It’s cold, too cold. I don’t remember it being this cold when I went to bed last night. I pull the covers over my head and close my eyes, hoping to go back to sleep. My alarm clock goes off, startling me, and I roll over and shut it off. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and wrap the comforter around me, hoping to stay warm somehow. I stand and make my way down the hall, pushing open the second door on my left, making sure I haven’t woken anyone else. She’s still asleep and I’m glad, knowing that if I woke her up she would be cranky all morning. I make my way back to my room and drop the comforter on the floor, moving to the bathroom. I take a shower and get dressed in a matter of minutes, trying to stay warm and stay quiet at the same time. After finishing up I make my way to her room and knock on the door gently. She doesn’t answer it and I get worried, knowing that she should be awake by now. “Natalie, are you awake?” Nothing, she doesn’t even move. I make my way over to the bed and sit down on the edge. I put my hand on her back and rub it gently. “Nat, time to get up.” She groans quietly and buries her head in the pillow. “Come on, I’ll make you some breakfast.” Again, nothing, I should have known that getting her up wouldn’t be easy. I run my hand through her hair and pull it back when I feel how warm her forehead is. “You’re burning up Nat.” ”No, I’m freezing.” Finally, she talks, but not for long before she starts coughing. I move my hand back down to her back and rub it gently until she calms down some. “You okay Nat?” She shakes her head and I can see the tears brimming in her eyes, and my heart breaks at the sight. “You stay right here okay, I’m going to get a thermometer and some water.” I squeeze her shoulder gently and stand, walking towards the hall bathroom where I retrieve the thermometer from the medicine cabinet before heading into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. Making my way back to her room I think that I should grab some aspirin just in case. After I have everything I head to her room and set everything down on the night table before gently shaking her shoulder. She rolls over and looks up at me, eyes barely open, and pale. “Here.” I hold out the thermometer and she gently takes it from me, sticking it under her tongue and closing her eyes. I sit there and hold her hand while we wait and when it beeps I gently take it from her mouth. “102.3.” She groans and rolls back over, coughing some more. “I brought some Tylenol, you should take some to try and slow down that fever.” I know that she knows this, I mean, she is a doctor too, but I feel like I owe it too her to take care of her. When she doesn’t say anything back I gently turn her to face me. “Why don’t you take some, okay?” She shakes her head ‘no’ and tries to roll back over. “Come on Nat, it’ll make you feel better.” “I don’t care. I don’t want to swallow anything, my throat hurts too badly.” She whispers this hoarsely and I can see the pain on her face when she does. “I’m sure it does Hun, but it’ll help.” I hold out the pills and the bottle of water, hoping she’ll take my advice. She slowly sits up and leans against the headboard, taking the pills from me first and the bottle. She swallows them slowly, trying to hide the pain on her face as she does. “Go ahead and lay back down okay.” She does as I say and curls up in a ball, facing the door, wrapping the blanket around her body tightly. I run my hand down her face and brush the hair out of her eyes. “Why don’t you go ahead and go back to sleep okay?” “Don’t you have to go to work?” She coughs violently before letting her head fall down onto the pillow. “I’m staying here with you today.” “I’m fine.” She has tears in her eyes and is obviously in a lot of pain. “No your not.” I pull the blanket up over her shoulders even more. “I’m not leaving you alone, and I don’t think you can make it out the bed on your own anyway.” She smiles softly and I smile back. “Go on back to sleep now Nat, you’ll feel better in no time.” She shakes her head gently and closes her eyes. I don’t know how long I sit there with her, holding her hand and rubbing her back until she falls asleep. As I sit there I study her, and wonder why I have never made my move on her. I mean, she has to be the most beautiful woman in the world, not to mention the bravest. She puts up with everything we see so well, like a human being should, unlike some of us. Even with all we’ve been through she still manages to have pride in what she does. And what amazes me the most is that even after all the crap I’ve put her through she’s still my best-friend. She mumbles something incoherent in her sleep and starts coughing. I gently rub her arm, hoping it’ll help calm her down, but it doesn’t. I don’t really want to wake her, but I don’t think I have a choice. Shaking her shoulder gently I wait for her to come around. “Hey there.” I whisper when she opens her eyes. “Everything okay?” She doesn’t answer, but instead she grips onto my hand tightly. “What’s wrong?” I ask as I gently squeeze back. She starts coughing even more violently and I pull her into a sitting position to help her breathe, leaving my left hand on her back for support. We sit there like this for a while, her going into coughing fits and me rubbing her back, hoping it’ll comfort her in some way. After about fifteen minutes of sitting there she finally stops, out of breath and crying. “Stay here Nat; I’ll get some cough medicine.” I start stand-up but she won’t let go of my hand. “What’s wrong?” “Don’t leave.” “I’m just going to get you some medicine okay? I’ll be right back, I promise.” She gently let’s go of my hand and I hurry off to the bathroom.