It wasn't until I finished my first week and had the opportunity to lie in bed that I realised how physically demanding the job was. I was sure I'd strained every muscle in my body from vacuuming. I groaned as I rolled over in bed, feeling my back pull and my thighs burn, dragging my pillow over my head to block out the weak light filtering through the curtain. My movement had disturbed my boyfriend, and I felt his hands on me a couple of seconds later. I reached for him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him arm around me, shifting him into me.

His lips brushed across my bare shoulder, dropping a careful kiss against my skin. "Everything okay?" he murmured.

"Yeah, I feel like I've run a marathon," I admitted. At least the work would help me get in shape, I hoped. Some self confidence after all these years would be nice.

He chuckled, finally obliging to wrapping his body around mine, his arms around my waist and his chest against my back. "Is it difficult?" he asked softly.

"No, I'm just not used to carrying around all the equipment." I brought his hand to my lips, kissing the back of it and threading our fingers together. "It's good though, I like it there. Everyone is really nice." As my thumb brushed over his knuckles, I realised something else. "We still need to get you a ring."

"No we don't; I don't care about that," he assured me.

"I care." Squirming in his arms, I carefully rolled onto my back, leaning my cheek against his shoulder. I couldn't help another grimace at the aching - it really fucking sucked.

His hands shifted to my hair, gently smoothing it off my face as he pressed a gentle kiss against my lips. "It seems like a waste of time to me. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Then why did you get me one?" I teased, chuckling. "And yeah, I'm fine, Carlisle. Just a bit achy."

"Because I wanted you to have one." He was laughing now, realising that he'd been caught out as he said it. "Do you just want to sleep today? You still look tired."

I glanced at the window, trying to peek through the small gap in the curtains at the weather outside. "I was thinking about taking Kate to the zoo, actually; I want to get her off her parent's backs for a bit. Do you want to come? We could get ice cream or something after." It wasn't going to be much of a date with a child with us, but the zoo here was pretty cool and I doubted Carlisle had ever been. I hoped the prospect of the animals might be enough to coax him out of the house for a few hours for something other than his job; he needed to do something fun too.

He was quiet for a moment, still cuddled into me as he thought about it. "Yeah, I'll come."

Pleased, I kissed his temple. Kate asked about him every day, and I knew she wanted to see him again too. We lay in bed together a while longer, managing to doze on and off until it was a decent hour, and my boyfriend eventually peeled himself off me to go and shower. I called Eleazar.

My brother sounded already frazzled when he answered the phone. "Garrett, it's 9am on a Saturday; I love you, but I'm tryna cook breakfast right now, and it's not really a good time to talk-"

"I'll be quick, El, but I want to take Kate out for the day, if that'll help," I interrupted, unable to keep from frowning as there was a loud crash in the background and he quickly scolded his daughter through her giggles.

"That'd be great," he sighed. "She's already had a tantrum this morning, and Carmen's stressed. Are you sure though? She's a handful at today; she's not in a great mood, and I don't want to be feeding you to the lions, Garrett - pun unintended."

"She'll behave for me, she always does," I teased. Really, she was only good for me because I had a tendency to spoil her. Eleazar wouldn't be so stressed if he relaxed his own rules though. Weight hit the bed and I glanced over, trying to figure out how my boyfriend managed a thirty second shower, only to come face to face with the cat. "You're getting too fat," I whispered to her under my breath. I weaved her tail through my fingertips as Eleazar went on about Kate's reign of terror, but I wasn't really listening. He was good at wasting time for someone who wanted to be off the phone quickly. Eventually, I heard another bang, more cursing and grumbling, and bit my lip to smother a laugh. "We'll see you in a bit, El. Try not to lose it before we get there."

.

.

It was another hour before we got over there. Between my not really wanting to move, and Carlisle's stalling to leave the house, we were late getting away. My brother's house was still in one piece as we pulled into the street though. From the outside at least. Carmen opened the door for us, somehow more pregnant than she had been the day before when I'd dropped Kate home from school.

"You can't be far off now, Carmen," I chuckled as I hugged her, her stomach creating a barrier between us. My pang of jealousy was quickly smothered by Carlisle's awkwardness. He hadn't seen her in a few months, and was suddenly acting like he might induce her labour by looking at her the wrong way. I'd never seen someone make a hug so uncomfortable. We followed her into the kitchen once she'd let us inside, Kate thundering down the hallway to throw herself at us.

"Only a few more weeks," she agreed with me. "Thank god; I can't even put on my shoes without help. I'm not sure how Katie is going to take to having another baby in the house though, she's already moody about not being the center of attention. I guess we've spoiled her while she was an only child."

"She can always stay with us if you guys need a break," Carlisle put in, laughing at her wording. I glanced over my shoulder at him, only to see that he'd picked up the child in question, holding her as she wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him. He knew that I loved having her, and I knew that was why he'd invited her, as much as he loved her too.

My sister-inlaw smiled at him. "You two are amazing." Her gaze lingered on him a little longer than normal, long enough for his cheeks to flush a subtle shade of pink as he assured her it was no problem. The situation only repeated itself once we were in the living room with Eleazar. It wasn't until my niece rushed off to get her jacket, asking my boyfriend to come with her which he awkwardly agreed to, that I couldn't stand it any longer.

"What?" I asked, struggling to keep the possessive note out of my voice. The last thing I wanted was any more family drama centered around him.

"Nothing, I guess it's just been awhile since we last saw Carlisle," my brother started quietly.

"He hasn't changed; you've met him hundreds of times before," I reminded him. It came out snappier than I'd meant it, and the two of them exchanged a glance. It wasn't like we'd almost been together two fucking years or anything.

Carmen eventually decided to mend her husband's phrasing. "It isn't that, Garrett, he's just…" She paused, trying to grasp into the right word. "It looks like he'd lost a lot of weight since he was with us last. Has he been sick?"

That took me off guard. "Uh, he's had a couple episodes that have made him puke, but he's not...We've been spending all day together most days when I'm not working; I haven't noticed him being unwell and he hasn't said anything about losing weight like that. I should have noticed."

"You see him every day; it must not be as obvious to you," Eleazar commented. It wasn't obvious to me at all. Jesus, I'd even watched him get dressed that morning and hadn't seen anything. He was still eating as far as I knew too, and didn't move around enough to warrant dropping weight - he spent enough time sitting at the computer to be gaining weight in theory; it made me fat. "Look, don't worry about it too much; he's probably just been stressed. You're working again now, he'll put it back on."

I frowned and didn't reply. I felt a bit stupid for not realising it before; I knew he hadn't been himself for a while, but I hadn't really seen any significant changed in him at all. My eyes were glued to him as soon as he was back in the room, but the thick jacket obscured my view. It wasn't a conversation for now.

.

.

The zoo car park was packed due to the fine weather. There were kids everywhere, frustrated parents with strollers and elderly couples out for a bit of fresh air. It immediately put Carlisle on edge. It looked like he wanted to go home before we even got out the car, but he dragged himself out of the vehicle without me prompting him, spurred on by Kate's begging and pulling at him. He held her hand, entertaining her in the gift shop while I organised our tickets.

They were cute together. She was unbearably excited by the animals, and he was watching her as much as she was them. After we'd wandered around for a while, I was less concerned about my boyfriend's weight and more concerned that he'd been coughing and sniffing for the last hour. "Are you getting a cold?" I asked, wrapping my arm around him as we watched Kate press her face against the glass between us and some meerkats.

"No, it's hayfever I think," he grumbled. "It's giving me a headache again."

"Its heading into winter; there's no pollen around." I kissed his cheek, enjoying having my own little family far too much, even if Carlisle didn't want to be there. His need to go back to bed wasn't detering my good mood at all. My body didn't hurt so much now that I'd moved around a bit either.

"I know; my body hates me. I'm going to go crazy if I get sick again." He leaned his cheek on my shoulder as we watched my niece. "Sorry, Gar, I don't want to ruin this; don't worry about it until we get home."

"Kate will get tired soon, and we can go back," I promised. It was another hour of walking from enclosure to enclosure before she started to grizzel. Sleepy lions weren't as amazing to a six year old as they were to us, and she complained incessantly as I stopped to take pictures of them. I shooed her to go and run around on the playground; I wanted to wear her out as much as possible to avoid any arguments once I took her home - the more ready for a nap she was, the less likely she was to bicker with me. We sat on a park bench to keep an eye on her, letting the sun soak into us. Carlisle rested his cheek against my shoulder as she tore around the slides, both of us wincing as she slipped on the ladder. There were no tears, thank god; she picked herself up without complaint and carried on with the other children. That kid was always good for me.

"The zoo is more fun when it isn't under miserable British weather," he murmured softly. His eyes were trained on the howler monkeys in the cage across from us, following them as they threw their nimble bodies from one branch to another, their shrieks echoing around the playground.

"I bet." My arm snaked around his waist, tugging him closer against me. "Do you mind if we take her back to our place for lunch? I know she wants to see the cat. Hopefully she'll be tired, so she shouldn't be a problem for us."

"Yeah, Gar. It's fine." His hand landed on my thigh, fidgeting the inner seam on my leg. Leaning against me, his eyes fell closed as the warmth of the sun drenched his clothing, comforting him as much as it made me sweat.

I got the horrible sense that he was just trying to please me. "Are you sure, Carlisle?" I nudged him with my shoulder hard enough that he sat up again. Kate wasn't going to leave him alone if she was allowed to stay with us, and there was no way she wasn't going to pester him if he wanted to nap, even if I did manage to get rid of her excess energy. "I'm not going to be upset if you just want quiet time."

"Really, it's okay. I'll take some Tylenol when I get home, and I'll be fine." It wasn't convincing. His face was hot and his throat was irritated, and he'd already sneezed countless times since we'd sat down.

"You're a mess," I sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" I frowned as my phone vibrated in my pocket; Eleazar must have been a wreck if he was texting to check up on us. He hadn't done that since Kate was a toddler. I fished it out, but my heart stuttered at the name on the screen, and I shoved it back into my jeans. Heidi. She had no reason to be asking after me on a Saturday, and I immediately felt my face get hot.

"What?" Carlisle asked, feeling my shoulders stiffen. He thankfully hadn't been alert enough to see my screen, as silly as not telling him felt.

"Uh, it's just Riley," I lied, somehow managing not to stutter.

"How is he?" He didn't really care, relaxing into me as I tightened my arm around his shoulders.

"Good. Don't worry about it, Carlisle."

.

.

We stopped at the pharmacy on the way home. It sounded like Carlisle was losing his voice, his head was starting to hurt again, and he was starting to look rather unwell; I didn't want to leave him coughing all day. Kate had fallen asleep in the back seat, and I locked the car and ducked into the shop behind him. I'd tried watching him through the window, unable to help myself as I watched him becoming overwhelmed by the amount of people in the confined space. I could still see my niece from the counter, half keeping an eye on her as I came up behind my boyfriend. "I think I'm just over dramatic; I don't need this," he murmured to me, glancing up.

"No you're not. You look sick, Carlisle, and I don't want you to feel horrible all night." I slid my arm around his waist as he sighed. The bottles of different syrups and pills on the shelves in front of us obviously confused him as the headache made it hard to think. It was no wonder he couldn't be bothered coming in here when it made him anxious to begin with. Thankfully, a cashier took pity on us, sauntering over to point out what he thought might be helpful. I had no idea, and my boyfriend didn't seem worried so long as he could go home again.

We picked up take out for lunch and took Kate back to our place. She was absolutely dying to see Fox, and I wasn't going to hear the end of it if I didn't let her. Carlisle didn't care as long as she stopped yelling in the confined space of the car; each shriek she let out made him wince. I grabbed his hand as we got out of the car. "Tell me when you've had enough."

He just nodded. Once we were inside, he managed to slink away as soon as Kate set eyes on Fox. The cat was more than happy to have a playmate, though I was on high alert, reminded her again and again to be careful with the little animal. I eventually managed to get her sitting at the table with a sandwich, munching away while I prepared vegetables for dinner.

It was her silence that made me turn around. I groaned once I realised she was gone, quickly frying my hands on a teatowel and heading down the hallway; there was no way she hadn't gone to piss off my boyfriend. Sure enough, she was perched on the bed next to Carlisle while he leaned against the wall. She was holding a book she'd ferreted out from somewhere, reading it excruciatingly slowly and glancing up for his approval after every few words.

I paused in the doorway. "I thought it was too quiet in the kitchen," I said to both of them.

"Have you come for story time, Garrett?" Carlisle teased, glancing at me as Kate frowned at the interruption.

"Yeah, or maybe to save you from the torture of it." I sat on the end of the bed, rubbing his leg. My presence annoyed my niece, and she grumbled at me getting in the way. "You know, I'm sure I used to be your favourite, Kate," I teased her, grabbing her and pulling her into my lap. She struggled against me, starting to giggle as I playfully restrained her. "I thought you were helping me make dinner."

"That's boring," she said matter of factly.

"Too bad," I told her, holding her under my arm as I stood up. She erupted into another fit of giggles once she realized there was no escape, squirming and twisting anyway. "You're my prisoner, come and help me in the kitchen."

"Carlisle come too?" she asked him.

He hadn't been listening to us, resting his head against the wall until he'd heard his name. "Only if you're good for Garrett." It took her a moment to realise he was talking about me, but she nodded eagerly once she figured it out. He sighed and dragged himself to his feet.

.

.

"Eleazar and Carmen are worried about you." We'd eaten dinner in almost silence, and he was quiet for a while after I spoke. It was killing me not bringing it up, and this seemed like the best way to approach the subject without outright accusing him of hiding something from me. We'd dropped Kate off home an hour ago, and I hadn't been able to get my mind off of her parent's reaction since.

"Why?" he asked eventually.

"Because they think you've lost weight since the last time they saw you."

That evoked another silence. "I mean...I lost a bit, but I didn't think it was enough for anyone else to notice. Can you…?" His face had flushed and I knew he hated the conversation.

I shook my head. "When, Carlisle? How much?"

"After we both got that stomach bug. It was that, and then the headaches, but I can't put it back on. It's almost 5kgs now," he told me quietly. From the way he said it, I could tell that it had been worrying him for a while, and he'd been too nervous to tell me. That boy really needed to learn how to communicate. It was literally going to be the death of him.

My brain swum as I tried to convert the measurements back into imperial units, and we just looked at each other, him knowing he was about to be in trouble and me trying to figure out how much trouble he was in.

"11 pounds, Garrett," he mumbled eventually.

I blew a tight sigh between my teeth. "In how long?"

"Just under a month."

"Jesus." Another tense pause. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to scare you, and I thought I could gain it again before it was a problem."

"Anything else I need to know about?"

"I don't think I can eat anymore of this," he admitted reluctantly, setting his fork down on the edge of his plate. He hadn't got that much down in the time we were sitting there.

"Nauseous?"

"Hmm." He answered in a quiet hum, and suddenly couldn't look at me.

"Allergies aren't going to make you nauseous," I pointed out.

"I know," he admitted softly. "Going out makes my stomach hurt, and I have a headache, and I feel like I'm going to be sick if I eat anymore."

I'd heard it all before, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. "Why don't you make a doctor's appointment? You can't keep going on like this."

"I have one for next week; I want to get allergy shots to try and stop all this." The conversation was making him awkward, fidgeting nervous as we looked at each other. Eventually, he couldn't stand it anymore. "Are you annoyed with me?"

I shook my head, reaching over to squeeze his wrist. "No, Carlisle, I'm just worried about you. All this is freaking me out a bit; I don't want to go back down the same path you've been through in the last year."

"I won't, I'm going to get it sorted out before it gets that bad." He pushed his chair back with his legs, picking up his plate to dump it in the sink to wash later. "I think I need an early night, though." He stopped to kiss me goodnight before disappearing into our bedroom, and I tried to ignore that it was barely 7PM, trying to soothe myself that it was because his sleep schedule was a mess to begin with.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that difficult to forget about it once I started texting Heidi back.