Ruth sat on the Euro star sipping her coffee as the English landscape flashed past her. "If you ask me one more time if I'm okay, I'm going to throw you off of the train as soon as we hit Calais and go to Paris alone."

Harry smiled. "Point taken." He held her hand lightly as the landscape went past. It was nice sitting in the silence together. He watched her profile and hated how the chemo had changed her. She was so much thinner than she used to be, the treatment taking away pieces of her bit by bit. He hated that. He always had loved her figure but her curves had slowly vanished over the months of chemo. She had been in a hospital bed constantly for a few weeks so he hadn't noticed just how much weight she'd lost. He prayed that it would all be worth it in the end. In four days she would be back in hospital having her right lung removed. He needed her to be here in five days time.

"What are you thinking about?" Ruth asked.

"You." He had a sad look in his eyes.

"I don't intend to die next week you know," she told him. "I'm not going to give in without a fight."

"I know you're not." He lifted a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear lovingly. Neither said a word until the train stopped in Paris.


Ruth opened the door to their hotel room and gasped. It was about twice the size of what she had expected. And there was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on the table. She walked over to it with a smile and looked out of the window. Their room had a perfect view of the Eiffel tower. "Oh Harry… Its beautiful. You've blown the budget haven't you?"

"I think you're worth it," Harry replied, popping open the champagne and filling up both glasses. Ruth took a sip and sat down on the feather mattress, kicking her shoes off. She took another gulp and held the glass out to Harry to refill. Before she knew it she had another coughing fit. She put her fingers to her lips and they came away red with blood. She tried to hide it from Harry but it was too late. He handed her a tissue and she scrubbed her face viciously.

"I hate this," she said fiercely.

"Join the club," Harry replied with feeling.

"I never thought this was the way my life would end," she said slipping under the duvet.

"It's not," he said firmly. "It is not the way your life is going to end."

"Sometimes it feels like that though." She sighed and collapsed onto the pillows. "Oh God," she murmured.

"Hey it's okay," Harry said pulling her into his arms. "It'll all be okay. Trust me."

"You know I trust you," she said quietly. "I always did." Ruth hadn't had the energy to get undressed but she must admit she was thoroughly enjoying Harry's hands unzipping her skirt and running over her body softly as he slowly undressed her. The silence between them spread out and Ruth brought up something that had been bothering her. "I need to talk to you about the possibility of what I want for my funeral…"

"No!" he said loudly. "I will NOT contemplate that possibility. I won't do it."

"Harry…"

"No!"

"Fine," Ruth said. "I won't talk about it.

"Thank you." Harry held her in his arms until she fell asleep under the Parisian moon.