You quickly made your way to the infirmary, sniffling constantly. Your brisk pace caught the attention of Commander Sisko. He called to you from behind, concern lacing his voice.
"What's wrong, (Y/N)? Are you all right?" He put a hand on your shoulder.
"I woke up this morning and I was barely able to breathe," you admitted, "I'm not feeling well, that's all."
"Well, in that case, I'll let you off on your way." He smiled and began to walk away. "Feel better, Lieutenant," he called over his shoulder. He was already too far gone for you to thank him, so you kept going.
Upon entering the infirmary, you were greeted by a cherubic face that spoke with great concern. "(Y/N), you're very pale. You should lie down."
"I couldn't even breathe this morning," you confessed, lowering yourself onto a bed.
"There's been a bug going around the station, it's very likely you've caught it," he explained as he opened his tricorder. "You've got it, all right. You have a fever of 102.3 degrees; it could become dangerous. There's a chance you may become faint as you head back to your quarters, so I'll go with you. Get some rest, try not to be too active for the next few days. And just to make sure of that," he put a hand on your shoulder as you stood up, "I'm relieving you of duty until your temperature's gone down."
"Thanks, Julian," you said with a smile as the two of you left the infirmary.
When you finally made it back to your quarters, you invited him to stay for a while. He accepted and you were now both sitting on the sofa cracking corny jokes at one another.
"...and then the pair could hear an irritated voice coming from the other side of the wall, 'Knock it off, you jerk, it's 2 A.M.!'" You both burst out laughing, your sides burning like mad.
"That's excellent," Julian giggled.
At this point, you realized you hadn't eaten since this morning; even then, all you had was a hard-boiled egg. "I haven't eaten since this morning, I'll get something for us to eat."
"Of course," he beamed as you walked away.
A few minutes later, you carefully maneuvered yourself back to where you were sitting, being very circumspect of the soup in your hands. You handed one of the two bowls to Julian, and he stared at it with wide eyes. "(Y/N), I haven't had this in ages," he chuckled as he dipped his spoon in.
"It's been a while since I've last had plomik soup. It's very soothing for a sore throat," you commented, taking a bite.
"I can imagine. Are you feeling any better?"
"In a sense, yes. I'm still in no shape to work, though."
"You won't be for a few days." He shook his head gently, still creating a mess in his hair despite his efforts not to. He huffed in annoyance.
"No worries, I can help you." Standing up, you took a hairbrush from behind you. You brushed back the stray hairs that stood out from his normally-perfect hairdo.
You suddenly felt a warm hand touching your cheek, freezing you in your tracks. As if a magnet was pulling you towards each other, your lips touched together, which then turned into a gentle kiss.
Blushing, he managed to whisper, "(Y/N)..."
"I love you, Julian," you confessed, also burning red. "but soon you'll be sick as a dog."
"It'll be well worth it."