Fritz sits by the fire on a cold, rainy night, waiting for his wife to return. He starts to worry, then realizes that he is worrying about Jo, which is silly. She laughed at him the last time he said he was worried about her. Still, he does worry. He worries about her independence. Not that she is independent, but that perhaps she is losing that aspect of herself.

Jo interrupts his thoughts by bursting through the door. She is soaked to the skin. The bottom of her dress is covered in mud and her dripping hair sticks to her face and neck.
"Jo! What happened to you?" he exclaims as he goes to meet her at the door.
"I lost my umbrella!" she exclaims. "Please, help me remove this ridiculous dress so the mud does not track on the floor. The wind was so strong that as I left Marmee's house, it carried the umbrella away!" He helps her step out of the messy dress, and she trips into his grasp.

"Mein Jo, you are shaking. Your skin feels like ice!"

"It was such a cold rain," she shivers.

"Come, sit by the fire." He quickly covers her with warm blankets and brings her wool socks and a winter hat to wear.
"Jo, you must be careful. You cannot get sick."

"I will be fine," she assures him. She cradles her growing stomach absentmindedly while she tries to warm up. Fritz sits beside her and hugs her over the blankets. He rests his head on her shoulder.
"It is important to stay healthy, Jo. You are carrying another life."
"Believe me, I am aware, darling," she sighs. "My back is so sore these days, and I still have a ways to go in this process. Dr. Adams says that the back pain will only get worse."

"We shall have to see if I can remedy that," Fritz says as he lowers his hands down her spine. He slowly massages her long back, and she softens into his touch. He reaches his head over her shoulder for a kiss, and before their lips meet, she suddenly sneezes into his face.
"Oh, I am sorry!" she tells him as he wipes the wetness away.
"It is fine, but I worry that you are getting sick from your outing today," he sighs.
"I am not, I am in perfect… per… achoo!" she sneezes again.

"You should stay by the warmth of the fire for the night."

"Only if you stay with me," she suggests.

…

Fritz wakes first in the morning. His neck is sore from sleeping awkwardly in the armchair. When he checks on his sleeping wife, he grows very concerned. She is no longer cold, but hot. She has a fever and is clutching the blankets around her. He puts more wood into the fireplace and goes to get Dr. Adams without waking Jo.

While he is away, Jo wakes to the late morning's sunlight. She is freezing. She has at least four blankets covering her and a winter hat. The fire is going, but she feels as if it is emitting cool air rather than heat. She begins to have feverish daydreams in her solitude.

"Josephine!" a high voice exclaims.
"Aunt March?" she asks weakly.

"Josephine, it is late, and you are not yet out of bed? A wife must be up early to attend to her household. Where is your husband?"

"I do not know, Aunt March," she replies. "He is not here, but there are no classes today. Do you like the school, Aunt March?" she asks proudly. "You said to make your house into a school, and we have."

"It is nice to see some life inside these old walls," the voice admits.

"I miss you," Jo says sadly. "It has been almost two years since your death.
"Imagine that!" Aunt March teases. "All those years you spent avoiding me, and now you miss me!"

Jo attempts to get off of the sofa to find her aunt, but she stumbles in all of her layers. Fritz enters the room with the doctor.

"Jo!" he exclaims as he runs to grab his wife. "What are you doing up?"

"I was going to find Aunt March," she says faintly. Fritz returns her to the sofa.

"Dr. Adams," he whispers, pulling the doctor aside, "she is delusional. I do not understand," he says frantically. "She was caught in the storm last night and was very cold. She sneezed a few times last night, but this morning she is so much worse."
"I will check on her," Dr. Adams tells him. "Perhaps you should get some food. Chicken broth might be a good place to start." Fritz leaves the room.

"All right, Mrs. Bhaer, what ails you today?" Jo giggles at him and takes his hand.
"What is it?"
"I am laughing at the way you say my name. It is Jo. I am not a Mrs. anybody." The doctor frowns at this and takes her temperature.
"My God, Mrs. Bhaer, you are burning up. This is not safe for you or your child."

"What child?" she asks. He frowns at her again. He takes her pulse and her arm goes limp in his hand when she suddenly falls asleep. Fritz reenters the room and puts the broth on the table.
"How is she?" Fritz asks.

"She has a very high fever. I worry for the safety of her and your child. I think that she may have been sick before being caught in the rain, but the chill made her worse. It seems to me that she has the flu. Let her sleep, and keep warm blankets on her. If she is awake, try to make her drink fluids. She was just in a feverish state– she told me that she was not married."

"Not married?"

"I will return tomorrow. Call on me if anything gets worse. Be sure to check on her often."

"I shall not leave her side," Fritz promises. He takes his wife's hand and kisses it.

…

Four days later, Jo still lies on the sofa. She has been conscious for only a quarter of each day and coherent for less. Poor Fritz is exhausted trying to make her drink water and keep the blankets over her. Every time she wakes, she insists on taking everything off and getting off the sofa. It is as if she is trying to escape from prison.

"Jo?" he whispers as she stirs.
"Mm, Fritz…" she moans slowly.

"How do you feel, love?"

"My entire body aches. I do not understand why."

"You have the flu, Jo. Let me feel your forehead." He rests the back of his hand against her sweaty face. He sighs and smiles.
"Your fever broke, darling. You are going to be fine."

"Fritz!" she grabs his arm firmly in panic.
"What is it?"

"My stomach," she answers bluntly.

"What about it, darling?"

"I feel… I feel cramping. I do not know. It hurts." He jumps up quickly and grabs his coat.
"I will get Dr. Adams!" he shouts. She sits very still trying to understand the feeling in her gut.
"No, it has stopped," she tells him, reaching out for his hand.

"Are you sure?"

"Do not leave me," she tells him. "What if being sick did something to the baby?"
"It will be fine, Jo."

"I finally accept this, and I ruin it."

"You have not ruined anything, and it is not your fault," he says. He kisses her and she rests her hands on her stomach.