She was in bad shape. She was bleeding from numerous wounds, clean cuts that didn't want to clot properly. She barely made it to his door, and John had to carry her to the tub. He tried his best to keep her awake as he cleaned her wounds and began stitching them up one by one.

Sebastia's hands were trembling, and her head was getting heavier by the minute. Dark shapes swirled before her eyes, but every time she closed them John would coax her awake with soft kisses and sweet mumbling about how she would be okay.

He had stopped most of the bleeding, but there were a lot of wounds to tend to and she had lost a lot of blood. He pulled her out of her dirty clothes and wiped the last of the blood away, scooping her up and carrying her to his room. He took her pulse and frowned at the weak throbbing in her veins. She opened her eyes, offering up a weak smile.

"Thank you for patching me up," she whispered.

"Every time." He reached down to stroke her cheek. He frowned as she struggled to stay awake.

"John?"

"Yes?"

"One last kiss?"

John swallowed down the lump in his throat, bending down to kiss her softly. He felt her arms wind around his neck, and he couldn't help but wonder how much effort that took her. He kissed her cheek, then her nose before he sat back up. "Sebastia, that won't be the last one. You'll be okay."

She frowned, too tired to reply. He watched as she slowly drifted off to sleep, checking to make sure she was still breathing. He didn't sleep at all that night, checking her pulse diligently. He sat through spells when her breath weakened to a faint whisper, and let out a sigh of relief when her pulse started getting stronger. When she awoke the next morning, he wanted to shout with joy, but he didn't for fear of startling her in her weakened state. He smiled down at her, stroking her cheek with his thumb and kissing her.

"I told you you'd be okay."

"Well I had a great doctor."

He smiled and kissed her again. He had been too close to losing her, and he didn't like it at all. He hoped it would be a long time before their last kiss.