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Energize (Star Trek TNG: Will Riker)


anikadicara

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***

When Riker’s alarm went off the following morning, the amount of energy it took him to reach out and silence it was herculean.  Every muscle in his body ached.  His head felt like it was stuffed full of cement, his throat ached, and he couldn’t get any air at all through his nose.  Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he grabbed several tissues from the box next to his bed and attempted to clear his nose.  Despite the frankly disgusting amount of snot he blew out, his nose remained just as full as it was before.  After several attempts, Riker gave up and flopped back against his pillows.  


“Good bordig,” he said to nobody.  “Ugh.”  He tried again to blow his nose, but it was doing nothing for him, and he started to feel a need to sneeze.  “Huhhhh…  hhhh… huuuhh..” his breath quickened, but the sneeze was taking its time.  “Huh… huhhh… god,” he said, still to nobody.  He tipped his head back, breath still hitching, until finally he let loose with a slow, congested, wrenching sneeze.  “Huhh… hhhhhuuuuRRRUUUDDSSHooo!  Ugh,” he groaned, sitting with his head in his hands for a moment before blowing his nose.  He sniffed experimentally.  Still nothing.

Maybe a shower would help.

Riker stood, swayed, and sank right back down onto his bed.  Okay, he had a fever.  He’d just go see Dr. Crusher, who could give him a hypo to perk him up enough to make it through his shift on the bridge this morning.  Forgoing the shower and sluggishly pulling on his uniform, Riker set out for sickbay.

“Good morning, Commander,” said Dr. Crusher in surprise as he walked through the doors.  “Are you meeting Selwyn with me this morning?”

“Udfortudately dot,” said Riker, and the doctor’s eyes immediately narrowed in concern.  “I’b here to see you.”

“You’re sick,” she said.

“A bad cold,” he confirmed.  “And I’b on Alpha shift this bordig.  Got adythig to get be through it?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Crusher, leading him to a biobed and running a tricorder over his head as he lay back.  “There’s really only one good prescription for getting rid of a cold.”

“Great.  W… what …-”  Crusher quickly handed him a tissue.  “hhhhh….huhRUUUDDDSCHHOOO!” Excuse be.  Whad is id?” he asked congestedly.

“Bedrest,” she said firmly as he blew his nose.  He looked at her over his tissue with watery eyes.  

“That wasd’t exactly what I had id bind.”

“I know.  I’m sorry, Commander, but there’s no cure for a cold.  Just rest and drink lots of fluids.”  At that moment Alyssa came over and handed Riker a cup of water, taking his used tissue from him with a gloved hand.  

“Thank you, leutedant,” he said, and she nodded at him in acknowledgment.  “Doctor, I have a shift od the bridge and I’b beeting Ambassador Selwyd for lunch - “

“You’re not,” said Dr. Crusher firmly.  “I’m calling the captain and cancelling your shift.  I’ll make your apologies to the Ambassador, and I’ll have her join me for lunch instead.  You need rest, Commander.  You have a fever,” she said, frowning at the tricorder.  “This could be the flu.  And if you’re not careful, you could catch pneumonia,” she said, passing Riker a tissue as his eyes narrowed and head tipped back.

“huhRUUUUDDSSCCHHHHH!”  The loud sneeze tore out of him, causing several people in the medical bay to jump in alarm.  “I’b sorry,” he said to the room, giving a sheepish wave, then blew his nose loudly.

“I’m ordering you to your quarters, Commander.  Unless you’d rather I keep you here.”

Riker sighed.  “Do thadks, Doctor.  I’ll rough it out id by … quarters… hhhh… hhhhuuuUURUUDSCHHOOO!””  He accepted another tissue from Dr. Crusher.  “I feel like a biohazard id here.”

She gave him a small smile and helped him off of the bed.  “Go back to bed.  I’ll come by tomorrow to check in on you,” she said, handing him the full box of tissues.  “Make sure you don’t sneeze on anybody on your way back.”

“I’ll try by best.”

***
 

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***

Riker arrived back in his quarters with little incident - he’d sneezed twice but caught them both in Dr. Crusher’s tissues, and only managed to startle one small group of ensigns as they exited a holodeck.  He fell back into bed, not even bothering to remove his uniform.  If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t feel up to being anywhere but in bed anyway.

The next several hours passed fitfully; Riker couldn’t get comfortable, and was constantly aroused from sleep to cough or sneeze.  At one point he reached for what felt like his thousandth tissue to find the box empty; he mustered the energy to walk to the replicator only to find that it could no longer understand his raspy voice.  Rolling his eyes at himself, he snagged a roll of toilet paper from his bathroom and brought it to bed, sneezing tiredly into wads of it as he drifted in and out of sleep.

Mid-afternoon Riker woke with a start, so suddenly that he cast his eyes around his quarters, half expecting to see an intruder.  But he was still alone.  Without warning he drew a huge breath and snapped forward with a “HURUDDSCHHOO!”.  Blinking blearily, he swiped at his nose and felt its absolutely disgusting state; pulling a huge wad of toilet paper from the roll he blew as hard as he could.  God, his head hurt.  Maybe he should go to Engineering.

The thought occurred to him out of nowhere - even before Dr. Crusher confined him to his quarters, he’d had no plans to visit Engineering today.  But Riker wanted to feel useful; he suddenly couldn’t tolerate one more minute of being stuck lying in bed.  He was a Starfleet officer, full of curiosity, and he wanted to know what Geordi and his away team were discovering about Septicon 5’s mysterious energy.  Engineering was the place to be, he could feel it.

Riker stood, foggy and lightheaded from his fever.  He stayed still for a second, making sure he was steady on his feet, then felt his nose start to buzz.  Breath hitching, Riker headed for the bathroom.  “Huh… hhhhh… huh…” his eyes were squinting closed, tearing up.  Feeling around, Riker’s hands found a bath towel hanging by the shower.  He brought it to his face.  “Huh… hhhhhh… hhh….” God, he felt ridiculous.  “Huhhh… huhRUUDDDSSSCHHOO!  Hhhhhh….   hhhhUUUDDDDSCHHOO!   hhhhhhhuhRRRUUUUDDTTSCCHHhhhhh!”  They were some of the slowest, most congested sneezes Riker had ever felt; his head pounded as he sank onto the toilet, catching his breath before blowing his nose into the towel with abandon.  He was disgusted with himself.  But he still felt that he was needed in Engineering.  Riker tucked a roll of toilet paper under his arm and headed out.

He felt the stares of the Enterprise crew as he passed them in the hallways; his messy hair and red nose must scream sickness - not to mention the roll of toilet paper he carried.  But Riker felt too sick to be self-conscious.  He blew his nose loudly into the toilet paper when needed, and stuffed the used balls into the center of the roll.  The Enterprise definitely lacked trash cans - how had he never noticed that before?

Upon entering Engineering Riker saw Geordi and a large crowd of people standing around something on a table; Riker walked over and saw that it was a dark gray cube, about six inches on each side.  It had no markings or discernable features, and yet there was something beautiful about it.  It drew his eyes so strongly that Riker found it difficult to look away.  

Geordi was at the center of the crowd, frowning alternately at the cube and at his PADD..  ““Whad is it, Cobbander?” Riker asked him.

Geordi did not look up, but continued staring at the cube.  “We picked it up on the planet,”he  said,  “It’s some sort of ultra-dense metal I don’t recognize.  It’s energetic properties - or actually, lack thereof - are very strange.  I can’t explain any of it yet.”

Three more people joined the group of people crowded around the cube. One was an engineer, but the others Riker recognized as a waitress from 10-Forward and a scientist from the botany lab.  What were they doing here?  Like Riker, they stood staring at the cube..  Only Geordi was moving; he ran several instruments across the cube, frowning at the readings.

“There’s no energy inside it, and it’s not emitting anything either,” he said slowly, clearly thinking hard.  “But the energy readings in this room are going haywire, emissions are popping up that seem to be coming from nowhere, and the closer I scan to the cube the more erratic they become.”

“Is it… hhhh…. Is it causing the edergy … huhhh. … huhRUDCSHHOO!  Excuse be,” sniffled Riker into a wad of toilet paper he’d pulled from his roll.  “Is this what’s causig the edergy readigs we saw od the bridge?”

Geordi finally looked up at Riker, his eyebrows furrowed.  “Bless you, Commander.  Are you alright?”

Riker waved a hand dismissively.  “I’ve got a cold,” he said.  

“Sounds bad,” Geordi commented as Riker blew his nose thickly.

“Sorry.”

“Seems like you should be in bed.  What can I do for you?”

Riker thought about it.  “I’b dot sure,” he said slowly.  “I just felt the deed… to fide out whad’s goig on.  See if you foud adything on the pladet.”

“You’re not the only one who’s wondering that,” said Geordi.  “Have you noticed we have way more visitors to Engineering than usual?”

Even in the few minutes they’d been talking, crew members from all over the ship had slowly gathered around the cube, staring at it, transfixed.

“Defiditely odd,” Riker confirmed, looking around at the various crew members and civilians around him.  “I was sleepig ad woke up with ad overwhelbing urge to cobe here,” he said to Geordi, then pulled a piece of toilet paper and blew his nose with little effect.  “I cad’t explaid why.”

Geordi frowned at him, thinking, but was then interrupted by a new arrival.  Dr. Crusher had entered, along with two science officers.  They joined the crowd gathered around the cube.

“What is it, Geordi?” asked Dr. Crusher in a hushed voice.  “It’s beautiful.”

“Is it?” asked Geordi, once again frowning at his PADD.

“I don’t know why, but it just is,” she whispered, until her trance-like state was broken by an explosive sneeze from behind her.

“huhRRUUUDDDKKSCHHOo!”

Dr. Crusher whipped around and saw Riker, which snapped her back to reality.  “Commander!” she said, a stern look on her face.  “I confined you to your quarters.”

“Sorry, doctor,” said Riker when he emerged from his makeshift tissues.  “I did’dt bead to cobe here,  It just … happed.”

“Well, you’re just happening back to bed right now.  Let’s go.”  Dr. Crusher placed a hand firmly on Riker’s lower back and led him from the room.  She steered him all the way back to his quarters.  “You’re going to make yourself worse if you keep this up,” she reprimanded, leading him into his bed.  “Get in.”

Riker complied, sniffling, and Dr. Crusher went to his replicator.  “Water,” she ordered. “Box of tissues.”  She deposited both on his bedside table, then pulled a tricorder out of her coat and ran it across his forehead.  “You’re burning up,” she said, her tone softer, and handed him the glass of water.  “Drink this, and I’m going to give you something to help you sleep.”

“Thadks, Doctor,” said Riker, accepting the water as Crusher stuck a hypo in his arm.

“There.  A nice long sleep should give you some relief,” she said, “but your body is just going to have to let this run its course.  In the meantime, you need to stay here.”  She pressed a cool hand on his forehead.  “I’ll come check in on you tomorrow.  Get some rest, Commander.”

“Yes, sir.”  Crusher gave him an amused look, and patted his cheek.  

“Goodnight.”

“Dight, doctor - huhRUSSHHoo!”

“Bless you.”
 

***

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This is awesome, I was loving it already but now I'm totally hooked. Gahhh. What is the cube and why does it pull people in??

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***

Riker slept for eighteen hours.  It was mid-morning when he finally came to, and as his groggy brain slowly checked in with his body it became apparent that he was as sick as he’d ever been in his life.  His head pounded, his nose ran, his muscles ached, and his head spun with fever.  “Huh… hhhNNNGGGSHH!  NNNGGGKKKTTCHH!”  And he was too congested to even sneeze properly.  Not even bothering with a tissue, Riker rolled over and fell back asleep, his nose running down his lip.

He woke to his own painful sneezing.  “NGGGSSHHH! Huh… hhhNNNNGGGSSHhoo!  Ow,” Riker said aloud, reaching for a tissue and feeling his arm muscles scream in protest.  He’d never felt so weak in his life.  He didn’t have the energy to blow his nose either; he just wiped at it and fell back against the pillows, tissue pressed over his nostrils.  

Staring at the ceiling, Riker couldn’t help feeling sorry for himself.  Dr. Crusher must have called in another sick day for him; it was late and he’d never been contacted for missing the start of Alpha shift.  Did they even miss him on the bridge?  Was the captain angry?  Didn’t Jean Luc Picard deserve a first officer who was strong enough to power through a cold and perform his duties?  Riker felt so alone, and so sick, that he felt like crying.  Which was probably just the fever.  But he needed a friend, so he rolled over and picked his communicator off of his bedside table.

“Riker to Coudselor Troi,” he said hoarsely.

“Troi here.”

“Coudselor.”

“Yes, Commander?”  She was using her serious work voice.  She was probably on the bridge.  He hesitated.

“Ub.  I’b sorry, I dod’t dow - I guess I called by bistake.”

There was a pause.  “Commander, are you all right?”

“Yes.  I -”  Riker imagined his pathetic, sick voice playing through Troi’s communicator for everyone on the bridge to hear.  “Yes.  I’b sorry, Coundselor.  Go back to whad you were doig.”

“Actually,” she said, “I was headed down to see you.  I’ll be right there.”  

Riker rolled onto his stomach, relief flooding him.  Troi was coming.  The next thing he knew was the gentle pressure of her hand on his back, rubbing soft comforting circles as she sat beside him.

“You cabe,” he said into his pillow.

“Of course I came.  How are you feeling?”  

“I’b dyig,” said Riker, rolling over and nuzzling his head into her lap.

“You’re not dying.”  Troi placed the back of her hand on his forehead.  “You’re just feverish.”

“I feel like crap.”

“I know.”  She began massaging his shoulders, and he let himself relax into her, breathing through his mouth and moaning unselfconsciously as she dug into his sore muscles.  

“So how was your day?” he asked hoarsely.  Troi smiled down at him.

“Busy,” she said.  “It’s strange, suddenly I’m getting calls right and left from crew members reporting obsessive thoughts about an object Geordi brought back from the planet.”

“The cube!” said Riker, his exclamation sending him into a coughing fit.  Deanna helped him sit up, rubbing his back and handing him water and tissues as his breathing calmed down.  He tried to blow his nose, but hit a hard wall of congestion and threw the tissue aside in frustration.  “I got the stradgest urge to go to Edgideering yesterday,” he confessed to her.  “I wedt dowd there even through I felt terrible ad Doctor Crusher codfide be to quarters, ad saw the cube.  It has a pull, sobehow.”  

Frustrated by his voice, Riker grabbed another tissue and leaned away from Troi.  He tried to blow his nose, but instead pitched forward with a terribly congested “hhhKKTTTCHK!  Ugh,” followed by a gurgling and unhelpful snuffle into the tissue.  He moaned, laying back down and resting his head in Troi’s lap. 

“Bless you.  It’s very strange,” she agreed, gently running her hands through his hair.  “You’re definitely not the only person getting drawn to this cube.  I’ve had people tell me they can’t concentrate on their work, or on anything, because they’re thinking about it and wanting to look at it.”

Normally Riker would’ve enjoyed nothing better than to spend hours speculating on this mystery with her, but he was exhausted and Troi’s hands stroking his head felt almost hypnotically comforting.  He started to drift off, and was only half-conscious when he felt her pull away suddenly.

“Dod’t stop,” he murmured, keeping his eyes closed and groping for her hands.

“S… sorry Will.. one second… HUPchhoo!  huCHHH!  Excuse me,” she said softly.  Riker opened his eyes to see Troi wiping her nose with a tissue.

“Deadda… did I get you sick?”

She sighed.  “It appears so.  I’ve felt a little bit off all morning.”

“I thought you could’dt get hubad … viruses… huhNNGGSSH! Hhhhh…. huhNNGGTCHH!  Yuck,” he groaned, pushing himself up to a seat as Troi passed him back the tissue box.  She rubbed his back as he tried to clear his nose with a disgusting squelchy sound.  “Id’s dot doig adything,” he moaned, falling back into her lap with a wad of tissues still pressed to his face.  She resumed running her fingers through his hair.

“I’m sorry you feel so rotten,” she said.

“Ad I’b sorry I gave it to you.  I feel horrible,” he said through the tissues.  “I thought I could’dt get you sick.”

“Occasionally a particularly strong virus makes it through,” she said, as Riker geared up for another sneeze.

“huhhNNNDDGGSHHHhh!”

“Which it certainly seems like this is.”

Riker tried again to blow his nose, tossed the tissues aside, and nuzzled back into Troi’s lap.  “Lie dowd with be,” he whined, and she complied with a smile, curling herself up and letting Riker spoon her.  “You’re cold,” he whispered in her ear.

“Actually you’re hot,” she said.  

He laughed hoarsely.  “I dow.”

She slapped him playfully on the forearm.  “Let’s just rest, Will.”

“huhNNNNGGGSSHHH!  As if I could do adythig else,” he groaned, and she passed him a tissue and took one for herself.

“haTISHoo!  tissSSHOOO!”

“I’b so sorry, Deadda.”

“It’s okay, Will.  Just sleep,” she said, blowing her nose lighty and snuggling deeper into his arms.
 

***

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***

Riker awoke to a cold bed; Troi was gone.  Groaning, he pushed himself up to a seat and saw a note on his bedside table.

“Will - I’m sorry I had to report for duty this afternoon while you’re feeling so sick, but I’m getting too many calls to ignore.  Rest up, drink lots of water, and I’ll see you soon. Love, Deanna.”

He smiled at her signature, took a sip of water but found that it threatened to overflow his blocked-up nostrils.  He pulled a tissue and blew his nose as hard as he could, which made his head spin.  “huhhhnnnnGGGXXX!  NGXXX!”  Even Riker’s strong sneezes couldn’t force any air through his nose; instead they made his head pound painfully as he remained completely blocked up.  With one more gurgling noseblow, Riker flopped back against his pillows.  Shivering, he pulled the blankets tightly around him and drifted off to sleep once more.

***

The door chimed and Riker snapped awake.  “Cobe -” said Riker raspily.  He could barely hear himself.  Clearing his throat, he tried again.  “Cobe id.”

Dr. Crusher entered his quarters, carrying her medical briefcase.  “How are you feeling?” she asked him.

“Dot great,” said Riker foggily, not even bothering to sit up.  The doctor came over to him with a tricorder, waving it down the length of his body.

“You’ve been hit hard with this one,” she said sympathetically, “but you’re not in any danger.”

“Really?  Because I feel like I’b … dyig… huhNNNNNNXXXX!” he sneezed into a wad of tissues.

“That sounds painful,” said Dr. Crusher, going into her briefcase and putting together a hypo.  “I’m going to give you something for the congestion.  It’ll make you sneeze more, but it’ll hurt less.”

Riker grimaced.  “Souds like tradig ode problem for adother.”

“It’ll help, I promise,” she said, helping him sit up.  She pressed the hypo to his neck, then went to the replicator and ordered him a tall glass of water.

“Drink all of this,” she said, handing it to him.  “Have you eaten anything?”

“Dot id a while.”

“I know you’re not hungry, but it’s dinnertime, and you’ll feel better if you eat,” said Dr. Crusher.  She went back to the replicator and ordered him chicken noodle soup on a tray. .

 “Our bedical techdology hasd’t progressed further thad this?” he joked as she set the tray on his lap.

“Sometimes it’s the old remedies that work best,”

Riker managed a few sips of soup before he felt his nose start to run; he pulled tissues from the box at his side and swiped at his nose as he ate.  “Soup feels good," he said to Dr. Crusher, who was sitting on his couch tapping on her PADD. "I thidk id's helpig.” 

“Good.  It’s supposed to,” said the Doctor distractedly, not looking up.

“Whad’s goig od?”  Riker may be sick, but he still had an officer’s instincts for trouble.

“Have you been experiencing any neurological symptoms, Commander?  Headaches, trouble concentrating, obsessive thoughts?”

“I’ve had a killer headache, od and off,” said Riker.  “But - hhh… hhhNNNXXXSHH!  thats dorbal for be whed I have a cold.”  He gurgled into a tissue, grimacing as he wiped his sore nose.  “Why?”

“I’m getting an odd number of reports of neurological symptoms over the past twenty-four hours.  But it’s probably unrelated to what you have, I haven’t seen other patients with cold and flu symptoms recently.”

Riker sneezed again.  “huhhhhRRUUGSSXXX!  ruuhhhhGGCCHHH!  I thidk I gave it to Coudselor Troi,” he said miserably into his tissues.  “She cabe by this bordig ad was sdeezig.”

Crusher’s brow furrowed.  “It’s rare for Counselor Troi to contract a human virus by person-to-person transmission.”

“She said it happeds, sobetibes, for strog viruses,” said Riker a bit defensively.  “hhhhhhhUUUUGGGSSSSHhhooo!”

“That’s true, a more virulent virus will be more likely to affect her half-human side.  And based on your symptoms-” Riker was blowing his nose thickly - “this is a particularly hearty one.”

Riker grimaced and threw the used tissues aside.  “Sorry.  I thidk your hypo’s workig.”

“No need to apologize, Commander.”  Dr. Crusher set down her PADD, went to the replicator, and ordered Riker another two boxes of tissues.  “That’s what it’s supposed to do.  You’ll be needing these,” she said, setting one of the tissue boxes down on his beside table beside his half-depleted one.  “I promise you’ll feel better afterward.”

“Thadks,” he said resignedly, pulling out another tissue and crashing into it.  “huhhhhRRRRAAAGGSHHHOo!  huhhHRUUUSSSHHH! huh...huhhhRRRRUUUTTCHHooo! hUUUhhhhhuUUUUSHHHOO!  God,”  he groaned, swapping the decimated tissue for a stack of new ones and blowing into them.  “I’b sorry this is so gross.”

“I’m a doctor, Commander,” she said with a kind smile.  “I’ve seen and heard much worse.”

“Well, I haved’t,” said Riker, trying to blow his nose again but interrupted by another insistent tickle. “Huhhh…. huhIIIIITTTCCCHHHHSSSOOOO!  Ugh,” he blew his nose again, and flopped back onto his pillows.  “I feel disgustig.”

Dr. Crusher got up from his couch, put down her PADD, and placed a hand on his forehead.  “You’re all right,” she said, pulling some tissues and handing them to Riker as his breath hitched yet again. “Just let them out.”

“I’b… trying….hhhh... huuhhhhRRUUUSSSSHHOOOOooo!  hhhhHHHHuuuuHHHHIIIITTCHHOO!  Hhhhhhh…  hhhuuuUUUKKKKKIIIITTTTTCCCHHoooo!  Ssssnnnnfffff…” Riker sniffled pitifully into the tissues, then grabbed a fresh wad and blew his nose into them for a full minute.  Exhausted, but finally able to breathe a little bit, he flopped back against his pillows and closed his eyes.  Dr. Crusher handed him a glass of water.

“Drink this,” she said, “And then I’ll leave you to sleep.”

“Got adother hypo for that?” asked Riker hopefully, taking the glass from her and sipping at it tentatively as his nose continued to twitch.

“I’ll knock you out if you finish the water,” she said.

“Deal.”

The doctor settled herself back on Riker’s couch with the PADD, and he made his way steadily through the glass of water despite pausing every couple minutes or so to sneeze.  Finally he downed the last few swallows, gave his nose a hearty blow, and lay back down.

“I’b ready for that sleep, doctor,” he rasped.

“A deal’s a deal.”  Dr. Crusher prepared a hypo, pressed it to his neck, then refilled his water glass.  By the time she set it on his bedside table, Riker was already asleep.  “Sleep well, Commander,” she said softly as she left the room, returning to sick bay and to the mystery of the crew’s headaches and obsessive thoughts.
 

***

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Wow!! Such a great story! Loving how he shared his germs with Troi too! And the cube thing is very interesting!! I’m excited to read more! Great job! 

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***

Riker’s door chimed again.  He’d lost all sense of time; the last thing he remembered was asking Dr. Crusher for a hypo to induce sleep.  His head felt full, but when he pulled tissues from the box beside him he discovered that he could at least relieve some of the congestion in his head again.  It was gross, but he could briefly breathe.  The door chimed again.  Right.

“Cobe id,” he rasped.  It took his sluggish brain a few seconds to register the Captain’s presence; one he did, he made an attempt to sit fully up.

“No need to get up, Commander,” said Picard in his deep, serious voice.

“Could’dt if I wadted to, sir,” said Riker, running a hand through his messy hair.  

“How are you, Number One?” asked Picard

“I’ve beed better,” said Riker.  “But Dr. Crusher gave be sobe bedicide a few hours ago ad I thick it’s helpig.” 

“That’s good.”  A silence.

 “Is there sobethig I cad do for you, Captad?

Picard looked startled.  “Uh, no.  No, Number One, I just, uh -” he rubbed the back of his head. “I was headed to bed but thought I’d stop by first.”

Riker raised an eyebrow. 

“You know.  To… check in.”  The Captain said the words as if trying on a phrase from a foreign language that he barely spoke.

“To check id.”

“Yes, Number One.”  

A silence, then Riker sniffed congested and said, ““You bissed be.”

“I’m sorry?”

Riker cleared his throat and tried to sniff; the sound was gross and unproductive. “You bissed be on the bridge,” he said, reaching for a tissue.

“You’ve been on medical leave two days in a row. You’re my first officer, and my friend.” The Captain watched him as he blew his nose squelchily. “I was… concerned.”

Riker wiped his nose and threw the tissue aside.  “Excuse be.  Ad thadk you,” he said with a smile, “for your concern.”

There was a silence.  The Captain was usually not one for chitchat, but Riker noted that  this silence was even more awkward than his usual.

“I hope to be back sood,” said Riker, more to fill the silence than anything else.

“Oh, I don’t mean to hurry you,” said the Captain.  “Take all the time you need, Number One.”

“Right.  Thadks.”  Another silence, until Riker’s nose broke it for them.

“Huh… sss.. Sorry… huhRUSSSSSHHHHooo!   rrrRRRRUUSSSHHooo!”

“Bless you,” said PIcard quietly over Riker’s noseblowing.

“Thadks.  I’b doig a lot of that lately,” he said, rolling his eyes at himself.  They settled into silence again.  “Ady updates frob the Edgideerig teab?”

“They’ve brought back an … artifact,” said Picard, seemingly lost in thought.  “It’s causing something of a … disturbance… in.. engineering… hhhtttxxxx!”

“Bless you,” said Riker slowly, looking up at the captain who had stifled a sneeze into his fist.

“Thank you,” said Picard dismissively.  “Geordi and his team are on it, we suspect that the artifact is at least partially responsible for Septicon 5’s energy emissions but so far can’t pinpoint how exactly it works.  We’ve invited Ambassador Selwyn to engineering tomorrow to try and get to the bottom of it.”

“Good idea,” rasped Riker, watching the Captain and noticing how he lightly touched the tip of his nose with his finger.  He tried to push his guilty feelings to the back of his mind and attempted to engage in the conversation.  “I was dowd id edgideering-” he sniffed, to no avail - “ad saw the artifact for byself. It was the stradgest thig, I felt like it was pullig be …. Id…. huhhhRRRRUUUUUUDDDCHHHHoooo!” he sneezed enormously into a tissue.

“Bless you. Hhhhkkkkcchhxx!” the Captain bent into his elbow, sneezing almost as if in sympathy.  Riker, blowing his nose with one hand, offered Picard the box of tissues with his other.
Picard did not accept it, but instead held up a hand.  “I’m fine.”

Riker tossed his used tissue aside, plopped the box into his lap, and drew out a few more. “Bore for be thed,” he said before giving another loud gurgling noseblow.  The Captain perched himself uncomfortably on the arm of Riker’s couch.

“I’d offer to get you sobethig to dridk,” said Riker as he tossed his tissue aside.  “But, well -” he waved a hand in front of his face to indicate his general pathetic state.

“It’s quite all right,” Picard assured him.  “I should get going anyway, there are briefings to attend to before tomorrow.”  He knuckled his nose again.

“I’b sorry for gettig you sick,” said Riker.

“I’m not sick,” said the Captain.  Riker raised his eyebrows.

“Really.”

“Really.  I’m fine.”  Riker raised his eyebrows even higher. “Maybe a little tired,” admitted the Captain, “but nothing more.”

“If you say so,” said Riker, raised eyebrows knitting together as he reached yet again for the tissues.  “Well, I’b….. huh… huhRRUUUSSHSHooo!”  I’b sick,” he said, “ad I’b goig to turd id for the dight.”

“Is that a dismissal, Commander?” said Picard, a hint of a smile twitching at his lips.

“It’s a gedtle suggestion, sir,” said Riker from behind a ball of tissues. “I suggest you do the sabe.”

Picard watched Riker blow his nose, his face unreadable. “Goodnight, Number One.”

“Dight, Captaid.”

***

Edited by anikadicara
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I love your fic SO much! Sick Riker is adorable 🤗

But sneezing Picard made me extremly happy! There is by far not enough sick/sneezing Picard out there! Loved the idea that he would be really discret and stifle his sneezes. I wouldn't mind some more of it 😚🥰

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***

The alarm again.  Morning.  Riker was off bridge duty today, but he’d forgotten to turn it off.  He sat up, noticing as he did so that he no longer felt feverish.  Actually, he felt pretty decent, compared to the last couple of days.  He sniffed.  Still gross.

Pulling a few tissues Riker cleared his nose, then stood up gingerly.  He felt weak but not dizzy.  He brushed his teeth, took a shower, pulled on his uniform, and blew his nose several more times, feeling decidedly more human.  “huhRUUUSSSSHHooo!”  Despite the sneezing.  

Looking around his quarters, Riker felt a delayed embarrassment about the state of the room.  The captain had been here last night, and now that Riker was a little less foggy he was a lot more aware of the detritus of his cold: half empty water glasses everywhere, clothes on the floor, piles of used tissues.  Sniffling, Riker started shoveling used tissues into the trash can, pausing to sneeze into several fresh ones.  “huhhhRUUSSHHOOoo!  RUUSSHHooo! hhhhuRRRRUUSSSSHOoo!”  He picked his communicator off his bedside table, pinned it to his uniform, pressed it, and tried to speak.

“Riker to Dr. Crusher,” he rasped.  Barely a sound came out.  He cleared his throat hoarsely and tried again.  “Rik-”   Nothing.  His voice was practically nonexistent.  Grabbing a box of tissues, he set off to convince her in person to let him return to work.

Riker entered a sickbay that was teeming with activity; he looked around for Dr. Crusher but couldn’t find her amid the hurried staff moving from bed to bed, running tricorders over patients’ heads.  He saw Lieutenant Ogawa and flagged her down with a wave.

“How are you feeling, Commander?” she asked, typing on her PADD distractedly.

“Better, despite how I soud,” he said in a congested whisper.

“You’ve lost your voice,” said Alyssa in sympathy. “I can give you something that will help a bit, but the best thing is vocal rest.”

“Is Dr. Crusher id?” Riker asked, pulling a tissue from the box that he held and swiping at his nose.

“What?”

“Dr.... Crusher.  huhRUSSSHHooo!” Riker sneezed into his tissue.

“In her office,” said Alyssa, as a colleague tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a second PADD.

“Thadks, Leutedant,” whispered Riker, blowing his nose.  He went to Dr. Crusher’s office and saw her sitting at the computer, massaging her temples.  He knocked lightly.

Dr. Crusher held up a hand, indicating that the knocker should come back later, but when she looked up and saw Riker in the doorway she gave him a small smile and waved him in.

“How do you feel?” she asked him.

“Buch better,” rasped Riker, as Dr. Crusher’s eyes narrowed at the sound of his voice. “Really.  No fever.  Lost by voice, though,” he said, dropping his used tissue into the trash can by her desk.

“I can hear that.” Dr. Crusher pumped a bit of sanitizer into her hands, then got up from her desk and ran her tricorder across Riker’s forehead. “No fever.”

“I dow,” said Riker, eyes twinkling. “You thought I was lyig?”

“I thought you might be overeager to get back to work,” she said. “You still need to rest your voice.”

“huh….  huRRRUSSHHOoo!” 

“And get over the rest of your … symptoms… HIIshoo!”

“Bless you,” rasped Riker, as the doctor resurfaced from her elbow.  He blew his nose then said “I got you too?”

“I’m afraid so,” she said, pulling some tissues for herself. “I was actually just getting some things together to go work from my quarters.  We’re slammed right now, but I can support my staff remotely without infecting anyone else.  You’ve brought quite a bug aboard, Commander.”

“Sorry,” said Riker sheepishly.

“It’s not your fault,” she said, rubbing her nose into the tissues, “But it is your responsibility to help me contain it.  I’m sorry Commander, but I can’t authorize you to go back to work yet.”

“What about just a quick diplomatic stop at edgideering?” asked Riker. “The Ambassador’s visitig this bordig, and I’d like to be there.”

“I can’t advise it, Commander. I’m pretty sure Engineering’s the reason my sickbay is full,” said Dr. Crusher. “Something about that object Geordi brought back is causing neurological symptoms, and before I can isolate the cause I don’t think it’s a good idea to spend extra time there.”

“I could talk to the Ambassador, figure out what she dows,” whispered Riker. “It’d help us get adswers.”

Dr. Crusher laughed lightly. “I don’t think you’ll be talking much to anyone until you rest your voice,” she said. “Come on, back to quarters.”

“Doctor,” he rasped; if he’d had a voice it probably would have been a petulant whine. “Just give be twedty binutes id Edgideerig. I cad figure out what’s goig od. I cad’t be codtageous adymore, right?”

“It’s not about whether you’re … contagious… hupSHOO!  Excuse me. Clearly you were contagious, even if you’re not now,” she said, blowing her nose. “But right now it’s about resting so your body can heal.”

“Ted binutes id Edgideering.”

Dr. Crusher threw out her tissue and spread more sanitizer across her hands. “Fine.  But then your quarters, Commander.”

“Will do,” he whispered. “Thadks, Doctor.  Get sobe rest.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Thank you, Commander.”
 

***

Edited by anikadicara
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Still seriously delightful.   I wonder what will happen to Riker in engineering....

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***

Riker had an hour before Ambassador Selwyn was due in Engineering, and he knew he should return to his quarters.  He’d only been awake for an hour and was already tired.  His head still felt heavy and his body sluggish.  More rest would definitely do him good.

On the other hand, Deanna hadn’t stopped by yesterday and he was worried about her.  If her cold was anything like his, she’d be feeling pretty awful right now.  Best to stop by her quarters and check up on her, then proceed to Engineering to greet the Ambassador and make apologies for his absence over the last couple of days.  

He rung Troi’s buzzer and got no response.  Feeling a tickle building in his nose, Riker paused before ringing again and pulled some tissues from the box he still held. “Huh… huhRUSSHHOoo!  RUSHHooo!  RUSSHHoo! Uhhh….” he groaned to himself, grabbing more tissues and blowing his nose thickly.  His excitement at being fever-free was wearing off, and the heavy feeling in his head was getting old.  He pressed Deanna’s buzzer again.

“Cobe id,” he heard, and stepped into the room.

Troi was in bed, looking as bad as he felt but somehow also beautiful.  Her skin shone - probably with fever - and her voluminous hair cascaded down her shoulders as she brushed it out of her eyes.  She sniffled and reached for a tissue, blowing her nose with an awful gurgling sound.

“Oh, Deadda,” he rasped with sympathy, depositing his box of tissues on her table and crossing the room to her.  He sat on the edge of her bed.  “I’b so sorry.”

“It’s all right, Will,” she said, balling up her tissue and dropping it in the trashcan she’d placed beside the bed.  “I called id today.  People get sick.”

“This ode’s by fault, though,” he croaked, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. “You have a fever.”

“Yes,” she said, “but you bight too.  You soud awful, Will.”

“I soud worse thad I feel,” he said. “Do fever.  Still sick, but od the bend.”

“I’b glad,” said Deanna, and took his hand.  He smiled at her, then immediately twisted away and threw his hands up to his nose.

“Huh…. huRUSSHHoo!  Huhh….hhhh…. sorry…” he whispered, hands tented over his nose and breath still hitching.  Troi pulled a tissue from the box beside her and pressed it into his hands.

“Tthhh… thanks… huh..hhhhhRRUUUUSSSHHHOOO!”

“Bless you,” she said, eyes sparkling in concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’b-,” his voice cracked, and instead of trying to talk again he gave Troi a reassuring smile, scooted closer to her, and put an arm around her shoulders.   She leaned into him, and he stroked her hair like she’d done his.

“Thadks, Will,” she said tiredly.  They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, both almost dozing off, until Riker felt Troi tense.

“Cad you.. pass… hhhh-” Riker leaned across her and pulled a few tissues out of the box, handing them to her.  “Thadks… huuukkkkssshhOOOO!  ksshHHOO!” she blew her nose tiredly and slumped back against Riker, who massaged her shoulders and whispered more apologies.

“I’b so sorry for givig you this.”

“Stop apologizing ad just keep doig that,” she sighed, leaning into his massaging hands. “Everythig’s sore.”

He hugged her closer, and continued kneading her shoulders until he felt her breath even out.  He kissed her sleeping forehead, then carefully lay her against her pillows.  He stood, covered her with a blanket, and left her quarters - painfully stifling two sneezes into his fingers so as not to wake her.  He promised himself he’d be back later - it was his turn to make soup.

***

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