[FIC] - What Are Friends For - F - (2 Parts)

[Guest Eventide]

For anyone who read Agapé, this one takes place a little less than a year later and James and Max have been reassigned to another school.

What Are Friends For

Max ran her hands over the clay, feeling its cool, slimy texture under her fingers. She loved doing pottery, any sort of three-dimensional art form, actually. She sniffed and pumped the pedal slightly faster. Ever since the accident it had been one of her few ways to release her frustration while being productive.

“Hey there, sport,” James’ voice came cheerfully from the doorway.

“Hi,” Max returned, and stopped the wheel. “What’s up?”

James walked over to her and smiled. “It’s been a while since I saw you.”

“You know me, either here or in my room with a book or in the gym. My three hobbies.” Max rubbed her nose with her wrist, not wanting to get clay on it.

Resting his hands on her shoulders, James said, “I’ve been thinking about what Renée told us about Gilbert.”

“About how he was in jail for drugs or how he’s been seen with that pawnbroker lately.”

“The pawnbroker. If Gilbert is taking the diamonds, then why is he selling it to a pawnbroker instead of people who really have money?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve wondered that myself.” A sneeze overcame her and she buried her nose and mouth in her sleeve. “Heyeshoo!”

“Bless you.” James pulled up another chair from one of the desks and sat in it backwards. “So should we check out the pawnbroker further or go back to Renée with more questions.”

“How about we—” Max stopped suddenly, once again burying her face in the crook of her elbow. “Heyeshoo!” She sniffed. “Sorry.”

“Bless you. You were saying,” prompted James.

Max continued, “Let’s got back to Renée and see how much she knows about the pawnbroker before we go to other sources.”

“Good plan. I’ve got some studying to do for a chemistry exam tomorrow, so I should hit the books. How about we regroup at our bench in the courtyard at five-thirty.”

“Right-o,” smiled Max. She felt James pat her shoulder and heard his footsteps fade away as he left the room and went down the hall. She sniffed again and went back to the gravy bowl she was making for her pottery class.

*****

James spotted Max walking down the path, her white cane moving back and forth in front of her. “Maxi,” he called. “Keep coming straight.”

He sighed, once again wishing they could get her a dog. It just wasn’t practical. Since the Apagé Design moved James and Max around every six to eighteen months, sometimes more often depending on the how long each investigation took, a guide dog would cause a lot of problems. If Max was out of college, then maybe it would work, but she was just starting her sophomore year, so she had a ways to go.

If it was more practical, it would be helpful to her. Every time Max and James moved to start a new project, she had to learn a whole new place. Never once did she complain, but he knew it was rough on her.

“Hi,” smiled James as Max reached the bench. “Our usual spot was taken, so I did the best I could.”

Max smiled, sitting down. “It’s fine, thank you. So are we going to see Renée or did you think of something else?”

“Renée said we could meet her at the burger place downtown at six. If you’re ready, we can head out now.”

Clearing her throat with a cough, Max nodded. “Fine with me.”

*****

Sniffing, Max listened to whatever song was playing on the radio in James’ car. She wasn’t really paying attention to the lyrics, just the sound of the music. In the last few hours, she’d noticed her throat hurt a little and she had a mild case of the sniffles. She wondered if the dry air was finally getting to her. It had been unusually arid for November in western Oregon.

The weather was changing though, her back was bothering her. No amount of physical therapy could ever heal it completely, just like no surgery could ever return her sight. The car that had smashed into the passenger’s side that fateful October night two years before had changed her life completely. It had taken away her sight, some of her flexibility, it had ended her gymnastic and track careers forever.

But it also had given her a new outlook on life, opportunities to love and reach people she wouldn’t have had before, and begun her career with James and his family at the Agapé Design. Sometimes she got frustrated, angry and sad, but she had so much to be thankful for and a life she loved.

The car stopped and a moment later her door opened. “We’re here,” James said as he helped her out of the car. “It’s where you want to be,” he sang, dancing to the jingle that advertised that particular franchise.

Max laughed. “With greasy burgers and mega-salty fries, yep, that’s where we want to be,” she said facetiously.

“Come on, you’ve gotta love greasy burgers and mega-salty fries,” grinned James.

“Yeah right.”

“Okay, maybe I just like them.” James looped Max’s arm through his and began walking with her. “Would you like me to go get you something else?”

Max smiled at him. “I think I’ll be able to manage.”

“Good. Just because you wanted me to get you something, doesn’t mean I would have,” James smirked.

Laughing at his statement, Max entered the restaurant as he opened the door.

*****

“Gilbert’s known this guy for years,” continued Renée. “He’s provided loads of stuff to be pawned off.” She smiled suddenly. “Did you hear about that guy that tried to sell chewed bubblegum on Ebay? I wonder if—”

“Why diamonds?” James cut in, munching on a fry.

Max wished that Renée would stop getting sidetracked. They’d been sitting in the restaurant for an hour and a half and hardly gotten anything out of her. Max was feeling tired and in need something to do with her hands. She had been folding and refolding her paper placemat into different origami shapes and she was running out of ones that she could remember.

“What do you mean ‘why diamonds?’”

Renée slurped down the rest of her slushy, tugging yet again on Max’s nerves. Max chided herself, she shouldn’t be so owly. Renée was just trying to help. She should have patience and not get so frustrated. What added to her frustration was her nose, which was itchy. She rubbed it, but that didn’t help.

“I mean,” clarified James, his tone forcibly patient, “why would Gilbert pawn off the diamonds to someone who couldn’t give him close to what they were worth?”

Renée shrugged. “I don’t know.”

A deep, slow breath from James told Max that he was on his last nerve as well. Before she could say anything, the itch escaladed into a sneeze. She clapped her hands to her face. “Heyeshoo! Heyeshoo!”

“Bless you,” James said before finishing off his last fry.

“Heyeshoo!” Max sneezed once more and then sniffed. “Excuse me.”

“Bless you,” he repeated, glancing at her quickly.

Renée looked at Max suspiciously. “Are you sick? I can’t afford to be around someone who’s sick. My boyfriend’s coming over tomorrow and I must be perfect for him.”

Max sniffed again, “No, it’s just the dry air.”

“Good,” Renée said, happy again.

James stood up abruptly. “Thank you so much, Renée! You have been a great inspiration and we will contact you in the future if we need you. Max and I should be getting back to school.”

“It was no problem,” giggled Renée. “I’m happy to do it for anyone as handsome and charming as yourself.”

*****

“That was a waste of time,” growled James as he turned on the car. “I’m sorry, Max, I hoped she would be more focused.”

“It was worth a shot,” sniffled Max. She coughed once and leaned against the window.

James looked at her, slightly anxious. “Are you okay?”

Max nodded. “Just tired.”

“Turn in early tonight. We didn’t learn anything we didn’t know already, so there’s nothing to do at the moment.”

“All right,” agreed Max. Getting a few extra hours of sleep wouldn’t hurt.

*****

Max sighed and pressed at her temples. She’d woken up that morning feeling off-color.. As the day wore on, it had gotten worse. The incessant sneezing and coughing, the muscle aches, the dull pain in her head, and malaise were all characteristics that told Max she was getting sick. It was the last thing she wanted at the moment. There were things to do, people to see, classes to study for, and getting sick wouldn’t help get any of them done.

“Hi!” James said in his usual chipper manner from her right. “Ready to go?” The two of them were going out with a few friends for a night off.

“Yeah.” Max got up from the picnic table she’d been sitting at and went with James to the car. “Heyeshoo!” she sneezed suddenly into her coat sleeve.

“Bless you!” James thought she looked a little pale and a lot tired. It concerned him. She’d been pushing hard lately and, if she didn’t slow down very soon, she would end up ill. “Are you up for tonight?”

Clearing her throat, Max nodded. “Of course.”

“All right, but if you want to leave early, just tell me, okay?”

Max smiled. “Okay.”

*****

The back of Max’s nose tickled furiously and she bit her lip. She’d already sneezed twice and coughed several times under her breath in the hour she and James had been at the café with Lana and Jackson. She knew James had been watching her out of the corner of his eye and that, if she showed anymore symptoms, he’d guess she wasn’t feeling well.

She sniffed and tried to listen to Lana, Jackson and James discussing the latest movie, but her nose was too distracting. It had started to run and she was getting stuffy. The sneeze was working its way down her nose and her eyes burned. She almost never sneezed unless she was sick, and then she seemed to do it constantly. She rubbed at her nose and sniffed again.

“So, Max, do you think that Pollyanna should have fallen from the tree?” Jackson asked suddenly.

Realizing that they’d noticed her inattention and Jackson had asked her a random question to confuse her, Max nodded. “Yeah, I do. It opened her aunt’s eyes to how special Pollyanna was.” Talking made the sneezy sensation worse and it was starting to monopolize her attention.

“Very good, you were paying attention,” grinned Jackson.

James watched Max closely. She looked exhausted, she was starting to sound slightly congested, and it was obvious she was preoccupied.

Max struggled hard, using all her remaining strength, but she was losing the battle. Quickly she pulled a tissue from her pocket and clamped it to her face. “Heyeshoo! Heyeshoo! Heyeshoo!”

“Bless you!” Lana and Jackson cried together.

After blowing her nose, Max thanked them.

James rested his hand on her back. He decided to wait until they were alone to confront her about her health. He participated in the conversation, but his mind wasn’t really on it. Every now and then she would cough or sniffle quietly.

He should have had them slow down earlier, but both of them had felt invigorated after they had managed to help Michael and Angel at the end of the year before, so the crazy summer of helping his parents move hadn’t seemed like a big deal. He’d had the good sense to relax for the week before school had started, but Max had worked at a camp for handicapped children. There had been no real rest for her for several months.

Max sniffled, rubbing at her nose with the back of her hand. She felt James’ fingers gently massage between her shoulders. It was a comforting touch, one that reminded her of how loving and sweet he was.

A little while later, James announced, “We should probably call it a night.”

“I promised Lana’s mom I’d have her home by nine anyway,” agreed Jackson.

Bills were paid, goodbyes were said, and James guided Max outside. It was cold and wet. Max’s back had been right. She rested against the seat and coughed.

A shiver ran through her spine. “Are you cold?” James asked. Without waiting for her reply he turned the heater on.

“Heyeshoo!” Max sneezed. “Excuse me,” she sighed.

“Bless you! Are you feeling all right?” It was time to find out for sure.

Max sniffed and then coughed again. She couldn’t lie to James. “I...I think I’m getting sick,” she admitted.

James reached over with one hand and laid it on her forehead. “You have a fever.”

“I’m sorry!”

“No, no, no!” James corrected quickly. “Don’t be sorry, Maxi! It’s not your fault. It happens to everyone sometimes...even you,” he added with a smile, knowing her independent personality preferred to believe that she never got sick.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[And Beat Him When He Sneezes]

Wonderful. We've had a dry spell for female fics, and this is a worthy way to end it. This Maxi's a great sneezer. And there's something to the story itself, too.

I think I missed the prequel, how far back on this board was it?

[High on Lullabies]

The 3 parts of the prequel are below:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Please note that the sneezing in the previous story was male as opposed to female.

[Guest Eventide]

Enjoy...

The telephone ringing roused Max and she fumbled for the phone. “Hello,” she croaked.

“Max, this is Gilbert. I need to talk to you and James.”

“What...” Max tried to gather her thoughts and wake up enough to understand what he was saying.

“I need to talk to you and James. Can you come to my place immediately?”

Max covered the phone to cough and then said, “Yeah, um, we’ll be right down.”

“Thank you,” Gilbert said gratefully before hanging up.

It was an effort to get out of bed. Max felt dizzy, her head was blocked and throbbing, and her chest hurt. But she managed to get dressed and make her way through the cold, early morning air to James’ dorm. She used the spare key that had been requested for her—something that the dean found most irregular and almost refused—to open the door noiselessly. She really didn’t want to wake James’ roommates.

She didn’t have roommates at this school, they’d given her a room of her own because she had ‘special needs.’ She figured that they just hadn’t wanted to stick a couple of people in with a handicapped girl because it would be awkward. This made Max sad. At the last school she’d gone to she’d had a roommate and they’d made it through just fine. Mostly people were uncomfortable around someone like her because they didn’t know how to act. She tried to put people at ease, but the initially becoming acquainted part could be incredibly awkward.

Max often wore dark glasses when she was out. The injury had been a blow to her optic nerves, not directly to her eyes themselves. If one just looked at her, they’d never know she was blind. Unfortunately, when it came to going out and about, the cane was a giveaway. She had no need of the glasses to hide deformities, but people expected a blind person to wear dark glasses, so, to make acquaintances more comfortable, she did.

Going as quietly as possible to James’ bed, Max listened for his breathing. The loud snoring of his two roommates made it more difficult, but she did discover exactly where his mouth was and placed her hand over it. She felt him start awake and was glad she had covered his mouth to keep him from yelling in surprise. After a moment she removed her hand.

“Maxi, what are you doing?” he hissed.

“I’m sorry! Gilbert called me. He wants us over there as soon as possible,” she sniffled.

“At four in the morning,” James grumbled, but he got out of bed. “Let me get dressed,” he whispered and we’ll go.

The itchy feeling returned to haunt Max’s nose again and she rubbed it quickly. Even though she wasn’t a loud sneezer, any sort of uncommon sound might wake up Nick and Luke. They were friends with Max, but they didn’t know about the spare key, and a girl sneaking into a boys dorm in the middle of the night would have them jumping to conclusions.

James returned from another room and led Max outside. “How are you—”

“Heyeshoo!” Max interrupted. “I’m sorry,” she sighed before coughing.

“Bless you. Guess that answer’s my question.” James took Max’s free hand and they began walking slowly “You don’t have to go,” he offered. “Actually, you really shouldn’t go. You’re sick, it’s way too early in the morning, and I’m sure I can manage on my own.”

Max coughed. “No, we need to both do this. I’ll survive. It’s just a cold. People work through colds all the time.” She smiled at him. “Thanks for offering though, it’s very sweet.”

James sighed unhappily. He knew that she was right about both of them needing to go. They were a team and he wasn’t nearly as productive alone.

*****

Gilbert set down three cups of coffee. James handed Max one and took the second for himself. They were all sitting in Gilbert’s apartment. “I’m sorry for calling you so early, but I start work at five and wouldn’t be able to talk to you again for a couple of days.” Gilbert swirled his coffee around. “Renée told me that you think I stole the diamonds.”

Max choked on the coffee she had just started to swallow. “I thought Renée hated you,” she gasped. “She was talking to us about you, she told us that you stole the diamonds!”

“What?! Renée and I have been together for three years. She doesn’t hate me. Why would she tell you I stole the diamonds?”

James looked pensive. “Gilbert, Max and I don’t think you stole the diamonds. When Renée told us a few days ago that you had, we weren’t convinced so we looked into it and we’re still not convinced. Certain pieces of evidence point that way, but what we keep wondering is why sell them to that pawnbroker friend of yours.”

“Exactly! I didn’t give them to Karl, he got them another way. I think I’m being framed,” Gilbert said quietly, as if he thought the very walls were listening.

Max sniffed. “I don’t understand. So does this mean Renée’s been double-crossing all of us?”

“She would never do that!” protested Gilbert. “She loves me!”

“Something’s going on. We’ll look into it and keep you posted,” James told Gilbert.

Gilbert nodded. “Thanks. I feel relieve that you don’t really think I took those diamonds.” He stood with a smile and shook James’ hand. “Thank you for putting up with my odd hours.” He shook Max’s hand as well. “I’ll try not to call so early next time.”

When James and Max reached the car, Max shook her head. “I can’t believe Renée’s been pulling the wool over our eyes like that. We should visit her at work as soon as it opens. Heyeshoo! Heyeshoo! Sorry...” She coughed and let out a long, tired sigh.

James watched as Max removed her glasses and ran her hand over her eyes. She looked absolutely miserable. She was pale except for the slightly flushed patches on her cheeks alerting him to a fever, she was incredibly tired-looking, she was sniffly, and it was obvious that coughing hurt and breathing was difficult. “Do you want me to take you back to your dorm? Renée won’t be at work for a couple more hours.”

“I don’t know... If you take away the driving time, that’ll only leave an hour to sleep and I don’t know if I’ll even be able to fall asleep. If I do, I not sure it’s worth the grogginess. I’m finally decently awake, so, unless you want to go back to get a little more sleep, there’s not much point.”

“Are you sure?” James asked over Max coughed again.

She nodded.

“Is there something you’d like to do while we’re waiting? We can try to find a twenty-four hour place to get some food. It’s five in the morning, so not much is open.”

Max wiped her nose on her wrist and sniffed. “I’m not very hungry, but there’s not much else to do.”

James started the jeep. “Is there anything that sounds good to eat?”

“Um, I don’t know... Nothing too heavy.”

*****

Rubbing at her nose, Max sighed. She was tired but didn’t want to go to sleep. She really needed to pull herself together so that the interrogation of Renée would be productive. The need to sneeze came upon her and she brought her hands to her face. “Heyeshoo! Heyeshoo!”

“Bless you!”

“Thank you,” sniffled Max.

James pulled into a parking space at a grocery store that was open. “Are you okay staying here by yourself?”

Max nodded.

“I’ll go get us some food. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes.” James quickly kissed Max on the top of the head before getting out and locking the car.

He grabbed breakfast bars, two milks and a strong cold and flu medicine for Max to take. He smiled at the young woman at the counter who looked slightly scared at the sight of him. He knew he had could have that effect on some people. He wore Goth-style clothing, he had a lip piercing, ear piercings, the chains, and his hair was stiff, randomly spiky and black. It definitely could be intimidating if one didn’t know he was really a teddy bear inside.

The girl quickly rang him up, obviously nervous, but still polite.

“Do you have any spoons?” he asked suddenly. “My friend is in the car and we’re not going back to her dorm for a while. I just realized we’ll need a spoon so she can take some of that,” he pointed at the bottle of liquid Tylenol.

“Is she sick?” asked the girl anxiously.

James sighed, nodding. “Yeah. She got a business call really early so we had to go out. She’s not doing very well, so I figured we’d give this a try.”

“I’ll be right back,” she smiled, warming up to James. A moment later she returned with a couple of plastic spoons. “We have spare silverware in the lounge. There’s no point in you buying fifty when you only need two or three. They’re on me,” she winked.

Grinning, James took the bag she offered. “Thank you!” He waved as he headed out the door.

“I hope your friend feels better,” called the young woman, waving back.

“Thanks!” returned James before walking back to the car. He’d give her the medicine when he decided it was a good time. He knew that it would make her drowsy, so, unless she was doing horribly, he’d wait until they’d talked to Renée.

Max faced him as he got in the car. “How’d it go?”

“Good. We’ve got breakfast bars—not too heavy yet still tasty—and a little milk for you and a little milk for me.” James opened a breakfast bar and the pint of milk and handed them to Max.

“Thanks,” Max sniffed.

For several minutes they ate in silence. Once they’d finished, James rested his knuckles on Max’s hot cheek. “How you doing, sport?” he asked gently.

“Hanging in there.” Max managed a small smile. “I ain’t no baby!”

“You’re quite a trooper,” James agreed. “Renée works a good half hour away from here, so let’s head up to the office.”

Max coughed and leaned against the headrest. The car pulled out onto the smooth asphalt and James sped down the road.

*****

Stopping in her tracks, Max covered her face with her free hand. “Heyeshoo!”

James stopped walking as well. “Bless you.”

“Thanks,” Max sniffed, straightening. She started walking again. “So what are we going to say to Renée? Are we just going to ask her what’s going on and why she lied to us?”

“Basically, yes. We need to know if she’s still reliable or if we should cross her off our contact list.” James opened the door for Max and they stepped inside the doctor’s office where Renée was a secretary.

James walked up to the receptionist. “Is Renée Hunter in yet?”

The woman smiled. “Yes, she is. Go up to the second floor and take a right at the elevator. She’s one Dr. Payton’s receptionists.”

“Thank you,” James smiled. “Let’s go,” he said to Max.

They took the elevator for simplicity’s sake. It saved Max hassle and energy and it would be easy to take the right. When they reached the Dr. Payton’s waiting room, there was a pretty brunette in her early thirties instead of Renée. Her tag said LYDIA and she looked very friendly. James once again walked up to the counter. “My names James and hers is Max,” he nodded at Max, hoping that by giving first names, they might seem less menacing to any protective friend of Renée’s. “Is this where we could see Renée Payton? We’re some friends of hers and need to talk to her if we could.”

The nurse, who was temporarily manning the station, nodded. “She’s with Dr. Payton at the moment. She should be out soon. You can take a seat if you want.”

Max and James sat down. Max really, really wanted to go home. Not to her empty, friendless dorm, but home with James to his parents, Earl and Victoria. Home to a place that was familiar and warm and happy. Her own family had crumbled after the accident, the only happy thing being her older brother getting married to James’ older sister, but they lived in New York, so she didn’t seem Heath much anymore.

Coughing roughly into her shoulder, Max winced. Her chest ached. She’d been coughing more and more and it was starting to get very painful. She sniffed and crossed her arms, feeling cold.

Lydia looked over as Max coughed again. “Are you all right?”

It was ironic that Renée worked at a doctor’s office.

Max nodded, but James spoke before she could say anything. “She has a cold or something.”

Getting up, Lydia met James’ anxious eyes with her own concerned ones. She walked over to Max and touched her face. “You’re burning up, honey!” She gently removed the glasses and tipped Max’s chin up, looking critically at her. Then she felt along her jaw line. “You’re definitely sick,” she said sympathetically.

Max sniffed and shrugged, not quite sure what to say. She coughed hard for a moment.

“Do you have cough syrup or something at home?”

James nodded. “I just bought some medicine.”

Turning to him, Max looked surprised. “You did? When?”

“At the store when I got us some breakfast,” replied James.

“Take some when you can. It should help,” smiled Lydia.

A door opened and Renée stepped out. She did a double-take when she saw Max and James. “What are you doing here?!” she gasped.

Lydia could tell that it wasn’t a conversation that should be listened in on, so she walked off to Dr. Payton’s personal office.

James sighed. “Gilbert called us this morning. He was upset because you told him we thought he’d taken the diamonds. We also found out that you’re still going with him. Renée, why are you changing the story on both sides?”

“I’m not talking about it,” said Renée coldly.

“We’re trying to figure out what’s going on,” objected Max. “Please be straight with us. We’ve been straight with you.”

Renée shook her head. “No, I’m not going to talk to about it anymore. We’re done talking about Gilbert, the diamonds, or anything else.” Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed through another door.

Max sighed, rubbing her nose. “That was successful...”

“Right,” agreed James with equal sarcasm.

At that moment Lydia and a tall, dark-skinned man stepped out into the waiting room. “I’m Dr. Rob Payton,” smiled the man.

“James,” smiled James, shaking hands. “This is Max.”

“Hello,” Max gave a little smile.

“I’m going to look you over really quickly, if that’s all right with you.” Dr. Payton pulled up a chair across from Max. “I know you’re not a patient, but Lydia tells me you’re not feeling well. I thought, since nobody’s here, I could take a look at you.”

Max liked his deep, gentle voice. “Uh, thank you...” She felt embarrassed by all the attention.

Dr. Payton’s hands were as gentle as his voice. He listened to her breathing, examined her eyes, nose and ears, and did a few other things. “Well, Max, Lydia is right. It’s a nasty bug that could very easily move into something more serious like bronchitis. I want you to take it easy for a week or so.” He saw her open her mouth to protest and smiled. “That will obviously be very difficult for you, but it’s important. Lots of sleep and lots of liquids.”

“But I have classes and other things to do,” Max coughed.

James smiled. “Don’t worry, Doctor, I’ll make sure she doesn’t overdo.”

*****

“Even if Renée wasn’t very nice, the lady and Dr. Payton were,” Max said appreciatively when they were once again in the car.

“You do realize that you’re going to rest, don’t you?” James doubted she took Lydia and Dr. Payton’s orders very seriously.

Max sniffed. “I’ll read for school. That’ll be resting,” she promised. She sighed and brought her hand over her face. “Heyeshoo! I’m so tired of this...”

James was silently opening the medicine, hoping to catch Max by surprise so she couldn’t protest taking it. “No, that won’t be resting,” he countered, his mind still on their conversation. “You will be in bed. If you must read, read something you want to, not something you have to.” He measured out a dosage.

“I—” Max was suddenly cut off by a spoon entering her mouth. She had no choice but to swallow the horrendous cherry flavored goop. “James!” she sputtered. “What was that?!”

“Tylenol. It was the medicine I bought earlier. I knew you wouldn’t take any if I asked, so I didn’t.”

Max crossed her arms, both cold and to give off the appearance of sulking. “It wasn’t nice.”

“I’m not a nice guy,” James agreed, his eyes smiling.

Coughing, Max laid her head against the window. She had no idea if that stuff she’d taken would work, but it couldn’t make her feel any worse than she already did.

*****

James glanced over at Max and smiled. She’d fallen asleep. He’d known she would after taking the Tylenol, that kind of thing usually zonked a person out…especially if they unknowingly take the nighttime kind. He’d bought it on purpose, wanting her to sleep.

She shivered and coughed once. At the next stoplight he reached into the backseat for his coat and draped it over her. He’d already turned up the heat enough to roast him and he didn’t think he could take raising it higher. Hopefully the coat would help.

*****

When Max returned to the waking world, she wasn’t quite sure where she was. From the feel of it, she was laying on a mattress. Was she in her dorm? If so, how had she got there? And why was she so groggy? She moved to get up, but a firm yet gentle hand pushed her back down.

“Relax. You’re in your room,” James’ voice told her.

“Did I fall asleep in the car?”

James nodded. “Yeah. When we got to the parking lot, you woke up and we came to your room. I had you get into your pajamas and into bed. You were out like a light.”

Max tried to think through her cloudy brain. “I don’t remember...”

“That Tylenol is powerful stuff,” grinned James. He felt her forehead. “I think it’s wearing off. You’ve been asleep for about six hours now. It did help, you were breathing more easily and the coughing backed off quite a bit.”

Sniffing, Max did a mental check of how she felt. She still felt sick, but not quite as miserable.

“Would you like me to read you something?”

This offer took Max by surprise, but it shouldn’t have. When she was in the hospital and in rehab after the accident, he’d read to her often. She thought that he’d be perfect for reading books on tape because he was so good at it. He’d give each character a different voice, change his tone depending on the mood, he brought through all the feelings and expressions just through his voice. She loved listening to him.

“Would...would you mind?”

“Absolutely not! You know how much I enjoy it. What do you want?”

“I have some regular books on my shelf that I can’t read anymore. You can pick.” Max coughed roughly and rested against the pillow.

James looked at the books on the shelf. “How about A Wrinkle in Time?”

“Perfect,” murmured Max, her eyes closed. “Thank you, James. Thank you for always being there for me...”

Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, James smiled. He could tell from her relaxed stance and voice that she wouldn’t last long. He took her hand in his. “What are friends for.” He then opened the book and began to read, perfectly content to sit there with Max as long as she wanted him.

The End

[Blah!?]

Max is such a great sneezer! If only it were possible for there to be a third half...

[Guest Eventide]

I've considered writing another one with her, but I'm not sure how interested people are in repeated characters...

[Blah!?]

If the previous parts have had little in the plot section, I'm not too interested, but these stories are great in every way. I would love to see another one.