"Come in," Nathan Bridger called out at the knock on his cabin door. He immediately regretting doing so, however, when he doubled over in a fit of harsh coughs.

"Oh you poor dear," Doctor Kristin Westphalen's face fell in pity at the rough hacking coming from the direction of the bed.

She quickly closed the door behind her, hoping to keep the passing crewmembers in the hallway from hearing their captain at less than a hundred percent. He had made it perfectly clear the night before when she'd originally responded to his request for help that he wanted his condition kept from the rest of the crew. Only the two of them and Commander Ford knew about his current battle with a pesky flu virus. As long as he remained in bed and inactive, Kristin was willing to go along with his request for secrecy.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Nathan replied, reaching for the bag of cough drops lying nearby. He quickly divested the blue ball of medicine of its waxed paper wrapper and popped it in his mouth.

"Sure," Kristin nodded, unconvinced. She laid one hand over his forehead while the other took hold of his wrist between thumb and fingers.

After a moment she released his wrist, but kept her other hand on his face, sliding down to cup one cheek. "Well, your fever seems to have abated somewhat, but you're still nowhere near well enough to go back on duty yet."

"Don't worry, I don't think I could make it to the door, let alone the bridge right now." His eyes fluttered slightly and the tip of his tongue ran over his lips, trying to relieve the dryness there.

Kristin smiled faintly. For some reason, she found it oddly reassuring that even big strong submarine captains could revert to little boys when sick. "Get some rest, Nathan. Commander Ford and I have everything under control on the ship." She leaned over to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

His eyes closed, he smiled sleepily at her. "Is that all I get? Not even a kiss to make it better?"

Her response was a soft chuckle. "Sorry, Bridger. But eau de Halls isn't the most appealing cologne you could choose."

"Would you prefer 'Essence of Vaseline'?" One corner of his mouth tipped up in a smile.
 
 

The End