Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The song in the beginning, the one that she is singing is "I'll be Loving You" by Collage.

Enjoy

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"I'll be lovin' you allll my life, till my dyyyyyin day througggggghhh, I'll be lovvvin you, my baby." Syl sang to herself on the late October afternoon as she walked home from the small grocery/deli to her apartment. With a hoody, scarf and zip up jacket she felt comfortable with the mid-forties in temperature and cloud covered sky. It was peaceful to her; Autumn, her most favorite season of the year.

But not everything was all calm and peaceful. At their home her love, the one she knew since birth, her best friend, someone she never wanted gone was asleep in their bed very ill, even though he should not have been. He has been sick for a while and wasn't getting the least bit better, and it worried her to no end.

She turned the corner and stepped into the gates of the projects they lived in and was surrounded by five guys which she recognized one of them; the tallest of the group in which Krit had pummeled because he had tried to touch her ass. She had tried to keep him back and under control, but Krit was not having it and beat his ass until an officer caught site and everybody bounced. The man still had visible bruises and a scab on his bottom lip.

"Hello boys," Syl chided shifting the bag to her left hand.

"Don't smile," the pummeled face said, "I'm beating your ass as a warning to your boyfriend about fucking with me, and my boys here are to make sure you don't go anywhere."

Syl couldn't hold it in; she rolled her eyes and smirked at the fact that he was pathetically serious about it.

"Oh my gosh, you're actually serious about it too. Like a pathetic street thug wannabe, you're supposed to be tough but all you want to do is get revenge on my boyfriend, but you're going to beat up a girl? Are you dumb or what? And the pathetic thing will be that with all the karate lessons my mother forced me to take at the 'Y', will make me kick your ass by," she struck a straight kick to his nuts and he fell down. "That; thank you." She walked away with stares, because she not only embarrassed him, but all 'his boys' because he was their leader.

She walked the walk through the poor, dirty cement jungle and into building eight, up the steps to the second floor, all the way to door twelve, and used her key to let herself in. Loud music was bumping from room one and she was just glad that it wasn't loud enough to disturb her down the hall. Loud music was good except when someone was trying to sleep.

Inside all the lights were off in the small apartment and the only noise was from the television in the bedroom.

"Bay, I'm home," she called out. She knew he wasn't going to answer but she thought she just ought to let him know.

She went into the kitchen and put the light on and stepped on, and squished a roach.

"What now bug!" she whooped to the dead bug. She put the groceries away and turned off the light. Because of habit; from a mother who had them at age ten she always had a plug-in night light in the hallway. She didn't need it, but it was just a part of her, so she put it on.

Next she went into the bedroom and saw Krit curled up on the edge of the bed with all the blankets and sheet curled tightly around him. She saw only the back of his short, dark hair.

She laid down in bed and curled right around him nuzzling into the softness of the blankets.

"Hey baby," she whispered.

"What time is it?" he asked no movement on his behalf.

"Only after five, you have time." She leaned up on her pillow and moved the blanket to feel his cheek, but he shooed her away.

"Stop it," he grumbled.

"Well don't!" he snapped. He pulled the blanket completely over himself and lay still very close to the edge.

"Screw you then," she spit back. She rolled to the edge on her side and laid there curled uo, stuffing her hands between her knees to keep them warm. She closed her eyes and listened to the news channel play from the television.

Krit sat up. She knew what he was going to do, but wouldn't let it go easily, unless he apologized.

"Syl," he called gently. He put one blanket on her. She didn't move, just laid there with her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry, Syl, alright! I shouldn't be mean, please don't ignore me, I can't go to work with you mad at me," he said.

She smiled, opened her eyes and rolled onto her back and looked up into Krit's dark eyes. "You're such a jerk," she said. Her smile dropped when she saw that his face was pale, too pale.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, "It hasn't gotten worst." He brought her close to him and she cuddled into his side, covering him as well with the blanket he had set on her seconds ago.

She felt the warmth his body was giving off. It was real strong and it scared her.

"Why can't you just get better?" she begged, "It's been a full week. We're not supposed to get sick, we're top shit. But look, your body temperature is beyond our normal and you have chills nightmares. What are you battling? Why does your stomach give you pain?"

"Stomach pains?" he asked with an arched brow.

She nodded, "Throwing up, you don't remember?"

He shook his head.

"You were real messed up, I guess you wouldn't remember," she sighed, "Sleep now Krit."

"I have work soon, remember? You have to make me something to eat." He stretched an arm out and snaked it under and clutched her tight.

"I don't have to do anything," she said, "I can make you eat soup out of a can."

"Or spaghetti," he added. He laid there with a big smile on his face.

"Ha ha," she sneered elbowing him. He was talking about that time they both tried to make spaghetti and it burned on the grates and sent the fire alarm off. So, every time they thought of spaghetti came up it was a big joke.

She curled up tighter to him, wanting nothing more than to just stay with him. "Are you going to work?" she whispered, "Because I don't think you should."

"I have to," he said in a low, tired voice which she knew he was already feeling weak, he said, "My boss is a dick, and if I don't show up he'll fire my ass and we are situated comfortably. I think we can stay here for a while."

"But won't your boss understand if you're sick in bed?" She asked him it hopefully, not wanting him to go because something could happen to him. She couldn't even, in her wildest mind ever think of life without him. He was there since the beginning and she was going to make sure he was there till the end.

"He doesn't care about anything, and for you, if I get runned down I'll leave work early to come home because I'd rather be in bed with my baby anyways." He gave her a light kiss on the forehead.

She lay there, but didn't sleep. He lied. Even if he was on the ground he wouldn't let on he was in pain; he didn't let on to her but she knew. She could see it when he didn't think she could, and she could feel it because she knew and been with him for so long.

She just didn't know if he would get well, and they could continue on that journey together. She hoped so as she listened to his breathing and felt the rise and fall of his chest.