Sunday Snippet: Fevered Pitch

So far, June is shaping up to be a weird month. Work has slowed way down, which isn't an all bad thing. I've been very fortunate to have a steady flow when so many others have been furloughed or, worse, completely lost their job. That said, it's weird to have time on my hands so I'm hitting projects I've been putting off for ages. It's kind of wonderful and scary all at the same time.

Hit or miss week with television viewing. I haven't been watching as much as I normally do, mainly because I've been doing a good bit of writing. I did catch another episode of Danger Man. Almost finished with the second season.

I caught the penultimate episode of Arrow. Green Arrow and the Canaries ended up being more entertaining than I thought it would be. I'd watch the new version if it comes around.

Also started another episode of Riverdale. I'll be honest, I'm probably done after this season. Alice came such a long way and now she's back to being her obnoxiously overbearing self. I had so hoped she'd maintain her character growth. Bleh.

That's pretty much it for this week. Tonight's post is from Fevered Pitch, a bonus read featuring Hal and Mia from Mia's Choice.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After six months apart, Hal and Mia are finally reunited at the new space station. But Hal is unknowingly exposed to a virulent virus and brings it along from his last planetary excursion. He succumbs to the raging illness and Mia makes a fevered pitch to her former husband to save Hal's life before she surrenders to the same infection.

And a sneaky peek…

Hot. So hot.

Hal startled awake, his skin burning, head pounding, and muscles aching. Why do I feel like a space carrier hit me? He flung the sheet off and tried to sit up.

Big mistake.

Everything hurt. Moving. Not moving. The light in the room too bright, too bold, too … much.

He reached out for Mia but met air instead. What the hell? Where is she?

He made an effort to sit up again. "Mia?" His voice croaked and, holy shit, it hurt to swallow.

Gentle hands pushed him back against the pillows. "Whoa, Hal. Take it easy." A cool cloth pressed along his forehead. "Here, drink." She held a cup to his lips.

Hal drank, swallowing the blessedly chilled water in deep gulps. The liquid slid down his throat, soothing the scratchy ache. He lifted his chin when finished and she set the cup on the stand next to the bed.

She left the cloth draped over his head and picked up another one and worked it behind his nape to rest on his neck. "You're feverish and hot to the touch. How're you feeling otherwise?" Her cool fingers laced with his.

Hal moaned. "Like I got run over with something big and ugly." He met her gaze. "I'm sorry. This sucks." So much for an extended reunion.

A knock sounded on the door and Mia rose to answer.

Jessup Main came strolling into the bedroom with his medic bag and ready smirk. "I expected you two to be too hot to handle for a couple of days, but not in the literal sense." He dropped the bag on the end of the bed and fished out his multi-unit, a mini-device that recorded health information and helped diagnose problems.

Hal groaned. "Dammit, Mia. Did you have to call Dr Snark?" He submitted to the bright light shined in his eyes but not without flinching.

Jessup frowned. "Your attempt at humor notwithstanding, this isn't good. Your temperature is too high, your pupils are more reactive than normal, and I'll bet your entire body feels like a festering wound." He switched out his multi-unit for an ice pack and activated it. "You've got something going on but here's the kicker…" He paused a moment. "I have no idea what the hell it is." His gaze swung toward Mia. "I think we will need to do a blood draw, just like you insisted." The ice pack took the place of the cloth behind his neck.

Hal shook his head. "Wait. What're you saying? Did we bring something back with us from the last planet?" His brain spun. "Is anyone else down with this?" How did the sensors miss the contaminant?

Dr Main rolled a shoulder. "I won't know where we picked this bug up until I take a look at the labs, but I'll be tracking the crew down to do some testing and find out if anyone else has it." He made short work of collecting two vials of blood.

Hal sent Mia a frustrated glance. "Put out a call. Have the Queen Amalie crew report to sickbay on the ship to be tested. And make sure anyone on board stays there." The entire station could be exposed by now.

He should be the one making the announcement.

Mia frowned. "Why not use the infirmaries here?" She tilted her head to one side.

Hal exchanged a look with Jessup.

Mia closed her eyes. "You're trying to limit the exposure. Keep this contained." She waved her hand between them. "Might not work because, well, we're not the only ones who had a single-minded idea of how to spend the next few days." She got up to make the call.

Hal muttered. "At least you have clothes on." He had a sheet, which frankly, felt more like a scratchy blanket.

Jessup snorted. "Trust me when I say this. You don't want clothes on right now. Think inferno and standing in the middle of it." He riffled around and pulled out several more cold packs.

Hal huffed out a breath. "Already there." He met his medical officer's gaze. "Why didn't whatever this is tag any alarms? I mean, I get this could be something we've never seen before, but the wide spectrum we use should've caught anything foreign." Fatigue made his head hurt more.

Main gathered up the vials and tucked them into a case, which he stowed in the bag. "Not sure yet, but I'll find out. In the meantime, I want Mia to keep you filled with fluids and I've already ordered an array of fruit to be left outside."

Hal narrowed his eyes. "You took precautions already." And why wouldn't he? Not the first time they'd dealt with contamination.

Jessup nodded. "Based on Mia's description of your symptoms, I figured you had some kind of bug. The fact we don't know what concerns me, but a virus is a virus. At least in the initial stages." He snapped his case closed. "I'll keep you posted. Take it easy and try not to be a pain in Mia's ass." He passed her on his way out of the bedroom.

Mia carried a tray with pre-ordered fruit. "Looks like all your favorites." She settled on the side of the bed and placed the food next to him. "Think you can eat anything right now?"

Hal picked up some watermelon and tried some. The cool fruit soothed his throat but he really wanted to sleep more.

Mia cajoled him into finishing the small bowl and talked him into drinking more water before she let him get comfortable again. He kept the ice pack behind his neck and Mia put another cool compress along his hairline.

Wrung out, he took her hand. "I'm gonna be fine. You know that, right?" Worry lines marred her forehead.

She gave him a quick smile. "I know you're determined to be okay. We'll see that how that works out for you." Smoothing her hand over his cheekbone, she leaned in to kiss his temple. "Rest for now."

Mia settled into the chair perpendicular to the bed and he started to drift off.

Not exactly how I thought the next few days would go.

A longer than usual preview, but I loved how this scene came together. Hope everyone enjoyed.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye