Chapter 3

Kim sat down next to Edward, and laid her hand on his face, massaging his temple with her thumb.

"He so hot," she murmured.

"I know, sweetheart. Now that he doesn't have the air from outside to cool him off, I can't seem to get his temperature down. It just keeps climbing." Peg sighed. "And he can't seem to keep anything down, either3. He's gone long enough with out food that his stomach doesn't know what to think. If he doesn't eat something, or if his fever continues to climb, we'll have to take him to a hospital."

"But everyone around here thinks he's a murderer. And if we took him to the hospital, they would put him in jail."

"We would have to take him out of the county, maybe to another city. Kim, hand me the first aid kit, dear." Peg rummaged around in her kit, coming up with the mercury thermometer. "Kim, go to the kitchen and find a small mixing bowl. Put some ice in the bowl, and fill it with cold water, then bring it up here."

"Ok." Kim left, trudging down the stairs. It was all her fault he was sick. She had known he was alive. If she had visited, or even walked by the house, he wouldn't have sat by the open window, day after day, waiting for her. She felt like crying. Edward was sick, and it was all her fault.

Kim found the bowl she was looking for, and filled it with ice water. She grabbed a clean cloth from the bathroom, and walked back up to the bedroom where Edward rested.

He was a sight to see, his face as white as the pillow case his head rested on, yet with different splotches of color across it. His lips were blue, and the rings around his eyes purple, yet his cheeks were mottled with pink from the fever that refused to drop. His normally styled hair was matted with perspiration, and his eyes flickered under their lids.

Peg pulled the thermometer out of Edward's mouth. 102°. That wasn't good. They needed to get him out of that leather suit he was wearing. It wasn't going to help them, if they wanted to combat the fever.

"Kim, I'm going home to get some of your father's clothes, this leather suit is to hot. While I'm gone, I want you to start unbuckling it. If you can't get it off, then used the scissors, and cut it."

Kim nodded. "Bye Mom, I love you."

"I love you too. I'll be right back."

Kim pulled the sheet off of Edward, and looked over his body. Every inch of him was covered in buckles, and zippers. She decided to begin with the one around his neck, and work downwards.

After ten minutes, she had managed to get the leather off the first half of his body. She had had to cut the sleeves, so that his hands would fit through, but other then that, it had been easy. She unbuckled his boots, and pulled them off, wrinkling her nose at their smell.

As she continued working, she noticed that he had nothing on beneath his suit.4 After she unzipped the last zipper down there (by this point she was beet red. Edward was still asleep, oblivious to the fact that he was being stripped.), she took his sheet, and draped it over his lap. He deserved some dignity, after all. Finally, she had removed the whole suit, covering him in only a thin sheet, in hope that he would cool down.

Kim took the hand towel out of the bowl of icy water, and wiped some of the sweat off of Edward's face, soothing his constant shivering. The cold water awakened him, and he resumed his shivering. Kim put the cloth back in the bowel, and rubbed Edward's cheek in her hand.

"Kim?" He whispered, coughing.

"I'm right here." She whispered back

"You came back." He shivered, and his teeth chattered audibly.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm cold. And it hurts to breathe. Why didn't you come back earlier?"

"I couldn't. Where?"

"Here." Edward gestured to his chest. Just, then, Peg came in, carrying a bundle of Bill's clothing.

"Oh! Hello, dear. It's nice to see you awake. You've slept the day away! Now. Let's get you cleaned up. Kim, start filling the bath with luke warm water. Luke warm!" Peg sat down besides Edward, helping him sit up.5 "Here, dear. Put this on." She helped Edward into a large robe, fastening it around his waist. "Can you walk?"

"Mom, the bath is filling."

"Alright." And with that, a very embarrassed4 Kim, and an indifferent Peg carried a bewildered Edward to the tub.

After a very strange hour, Peg5, had bathed, and clothed Edward. How she had

managed to do this was simply beyond Kim, who had long gone passed red, and was now a lovely shade of purple, that clashed horribly with her hair, but went quite nicely with the rings around Edward's eyes, and his blue lips.

By then, it was noon, and the two women were hungry. Peg made sandwiches, and the two eat them, while Edward slept above, having fallen back asleep in the tub.

"He's worse then he was yesterday. When I last checked, he was at 102.3, and rising.6 Did you give him the Tylenol®?"

"No."

"Then do it after lunch. We'll give it to him with the soup.7"

4

5

3 I'm so sorry – I made a mistake in the last chapter, with the broth. He wasn't supposed to be able to keep any of it down, but I forgot to write that bit in. Since that just threw have of my plot down the drain, I had to repair it. That's why, suddenly, he can't eat.

4

 You just know she's enjoying every minute of this!

5

 Warning: major awkwardness is coming up! It's so awkward; I'm having trouble writing it!

4 I know how she feels! I (and I never blush!) can feel my face heating up as I write this! It's just so… awkward! Needless to say, you won't get any sex scenes from me!

5 Her name is really starting to bug me. I keep wanting to write something else, anything, just as long as it's not Peg.

6

6 It sounds like a radio station.

7

7 CLICHÉ!