Fran stirred in her sleep, waking Max up. He was curled up against her, spooning, with his arm around her middle, touching her belly. He tried not to move in case she was still asleep. He then realized that her belly felt a little warm, and the back of her neck seemed to be warmer than it was before they fell asleep. He gently pressed his lips against her pajama shirt. Her back was warm as well. As his eyes adjusted to the dark room he noticed the covers pushed away from the front of her, like she had been trying to cool off in her sleep. Max raised his head to try to see her face, and just then she moved her head back and forth and exhaled, like she was uncomfortable. He propped himself up and gently felt her temple with the back of his fingers. She clearly had a fever. Max rolled over toward the side of the bed and turned on the light, then rolled back to Fran.
"Fran, darling," he whispered, concerned. She made a small noise. "Fran? Wake up, sweetheart! You're warm!" She turned her head back and forth again and began to wake up.
"Hmm?" She reached her arm up in front of her eyes to block the light and rolled onto her back towards Max. "What's the matter?" She blinked her eyes and looked up at him.
"Fran, you're really warm. I think you might have a fever."
"What?" She stopped to think about it and closed here eyes. "Yeah. I'm hot." She opened her eyes again and moved the covers down off of her.
"Do you want to sit up? Maybe drink some water?" He sat up next to her.
"Yeah." She slowly sat herself up, and reached over to the side of the bed to get her glass of water. She took several gulps and put the glass back down.
"Fran, what do you need me to do? Do you need to take your prescription?"
"Uh, yeah. I think I need to take one of those pills." She leaned back against the pillow and pushed her hair off of her neck.
"Let me get the thermometer real quick, I need to see how high your fever is." Max got off the bed and hurried to his bathroom, then rummaged around in a drawer until he found the thermometer. He rushed back to Fran's side of the bed and checked the thermometer before putting it under Fran's tongue. "There you are sweetheart," he said softly. He placed the inner part of his wrist on her forehead. "Poor darling, you are pretty hot." He kissed her forehead and took her hand. "Is your prescription in your room?" She nodded.
She clasped the thermometer in one hand so she could speak. "In the pocket of the overnight bag. On my bed." She closed her lips back around the thermometer.
"I'll be right back." He squeezed her hand and hurried out of the room to retrieve her pills.
Fran rubbed her forehead in discomfort. She pushed herself back up to sit up straighter against the pillow. It was really starting to sink in now. Max was finally seeing her possibly lower than she was the evening before. She pulled her legs out of the covers and rested them on top, trying to cool herself off. Max appeared back in the bedroom doorway and shut the door behind him, then sat next to Fran on the bed, facing her. He set the bottle of pills on the bedside table by her glass of water. When he looked back at Fran, their eyes met, and she quickly looked away and down at her hands. She saw the worry in his eyes and it hurt her. She felt so guilty for putting him through this. He shouldn't have to go through this twice in a lifetime. Tears filled her eyes and began to run down her face. She tried to wipe them off before Max could see them, but it was too late.
"Oh my darling, it's okay. Everything will be okay!" He took her in his arms and she wrapped her arms around him too, then she rested her chin on his shoulder and the thermometer still stuck out of her mouth. He stroked her hair and her back and clutched at her tightly. She was so warm, her cheeks were red. He wanted to take all this suffering away from her. It just wasn't fair. "I'll take care of you, honey, whatever you need." He kissed her cheek again and again and she began to calm down. He kissed her forehead and lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers.
Fran looked into his eyes again and saw how soft and tender he looked at her. She knew she was safe as long as she was with him. He caressed her cheek and wiped away a stray tear, then reached for the thermometer.
"Wow, it says it's almost 101. My poor darling. Here- let's get your medicine." He handed her her the bottle of pills and poured more water into her glass. She got a single pill out of the bottle and handed the bottle back to Max as he handed her the glass. She took the pill and chugged a little more water. "Will it help if I got a cold washcloth or something? To put on your forehead?"
"Okay," Fran nodded. She laid back against the pillow and slid down a little. She closed her eyes. She wasn't feeling well at all.
Max came back with a folded, wet washcloth and sat beside Fran. He set the washcloth across her forehead and took her hand. "Can I ask you something?" He said, timidly.
"Of course," she opened her eyes again.
"Um, how are you feeling? I mean, physically?" He stroked her hand as he held it, almost nervously.
"Uh… hot mostly. It kind of comes in waves I guess. The washcloth helps, thank you." She looked at his hands holding hers, then back into his eyes. She could tell he was wondering if she was having any pain. "I'm not really having any pain, if that's what you're wondering about."
"'Not really'?"
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then squeezed his hand. "I can feel something where it is. Not a pain right now, but it's hard to explain. Tightness, maybe. Like there's something heavy there, pulling. Like-" she put her other hand on her lower abdomen. "Like, imagine something like a heavy golfball or something. Like if it was made out of metal so it was heavier. And it's pulling on whatever is holding it in place. It's a weird feeling. Like I'm waiting for it to start hurting, but I don't think it will. I think it hurts when I eat the wrong thing or eat too much. I think it will be okay." She opened her eyes again to look up at him. "I just need to get rid of this fever and it will be better."
Max nodded, then lifted her hand to kiss the back of it. "I'm sorry you're going through this Fran. I wish I could take all this away and make you better."
Fran smiled at him. "Max, I love you. I know things will be okay. They have to be."
Max cleared his throat, like he was trying not to get choked up. "I love you too, Fran," he smiled. "Hey, why don't I go get some cold water for you to drink. This is luke warm now. Maybe some ice, too, to keep the towel cold." He flipped the washcloth over and pressed it to her cheeks and neck.
"Okay," she replied. "That might be good. Cold water sounds good."
"Good. I'll run down to the kitchen and be right back. Do you need anything else?"
"No, except for this pill to kick in, but it takes a while." Max squeezed her hand and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. He got up and put on his slippers and grabbed his robe.
"Be right back," he smiled at her. He closed the bedroom door behind him and hurried down to the kitchen, trying to tread softly so he wouldn't wake Niles.
Max stepped lightly down the back stairs into the kitchen and walked over to the fridge and opened it. He stared blankly inside, almost forgetting what he was he was supposed to be doing. He turned back to look at the counter- looking for a reminder- then realized what he needed and pulled out two large bottles of water and set them on the counter. He put his hands on the edge of the counter and leaned his head down. The darkness and quiet of the kitchen seemed to be sinking in, letting the events of the evening start to hit him even more. He didn't want to cry, he couldn't go back to Fran looking a mess and have her worry about him. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat. He remembered he wanted to get some ice too, to keep the washcloth cold and help bring down her fever. He started opening cabinet after cabinet, looking for a plastic bowl or something similar to put the ice and water in. He didn't want to turn the lights on but was realizing he may have to. Just then, the lights in the kitchen came on and he swung around in surprise. It was Niles.
"Oh, sorry sir! I heard something down here and wondered what it was. I didn't mean to startle you."
"That's all right. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Well, to be honest, I wasn't sleeping very well anyway. Is there something I can help you with?" Niles came into the kitchen. Max was acting sheepish, trying to look away from Niles in case his eyes gave anything away.
"Um, I was just, uh, looking for a bowl. Like a plastic bowl or something."
"Oh, those are over here, how big do you need?" Niles went to the back of the kitchen and pulled open a cabinet door.
"Um, well," Max didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say what he needed it for and also didn't really know what size might be right.
"Here, come look at these and see what size you think you need. Is there anything else?"
Max walked over and picked out a bowl and slowly walked back to the fridge. He tried to think of what he could say to Niles without Niles then trying to pry too much. He figured he better get to the point instead of beating around the bush. "Um, Niles," Max turned around to face him. "I just need you to know that I can't say anything to you right now, I mean about Fran. I would appreciate it if you didn't pry. She will talk to everyone else when she's ready, and I don't feel it's my place to betray any confidences."
"I understand sir, I don't want to do anything to make things worse. I just worry, that's all. But I mean it about helping out, you don't have to tell me why. I just don't like feeling helpless either, so if there is something either of you need and if I can help with that, I really would like to."
Max nodded in understanding. Niles really was a good friend. "Well, now that I think about it, do you happen to have- or could you get- some kind of soup that is more of a broth that doesn't have a whole lot in it? I mean, not now, but in the morning maybe? And maybe some things like yogurt and some of those shakes- those nutrition shakes? Just mild things like vanilla flavored, nothing fancy. If you see other things along those lines."
"Oh, absolutely! I can run out first thing and see what I can find. Will you both be up for breakfast, or do you want me to make something more like lunch?"
"If we get back to sleep, I imagine we'll be sleeping in tomorrow. It's been quite a night." Max drifted off, then realized he had the bowl in his hand. He looked down at it and turned around, then opened the freezer door and filled the bowl with ice, then turned back and set it on the counter. Niles seemed to immediately know what to do, and went to retrieve a tray from the back of the kitchen. He set it down on the counter for Max, then went to the freezer himself. He pulled out a lower drawer to get something, shut the drawer and the freezer door and set something on the tray next to the other items that Max was moving onto it. It was a large cold pack.
"Um, just in case you might need that for something."
Max looked at it and smiled. He could find a use for it. "Thank you, Niles." Max picked up the tray and headed toward the stairs, Niles following him several paces behind. They walked up the stairs without saying a word, and Niles flipped off the light.
When Max opened the bedroom door, he didn't find Fran on the bed and a surge of panic hit him, until he heard the faucet in his bathroom. She must be in there, getting the washcloth wet again to cool herself off. He set the tray down and put the water bottles by the sides of the bed, then took the bowl of ice into the bathroom where Fran was.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly.
Fran stood up slowly from the sink and wrung out the washcloth. "Yeah, it's okay. Just hot."
"I'm sorry I took so long, I ran into Niles in the kitchen. Here, I got some ice. Let me get water in this and it will be colder than the tap water. It might feel better." He filled the bowl of ice with water and took the washcloth from her, putting that into the bowl as well. He led her back to the bed and she crawled back onto it. "Oh, let's take your temperature. I promise I won't make you do that again tonight if it seems to be going down soon. But I might want to check it again after we get up in the morning. Or whenever we get up." He picked up the thermometer from the table and shook it out, checked it, then put it under Fran's tongue. She got herself situated comfortably on the bed. "Oh! Hang on a sec-" he jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom, got a couple of large towels, and rushed back. He picked up the large cold pack and wrapped a towel around it, then gently slid it behind Fran's neck and shoulders. "We'll see if that helps some."
Fran reached for his forearm and clasped her hand around it, then began to caress the inner part of it. She looked up and their eyes met. He gave her a soft smile and she squeezed his arm. She loved how much he was doing for her. She loved that she could trust him so much. They sat in silence, waiting until he could check the thermometer. He liked the feel of her fingers caressing his arm. He wished none of this other mess was going on. He longed to just take her in his arms and kiss her. And everything else.
Finally, it was time to check the thermometer. Max pulled it gently from her lips and leaned toward the lamp to read it. He looked back at her and gave her a childlike frown.
"Not better?" She asked.
"Still 101. Here, have some cold water, and then we'll try the cold washcloth." He opened the bottle of water and poured it into her glass. She chugged it down.
"That's wonderful. That hits the spot." She handed the glass back to Max and laid back on the cold pack in the towel. Max dunked the washcloth in the ice water, folded it, and wrung it out. He picked out an ice cube and tucked it inside the cloth, then spread the cloth over Fran's forehead. She closed her eyes. "So, you said you ran into Niles?"
"Yes, he came into the kitchen right after I got there." Max got up off the bed and walked around to his side, the bowl of ice water in his hand. He set the bowl on his bedside table, poured out the bottled water into his own glass, took a few swallows, and then took off his robe and tossed it to the end of the bed. He climbed into the covers next to Fran, who still felt too hot to actually get in the covers herself. "I didn't tell him anything. I actually asked him- well, told him- not to pry. I said you would talk to everyone when you were ready."
"You really told him that?" Fran peeked at him from under the washcloth.
"Yes. He said he had no intention to, he just worries. He said if he could help with anything then he would really like to. So I mentioned some foods he could get. That might help. And give him something to do in the morning. I told him we might sleep in…"
"Yeah, definitely sleeping in. Once this stupid fever goes away." Max lifted the washcloth and kissed her on the forehead, then turned the washcloth over to the cooler side and blotted her neck.
"Oh, I brought this other towel in case you want to put it over your clothes so you don't get them wet from this washcloth. You know, in case you want to saturate yourself in ice water." He smiled.
"Hey, don't joke, that actually sounds pretty good!" Max reached for the other towel and draped it over her shirt, tucking it around her shoulders. He took the washcloth and dunked it in the water again, but didn't wring it out so thoroughly. He quickly brought it over to Fran's neck and pressed it to her gently, first on one side, then around to the other. "Thank you, Max. For taking care of me. You do a really good job."
"Aw, shucks." He smiled at her. He continued to move the washcloth from her neck to her forehead, getting it wet in the ice water again and again, and back to her neck and forehead. She pulled the sheet up over her legs and settled herself again. It seemed to be helping her a lot, she was still and not moving. Max watched her chest rise and fall under the towel as she breathed slowly. He continued this routine for quite a while. He was pretty sure Fran had fallen asleep, but she still felt warm so he wasn't sure the pill she took was working yet. He continued until the ice had melted and he could barely keep his eyes open. He pulled the rest of the covers over her, wrung out the washcloth one last time, and placed it on her forehead. He removed the towel from on top of her, turned off the lights, and curled up next to her, but not touching her in case he might inadvertently make her hotter. He kissed her upper arm and settled himself to sleep.