Misty woke up the next morning coughing, but short of breath. She found it very hard to breath deep due to her stuffy nose. Sitting up in bed, Misty realized just how much worse she felt today than yesterday. 

             Convincing her legs to work, Misty slipped out of bed to walk to the bathroom to take a nice, hot shower, hoping that would help to alleviate some of her congestion. 

             After she was finished with her shower, Misty slipped on a sweatshirt from her closet in an attempt to keep warm in the chilly October weather. She found the baggiest, warmest pair of pajama pants she could find, slipping them over her legs. As she combed her wet, shower soaked hair in front of the mirror, Misty looked down at the hoodie she had grabbed. It was one of Clay's that he had let her borrow a while ago. She had worn it so much that it had begun to smell more like her than it did him, so from time to time, Misty would give Clay back the jacket for him to wear, just so it would always smell like him. 

              With a smile, Misty brought the sweatshirt up to her nose, reminiscing on the very first day she got to wear it. Behind her, Misty heard her bedroom door squeak open, in walking Clay with a tray in his hand. 

             "Hey, what're you doin' up? You are supposed to be sleepin'. How am I goin' to serve you breakfast in bed if you ain't in bed?" Clay sat the tray on Misty's bed, crossing the room to wrap his arms around his girlfriend from behind. Nestling his nose in her hair, knowing she just washed it, Clay breathed in her smell. "Your hair always smells so amazing." He brushed his finger lightly over her cheek, moving her hair away so he could quietly whisper in her ear, "And, I think you look super adorable in my sweatshirt."

              Misty felt a blush rising to her cheeks at Clay's compliment. It only grew as Clay began to drop kisses on her cheek, working his way down her neck. After placing a kiss on her clavicle, Clay pulled back, spinning Misty around to face him. 

               "You're burnin' up, babe. I could feel it when I kissed you." Clay reached a hand up to Misty's forehead, then moving it down to her rosy cheeks, feeling for a temperature with the back of his hands. "Back to bed for you." Reaching over just enough to still keep a hand on Misty's waist, Clay pulled back her covers, insisting she lay back down. Without any hesitancy, Misty slipped under the covers, pulling them back up to her chin. 

           "I feel even worse today." Misty replied with a husky voice before Clay could even ask. 

           "Good thing I brought you up some of your favorite beef stew and saltines, then." Clay smiled, holding the bowl of soup in front of him. He scooped up some of the hot broth onto the spoon, moving it to Misty's lips. "I made you some honey and lemon tea, as well." Clay set the bowl of soup down to reach in his pocket, pulling out a box of cold medicine. "Here, I also got you some medicine." Opening the package, Clay read the directions on how many pills Misty could take at one time. Popping two out of the container, Clay handed them to Misty, giving her the cup of hot tea to help her swallow. 

          After taking the pills, Misty forced a grin at Clay. "You take such good care of me." 

         "I would do anything for you, darlin'." He smiled, his eyes full of love. Leaning forward, Clay softly kissed Misty's hot forehead. "I'm goin' to go grab a cold rag for your head. You sip on that soup and I will be right back." 

         Misty waited patiently for Clay, wishing he would come back soon. Even though physically she felt horribly, emotionally she felt better than ever. She was so glad to have a guy like Clay who cared about her enough to spend every free, waking second he had to be with her, especially when she was this sick. It had been as long as Misty could remember since she had been so sick that she couldn't get out of bed and do chores. This was also the first time in a while that someone had taken as good care of her as Clay had. Misty's dad was always too busy, and her step mom didn't seem to care enough to help much. 

         Only a few minutes later, Clay returned to Misty's bedside with a cold towel for her forehead. Sliding into bed beside Misty, Clay pulled her into his lap so he could hold her, and the rag on her head, as she ate her soup. 

           "I really wish I could taste this soup. Beef stew is my all time favorite." Misty chuckled, lifting the chunk of meat to her lips. 

           "I know, honey." Clay dropped a kiss on her head. "That's why I am tryin' so hard to get you feelin' better." 

             "Even though I am runnin' a fever, I am still cold. I don't like it." Misty, not trying to complain, remarked.

            "Sorry. This cold rag probably isn't helpin' then." Clay removed the rag, taking Misty's empty bowl of soup off her lap. "You need sleep. The medicine should kick in soon. Lay down, sweetheart." Clay helped Misty get covered up, pulling the blankets up to her chin. "How does that feel?" He asked.

            "Good. But I'm still a little cold." Misty gave Clay a look from her cocoon under the covers. 

           With a chuckle, Clay hopped in bed, laying down next to Misty and scooting close to her, wrapping her up tightly in his arms. "There, is that better?" He grinned. 

           "Much." Misty sleepily replied.

            It wasn't long before she was sound asleep, and Clay had snuck out of bed, heading downstairs. Walking into the kitchen with Misty's empty tray, Clay placed the dishes in the sink before heading outside, fishing the keys for his truck out of his pocket. He had a very important errand to run in town. 

                                                             ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            "I have to get Clay something for our anniversary yet. I've been so sick these past few days that I haven't even been able to do my chores, let alone go into town to get him a gift. Plus, it didn't help that Clay wouldn't even let me get out of bed." Misty rambled to Jace a few days later as they worked outside in the barn, unloading hay bales. 

             "Yeah, I know, you lazy bones. Even Casper was worried about you." Jace smiled, throwing another square bale off the trailer. 

              "Oh, you enjoyed three days off from me. Don't act like you didn't." Misty teased her best friend, looking at him over her shoulder as she grabbed the bale, adding it to the growing stack on the pallets in the barn. 

            "You're right. I did miss you." Jace smiled back, wiping his brow with the back of his gloved hand. Even in the crisp October air, the sun still loyally beat down nice and hot on Jace's face, making him have to roll up his sleeves to stay cool. 

          "So, will you please take me into town once we are done? I wasn't kiddin' about gettin' Clay a gift." 

           "Yeah, that's fine. I will give you a ride. What are you gettin' him?" Jace continued to empty the trailer, tossing the bales near Misty. 

           "I don't know yet. I want to get him a new pair of Wranglers. The man goes through them like it's his job. He needs a nice pair or two to replace his old, overly worn ones." Misty sat down on top of one of the hay bales to catch a breather. She was still not completely over her sickness, so a few breaks were needed off and on. "But, I have no clue what else to get him." 

             "Well," Jace started, hopping off the trailer to help Misty stack the last few bales. "Every guy needs a Leatherman in their life. They come in handy. Especially on a ranch." Jace motioned for Misty to stand up so he could stack the bale she was sitting on. 

             "That's a really good idea. I was thinkin' about getting him a new pair of Oakley's because his are falling apart, but I might get him that for our one year anniversary. I like the idea of the Leatherman. It will be a good incentive to stay with me for another six months so he can get a pair of Oakleys's huh?" Misty let out a chuckle. 

               "You are crazy." Jace grinned, walking back to the truck. "Well, let's go before he gets done with his chores and sees us gone. Then he will know for sure we have something up our sleeves." 

               Misty jumped in shotgun in Jace's truck, grinning to herself as they drove into town. She could not wait for her and Clay's anniversary.