Carmen tried to lift her tired eyelids, but she only managed to get it halfway up. Her vision was blurred as she scanned the room. It was only a minute ago that she forced herself to sleep, but the sharp pain at the base of her spine jolted her back awake. She shifted slowly, trying to get herself into a more comfortable position.

As her vision cleared up, she lifted her heavy head and glanced around the room. It was glaringly white, and she squinted her eyes more to block out the light coming from the windows beside her bed. She turned to her right avoiding the sun and caught sight of old Mrs Walters. Mrs Walters was sleeping very soundly, snorting occasionally.

Directly opposite her bed was a skinny teenage girl whom Carmen came to know as Charmaine. She wore a cap that hid the bald patches surrounding her head. Carmen noticed a teenage boy sitting by the side of Charmaine's bed and he was feeding her congee.

Carmen sighed with affection and brought her head back down onto the pillow. She was very tired and tried to will herself back to sleep. But as she closed her lids again, she got the sudden urge to hurl. She used a great deal of strength just to sit up and by the time she was ready to get out of the bed, she was feeling too dizzy and nearly fell off the side of the bed.

Charmaine noticed Carmen getting of the bed and gave a yelp when she saw that Carmen nearly fell off the bed. Her boyfriend rushed over to help Carmen, but he wasn't as fast as Shane was.

Shane walked into the ward with a great amount of sadness. She looked around and got depressed at the sight of all the equipment and drugs that the nurses were carrying around. The place smelled of disinfectants and death. Shane shook her head hard to rid herself of the depressed thoughts.

Everyday for the past 2 weeks, she had gone through the same ritual. She would shake her head hard and then smile her most brilliant smile. She didn't want Carmen to see her unhappy, that would upset her a lot more then it should.

Shane looked at the box of cookies that she was holding, trying to draw comfort from it. Jenny had baked them especially for Carmen and instructed Shane to bring it to her dear friend at all cost. Shane smiled, thinking of how the cookies would cheer Carmen up. She was sure that Carmen wouldn't be up to eating much. But even a small bite would make Shane happy, at least her mission was accomplished.

The thought of Carmen being happy gave Shane the courage she needed as she made her way to Carmen's room. She drew in a deep breath before pushing the door open.

As Shane walked into the room smelling the cookies, she caught sight of Carmen struggling to get off the bed. Shane walked swiftly and soundlessly towards her girlfriend and caught her girlfriend in lightning speed when she saw that she was going to fall.

"Carmen! Are you okay!" Shane lowered her voice with concern.

She put her arms around Carmen protectively and peered at her for signs of discomfort. When Carmen pointed to her mouth and made a hurling action, Shane lifted her swiftly around the waist and helped her to the bathroom.

Shane patted Carmen's back softly as Carmen hurled into the toilet bowl. She was careful about not making contact with the lower part of Carmen's back, having gone thru this routine for a week now. She held back the tears and softly encouraged Carmen.

After vomiting all the acidic liquid out, Shane helped Carmen rinse her mouth and guided her back to the bed. When she neared Charmaine's bed, she nodded appreciatively at the both of them and murmured a thank you.

As Carmen settled back on her bed, Shane turned to pour her a glass of water.

"Baby, I'm so glad you're here."

"And I am glad I caught you before you did something stupid like getting out of bed without help." Shane scolded mockingly.

Carmen pouted as she accepted the water from Shane, "I wanted to hurl and it was too late to call for help."

Shane pushed a little button at the side of Carmen's bed until it came up to a more upright position. She sat on the bed, one arm placed protectively across Carmen's thighs.

She looked at Carmen with a big grin and lovingly stroked her cheeks.

Carmen finished sipping the water and Shane helped her place the glass down. Seeing that Carmen was feeling much better, Shane brought her face down for a kiss.

Carmen stopped Shane by placing a finger onto Shane's lips. And Shane gave a confused and amused look.

"I just hurled…"

"I know."

"It's disgusting, Shane."

"I don't care."

Shane lifted Carmen's hand from her lips and placed it on her heart. She closed in for a kiss and slowly ran her lips across Carmen's gently, knowing that her mouth sores would probably be bothering her.

Shane felt Carmen melting into her arms as she lifted her other arm to embrace her. After they tore their lips apart, Shane held Carmen in her arms securely for a moment longer before breaking the embrace slowly.

Satisfied, Shane grinned widely at Carmen. "Besides, I helped you rinsed your mouth, so I know that you are clean as a whistle."

Carmen lifted the corner of her lips in an attempt to smile, but fatigue had set in once again, and she didn't have the energy to response. She leaned forward and buried her head into the nape of Shane's shoulders, relishing in the comfort and warmth that Shane gave.

Shane frowned slightly, but the doctor advised her to keep Carmen happy and distract her from the pain. She forced herself to smile and said lightly.

"Hey, I cajoled Jenny into baking cookies for us. It's your favorite macadamia and choc chips."

Carmen wanted to lift her head to look into Shane's eyes, but she didn't have the strength, so she stayed put where she was.

"Really, that is nice, but where are the cookies?"

"Shit. Yeah where are they?" Shane laughed as she tried to look around for the cookies.

"Right here."

Shane lifted her head and her gaze met the guy that was with Charmaine. He placed the bag onto the side table of the bed.

"Hi, I am Rich, Charmaine's erm… boyfriend." Rich said glancing nervously at Charmaine. Shane turned a little to see a beaming Charmaine. She smiled at Charmaine and then back at Rich. She must have dropped the bag in her haste to get to Carmen.

"Thank you Rich." Shane said appreciatively.

Carmen twisted her head slightly so that she could peer at this Rich, and smiled as best as she could while mouthing "Ditto" slurrishly.

Shane knew that the effects of the drugs had wore off and the pain had somewhat subsided, and Carmen was now ready for sleep. She lifted Carmen gently off her shoulder and placed her head back onto the pillow. Then she restored the bed to its original position. As she gazed lovingly into Carmen's half shut eyes, she brushed a stray lock of hair away from her girlfriend's face, and placed a tender kiss onto Carmen's lips.

Carmen smiled as she drifted to sleep, and once Shane was sure that Carmen was comfortable, she settled into the armchair beside the bed and started reading the novel that she brought along with her.