February Night

Chapter 34

The alarm clock pulled Lucy out of a deep sleep. Groaning, she rolled over and slammed her hand on top of her phone to stop that annoying sound that hurt her head. Wait...it hurt her head? Lucy frowned and slowly opened her eyes. It was only now that she felt that terrible headache she was having. And when she swallowed, her throat burned like fire. Her nose was blocked and breathing through her mouth hurt her throat even more. Her whole body seemed to ache.

Slowly, Lucy sat up, just to be hit by a coughing fit that took almost two minutes. "Holy shit", she breathed. How could someone catch a flu over night? Well, obviously, it was possible to get sick so fast. There was no way she could go to the bookstore and open it today. She felt like crap. And Spencer was away on another case that had come in yesterday afternoon. Lucy scuffled from her bedroom to the living room and curled up on the couch. For a moment, she thought about sending Spencer a message and telling him that she was sick. But then she changed her mind. She wanted him to concentrate on that case, as always. She'd be fine again soon.

After turning on some Charmed episodes, Lucy fell asleep on the couch again. But she woke up only an hour later, almost freezing to death. She was shivering and assumed that she was running a fever now. Groaning, Lucy managed to move to the kitchen to make herself some tea. To go outside and grab some medicine wouldn't be possible; she felt way too weak for that. So, tea had to be enough for the moment.

Someone nudged her leg and Lucy remembered that Roxy was here. Of course, her brother had brought his dog before rushing to that case. "Hey, you", Lucy said with a raspy voice. Roxy turned her head to one side as if she was wondering what was going on with her second favorite human being. "Don't look at me like that, Roxy. I'm still the same. Just...sick." She shortly stroked her before giving her some food. Damn, she wouldn't be able to go for a walk with the dog. Maybe Penelope would have got some time to do that, although she had to work on that case...

Lucy went back to the couch, a cup of steamy herbal tea in her cold hands. She snuggled under the unicorn blanket and on the unicorn pillow that she had gotten from Penelope. Yes, that was much better. She wouldn't leave this place anymore.

But then, Roxy came to join her and her acting told Lucy, that the dog wanted to go outside. She sighed. "Okay, let's go", she murmured and heaved herself up from the couch once more. "But just a round somewhere close to here." Roxy excitedly jumped around Lucy as she opened the door.

The walk Lucy took with Luke's dog only took about twenty minutes, but when she came back home, she felt shattered. She was sweating, her heartbeat was racing in her chest and she felt dizzy. After a shower, she grabbed the blanket and leaned back on the couch. Okay, she had tried it. And she knew, she wouldn't be able to go out with Roxy once more today or tomorrow. She had to find a solution. And that solution was Penelope Garcia.

Lucy grabbed her phone and called her friend. "Hey, beauty!", she heard Penelope after the third ring.

"Hey", Lucy chocked out and Penelope immediately was alarmed.

"Oh sweetie, what's going on? You sound terrible."

"I'm sick...with the flu. Listen, I really didn't want to bother you, but...Luke brought Roxy to me yesterday and...I can't go out with her and stuff. I tried but..."

"Oh, you don't have to go on, my dear! Don't worry about that, I'll come over and grab your brother's adorable dog. And you, sweetie, will rest!" Penelope hung up before Lucy could even ask if she didn't have to help working on that case.

Almost an hour later, someone knocked on Lucy's door. She got up and opened. A worried looking Penelope was standing there, holding a box in her hands. "How are you feeling, my love? I brought you some chicken soup, maybe this helps!" She passed the box to Lucy.

"Thank you so much, Penny. And...you sure you can look after Roxy? Don't you have to work on that case?" Lucy cleared her throat when she felt her voice fading away. It hurt like hell.

"No, no, no, that's not a problem! I'm always reachable for the others. And I love Roxy." As if the dog had heard her name, she came running to the door and looked all happy to see Penelope. "You look awful, Lu. You need some rest. Don't worry about me or Roxy. We'll get along perfectly." Penelope smiled at Lucy brightly and then she left, joined by Roxy.

Feeling relieved, that she didn't have to care about Roxy anymore for a moment, Lucy returned to the couch that looked like the coziest place ever right now. She snuggled back under the unicorn blanket, finished her tea – she had to make a new one, the last had gotten cold – and tried to get some sleep. She knew, sleeping was the best medicine ever. But the cough was ruthless and didn't let Lucy get the rest she needed to get better. And it started to bother her a lot. She cursed as she threw her blanket away to go to the kitchen and heat up Penelope's chicken soup. Lucy still felt like crap. She felt dizzy and tired all the time. Due to her fever, she felt hot and cold, and it changed literally every five minutes. It drove her insane.

After eating the chicken soup – which was delicious – Lucy finally found a bit of sleep. She had strange and loose dreams that confused her, even in her sleep. So, it took her almost five minutes to realize that her phone was ringing and pulling her back from dreamland. Not really feeling like talking to someone, Lucy grabbed the phone anyway and when she saw that it was Spencer who was calling, she knew she had to answer. He'd worry if she didn't.

"Hey", she huskily said.

"Oh babe, you sound terrible", Spencer replied and sounded quite worried immediately. "How are you feeling? Did you take meds already?"

"I feel like shit. And no, I didn't take anything yet", Lucy said before a coughing fit shook her body. "But don't worry, Spence. I'll be alright. You rather concentrate on that case." While she listened to him rambling about what kind of medicine she should take, a thought stroke her.

"Wait...how do you know that I'm sick?" Lucy frowned as she grabbed the blanket and covered herself up. She started to freeze again. Damn fever.

She could hear Spencer clear his throat before he finally answered: "Oh, Penelope told us." Lucy sighed. Of course, her friend had to tell them. "Are you really okay? I have no idea how long we'll have to stay here..."

"Spence, it's fine, really", Lucy groaned. She loved him but he was being overprotective right now. And he couldn't do anything anyway. She was having a flu. It'd pass.

"Alright. I hope we'll be back soon", Spencer answered.

"I hope so too", Lucy murmured. She really wished Spencer would be here. "I love you", she added and when he replied with an I love you, too, she could hear the smile in his voice.

After hanging up, Lucy sent a text Penelope's way. She had thought she could get through without any meds. But now she had to realize it didn't work. Her fever wasn't going down and her cough and her aching body weren't something to underestimate. She needed some medicine but didn't feel like being able to get to the next pharmacy. Maybe Penelope would do that for her too...