Cosima had been steadily getting worse for days, and Delphine knew that she couldn't do anything anymore. Nobody could, she was too far gone into this illness for there to be a cure. All Cosima wanted to do now was enjoy her last few days of life, but even that proved impossible. She had spent the past few weeks in bed, being visited by all her favourite people (parents, siblings, nephews and nieces, lookalikes, colleagues), but one person had always remained.

Delphine had sat there and held her hand through it all.

"Delphine…"

"Ma cherie?" she whispered, turning her eyes to Cosima's face and smiling wanly at her. "What is it?"

"I…I can't feel my body anymore…" she muttered weakly, and Delphine choked back a sob and held back her tears as best as she could. So it was time…

"Just keep breathing," she whispered to her, stroking her hair and smiling at her. "Just calm down, it's just like falling asleep." She'd prepared herself mentally but it still hurt to see her beautiful, strong, loving girlfriend slip away like this…

"Talk to me," Cosima broke the silence, jolting Delphine out of her thoughts. "Please…"

"About what?"

"About us…"

Delphine smiled, knowing that this would probably be the last thing Cosima would ever hear. She slid her chair closer and put her head as close to Cosima's ear as possible, her hand clutching at her lover's. Cosima grasped back, weakly, but still with enough strength for Delphine to feel it.

"We would have gotten over the whole thing with Leekie, and you and I would have gotten married eventually. We'd have moved out of Minnesota to somewhere…warmer. Like back to San Francisco so you could be near your family. Or maybe the South of France for me, non? It would have been nice. We would have been near the beach and we could go diving and swimming and sailing whenever we wanted to."

For a second, she faltered, her emotions getting the better of her. But Cosima squeezed her hand and she shook her head.

"Right, sorry. Well…" Go on, for her sake just go on. "We would have had children. I like to think we would have. Well…I would have, but they'd be ours. And they'd be so much like you, and they'd grow up smart and surrounded by love. We'd get a dog too and we'd have nice jobs doing experiments for a living. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Cosima smiled briefly, a small nod, barely noticeable, taking the form of a response. Delphine smiled despite herself and gave a small laugh, and then she leaned forward, pressing her forehead to Cosima's.

"And every night after dinner and when the kids are in bed, we'd lie on the sofa together and just…be. You and me and maybe a bottle of wine and a book to share between the two of us. Some nice music, the lights dimmed just a little bit…"

For just a moment, she felt Cosima struggle to breathe, and she stopped, staring wide eyed at her, but the smaller woman just squeezed her hand. She gulped and went on.

"And I'd remind you, every day, of how much I love you."

Behind her tears, between sobs, she kissed Cosima's face. Her chin, her eyes, her forehead, the space between her eyes, the tip of her nose. She was feeling her slowly fade.

"And I would never leave your side, ever. I promise."

She kissed her lips, and the dull, monotonous beep told her that though she had never left her, Cosima just had.