowned. Dylan looked at me sheepishly. “You must feel awful, baby. What can I get you??” 

 

“Can we ju.... just- uh- uh... huh HUHSHOOO.... huh... huh... HAHISHHHH. Ugh. Can we just go to bed now?” He asked again in a pitiful voice, rubbing his nose. 

 

“Sure, Dylan. Go on. I’ll get the tea finished and bring it on up to you.” I replied, leaning up on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek. 

 

He nodded and made his way towards the stairs. I let my eyes follow him as he went. His shoulders were hunched over and he let his sock covered feet trudge across the floor, too tired to even lift them. He stopped halfway to the stairs and plucked a couple of tissues out of the box on the dining room table. As he made his way up the stairs, he muffled two more sneezes into the tissues. With each sneeze he was bent over and had to pause. He finally continued and I assumed made it into the bedroom. 

 

I finished adding honey to the tea and tasted it to make sure it was just right. I also grabbed some medicine for him to take. He needed to get that fever down. I wanted to pack my lunch for work the next day, but my ailing boyfriend needed me right now. I would just have to wake up earlier to pack it. I turned off the stove, threw the pot in the sink for future me to worry about, and turned off the lights. 

 

When I made it to our bedroom, Dylan was curled up under the covers still wearing his joggers and hoodie. I sat on the edge of the bed next to him and he moved closer to me, resting his warm head on my thigh. I ran my fingers through his hair, soothingly. 

 

“Sam, I feel like crap.” He mumbled into my leg. 

 

“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.” I leaned down to kiss his temple. “Take this.” I said, offering him the medicine. He sat up and took the medicine before beginning to sip on the tea. 

 

I went into the bathroom and stripped off the nice dress, exchanging it for a pair of panties and one of Dylan’s soft t-shirts. I quickly washed my face, and brushed my teeth. As I made my way into the bedroom, I saw Dylan still sitting up, but his eyes were glassy and his mouth hung open as his breath hitched. I giggled at his silly face. He cut his eyes over at me and raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Are you laugh- huh huh.... laughin- HUHISHHHH- laughing at me!?” 

 

“Bless you and no of course not.” I answered with an angelic face. “I would never.” 

 

“Ugh. Where did you even catch this cold? It’s awful.” He confessed, blowing his stuffy nose. 

 

“I’m not sure, but you know if someone with a cold even looks at me I’m bound to get it.” I replied as I curled up next to him in bed. 

 

“Huhshoo ...hahishhh.... huhhh... hiiihh.... hahshoo” He sneezed uncovered over the side of the bed. “Well next time, tell them not to look at you.” He teased, sniffling again. 

 

“Bless you. Or maybe next time, I just won’t look at YOU.” 

 

He chuckled before coughing into his fist. He moaned after and I rubbed his arm affectionately. I noticed him shivering despite the multiple layers he had on. I laid down next to him on my back and he cuddled up next to me, resting his head on my chest. I ran my fingers through his hair and rubbed his back. 

 

Suddenly, I felt his breath change. It was shaky and I knew he was fighting a sneeze. 

 

“Huhh....huhh..” his breath hitched as I continued to rub his back. 

 

“HUHISHOOO.... HAHISHOOO!!” He pulled the covers up around his nose to sneeze into. I felt his whole body shake as he sneezed. 

 

“Bless you.” 

 

“Thangs.” He mumbled congestedly. 

 

After that, he sniffled himself to sleep, still cuddled up on top of me. 

 

 

I woke up the next morning to our alarm blaring. I tried to turn it off quickly to avoid waking up Dylan, but then I noticed he wasn’t even in bed next to me. 

 

“Dylan? Babe? Are you okay?” I called out to the empty room, rubbing my tired face. Then I noticed that he must be in the bathroom, because I could see light from under the door and I could hear the water running. I walked over to the door and knocked on it a couple of times before going inside. 

 

“Hey, baby, how ya feeling?” I asked. 

 

He poked his head out from behind the shower curtain. 

 

“I’b alright.” He said in a super congested and hoarse voice. 

 

“Awww sweetheart, you sound awful.” I sympathized. “Please tell me you called in sick?” 

 

“HUHISHOOOO. Hxxxnnnntttt.” He sneezed, managing to stifle the last one. 

 

“I’b okay enough to work.” He said between coughs. 

 

I debated whether or not to argue, before finally deciding against it. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the bathroom, downstairs to our kitchen. I worked on packing my lunch for the day, and decided to pack one for Dylan to help him out. I admired his work ethic. In fact, it was one of the things that attracted me to him the most in the beginning. Now, I wished he could just relax when he was this sick. I wanted him to be able to open up to me and just admit that he needed to be taken care of. I needed him to know it was okay for him not to be okay. 

 

As I finished up Dylan’s lunch I slipped a note inside: 

 

 It’s okay to not be okay. I’m here for you. Let me know if you need anything. I love you 

                      -Sam

 

I headed back upstairs to find Dylan dressed and gathering his things for work. He looked just as handsome as always, but there was no denying that he was so sick. I jumped into the shower and as I was getting out, Dylan opened the bathroom door. 

 

“Hey, Sam. I’b leaving.” 

 

“Okay, baby. I made lunch for you. It’s on the counter.” 

 

“You’re the best.” He replied in a raspy voice, he tried to cough, to clear up his voice, but it did nothing. “HUHISHOO!” He suddenly sneezed, turning away from me. 

 

“Bless you. I hope you feel better...” 

 

“Thangs.” He replied, kissing my cheek and walking out of the bathroom. 

 

I knew how absolutely awful he felt by how quiet he was this morning. I sighed and finished getting ready.

                         

                              *******

 

I had been at the office for a few hours when my cell began to buzz on my desk. I glanced at the time on my computer. When did it already get to be lunch time? I wondered to myself. I finished up the sentence on the email I was typing, before flipping my phone over to glance at who was calling. When I saw Dylan’s caller ID picture staring back at me, I quickly swiped the answer bar. 

 

“Hey, baby.” I answered, slightly concerned because we rarely ever called each other at work. 

 

There was a pause on the other end and I thought I heard muffled coughing. 

 

“Dylan...? Everything okay?” I asked. 

 

Finally, his weak voice replied. “I need you...”

[M214186]

Please continue 

[Privatedancer]

Oh my God - loves that ending!    Being needed by a strong guy who needs no one is the best

[Alabaster]

omg My HEART.

[LimeyBlimey]

Love it!! Did his work send him home sick?? They better have!! Can't wait for more!!

[PennyLane]

<3333333

[Feo]

I can't believe I lost your last two updated 😱 But now I'm definitely hoping for more! I love the interaction between Sam and Dylan. They are so cute 😍 I also like that you make them interact with other people and do stuff like work, dinners  etc and not just lay on the sofa ☺️

[Me4ever]

Oh my gooosh this was absolutely amazing and made me melt in all the right ways. I would absolutely love to read more about Sam taking care of sick Dylan. Such a cliffhanger. Amazing story, please keep going. 

[WishUponAUnicorn]

This was wonderful thank you so much for sharing !!

[marina<3]

So I FINALLY got around to writing the next part. I am so so sorry this took so long. I was struggling with writer’s block and I also want it to be something that you all enjoy. I hope you like this next part! I’m thinking there will be just one part to finish this story up if you all are interested!! 

 

Also, I’m sorry this posted in such big font. Each time I tried to change it, the webpage said their was an error and reloaded the page. 

 

 

 

“Oh, baby, what’s wrong??” I’m not sure I had ever heard Dylan say that sentence in all of the years we had been together. 

 

He paused again, before he answered and the words tumbled out of his mouth so quickly I could barely understand him. 

 

“I’m so sick that my boss is sending me home, but I feel so awful and I don’t think I can drive. I should have listened to you-HuhCHOO- this morning. Now I- HUHISHHH- I can...can... can’t s-stop sneezing-HAHISHHHO- and I’m just miserable. I know you are so busy at work but I was just wondering-“ 

 

I didn’t even make him finish his sentence. I also didn’t baby him with my response- I knew he would hate that. Here he FINALLY admitted that he needed me, I didn’t want him to change his mind, because my response was too coddling. “Bless you, babe. Say no more. I will be there in about 30 minutes.” 

 

“But what about my car? Then we’ll just have-” he broke off the sentence to cough  “just have to come back and get it-“ 

 

“Don’t worry about that. Just let your boss know that you’re leaving it there and I’ll drive you to work when you are feeling better or we will get it another day. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.” I tried to sound as self-assured as possible. Whenever I had a problem, Dylan would respond in a calm and collected way. He never sounded stressed and always calmed all of my worries by reassuring me that we could and would solve it. For once, I was finally getting to be that rock for him. 

 

“Okay,” he conceded. “And babe?” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“Huh....huh... HUHISHOOO.... HUHASHOOO!!! HUHCHOO!! Can you bring tissues?” He sniffled. 

 

“Bless you. Absolutely. I’ll see you soon. I love you.” 

 

“I love you.” He responded and the call ended. 

 

My heart sunk. For him to be this vulnerable, it had to be bad. I wondered if this was the same cold I had, or something worse. I had gotten better in just a few days. But then again, he had overworked himself and his body was probably forcing him to rest. 

 

I walked into my boss’s office. John was analyzing a stack of papers. I lightly knocked on the open door to get his attention.

 

“Oh, hi Samantha! Sorry, I hope you haven’t been standing there long. You know how I get in the zone sometimes. What’s up?” 

 

“I hate to ask this, but my boyfriend is really sick and is getting sent home from work. Apparently, he can’t drive himself home. Is there anyway you could spare me for the rest of the afternoon? I can finish everything from my computer at home.” 

 

“Oh no. I am so sorry to hear that! You know, the flu is going around. We never got to go on our camping trip because my son and wife came down with it, they are still cooped up at home. I hope he didn’t catch that. But anyways, yes! Absolutely yes. Go take care of him and don’t worry about sending me anything tonight. Just pick up where you left off when you come in tomorrow!” 

 

“Have I ever told you that you are the best boss ever?” I mentioned. 

 

“Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it.” He chuckled. 

 

“I hope your son and wife get better. Thank you so so much.” 

 

“Of course, Samantha.” He smiled, warmly. 

 

I was so grateful for John. I had experienced some shitty bosses in my lifetime, but he was amazing. 

 

I rushed back to my office to grab my things and head to my car. As I was locking my office, I ran back inside to grab the box of tissues off my desk. 

 

 

I hurried out to my car and pulled out of the parking lot. As I drove (much faster than I probably should have), I mentally compared the symptoms of a cold versus the flu. Dylan’s high temperature would indicate the flu, but his constant sneezing leaned more towards a cold. 

 

After exactly 28 minutes I pulled into the parking lot of Dylan’s office. As I walked inside to the reception desk, I saw none other than McKenzie. When she noticed my presence and glanced up, I detected instantly that something was different. 

 

“Oh, hello again!” She addressed me. 

 

As soon as she spoke, I knew what was wrong. Her voice gave it away: she was sick. He nose was pink and her eyes were glassy. There was a box of tissues right next to her computer and she was wearing a heavy coat despite the comfortable temperature indoors. 

 

“Yup. It’s me again,” I replied, shooting her the sweetest smile I could manage. “You probably guessed, but I’m here for Dylan.”

 

“Oh?” She asked, seeming confused. 

 

“He’s not feeling well and is getting sent home.” 

 

She nodded, but her eyes had glazed over and her mouth hung open. Suddenly, she plucked a tissue out of the box and buried her face into it. 

 

“Hi-chi! Hi-chi!” She sneezed the daintiest sneeze I had ever heard in my life with an extremely exaggerated high-pitched ending. I couldn’t decide if it was cute or obnoxious. 

 

“Bless you. Sounds like you should be getting sent home, too.” I commented, trying to be sympathetic and make conversation. 

 

She sniffled lightly and dabbed at her nose with the tissue, obviously trying to avoid blowing it. 

 

“Well, I had to help Dylan this past week so much while he was preparing for his presentation. When you’re that close to someone, you’re bound to share germs eventually.” She retorted. Right then, she must have been caught off guard: 

 

“Chiew!! Huh-chieww!!” She sprayed two extremely wet, messy sneezes into her hand. Her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, and she desperately reached for a tissue to slide under her other hand that she kept covering her nose. 

 

Internally, I grinned at her obvious embarrassment. After a comment like that I was done playing nice. I was here to take MY man home. “Well, I hope you feel better soon.” I replied in a sugary sweet voice as she cleaned herself up. “I’m going to head on up. I know my boyfriend is waiting on me.” I emphasized the word boyfriend, no matter how childish and petty it might have been. 

 

“HIH-CHIEW! HIHCHIEEEWW!” As I was making my way to the elevator, I heard her sneeze twice more. These were much louder and uncontrolled, but still just as high-pitched. Yup. I had decided they were annoying, not cute, but that was probably only because of my jealousy. If I could see my reflection right now, I was sure it would be green. I jabbed the elevator button with a little more force than was probably needed. It served her right to have gotten this horrible cold, or whatever it is, after trying to act so flirtsy and close with Dylan. But I couldn’t help wondering, had she really spent that much time with Dylan? If Dylan hadn’t caught my cold, then did McKenzie and him have the same illness, and if that was true, should I be worried? I shook my head and tried to let it go as the elevator opened to the floor of Dylan’s office. 

 

I tapped lightly on his door to let him know I was there before opening it. I didn’t get a response, so I slowly opened the door. I saw Dylan sitting at his desk with his head laying down. 

 

“Hey, baby.” I said, before realizing that he was asleep. 

 

My heart absolutely broke. I walked over to him and gently shook his shoulder. 

 

“Huh...” he mumbled, stirring. 

 

“It’s me, baby. I’m here to take you home.” 

 

Suddenly, he pushed the chair back from the desk a bit. 

 

“HUHISHOOO!!! HUHISHOOO!!!! Huh... huh.... HUH-AH-ISHOOO!!” He sneezed uncovered towards the floor inbetween where he was sitting and the desk. 

 

“Bless you, come on. Let’s go home.” 

 

“Yea. Let’s do that.” He said in a congested voice and picked up his bag. He was already packed and ready to go. 

 

“Here, let me carry that for you.” I offered. 

 

He shook his head. “At least let me keep a little bit of my dignity.” He tried to chuckle before it turned into a cough. 

 

I reached up and felt his forehead, but instead it felt like I had touched a stovetop. I refrained from commenting, though. Instead, I just made a mental note that we needed to get medicine in him as soon as possible. 

 

Dylan held my hand as we walked out of the elevator and onto the first floor. As we walked past the receptionist desk, McKenzie had impeccable timing. 

 

“Hih-chi!! Huh-chi!!” 

 

Dylan glanced over at her. 

 

“Bless you.” He said. I almost noted a hint of concern in his voice. 

 

“Thank you.” She said sweetly, dabbing her nose with a tissue again. How did she manage to look cute doing that?? 

 

He stopped walking, causing me to halt beside him. 

 

“Are you sick, too?” He inquired.

 

“Afraid so.” She answered, looking up at him pitifully. 

 

“Oh, that sucks. Feel better.” He answered somewhat dismissively, tapping the desk twice gently with his fist before turning back to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I noticed her eyebrows knit together in confusion. I guess she was expecting a little more sympathy. I leaned my head into him. I never should have been worried. 

 

When we got in the car Dylan kicked his shoes off and turned the heat on full blast.  He wrapped his arms around himself and I noticed he was shivering. He looked so worn down. His eyes had dark circles underneath, his skin looked pale, his nose was pink, his eyes were dull and glassy. The poor thing just looked so sick. 

 

““Dylannnn…..” I pouted my lip out at his pitiful condition. “What are your symptoms?” 

 

He held his finger up. “Huhchoo, Huhshoo, Hahchoo…huh…huh..CHOO” Dylan sneezed and sniffled miserably afterwards. “Well, there’s one of them. I’m also freezing and my whole body aches and I’m exhausted and I have a headache and my my nose is stuffy and my chest hurts.” He listed them off while he rested his head in his hands with his elbows on his knees. 

 

I looked over at him in shock at first, because he was willingly admitting his symptoms to me. I internally cringed thinking about the fact that those sounded a bit more like flu symptoms than just a cold. If this was a different virus, that also meant I was probably going to catch it. I wasn’t really worried about the latter though, I just wanted to make sure Dylan was okay. 

 

“HUH-ISHHH.... HUH-ISHHHOO.... huh... huh... ugh.” He sniffled, thickly and rubbed his finger under his nose. 

 

“Bless you. Oh! Here!” I exclaimed, grabbing the box of tissues. I tossed them to him. 

 

“Perfect. Thank you.” He smiled. He stuck the box between his legs and plucked out a few to blow his stuffy nose. 

 

“You can sleep now.” I said, squeezing his thigh. “I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

 

He nodded and within moments his deep, steady breaths let me know he was asleep. I had dèjà vu from last night as I pulled into the driveway with my sick and sleeping boyfriend. At least this time he was admitting it, and ready to rest and get better. His head was slumped against the window and his mouth hung open since he clearly couldn’t breathe out of his nose. I hated to wake him, but at least he would get to go inside and rest. 

 

I rubbed his arm and leaned over to kiss his cheek. The heat coming off of him was very worrisome. His eyes fluttered open and he turned his head away from me to cough. 

 

“Babe...” he moaned as he got out of the car. “I don’t feel too good....” 

 

“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry. Let’s go inside and get you in bed.” 

 

Before I could say another word he was quickly making his way to the front door and let himself in. I was a little confused, but I gathered the rest of the things from the car and juggled them inside. Dylan had left the door ajar, and I kicked it closed with my foot as walked inside. 

 

“Dylan?” I called out, as I emptied my hands onto the counter in the kitchen. “Babe?” 

 

“Right here.” I heard him mumble from the bathroom. 

 

When I went inside he was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. He was absolutely a mess. His forehead was  visibly sweaty and his hair stuck out in every direction. His dress shirt was untucked and he had undone the top buttons. His head was resting back against the wall and his arms were lying on top of his propped up knees. One glance at the open toilet and I knew why he had been in such a hurry to get inside. I mentally added nausea to his symptoms list. This wasn’t looking good for the flu vs. cold debate. 

 

I sat down beside him and he slumped over to rest his head on my shoulder. 

 

“How are you feeling now?” I ventured, running my hands through his hair. 

 

“I kinda just want to lay down now.” He mumbled. 

 

I kissed the top of his head and helped him stand up. We made our way into the bedroom and he dramatically fell face first into the bed. 

 

“I’m dyinnnngggggg.” He groaned into the sheets. 

 

“Too bad we aren’t married. Then I could just take all the money and move to Europe.” I teased. 

 

“Ah, so you poisoned me.” He said accusingly, rolling over on his side to look at me. 

 

“I guess you’re just going to have to wait and see.” I glanced back at him mischievously and winked. 

 

“HUHISHOOO!!! HUHASHOOO!!! HUHACHOOO!!! Ugh. Fuck.” He groaned as he sprayed the bed with his sneezes. 

 

I sat on the edge next to him and handed him some sweatpants and his hoodie. 

 

“Thangs.” He responded, kissing my cheek. 

 

While he changed I grabbed him some medicine and brought it back to him. I slipped out of my work clothes and crawled into bed next to him. He snuggled up next to me and within minutes my poor, sick boyfriend was fast asleep and snoring congestedly. 

 

Once I was sure he was asleep, I got out of bed and slipped on a pair of leggings and one of Dylan’s T-shirt’s. I made my way downstairs and started a pot of tea for him. I rummaged around in our fridge and cabinets to find the ingredients to make soup. I started a pot for him, and while it was cooking I pulled out my computer. I figured I might as well get some work done while he was asleep. I had only been working for an hour when I heard steps in the living room. 

 

Dylan emerged in the kitchen wrapped up in our big fluffy throw blanket. He even had it draped over his head. His messy brown hair stuck out in all directions from underneath it. 

 

“Whatcha up to?” He sniffled, coming to sit in the chair next to me. He folded his arms on the table and rested his head ontop. 

 

“I was just finishing up what I needed to do for work today. How are you-“ 

 

He ducked his head into the blanket.

 

“HUHISHOOO, HUHISHOOO, HAH... huh... huh... HUHISHOOO!!” He sneezed before coughing. “Does that answer your question?” He mumbled with a hint of sarcasm. After pulling his head out from the blanket, he wiped his nose on it. 

 

I pouted my lip out and closed my computer. “Are you hungry? I made some soup. It should be ready soon.” 

 

“I don’t think I can eat yet.” He sighed. “Can we watch one of our shows together?” He asked pitifully. 

 

“Of course, baby.” I replied, squeezing his shoulder. 

 

We made our way to the couch and cuddled up. I turned on Hulu and saw that a new episode of the Bachelorette that we missed was out. I gasped in excitement, but before I could say anything, Dylan cut me off. 

 

“Please, no.” 

 

“Come onnnn. You watch it with me EVERY week.” I whined, dramatically. 

 

“But I’m sick, so I get to pick the show. It’s just an unwritten rule of life.” 

 

I rolled my eyes. 

 

“Fine.” I conceded. I was still shocked that he even used the words “I” and “sick” in the same sentence. 

 

He chose a show he had been watching, and laid down on his side on the couch. I sat upright so that he could lay his head in my lap. I ran my hands through his hair and rubbed his back soothingly. Then his breath started to hitch and he rubbed his nose frantically. 

 

“HUHISHOOO... HUHACHOOO...” He sneezed aiming them inbetween my legs and then started coughing. I continued rubbing his back. 

 

“Bless you, baby.” 

 

“Ugh. Thangs. The only good thing about this is at least you can’t re-catch the cold you gave me.” 

 

“I’m still sorry you feel awful though.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

 

He shrugged, before returning to his original position. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep again. I sat with him until I was sure he was sleeping deeply before I got up. I took the soup off the stove and poured it into a container. I did the same with the tea. Finally, I made it back over to my computer and re-started where I left off.

 

I was consumed in my work, when I heard Dylan moaning from the living room. I quickly hit save on the document I was working on and rushed to his side. He looked just as awful as he had earlier and was tossing and turning on the couch. I leaned down and shook his shoulder. 

 

“Baby. Babe. Dylan..... Sweetheart, wake up.” 

 

His eyes suddenly popped open and he looked around frantically. 

 

“It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here.” I tried to comfort him, rubbing his arm. 

 

His eyes locked with mine and his breathing calmed. I brushed the hair off of his forehead and checked his temperature. It was far too hot for comfort. 

 

“Samantha, I’m not feeling so hot...” he groaned. 

 

“What can I do, babe?” 

 

He shrugged, reaching for tissues to blow his nose. 

 

I glanced at the clock across the room. 

 

7:32 

 

I was worried. Dylan rarely got sick, and when he did he took it like a champ or denied it for the most part. This was a completely new side of him that I had never seen before. To be honest, it worried me. 

 

I glanced back at the time and decided we definitely had time to make it to the urgent care near our house. 

 

“How much would you hate me if I took you to the urgent care?” I asked, tentatively. 

 

“A m-m-mo.. HUH-ishhhh... HUH-AHHISHHH... moderate to high amount.” 

 

“Bless you. That’s okay. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” 

 

“You can’t be serious.” He groaned. “I haven’t been to a doctor since I was a kid. Besides, this is just a cold. I didn’t make you go to the doctor.” 

 

“It would make me feel better if a doctor confirmed that it’s just a cold.” I pleaded. 

 

He looked at my stern face and must have determined that I wasn’t budging, or he was too exhausted to argue with me right now. The poor thing was also shivering and sniffling. 

 

“Alright...” he conceded. 

 

His lack of arguing was just another sign of how awful he felt. 

 

“Do you have your wallet? In case they need your ID or something?” I asked. 

 

“Umm...” he mumbled, confused, while he held a tissue away from his face with hitching breaths. “No, I think it’s in my pants fr-from- HUISHHHH huhh earlier- HUHAISHHOO. Ugh.” 

 

“Bless you. I’ll grab it for you.” 

 

I made my way upstairs and into our bedroom. His dress pants were in a heap on the floor next to our bed. As I picked them up to grab his wallet, I heard a thud on the floor. I glanced down to see a small, velvet box laying upside down next to our bed. My heart jumped into my throat. I knew I should have placed the small box back into his pocket and act like I never saw it, but the curiosity was too much. 

 

I snached it up and flipped open the small box. Inside, was the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen in my entire life. I gasped. 

 

“Shit.” I mumbled. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was definitely not supposed to find this. I had wondered when he was planning on proposing, but I had no idea he had bought a ring. 

 

“Did you find it?” I heard Dylan’s weak voice attempted to yell upstairs. 

 

I jumped, almost dropping the box. 

 

“Yup! J-just found it.” I answered, nervously. I snapped the box shut and quickly shoved it back into the pocket of the pants. I reached into the other pocket and found his wallet, before rushing back down stairs. 

 

“Here I am. With your um- your wallet.” 

 

“You alright?” Dylan asked, confusion etched all over his face. 

 

“Yup. Let’s head out.” 

 

Normally, Dylan would have put two and two together, but the fever must have been seriously clouding his brain. 

 

 “Let’s make a bet.” Dylan proposed, looking at me mischievously. 

 

“A bet about what?” I inquired. 

 

“If I’m right, and it’s just a cold, then you have to fold all of my laundry for 2 weeks.” 

 

I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows. “But if I’M right, then the same goes for you.” 

 

“You’re-“ he broke off in the middle to try to stifle a sneeze. “You’re on.” 

 

As we made our way into the urgent care building, the lady at the front desk asked what had brought us in today.

 

“Huh nxxxtttt, huhhh... huh nxxttt, HUHASHOOO” Dylan tried to stifle the first two sneezes into his elbow, but the last one escaped and bent him over. After this, he broke into a cough that he couldn’t contain either. 

 

“Oh my, Bless you.” The lady at the desk said. “I guess that answers my question.” She responded with a sympathetic smile. 

 

“He’s not feeling too well.” I noted. 

 

“Just sign in, fill out these papers, and the doctor will be with you as soon as possible.” She explained, smiling kindly. 

 

“Thank you so much.” I nodded and scribbled Dylan’s name on the piece of paper. 

 

As we went to sit down the lady called out to us. 

 

“Excuse me, I’m sorry, sir. But would you mind wearing a mask?” She asked, politely, pointing at a sign on her desk: 

 

PLEASE HELP US STOP THE SPREAD OF GERMS. IF YOU ARE COUGHING OR SNEEZING, PLEASE WEAR A MASK AND SIT TO THE LEFT. 

 

Dylan, begrudgingly walked up to the desk and took the mask from the lady. I looked at the room and the left side had a note designating it for sick people while the right had a note designating it for healthy patients. 

 

“I hate this.” Dylan grumbled as he put his mask on. 

 

I felt so bad for him, but I couldn’t help giggle at my sweet, sick boyfriend. His hair was messy and his eyes glassy and he had on a surgical mask. It was a sight I never thought I would see. He slumped down in a chair next to me and as I sat down beside him, he rested his head on my shoulder, beginning to doze off again. I heard his breathing change and he pulled the mask off his mouth and let it fall around his neck. 

 

“HUH-ISHHHHH.” He sneezed wetly into his hands.

 

“Babe,” I giggled. “The point of the mask is that you’re supposed to sneeze INTO it.” 

 

He cut his eyes over at me and rolled them dramatically, sniffling. 

 

“Dylan Parker?” I heard the nurse call as she opened the door, cutting him off before he could make a sarcastic remark. 

 

“How are you today?” She smiled warmly at him as we got up and walked over. 

 

“I’m doing good.” He replied, in a too cheery voice. 

 

She looked over her shoulder at him quizzically as she walked us to the back. 

 

“But, definitely been better.” He amended. 

 

“Well hopefully we can get you feeling 100% again soon.” She said in a positive voice. 

 

She had Dylan weigh and then brought us into a room. Dylan took a seat on the big medical chair and I took a seat in the small chairs designated for family members. 

 

“Alright, I’m just going to take your temperature. You can take your mask off and if you’ll let me slide this under your tongue...” 

 

Dylan nodded, and sniffled wetly until the beep. 

 

“103.8” she announced as she marked it down in his chart. 

 

“What symptoms are you having?” 

 

“Ummm,” Dylan stalled, looking away from the nurse, embarrassed. “Sneezing, coughing, sore throat.” 

 

“Any aches?” 

 

“Yes..” 

 

“Any nausea?” 

 

“No. Kinda, once. Today, yea.” 

 

She added more notes to his chart. 

 

“Alright, Dylan. The doctor will be right in to see you.” She smiled. 

 

“Thank you.” He said. As soon as she shut the door, Dylan sneezed into his elbow. 

 

“Bless you.” 

 

Just a few moments later there was a light tap on the door and the doctor walked in. 

 

“Hi guys. My name is Dr. Thompson,” He introduced himself. “So, Mr. Parker,” he acknowledged while looking down at Dylan’s file. “I’m looking over your symptoms and I would like to do a flu test on you just to be sure. We’ve had multiple cases in the past week, and your symptoms concern me.” 

 

“I really don’t think that’s necessary. My girlfriend,” he nodded towards me, “had a pretty bad cold last week and I think I just caught that from her.” 

 

“Well, hopefully that’s all it is. I would feel much better if we just checked to make sure though.” He insisted, examining Dylan’s glands. He looked in his ears and throat. It was so strange for me to see Dylan at the doctor. To be honest, I figured I would never see this in my entire life. 

 

“Okay.” Dylan nodded, stifling a cough into his fist. 

 

“The nurse will be right in to do that test for you.” 

 

A few moments later, the nurse returned and explained that she was just going to swab Dylan’s throat and that the test would take about 15 minutes to get the result. 

 

About 20 minutes later, Dr. Thompson came in. 

 

“I’m afraid my suspicions were correct. Your test came back positive. Unfortunately, you, my friend, have the flu.” 

 

Dylan’s mouth fell open in shock. “What??” 

 

“I’m sorry.” Dr. Thompson said sympathetically. “I’m going to go ahead and prescribe you Tamiflu. It would have been more effective if you started it earlier. But I hope it knocks a couple days off your sick time. Until then, you’re also going to need to stay home from work for at least a few days to prevent from spreading this. I’ve already had multiple cases just this week.”

 

 

My heart sank. Dylan had the flu. The freaking flu and he was still working and acting like everything was fine. I knew he was already stressing about taking a few days off work. 

 

The doctor turned to me, asking if I had gotten my flu shot. I nodded, telling him I got it a few weeks ago. 

 

“That’s good. You should be okay, but you should still take precautions so it doesn’t spread to you, too.” 

 

Dr. Thompson finished writing up the prescription and told Dylan that he needed lots of rest. He wished him a speedy recovery. I took care of the co-pay at the desk and we walked back to my car. 

 

“Baby. I’m so sorry....” Dylan said, looking at me with a guilty expression. 

 

“For what?? You can’t help that you got sick, sweetheart.” 

 

“No, but I thought it was your cold so I wasn’t being careful about not spreading it to you and now you’re going to get the flu, too.” 

 

“Babe, I got my flu shot. I should be fine.” I hoped I sounded confident. 

 

He looked over at me incredulously, raising his eyebrow. 

 

“Well, you know how you can make it up to me?” I smirked with a mischievous expression. 

 

“How??” He asked. 

 

“Folding my laundry for the next 2 weeks, suckkaaa.” I winked at him. 

 

“You know, I SO would. But apparently I have the flu and I’m supposed to REST.... soooo.” 

 

I laughed and leaned over to kiss his cheek. 

 

“That’s okay, babe. I do take rain checks.” 

 

He rolled his eyes and smiled, before coughing into his fist.

 

I pouted my lip out and squeezed his thigh comfortingly. 

 

 

We drove by the pharmacy to drop off his prescription before going home. The pharmacist assured that it would be ready in an hour to pick up. Finally, I drove a sniffling and miserable Dylan home. 

 

As soon as we walked through the front door, he collapsed facedown on the couch. I sat beside him and leaned my body on top of his to give him a hug. Suddenly, he jerked up and gently pushed me off of him. 

 

“HUHHASHOOO HUHHH AHISHHHH” He sneezed wetly into cupped hands. 

 

“Bless you, baby.” 

 

“Ughhh.” He groaned, hands still cupped around his nose. 

 

 

I handed him a couple tissues. He blew his nose and got up, shuffling towards the bathroom. I heard him sniffling and washing his hands. Finally he emerged from the bathroom and was making his way back over to me. 

 

“huh... huh... HUHISHOOO” he sneezed once again into his hands. “Fuck.” I heard him mumbled under his breath as he turned back around towards the bathroom. 

 

“Baby. You don’t need to wash your hands again. It’s okay, really. Besides, I’ve already been exposed.” 

 

He ignored me and stubbornly continued to wash his hands. 

 

“I’ll feel horrible if I give this to you, though.” He admitted, plopping down on the couch beside me, kissing me on the top on my head. He leaned away from me to cough and I noticed him wince. 

 

“Is there anything I can get you?” 

 

“Actually, my throat is killing me. Can I have some of that tea now?” 

 

“Of course, baby.” I responded, standing up and heading to the kitchen to reheat the tea. 

 

When I came back he was curled up under our big fluffy blanket watching Netflix. I motioned for him to lean up for a second so I could sit with him. He took a few sips of the tea before we made ourselves comfortable, me sitting in the corner of the couch and Dylan laying down with his head in my lap. I played with his hair and watched him doze in and out of sleep for the next hour. 

 

I kept track of time and carefully got up to go get Dylan’s prescription without waking him. 

 

“Baby... don’t leave...” his quiet voice begged. I couldn’t believe my ears. I had never seen him so vulnerable before. He was still cuddled up under his blanket, his hair was messy and stuck out all over the place, and his face was pale with a slightly pink nose. I leaned down and kissed his warm cheek. 

 

“I’ll be right back, baby. I just need to pick up your medicine so you can start getting better.” 

 

He nodded weakly, and grabbed a tissue to wipe his nose. I felt so bad for him. I wondered where he had even gotten the flu from. Then I thought about what a silly question that was. He could have gotten it from anywhere, his office, a store, a gas station. With how much stress he had been under lately I was sure his immune system was weakened, making him much more likely to get it.  

 

While driving, I yawned. I realized just how tired I was. I glanced at the clock, to see it was 10:26. Ugh. I groaned internally thinking about how early I would have to be up for work. My thoughts continued to wander until I reached the pharmacy. I got Dylan’s medication and began to drive home. 

 

When I walked through the front door, I was surprised to see that Dylan wasn’t still bundled up on the couch. 

 

“Dylan?” I called out. “I swear to god if you are doing work right now...” I yelled as I dropped the bag of medicine on the counter. 

 

I looked around and noticed the bathroom door downstairs was ajar with the light on. Making my way into the room, I saw Dylan fast asleep with his back against the wall. He was slumped over and his head was resting against the bathtub. As I got closer, I noticed his forehead was dotted with perspiration. 

 

I squatted down in front of him and brushed his damp hair off of his forehead. He stirred. 

 

“Did you get sick again, baby?” 

 

He nodded, rubbing his nose and sniffling thickly. 

 

“Ugh, I’m disgusting.” He groaned in a hoarse voice. 

 

“I have never loved you more.” I mumbled against his too warm skin as I kissed his forehead. 

 

He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes and then drug his hands down his tired face. 

 

“I hate being sick. I hate being like this.” 

 

“Being sick sucks, but why do you hate being like this?” 

 

With Dylan never really getting sick, he never really talked about why he hated it so much. He took a long pause before continuing. 

 

“ I don’t know. I guess after my dad died, I took it upon myself to help take care of my mom and sister. My mom....um... she slipped into a deep depression and...umm...wouldn’t get out of bed for weeks at a time. I guess I’ve never really talked about it. She’s so embarrassed about it. I guess she feels like she let us down. I don’t fault her though. It was awful, the whole thing.” His words were tumbling out of his mouth so fast they were almost tripping over each other. He paused to sniffle thickly. I simply held his hands in mine and listened. “I guess I just felt like it was my job to hold us together- HAHACHOO” He sneezed to the side and continued talking without skipping a beat. “I hate being sick and relying on other people and feeling weak. I learned that the world isn’t always a nice place and sometimes your parents can’t even protect you. So I guess it just horrifies me when I feel like I can’t take care of myself...because I guess I felt like pretty early on I was the only one that could take care of me...”he broke off to cough and then looked up so his deep blue eyes met mine. “Aww baby, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He said, wiping a tear from my cheek with his thumb. 

 

“I know you hate feeling vulnerable and it makes sense why, but I am here for you. I will take care of you. I am never leaving. You can trust me.” I said in a serious tone, refusing to drop his gaze. 

 

He just nodded and pulled me into a tight embrace. We stayed like that for a long time. The only sound was his congested breaths in my ear. 

 

“HUHCHHHAAAA” He sneezed wetly. 

 

“Bless you, baby.” 

 

“Can we go to bed?” He asked pitifully. 

 

“Of course.” I untangled myself from his strong arms and helped him stand up. 

 

I made sure he took his medicine and we got ready for bed. He cuddled up next to me and sniffled congestedly in my ear. 

 

“Everything aches...” he groaned. 

 

I rubbed soothing circles on his arm. 

 

“I’m so sorry. Get some rest. Just wake me up if you need anything at all.” 

 

He was asleep before I finished my sentence. 

 

 

It wasn’t Dylan that woke me up in the morning. Instead it was my deafening alarm clock. I slammed my hand on it too hard to turn it off.

 

I could feel the exhaustion in my head and eyes, making it hard to open them. I decided that I could pull my hair in a bun today and avoid a shower. That’s why that make dry shampoo, right? Glancing over at my sleeping boyfriend, I saw him cuddled under blankets. My heart fluttered and I thought again about the ring I found. When was he going to do it?? I thought to myself.

 

Deciding to leave Dylan asleep, I quietly hopped out of bed and made my way downstairs to brew some coffee. While the pot hissed and the droplets of coffee began to spew into the pot, I made sure there was plenty of soup and tea for Dylan today. I sat boxes of tissues out on the counter next to the medicine for him. Making my way to the living room, I placed some extra blankets on the couch and made sure the remote was right in reach. I even plugged in a phone charger for him. 

 

When I was sure I had done all I could, I hurriedly finished getting ready. Taking one last look at my snoring, sick man I made my way to my car for work. 

 

     **************************************

It was 1pm when my phone dinged. My arm shot across the desk for it. 

 

Dylan: I’m dyingggg 

 

Me: I’m sorry, baby😔 I’ll get home as soon as I can. Feeling better or worse than yesterday?

 

Dylan: the same. 

 

Me: Hang in there. There’s soup and tea in the fridge for you if you get hungry. You just have to heat it up ❤️

 

Dylan: you’re the best❤️ 

 

I smiled and set my phone back face down on my desk. Twenty minutes later it dinged again. 

 

Dylan: where do you keep the tissues?

 

Me: I put a box on the table in the living room for you. 

 

The bubbles popped up on my screen, indicating that he was typing a message. They disappeared and then popped up again. 

 

Dylan: I know… I need more.. 

 

Poor thing, I thought to myself. I refrained from making a big deal about it for his sake. I was still in shock he was reaching out to me. 

 

Me: on the shelf above the washing machine  

 

Dylan: got it 

 

I smirked. It was kind of cute when he needed me. I didn’t like that he was so sick, but it felt good knowing he was starting to be vulnerable with me. It sure took long enough. 

 

 

Finally, my computer clicked to 4pm. The clock had been crawling all day long as if time was trying to pull itself through quicksand. I gathered up my things, shut down my computer, and headed home. 

 

Thirty minutes later I was quietly unlocking the front door. To my surprise, Dylan was not laying on the couch. Although, the table was piled high with dirty tissues and medicine. 

 

Making my way upstairs, I figured Dylan was sleeping in bed. To my surprise, I found the room empty. I knew exactly where he was. 

 

“Dylan Parker!” I exclaimed as I pushed the door to his study open. 

 

“Damn, Samantha! You just scared the shit out of me.” He rasped in a hoarse voice after gasping. 

 

“Are you seriously doing work right now?!” 

 

“I just have a few things I need to take care of.” He mumbled with a guilty expression on his face. He definitely had not been expecting me. 

 

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t be mad at him. I closed the distance between us with a few strides and he pushed the chair away from the desk. I sat down on his lap and he let his head fall into my chest. Pressing my lips against his forehead, I slyly checked his temperature. If he had one, it was low. 

 

“How was your day?” he asked, his voice muffled into my chest. 

 

“Good, but I was distracted. I wish I could have been home with you instead.”  I replied, running my fingers through his hair. 

 

He sniffled, wetly and let out a small cough. 

 

“Did you take your medicine?” I asked. 

 

“Yes.” He answered shortly. 

 

“Have you eaten anything?” 

 

“No.” He looked up at me with a guilty expression.

 

When I gave him a disappointed stare he grappled for an excuse. 

 

“My throat hurts.” 

 

 

“Come on,” I encouraged. Hopping out of his lap, I pulled his hands to bring him to his feet. “I’ll make you some soup now.” 

 

He sighed and trudged out of the room ahead of me. I slapped his butt playfully. 

 

 

 

Downstairs, I was fixing him a bowl of soup while he sat on the stool at the island and talked to me. I finished heating up the tea and soup, sprinkling just a bit of pepper on the top of the soup. 

 

“Hahshiew!” I quickly spun around and ducked my head into my elbow to avoid spraying his food with my sneeze. I kept my face nestled in my elbow as I felt another one coming.

 

Dylan had stopped talking and stared at me. 

 

I gasped a few times before finally succumbing to the second sneeze. 

 

“Phew.” I sighed in relief after and sniffled. 

 

“Oh no.” Dylan mumbled, still looking at me. 

 

“What?” 

 

“I knew you would catch this.” He groaned, hanging his head back in defeat. 

 

“Babe,” I laughed, dismissively. “It was a sneeze. You know, like a natural body function.” 

 

“I’m just worried. I don’t want you to catch this.” 

 

“I’ll be fine.” I reassured him as I carried the soup and tea over to him. I sat down beside him and kissed his cheek. 

 

Before he could get another bite of soup his work phone began to ring. 

 

As he pulled the phone from the pocket of his sweatpants I realized that I shouldn’t be surprised he had it on him even on his sick day. His finger swiped across the screen and he placed the phone inbetween his shoulder so he could continue eating his soup. 

 

“Well shit..” he cursed under his breath, letting the spoon drop into his bowl. 

 

I glanced over at him to see his eyebrows knitting together and his face settle into a stressed expression. 

 

“Yea, yea. No, I understand.” He mumbled into the phone. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ll be there soon. Mhmm. Yup. No worries. Okay, bye.” He hung up the phone and put it down a little too hard. He dropped his head into his hands for just a moment and sniffled. 

 

“You can’t be serious. You have the flu they can’t make you come in.” I asserted in a stern tone. I stood looking at him and crossed my arms. 

 

“One of the investors is backing out of our new deal. I have to go.” 

 

“You have the freaking FLU.” I emphasized, cringing as I realized I sounded more like his mom than his girlfriend. 

 

“I know.” He answered, shortly. Slowly standing up, he rinsed out his soup bowl, kissed my cheek, and then made his way towards the stairs.”

 

“Wait... you didn’t tell them you have the flu, did you?”

 

He looked back at me with a guilty expression before his face crumpled into a sneezy look. Breath hitching and lips parted, he buried his face into his elbow. 

 

“HAHCHOO HUHISHOO” 

 

“Bless you...” 

 

“I’b fine. I gotta get dressed.” 

 

With that, he climbed the stairs and disappeared out of my view. 

 

The anger swelled inside of me, but it wasn’t at him. I just wanted him to get better and let himself rest. Within minutes he was downstairs in a professional suit and tie. His hair was styled with gel and he looked completely put together. His voice was the only thing that betrayed his poised demeanor, becoming even more hoarse and congested with every word. 

 

I walked over to him and touched his forehead, wincing as I felt the heat radiate onto my hand. 

 

“Will you at least let me drive you?” I asked, grabbing my keys off the counter. 

 

“It’s okay, babe. Thank you, but I don’t know-“ his voice caught and he jerked away from me to cough into his elbow. “I don’t know how long it will tak- HUH-ISHHHHUU take.” He sniffled. 

 

“Bless you.” I stared into his glassy blue eyes, deciding whether or not I wanted to argue. “Okay, but drive safe and text me when you get there.” I urged, handing him my keys as his car was still in the parking lot of his office. 

 

He placed his soft lips on my forehead and I cuddled into his chest. 

 

“I will. See you soon.” 

 

“I love you.” 

 

“I love you, too.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His movements were slow, like he was wading through molasses just to get out the door. 

 

I waited on the front step to watch him drive away. Although it was almost 6, I decided to take a quick nap. I was exhausted from the lack of sleep this week. 

 

I had just begun to slip into a peaceful sleep when my phone’s ring startled me awake. Before I answered, I saw the caller ID picture of Dylan’s mom. It wasn’t unusual for her to call me, but I hadn’t a clue why she would call today. 

 

“Hi.” I answered, trying not to sound too sleepy. 

 

The words barely left my lips before her frantic voice blared through the phone. 

 

“Sweetie, something happened. There was an accident. Dylan’s in the hospital, they couldn’t tell me details over the phone. I’m already driving there now, but you’ll get there much quicker than me.” 

 

My breath caught in my throat and I could already feel the tears prickling in my eyes. 

 

“Sam? Sweetie?” His mother asked. 

 

I realized I hadn’t responded. 

 

“I’m sorry. I’m um I’m just in shock. I’m leaving right now. I’ll call you as soon as I find something out.” 

 

Hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know if you liked it/if there is anything you want to see in the final part! 

 

[RipleyToo]

Ooo I love where this is going! Can’t wait for the next part!