Wash is fairly certain he's never been this sick before. Logically, it's just a flu -- his head is foggy and stuffed, he's been expelling all sorts of nasty gunk from his lungs and sinuses, and he's nauseous enough it's hard to keep anything down -- a bad flu, but nothing too crazy. Except for the fever, which has been steadily climbing. Aren't these things supposed to break? They don't have a thermometer but he feels awful, sweating constantly and shivering even as he feels like he's being burned alive from the inside. The cool cloths Kyna presses to his forehead provide only a brief relief and when she touches him she has a worried look in her eye and always tries to make him drink more immediately.

Worse, she's starting to look a little pale herself. He's certain she's caught it by now and is just hiding the fact that she's sick too because he's such a mess. Because he needs to be babysat right now. In fact, he's certain she's hiding lots of things from him. Everyone is. They must think he's weak, and obviously some people will take advantage of that but others will just hate him for it. There are so many things Kyna must hate him for and when he looks at her now that's all he can think about. His thoughts are currently spiraling in another direction but when she comes in now and asks him how he's feeling, that takes over again and his eyes are wary and afraid.

Should he lie? Or would that only make her resentment grow? "I'm fine," he says, before he can really think about it. He's too addled to process that he's taken the wrong tack.