Larry Dr. Fics

Pneumonia part 2: Louis gets Sick

Here's part 2!  Enjoy!

Words: 1,297

Louis woke up the next morning feeling just horrible. He was fatigued even though he went to bed early, and his body ached. He had been coughing the last couple hours, stirring himself out of sleep several times. He lowered the blanket and sat up slowly.

Harry must've heard the squeaking of the bed because he called to Louis from the kitchen. "I made you some tea, babes!"

Louis rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. That was strange. Harry had no reason to be up so early.

"How are you feeling? I heard you wake up several times last night." Harry was standing in his room now, offering him a hot mug.

"I don't feel very good. I'm gonna have to call in sick," Louis said, reaching for his cell phone on the nightstand. He made a quick phone call to his boss, letting him know.

"I hope I didn't get you sick," Harry said with a wince. He sat on the edge of their bed as he sipped his tea.

"I just hope my boss doesn't hate me. I've already been out a week." Louis blew on the tea, letting it cool down before drinking. He coughed into his arm and winced. "I think my chest hurts, or maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe I'm fine."

"Does your body hurt?" Harry asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you ridiculously tired, like you would fall over if you stood up for too long?"

Louis thought for a moment. "I haven't stood up yet, but probably so. I feel weak."

There was a moment of silence where neither boy wanted to say what they were thinking.

"Haz, can you get my doctor bag," Louis asked with obvious hesitation.

"Be right back." Harry returned a few seconds later with Louis's black bag, which contained a lot of doctory items.

Louis rummaged through it, stopping halfway from a coughing fit. Harry rubbed his back in sympathy. He knew exactly what that was like.

Once Louis calmed down, he took out the thermometer and placed it under his tongue. It beeped a minute later, the numbers reading 101.5. "Got a fever, that's for sure." He showed it to Harry, who frowned.

Then he took out his stethoscope, putting the pieces in his ears. He grabbed the bell and placed it on his own chest, breathing in as deeply as he could. The deeper the breaths had him grimacing, the pain sharp and piercing. He put the bell on top of the most painful part of his chest and that's when he heard it the loudest: the crackling. He groaned.

He had pneumonia.

"What, Lou?" The look on Louis's face had Harry concerned. "Is it bad?"

Louis nodded. "I've got pneumonia."

"Can I have a listen?" Harry asked, grabbing for the stethoscope.

Louis took out the earpieces and gave them to Harry, who eagerly put them in his own ears. Louis took a few deep breaths and watched Harry squint, his forehead creasing in concentration.

"That's some weird sounds in there," Harry said, shifting the bell up, down, left, and right as he listened intently.

"Yeah, and it hurts." Louis took the stethoscope from Harry and put it away in his bag. "I'll have to tell my co-workers my symptoms and they'll hopefully accept it so I can write my own prescription. I think they'll accept it since they all know you had it first."

Doctors who wrote their own prescriptions were looked down on, but in Louis's case, since his boyfriend had had it too, it was likely for him to get it as well. Pneumonia was pretty contagious.

"I'm sorry for getting you sick, Lou. I know exactly how you feel. It's not pleasant." Harry gave Louis his mug of tea back, and Louis sipped at it intermittently.

Louis shivered, and Harry grabbed the blanket from on top of the bed, pulling it over his shoulders. "Wanna go to the couch?"

Louis nodded, and with Harry's help, they walked together to the living room. "Haz, I might get sick," he said once they sat down. Harry wasted no time in grabbing a bowl from the kitchen and placing it at Louis's feet. Louis lay his head down on the end of the couch and Harry sat at his feet.

"Can I get you anything?" Harry asked.

"I'm okay," Louis said. He tried to fall asleep, but the sick feeling in his stomach wouldn't let him. He began coughing again, which lead to painful breathing and wheezing, and Harry tried his best to comfort the poor lad. The endless coughing eventually lead to retching, and Louis hovered over the bowl on the floor, hoping to be done with it soon.

The vomiting made his stomach settle, so he was able to walk over to the kitchen with Harry's help so he could wash out his mouth and get cleaned up.

"Feeling better now?" Harry asked, guiding him back to the sofa.

"Yeah. Haz, I've never had pneumonia before or any kind of chest infection. I mean, I've studied these kinds of things in school, but never actually experienced them. This stinks."

Harry chuckled, his dimples making a full appearance. "I know. It does. But hey, look at me. You'll get better soon."

Louis groaned. He remembered Harry's sickness and how bad Harry had felt. He did not want to experience that himself. Out of nowhere, he started coughing again, and Harry grabbed him some water, knowing that it didn't always really help.

Louis gulped down half a cup of water but continued coughing. He was grabbing his chest and wincing as he tried to get comfortable on the couch. Harry sat on the opposite end of the couch, rubbing Louis's legs gently as he watched Louis struggle. He wasn't sure how to comfort him.

Soon, though, his coughs lessened and Louis settled down.

"Maybe you should call in that prescription, hun," Harry suggested, eyeing the phone sticking out of Louis's pocket.

"Oh, right." Louis made a phone call, talking to a doctor that he worked with closely, and Harry could tell the conversation was going his way. Louis hung up and ended the call. "He said they'll call it in and to pick it up in half an hour."

"Oh, good," Harry said.

Harry went to pick up Louis's medicine half an hour later, and Louis swallowed the pills with a tall glass of water. Then he went back to resting again, as he'd been doing the entire day. Harry took a nap in the recliner next to him for the next two hours.

Harry awoke and watched Louis begin to stir. He got up and grabbed a thermometer, so when he saw Louis open his tired, red eyes, he stuck it in his mouth. They waited for the beep, and Harry read the numbers aloud. "102." He placed a hand on Louis's forehead. "You're burning up, babe."

"I'm cold," Louis complained.

Harry grabbed him some fever reducers and then curled up against Louis. Louis immediately sunk his small body into Harry's broad chest, and Harry wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm so tired, Haz," he said sleepily. "I'm so cold and it hurts and I hate this."

"Shhh," Harry shushed him quietly. "I know, I know. It'll be awful for a while, but you'll get better soon." Harry made rocking motions, rocking him side to side like a baby, which oddly enough comforted the older boy, and he felt his body relaxing against his.

Soon, he was asleep again, and Harry quietly put on the TV while Louis slept.

Harry took care of Louis for the next week, just like Louis did for him. Louis's coworkers and patients were all very happy to have him back at work.

But no one was happier than Harry.  

I hope you liked this second part!  Please comment and vote before you go.  Thanks!