SUMMARY: I've got the cold from Hell, so I gave it to Buffy, too. Oh, and I made her pregnant, too :)
SPOILER: IWRY
DISTRIBUTION: Sandee, of course - My site - http://planetslaythis.homestead.com - Crystal and Butterfly if they want it - A Soul's Redemption - Anyone else - sure, just email me & lmk where it's going - I like seeing my name in print =)
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, Joss Whedon does. 5/18/01

The vampire lying beside her snored loudly as Buffy sat up in bed and rubbed her temples.

"Angel," she kicked him under the covers, but even with her Slayer strength, her cold made her weak and he barely felt her foot on his calf.

Finally, Buffy reached over and began smacking Angel's shoulder 'till he stirred awake.

"Buffy?" he asked, confused. "It's three o'clock in the morning."

"My throat's on fire," she whispered. "Will you go make me some tea?"

Angel yawned. "Tea?"

"Tea. And some iced tea, too."

Angel sighed and got out of bed. Buffy managed a small smile as Angel headed towards the doorway without any clothes on.

"Angel," she called him back. "Bring me some pudding, too. The baby's hungry."

"Wait. Tea. Pudding. You can't have any caffiene," Angel pointed out. "It's bad for the baby."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "The tea is decaffinated and the pudding is butterscotch. Please," she moaned and Angel hurried into the kitchen, the cement floor freezing his bare feet.

When Angel returned, Buffy had turned the bedside lamp on and opened her latest Harlequinn romance novel. She eagerly accepted the hot tea Angel offered and swallowed down the vitamin C and eccihencea pills he brought.

"Since you can't take anything like Tylenol Cold," he explained, "I'll have you take vitamins. The C you take every hour and the eccihnecea every four."

Buffy snorted and swallowed the pills, wincing as they went down. "This is not good."

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Angel asked.

Buffy nodded. "Bring me some ice chips."

"But you're not in labor," Angel pointed out. Buffy glared at him, and he scurried off to get him.

Had she been feeling all right, she would've taken the time to laugh at his naked body sprinting through the house. Instead, she finished the tea and set the empty mug down on the floor. By the time she'd finished her pudding, Angel was back with the ice chips.

Buffy sucked on a few, then let Angel prop her up with more pillows.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "I think I'm gonna get some sleep now..."

She was out cold before Angel could reply. He turned all the lights out and went back to bed.

*****

At ten after six, Buffy was up again. She made Angel make her cream of wheat with lots of maple syrup so she could stomach the stuff and still get some nutrition since she could hardly swallow liquids. He changed the CDs in her stereo for her and let her play with his hair, even though he hated letting *anyone* touch his hair.

"I hate being sick," Buffy moaned hours later.

"I'm sorry, baby," Angel kissed her cheek and then got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked.

"To work on the nursery. I'm up, I may as well get it painted. You're due in three weeks."

"You're gonna leave me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Just for a little while," Angel grinned and handed her the baby monitor they'd bought a few days earlier. "Here. If you need me, just call."

He clipped the other monitor on his belt, gave her a quick kiss and disappeared down the hall.

Buffy rolled over in bed, bored.

She tried to read.

She turned on the TV.

She watched the wind blow the tree branches outside her window.

She listened to music.

Buffy was bored stiff. And only twenty minutes had passed.

"Angel," Buffy called. "I'm bored."

"Take a nap," Angel suggested. "Did we want the border lilac or yellow?"

"Lilac. Nicole hates the color yellow."

"How do you know this?" Angel smirked at her.

"Because I told her too," Buffy smirked.

"I'll talk to you while I paint, okay?" Angel asked.

Buffy gave in and listened to Angel babble unendingly while he painted. He told her about their nosy new neighbors, about the wallpaper paste being thick and old, about the Christening dress he wanted to buy for Nicole.

When he didn't get a response from Buffy, he stopped and listen.

She was snoring.

*****

Around eight p.m., Angel brought Buffy chicken soup and they eat together in bed while watching Dawson's Creek. Buffy sniffled through all of Felicity, but the minute it was over, she became antsy.

She tossed and turned and threw pillows across the room and smacked Angel for not being able to help her.

"UGH!" Buffy kicked her legs up and down in frustration. "I wanna feel better."

"Want me to rub your feet?" Angel offered.

"All right," Buffy relented. "Don't be mad at me if I spasm when I cough and kick you."

"I'll take my chances," Angel crawled to the foot of the bed and pulled back the covers. He massaged Buffy's feet and kissed her toes before moving his hands and lips upwards.

"Angel," Buffy whined. "I'm sick."

"Want me to make you feel better?" he arched an eyebrow at her.

"Eeew! No! I'm not in the mood."

Angel returned to Buffy's feet and massaged them until she kicked him so hard, she broke his nose.

"I'm still bored," she announced when he returned to bed an hour later after calling Spike over to help him bandage his nose.

"Go to bed," Angel said. "Spike gave me something Anya made and it--"

Angel stopped talking. He was passed out.

Buffy grew tired of nudging him and got out of bed to pace. She drank orange juice, which burned her throat. She drank water, which tasted like stinky feet. She drank tea, which made her have to pee every five minutes.

It was horrible.

Sniffling and coughing, Buffy returned to bed and fell asleep from exhaustion.

*****

The next day, Buffy woke up around noon without the stuffy nose. Her cough was gone, and she felt like herself again.

"Sometimes being a Slayer rules," she said to herself, bouncing out of bed. That was when she noticed that Angel was still asleep.

"Angel?" she called. "Out of bed, sleepyhead."

"I can't," he muttered. "I'm sick. Can you make me some tea?"

Buffy sighed and headed for the kitchen. "We're gonna have to learn to stay away from each other, Angel," Buffy told him. "We keep cross-contaminating each other and I'm sick of it. This is our third cold this month!"

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