Alphabet Challenge: Letter F
Prompt: Food Poisoning (WC: 443)
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Neal/Sara
Summary: Neal's hit with a case of food poisoning. Sara helps him feel better.


Neal woke from a deep sleep to a roiling stomach and the immediate fear that he was going to retch all over his bed. He got to his feet and staggered across his apartment to the bathroom, where he had just enough time to kick the door closed before falling to his knees in front of the toilet and vomiting.

By the time he was done, his abs were sore and his head was pounding. He didn't think he had the strength to get back to bed just yet, so he lay down on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor and closed his eyes.

Bright lights woke him later. He blinked, disoriented and woozy, up at Sara, who was standing in the doorway wearing nothing but his half-buttoned shirt.

"Neal? Are you okay?"

He groaned and pushed himself up to lean against the wall. "It's just a little food poisoning. You can go back to bed."

She ignored his words, leaned down, and felt his forehead. "You don't feel like you're running a fever, but you're pretty sweaty." She made a face and wiped her hand on the towel hanging above him. "Do you want to try a cool shower for a few minutes?"

He considered that for a moment. He felt pretty gross, and his stomach seemed to have settled for the moment. There couldn't be much left to throw up anyway. He was pretty sure his breakfast from last Tuesday had been part of that mess.

"Neal?"

"Sorry. Tired. Yeah, a shower sounds good."

Sara nodded and got the water going. Then, she helped him out of his boxers before shedding the shirt she was wearing.

He must have given her a quizzical look because she smirked and shook her head at him. "Someone has to make sure you don't fall over and hit your head."

Neal nodded and stepped under the lukewarm water. It felt like heaven. He wanted to stay there forever, but it was roughly two in the morning, so he let Sara help him wash off before they both stumbled back to bed.

She had emptied the bathroom wastebasket and set it on the floor by Neal's side of the bed. "Wake me if you feel worse, okay?" she'd made him promise before she fell back to sleep.

Neal lay awake for a few moments longer, taking the time to appreciate that she had taken one look at him sprawled on the bathroom floor and helped to make sure he felt better. There weren't many people in his life that would do that, and he was so glad that he had Sara as his girlfriend.

~End