I'm waiting until the Rhino Nexus storyline begins on JF before continuing my storyline properly, but until then I just thought I'd post this little one-shot. I got the inspiration for it from a recent illness I went through. Hope you like it.

Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights is to be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.

Rating: T May be some adult material.

It had been a long time since he'd felt this sick. Usually he was in good health, which was why he hated being ill with a passion. RJ groaned loudly as he tried to pull himself from his bed. His head felt like it was spinning, making it hard to get his bearings, and his headache was unrelenting. He was sweating profusely under the merciless heat of his blankets and his pyjamas. It had gotten so bad that he was now giving up on staying in bed. Throwing back the covers he started to take off his top.

"Don't you dare!" Lily chastised him as she arrived in the room with a bowl of fresh chicken soup. "You need to stay warm, you know that."

"Lily, I'm baking alive in here." He moaned as he made his way into the bathroom. Lily put the bowl down on the table alongside the growing pile of ignored snacks that were accumulating on his bedside table. "You know I hate wearing PJs."

"RJ, you look awful." She commented sympathetically. He was incredibly pale, and sweat was indeed pouring out of him at an unnatural rate, but the moment he stepped out of the heat of the covers, he started shivering uncontrollably, even although the heating had been turned up. "You need to eat something if you're going to get better."

"I'd love to eat." He quipped as he poured himself a glass of water and started gulping it furiously. "If I thought I could keep anything down."

Lily came to his side with a look of pity on her face. She knew he felt awful. He'd been throwing up almost everything he ate since he'd fallen sick, and she knew he felt thoroughly miserable. She came over behind him, bringing his pyjama top with her.

"I know you don't like PJs, but you have to stay warm." She reminded him, handing him the top. "I bought you these to help you recover faster. It'll only be another day or so, after that you can throw them in the trash for all I care."

RJ looked at her through his heavy, puffy eyes, seeing the seriousness in her expression. He knew she meant him well, and although her mothering could be a little wearing at times, he appreciated her care. Groaning, he took the top from her and put it back on.

"I'll do it for you." He told her. "I'll try to have some of that soup too."

"See that you do mister." She quipped as he returned to the bedroom. RJ grabbed the bowl and a spoon and started shovelling in spoonfuls of the satisfying, warm liquid. His stomach had been a complete maelstrom of grumbles and queasiness, but the soup seemed to avoid offending it. Lily watched him eating, making sure he had something. Noticing this, RJ turned to her.

"Do you have to stand over me?" He groaned. "You're not my mom you know, I was perfectly capable of looking after myself before I met you."

Lily couldn't help laughing as he snapped at her for mothering him. RJ was a tremendous healer, and he had taken care of the Rangers throughout all their injuries and sicknesses, so it was quite funny to her that he became such a baby when he was ill himself. She knew he was a strong and independent person; it was just one of the things she loved about him, so it was always hard for him to feel weak. To say he had been a difficult patient would be an understatement.

"You know, the sooner you get well, the sooner I can move back in here." She reminded him, placing her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. She gave him the pout that she'd already learned he found quite cute, and usually got him to give her what she wanted. "I really miss you."

RJ finished the soup, placing the bowl back on the table. "I miss you too sweetie." He responded, kissing her on the cheek. "I'll behave myself, I promise."

Lily watched as he got back under the covers, once again cocooning himself in blankets in an attempt to burn out the virus which plagued his system. It hadn't been Lily's idea that she move back into her room while he recovered, but RJ had insisted that he didn't want to pass anything on to her.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" She asked him as she started to clear the assorted dishes from his bedside table.

"Some kind of guarantee that this thing will pass soon?" He asked weakly. His face started to look a little green, heralding the inevitable. He threw off the covers and sprinted into the bathroom, before heaving loudly into the toilet. Lily came over behind him, stroking his back reassuringly.

"How are you feeling?" She asked him sympathetically.

"I'm ok." He said unconvincingly. He was beginning to zone out a little because of the fever, and his insides just tortured him unendingly. "I swear, if I was a horse I'd have been taken out behind the barn and shot by now."

"Don't exaggerate you big baby." She giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding him closely. "You'll be fine."

RJ balked slightly, unsure whether or not he had finished vomiting. "I swear if I survive this I'll marry you tomorrow."

"You really shouldn't make promises you won't keep." Lily laughed as she led him back to the bedroom. RJ got back under the covers, but was suddenly aware that he was not there alone. Turning over, he saw that Lily had gotten into the bed with him.

"You shouldn't be here." He told her.

"What if I want to be?" She asked, putting her arms around him and pulling him closer. "I can't think of anything more right."

"But you might catch it." He reminded her.

"Don't you think it's my decision to make if I want to risk that?" She asked him. "Besides, if I do fall ill, I know you'll look after me."

"Are you sure?" He asked her. Lily answered with a long, deep kiss.

"I'll decide what risks I want to take." She replied, snuggling into the man she loved. "Do you feel any better?"

"I feel like a million dollars." He responded, hugging her tightly.

The next morning, RJ woke up feeling a lot brighter. Lily's "sweat it out" theory seemed to have borne fruit, because his head was much clearer, and the only feeling in his stomach was hunger.

"Lily I feel..." He turned to tell her, but found the other side of the bed empty. It was then that he noticed the light on in the en-suite, and he could hear retching. His fears had been confirmed, Lily had caught the virus. He came over behind his girlfriend, pulling back her hair as she finished throwing up.

"I'm sorry about this." He said apologetically, kissing her neck. "I never wanted you to get sick."

"I knew the risk." She told him, waving off the apology. "Like I said, I know you'll look after me."

"Well I can vouch for the 'sweat it out' theory." RJ told her, leading her back to the bedroom. "And since I've already had the virus, I can't catch it again, so it'll be safe for me to keep you nice and warm."

"Well, see that you do." She told him, getting back into the bed and pulling him in behind her. "I can get a little cranky when I'm sick."

"Well I know I'm not the easiest of patients." He replied cheekily, kissing her neck again. "I'll make sure you get well soon."

"Well you better." She stated. "I'll need to be healthy if you're going to fulfil that promise you made."

"What..." His eyes suddenly shot open wide as he remembered what she was talking about. He looked down at the miserable looking Yellow Ranger drifting off to sleep in his arms, thankful that she was there with him, and wondering how exactly he'd gotten himself into this mess.