Jennifer felt the migraine coming the moment she left the Rouge. It was just an inkling then, so she figured maybe a little more caffeine, some of the headache medicine she had in her purse, and some quite time in the records vault at the Herald would fix it before it got beyond the "Well this is mildly unpleasant but I can still function as a human being" stage.

Unfortunately, by the time lunch rolled around, it had grown into the "If I hear even a loud footfall I will probably kill someone" stage. But if there is one thing to be said about Jennifer Mason, it's that she is not a quitter. She finished her work, with only shooting Vince and Dave three glares when they would start to argue about something pointless like toner or who ate what in the fridge, and headed back to the Rouge.

The only problem was that the drive home moved the migraine into the "Nauseous at the slightest shifting but only for a few minutes at a time so that just when you think you can go back to being a human being, we'll be there" stage. She noted that she'd beaten Duke home and shot him a courtesy text, warning him that if he made any noise that wasn't absolutely necessary for him to join her in their room, she'd do something horribly violent to his person. She waited until the nauseous wave passed before moving as quickly as she dared from her car to below deck and towards their bed. She grabbed a few pieces of dark clothing and shoved them into the small windows in the bedroom to try to block out any unnecessary light. Once she'd done what she could to get rid of the lights, she closed the door, kicking off her shoes, and changed into her dad's sweater to try to be as comfortable as possible.

She curled up on her ride side on her side of the bed, pressing the sore part of her head into the pillow and trying not to move. Every single nerve she had seemed to be overacting and in pain and she just wanted to sleep to make it go away.

This was how Duke found her a couple of hours later. He had gotten her text, and tried his best to move quietly down to their bedroom. When he closed their bedroom door, though, it creaked a little too loudly, making him flinch and Jennifer raise her head slightly to groggily ask, "Duke?"

He kicked off his shoes and pulled of his jacket as he climbed onto the bed next to her. He kissed her temple and rubbed her arm as he whispered, "Yeah, Short Stack, it's me; how're you feeling?"

Jennifer just groaned at him, letting her head fall back onto the pillow, "Like someone is trying to drive an ice pick through the soft spot on my temple, while my stomach seems to think that we're on a roller coaster and every single nerve ending I have is on fire."

Duke let out a sympathetic chuckle, "Oh, sweetheart."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her gently against him until his left arm was in between hers. She shifted willingly into him, moving her right arm down slightly so that she could hold his hand in hers. He ran his thumb absently against her hand, trying to even out his breathing so they could sleep.

After a moment, she asked quietly, "Duke?"

"Hm?"

"Do…do you think you could sing me something? Just for a little while?" She asked, sounding nervous.

He kissed the back of her head, "Of course, Short Stack."

She shifted slightly against him, getting more comfortable and sighing, as he began, "This is the song I will sing to you when you're old and tired…"