Phoenix lent on the doorway of the living room, observing Maya, well checking up on her. She was not her usual self on this cold winter day. In fact, you could barely see her underneath all the blankets he had wrapped around her.

"So Yoda, have you finished your soup?" Phoenix asked, smiling.

Maya looked up at him, eyes glazed over and her little face flushed, "Mmmhmmm" As Phoenix took the bowl from her, Maya weakly grabbed his arm. "Why do I feel like this Nick?"

"Because Maya, when you insist on playing in the snow for hours with just your Yukata on, you get sick"

Maya pouted, "But you were playing too! Why aren't you sick? It's not fair!"

Nick chuckled, "Someone needs some more Cold Killer X..." Nick crouched down in front of her and felt her forehead with his hand, with a concerned look he said, "Wow, even Cold Killer X can't break your fever" Maya began to wrap herself tighter in her pink fleece blanket, tears forming in her eyes, she began to cry and tell Nick how much her body ached. Stuck with ideas on how to help other than offering pain killers, Phoenix offered her comfort by stroking her head.

"Well," He began, an idea forming in his mind, "If your body aches, how about a nice hot bath?"

"Meh. I don't know... I like it here on the sofa..."

"Don't worry, I'll start running it for you," Phoenix offered, Maya nodded and slumped back into the sofa.

After collecting a pile of dirty tissues and safely disposing of them, he got on with running the bath for Maya. She had been teary eyed all day but he'd never had imagined the struggle to get Maya off the sofa and away from the Steel Samurai DVDs. Phoenix was also never allowed to be too far away from her- her fever and self pity had made her unusually needy. Phoenix couldn't blame her of course; she was nowhere near as bad as he was when he got a case of "man flu". Just as he was about to get back to work, he heard a voice all too familiar.

"Niiiiick... can you come here?"

Phoenix sighed and lent his ear against the bathroom door, when it fell open. "GAK! MAYA! Why did you leave the door unlocked?!"

"Nick! You're right I do feel a bit better!" She smiled sleepily, lying in the bath on her front, head poking above the water. Phoenix convinced himself that it could only be the deliriousness from her fever that could lead her to being so...

"Niiiick, will you please... stay in here? In the bathroom?"

Phoenix promptly marched over and shut the shower curtain, "Maya..." he exasperated, "I can't stay in here while you're..."

"Please..." She said poking her head out of the curtain, refusing to stay hidden.

Nick couldn't deny such a cute face, her hair tied up in a bun at the top of her head, her cheeks bright red. He noted to himself that he didn't actually SEE anything, so he felt it was okay to sit in the bathroom with her and keep her company. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and took a seat on the toilet seat cover. He shook his own head at how weird this was, how he couldn't resist Maya's cuteness. By what can only be compared to guilt, he looked down at the floor while chatting to her, in case he caught even a glance at her bare skin through the tiny gap in the shower curtain.

"So you're feeling better?" He asked awkwardly

"Mmm, yes this bath is lovely!" Maya suddenly popped through the shower curtain again. Phoenix froze and went bright red as she reached her soap covered arm out to him, all Phoenix could do was watch as Maya grabbed his tie and saw himself getting gradually closer to her smiling, flushed face. "Nick..?"

He instinctively grabbed hold of her wet hand, looking into her sleepy, glazed over eyes, "What's that Maya?"

She pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his, Phoenix embraced Maya- refusing to acknowledge how soaked his shirt was getting. "Thanks for looking after me today..."