"George?" David mumbled groggily. He felt faint movement next to him, but not enough to show that the guy had woken up yet. He really didn't want to wake him up, and considered trying to keep quiet through the growing pain, but the medicine had long-since worn off and he was at his limit.

"George, please, it hurts."

That plea, thankfully, managed to get through to the tired man. He sat up, not bothering to cover a huge yawn before getting out of the bed and walking around to grab the bottle of pills that would offer David sweet relief from the pain once more. Except, when George picked up the bottle and opened it, he frowned and poured out the one single pill left.

"I need to go get some more," he said quietly as he headed for the bathroom and got David a cup of water to take the medicine. One pill wouldn't help much, but he was desperate and inhaled it the second he got it and the cup in his hands.

"I'll go get you a refill." George said, drawing David's attention away from the empty paper cup in his hand to the clock on the nightstand, then up to George. "It's really late. I'll be okay until later. You should sleep."

The guy frowned and leaned over, surprising David as he pressed a hand to his forehead, then slid his fingers down to his cheek. "Are you feeling hot?" He questioned as he let his other hand settle on David's other cheek. The worry in George's eyes was unsettling, making David automatically want to try and break the tension.

"I know you're always a hot hunk of awesome, or whatever, but seriously. It feels like you've got a fever."

Well, he did feel hot, but he'd already gone to the emergency room for his burns, and imposed on George a lot. Asking him to take him to the doctor for a simple fever wasn't something he wanted to do.

"Come on, you. We're going to the ER. They can give you a pain reliever while the doctor checks you out."

The ER for a fever! "Not the ER, I just have a fever. Take me to a walk-in clinic or something."

George didn't look happy, but after a moment of silent thought he nodded and reached down, scooping David up into his arms and straight out the door. While he could walk, David didn't bother arguing with George to put him down. It felt good to be in his arms. Once in George's car David settled in, letting his eyes close as the medicine began to take effect. It wasn't a full dose, so he could definitely still feel the burns, but it did take the edge off of it, and for that, he was grateful.

He had no idea how, but sleep overtook him and he didn't wake up until he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. It took a good amount of effort to even open his eyes, but when he saw a man leaning over in front of him with a worried look, he forced himself to try and come around more.

"Hey, you scared us. Your friend and I have been trying to wake you up for awhile now."

David blinked, nearly letting his eyes close again as sleep called to him. A gentle squeeze on his shoulder made him push through the clouds in his mind, however, and open his eyes again.

"Can you tell me your name, Sir?" The doctor asked as he began pressing his stethoscope against David's skin as George held up his shirt partway.

"David..." He replied in a hushed whisper before yawning. The doctor nodded and gave a small smile as he stood back up and wrote on a chart. "Can you open your mouth for me please, David?"

He did as told, allowing the doctor to put a thermometer beneath his tongue. It was removed a minute later and set aside so that the doctor could write the temperature down. He then pulled up a seat David hadn't noticed was nearby and took a seat so that they were at eye level.

"Well, you've got a fever of one-hundred and three. It's not life threatening, but it's not good. While you were asleep I checked out your leg for infection, though I'm surprised that didn't wake you up since your friend said you were having a lot of trouble with the pain over the last few days."

David just nodded slightly against George's firm chest, glad that the man was holding him up and in his lap, or he would have likely just fallen to the floor.

"I didn't see any outward signs of infection but there could easily be something there causing the high fever. I'm going to prescribe you something that should take care of any possible infection and also a strong fever reducer, okay?"

"Alright, thank you Doctor," George answered for him, obviously taking the hint that David wasn't really able to respond anymore.

The next thing David awoke to was the feeling of sweet, sweet relief. He could tell that he was naked and judging from the water slowly rising on his body, he was in the bathtub. "Jesus, finally. I knew I should have taken you to the damn emergency room."

David tried to lift his head, but quickly gave up and just rolled it to the right on the towel it rested on as he opened one eye partway. "Hey... George."

"Don't you 'hey George' me. Take these before I shove them down your throat."

Before he could respond there were three pills pressed against his lips, which he took into his mouth, then chased down with a paper cup of water that replaced them. The water was icy, telling him that George had likely gotten it from the kitchen and not the bathroom sink, or even had ice from the freezer in the bathroom.

Come to think of it.

The bath water was also colder than he thought possible, and when he glanced down, he grinned like a dork, noticing ice floating in the water. "Here, drink more. The doctor wants your body flooded. Orion is making some food and you'll be eating it whether you want to or not."

Are you sure you're not a dominant? David thought with a faint laugh. George didn't seem intrigued and instead held another cup of water to his lips. "Drink."

He did, finishing the cup right when Orion walked into the bathroom with a plate of food that made David's stomach turn. Thankfully Orion didn't get a chance to fuss over him because George wasn't in any kind of mood to put with the other guy after being woken up after a double shift. Not to mention having to rush David to the clinic, then to pick up his medicine. At least those pills were working quickly, making him feel a bit loopy and tired at the same time.

"I swear if you start giggling like a little girl I'm gonna smack you one."

Of course, David knew he was joking, but he couldn't help responding. He did giggle, but then winked and sloppily licked his lower lip.

"Dammit. I should have known better to say that to a pervy sub." George grumbled as he grabbed the plate Orion had left on the counter and brought it around. The smell alone made David's nose crinkle with distaste, but the man didn't seem to notice. Or really, he didn't give a damn as he began shoving small spoonfuls of egg into David's mouth. After a few gags he thankfully stopped, but that wasn't the end of it. George set the plate aside for the moment, however, and got David up and out of the tub. He set him down on the sink counter just long enough to dry him decently well, then carefully situated him in bed, propped up against the pillows. He then disappeared for a moment, only to return with a few pieces of cut up bell pepper that had likely been on the plate behind the eggs.

Oh... now that I might be able to stomach!

David had only ever told Orion about his addiction to them, but the guy had evidently remembered, even after a year. When George settled down on the edge of the bed right next to him and lifted a piece of pepper near his lips, David did his best to try and take it hesitantly, but hell, he couldn't help but go after it hungrily. He hadn't eaten much of anything in the past few days so even with his head cloudy and hot from his fever, he couldn't turn away the deliciously sweet pepper. When he heard George give a loud sigh of relief, his appetite suddenly skyrocketed.

He was worried...

"Here, another," George said quietly as he offered a second piece of pepper. Wanting to make the man happy, David opened his mouth to let George place the food on his tongue. He chewed slowly, savoring the tiny bit of flavor he could taste through his growing sickness before swallowing. George continued to feed him slowly over the next several minutes, until he ran out of piece of pepper.

"You stay here, and awake, got it? I'm going to get more and you're going to eat it."

Without bothering to give David a chance to respond, again, George ducked out of the room.

It was an incredible relief to finally get some food into David. He didn't know it yet, but it was already well into the next day and while he was due to work soon, George had already called Xena and told her that he would likely not be able to considering David's current condition. She'd had no problem with it, glad that she did at least have an extra bouncer she could call in.

Stepping into the kitchen, he noticed Zachary already busily working on prep and gave the kid a slight smile. In return he got a far-too-bright beaming one. "Good morning, George!"

He grunted in response, then noticed exactly what Zachary had already cut up, still sitting on the far end of his cutting board. Instead of asking, he quickly walked over and gathered up a decent handful of the sliced bell pepper, then disappeared back through the kitchen doors before the guy could complain. Not that he was likely too. He'd probably just go about cutting another pepper with a happy grin on his face.

Returning to his room, George figured he'd easily be able to feed David, then hopefully get a few hours of sleep, but when he saw the guy out cold on the pillows, he heaved a sigh and set the peppers down on the plate he'd left on the nightstand. Now he was left with a decision to make. He could wake David up and make him eat more, or he could let him sleep, which he also needed to do. Either way, he did walk back to the bathroom and unplug the tub so that it could drain, then grabbed a clean washcloth and wet it with cool water before returning to David. With very careful motions he dotted at David's damp skin, removing building sweat on his forehead and cheeks, as well as cooling him down.

In all honestly, he'd scared the hell out of him with his fever and he still wanted to take him to the hospital, but since he finally managed to get to sleep, George decided to let him rest. Unfortunately, he himself had trouble falling asleep now. Every time he thought about lying down he noticed David beginning to pant from the heat of his sickness or his cloth needed rinsed and reapplied.

By the time he was due for another dose of medication George felt like he might be the one sick, from lack of sleep, if anything. David awoke almost like clockwork, groaning as his leg began to hurt. Thankfully his fever had broken though, so he was a bit more coherent when he did wake up.

"Good morning, princess." George said as he handed David a cup of water and his pills. The guy took them without a word, but when he glanced toward the bathroom, George knew he had to go. It was understandable, because he had basically forced the guy to drink a ton of water before he fell asleep earlier.

Without a word George lifted him into his arms and carefully got David to the toilet. When it was clear that he needed to do more than pee, he got him situated sitting, then stepped out until he had finished his business. When he came back in he made a face, making David chuckle weakly before he helped the guy up so that he could wash his hands. To his surprise, once he scrubbed them he ducked them back under the water, but then lifted them to rub along his face, neck, and chest. His fever had broken earlier, but when David repeated the action, trying to get his back, George figured he could at least help the guy.

So, he got him seated on the toilet seat once he shut the lid, facing partially away from him. He then dipped his hands into the bowl of ice he'd gotten, which had all-but-melted into chilly water by now. When he put his cold hands on David's back the guy's muscles flexed beneath his fingers, but then immediately relaxed as his whole body sagged with relief.

"That feels so good."

David sounded so much better than he had in days with just that simple action so George gladly repeated it, eventually moving to his arms and unhurt leg, too. When he was on his fifth go he paused, feeling David shift uncomfortably and try to hunch. George knew what he was trying to hide and thought he might be put-off again, but he didn't feel any different this time, even as his hands rested against David's slowly moving chest. His ears were bright red, which was understandable as well, but what George couldn't understand, was why his own heart was beating at a speed nearly twice that of David's.