Jubilee and Nathan, Friday night

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After Nathan's grumbling post, Jubilee goes up to check on him and decides that it would be a good thing if he let Madelyn check him over.



Jubilee knocked on Nate's door, shifting from one foot to another. The man was obviously sick and like a lot of people in this house, including herself at times seemed to have an aversion to looking after themselves.

Curled up on the couch under as many blankets as he could use without actually smothering himself, Nathan grimaced at the knock. "Go away," he called out hoarsely, ignoring Bella's anxious cooing. "I don't want any..."

Jubilee blinked and wondered exactly who Nathan thought was knocking on his door. 'Avon?' she pondered and tried the door knob. It appeared to be unlocked thankfully. She pushed the door open softly, waving her hand at Bella as the bird squawked at her. She hadn't been introduced yet and she hoped that Nate's pet wouldn't take umbrage at her being in the room. "Hey Bella, how's Mr Stupid head doing?"

"Siiiick," Bella cooed, then banged on the door of her cage. "Aprasi!" she squealed.

"Stop doing that," Nathan complained petulantly from his nest of blankets. "My head hurts, you stupid bird..."

'Aprasi?' Jubilee wondered, she didn't know that language. "You want out?" she asked hesitantly.

"Out! Lascilo fuori!"

"She wants out," Nathan said with a pained sigh, sitting up, trying not to shiver quite so visibly. His head spun at the change in position. "But she tries to sit on my head when I let her out."

Jubilee looked at Nathan, her expression concerned. "Dude, maybe she's tryin' to get you to look after yourself."

She walked over to where he sat and crouched down in front of him. If he was anything like her when she was sick, it really sucked having to look up at people.

"You look like shit" she explained helpfully.

"What a coincidence. I feel like shit." He coughed, stiffening warily, but it was a normal sort of cough. Painful, but not like it was when the virus was getting out of control, and there was no taste of blood. He blinked and tried to focus on Jubilee. "If you want Mandarin help my office hours aren't until Monday," he said, trying to figure out why else she might be here.

Jubilee shook her head in exasperation. "Ain't here for teaching, Teach. Here to drag your silly butt down to Mads. And considerin' that cough, looks like I got here just in time."

She reached over suddenly and felt his forehead, frowning at the clamminess she felt there. She knew enough about flus to know a fever when she saw one.

Nathan shivered almost convulsively. "Your hands are cold," he muttered, moving his head away. "I'm fine, Jubilee. Just need to get some sleep someplace warm..." He coughed again, wincing.

Her gaze was steady and uncompromising. ~Elder, I will take you to see the Healer. There is no discussion to be had here.~ she said in stilted Askani.

He might not listen to her in English but maybe she could get through to him in Askani, even if she'd not done the study she should have been doing in that. She looked over at Bella. "Or, I can let Bella out and she can talk some sense into you. Either way, we are going to see Madelyn. The room is perfectly warm, overly so in fact. How high do you have the thermostat in here?" she asked, changing back to English.

The room was stuffy and oppressive with heat and she could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"The thermostat's broken," Nathan said crossly, pulling the blankets more tightly around him. "I don't care what Cain says. It's him playing a practical joke or something..." Bella shrieked from her cage and he winced, freeing one hand to rub at his temple. "Stop DOING that..."

"That!" Jubilee said in triumph. "See, that right there should tell you something is wrong. You have a headache, you're cold, bet you're aching all over too, right?"

Jubilee got up and walked over to the thermostat, looking at it closely. Just as she thought, Nathan had turned it up to the highest setting. She turned it down to a more normal heat level, and turned back to him. "Dude, this thing is fine. You, are just being a stubborn ass who doesn't want to go see a doctor. What is it with guys and looking after themselves, anyway? It is so totally not macho to not ask for help when you need it."

"Tough talk from the person who didn't sleep for four days," Nathan muttered, then reflected that he'd beaten that so he really shouldn't be talking. He frowned, trying to concentrate on the rest of what she'd said. "So maybe I have the flu or something," he muttered. "What would Maddie be able to do? She'd tell me to go to sleep. She's always telling me to sleep..."

Jubilee smiled, not particularly stung by his reference to her stupidity of several days ago. "Well, she'd be able to give you something for the fever and the headache for a start. But we can't really know what else she could do unless we actually go see her."

She walked over and looked down at him with her best stern expression. He was sick, he needed treament, that was all there was to it. She'd learnt fairly recently that the doctors liked it when you actually saw them before you were passed out and had to be carried. "And we are going to see her. It may take me a bit, considerin' I'm a lot smaller then you but I think I could do a fairly good attempt at a fireman's carry if I had to."

She realised something else he had said. "And sleep is good for you. Stops you from making stupid journal posts at odd hours of the morning."

"Stupid journal posts are bad," Nathan agreed a bit blearily, and then gave her a hard look that was accompanied by a sigh. "You're serious about the trying to carry me thing."

Jubilee nodded, determined. "Totally serious. If I could drag my no good shit of a foster father to his bed when he'd gone on a bender, I think I can handle carrying you. Besides, I like you much more then I liked him and I so ain't lettin' you lay around here getting worse when you could be down there getting better."

Her expression softened, a small smile appearing. "Besides, if we hurry, you get to choose which colour lollypop you want."

"You're making a big fuss out of nothing," Nathan grumbled, unwinding himself from the blankets unwillingly. "If she laughs at me and reminds me that there's nothing you can do about viruses I'm going to be really mad at you for making me walk down there."

Jubilee shrugged and walked over to Bella's cage, opening the door. "Well, we'll deal with that when it comes to it, won't we? At the very least she can give you something that'll help with the muscle pains. Have you even taken anything for that, by the by? Or were you too busy thinking the thermostats were plotting revolution?"

She cooed softly at Bella to try and sooth her and held out her arm. She wasn't sure if the bird would accept her gesture but she didn't think Nathan was in any shape to carry Bella. And she knew something about pets when their owners were sick. Bella would not look kindly on being left behind.

"What do you think, hey? Can you say Dorkface?" she asked Bella politely. (done)

"Nate!" Bella chirped, then jumped onto Jubilee's arm, clambering up to her shoulder and nibbling at her hair.

"You're shameless," Nathan accused the bird, weaving a little as he headed towards the door. "So let's get this over with..."

Jubilee shook her head, settling Bella on her shoulder before quickly moving to pull one of Nate's arms over her other shoulder. "Dude, you poor, poor thing. Imagine, someone taking you to a doctor when you're sick. Can't believe the nerve of people, hey? So, do you want a red lollypop or a yellow one? If you're really good, Maddy might even give you a balloon." Jubilee said, her grin wide as she teased him.