Best friend ever. I swear to goodness he's the best friend on the earth....or in the universe for that matter.

I heard the familiar sound of paper sliding underneath the door.

No babysitting duty today. Are you free for a game?

I opened the door to deliver my reply.

"Foster," I rasped, my voice was broken and hoarse.

"Whoa. You got the plague?" He pressed a hand to my forehead. "Holy shit. You're not just burning up, I think you might be on fire."

"I have a higher... higher body temperature than most humans." I trailed off momentarily in the middle of the sentence because I was too exhausted to keep my train of thought.

"It can't be this much higher," He insisted, trying to herd me back into my apartment, he seemed surprised when I didn't put up a fight. "Do I need to call a medic for you?"

"No." Despite my lack of voice, the sudden spike of anxiety was apparent in the word. "I cannot-"

"Okay, fine, no medics," He cut me off. "What can I do?"

I looked helplessly around my apartment. My desk was in shambles, the remnants of several projects splayed everywhere and a stack of boxes piled up next to my chair. There was an empty bowl in the middle of the mess, and the fact that it had been left there rather than meticulously cleaned and put away spoke volumes about how I was feeling. "There is nothing to do," I finally said, whispering rather than trying to speak. "It is a common virus. It will run its course in a day or two."

"Well if it's anything like viruses I've had, you should be in bed, or eating soup, or something."

I motioned toward my desk. "My brother visited me earlier this morning. He has already attended to my dietary needs."

He broke into a fond, ridiculous grin, "Your brother came over and made you soup."

"Yes."

"Seeing as you've eaten, you should be in bed," he repeated.

"I have been resting for the majority of the day, aside from the short period of time my brother was present and my short departure to return your note." I held it in my hand to prove myself.

He took it from me and tossed it in a nearby trash bin. "I believe you. Now march."

"I am perfectly capable of resting in here-"

"What, sitting and meditating your way through it?"

I was faintly embarrassed. "I would not call it meditating. I lack the proper focus."

"Well if you're not meditating then you might as well be sleeping."

I leaned heavily against the wall I couldn't spare the strength to stand on my own anymore. "I do not have the energy to argue with you," I admitted.

"That's what I like to hear. Now, off to bed with you." I gave a long glance toward my bedroom door. Foster didn't bother with politeness anymore; he stepped forward and grabbed one of my arms, pulling it around his neck and wrapping an arm around my waist. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

I stiffened for a moment against him, then sagged again. "Must be one hell of a soup recipe," he muttered under his breath, escorting me back towards the bedroom.

"I do not understand," I rasped, breaking from him in order to sit on the edge of my bed.

"You're awfully damn heavy for someone who looks so skinny," he explained, tact flying out the window as he helped me get comfortable.

"My...skeletal structure." I interrupted myself with a yawn.

"Anything else I can get for you?"

I burrowed down in the covers, pulling them up to my neck, shifting restlessly. "I would not be averse to an extra blanket. There seems...seems to be a draft."

He grabbed an extra blanket handily perched on a chair nearby, unfolding it and tucking it around me. "Anything else?"

My eyes were already drooping closed. "No," I whispered into my pillow. "I thank... thank..."

I fell asleep.

Is he not the best?


Gabriel.