Amanda was sitting on the couch trying to concentrate on her history book. All the words seem to jumble together as eyes skimmed the pages. Nothing was making sense to her. She put the book down in frustration, letting it fall on the floor. Amanda rubbed her temples and closed her eyes for a moment. Her head pounded and her eyes felt weary. She figured it was from studying too much. A sigh escape her lips as she turned on the TV. It was nine o'clock and there was nothing on but news. Determined to find something half way entertaining to watch, she hastily flipped through the channels. Since there was absolutely nothing on, she clicked the TV off and laid on the couch. Her headache was growing worse, so she got up to take an aspirin. She found the aspirin in the kitchen cabinet and took it with a glass of water then made her way back to the couch. Before she could even sit down, she heard the doorbell ring. She rolled her eyes and opened the door to find A.J. with an armful of groceries and a bouquet of pale pink tulips.
"Hey, babe," he said then kissed her on the cheek.
Amanda dumbfounded stared at him. "Alex, what are you doing here?"
"I'm making you dinner tonight. We planned it this morning. Did you forget?" he asked as he wandered into the kitchen and began taking the stuff out of the bags. He handed her the tulips. "These are for you."
"Thank you," Amanda said as she took out a vase from under the sink. "So, what are we having tonight?" she asked as she ran water into the vase.
"Lemon and garlic chicken with baby potatoes, carrots and salad. For dessert. . .peach cobbler," he said as he pulled out the container of peach cobbler. "It's my mom's recipe I made it this morning."
"My, you have been a busy boy," Amanda said as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Only the best for my girl," he said with a quick peck on the lips. "I'm gonna get started. You wanna help or are you gonna study? Doesn't matter to me. I can handle this if you need to hit the books."
Amanda sighed. "I think I've done all the studying I can do for one night."
A.J. kissed her cheek then looked at her. “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”
“I think I’ve just been studying too hard lately. I’ve got a headache.”
“Why don’t you rest for a little while? I can handle this,” he insisted.
“Are you sure?”
“Definitely,” he said with a smile. “I’ll come wake you if you fall asleep.”
“Okay,” she said then went back into the living room.
An hour had passed and Amanda had fallen asleep while watching Seinfield. She opened her eyes as A.J. was gently rubbing her hand on her arm to wake her.
“Dinner’s ready,” he said gently.
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” she said as she sat up.
Amanda stretched her stiff muscles and looked at A.J. He smiled and offered his hand to her as she got off the couch. A.J. led her into the kitchen and she smiled when she saw that he had lit candles and set up the table with her china dishes. He dimmed the light then lead Amanda over to her seat. Amanda looked at the food and was slightly disappointed that she didn’t have much of an appetite. She glanced at A.J., who was anxiously waiting for her to take the first bite out of her chicken. Amanda chuckled and cut off a piece off her chicken. She chewed slowly and smiled.
"Mmm, this is really good. You did a good job," she commented.
A.J. smiled with relief. "I'm glad you like it."
The two of them ate the dinner and enjoyed a quiet conversation. When they finished, A.J. cleaned up the dishes and got out the peach cobbler. He cut out two pieces and placed them on clean plates. A.J. grinned as he set a piece in front of her and returned to his seat. Amanda suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit her as she looked at the cobbler, shaking it off she just sat there and picked at it.
A.J. noticed it and looked at her in concern. "You okay? You're not eating your cobbler."
Amanda looked up and smiled. "Sorry, I guess I ate too much. I'm not really hungry anymore. I don't think I have room for cobbler."
A.J. chuckled. "That's okay. We'll put it in the fridge for later," he said as he took her plate from her.
She watched him as he put the cobbler in the refrigerator blew out the candles. A.J. smiled and took her hand.
"Come on, let's go to your room. I rented a movie."
Amanda followed him to her room and sat on the bed. He put the movie and sat down next to her. "What did you rent?"
"City of Angels," A.J. said as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know how much you love that movie."
Amanda smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. A.J. made himself comfortable and Amanda laid her head on his chest and watched the movie. The two of them cuddled as the movie went on. Amanda noticed her eyes getting heavy and slowly she drifted off to sleep. She was awoken by the sound of A.J. turning off the TV and putting the movie away.
"What are you doing?" she said in a hoarse voice.
A.J. kissed her on the forehead and pulled the covers back. "You're going to bed, you're tired."
"Are you leaving?" Amanda asked, sitting up feeling slightly dizzy. "Ooh!" she softly moaned, pressing her hand on her forehead.
“Are you okay?” he asked in concern.
“I’m fine,” she said as she rubbed her head. “I sat up too fast.”
"I'm staying right here tonight," A.J. said then put the covers over her.
He took off his shirt and jeans and climbed into bed with her. He draped his arms around her and she snuggled closely to him.
"Good night," he whispered.
Amanda didn't answer, she had already started to fall back to sleep. A.J. yawned and kissed her on the top of her head. Amanda linked her fingers with his and fell asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, she was awaken by nausea. She tried to not wake A.J., so she carefully slid away from him. Amanda was shaking and her stomach was queasy. She sat on the edge of the bed, breathing slowly, hoping it would pass. She felt A.J. roll over and sit up. He moved closer to her and placed his hand on her back.
"Amanda? What's the matter, baby?" he said softly.
Amanda felt her stomach turn. She moaned and swiftly she got up and ran to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She hovered over the toilet and nothing happened. She heard A.J. lightly tap on the door.
"Amanda, baby, are you okay?" he asked from behind the door.
Amanda got down on her knees and held her hair back. "I'm okay," she weakly responded. "Just go back to bed."
"Are you sure?" A.J. asked in obvious concern.
"Yeah, just go on back to bed," she called back.
Amanda closed her eyes as she began to vomit. When she was finished, she flushed the toilet, rinsed her mouth, and washed her face. She stared herself in the mirror and dried off her face with a hand towel. She came out of the bathroom and A.J. was sitting on the bed. He gave her a sympathetic look and took her hand, leading her to the bed and laid next to her.
"Are you sure you’re okay? That didn‘t sound too good," A.J. asked as he rubbed his hand on her stomach.
"Yeah, I think so." Amanda said softly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I just wanna go back to sleep. Probably just a bug or something I ate."
A.J. placed his hand on her forehead. "You're not running a fever."
"I'm fine. Just go back to sleep," Amanda whined.
A.J. kissed her on the top of her head and held her close. He hummed softly in her ear, she couldn't help but smile. A.J. always hummed in her ear when she was sick. His soft voice sang a lullaby and, eventually, Amanda went back to sleep.
