supernatural (cast) sickfics

stubborn

Jared Padalecki woke up feeling terrible. His head was pounding, his throat was sore, and his nose was stuffed up. He knew he was coming down with something, but he was too stubborn to ask for help.

He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and tried to shake off the grogginess. He had a long day of filming ahead of him, and he didn't want to let anyone down.

As he got dressed, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He leaned against the wall for a moment, trying to steady himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was really wrong.

But he didn't want to be a bother. He didn't want to be the weak link on set. So he pushed through the pain and headed to the set.

As the day wore on, he felt worse and worse. His fever spiked, and he started to feel delirious. He stumbled through his lines, barely able to keep his eyes open.

His costar Jensen Ackles noticed that something was wrong. "You look like hell, man," he said, placing a hand on Jared's shoulder. "You need to take a break."

Jared shook his head stubbornly. "I'm fine," he muttered. "I can keep going."

But Jensen wasn't convinced. He pulled Jared aside and insisted that he go see a doctor. "You're not fine," he said firmly. "You're sick, and you need help."

Reluctantly, Jared agreed. He stumbled to the doctor's office and collapsed in the waiting room. When the doctor finally saw him, he diagnosed him with a severe case of the flu.

Jared was given some medication and instructions to rest. But even then, he refused to ask for help. He insisted on going back to work, even though he was still weak and shaky.

Jensen tried to talk him out of it, but Jared was too stubborn. He pushed himself through the rest of the week, barely able to keep his eyes open. He was miserable, but he refused to show it.

Finally, the week was over, and Jared collapsed in his trailer. He was too weak to move, too sick to think. He realized then that he had been foolish to think he could handle it all on his own.

Jensen found him there, looking pale and exhausted. "You're an idiot," he said, shaking his head. "You should have asked for help."

Jared nodded weakly. "I know," he said. "I was stupid."

But Jensen just smiled. "It's okay, man," he said. "We all need help sometimes."

Jared finally realized that he didn't have to be a lone hero. He could lean on his friends and coworkers and trust that they would be there for him. And with that realization, he started to feel a little bit better.