Too Much

The scent of eggs and bacon wafts through the living room, rousing Alec from his sleep. Stirring slightly, a coughing fit wakes him up entirely, although his headache made him wish for a little bit more sleep. His stomach, on the other hand, growled its protest, wanting the food that his nostrils smelled. 

Finally managing to sit up, it only proves to create more coughing, although it didn't hurt quite as bad as it had yesterday. His head didn't feel so hot either and... despite being sick, he felt more rested than he had in a long time. 

Yawning and running a hand through his matted hair, he forces himself to stand, and shuffles to the kitchen where he now heard Misty moving about. Though the food smelled good, he didn't expect anything more to be given to him. So when he sees two places set at the table, he again finds himself in a humbled position. 

Stifling another yawn, he watches Misty for a moment, finding his mind wandering back to Carson and what had happened. Alec had respected Misty from day one - she was different. Confident. Kind. Caring. Intelligent. He'd acted like a jerk plenty of times, but when it boiled right down to it, right now, it made him rather sad, knowing that she was on her own. 

"Morning," he greets, his voice hoarse and raspy. It even surprised him, sounding worse than he'd thought it would. Apparently that late night walk in the rain hadn't helped him any. "Something really smells good." 

"Okay." Hunter shifts his weight on his bike, preparing to leave. No matter what, he could never accuse Katie of being unkind. "Thanks again, Katie... Goodnight."

After ending the call, he tucks his phone away and dons his helmet, but ends up sitting for just a few more minutes alone before finally starting the engine. Even though he hadn't had Katie's company, the phone call had helped. And... tonight... it was better than getting drunk. 

Morning at the ranch dawned bright and clear. Chores were started as usual and spirits were kept high with light conversation and the normal teasing. By mid-morning in the barn though, slight tension had arisen...

"Hey, you alright?"

Jeff throws Mick a glare as he sets aside another bale of hay. He'd been helping stack the bales that Sparky had thrown down earlier from the loft and very much disliked being asked yet again if he was alright. "For the third time... yes!" He tosses aside a bale before wiping the sweat from his brow.

Mick backs up a step and shrugs. "Don't yell at me. I was just concerned." Jeff's face had been getting redder and redder and though it was a warm day with a physical job, he was sweating much more profusely than normal. Mick had simply been a little worried that the task was too much for him.

"Well quit being concerned and help me stack this hay." Jeff grabs another bale and throws it up on top of the stack.

Mick doesn't like it, but he doesn't argue any further. If Jeff wanted to pretend he was a young man in his prime, then there was nothing he could do to stop it. It had been the same for the last couple weeks, except it had gradually gotten worse, building up to today's long list of work that Jeff was apparently determined to do. Why, was beyond Mick. But unless he wanted to get into a physical fight, he'd just have to let Jeff go and hope he really was okay...

...Standing in the shower and letting the cool water wash over him, Jeff leans against the wall, breathing heavily. His arms ached from this morning's work and his chest felt tight and heavy. His head was pounding and he was finding it difficult to cool down. After stacking the hay, he'd gone on to help Sparky with some of the yearlings and had cleaned a couple stalls too. It was more than he usually did... much more than he usually did. Perhaps it had been a last ditch effort to get his mind off other things, or to prove he could still handle himself just fine. And he had proven it. He'd kept up with the others and had been able to accomplish the tasks. So he was a little tired. So what? There was nothing to worry about.

Finishing his shower and getting into clean clothes, Jeff makes it into the other room before his head starts to spin. Trying to maintain his balance proves difficult, and as he leans on a chair, he realizes that more than his arms were sore - his entire body ached.

When he couldn't shake it off, he sinks down onto the bed and closes his eyes. Maybe he just needed a few more minutes... But fifteen minutes later, he was still lying down, dizzy and short of breath, when he should be gathering with the others for lunch already.