Cosima woke from her light slumber with alarm, she had heard something, she was sure of it. But the sound had- no wait there it was again! She turned her head upwards to the couch where Delphine lay, the sounds seemed to be coming from there.
Cosima sat up and found the tall blonde curled up, her arms around her waist and her head down as small whimpers and muffled sounds of pain made their way to Cosima's listening ears.
"Hey..." She called gently, combing her fingers through the injured woman's gorgeous hair.
"Cosima!" Delphine gasped as she jumped in fright then groaned as the movement caused a chain reaction of white hot pain to ripple through her body.
"Are-are you okay?" Cosima asked though she thought it was a silly question, she wasn't quite sure what else to ask.
Delphine shook her head, "It hurts!" She cried, a tear slipping down over her nose and falling onto the couch, "Oh Cosima I have never felt such pain in my life! If giving birth is anything like this then I am never having children!" The comment surprised Cosima but nothing prepared her for what Delphine would say next, "If you ever want kids then you're the one whose gonna be carrying them for nine months!"
"Whoa, pain makes you lose lipped..." Cosima commented quietly and lightly as she lifted Delphine's shirt, "You're bleeding again. I need to go get some water and bandages and panadol, will you be alright here?"
Delphine nodded.
Cosima got up and quickly padded over the tiled floor and up the stairs, listening at the door for any sounds before carefully opening it. Lights reflected off the walls from the TV in the other room and caused Cosima to pause in her actions. Should she continue on in the risk of being caught? Or should she play it safe and go back?
Cosima looked back at Delphine curled up on the couch, almost silent tears slipping out of her closed eyes as her knuckles turned white with the force she exerted in keeping them clenched and Cosima knew that she had to try to do something for her.
The woman peered around the door carefully, spotting Alison's husband Donny, sitting on the couch with his back to her as he mumbled at what ever he was watching on TV. Cosima took a deep breath and opened the door enough for her to slip through and then closed the door over, moving slow and quiet she kept looking between where she was going and where Donny was, silently praying that he didn't get up for a beer or some other reason.
Cosima made it to the kitchen with ease and then with sweaty hands, slowly eased the cupboard open, listening intently for the slightest creak or movement from Donny. In the cupboard she found the Panadol and the first aid kit right where she had expected it to be, then, snagging those Cosima grabbed a water bottle that was sitting on the bench before sneaking back to the basement door. She slipped quickly inside and locked the door behind her before silently running down the stairs and lightly falling to her knees in front of Delphine.
"Delphine, how long have you been in pain like this?" Cosima asked as she rolled the woman's shirt up.
She looked up at the clock, "Got worse 3 hours ago," Delphine hissed as the bandage covering one of her wounds was pulled back.
"Three hours?!" Cosima whispered angrily, "Why didn't you wake me or tell anyone?!"
Delphine didn't answer at first, instead gritting her teeth against the harsh sting of the water over her hyper sensitive nerve endings, "Why won't you tell the others that you're getting worse?"
"Because I don't like the attention and I don't need their help right now, you on the other hand need all the help you can get." Cosima countered.
"Cosima, I know that coughing up blood is not the first symptom of your degeneration, and I know you know that you are running out of time faster than your letting on. I know-" Delphine paused, trying to contain the sounds that threatened to arise as a result of Cosima cleaning one of the bullet wounds, "I know that it takes months before symptoms are visible to a regular bystander. You could die in as little as six month of you could live for another three years but the sooner I figure the cure the better chance you have of surviving Cosima."
Cosima focused on cleaning the hole in Delphine's back and then on trying to stop the bleeding coming from the long red ridge-like gash where another bullet had narrowly missed going through Delphine's hip. The flesh wound would be the first to heal but it would take months and leave a long thick scar behind, the bullet that went through her back would cause her trouble for years to come.
With the few days that Delphine had been out of hospital, she had felt nothing but pain and the urge to sleep.
"Delphine... you can't help me until you help yourself." Though Cosima's hands were gentle, the pain was harsh and sharp and Delphine had to clench her jaw and her fists just to keep herself from screaming.
"My body is healing, yours isn't," Delphine managed, accepting the Panadol that Cosima held out to her, almost snatching it from her grasp in her haste to dry swallow the tablets.
"They probably won't help much," Cosima commented, "But if it helps even a bit then it's worth it."
Cosima redressed Delphine's wounds carefully trying to copy what the hospital had done and hoping that she was helping Delphine in some way.
"The pain killers make it bearable at least but they certainly don't eliminate the pain."
"Delphine... you really need to be in a hospital. I don't know how to help you and I don't have the training."
"And I don't have the necessary equipment to cure you."
"Well," Another voice spoke, "Then something's gotta change," Delphine looked over Cosima's shoulder who turned around, Sarah sat up and pushed the doona off herself, "When you need something, just ask. The both of you really need to work on your bloody communication skills."