Liz
She was miserable. One minute she was hot and the next she was freezing. She had drifted in and out of sleep and felt even more irritated than she had before. She definitely wasn't rested and the nausea that had abated briefly was back full force. Every movement caused her stiff clothing to abrade her skin. God only knew what had dried into her clothes. Her feet hurt from the blisters and minor cuts she had accumulated during her barefooted hike. In fact, no part of her felt unscathed, but nothing hurt quite like the pain that was pulsing in her back and shooting down her arm.
She was so focused on her current state that she didn't hear anything until the brush rustled around her.
"Liz?"
She had to process the voice for a moment before she realized she recognized it. It wasn't the voice she had expected to hear but it was welcome none the less. She opened her eyes.
"Tom," she whispered wondering if it was her imagination.
Seconds later Tom's head peeked into her space taking in her surroundings with a smirk,
"Nice place. Could use some work though. Interested in an upgrade?"
She knew her smile was just a ghost of his and she didn't bother to respond. He lowered his head and crawled slowly into her tiny space. This time his expression was much more serious. He brushed her stiff hair back behind her ear,
"Let's see what we can do for you. I hear you've been shot, huh?"
She nodded her head slightly and the world swam around her in streams of color. She closed her eyes but still felt as if she was moving and couldn't wait for the sensation to stop. She swallowed convulsively and even with her eyes closed she could feel Tom's gaze like a caress as he took in her condition. She knew she probably looked worse than he had ever seen her and that was saying something. Marriage was pretty much a guarantee that you wouldn't always see each other at your best.
