Worried dog

  Jamie let out a cough, and the dog that hadn't left his side all day looked up and tilted his head to the side, then gave him a kiss. 

   Jamie chuckled and coughed. He buried his face in the dog's fur and wiped his runny nose. He'd been doing that all day. Man, when he got over this, he'd need to give Spot a bath. Jamie felt so achy and tired. 

   He was so sick. His friends were at school, his dad was at work, his step-mom was doing whatever it was that she did, and his dog was right beside him all day long. 

   Jamie turned on the TV and flicked through the shows and movies. 

   "Spot, what do you wanna watch?" He asked. 

   The dog looked at the TV and barked when Jamie came to a channel. 

   "Ok, fine. We'll watch Animal Planet." Jamie said and turned it on. 

   He fell asleep and woke up to a coughing fit. 

   Spot seemed freaked out, like he wasn't sure what to do. He started howling and whining. 

   His step-mom came running in and handed him some water. Once he managed to stop coughing, she left, and Spot whined and buried his face in Jamie's chest. Jamie hugged the dog, who was now whining like crazy. 

   "It's ok, boy. I'm ok." Jamie told the dog. 

   He seemed to need comfort more than his owner did today. This was the first time Jamie had been sick since he got the dog nearly 2 years ago, and he didn't seem to like it anymore than Jamie. He kept whining and giving Jamie kisses. It was like he thought he was dying. 

   After a while, Spot calmed down and watched the TV. 

   Suddenly, Jamie needed to pee. He got up, and his dog followed him into the bathroom and sat there watching him pee. If Jamie didn't let him come in, he'd be barking at the door. Jamie was pretty sure Spot thought he'd die if he left his side for a minute.

    "Ok. Now, you have to pee." Jamie told his dog and took him outside. 

    He went pee and then grabbed his favorite toy on the way back inside. 

   Jamie didn't have the energy to go all the way back upstairs, so he just plopped on the couch. Spot jumped on the couch beside him and took his spot in Jamie's arms. 

   When his parents insisted on taking him to a doctor, the neighbor said Spot howled the whole time, and he made a very big mess. When Jamie came home, he pretty much got attacked by his dog and his 'welcome home, I thought you died' kisses. 

    Jamie turned on the TV, and halfway through the movie, he fell asleep. He woke up to find a pair of blue eyes staring into his brown. The dog gave him a kiss. 

    "Spot." Jamie groaned. 

   He barked and jumped off the couch and barked again. 

   "What do you want, boy?" Jamie groaned. 

   Spot looked towards the kitchen and barked again. 

   "Are you hungry or something?" Jamie asked. 

   The dog barked again, and Jamie got up. He followed his dog into the kitchen to find his bowl full. As soon as they were in the kitchen, Spot started to eat.

   "What? Can't eat without me?" Jamie asked.

    He let out a cough, and his dog looked at him like he was about to explode before going back to his food. 

    "Man, Spot, you're more protective than my dad." Jamie said. 

   The dog was eating his food like he was in a contest and making a mess. Jamie let himself fall to the floor, and immediately, the dog completely forgot he was eating. 

   "I'm fine, Spot." Jamie said. 

   After making sure he wasn't dead, Spot went back to his food. 

   "Dude, you're gonna make yourself sick." Jamie said. 

   Then he realized that Spot hadn't eaten all day. 

   After a while, Spot made his way over to Jamie and lay beside him. Jamie must have fallen asleep because he woke up to someone yelling his name and his dog barking. 

   "Jamie. Jamie, are you ok?" His step-mom asked and felt his forehead. 

    "Yeah. I'm fine." Jamie groaned. 

   "What are you doing on the floor?" Linda asked. 

   "Spot wanted to eat, and I fell asleep." Jamie said. 

    "Oh." Linda said. 

   Jamie got up and made his way back to the couch. Spot followed. 

   "Your father should be home soon." Linda said. 

    Jamie nodded. Dad had said he could take the day off work if Jamie needed him to. He had told him he didn't. 

   Jamie fell asleep again and woke up using Spot as a pillow and a cold hand on his forehead. 

    "Dad?" Jamie groaned.

    "Hey buddy." Dad said.

    "How are you feeling?" Jamie shrugged and sat up. 

    Spot crawled into his lap.

   "A little better, I guess." Jamie said. 

   "Good." Dad said. 

   Linda handed him a bowl of soup and some medicine. He downed it because he knew he had to. 

   He felt better than he had earlier that week. 

   Linda and Dad watched a movie with him. He managed to stay awake until he went to bed. Spot slept curled up beside him as he usually did, especially over the last few days. 

   The next day, Jamie was feeling better, not well enough to go to school or take Spot for a walk. He only took 2 naps.

    Linda tried to take Spot for a walk, and he flat out would not move. He started barking and growling once he realized that Jamie was not coming. 

   "Go on." Jamie told the dog.

   He wouldn't. Finally, Linda just gave up. 

   Jamie's friends stopped by after school, and Jamie actually felt well enough to do some homework (which they had to help with). While they were over, he tried to convince them that Spot was really smart. 

   "Spot. What's 2 plus 3?" He asked the dog, who then barked 5 times. 

   They then got distracted trying to see how much math Jamie's dog knew. He didn't know how to count above 5. 

   Spot seemed to love it. He was wagging his tail like crazy.

    After his friends left, Jamie took a nap with Spot. 

   The next day, Jamie felt well enough to play with Spot outside for about 15 minutes and clean up his room a bit. 

    He begged Dad not to send him back to school on a day he had gym. 

    The next day, he gave Spot a bath. Spot only jumped out of the tub once and seemed to feel bad when Jamie fell in the tub, fell down the stairs trying to chase down his soap covered dog, and wound up in a coughing fit for 5 minutes. 

   If Spot was human, he would have been hugging Jamie, sobbing, and apologizing for the next half hour. He kept whining and giving him kisses throughout his bath, and he stayed in the bathtub. For the rest of the day, Jamie was working on his homework with his dog in his lap. 

   The next day, Dad made him go to school. After school, he took Spot on a short walk.