Jack stepped out of the bathroom with a billowing cloud of steam following him. Another work day, another morning shower. The smell of sports stick gave him pause, he should have smelt breakfast by now. He got his answer to the lack of fresh coffee and scrambled eggs when he looked on the bed.

“I feel awful.” Lys laid there rubbing her head, her tail lazily traced a pattern back and forth on the mattress.

“You sound awful.” Jack walked over and touched her. “You’re a lot warmer than usual.” Her coughing fits last night should have been his first clue. Her energy started dropping after they got back from clothes shopping yesterday, but he chalked it up to a long day of surfing through pink jackets and princesses.

“Head hurts too,” she mumbled and sat up, wheezing while she did.

A long sigh escaped his lips, but it did little to settle his nerves, if anything he was getting more anxious by the second. Jack watched her struggle to stand. She teetered to one side before righting herself. “You alright?” he asked, reaching out for her.

“Unh. Lys aches all over.” She started for the living room, one shaky step in front of the other, her face twitched with each step. He couldn’t let that go on. “Jack, what are—“ In one swoop he hoisted her up into his arms, always glad to have any excuse, even in rough times. He flashed her his best “Prince Charming” smile. “My…hero. I feel cold,” she said before coughing into his face.

Jack set her down on the couch. “Probably got a fever. You need to stay warm.” Dashing back into the bedroom, he scooped up some of the sheets and started bundling her up. She looked like a sausage roll by the time he was done.

“Not that warm.” She shoved some of the blankets back. “Where’s the remote?” Her question fell on deaf ears. He was in the bathroom searching around for something, rummaging through the little basket of crap on the sink. Nail clippers, eye drops, and everything but what he wanted. Next, he checked the nearby shelf, under the towels, and the medicine cabinet, nothing.

When the hell was the last time I used it?

From the bathroom to the bedroom; he looked in the sock drawer and there it was, tucked off to one side. He went back to the living room.

“What’s that?” Lys asked.

“A thermometer.”

“What’s it do?”

“It tells me how warm you are.”

“How?”

“You uhh…stick it in your ear…” So much for that. “What’s the average body temperature for a kobold anyway?”

“How should I know?”

Jack shrugged her off and started looking on-line, but medical information on kobolds was still somewhat formative. After a few scrolls he gave up on the idea. She had a fever, that was all he needed to know.

“Jack?” Lys’s call went unheeded once more. He paced back into the living room and dumped a quilt on top of her. “Sto—“ she started coughing again before she could finish. “You’re burying me.” She narrowed her tired eyes at him. “Stop being a broodmother.”

“A what?” How was he supposed to react? She’d never been sick before.

“Sometimes elders get put in charge of several hatchlings. Call them broodmothers, but that’s not important, what’s important is that you stop being one. Lys has been sick before and never died.”

Okay, so she’d been sick before, but not around him. This wasn’t some ramshackle shantytown made of cardboard under an overpass with some wizened, scaly crone looking over a patch of screaming kobold children. She was in Jack’s Apartment and Jack’s Apartment had things like medicine, warmth, and a loving husband for times like this. He checked the medicine cabinet. It opened with a rusty squeal. Cough syrup, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, everything a sick kobold needed. His nervous hands grabbed the bottles and sent several other things into the sink. Before he went back though his eyes darted around for nicotine patches, all gone and he was fiending.

Lys stood next to the couch, remote in hand. She’d turned on the TV when he’d stormed back in and glared at her. “What? I want to watch TV.”

“You could have asked me to give you the remote.”

“I did, but you were too,” she stopped to wheeze, the sound made him wilt, “busy running around like a fool. What is all that stuff?”

“This ‘fool’ is just trying to help. Go on and sit down, it’s medicine.” He held out the bottle of cough syrup and started reading the instructions. “Twenty milliliters for adults and children over twelve…under twelve ask a physician….” He looked over at Lys who kept giving the bottle nervous glances. “Maybe we should start with ten.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, basically, I think.” With each affirmation he became more unsure. What would this stuff do to a kobold? Why hadn’t there been any research? For all he knew he was poisoning her, but he couldn’t just let her sit there and suffer. No, ten milliliters should be fine for now. He unscrewed the cap and began pouring the stuff into the little plastic cup. The two of them watched the thick, purple liquid ooze out. Lys didn’t look too thrilled. “Here.” He passed the cup off to her.

She sniffed at it, scrunched up her snout, and then dipped her tongue into it. Her eyes screwed shut. “Ugh. It tastes like tailhole. Are you trying to make me sicker? Why would anyone drink this?”

“It’s supposed to taste bad.”

Lys looked at him like this was all a sick joke. “Why?”

“To stop kids from drinking it when irresponsible parents leave it out.”

“Well, Lys is no kid.” She passed it back to him. “I’d rather be sick.”

Jack looked into the cup and remembered all the trouble he’d given his mother when he was ill. With maturity came understanding, but for someone who’d never had the joy of taking cough syrup before Lys might as well been a child. “Look, just take it.” He tried to pass it back.

She pushed it away. “No.”

“You can wash it down with a glass of water. It’s only for a moment.” He tried to give it to her again, but she blocked him with an open hand.

“Maybe you can, I can still taste it.”

“Lys…”

“Jack…” she said, mocking his tone.

His pulse quickened, he needed a smoke. “Do all kobolds turn into insufferable monsters when they get sick?” he asked on the verge of shouting.

“Only the ones mated to asshole humans.” She looked up at him with a wide, smug grin, the points of her teeth hanging just over her maw. He started to laugh. She tried to laugh with him and went through another coughing fit instead.

“Sweet, will you please take this stuff? I know it tastes like ass, but it’ll help and it’s all we’ve got.”

Her shoulders slumped, one end of the blanket pile rose up and then fell as her tail voiced its opinion on the situation. She reached out and took it into her claws again, rolling it around, watching it stain the sides of the cup. “Get some water, please.”

He nodded and went for the sink, still wondering if giving her this stuff was the best thing to do. Her coughing was a rough, raspy sound and she wheezed like her chest was congested. The last thing he wanted to have to do was take her to a doctor; they probably knew about as much as he did, maybe less. And that’s if they even saw her in the first place. Jack noticed his hand getting rather cold, a torrent of water rushed over the edge of the glass and down the drain.

“That was a long wait,” Lys said, still holding the plastic cup.

“Sorry, here.” He stood by and watched the ritual he’d personally undertaken countless times.

“If this stuff doesn’t help, I’m going to bite you.” She sneered at it, screwed her face up in anticipation, and then downed it as best as she could, quickly following it up with a water chaser.

“God and elders.” She shook her head back and forth several times. “I’m never taking that again.”

He forced a nervous smile. “Supposed to take it every four hours.”

“What?!” Her tail thrashed against the couch and she coughed. “You tricked me.”

“I didn’t trick you. It only lasts for four hours.”

“I don’t want to have to take this every four hours. I don’t want to take it ever again.”

“You’ll get used to it. As long as you have some water left I got something else for you to take too.”

She sighed. “Elders preserve me, what?”

He unscrewed the bottle of ibuprofen and took out a single pill and then thought better of it. “Hold on.”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t have a pill splitter so I need to cut this thing with a knife.” The damn thing didn’t want to split though. He pressed down harder and harder until the blade pushed through and nicked the tile. One piece of the pill shot off like a bullet into the great unknown while the other bumped against his hand. “Here, this should help with the fever and headache. Stop looking at me like that, it doesn’t taste like anything.”

She looked at it and then back at him for a long moment before popping it in her maw. “There. Anything else you want me to stick in my mouth?”

He sat down beside her and began stroking her cheek, still warmer than usual. Gently, he let his hands move back and forth across her face, from the tip of her nose to underneath her jaw. Her eyes drooped into a half-lidded gaze and her breath became deep and relaxed. She started to thrum, but the congestion made it into more of a warm wheezing. He leaned forward and kissed her. “I could think of a few things,” he whispered.

She smiled. “Jerk.”

“You hungry?”

She nodded.

“I got just the thing.”

A few minutes later the microwave beeped. Lys watched as Jack set up one of the fold out trays  and then procured a steaming bowl from the kitchen. “What is it?” she asked.

“Chicken noodle soup.” He didn’t really put too much stock in its restorative properties, but it was always a pleasant thing to have when one was sick. If nothing else he enjoyed sharing the tradition with her. He presented her with the spoon which she gave one look at and then set aside before taking the bowl into her hands. “You should really use the spoon.”

“That takes too long,” she said between sipping the bowl. “That’s a little better. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?”

He shook his head. “I’ll take a sick day.” The rest of the day passed with reruns of Bonanza and M.A.S.H. along with long diatribes from his mate about the vileness of cough syrup. “Feeling any better?”

“A little. Feels like I’m eating nails when I cough though.”

He thought it over. “I guess I could go to the store for cough drops and some better tasting cough syrup. You think you’ll—“

“Do it. I never want to take that purple muck ever again.”

He laughed slightly. “Alright. I’ll be back shortly.”

***

Trying to make sure that whatever new cough syrup he picked up didn’t taste like death had taken longer than he wanted. Going over each one with the pharmacist in detail while dropping hints that the recipient was quite small took time. He also forgot the cough drops the first time around and needed to go right back in for them (along with some nicotine patches). By the time he got back the outside was lit up in fading gold and the air was picking up a chill. Jack headed up the steps to find a familiar yellow kobold about to knock at his door.

“Rodil?”

He leapt in the air and turned about, ready to sprint. “O-oh. It’s J-James.”

“Jack.”

“Jack, yes, Jack. Hi Jack.” He tensed up as Jack got closer to the door, his tail turning stuff and rigid.

“What are you doing here?”

The yellow kobold cocked his head. “It’s movie night.”

“Oh shit. I forgot. Uhh listen. Lys is sick, so you might—”

“Sick?!” Before Jack could reach for the knob Rodil turned it and barged in, leaving Jack standing there jaw agape, plastic bag swaying in his hand.

“Like I said, make yourself at home…”

Lys looked over and did a double take. “Rodil? What are—OOF—“ The yellow kobold grabbed her in a big hug and then started looking her over. Sniffing her intensely and prodding with his claws. “What is wrong with you?” She pushed him back.

“What did Jack do to Lys?”

Jack stepped in and closed the door. “What did I do? I didn’t do anything. She decided not to tell me she was freezing in the rain the other day.”

“Jack froze Lys in the rain?” His tail whipped about and he tried to assume a threatening posture.

“Roddy, stop.”

“He left Lys out in the rain. Let’s go Lys, come with Rodil. Lys can live with Rodil and the old lady. Ow! What did Lys do that for?” Rodil rubbed between his horns, she’d landed a nice, hard swat on his head.

“Shut up and listen…” She started coughing, it sounded like her insides were scraping together. “Ahh, that hurts.” The green kobold gripped at her chest.

Jack dug into the plastic bag. “Here, these will help. Rodil, what the hell are you doing?” The yellow kobold stood between them.

“Not going to let you do anything else to Lys. Rodil thought Jack was his friend, his movie friend.”

“I am your movie friend you idiot and I didn’t let her freeze. She didn’t tell me she was freezing because she’s a stubborn lizard, like you. Really, you need to stop this chivalrous bullshit or I’m going to toss you out.” He went to try and give Lys the contents of the bag again, pulling out a pouch of cough drops.

“Wait, so Lys let Lys freeze?”

The green kobold looked away. “Yeah, sort of.”

“Let’s stop this right here before we get into another rut,” Jack said before Rodil started up again. He appreciated how much he cared about Lys, but the kobold was bold in all the wrong ways. “Now, as I was trying to say before you barged in and made an ass of yourself. She’s sick and I don’t know if she’s contagious. You could be making yourself sick.”

“Rodil doesn’t care. Lys needs someone to look after her.”

“I am looking after her, I’m her mate,” he said through clenched teeth. Lys gave Jack a half-smile and stifled her laughter. “Besides, you’ll care if you get sick and you’ll care even more if it’s something humans can get. Suppose you give it to that lady of yours, what’s her name?”

“Can just stay here tonight,” Rodil said, like it was the most obvious choice.

“No, this isn’t a sleepover. I still have to go to work tomorrow.”

“Rodil isn’t a hatchling. He wants to stay here and look after his best friend. Isn’t that okay?” he asked, flicking his tongue out.

Jack chewed on his bottom lip. He didn’t like the idea  even though he’d already said the yellow kobold could come and visit when he wanted. A deep pit formed in his stomach as he imagined Lys being contagious. Terrible mental images of having to play nursemaid to two sick kobolds ran through his mind.

Lys sighed. “Jack, just let him. If you don't, he'll sneak over during the day anyhow.”

Rodil turned about, shocked. “How did Lys know?”

“Lucky guess,” Jack said, rubbing his temples. “Alright, but if I come home and...God, look what you’ve done, you’ve turned me into my dad. How did I lose control of this situation so quickly?”

Lys giggled, interspersed with coughs. “You were in control?”

“Shut up and take your cough drops."