Peep burst through the door with poorly contained enthusiasm. "Just gimme five minutes, baby, and we can go!" Thane had been feeling unusually well the last few days, and Peep had wasted no time making reservations at their favorite restaurant. It would be their first date in months. She'd even finagled getting off work early to get ready. Peep's swift stride slowed, however, when no response was forthcoming.

"Baby...?" The apartment was silent, and a small swell of dread rose in her stomach.

Peep kicked off her boots and padded quietly through the kitchen into the living room, expecting to find Thane resting on the couch, but he wasn't there. She looked in the small makeshift office to see if he was reading, and he wasn't there either. Of course, he wasn't in the shower, which only left the bedroom.

Peep nudged the door open gently. A small strip of light streamed in over her head, falling on the bed. Thane was there, bundled up under a mountain of blankets. The only noise was his shallow, rasping breath, slow with sleep.

Peep sighed and dragged her hand over her face, hoping the motion might help her swallow the knot of burning disappointment in her throat. She looked down and sighed quietly. He should have pinged her. Last time she checked, her omnitool had received no messages from him. Peep lifted her arm and flicked through the orange display, just in case she had missed something.

Four messages. God. How the hell had she missed them?

Peep ground the heel of her palm into her eye. She took a moment simply to breathe and get herself under control, and then she pinged the restaurant to cancel their reservations, before changing into some sweats to crawl in bed with Thane. He stirred as she slipped in behind him, slinking a lean arm around his waist.

"Siha," he sighed. Thane shifted his arm to overlay hers and threaded their fingers together. "I attempted to contact you."

"I know," she murmured, kissing his shoulder.

"I am sorry."

"No, no. Don't worry about it. It's... fine."


A/N: Anyone whose spouse is terminally/chronically ill knows what this is like. I hope I've managed to adequately express the feels.

Also, sometimes I get the feeling my commas are completely out of whack. Let me know if that's the case. I do legal transcription, and the rule of thumb where I work is the less commas, the better, generally speaking. I've been taking commas out for so long I can't remember whether I actually need them when I do use them.

Anyway, Happy New Year, everybody!