Jo calls up Henry in a panic when she wakes up in extreme pain finding that she can barely move.

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"I'm so sorry Jo."

"What, am I dying?" she asked in a small scared voice.

"No but you may well wish you were dead," Henry answered morosely.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement.

A couple of days had passed and Jo was still out sick and Henry hadn't heard from her. He was really starting to get worried. He knew it was irrational for him to be so worried about his partner. After all, it wasn't as if they were in a relationship. But still, she was the only friend he really had other than Abe and he did worry. He knew she was probably fine though, but was somewhat disappointed that she hadn't called even if it was just to talk. If she had called for any reason then he'd know she was alive and well, or well enough under the circumstances. He'd wanted to go over to her apartment and check on her every day since the night he had brought her the soup, but he knew if he did he'd really be overstepping his bounds. He had told her to call him if she needed anything and she hadn't called, so he had to respect that. But what if she hadn't called because she was too ill even for that? He tried his best to brush those thoughts away knowing it was unlikely, but it was difficult. He turned his attention back to the cadaver whose torso he had his hands buried in. He would give Jo a quick call to see how she was doing after he finished with this autopsy. It would put his mind at ease and it was the considerate thing to do wasn't it? Just then the morgue phone started ringing and he motioned for Lucas to answer it.

"Hello, this is the New York City morgue, how may I direct your call?" Lucas said trying to answer the phone as professionally as he could since Henry had previously reprimanded him for more informal greetings. He listened to the voice on the other end before speaking again. "Ok hold on one second Detective," he said and then covered the mouth piece with his hand. "It's Detective Martinez asking for you."

Henry felt a grin spreading on his face in spite of himself. He was so relieved to know that his worst fears were unfounded and that she had called him first so he was saved from seeming overprotective. "Tell her I'll call her back as soon as I finish up this autopsy."

"I dunno, she doesn't sound that good. In fact she sounded almost scared. Maybe you should put the autopsy on hold and talk to her," said Lucas with a concerned tone.

Henry's grin vanished and was replaced by a hard serious expression. He nodded at Lucas and removed his hands from the cadaver then pulled off his gloves and disposed of them. He took the phone from Lucas and waved him off indicating he should go find something to keep himself occupied. "Is everything alright Jo?"

"No something's really wrong. I can't move," Jo said trying but not entirely succeeding to keep the panic out of her voice.

Henry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What are you saying? Are you paralyzed?"

"No, not paralyzed. Just everything hurts so much, it hurts just to hold the phone to talk to you," Jo explained.

Henry frowned. "How high is your fever now?"

"I don't know. I haven't been able to get up to get the thermometer."

"Have you tried taking any ibuprofen or paracetamol?"

"Paracetamol?"

"Sorry, I meant acetaminophen, Tylenol," Henry corrected himself. "Paracetamol is what it's called in England."

"Oh ok, and no I haven't taken anything. As I said, I haven't been able to get up. What's wrong with me Henry? Should I be calling an ambulance?"

"I'm not sure. I'll be there as soon as possible. Try to go back to sleep if you can."

"Ok, I'll try. Just hurry," she pleaded before hanging up.

Henry placed the phone back on the hook. "Lucas, could you possibly finish up the autopsy? I've got a bit of an emergency here."

"Sure thing Doc. What's wrong with Detective Martinez?"

"I'm really not quite sure, she's just in a lot of pain and I'll need to examine her to be able to make any determinations."

Lucas nodded knowing that Henry would figure it out and bet he was just as skilled at diagnosing the living as the dead. "Ok go do what you need to do. I'll try to hold down the fort here."

Henry knocked on Jo's apartment door and then called out so she'd know it was him and not someone breaking into the apartment. "Jo I'm here. I'm just going to let myself in with the keys you gave me." He heard no response so he just unlocked the door and let himself into the apartment. He hoped that she had managed to go back to sleep so she'd have some temporary relief from the pain. He managed to find her bedroom without too much trouble and knocked gently on the door before entering. She was fast asleep and shivering despite being covered in a thick comforter. He set his medical bag on the floor next to the bed and felt her forehead and cheek trying to gauge her temperature. She did still feel a bit feverish, but he'd get a more accurate temperature with a thermometer once she was awake. She opened her eyes as he brushed a stray lock of hair off of her face.

"Henry you came," Jo murmured.

"Of course I came," Henry answered with a gentle smile.

"How did you know?"

Henry frowned. "You called me and asked me to come. Don't you remember?"

"No I mean how did you know that I was going to come down so sick that I wouldn't be able to get out of bed and that you'd need my keys to be able to get into the apartment?" Jo clarified.

"Call it a physician's intuition. There was just something about your rash that wasn't sitting right with me, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time. How is the rash by the way?"

"It's still there, but it's started to fade."

"Your voice sounds better than it did a couple of days ago, how are the rest of your cold symptoms?"

"Better, I'm not coughing and sneezing nearly as much, though my throat is still a bit sore. Though I'd trade those symptoms for whatever is going on with me now in a heartbeat."

Henry nodded. "I don't blame you. I want to take your temperature and then you can tell me about the pain."

"Ok, the thermometer is in the bathroom."

By the time Henry had returned with the thermometer Jo had dozed off again. He gently woke her and stuck the thermometer in her mouth. After it beeped he pulled the thermometer from her mouth and read the display. "Only 100.8 degrees, not too bad." He went back to the bathroom and quickly washed the thermometer and then returned to the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Tell me about the pain, when did it start?"

Jo thought for a moment. "Well I guess it really started that morning I called you to say I was going to be out sick. It just felt like the normal aches you get all over when you have a fever. Then it started to hurt more last night and I just took a bunch of Tylenol and went to bed. Then I woke up this morning and I can barely move at all without severe pain."

Henry nodded grimly. "How much does it hurt on a scale of one to ten?"

"Maybe a five or a six if I'm just lying still, but shoots up to around an eight if I try to move."

"What kind of pain is it? Would you call it dull, stabbing, shooting, burning, or tingling for example?"

"I guess dull would be the closest one to describe what I'm feeling, though it's hard to imagine calling anything that hurts this much dull."

"Alright, I'm going to pull back the covers now and take a look at you," Henry said and started to reach for the edge of the comforter.

"No don't, I'm cold," Jo said trying not to whine.

"I know, I'm sorry. While I do have an idea what might be wrong, I really do need to examine you to make a proper diagnosis." Henry pulled back the comforter all the way. He could immediately see that her hands, wrists, feet, and ankles were all swollen. He pushed up the sleeves and legs of her pajamas in order to examine her elbows and knees and found that they were swollen as well. He gently prodded the joints and Jo gasped and moaned in pain.

"Stop that you sadist!" Jo shouted after she couldn't take it anymore.

"I assure you I am taking no pleasure from this, Jo. I'm just trying to conduct a proper examination. Does it hurt anywhere else besides the joints in your limbs?"

Jo nodded. "My back and neck too. My jaw also hurts when I talk."

"Any other new symptoms?"

"I'm feeling a bit queasy," said Jo, "but I think that's only because I haven't had anything to eat or drink today."

Henry nodded, she did look a bit dehydrated. He was pretty sure he knew what was wrong now and he gave her a sad grim look. "I'm so sorry Jo," he said and covered her up with the comforter again.

"What, am I dying?" she asked in a small scared voice.

"No but you may well wish you were dead," Henry answered morosely. "The sudden onset of widespread arthritis along with the rash leads me to believe that you've contracted something called fifths disease on top of the cold you already had. It's in the same class of viruses as the chickenpox and measles. It's usually very mild if you catch it at a young age, but is much more severe in adolescents and adults. I'm afraid you're going to be in considerable pain for quite some time. This could clear up in as little as two weeks, or it could take a month or longer for the illness to run its course."

"Shit, I can't take that much time off of work."

"Work is really the last thing you should be worrying about right now, but I will speak with the Lieutenant on your behalf and explain the situation. Even after you go back to work, you may need to be restricted to desk duty for awhile."

"Please tell me this isn't really happening," said Jo trying to fight back tears.

"I'm sorry. I can do some bloodwork to confirm the diagnosis, but it will probably take a few days to get the results and it will very likely say what I've already told you," Henry said ringing his hands. He wanted to squeeze her hand or give her a hug or something to offer her comfort, but he was afraid that any such gesture would only cause her more pain. "Don't worry, you're the strongest woman I know, and you're going to get through this. I'm here to help you." Jo nodded at him and then grimaced in pain as she struggled to try to sit up and then collapsed again against the pillows. "No don't try to move right now, just rest."

"You don't understand. Ugh this is so embarrassing but I need to get up. I really need to use the bathroom," she explained.

"Oh, I don't suppose you own a bedpan?"

"No and eww," Jo said with a disgusted look on her face. Henry nodded and helped her up into a sitting position and then got her out of bed. She knew he was being as gentle as he possibly could, but it seemed like every touch just caused a new explosion of pain. She clung to him and he supported her completely as they slowly walked toward the bathroom. She kept gasping and gritting her teeth in pain at every small movement. "God, even the bottom of my feet hurt." When they were halfway to the bathroom her legs just gave out completely and she sagged against Henry a complete dead weight. He tightened his grip on her before she fell to the floor at which she let out a loud moan.

"It's alright, I've got you," he said and scooped Jo up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the bathroom.

"Ok you can put me down now. I can take it from here," Jo said once they'd reached the bathroom.

"Are you sure?" Henry asked full of concern. "This is no time to let pride take over."

"Yes I think I'll be ok."

Henry sighed and put Jo down. "Call if you need any help." Jo nodded and stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. He winced in sympathy at the gasps and moans of pain he could hear from behind the closed door. He shook his head sadly knowing there was no way she'd be able to care for herself here alone. She'd need to come back to his place so he and Abe could take care of her properly. He found a small suitcase at the bottom of her closet and he started filling it with comfortable clothing for her, a couple pairs of pajamas, a robe, some socks, and some t-shirts and sweatpants. He hesitated at her underwear drawer, then took a deep breath and opened it and threw some bras and panties into the suitcase trying hard not to actually look at them. Then he called Abe on Jo's bedroom phone to let him know what was going on. "Are you busy Abe? I need a ride," he said when Abe answered the phone.

Abe sighed. "What did you die from this time?"

"I didn't die Abraham. I'm at Jo's apartment. She called me in a panic. She's extremely ill and I want to bring her back to our place so I can more easily care for her," Henry explained.

"She agreed to this?" Abe asked surprised knowing how independent the Detective was.

"Um I haven't actually told her yet, but Abe she's too ill to get out of bed on her own. I actually had to carry her to the bathroom. I'm sure she'll soon agree that this is the best course of action."

"Yikes! Ok I'll be there as soon as I can."

Henry gave Abe Jo's address. "Drive safely Abe. There's no need to rush. We'll be fine here until you arrive."

"Right, I'll see you soon," Abe answered and hung up.

Henry hung up the phone and picked up his medical bag and started to head toward the kitchen to mix up another tonic for Jo. When he passed the bathroom he heard the sound of sneezing followed by a short coughing fit and finally a moan and a sob. "Jo are you alright in there?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute. I'm almost done," came Jo's strained voice from the other side of the bathroom door.

That minute turned out to be more like ten and as he waited he finally heard the toilet flush and then the sound of running water from the sink. She finally opened the door and he saw her standing next to the sink clutching it to keep herself upright, her face contorted in pain. "Ok Jo, let's get you back into bed," he said as he scooped her up in his arms again. She was quite limp in his arms and it seemed that the trip to the bathroom had greatly exhausted her. He gently laid her down upon the bed and propped up the pillows behind her so that she could lie in a somewhat elevated position.

"What's with the suitcase?" Jo asked having seen it lying open on the floor as Henry had carried her back to her bed. "Are you going to take me to the hospital?"

Henry shook his head. "No, there wouldn't be much point. They'd only keep you there long enough to confirm my diagnosis and then send you home telling you to hire a nurse if you had no friends or family to care for you since it's not a life threatening ailment. I'm going to take you back to my place so I can look after you properly. Abe is already on his way and I'm sure he's already made up the guest room for you."

Jo frowned. That was rather presumptuous of him to just assume that she'd agree to this, but then she wasn't sure she had much choice. If Henry was to be her caretaker then she supposed it wasn't fair to force him to keep making the trip to her apartment. She nodded but then frowned again as another thought occurred to her. "Wait, you didn't go through my underwear drawer did you?"

"Well yes, I'm afraid I did," said Henry his face flushing. "I didn't want you to be without a change of undergarments. I promise you I looked at them as little as possible."

Jo sighed. "I suppose it was necessary under the circumstances."

"Wait here, I want to get a bit of food and drink into you," Henry said and left the room going off to the kitchen. He returned with a glass of orange juice and a packet of crackers that he'd found in one of the kitchen cabinets.

"That's it?" Jo asked raising an eyebrow at the meager fare.

"Yes for now. I'll make you a proper breakfast once I get you back to my home." He handed Jo the crackers and set the glass of juice down on the bedside table.

Jo struggled with the packet of crackers but found that her hands hurt too much to even grip it properly and was unable to open it. She almost felt like she was going to cry. She hated feeling so helpless and unable to do the simplest of things for herself. Without a word Henry took the crackers from her and opened them before handing them back and she smiled gratefully at him. She winced as she started to eat one of the crackers. "Damn it even hurts to chew."

"Don't chew them then, just let them dissolve in your mouth before swallowing."

Jo sighed. "I guess it'll be nothing but oatmeal and jello for me for awhile."

Henry nodded sadly. "Yes and other soft foods."

Jo picked up her juice glass wincing. It felt so heavy to her right now and it hurt to grip it. She took a long sip of the orange juice and then her face contorted in disgust when she found it to taste rather bitter. "Ugh I think this juice might be expired, it tastes awful."

"No sorry, the juice is fine. I mixed some of that willow bark tonic into it to help with the pain. I used a much higher dose than last time though, so I suppose even the juice couldn't hide the bitterness," Henry explained.

Jo grimaced as she took another sip of the juice. "I think I'd prefer Percocet."

Henry sighed. "I will consider calling in a prescription for you if we can't get your pain down to a tolerable level without it." The thought of obtaining prescription medication for Jo made him feel uneasy. He was still licensed to write prescriptions, but it had been a long time since he had done so since most of his patients were deceased. Though he had occasionally written a few prescriptions for Abe when the circumstances warranted it. "I'll get you some Tylenol to take along with the tonic." He disappeared into the bathroom and easily found the bottle of Tylenol in the medicine cabinet. He grabbed that and a few toiletry items that he thought she might need. When he returned to the bedroom he dumped the toiletry items into the suitcase and retrieved a few pills from the bottle and handed them to Jo.

"This is double the usual dose," said Jo somewhat surprised, "and yet I'm not sure it will be enough."

"I know," said Henry, "but I daren't give you any more than that. I don't want to damage your liver."

Jo nodded and swallowed the pills down with the rest of tonic infused juice. She let out a few coughs as she handed the glass back to Henry, winced, and then let out a low moan. "Coughing and sneezing is so painful right now. How is it fair that I still have to deal with the remnants of a cold in my current state?"

"Of course it's not fair Jo, but when ever has life been fair?" Henry answered solemnly. He knew it certainly wasn't fair that in Jo's place he could simply kill himself to escape the illness, but she would have to suffer the whole ordeal for as long as it would take for her body to fight off the virus and even after that it would take some time for her to recover. Henry took the glass to the kitchen to wash it and put it away and quickly returned to the bedroom. "We should get you ready to leave."

"You're not going to dress me are you?" Jo asked nervously both because she didn't want her partner to see that much of her and also because she knew that trying to get dressed right now would likely be very painful.

Henry shook his head. "I don't want to cause you any undue pain, so I will just help you put on some socks, shoes, and a coat. I'm sure no one will notice that you're only dressed in pajamas under the coat, and even if they do, it's hardly the time to be worried about such things." He retrieved a pair of socks from her dresser and some sneakers from her closet and gently eased both onto her feet. He gave her an apologetic smile as she bit back whimpers of pain. He then picked her up and carried her out to the living room where he gently set her down on the couch. He rummaged through the coat closet near the apartment entrance and selected a coat that he thought should be warm enough for the current weather and a scarf as well. He helped Jo into the coat and then wrapped her scarf around her neck. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to fetch your suitcase." When he'd returned to the bedroom he picked up Jo's wallet and cell phone, along with its charger, from the bedside table and placed them in the suitcase before zipping it up. "I've packed your phone and wallet along with your clothing and basic toiletries," he said after he returned to the living room. "Is there anything else you think you might need?"

Jo shook her head. "Not that I can think of right now."

Henry nodded and set the suitcase on the floor next to the couch and sat down next to Jo. "Well I can always come back later if it turns out I've forgotten anything important."

"Henry, how long do you think I'll need to stay with you?"

"I honestly don't know. It all depends on how long it takes your body to work through the illness. I don't believe you'll need to stay until you're fully recovered if you don't want to. You can probably return home as soon as you're able to get up and move around without assistance if that is your wish. Try not to worry about that right now though. For now you just need to take things one day at a time."

"I just don't want to impose on you and Abe any longer than necessary," Jo explained.

"Now really Jo, don't be ridiculous. Would I have invited you into my home if I thought you'd be an imposition?" Henry answered smiling reassuringly at her.

"I thought it was mostly just arrogance on your part thinking that no one else could possibly take care of me properly," Jo answered teasingly.

"Well maybe a little," Henry admitted, "but there's also the fact that Abe essentially works from home and is more available to help me care for you. Can you say the same of any of your other friends or family?"

Jo shook her head. "I guess not. I just hope he's ok with all of this."

Henry chuckled. "Now you really are being ridiculous. You know how fond Abe is of you."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point there. He might not let me leave once I'm better," Jo joked then turned away to muffle a sneeze into her arm and groaned at the pain the forceful movements brought on. Henry plucked a tissue from the box on the coffee table and handed it to her. She thanked him and blew her nose.

Henry pulled several more tissues from the box and tucked them into Jo's coat pocket. "Just in case for the ride," he explained. They sat in silence for a few minutes until there was a knock on the door. "That must be Abe." Henry got up and answered the door and sure enough it was Abe.

"Are you all ready to go?" Abe asked. "I'm double parked down there."

Henry nodded. "If you'll just take Jo's suitcase, I'll carry her down to the car," he said and led Abe into the apartment.

"How're you feeling kiddo?" Abe asked as he picked up Jo's suitcase.

"I feel like I got into a brawl with a gorilla," Jo answered in all seriousness and failed to suppress gasps of pain as Henry lifted her up even as gentle as he was being.

Abe winced in sympathy. "Well I'm sure you'll be good as new in no time with the best doctor in the city looking after you," Abe said as they exited the apartment.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a lofty statement for someone whose patients are all deceased."

Henry narrowed his eyes. "Don't be cheeky or there will be no dessert with your brunch," he said as if talking to an unruly child.

Abe shrugged. "There was a time when he treated live patients and he was an excellent doctor then. That hasn't changed just because he's switched specialties. He's certainly taken good care of me for a long time."

"Thank you Abe," said Henry pleased that his son was defending him despite knowing Jo's comment was meant in jest. "Though I'm afraid there's little that I, or any doctor, can do to speed up Jo's recovery. This is a virus that simply needs to run its course. All we can do is make her comfortable in the meantime." When they arrived at Abe's car, Abe opened up the front passenger's side door before packing up Jo's suitcase in the trunk and climbing into the driver's seat. Henry gently lowered Jo into the car and buckled her seat belt. "Try to get some sleep. I'll wake you when we get there," he said and adjusted the back of her seat to a reclining position before closing her door and getting into the back seat on the other side of the car behind Abe.

"Is it warm enough for you in here?" Abe asked Jo as he pulled out onto the road. "I can turn up the heat if you want."

Jo shook her head. "No it's fine," she murmured suddenly feeling extremely groggy. The last thing she remembered was Abe gently patting her on the arm before she drifted off to sleep.

Sorry it took so long to update this story. Fifths disease is a real illness that I had when I was in my teens and I was almost completely bedridden for weeks and was still in quite a bit of pain once I finally went back to school a month later. As such most of what I am writing is from experience, though there are certain details that have been exaggerated a bit.

Because I am writing from experience, and because of my vivid imagination and my tendency to channel my characters, my body saw it fit to force me to relive this illness, albeit to a lesser extent, in order to write it effectively. So I hope you'll all be understanding about the fact that I will not be updating this story again right away. I really need to take a break and work on some other writing projects, and I will need to take it slowly once I do start work on the third chapter.