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“Omigod, Abby!  You look awful!”

“Thank you, Dear.  Welcome home.”  Abby gave a weak smile.

Nick raced to her side and put his arms around her.  She leaned her head on his chest and thought, I can die now.  He’s here, I can die now. 

Nick had no idea what to do.  He couldn’t believe how sick she looked.  And way to go on the greeting, Prince Charming!  But she was so thin and drawn…

Terence was appalled at Abby’s appearance.  This was not the time to hover in the background, he knew.  He walked over to them.  “Abby,” he said abruptly, “when was the last you ate something?”

She looked at him.  “Hi, Terence,” she said with a tiny smile.  “I’m sorry.”  Apologizing seemed to be the order of the day for her, she thought, but it really was the easiest thing to say.

“Abby,” said Terence slowly and deliberately, trying to get her to focus on him, “have you had anything to eat today?”

“I’m not hungry,” she said, from her happy place in Nick’s arms.  She knew she was dying, she knew she was sicker than she’d ever been and she was going to die now, but that was okay because she was in Nick’s arms.

“Abby, this is really important,” said Terence, giving Nick a look that said that this was indeed very important, “have you had anything to drink today?”  Terence reached out and took the skin of Abby’s forearm in his fingers.  He pinched it slightly and looked at Nick.  The skin did not settle back into place, but stayed pinched.

“I made tea at noon,” murmured Abby, knowing that her knees were done.  They weren’t holding her up any more.  She sagged against Nick.

But it was Terence that picked her up.  He reached out and scooped her into his arms.  “Where’s the bedroom?” he asked.

“Down here,” said Nick and led the way.  He pulled the covers back on the bed and let Terence place Abby gently down.  When he straightened up, Nick touched his elbow and nodded at the mug sitting on the nightstand, three-quarters full of cold tea.

“Watch her,” said Terence curtly and he disappeared from the room with the mug.  He went to the bathroom and dumped the tea.  He rinsed the mug and filled it with water.

“Drink this,” he said, when he returned.  “Just sip it, but drink it all.  I’ll be right back.”

Abby took the mug from his hands and took a small sip.  It felt good, but the mug was just so heavy.  She tried to brace it on her chest.  The man she loved took it from her.  He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry, Nick,” she whispered again.

“Don’t be sorry, Abby.  It’s not your fault.  Here, have some more of this.”  Nick held the mug to her lips.

“It’s just an ear infection and I’ve got medicine.  It’s just bad timing.”

“I know.  It’s okay.”  Nick held the mug out again.  He spoke soothing words to her and listened to her say she was sorry over and over again.  He made her follow each apology with a sip of water.

Slowly, he managed to get the whole thing into her.  He immediately went back to the bathroom for more.  He looked in the mirror and shook his head at himself.  Man, he was glad Terence was here.  If Nick had been on his own and found Abby like that, he would have called an ambulance immediately.  He didn’t know how to deal with sick people.

He went back into the bedroom.  Abby lay with her eyes closed.  They fluttered open at his approach. 

“Have some more water,” he said, because he had no idea what else to do.

Terence came back into the room carrying a tray.  It had a mug of tea and a plate of toast, two slices cut neatly into triangle halves. 

“You have to eat this, Abby,” he said gently.

“I’m not really hungry,” she said.

Terence pulled one of the chairs close to the bed and took her hand.  “Abby, I want you to think…when was the last time you ate anything?”

Abby tried to think.  “What day is it today?” she asked and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes.  She was ashamed of her weakness.

”It’s Friday,” said Nick softly.  He was getting kinda scared.

“Um…I guess…Wednesday…yeah, that’s when I started to get dizzy.  It was after breakfast on Wednesday and since then…I just haven’t been hungry.  The thought of food…”  Her voice trailed off.

“Have a little bite of toast,” said Terence, holding up the plate.  Abby obeyed, nibbling on one of the points.  “Now, since breakfast on Wednesday, how much have you had to drink?”

“I’m not drunk, Terence,” said Abby.

“I know,” he said, with a little smile.  “That’s not what I’m asking.  I’m asking about water or tea or soda.”  He motioned to Nick who made Abby drink some more sips of water.

“I had tea today,” said Abby.

“How many cups?” asked Nick.

“Just the one,” Abby gestured to the mug in Nick’s hand.  “And…I think I had some yesterday, but I don’t remember.”  A tear slid down her cheek.

“It’s okay.  We’re here now.  I’m here now.  We’ll take care of you,” said Nick.

Terence went into the bathroom and came back with a damp facecloth.  He placed it on Abby’s forehead.  “Keep going with the water and toast,” he ordered and then left the room.

Slowly, Nick got all the toast into Abby.  She asked him about the show in Dallas and he told her, filling the air with words, partly to keep her awake and partly to push down his own feeling of panic.  He punctuated the story with the mug offering it to her often and encouraging her with a smile.

“I feel better now,” said Abby, when Terence came back into the room, carrying the pill bottle and a pitcher of water.

“Good.  I’m glad.”  He held up the bottle.  “How many of these have you had?”

“Two,” answered Abby firmly.  She was happy that she knew the answer. 

“Okay, you’re behind on these,” said Terence, twisting off the cap.

“I know, but I wasn’t sure what to do about that.  I kind of got off kilter.  I overslept.”

“No problem,” said Terence.  “Take one now and then one in the morning.”

Abby dutifully swallowed the pill.  “I can get up now,” she said.  “I feel better.”

“No, you stay there for a bit,” said Terence.  “Let the toast settle.  I’m going to make you some soup.  Keep drinking the water.  Go to sleep if you want to.”

“I have to make dinner,” said Abby.  “I have all the stuff.”

Nick put his hand on her face.  It was hot.  “You stay here, Baby.  Don’t worry about dinner.  We can take care of ourselves.  And we can take care of you.  Let us take care of you.”

Abby was too tired to protest.  “Okay, Cupcake, whatever you say.”  She smiled weakly.

“Why don’t you come and help me in the kitchen for a minute, Nick?” suggested Terence.  “Keep drinking that water, Abby.”

Nick followed Terence out of the room.  The two men went to the kitchen, where Terence started opening doors and taking out pots and food.

“Well?” asked Nick.

“She’ll be okay,” said Terence.  “She’s got the medicine and now that we’re getting some food and liquid into her, she’s on the road to recovery.”

“But she looks so sick…” said Nick, thinking it couldn’t be that easy, could it?

“Well, she was on her way to dehydrating herself, so it’s good we got here when we did and stopped that, but no, there’s really not much to worry about.  You’ll see, she’ll sleep some more and then she’ll be a lot better in the morning.”

“You really think so, Terence?”

“Yes, I do.  So you can just relax now…and think about how you’re going to apologize for your opening remark.  Way to go, Romeo!”

Nick laughed and so did Terence.  The two men made dinner for themselves and soup for Abby.  They encouraged her to drink water.  She told them if they kept it up, she might drown, but she followed their instructions.

At nine o’clock, Nick told Terence that he was confident he could take care of Abby and that Terence could go on to the hotel.  Nick was going to sleep in the second bedroom and he had seen enough of an improvement in Abby that he was sure she’d be better in the morning.  Maybe not up to a concert or anything like that, but better.  Terence warned him that her fever might spike just before she went to sleep tonight and that Nick shouldn’t worry, just give her more water and a cool cloth.  “And don’t expect her to make sense either.”

Nick sent his bodyguard on his way with a big hug and heartfelt thanks.  Terence told him that he’d be back to pick him up at nine the next morning.

Nick nodded.  “And, uh Terence, when you come tomorrow…”

“Yeah?”

“Bring Patrick.”

“Good idea, Boss.  Yeah, I’ll do that.”

Nick went back to check on Abby.  Her eyes were open but she wasn’t really awake.  He spoke her name quietly.  She blinked twice and looked at him.  She gave him a tiny smile.  He smiled back at her.  He held the mug out to her and she took a sip of water.

“Go to sleep now,” he said.  He took the cloth from her forehead and went to the bathroom.  He ran it under cold water and wrung it out.  “Here you go, Baby,” he whispered, placing it on her forehead.

“I’m sorry, Nick,” she said again, through closed eyes.

“It’s okay,” he reassured her again.  “It’s not your fault you’re sick.”

“No, I mean for the email.  What I said.”

“It’s okay.  I understand.”

“I just wanted you to know.  I didn’t mean…it was an accident…I didn’t mean it.”

“Go to sleep,” he whispered.

Nick gathered up the dishes and carried the tray into the kitchen.  He put things away and examined the cupboards and fridge.  He got a beer and wandered through the apartment, always keeping one ear tuned to the bedroom in case Abby called out to him.

He liked what she had done with the place.  It felt like a home.  His home.  It felt like home.  He looked at all the art work and sat on every piece of furniture.  He found a pile of cards and letters in a basket in her study.  They were wedding congratulations.  He leafed through a few.  There was one from Philip Randall, offering her wishes for a long and happy marriage.  Too bad for you, loser, thought Nick.

He looked in on her again and then went to his game room.  He played some video games with the sound off.  He checked on her a couple more times and then decided that she was fast asleep and he should just stay out of there in case he woke her up. 

He played another game and was just thinking about whether or not to go to bed himself when the phone rang.  He grabbed it quickly so that it wouldn’t disturb Abby.

“Hello?”

“Nick?  Is that you?”

“Ronni?”