TOM
It had been a few days since your second proposal and things were already underway. You would have the marriage license in the next few weeks, you had decided on a nice little gazebo on a beach on the other part of town, and you and Jane would be going to look for something to wear on your next few days off. She was so excited and so happy. You both couldn't wait.
You were up early for a day at work, Jane was still sound asleep in bed.
You go to give her a light kiss goodbye and she doesn't wake, usually she opens her eyes and gives you a groggy goodbye. Did she seem more pale?
You push down your worries and chalk it up to the little bit of planning she has been doing. You would call her a little sooner than usual to calm yourself and tell her not to worry about dinner.
You tuck her in tighter and leave for the set, unable to shake the little bit of uneasiness still inside you.
JANE
You wake to the sound of your phone ringing. Who was calling at this hour? Tom hadn't even kissed you goodbye yet.
You roll over and blindly reach for your phone, yanking it off the charger and sliding it to answer before even looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?" You croak.
An unexpected voice comes through the other end. It was Tom, he had concern in his tone. "Jane? Are you alright, love?"
You whip your head around to find that Tom was not next to you. You suddenly realize that the room was filled with bright sunlight, your overnight feed was long over with. You gaze at the clock on the wall and it says it is almost one in the afternoon.
"Wow. Um hey. Sorry, I was still asleep."
"Yes you didn't wake when I left this morning which is why I am calling sooner than usual. Are you ok?"
Despite your extra sleep, you still felt tired. "Yeah yeah... I'm fine. Just needed extra rest I suppose. How is work?"
He hesitates a moment before answering. "Things are well. There are some storm clouds rolling in so I may be home a bit early. Unless you need me home sooner?"
"Tom, I'm fine. Be careful ok? I'm going to go and make something to eat and close up the house before the storm comes. I love you."
"Alright, I love you too. Call if you need me."
You start to sit up, feeling some strange aches and pains. "I will. Bye now."
You push off the blankets and feel a chill. Probably the storm coming in. You unhook your g-tube from the pump and throw all the old tubing away. You change into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt and one of Toms hoodies.
You make your way out of the bedroom and over to the bathroom, your legs feeling like jelly. You take a look in the mirror to fix your hair and notice how pale you looked. You slip your hair into a messy little bun and leave for the kitchen, hoping your symptoms was just your blood sugar acting up. You grab yourself a pop-tart and munch on it as you make your way to all the windows to close them up.
It was looking darker and you could feel a nip in the breeze.
Your walk around was starting to make you feel dizzy and your stomach was starting to protest your snack.
You go back to the couch and lay back, closing your eyes until the spinning subsides.
You drift off at some point and wake up shivering, hearing the sound of rain and the ring of your cell. You know before you answer that it's Tom on his way home.
"Hi" You squeak.
"Hi love, did I wake you? I'm about to leave the set. I will be home shortly. Are you ok?"
You decide it's best to answer him honestly, he'd see you were lying when he got home anyways. "Actually, I think I may have caught something. I'm not sure. Just drive safe and I will see you when you get home."
"I will be home to you soon. Just relax. I love you."
"Love you, too."
You lay there for awhile. You wanted to get up to get more blankets, but you felt overcome by weakness. Unsure if you can make it to the bedroom and back without falling. Another violent shake rolls through you and that's all it takes to make up your mind. You sit up and wait a moment for the spinning to slow, you feel a sudden throbbing in your head. You push yourself up off the couch and make your way toward the bedroom, grabbing walls for support. You make it to the bed and grab a handful of blankets, it taking more energy than you thought. You turn to leave and the room whirls faster and your legs give out. Luckily you had an armful of cushion to break the fall.
You start to panic, wondering how you're going to get up when you hear the front door. "Jane? Where are you?"
You sigh in relief before calling out his name. "Tom, I'm in here." You try to push yourself up before he enters but the room still spins and you just lay back down. Closing your eyes until you heard his voice again.
"Jane! What happened?" You open your eyes and he was right in front of you, his blue eyes had a look of fear.
"I needed more blankets but I got dizzy and fell. I haven't been here long and the blanket broke my fall so I'm ok." You tried to sound calm but you weren't so sure if you had succeeded.
He slips his arms under you and picks you and the blankets up, taking you back to the couch and laying you down gently. He sits beside you and takes your hand. "Do we need to go to the hospital? Should I call Dr. S?"
You shake your head weakly, feeling drained. "No, I think I'm alright. I just want to wait and see if this all passes."
He looks at you with concern, stroking your hair. "I'm not so sure, Jane... I'm worried."
You squeeze his hand and try to calm him down. "Tom..please..I don't want to go. I want to just try and eat and drink something and get some rest and see how I am in the morning before we do anything."
He sighs in defeat and gets up to get you some food and water. "Alright, but in the morning if you have not improved I'm calling."
TOM
She had managed a few crackers and some water before she fell back asleep. She had a slight fever which would explain the shivering so you had given her tylenol.
You held her as she slept beside you on the couch, the rain was still coming down in a steady fashion. Almost rhythmic.
This is what life was like with CF. One day she's completely fine and the next she does a flip and no one knows what is wrong. It was a day by day thing. You hated to see her this way.
You wanted to take her to a hospital, but you understood her protest considering it was no one she was familiar with.
Your mind keeps going back to seeing her lying on the bedroom floor buried underneath blankets. You shutter at the thought of what would have happened had it been a full days work.
Her shivers seemed to have stopped so hopefully the tylenol had knocked the fever out completely.
As night fell you scooped her up and took her to bed, tucking her in tightly with blankets and pillows.
You stepped into the hall to quickly call and leave a message with the director that you would not be in tomorrow. They knew your situation and were very generous about it all.
You changed into comfortable clothes and then began to set up her nightly feed. She did not move once. She had been asleep for so long, you wanted to wake her, but you decided against it. Her body must need the rest. It must be fighting off something. Hopefully the added rest would get rid of whatever it was and she would have improved my morning.
Once things were set you crawled in next to her, laying your arm across her gently. You fell asleep watching the gentle rise and fall in her chest, wishing for a better day for her tomorrow.
Authors Note: Another thank you to all those who read or come across my little story! I hope I am doing an ok job, like I said this is my first fanfic and I'm discovering most of this story along the way! I am not sure yet how long it will be, but I really am enjoying myself and will continue so long as I'm finding the inspiration and so long as people are enjoying! I won't leave you hanging! If there's anything you would like to see Tom and Jane do, feel free to let me know and I'll see if I can fit it in somehow!
And another thing, people with CF very much do live with these things day to day, I'm not adding things for a damsel in distress kind of way, I just wanted to write something cute and fan related that could also raise some awareness!