Chloe hadn’t heard from Jay in a couple days, and was starting to get concerned. They had been talking more frequently and spending more and more time together recently so when she hadn’t heard from him she started getting worried. Making it through the work day had been horrible, she’d tried to call and text him several times with her calls going straight to voicemail and her texts going unanswered. By the end of the day she was cranky and had snapped at several of her coworkers.


When Chloe clocked out for the day she dialed Jay’s number again, and wondered to herself if she wasn’t turning into one of those crazy stalker women you always heard about. When the call went to voicemail again she decided to leave a message this time, “Uhm Hi, hadn’t heard from you in awhile and I was… well I just wanted to… you know… make sure everything was ok.” She disconnected from the call and laughed at herself ‘real smooth… can’t even put together a whole sentence.’


Chloe simply felt like crying, but kept telling herself to get it together that it’s not like he was her boyfriend or anything. They were just friends and Jay had no obligation to speak to her every day, it’s not his fault that their time spent together had quickly become the highlight of her days. Not his fault that she’d gotten her hopes up yet again. She went home and showered before changing into yoga pants and a t-shirt. She reheated her leftovers from the night before and allowed herself to wallow a bit before deciding to change into workout clothes and take a jog.


Chloe jogged around base a couple times trying to wear herself out so that she could sleep tonight, by the time she was finishing up it was getting dark. She decided that she needed to know what was going on, choosing to be braver than usual she went to Jay’s with the intention of finding out exactly where they stood.  She jogged up to his door, gathered up all of her courage and knocked.


Sgt. Jay Halstead

Jay shifted on the couch in the living room, trying to get comfortable. He was miserable. Utterly and completely miserable. He had a damn cold and he just wanted to sleep, though for some reason, he couldn't. He hated it when that happened. He was congested and stuffed up enough to be miserable even using the medicine he had gotten from the store. And he didn't like being miserable. He didn't want to be sick. Or awake while he was sick. No, he'd rather sleep. Sleep was good. But the Dayquil hadn't quite kicked in yet. Even though it wasn't really supposed to be a medicine that made people drowsy, it had always had that effect on him. Sleep. Sleep would be good. He closed his eyes. Maybe if he just rested here, he'd fall asleep.

A knocking at the door broke through the sleep that had started to come and he groaned. Who would be here? he wondered crankily. He just wanted to sleep and get well. Oh well. He wouldn't be able to get away with being rude, so answering the door it was. With a sigh, he went over to the door and opened it, blinking in confusion when he saw Chloe.
"Hey," he greeted, very much aware of how horrible his voice sounded. Something told him that this was about to get interesting.

When Chloe heard his voice she shoved his door all the way open, "Oh my G-D Jay, you sound" she looked at him and cocked her head to the side, "and look awful. What's going on with you?" She instinctively Reached up to touch his forehead, "You are burning up. Have you taken anything for this? Why didn't you call me? Now take your shirt off and go lay down... in bed, not on the sofa." Chloe was well aware of how bossy she was being, but she was going to make sure that Jay was taken care of, because he obviously hadn't been taking care of himself.

"Well don't just stand there, are you going to let me in or not?" She asked as she walked around him and into his place. "Have you eaten anything today?" She asked as she shooed him towards the bedroom "Shirt off and lay down you need to rest while I find you some food and medication that will actually make you feel better."  Shooing him again she asked "Why are you still standing there looking at me like that? Go." She pointed towards his room.

Chloe walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, realizing there wasn't much there that would pass for food she pulled out her phone.  First things first she called the ER doctor and had him call in a couple prescriptions to the pharmacy, having gotten that straight she called in an order for some Chicken Noodle Soup to the deli next to the pharmacy. Peeking her head in the bedroom she said softly, "Hey... I'm running to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine and picking up some food while I'm out, but I'm coming right back.  Do you need anything else while I'm out?  Is it ok to leave the door unlocked or do you want to give me your keys?"

Jay didn't bother answering Chloe when she said that he looked and sounded awful, asking him what was going on.
"Got a cold. Don't get too close," he responded, only to have her ignore him and feel his forehead, saying that he was burning up, asking if he had been taking care of himself and why he hadn't called her. "Yes, I've been taking Day and Nyquil, loaded up on orange juice, and I didn't think my lieutenant would care what illness I had when I put in for sick days," he responded. Granted, he probably shouldn't have seeing as how it was just a damn cold, but it had knocked him on his ass and he wasn't going to risk anyone else getting sick. At her order to take his shirt off and go lay down in his bed, he quirked a brow at her. "Couch is closer," he said, trying to keep a whine out of his voice. Don't wanna walk that far, he thought to himself. Yes, he was being childish, but he didn't care.

His reverie was cut off as she asked him whether or not he was going to let her into the house, telling him not to just stand in the door.
"Sorry," he apologized, standing back so that she could walk in, nodding his head as she asked if he had eaten anything. "Yeah, I had some instant soup. Got a whole carton of 'em," he responded. Okay, so it wasn't as good as homemade soup but when he was sick, he didn't have the energy to make anything and just sticking it in the microwave for three minutes was just easier. He was silent as she repeated her order to remove the shirt and go to his room to rest while she found him some food and medicine for him. "Lieutenant, seriously, you don't have to---" he started to say before trailing off as she asked him why he was still standing where he was, once more telling him to get in his bed. "Fine," he mumbled. Too tired to argue anymore, he thought to himself. Without another word he started for his bedroom.

He quickly shimmied out of his clothes and got under the covers, glancing to look at her when she poked her head in, saying that she was going out to get him some medicine and food, asking if it was okay to keep the door unlocked or if she should take his keys.
"You can take my keys. They're on a key ring in the kitchen," he responded and then closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep.

"Wait? You put in for sick days? That still doesn't explain why you didn't call me..." she tried to keep the hurt out of her voice. "I mean... it's not like you don't have my number." She chided herself for allowing herself to get upset. When he quirked his brow at her telling her that the couch was closer she crossed her arms in front of her chest and cocked her head to the side, pinning him with a look that said the topic was not up for debate.

She nodded when he apologized for not letting her in the house, "Instant soup and orange juice is a good start, but I think I know of something that will be even better." As she repeated her directions and he just looked at her and topped it off by calling her Lieutenant again she frowned for a moment. "Seriously Jay? I'm not here as your Lieutenant... I'm here as your... your" growing flustered she grumbled, "Well I don't know what I am, but I'm here as your friend... you can call me by my name."

Having to repeat her directions for a third time made her a tad upset, but the guy was sick so she decided to cut him a break. When he agreed with a simple fine she sighed, "Thank you." She watched him walk towards his room, and smiled as he reminded her of a child who'd been sent to their room for disobeying instructions.

When he answered her about the keys she smiled at him, "Thank you. You just rest ok? I'll be back in about an hour and then you can start your medicine, and eat." Not waiting for an answer she headed to the kitchen to retrieve his keys and locked the door behind her as she left. Chloe headed to the pharmacy first and picked up a few things that Jay might need while she waited on his prescriptions to get filled. She checked her watch as she finally left the pharmacy and headed to the deli to pick up the homemade soup for Jay and a salad for herself.

She thought about going by her place to shower since she had been jogging, but realized she wouldn't have enough time so she just headed back to Jay's. She smiled and waved at his neighbor who looked at her funny when she put the key in the lock and walked into his place. Setting the bags down on the table she walked back to his room and peeked in to check on him.

And apparently she was surprised that he had put in for sick days, if her tone was anything to go by. And there was no mistaking the hurt in her voice when she asked why he hadn't called her since he had her number.
"Because it was just a cold and you didn't need to be bothered with something so trivial," he answered honestly. "If it had been more serious, I would've called," he assured. And he would've. He wasn't stupid enough to try to hide serious illnesses from the chain of command. However, this wasn't serious. It was just a cold. Something he'd be over in a couple of days, a week tops, hence the sick days.

When she said that instant soup and orange juice were a good start but that she had something that would be even better, he looked at her.
"What?" he queried, genuinely curious. Kind of reminds me of Mom a bit before she got sick, he thought to himself. She had been a nurturer through and through. Dad on the other hand...Not that he doubted his love for him and Will. The man just wasn't good at showing it in most cases. In fact, the most attention he had gotten from the man had come during the whole Rodiger mess and the man would sooth away nightmares. Okay, he wasn't going there. He need to focus. Damn, his train of thought went to hell when he was sick. He then gave a sheepish shrug as she blustered about him continually using her rank, telling him that she wasn't there as his superior but as a friend. "Sorry. Hard to break habits," he said.

He gave her a nod after she thanked him for agreeing to go to bed and was under the covers a few moments later. Hopefully sleep would come. He didn't want to be bothered. He just wanted to sleep. Not that Chloe was bothering him, because that's not what he meant at all. Ugh, sick brain sucked. His thoughts never made sense when he was sick.

When she thanked him, saying that she'd be back in a hour and then he could take some medicine and eat, he let out a small noise of acknowledgment, not wanting her to think that he was ignoring her. However, he just wanted to sleep so that meant she needed to stop talking. Wow. Okay. Rude. Good thing he hadn't said that out loud.

He tried to sleep, he really did---and he wanted to sleep---but his body wasn't working with him at the moment. Not even sniper breathing worked, and that usually did the trick. Meh, he could at least just rest. Even if he didn't sleep, resting would help. So he kept his eyes shut, smiling to himself when he heard the front door open, followed by footsteps. He then coughed, wincing at how congested he sounded. Ugh...hate being sick, he thought to himself.

Chloe hadn’t known that Jay had put in for sick days, she was generally the last one to know much of anything with as many hours as she’d been working lately in the ER. There had been some a particularly bad strain of the flu going around Tierney over the past few weeks, and the ER staff had been dropping like flies too. Chloe had been lucky so far to have avoided the awfulness. “I’m not entirely sure that it is just a cold, flu is rampant here on base… but that’s beside the point, if I had known you were sick I would have been here before now to check on you and take care of you.”

There’s nothing better for sickness than good old fashioned homemade chicken noodle soup to go with that orange juice, if I were at home I’d make you some but I know where I can get the next best thing. Did it bother her that he kept addressing her by her rank, yes because she honestly thought they were beyond that point by now. It hurt to think that he didn’t see her as a friend, just as a superior officer. When he explained it away by it being a hard to break habit, she could understand that because if he slipped and called her Chloe rather than Lieutenant in certain situations he could get himself in trouble.

When Chloe heard him make some unidentifiable noise when she spoke to him she took that as some form of acknowledgment and went on to town. When she returned and peeked in to check on him she could tell that he wasn’t really asleep. She quietly asked, “Do you want me to bring your soup and medicine in here or do you want to get up and eat and watch television for awhile until you feel like you can fall asleep?” Hearing him cough she walked up to his bed sat down on the edge and gently touched his forehead again, “When was the last time you took any medicine? I’ve got some Motrin out here I can give you to break this fever and I’ve also got the medicine the doctor called in for you, and some of the best chicken soup you can find in Tierney. Just let me know if you want me to bring it in here to you or not.”

Jay's eyes flickered as Chloe said that she wasn't entirely sure it was just a cold, saying that a flu had been going around and that if she known sooner, she would've been around to take care of him.
"M'fine," he told her. Okay, he wasn't. He was sick as a dog as the saying went and his commanding officer had to see him knocked on his ass. It was embarrassing. Wonder what it'd be like to have her riding me, he mused. Then his eyes widened. Where the hell had that come from? Damn...he was sicker than he thought if he was having those type of thoughts about a superior officer. Not that she was unattractive---on the contrary, she gorgeous as hell---but he didn't usually let those types of thoughts take root. And he needed to get rid of them before something even more embarrassing happened.

When she asked him if he wanted her to bring the soup and medicine in the bedroom or the living room to watch t.v. until he fell asleep, he frowned in concentration, giving it some thought. Watching television sounded appealing, but honestly, it had taken most of the energy he had just to get from the couch to the bad. When will the damn Dayquil kick in? he thought irritably.
"Think bed might be better," he answered.

At her question of when he had last taken any medicine, saying that she had some she could give him as well as the chicken soup, calling it the best in Tierney, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Few minutes before you showed up. Took a Dayquil, but it hasn't kicked in yet. Usually takes a while," he responded. And it sucked. He didn't like being sick and just wanted to feel better. Was that really so much to ask? Apparently, it was. But hey, at least he wasn't alone at the moment. And yes, he knew that Chloe would be leaving soon. After all, she had other responsibilities that were way more important than him.

Chloe laughed when Jay said ‘M’fine’, “You’re far from fine Jay, and there’s no need to pretend otherwise… I am a nurse, remember? I’ve seen you when you’re fine and this..” She gestured to him, “Is not you being fine, but I’m not here to lecture you… I just want to help you feel better.” When Chloe saw his eyes widen she cocked her head to the side and looked at him trying to figure out where his mind had wandered to. Chloe was starting to get a bit frustrated, she normally didn’t have to work this hard to get a guy to notice her. She’d been trying to get Jay Halstead’s attention since she met him at the gym, but it seemed to her that all of her flirting was doing her no good whatsoever it was like he either didn’t notice or wasn’t interested. She was almost ready to give up, almost but not quite.

When he answered that the bed might be better she poured him a bowl of soup grabbed his bag of medications and put two bottles of water in it and picked up her salad and walked into the dark bedroom. She found a bedside lamp and switched it on sitting her salad and the bag down on the table so she could get him taken care of first. Handing him the bowl of soup and bottle of water she sat on the edge of the bed next to him and grabbed his medicines out. Pouring out two different medicines she handed them to him, quick feeling his forehead before she spoke “One is for the flu, the other is an antibiotic… and once you take those I have some Motrin for you because you’re still hot.” She turned and grabbed him four Motrin to swallow.

“Dayquil and Nyquil are great for a cold, but I’m thinking that this is a little worse than your average cold.” She watched him for a bit, thinking how absolutely adorable he was when he was sick… well anytime really but when he was sick she just wanted to comfort him. “So are you going to eat the soup or stare at it? I didn’t have time to make you my homemade chicken noodle soup, but this is almost as good… I promise.”

Grabbing her salad and the other water she turned and smiled at Jay, “So are you going to scoot over so I can eat too, or do you plan on making me sit in the floor to eat?”

Jay was silent as Chloe responded that he was far from fine and that there was no need to pretend, reminding him that she was a nurse and that she'd seen him when he was fine and he wasn't fine at the moment, assuring that she hadn't come to lecture him but to help him feel better.
"It's appreciated," he told her. And it was, even if it did feel a little weird. This was crossing so many professional lines but for the moment, he didn't care. Truth be told, it felt kind of nice to be taken care of like this.

He then watched as she got the medicine otu for him, telling him one was for the flu and one was antibiotic and that she had some Motrin for him for later because he was still hot.
"Still, huh?" he quipped. Then he winced. "Sorry. Inappropriate. Most likely the cold. I tend to get a little loopy when I'm sick," he apologized. Hope she doesn't hold anything against me, he thought to himself. He liked where he was working at and he didn't want anything to jeopardize that. And flirting with a superior officer would certainly do that.

His eyes flickered as she told him that Dayquil and Nyquil were good for colds but that she had a feeling that what he had was worse than the average cold, asking if he was going to eat the soup or stare at it, adding that she hadn't had time to make her own soup but that it was just as good.
"Yeah. Of course," he replied and began eating, blowing on the soup lightly before taking a mouthful. The last thing he needed was to burn his mouth and be in pain from that on top of feeling like crap.

At her question of whether or not he was going to move over or make her eat on the floor, he flushed slightly and then carefully moved over, being careful not to jostle his soup.
"Thanks...for this," he said.

When Jay told her that he appreciated her trying to help him feel better she smiled at him, “What kind of… friend would I be if I didn’t take care of you?” She could tell Jay felt a little uncomfortable with the situation and assumed that maybe she had overstepped. She thought about asking him if he wanted her to leave, but decided she was scared of what his answer might be. Chloe didn’t want to leave him, yes she knew that developing feelings for Jay was probably a mistake and not the smartest thing she’d ever done but it was far too late to change what had already happened. Professionally it was a horrible idea for her to be here, but she didn’t really care… she’d never really given much thought to anyone’s rank, and just because she was an officer it didn’t make her any better than the next person.

Chloe laughed and blushed when he joked about him still being hot, but frowned and bit her lip when he went on to claim his comment was inappropriate. She looked at the floor for a moment before sighing and mumbling, “It’s fine.” Times like this she really disliked the military and their stupid rules. The first guy she met that she felt comfortable around in years and he was technically off limits, how fair was that. Apparently Jay was the only smart one in the room because at that point she didn’t give a damn about some crazy rule.

She smiled as she watched him blow on the soup and take a mouthful, “Good huh? Way better than that canned soup… I found it a couple weeks ago when I had a bit of a cold myself. Of course mine is better… but I didn’t feel like cooking…” She had become slightly uncomfortable and started rambling, telling herself to focus and remain professional was useless at this point because nothing about this whole situation was anywhere near professional. She shouldn’t be here but found herself smiling when she saw him blush and scoot over for her. “What kind of nurse would I be if I made my patient eat on his own, besides I have to make sure you don’t have a reaction to any of the medicines.” Great now she was making excuses to stay when she clearly shouldn’t be there in the first place.

All of her insecurities melted away for a moment when she heard him thank her, and she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Anytime.” Realizing what she had just done she sat up and grabbed her salad, “I… uh… I’m really sorry, I know, I mean I think… you’re uncomfortable with all of this… me being here and all… and then I go and do that, that was highly inappropriate I apologize… won’t happen again, but I think I had probably better go ahead and show myself out… if you need me, uh I mean need anything just call me.”

Jay shrugged as Chloe asked him what kind of friend she'd be if she didn't take care of him.
"Glad you're here," he admitted. Don't really like being alone when I'm sick, he thought to himself. And how stupid was that? He was a grown man who still needed company when he was sick. It was pathetic. Okay, he had to forget all that. She was here, he wasn't alone, everything was fine. He just hoped that she didn't get in trouble for fraternizing with him.

His eyes then flickered as she frowned, saying that his comment had been been. She's not happy, he mused. Well of course she wasn't happy! He had just made a pass at her! Hopefully she'd realize it was most likely just the fever talking and disregard the impropriety. At least...that's what he was hoping. The last thing he wanted was to be brought up on sexual harassment charges.

As he continued eating, he listened and nodded as she asked if the soup was good, saying that she had found it a couple of weeks earlier when she was sick and that it was better than canned soup, but that she made better, only she hadn't felt like cooking.
"I can understand that," he said. His smile grew as she asked what kind of nurse she would be if she let him eat alone, adding that she had to make sure that he didn't have a bad reaction to any of the medication. "A busy one," he quipped. And that was probably the truth. Not that he knew a lot about nurses or anything. "And other than being lactose intolerant, the only thing I have an iffy reaction to is morphine, but that just usually makes me loopy and prone to sing random songs," he responded.

He then blinked as she kissed his cheek. What had that been for? He hadn't done anything. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it, because he had, he just didn't know why she had done it. His eyes then flickered again as she apologized, saying that it had been inappropriate and that he was obviously uncomfortable with her, assuring him that it wouldn't happen again and that she'd show herself out, telling him to call her if he needed anything.
"No, stay...please?" he asked, throwing her a puppy-dog look.

Chloe smiled when Jay said he was glad she was there, “I’d have been here sooner if you’d asked.” Nobody liked to be alone when they were sick. Chloe liked to think that she was a fairly independent person, but even she liked having someone around when she wasn’t feeling well. She shrugged “Hey, I got no place better to be… might as well be keeping you company.”

It wasn’t that Jay’s comment had really bothered her, because well he was hot. Sadly her agreeing with him and voicing it outloud would probably not be the best idea ever. She looked up at him and smiled hoping to let him know that she wasn’t upset by the comment but could see his uncertainty. She sighed, “I swear Jay, it’s fine… I just have a lot on my mind… Just some things frustrating me… I guess you could say it was work related.” Related to the fact that work said it was inappropriate for her to have feelings for Jay, she thought to herself.

As she sat next to him on the bed she watched him eat quietly. She laughed when he said she’d be a busy nurse, she liked it when he smiled… his eyes lit up and it was contagious. She could hardly look at Jay when he was smiling and not smile herself. “Ok… remind me to hang around if they ever give you any morphine because that could be interesting, but you never know if a medicine is going to cause a reaction or not… so in the interest of safety I think I should probably keep you company for a bit longer.” Yeah… that sounded like as good an excuse as any to stay.

Her mind was in a million places at once and she was already headed for the door when she heard him ask her to stay, she couldn’t help but smile and her heart melted when she saw the puppy dog look he was giving her. Ok, that look was dangerous… should be illegal, because she knew that anytime he ever looked at her like that she would give him whatever it was that he wanted. “You sure?” She asked as she turned around to face him again, “I mean… I don’t want to leave, but if you want me to leave I will.”

Hoping that he wouldn’t change his mind she walked slowly back to the bed and tentatively sat down next to him again. She opened her salad and poured the dressing on and stabbed a few pieces of lettuce with her fork and turned to look at him. “After we eat, if you’re feeling up for it… maybe we could find a movie to watch, or I could just leave and let you sleep. Up to you.”

Jay smiled at Chloe as she said that she would've been there sooner if she had called her, adding that she might as well keep him company as she had no other place to be.
"Used to taking care of this kind of thing on my own," he answered. He had been ever since he had left to join the Army. After all, it wasn't like anyone here would be by his side twenty-four/seven and nor should they be. No, this was something he was supposed to take care of on his own. And that's what he intended to do. Now if he could just get the woman to see it that way.

He then nodded as she assured him that he had been fine and that she just had a lot of work-related stuff on her mind.
"Understandable," he commented. She had a lot of responsibilities and he had the feeling that they could sometimes be overwhelming. Not that he knew this for sure, but he could imagine.

When she said that to remind her to stick around if he ever needed any morphine as it could be interesting to watch him sing, he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, that's not happening,"[/color] he told her. No way in hell, he thought to himself. He had no idea why he had even said anything, but he had, and now he had gotten her all curious. Wonderful. He then nodded as she reminded him that she should probably stick around because one never knew what kind of reaction a person would have to a medication. "So very true," he agreed with a grin. Plus, this way, he got to spend more time with her. Oh boy. Had he just thought that? Yup, his fever was definitely getting the best of him. okay, so he needed to shut up now.

At her question of whether or not he was sure he wanted her to stay, saying that even though she didn't want to, she'd go if he wanted her to, he gave her a reassuring smile as he continued to eat.
"I want you here," he responded. What could he say? He was enjoying her company. When she suggested that they watch a movie after he was done eating if he was up to it, adding once more that she could leave and he could get some sleep, smiled once more. "A movie sounds nice," he admitted.[/font]

Chloe smiled sadly, “Just because you’re used to doing it on your own doesn’t mean that you have to keep doing it that way…” Men could be so stubborn, cold or not… there was no need to try and handle everything on his own if there were people willing to help him. So maybe she was mothering him a bit, but all she wanted to do was help him feel better. “You have people that care about you that want to help… you should let them.”

Work related stuff was the only excuse that she could come up with that sounded even halfway plausible, not like she could really tell him what was on her mind at that point. She’d scare him away and sick or not he’d run for the hills, no these feelings were something that she was going to have to sort through and get over on her own. She could never ask Jay to put his career in jeopardy. When he said he understood her eyes flickered a moment until she remembered that he was saying that the fact that she had been thinking about work related stuff was understandable.

Chloe couldn’t help but giggle as she imagined him singing and when he rolled his eyes and told her that wasn’t going to happen she stuck her tongue out at him, “You’re no fun, besides if it’s listed as an allergy… and from the sounds of it maybe it should be, nobody should ever give it to you anyway. I should tell you though, I don’t remember seeing that listed on your chart. The lactose intolerant part I remembered, so have no fear… the soup’s not going to make you any sicker than you already are.”

She grinned and shrugged her shoulders when Jay agreed to let her stay to keep an eye on him, “Glad you were so easy to convince, because if you hadn’t been I would have hated to have to think of reasons to argue with you." When she saw him grin her heart melted, he really was adorable when he grinned like that. I wonder what it would be like to kiss… no, not going there. Supposed to be professional, here to take care of him and make sure he gets to feeling better. She chastised herself.

Chloe couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face when he admitted that he wanted her here, “Really? Well if you’re sure… I’d be happy to stay.” No matter how awkward things seemed she was thoroughly enjoying herself, and apparently Jay wasn’t opposed to her being there taking care of him. When he agreed to the movie after eating, she settled in sitting next to him to eat her salad. What was she doing? She was sitting in bed with a very attractive man, eating salad, wishing that she could kiss him senseless. Whoa… ok more eating less fantasizing. “So, um… did you have a movie in mind that you’d like to watch?”