DISCLAIMER: I own nothing so don't sue. Or if you do it'll be pointless.
SUMMARY: Angel takes care of Buffy when she get's sick. I know it's cheesy but i couldn't help my self. It's not very good and it probably has loads of mistakes in it but please don't give me a hard time about it coz i'm feeling ill myself (which is why i wrote the fic!) Anyway, please send me feedback!

The sight that greeted Angel when he entered Buffy's bedroom was strange to say the least. She was curled up in a ball on her bed with a hot water bottle and Mr Gordo, which Angel recognised to be her favourite pig.

'Buffy?' he asked quietly, not wanting to wake her mother if she was in.

She looked up at him and smiled weakly, 'Hey,' she offered as a greeting.

He frowned in concern, 'Are you okay?'

'Fine, and you don't need to whisper, mum's gone away for a week,' she answered, before coughing.

'You're not fine,' Angel said softly.

'Am to,' Buffy insisted. She bounced out of bed, as if to prove she really was fine, 'See?' she said. She clutched her desk weakly as the room began to swim and pitch.

Seeing her sway, Angel quickly helped her back to bed, 'You are not fine,' he repeated firmly.

'I just got up a little quick,' Buffy said feebly.

'You're burning up,' Angel said frowning, 'you have a fever.'

'Flu,' Buffy muttered.

'Flu?' Angel echoed.

'Yea, mum made me go to the doctors.' Buffy told him before coughing again.

'Your mum left you alone for a week when she knew you had the flu?' Angel asked in disbelief.

'The trip is important to her,' Buffy told him defensively, wishing that she didn't have to speak, her throat hurt like crazy.

'Buffy?' Angel asked suspiciously, 'what did you tell her?'

'I said I was going to stay at Willow's,' Buffy told him, to tired to try and make up excuses.

Angel took one last look at the slayer before saying, 'You're staying with me, no arguments. You can barely walk, let alone manage by yourself.'

'Really, I'll be fine,' Buffy insisted, although secretly she was ecstatic. Well, as ecstatic as a person with the flu could be. She would get to spend time with Angel! She hadn't seen him much lately, and she'd missed him.

'I'm going to take care of you,' Angel told her, his face set with determination, 'do you need to bring anything?' he asked her.

She frowned slightly, trying to think. Her head felt like it had nothing but cotton wool in it. *That'd be the pain killers fault* she thought absentmindedly.

'Buffy?' he asked gently.

'Oh, right, just some clothes. And. I don't know. I'll get my things in a minute, just let me catch my breath.'

Angel listened to her laboured breathing and wished he could help her.

'I'll get them for you, just tell me what and where,' Angel said.

Buffy directed him around her room and when he was done she smiled at him gratefully and thanked him.

'No problem,' Angel told her returning her smile, 'I just wish I could do more to help. I hate seeing you so ill and weak. It worries me.'

'Well, I guess you'll just have to protect me from the big bad vampires,' Buffy teased, trying to ignore the pounding pain in her head and stomach.

'Do you have any medicine?' Angel asked suddenly.

'There isn't anything for flu. It should go away in about a week, but I'm told that it gets worse before better,' Buffy said frowning.

Angel picked up her bag and stood up.

'Ready?' Angel asked.

Buffy nodded slightly and before she could protest, she was in Angel's arms being carried down the stairs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest. Being in Angel's arms always comforted her. It was almost as if he offered her some of his strength. Before she knew it, they had reached his apartment, and she realised that she must have fallen asleep on their journey.

Angel carried her to his bed and gently lowered her down onto it. She kept her arms fastened around him tightly, not wanting him to leave her.

'Sweetheart,' he said chuckling, 'I'm not going to leave you, I'm just going to put your bag down.'

'Oh,' she said in a small voice as she reluctantly let him go.

He put her bag down and returned to her, where she promptly wrapped her arms around him and curled up against him. He began to run his fingers through her hair and rub her back in an attempt to soothe her.

'How do you feel?' he asked her quietly.

'How do you think?' she snapped, 'Ill.' She paused and sighed loudly, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap, I guess being ill makes me grouchy.' She apologised.

'It's okay,' Angel assured her, 'do you want to be alone?' he offered

'No,' Buffy said firmly, holding him closer to her.

'Hey, I'm not going any where,' he promised her, 'I just thought that maybe you wanted.'

'You,' Buffy interrupted, her voice muffed by his shirt. 'Want to stay with you.'

'My head hurts,' she wined, looking up at him. He bent his head slightly and kissed her gently.

'Poor baby,' he said soothingly, 'if there's anything that I can do to help.'

'Just stay with me. My throat hurts too,' she continued, and Angel had to refrain from smiling. She clearly did not like being ill one bit, and never would he have imagined the slayer to be curled up in his lap with the flu. He gave her another kiss and gently pulled out of her embrace. She whimpered slightly at the loss of body contact and he gently hushed her with a finger to her lips.

'You've got to get changed,' he told her, opening her bag and finding her pyjamas.

He to one look at her, lying on his bed pouting, and realised he'd have to undress her. Which would probably leave him extremely uncomfortable.

He looked at her so-called nightie and realised that it was one of his shirts.

'I was wondering where this had got to,' he told her smiling.

She smiled at him weakly and closed her eyes as Angel gently began to undress her. She loved his cold hands on her body. It was really refreshing, especially since she had a fever.

Angel soon had her changed, and as he had predicted, he was now more then a little uncomfortable, but he was far too concerned about Buffy to worry about his own problems.

She pulled him down to her and he rolled them over, allowing Buffy to lie her head against his chest. She lay still for a few moments before she began tugging at his shirt. He looked at her, confused, until he realised that she wanted him to take it off. He immediately understood why and complied.

She settled back down and cooed, 'nice and cold.' Angel chuckled slightly. Her body was almost scolding in comparison to his cold one, but he said nothing, wanting to help her in anyway possible.

********

When Angel awoke the next morning he found himself alone. He glanced at the clock and realised that it was only 3 am. He scanned the room nut found no sign of Buffy.

He got out of bed sleepily and headed into the lounge. He found her lying on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her and the TV playing.

He walked towards her and placed a hand on her forehead. She didn't seem to be so warm now. In fact, she seemed to be the opposite. He noticed that she was shivering slightly.

He shook her gently in an attempt to wake her. She opened her eyes groggily and groaned. She felt ten times worse then she had done last night. She placed a hand on her head, in an attempt to stop the pounding and another on her stomach.

'Buffy?' she heard Angel asked.

She pulled him into focus and found him kneeling down next to her looking extremely worried.

'Hey,' she said, only it came out as a horse whisper. *Great, I've lost my voice* she thought wearily.

'What are you doing here?' Angel asked frowning.

'You invited me,' she told him, still not fully awake.

Angel smiled slightly, 'No, I mean, what are you doing on the sofa?'

'Oh, I couldn't sleep. I had a cough, and I didn't want to wake you,' she told him weakly.

He frowned and shook his head, 'Forget about me, I'm fine. You should have woken me. I wouldn't have minded,' he scolded gently.

'Sorry,' she mumbled looking down.

'Hey,' he said softly, cupping her chin and forcing her to look at him, 'What's wrong?'

'I just.feel bad about keeping you up and getting ill and-'

'Hey,' Angel said firmly, 'I want to look after you. You looked after me that time when Dru tried to kill me,' Angel told her, 'and when I was weak after I came back from hell,' he continued.

'I guess,' she said unconvinced.

He noticed once again that she was shivering slightly. 'You're cold,' he said softly.

'A little,' she told him.

He picked her up gently, discarding the blanket, and carried her back to bed.

She frowned when she realised that he was lying as far away from her as possible.

'Angel?' she called softly, slightly hurt.

He turned to face her. 'Do you need something?' he asked concerned.

She shook her head slightly and tried to pull him closer to her. He refused to move and so she moved to him, curling against him.

She looked up at him and saw surprise on his face. 'Do you not want to hold me?' she asked softly, unsure.

'More than anything,' he told her, slightly surprised at her question.

'Then why were you lying as far away from me as possible?'

'You were cold,' he said quietly, 'you still are,' he added frowning, 'and I didn't think that I'd be much help. I thought I'd just make you colder.'

'Never,' she told him firmly, burying her head into his chest.

He smiled slightly as Buffy drifted of to sleep. He had never played 'nurse' before, but he had a feeling that he wasn't doing to badly.

What did you think? Good? Awfull? (probably). Anyway, tell me what you think.

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