Waking, I slowly sit up with a groan. My head is aching, although not as badly as last night, and I'm completely parched. I fumble for the light switch on my bedside table, and turn it on. Looking at the clock, I realise it's 11:00 - far later than I'd normally wake up on a Monday like this. In fact, I'm gonna be late for class!

"Dammit!"

I throw my covers off, and start grabbing my laptop and bus pass, and I'm putting on a jumper when Monika walks through the door.

"Euan! What the hell are you doing?"

"I need to get to my lecture! You can come with me I guess, although I dunno how interest-"

"Euan, you should be in bed! You almost collapsed last night!"

"I'm fine now, honestly."
"No, you're clearly not! Your face is pale, you're sweating awfully, and you're burning up."

"Well, I still need to go to uni, even if I'm sick. I can't miss it for just that."

Monika wraps her arms around me from behind, and rests her head on my shoulder.

"Euan... You're always working so hard. You need to slow down sometimes. So If you won't do it for yourself… do it for me, okay?"

I stop, and drop the things in my hands.

"Well… I… Okay." I yawn loudly, and Monika guides me back to bed, and makes me lie down.

"Now, tell me what's wrong."

"I mean, you kinda got it already. Although I'm feeling better than yesterday. It's probably nothing if I'm honest, I just have a bad cold or something. It just needs time really."

"Well, if you're sure… Just sit in bed for now, okay? I'm gonna grab something to eat, okay?"

I lie down, and Monika leaves. I realise she's already placed a glass of water next to the bed, which I grab and drink down in seconds flat.

A few minutes later, Monika walked in, carrying some cereal and a glass of milk, and a wet cloth on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, there's not really anything left in your fridge, so this was all I was able to make."

"Don't worry, that's my fault, not yours. Thanks a ton Monika"

She places them on my bedside, and then looks to be in thought. Suddenly, she grins, and grabs the spoon, and holds it up to my mouth.

"Say ahhh."

"Uh Monika…"

"Shhhhh. It'll be fun."

And Monika places the spoon in my mouth, and I blush embarrassedly as I allow her to feed me. After a few, Monika grins at me and curls her finger through my hair.

"Isn't this nice Euan?"

"Well… I guess so yeah. It is actually really nice. I kinda… like this."

"Well then. You'll need to do this to me some time. Now I'm jealous."

"Haha, okay. I'll look forward to that then."

Monika kept feeding me, and eventually the whole bowl was finished, which took a surprisingly long time considering how little was in there.

"There we go. Are you all full up now?" Monika said, patting my head whilst holding back a laugh.

"Hey… stop it." I said, embarrassed again.

"Oh yeah? Make me" she replied, giving me a small kiss on the forehead. "Hmm. You seem to have cooled down a bit, but you're still too hot." She placed the cool cloth on my head, and took the dishes away.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno… I don't usually just sit in bed when I'm sick, you know?"

"Of course, that's why I'm here. To make sure you do what's good for you."

"Well, why don't you choose then? If you know what's best for me, you know?"

"No, it's fine, I'm pampering you, so you get to do everything you want to do today, okay? I'll do anything you want to, okay? If you wanna watch something, or read a book, or even just talk then that's what we'll do."

"Well, did you like that book we bought a few days ago? We could continue with that if you want, cause we never got a chance to read more of it. But only if you liked it too. You might be pampering me, but you need to enjoy it as well."

"Yeah of course! I loved it, so I'm totally happy to read more if that's what you want to do."

"Alright then, I'll get it."

I'd left the book on my desk when I'd gotten home that day, so I stretch over and grab it, and continue from where we left off.

The story is a rather traditional tale of being moved to another world, but with a large, cutesy romance plot which is almost as important as the main story. The boy falls for a girl who at first finds him bothersome, but slowly finds herself liking him also. We sit there for hours, Monika finding enjoyment in the voices I begin to give the characters. Occasionally, she leaves momentarily to get more water or to dampen the cloth. After an age, we reach the end of the book, with the two finally confessing to each other, and embracing.

"Awww… that was so nice."

"Yeah, I liked it too. I really hope there's a sequel or something. It was a bit of a dick move, to stop right after they actually go together. I wanna see them save the world together or something."

"Well, we'll have to look and see if there is a sequel and get it."

As I respond, I yawn loudly. I'm surprised at how tired I am, as it's not very late, looking at the clock - it's only about 7 O' clock.

"Yeah… That's a good idea."

"Oh… are you tired?"

"Only a little, it's okay."

"Well, hold on, I'm gonna go get some dinner."

"No, it's fine, I'm not that hungry,"

"Well, you need to eat if you're going to get better. So you don't have a choice. You're going to get better, and you're going to like it. I won't be long, okay?"

Monika leaves the room once again, leaving me alone. I grab my phone from my bedside table, and look up if there's a sequel to the book online. As it turns out, there's a whole series of over 10 books. I make a mental note to look for them next time we're at the bookshop, and lie back down, forcing myself to not fall asleep in my warm bedsheets. I can hear rather traditional sounds from the kitchen, and after only about 10 minutes, she returns with a small amount of rice, and slowly encourages me to eat it, despite my reluctance. After what feels like hours, I'm totally full, and can't keep my eyes open.

"Aww, are you tired? You go to sleep, okay? You need rest as well to get better."

"Yeah, I am kinda tired I guess."

"Okay, goodnight then my love."

"Goodnight."

And Monika turned out the lights and lay down next to me. I lay there for a while, constantly feeling an uncomfortable mix between hot and cold. The minutesticked on silently, as I tossed and turned, not wanting to wake Monika. Until, suddenly.

"Euan… can you not get to sleep?"

"No… I'm sorry Monika, did I wake you up?"

"No, don't worry. But I can't sleep soundly until I know that you are. So..."

And as I lay there,she hugged me from behind. I felt her against my back. And somehow, she was… calming. And I lay down again, closed my eyes, and fell asleep, knowing she was there for me.

I woke up to the sound of birds tweeting. The sun was barely above the horizon, and Monika was still sleeping, her arms around my stomach. I slowly extricated myself from her grip, and got out of bed, stretching. I felt much better - assumedly, my sickness had passed.

"Euan…? Where'd you go?"

"I'm just behind you."

"Oh! Are you feeling better?"

"Actually, yeah, I'm back to normal."

"Really? Let me see."

Monika gets up, and places her hand on my forehead.

"Hmm, well, you seem to be back to normal. Alright then, you're better."

"All thanks to you."

"Well, only because you deserve it love." Monika smiled, and gave me a small peck.

I thought about everything Monika had done for me. She had cared for me, made my meals, and even slept next to me, risking getting herself sick - all to make me better. She was so… selfless.

"Euan? Are you there? You're spacing out a bit."

"What…? Oh yeah, sorry. It's just… there's something I… need to do. I've needed to for a while now, actually."

Looking at our hands, I see the ring that I was wearing to remember her. I remove my hands from hers, and slip the ring off my finger. I get down on one knee, and Monika looks at me, confused.

"Monika, I told you that I wanted to marry you. And, I want to keep that promise. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, Monika, I know this is stupid, but… Will you marry me?"

Monika looks at me, and takes the ring, holding it gently in her hand.

"I would be absolutely honoured Euan."

I slide the ring onto Monika's ring finger, and it fits perfectly.

"But Euan… We need to get one more… for you."

"That's a nice idea, yeah."

"So… Now what?"

"Well… actually, I have something I need to do."