xp_logs | Callie & Julian: Sick Bed

Julian attempts to help Callie heal.

Callie stared at the little squirrel currently fast asleep on her pillow. He needed to move if she was going to sleep (which was the plan) but she couldn't vbar to move him. For one thing he looked so peaceful sleeping wrapped up in one of Dori's shirts, and for another she wasn't sure she had the energy. The cold she had been fighting all through finals had finally reared its ugly head, essentially knocking her down for the count. She had been able to shuffle through the halls to the kitchen a few times to fetch hot water so she could take her echinacea. But other than that, she had spent the majority of her time in bed sleeping. At least now that she was well rested she had a little energy to do things and stay awake. So the obvious choice was to settle in with a movie on her laptop. Now to choose what to watch.

Before she could make her choice, there was a knock on the door. On the other side, Julian stood ready with a serving tray, two cups, an assortment of tea bags and a kettle of hot water. There weren't many people around right now and he'd seen Callie walking back from the kitchen earlier in a trance like state. "Doctor Keller here, Callie! I'm making a house call!"

"Julian?" Callie pulled her robe tighter around her and wandered over to the door. She slowly opened it and leaned against the side as she stared hazily at her friend. "Please tell me you didn't shell out money to get a fake medical degree online just so you could call yourself a doctor."

"The fact that your mind goes there right away, really gives away your opinion of me, Callie." Thrusting forward the tray, Julian walked into the room, "Figured you could use some tea...was going to make hot chocolate, but it's getting a little warm out for that." Keller set the tray down on her well organized desk and spotted Monkey Joe nesting on her bed. "You cheating on Fred?"

Callie stepped aside as Julian pushed past her. It seemed she didn't have a choice in the matter. Not that she really minded. Misery loves company, and when Callie was sick, she was pretty miserable. "Tea would be amazing, thank you," she sniffled as the door closed behind her. She sounded like a man, but Julian was going to have to deal with that. She followed Julian over to her desk and glanced quickly at Monkey Joe as she tore open a tea bag and placed it in a mug. "...cheating on Fred? What do you mean?"

She stared at him for a moment as she dunked the tea bag in and out of the water before letting it steep. "I was just about to watch a movie. Monkey Joe's on my pillow because he misses Dori."

"I meant Monkey Joe actually. What kind of tea would you like?" He handed a cup and saucer to the sick girl and looked at her laptop on the bed. Before she could answer, Julian held out the small bowl with a variety of Tzao Teas. "What movie are you watching?"

"But we're not dating?" At least Callie didn't think they were. They hung out a lot, but she was reluctant to call it dating. She stared at him for a moment. "You want me to choose your tea for you? And I don't know. I was thinking of watching Breakfast at Tiffany's but I hadn't decided?"

"No, I meant for you, I'm having Chai," He softly whistled at the chubby squirrel, carefully prodding him away with his empty tea cup. "Come on Em Jay, let's give Callie some room." For a moment, Julian wondered if squirrels could catch mutant diseases. Monkey Joe stretched and scurried to the side, dragging Doreen's shirt behind himself. "Want some company?"

She watched for a moment as Monkey Joe settled down on his owner's bed before prodding over and flopping down in a very unladylike fashion on her own bed. "As long as you don't mind me being all sick and gross and stuff," she said leaning into him sipping her tea. "Speaking of dating. Any headway on the Angel front or should we not talk about it?"

"Yeah, we can talk about that. Yvette hates me now- so I've got that going for me." Her bed was much cushier than the one in his room. Julian carefully settled in, remaining seated as he dipped his Chai in the hot water. "What about you and Fred?"

Callie shifted to press play on the movie and settled in against her friend. "I don't know about me and Fred. We're what we are." She shrugged.

"A couple of dorks?" Julian chuckled. "Seriously though, do you like him?"

She carefully sipped her tea as she contemplated her answer. Finally she shrugged and pushed her hair off of her face. "I do like him. Is that a problem?"

"Depends. Because I'm pretty sure that he likes you too." Taking a sip of the chai, Julian decided it needed a few more dips. "Why not be a couple?"

Callie handed her mug to Julian, sat up and reached for the box of tissues on her beside table, along with the tiny trash can that sat beside it. The noise that followed was not unlike that of a loud foghorn before the tissue was discarded and both items placed back in their respective places. "I know this is probably the last thing you'd ever expect to hear from me, but I don't want to categorize things. I'm fine with things as they are. I guess Fred is too? I don't know, it's not like it's a big deal. Because really how would it be different if we slapped label on it?"

"I..." he was stumped, "I mean...." It made a lot of sense, "Well...wow, how come you always have to be right?" He chuckled and took a sip of his tea- the rich flavor finally balanced perfectly. "You know...I've actually been to Tiffany's. Cass' last birthday present came from there."

"It's my tertiary mutation," Callie murmured as her eyelids grew heavy. She yawned. "Me too. Here and in Milan. And Rome... it's nice."

The movie was starting up, "Shh, sicky. You're going to miss important plot points." Julian settled into his spot, watching the movie at an angle. "You don't want to miss any of-" a strange noise drowned out his sentence. Following it to the source, Julian discovered that his pink friend's congestion was causing her to snore. Getting up and gathering up the tea, Julian took the tray and set the laptop where the platter had been. "Feel better, Callie," he whispered, heading out into the hallway and hitting the lights.