That's What Friends Are For
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to the creators of "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland." Any quotes in bold are from the original TV show.
A cough racks through Will Scarlet's body, making his chest move up and down at an alarming rate. The Knave of Hearts lies in the bed, and his head is being propped up by a pillow. His nose is red, and he's wiped it so many times with tissue that it has turned raw. His eyes, usually bright and curious with a mischievous twinkle, are drooping and look like he is going to fall asleep any second. Will coughs once more, and a pain spreads through his chest.
"Of all the days I have to be sick, it has to be the day before my birthday. This is just great," Will mutters to himself.
Suddenly, a giant sneeze comes out of his nose, and with it comes a lot of fluid. Will instinctively reaches for the tissues and finds he only has one left. This is just the number he needs to blow his nose. The Knave of Hearts jerks the tissue out of the box and blows his nose for a long time. He then throws the now used Kleenex on the huge pile of already used tissues he has on his nightstand.
"Anastasia, I need some more tissues," he weakly calls.
Anastasia appears in the doorway with two more boxes of tissues and a medicine cup that is filled with orange liquid.
"Will, that makes 200 tissues today alone. Are you sure you're okay?" Anastasia questions in concern.
"I just have the bloody flu, Ana. I'll be better in a week or so," Will softly says to his wife.
It is then that he notices the orange liquid in Anastasia's hand.
"Ana, what's that?" he asks.
"It's your medicine. I called the doctor, and he said this would help," Anastasia responds.
"You know I hate medicine, Anastasia, especially orange medicine," Will groans.
"Will, it can help you get better," she tells him.
The Knave of Hearts sighs and grabs the medicine from Anastasia. He hesitantly raises it to his mouth and tips the medicine cup back to let the medicine travel down his throat. A grimace finds its way to Will's face.
"I hope you're happy, Ana. That bloody medicine tastes like bloody paint," Will complains.
"Stop saying 'bloody' to intensify how bad the medicine is. I know it tastes bad, but it's the only way you'll get better," Anastasia scolds.
A sneeze stops Will from making a comeback. He reaches for the box of tissues and blows his nose so hard that his face turns red. Will then throws the used tissue on the quickly growing pile of discarded Kleenex.
"Anastasia, can you get me another blanket? I'm freezing," the Knave of Hearts sweetly asks.
The Red Queen places her hand on Will's forehead. It is burning up.
"Will, how are you cold? Your head is on fire," she inquires out of fear.
"I probably have a fever then. Go get the thermometer," he groans.
As if a terrible cough, sneezing every thirty seconds, and overall feeling miserable isn't enough, there is a chance that Will also has a fever. Today just isn't his day. He lets his head fall against his pillow, and he tries his hardest to fall asleep. That's when his phone goes off. A sigh escapes his lips as the song Illusion by Ross Lynch plays. That means Cyrus is calling.
"I ain't no fake Houdini. I'll put a spell on you. I'm something like a genie," the phone rings.
Yes, Will picked that ringtone for Cyrus because it says genie in the song. He grumbles as he stretches his hand towards the black IPhone. His hand barely grasps the phone, and he pulls it towards his body. The Knave of Hearts clicks answer on the touch screen.
"Hello?" Will weakly asks.
"Will, what's wrong?" Cyrus questions in concern.
"How do you know something's wrong?" Will inquires.
"For starters, you didn't answer the phone with 'What do you want, Cyrus?' like you normally do. Secondly, you sound like your nose is stopped up. So, out with it. What's wrong?" Cyrus responds.
"I'm stuck in bed with the bloody flu, and as my luck would have it, I probably also have a fever," Will sniffs as he begins to blow his nose.
"Well, I hope you get better soon, Will," Cyrus says, through the phone, trying his hardest not to complain that the Knave of Hearts blew his nose while on the phone.
"Thanks, mate, I appreciate that. I'll probably be in bed for a week, though," Will tells the genie.
After this sentence, Will hangs the phone up and lays his head back down on his pillow to try and take a nap. If there's one thing the Knave of Hearts hates more than water hairy spiders, being stabbed in the head, and raisins, it's being sick. Will's always hated being sick. Not only do you feel terrible, but you have to stay in the bed or on the couch all day. Sure, there are a few things you can do, like read a book, but none of those things interest Will in the very least. Anastasia comes in with a big blanket and the thermometer. She carefully places the thermometer into Will's mouth, and gasps when she sees his temperature.
"Will, you have a temperature of 102. Are you sure you're okay?" Anastasia gasps.
"I'll be okay. I've fought worse sickness than this before," Will assures.
"What could possibly be worse than how you are now? You look so miserable," the Red Queen asks.
"I had pneumonia when I was a small lad. That was the worst sickness I have had in my life, aside from severe heartbreak," he sniffs.
"How did you get pneumonia?" Anastasia questions.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Will confesses.
No one except for Alice knows about Penelope, his sister. He caught pneumonia after trying to save her from the freezing lake water that claimed her life. He's never gone skating since that horrible day scarred him forever. Will closes his eyes and begins to fall into a well-deserved sleep.
About an hour later, the doorbell rings. Anastasia goes to answer the door, and finds none other than Alice and Cyrus standing on the steps leading into the apartment.
"What a surprise, it's Alice and Cyrus. What are you two doing here?" she grins.
"Cyrus told me that Will is sick in the bed with the flu. I wanted to come and check up on him. After all, he is like the brother I never had," Alice tells the queen.
"Well, I'm sure he'd be glad to see you. Why don't you go into our bedroom and see if he's awake? He was asleep when I left to make lunch," Anastasia responds.
Alice and Cyrus quietly walk into Will and Ana's bedroom and find Will snoring and with his head almost falling off of the bed.
"That's probably the quietest I've ever seen Will," Cyrus whispers.
"That is an understatement," Alice softly laughs.
"It's actually nice not having to listen to his blabbering mouth," Cyrus chuckles.
"Cyrus!" Alice scolds.
"What? You know as well as I do that he whines and complains more than anyone in all the realms combined," Cyrus explains.
"Listen, mate, would you mind keeping it down a bit? I'm trying to have a bit of a nap," Will drowsily says as he blinks his eyes open.
"How are you doing it?" Cyrus questions.
"Well, I closed me eyes and tried counting sheep, but you two, you're like that," the Knave of Hearts comments as he moves his fingers up and down, similar to how a real mouth moves.
"No, I meant how are you keeping quiet for so long? You can never stay quiet for long. You always have to run that mouth of yours," the genie grins.
Will coughs, and he throws a hateful look at the genie.
"You know, sometimes I hate you," Will says with a slight grin.
Alice goes and wets a washcloth and hands it to Will.
"What is this bloody thing for?" he asks.
"Press it against your forehead. It will help your fever," Alice instructs.
Will obliges and presses the cool washcloth against his burning hot forehead. The cold water instantly begins to make his face feel cooler.
"Thanks, Alice," he softly says.
The day quickly turns into night, and soon, everyone is asleep. Well, let me rephrase this. Will Scarlet is coughing in his room, his case of the flu starting to get the best of him. He hasn't been able to sleep at all tonight. Instead, he has just been able to toss and turn. Another cough racks through his body, and he curses quietly under his breath.
"You're going to have to toughen up, Will. You've let life in Storybrooke make you soft. Face it, no one's awake to help you," Will says to himself.
At that moment, Alice walks into the room, the bottle of orange medicine in her hand.
"Are you okay, Knave?" she asks in concern.
"No, Alice, I'm not. I feel bloody miserable, and it's like my head is going to explode," Will remarks.
"Well, I think you need to take some more medicine then," Alice tells him.
"One missed dosage of medicine won't kill me," he assures.
With that, another cough erupts from his chest, and he groans.
"You were saying?" Alice teases.
"I'm not drinking that medicine Alice, no matter how bloody miserable I feel," Will stubbornly says.
"You're going to drink this medicine, Will Scarlet, if it's the last thing I do!" she threatens.
"Why must you always be so bloody stubborn?" Will questions in his normal tone.
"I'm not being stubborn, Will. You're the stubborn one," Alice comments.
"You're probably right about that, Alice. Sorry I yelled at you," the Knave of Hearts apologizes.
"It's okay, Knave. I understand that you hate medicine, but it will make you feel better, I promise," she returns.
"Give me the medicine," Will begrudgingly says.
Alice hands him the medicine bottle and a medicine cup, and he actually drinks all two teaspoons of medicine. Will lays his head back down on the pillow and starts to close his eyes. Alice begins to walk back towards the spare bedroom that she and Cyrus are staying in.
"Alice, wait!" Will calls.
She instantly turns back around and looks at the Knave of Hearts.
"Yes, Will?" she asks.
"Thanks for helping me while I'm sick. You don't have to do this, you know," he says.
"It's no problem, Knave. That's what friends are for," Alice smiles.
"Well, then I'm glad I have the best friend in the whole entire world," Will grins.
"I know what you mean. Goodnight, Will," Alice tells him.
"Goodnight, Alice," Will yawns as he closes his eyes to finally go to sleep.
Author's Note: This is my first Once Upon a Time in Wonderland FanFiction, so reviews or constructive criticism are welcome. I'm thinking about writing a story through Will's P.O.V. about the day his sister died, so comment if you think this would make a good story. As always, thank you for your reviews!