Two weeks later, when Saffron and Tony got to the cleanup site, they found that yet again they were the only two who bothered to actually show.

Saffy was so furious that she was numb, thinking about how her co-workers talked so much about helping others but now, when the rubber met the road, they were nowhere to be found. She enjoyed having her Saturdays free, too, but had given them up for this initiative.

Then again, she didn't mind spending her weekends getting to know Tony. She'd pegged him wrong from the start. He was funny, smart, kind and truly dedicated to seeing things through with the project. There was plenty to like about him.

For his part, Tony was secretly thrilled that he'd been abandoned by his colleagues. His weekends had consisted of watching football games at the corner pub and not much else. Now he anxiously counted down the days of the work week, excited about the chance to spend each Saturday with Saffron.

That evening, when they knocked off for the day and hit the pub down the street for dinner, Tony was set to ask her if she'd be interested in going to the park with him Sunday. Or into the city center, just to gad about. Or to run errands. Or… it didn't matter to him, really, as long as they were together.

But his side was now throbbing and no amount of paracetamol was helping. Maybe he'd just ask Saff if she wanted to have dinner with him at his flat. He'd been nauseous and feverish ever since that first day working on the cleanup and, much as he wanted to go to the park, the city, all that, he knew he wasn't really up to it. Tony had finally made an appointment to see his doctor Monday. He was getting worse, not better, and he rarely got sick. So he knew something was wrong.

Cleaning up an abandoned building was no mean feat. Saffron and Tony had been at it steadily since 8 a.m. and now, three hours in, it seemed like they hadn't even made a dent in the small fixer-upper project they were currently working on.

Tony was rather weakly hammering a new baseboard as Saff held it in place. He looked terrible, frankly. Saffy noted that he seemed pale, somewhat listless and acted as if he were in some kind of pain. Also, he seemed a bit gaunt, as if he hadn't been able to eat much that week. All in all, he appeared to be absolutely miserable. Tony hadn't cracked a single joke or smiled, which certainly wasn't like him.

And he hadn't hit on her once all morning. That alone told her something was amiss.

"Tony," Saffron said after a rather lengthy silence between them, "are you okay?"

"Oh yeah," he replied softly. The dark circles beneath his eyes disturbed Saff. "Fine."

Then he clutched at his lower right side again, taking in a sharp breath. That definitely got Saffron's attention.

"It's just… You don't seem well. Maybe we should go to A&E and get you looked at," she suggested. "Why don't we stop for today and…"

She never got to finish the thought.

Tony suddenly doubled over in pain, dropping his hammer. Sweat broke out all over his body. Saffron noticed a pale clamminess overtake him as he dropped to the hardwood floor. He gritted his teeth in mortal agony and cried out. The sight was alarming; he was clearly suffering.

"Tony?"

Now he completely collapsed, body sprawled out before her. Beads of sweat framed his lips. His breathing quickly turned ragged and strained. And for the first time in years, Saffron found that she was truly afraid.

"Tony!"

She shook his shoulder, trying desperately to rouse him. But it was to no avail. Tony was only semi-conscious at this point, moaning in what sounded like dreadful pain.

Her own breath coming in panicked gasps, Saffy quickly went for her mobile phone. Dialing 999, she hastily told the emergency operator the details of what had just happened with Tony, that she needed help immediately and to please, please hurry.

At the hospital later, Saffron waited anxiously beside Tony as a doctor quickly checked him out. When the woman pressed on Tony's lower right abdomen, he cried out in pain, involuntarily springing up. The doctor nodded, certain of her diagnosis.

"Acute appendicitis," she said to a nurse, who hurriedly scribbled down notes. "Looks like he's been hurting for a while now. Ring Surgery and tell them we need an OR immediately, please." The nurse left to make the arrangements.

Tony groaned audibly, squeezing Saff's hand. She grimaced — not in response to his grip but to the sound he made.

"Will he be all right?" Saffron asked the doctor. "He's hurting so much and …"

The doctor cut her off mid-sentence, albeit politely and kindly.

"We'll give him something right now for the pain and Surgery should be ready for him soon." Patting Saffron on the shoulder, she added, "This isn't uncommon. He'll be fine. When we take him back, the procedure itself shouldn't take long. It's recovery, coming out of anesthesia, that takes time. But he's in good health, looks like, and I don't foresee any problems."

Saff nodded weakly, swallowing hard. Seeing Tony this way hit her harder than she'd thought possible.

The nurse returned just then, whispered something to the doctor and rapidly started inserting an IV in Tony's forearm. The doctor offered Saffy a confident smile and quietly left the room.

"Now don't you worry," the nurse cooed in a sing-song Jamaican accent, doing her best to calm Saffron. "We'll have your man here back at it soon as we can."

When the IV was in, she took a syringe from a tray and carefully injected it into the line. Tony moaned deeply, grasping Saffy's hand again. But within a few minutes, she noticed his grip loosen. His moans of pain were less intense. Soon, he was dozing, gentle snores coming from his open mouth. Saffron sat stoically at his side, forcing herself to not give in to the tears she desperately wanted to shed at the sight of him just then.

The nurse re-entered with a pair of solidly-built orderlies.

"Alright, then," the woman told Saffron, "Surgery's ready for him. We'll have your Mister fixed up and back to you in no time, my dear."