A/N: This is my fifth and final entry for Inspired by OQ Week, based on a manip of Robby tending to Queenie by EvillyQueenie.

Flu Season

AH-CHOO!

AH-CHOO!

AH-CHOO!

Robin looked up at the ceiling as he stood at the stove, stirring the soup every so often. He knew those sneezes had to have been powerful ones for him to even hear it through the floor and his heart hurt for Regina. She had been pale and fatigued when she came home from work and had barely touched her dinner. He had then suggested she go straight to bed and she hadn't put up a fight, making everyone concerned. It just wasn't like Regina and that was when he knew she was sick.

Turning off the stove, he poured some soup into a bowl. He placed that on a tray and grabbed a spoon as well as a napkin, pairing it with a cup of tea and honey. Robin picked it up and carried the tray out of the kitchen, making a stop by the living room. Henry and Roland both sat on the couch, the older boy helping the younger with his homework. It warmed Robin how close they were already.

"I'm going to bring this up to your mother," he told them. "You two okay down here?"

Both nodded before Roland knelt on the couch, looking over the back. "Can you tell her I hope she feels better?"

"I will," Robin promised him.

Henry peeked over the back of the couch. "You'll take good care of my mom?" he asked, concerned.

"I will take the best care of her," Robin vowed, meaning every word. It comforted her son, who settled back down.

Satisfied the boys were fine, Robin headed upstairs and down the hall to the master bedroom. Powerful sneezes greeted him as he entered the room, noticing how hot it was inside. It concerned him and he turned on the light so he could gage the situation better.

A mound of blankets lay on the bed. Only a few wisps of black hair on the pillow confirmed that Regina was underneath them. He frowned as he set the tray on her nightstand. Climbing onto the bed, he pulled back some of the blankets to check on his soulmate.

Used tissues were strewn about her and she clutched one in her hand. Her skin was pale except for her cheeks and nose, which were bright red. She breathed heavily through her mouth and coughed every so often, raising the tissue to her mouth to cover it. Regina shivered despite the heat in the room, the warm pajamas she wore and the blankets covering her. Even before his hand grazed her hot forehead, he knew she had a fever.

"Regina," he said softly, gently shaking her. "Regina?"

She groaned, opening her eyes. They were unfocused as she looked up at him. "Robin?"

"Yes, love. I've come to check on you," he told her, stroking her hot cheeks. "You don't look too good."

"I don't feel too good," she admitted. He knew she had to be really sick to say so readily.

He brushed some of her hair away from her face. "I know. I'm going to take care of you, okay?"

"What about the boys?" she asked, her voice hoarse from all the coughing.

"They're fine," he reassured her. "They want you to get better-Roland especially wanted me to tell you that. And Henry has pretty much ordered me to take care of you."

She smiled. "They are so sweet."

"I brought you some soup," he told her. "Henry insisted it had to be chicken noodle."

"It's what I make him when he's sick. He must still believe it has magical healing properties," she replied, letting him help her sit up.

Robin set the tray on her lap. "I hope it does. I hate to see you in such discomfort."

She waved him off. "It'll pass. I'll probably feel better in the morning."

"I hope so," he said. "And we'll do everything we can to make sure of that."

As she started to eat her soup, he walked into the bathroom. Robin had called Snow White for some advice after realizing Regina was sick and she told him a few things he could use to help her. He quickly located them in the medicine cabinet and carried them back out.

"Saw ahh," he said, holding out the thermometer like she had taught him when Roland was sick. She gave him a look but opened her mouth and let him put it under her tongue. He set the other items down as the thermometer beeped. Robin took the device from her mouth and frowned when he saw the reading. "One hundred and two."

"But I feel cold, not hot," she protested, quickly pulling out a tissue as she sneezed again.

Setting the thermometer down, he picked up the medicine Snow had advised him to give her if she had a fever. Robin carefully measured out the red liquid as he said: "You know a fever can make you cold rather than hot. Now, drink this."

He held out the little plastic cup toward her and she took it, downing the liquid. She made a face before shaking her head. "You'd think they'd make it taste like something good."

Robin twisted the cap off the menthol rub he had seen her use when Roland had a cold the other month and sat down on the edge of the bed. "This should also help you," he said, dipping his fingers into the cool cream.

She smirked as she popped open a few buttons on her pajama top. "You just want to cop a feel, Thief."

"Perhaps," he said, rubbing the cream on her chest. "But I mostly want you to feel better."

Once that was done, Regina rebuttoned her shirt as he cleaned everything up. He washed out the cup before placing the medicine bottle and the rub in her medicine cabinet. Robin then cleaned the thermometer with some rubbing alcohol, just as she taught him, and returned it to its proper place as well. By the time he returned to take the tray from her, Regina was sound asleep again. He kissed her still hot forehead and tiptoed out of the room, hitting the light on his way out.

Robin hoped that she was right and would feel better in the morning but worried this was going to take some time for her body to fight.

Regina's condition grew worse overnight. Her fever fluctuated throughout the night—the medicine Robin gave her worked to lower it but once it wore off, the fever would return. She alternated between shivering and sweating, often throwing off the blankets before shortly looking for them again. When her cough returned and she struggled to breathe through her nose again, Robin was able to reapply the rub as she continued to sleep uneasily. Then as the dawn approached, she threw off the blankets and darted for the bathroom where she was sick in the toilet. He held her hair back before helping her back to bed, locating a bucket in case she couldn't make it the bathroom next time—because he knew there would be a next time.

He only got a few hours of sleep but managed to get the boys up, dressed, fed and off to school. Robin then called Whale and begged him to come check on Regina. The doctor balked at first, saying he didn't do house calls, but eventually relented when Robin refused to accept no for an answer. Whale showed up about an hour later, a bag in tow.

"It's the flu," he announced, taking off his stethoscope after examining Regina. "It's been going around."

"But she got the shot," Robin replied, frowning. He recalled her trooping them all into the hospital so they could all get the vaccine earlier in the season. "We all did."

Whale nodded, packing his things away. "The shot is good prevention but not foolproof. There are multiple strains of the flu and vaccine makers decide which one will be the most prevalent, using that for the vaccine. If you get another one, it's up in the air if it'll protect against it. That's why the shot is only one of many precautious to take during cold and flu season."

All that confused Robin, who thought the shot provided absolute protection to his family. He made a note to make sure the boys took the other precautions listed on the pamphlet Whale handed him. For now, though, his main focus was on getting Regina healthy again. "What do we need to do for her?"

"Pretty much what you've been doing," Whale said, though he pulled out a pad to write something down. "She needs bedrest and fluids. The medicine you've been giving her to reduce her fever is very good and the rub is helping her coughing and breathing. I am writing an antiviral medication for her to use too. Give it to her twice a day."

He pulled off the paper and handed it to Robin. "I'll check on her again in a few days to see if she's starting to feel better but it'll probably take her a week to fully kick it."

Robin frowned. "And what if she doesn't?"

"We'll have to look at hospitalization," Whale told him, "but Regina is strong and healthy. I have every confidence that her body will be able to fight this."

"Thank you," Robin said, escorting the doctor out. He then called Emma to ask her to get the prescription for him, which she agreed.

After she picked up the prescription, Robin brought some more soup up to Regina. He convinced her to sit up and he helped her eat it. She managed to get most of it down and drank half the tea before laying back down, falling asleep within seconds. Robin kissed her forehead before heading downstairs to clean everything up. Whale said she needed fluids and bedrest so he would make sure she had that in spades.

Robin continued to nurse Regina. He created a schedule for himself so he could handle everything he needed to do between caring for her and taking care of their boys. Henry stepped up whenever he could, helping with Roland so Robin could focus on Regina. They all knew it was only for a little while and then things would go back to normal once she was better.

After a couple days, she started to make a marked improvement. Her fever gradually reduced and then broke completely, so he was able to take that medicine out of rotation. She still needed the rub and he knew he had to finish the antivirals, so he kept giving them to her as prescribed.

She started to eat more, though Robin had to keep everything bland. Regina started to complain about it but ate whatever he gave her. He took both as a good sign and he felt the same when she started to grow restless just staying in bed. Robin let her go to the living room when the boys were at school but refused to let her even look at anything work related, confiscating her phone to assure it. She put up a fight over that but he refused to back down, knowing he could be just as stubborn. In the end, she gave up and just watched TV while she recovered.

By the end of the week, she only had a lingering cough. Whale said she was on the mend and that the cough would probably persist for another week. He instructed her to not rush back to her normal schedule and to give herself some more time to rest for at least another week as her body continued to return to normal. Though it annoyed Regina, she agreed—and Robin promised to make sure she stuck to that schedule.

Within two weeks, life seemed to go back to normal in the Mills-Hood household. Regina returned to work full time and Robin went back to patrolling the forest for predators, illegal hunters or those who just wandered too close to Storybrooke. Henry and Roland continued to go to school, neither showing signs of getting sick. Robin still made sure they washed their hands regularly and increased their vitamin C intake just to be on the safe side.

One night, though, he developed a sore throat. Regina gave him a throat lozenge and encouraged him to go to bed, saying he looked tired. He realized he was fighting to keep his eyes open so he agreed, bidding his family goodnight before changing for bed—a white tank and a pair of cotton pajamas. Robin climbed into bed and wrapped himself up in the blankets, falling asleep within minutes.

He woke up some time later, shivering. Blinking, Robin sat up to see if Regina had accidentally stolen the covers again but soon realized he was still covered. He continued to shiver as he climbed out of bed, his limbs aching with his every movement as he pulled out a thermal shirt to put on over his tank.

Once that was done, he turned to climb back into bed and the room began to spin. He leaned forward, gripping the nightstand to steady himself. Robin tried to take a deep breath but found both his nostrils blocked. The attempt led to a coughing spasm, his chest hurting from how intense they were.

"Robin?" Regina's sleepy voice asked. He cursed himself for waking her up, watching as she sat up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, love," he said, his voice coming out as a hoarse whisper. It hurt to say that and he swallowed, finding no solace in it.

She turned on the light, frowning as she studied him. "Did you remember to take care of yourself while you were caring for me?"

"I was fine," he protested, though he figured it lost some of its potency since his voice was so rough and low. "You needed me more."

"We are certainly well matched," she replied with a sigh. She pushed the blankets back and climbed out of bed, coming over to take his arm. Regina led him back to bed, tucking him in before heading to the bathroom.

She returned with the thermometer, the medicine he had been giving her and the rub. As she set them down, she gave him a little smile. "Looks like it's my turn to take care of you."

"Then I am in good hands," he said before she placed the thermometer in his mouth. His eyes began to close as they waited for it to beep, his body begging for sleep. Robin would give in once he took his medicine, knowing he was in good hands as Regina would nurse him back to health with the same care he had used to nurse her.

Still, he couldn't wait for the end of flu season.