Denise had cried herself to sleep and when she woke up she was alone, she got out of bed, showered and got ready to leave on the trip.

Frank was sleeping in the recliner, he'd be in a mood, his neck would hurt...she sighed and sat on his lap to wake him.

Feeling something on his legs he started to stir and open his eyes.

"Time to get up soldier," she said. "I missed you."

"What time is it?" he asked still waking up.

"After 10," she replied. "Why didn't you come to bed"

"You seemed to want your space," he replied. "I need to pack my things and get gas. It's a long way."

"Okay," she said, this trip was going to be hell, she could already tell.

He packed her back quickly and Denise made a basket, "The weather is nice, if we go up the coast we can stop at the lake and have a picnic. do you remember that lake?"

"Yeah," he replied, he was definitely in a mood.

"What' wrong honey?" she asked. "Your neck sore? Back?"

"No,I'm fine"he replied "No your not,now whats wrong"she pressed

"Neck is sore," he admitted. "Shoulder is cramped up a little. Slept wrong."

"You should have come to bed honey."

"You wanted your space, that was clear," he replied again. "I thought I'd give it to you."

"It wasn't that Frank," she said wanting him to hear her and understand there was so much more.

"What was it then?" he asked. "Tell me because what I'm thinking cannot be worse than the truth!"

"It's nothing honey," she soothed, she hated that it hurt him but the truth would hurt worse. "What did you think it was?"

"Honestly Denise, I am wondering if I'm...what you want anymore or if you really are moving on to something better."

"What?"she asked. "No Frank, I swear I'm not!"

"You don't want to make love, you don't even want my touch," he said. "And I want that with you so much."

"I..."She didn't even know what to say.

"Let's go," he said. "We both need time away. It'll be better."

She nodded and they left to go to his parents' old place.

They got in the car and drove to Virginia to the house, the location was beautiful, not a lot of people around and it was peaceful, the perfect place for romance.

He carried their things inside and she surveyed the place, "It's filthy. How much are you paying that couple?"

"$500"he replied

"A month?" she asked.

"A week," he replied rolling his eyes.

He looked confused, he didn't get why they needed aspirin.

"I have a headache," she filled in for him.

He nodded. "I'll go get everything, you should sit and relax."

"After I check of bugs," she replied.

He rubbed her arm lightly, "Okay, I love you Dee and maybe it's my fault, I didn't' support you, I don't know, I guess...I don't know."

"No, it was my fault," she said, she was stiff as a board in his arms.

"Do you love him?" he asked. "Are you in love with him?"

"No," she replied. "No, I'm not."

"Then why? How?" he asked. "I need to know so I can work through it and move on."

"I dont know why," she said. "I just know it was a mistake."

"Have you made any other mistakes?" he asked. "Did you sleep with him?"

"No," she replied. "Never."

"Then why won't you let me..." he began. "You let me once in two weeks and it wasn't the same it was cold, like I was by myself..."

"I just...I just can't," she said and started crying. "I'm sorry."

"You can't or you won't Denise?" he asked. "Won't is not an option, we're married, there are certain things a husband has the right to receive and...I have never demanded that from you, I never had to..."

"I'm sorry Frank, you're right. I'm being silly," she said calming herself down. "You're right."

"I've never hurt you have I?" he asked. "Or not tried to make it nice for you...if I did tell me honey."

"No, you haven't," she replied.

"How's your head?" he asked. The sneezed again.

"Better," she replied. "Are you okay?"

"Cold," he said. "Very cold."

"Frank, honey, you're sick," she said gently. He hated being sick. "Let me get you something for a fever."

"I can't be sick," he said. "I was only just outside."

"I think you were getting sick before you went outside," she sighed rubbing his chest with her hand.

"I don't have a fever and I'm not sick," he said. "It's just cold."

"Yes you are honey," she replied. Frank hated to be sick and Denise hated it for him. He was rarely sick so when he was he suffered days at a time from fevers, chills, and a variety of other ailments.

"Feel fine," he said. "Just damned cold!" His patience was wearing thin.

"It's not cold in here, you're sick," she said and touched his forehead "Your burning up with fever."

"Your hands are just cold," he complained. "Fine you say I'm sick, I think you have a thermometer in the emergency kit."

"I do," she said and went to get it, she came back and put it in his mouth. It beeped and she took it out and showed him. "101.7," she announced. "See, you're sick."

"I'm sick," he said. "Do not say the word doctor or hospital I'm not going. All I need is a good sleep."

"Okay, I won't," she said quietly. "Can I lay with you?" She wasn't sure if he's want her to right now.

He nodded, "Good medicine," he said. He was shaking with chills.

She laid down next ot him and pulled him close to her and held him tight in her arms to keep him warm

Her small body couldn't do much for him, he kept shaking, sleeping fitfully,she checked his temperature again.

"Damn it!" It was now 102.2, it was going up instead of down.

She pulled the covers off of him and he protested loudly.

"I know honey, but your fever is going up, we have ot get you cooled off," she explained. "Then you'll feel so much better, I promise, sweetheart."

"No," he whimpered. "No, please...No...Please don't. Please don't..."

"I'm sorry honey, I have to, you'll feel better soon my love," she said.

"He's only a boy," he murmured. "He's just a boy...don't...just a boy...Jeremy...my boy..."

"Frank honey, whats wrong?"she asked. If she knew why he was fussing she could soothe him and help him rest.

He kept tossing and murmuring and at points crying out offering things...he was asleep and Denise knew the only way to ease this for him was to drop his fever, fast.

She turned the fan on high and let it hit him to cool him off.

She got the extra bedding from the closet and soaked it in cold water and place it over him. She held his head up and forced water into him, he settled down and slept but the fever refused to break.

Denise was getting worried, she had tried almost everything she knew to try and nothing was making his fever break.

Then she remembered, their first year of marriage, the last time he'd been this sick, nothing broke his fever but time.

So she knew the only thing she could do was wait.

About 24 hours later, he woke up and seemed to know who she was and where he was still feverish but it dropped to a manageable 100.6.

"How are you feeling, honey?"she asked softly incase his head still ached.

"Throat hurts," he said. "Hard to breathe."

"Honey, maybe we need to take you to the doctor." Frank hated the doctor more than he hated feeling sick. Still, she had to mention it, he was wheezing, it wasn't responsible not to go but she'd not force that misery on him.

"No, no doctor," he said. "Just need to sleep."

"Okay," she crooned as if speaking to a baby. "Go to sleep honey, I'm here."

He closed his eyes again then whispered. "Thirsty."

She went and got him some water "Here, sip this sweetie."

It hurt and he let her know it.

Denise sat next to him and rubbed his chest to try to make it easier to breathe then held his hand to try and soothe him when the first didn't work.

When he fell asleep again she propped his back up with pillows, wrote a fast note, and left to get the supplies she'd need to help him get well.

She hurried and go them and hurried back home to her husband, he was still sleeping when she did.

She worked on the tea first, it took longest, then the compresses to break the congestion. She'd gone through three treatments before he woke up and complained about the smell making him nauseated.

"I know it's bad, honey, but it'll help."

"Back hurts," was his next complaint.

"I know, it's your lungs honey," she comforted. "Just rest, I'm here."

He quieted down and slept more, and to her chagrin his fever climbed while she stole some sleep at his side. He opened glassy eyes and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"What?"she asked, just waking from sleep she was confused.

"They sent for you?" he asked. "Why? Why did they do that? He's gone isn't he?"

"Who honey?"she asked dabbing his forehead and cheeks with a damp cloth.

"Jeremy...He's gone...that's why you're here...I tried, I tried Dee. I tried..." He started crying, reaching out for her. She laid her head on his chest and rubbed his arms.

"No honey, he isn't gone. He's okay, he's fine," she soothed. "It was a bad dream, Frank. Just a bad dream, he's fine." She placed tiny kisses on his head and cheeks. That seemed to settle him and he went back to sleep.

Finally after another 36 hours, he was lucid again. Denise was sleeping on a hard chair, holding his hand. He pulled at her a little to wake her.

"Frank?" she said waking immediately,

"Yeah," he said. "What time is it? I feel like crap."

"Noon. You've been sick honey."

"I don't get sick," he replied then looked at his watch. "It's Friday."

She nodded, it was sinking in now that he'd been quite ill.

"It was Tuesday," he said. "What happened?"

"You've been sick honey, you had a high fever were totally out of it. How do you feel?"

"Sore mostly," he said. "Hungry."

She smiled "I'll get you something to eat." If he wanted to eat he was feeling better.

He ate soup she made from the leftover chicken and drank the tea while whining that it wasn't coffee. "I need a shower," he said when he was done. "Did I get up at all?

"No," she replied. "Had me pretty scared for a while"

"My legs are shaky," he said trying to stand.

"Here, let me help." She rushed to help him stand up.

He pulled her close the minute he got up, "Thank you. I'm sorry I was so mean to you."

"Its okay," she replied letting him hold her.

"Go clean up and I'll change the bed," Denise said. "Maybe if you feel better tomorrow we can take a nice walk."

He nodded and went to show while she put new bedding on the bed for them to sleep on and washed the other sweat soaked sheets.

Denise's phone rang while she was changing the bedding, it was the hospital.

"Hello," she answered.

"Denise, it's Laura," one of the floor nurses said. "I wanted to let you know that Dr. Ferlenghetti died this morning."

Denise covered her mouth as she tried not to cry. "Has his family been contacted?"

"His father ordered the cessation of life support and was there," she said. "I know you were friendly so I thought even on your vacation you'd want to know."

"Thanks," she said and hung up the phone, she couldn't believe he was actually dead.

Frank came out of the shower, "Dee?"

"Hey, you feel better?" she asked with a fake smile but he saw right through her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "And yes, cleaner if not better. Come here, what happened?"

She sighed deeply. "Getti died."

He surprised her when he opened his arms to her and motioned for her to come close to him.

She went straight into his arms and held on to him tight.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I know he was a good friend. Do you want to go back?"

Her answer would determine the fate of their marriage but Denise didn't know that yet. She hated funerals and never went unless the person was of soul deep importance to her or to someone she loved.

"No" she said much to his relief. "No, I can't."

"Why?" he asked. "I'll go with you."

"I can't," she said again and started shaking slightly. She might see him, whoever him was and that would be too much.

"Okay," he said backing off the coughing hard managing to bring up all sorts of unpleasant things from his lungs.

"Thank goodness it's finally coming out!" Denise said happily, if he got it out he'd get well that much sooner. She needed her strong and sturdy husband and she didn't know how to tell him.

"No wonder I feel like shit," he said. "But this is our vacation."

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry you're so sick."

"It'll be better, we can stay another week," he said. "I think we need it to finish fixing us."

She nodded eagerly and smiled.

"How are you? How's the hip?"

"Still sore, but the bruising is going away."

He smiled and coughed again. He wanted to go back to lie down but he didn't want to leave her.

"You want to lie down?" she asked, she was getting kind of tired herself.

"Together," he said. "You have to be exhausted. My Mom told me what a horrid patient I am."

"No you weren't."

"I guess I was as a kid then, you've seen my dad sick, my mother is a saint to put up with him," Frank laughed. Denise went to him and stumbled a little.

She caught herself on the dresser before she fell to the floor.

He didn't notice her falling and he wanted nothing more than to hold her in bed.

She had to ease herself to the floor before her knees gave out.

He was in bed about five minutes and she hadn't come, "Denise!"

"I'm okay Frank, I'll be there in a second," she said hoping he'd stay put.

"Okay, honey, just leave the mess and come to bed," he said then coughed again.

She stood from the floor and barely made it to the bed before her knees gave out.

He cuddled her close the minute she got in bed. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she said her face already buried in his chest.

"Im sorry this isn't how we planned it," he sighed lying down with her in his arms.

"It's okay."

"Did you sleep at all?" he asked seeing for the first time the bags under her eyes.

"No."

'I'm better now, you can okay," he said. "Would it help if I read to you? I remember when you were pregnant with Jeremy you were so uncomfortable I had to read to you every night."

"Yeah, it might," she said still talking into him. His voice would help her, it would calm her…it was safe.

"Okay," he said. "The only things we have to read are the Bible and Sport Illustrated."

Denise chuckled "You pick."

He took the Bible out, opened it to Psalms and started reading one after the other...

After a while it started to help and she began to fall asleep and burrowed into Frank's arms.

He read until he was sure she was asleep, then fell asleep within seconds himself.