Twenty-Four Days

by Janet Albert

  "Uh, huh." Jamie started to cry. "I'm sorry, I..."

  "I'm coming right over."

  "No, no, you don't have to." Jamie protested.

  "I want to and don't argue with me because I'm coming and that's that. I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay in bed and don't try to do anything until I get there." It took Miranda all of ten minutes to call her sister, tie up any loose ends and shut the door behind her.

  CONSIDERING THE HEAVY volume of Friday evening traffic and the fact that she'd stopped to pick up some food and beverages at a grocery store, Miranda arrived at Jamie's place a lot sooner than she thought she would. She even found a parking place nearby. It took a while for Jamie to buzz her in and when she got upstairs, she found the apartment door ajar. After she put everything away, she grabbed her medical bag and went into Jamie's bedroom where she found her curled up in bed, her face flushed, her eyes red, her hair a tangled mess.

  Jamie's eyes flooded with tears the instant she saw Miranda. They flowed freely in hot streams down her feverish cheeks. "You didn't have to come." She clutched at Miranda's sleeve, pulling her down to sit on the bed next to her.

  "Shh, don't cry. I'm here now." Miranda sat on the bed and pressed her cool hand on Jamie's hot forehead before tenderly brushing her damp hair away from her face. Without thinking, she laid her palm against Jamie's cheek and swept the hot tears away with her thumb. She didn't need a thermometer to tell her that Jamie had a raging fever. "How long have you been this sick?"

  "Since yesterday afternoon."

  "Why didn't you call me?" I would have come. I would have been here.

  "Didn't know I could... you're so busy." Jamie closed her eyes.

  "I'm never too busy for you. Now, don't try to talk so much." Miranda reached for her medical bag, got a digital thermometer out, and placed it under Jamie's tongue. "Let's see how hot you are." Almost immediately, it beeped. "Uh, huh, just as I thought, 103.2."

  "You make a lot of house calls?"

  "You're my first, now hush. You've got quite a fever."

  Jamie winced and closed her eyes. "Got a bad headache, too."

  "That's because of the fever. Did you call your doctor?"

  Jamie shook her head. "Don't have one. I kept meaning to, but..."

  "I know how that goes. You put it off and then when there's a problem, you don't have one. Well, I promised you on the ship I'd take care of you if you ever got sick, so I guess I'll be your doctor, at least for now."

  Jamie smiled faintly. "I like a woman who keeps her promises."

  Miranda smiled. "So do I. Did you take anything for the fever?"

  "No, didn't know what to do."

  "I brought some Tylenol. How's your stomach feel? Any nausea?"

  "No, it's okay." Jamie's eyelids kept drooping and her dry cracked lips stuck together as she tried to talk. "I haven't eaten much."

  "From the looks of it, you haven't had much to drink either. I'm not concerned about you eating but you need fluids and we need to get your temperature down. You'll feel a lot better when we do." Miranda pulled a stethoscope out of her bag. "Let me listen to your lungs." She put her hand on Jamie's shoulder and turned her toward her to listen to the back of her chest and then she helped her onto her back again to listen to the front.

  She felt Jamie's eyes on her the whole time.

  Jamie covered her mouth with her hand and turned her head away from Miranda. "My breath is bad. I'm disgusting. I feel so dirty... too sick to wash."

  "Don't worry about it. You have some secretions in your upper airways but your lungs are clear. No signs of pneumonia." Miranda would have considered sending Jamie to the hospital if she'd suspected she had pneumonia, especially since she was alone and had no one to take care of her.

  "I hate for you to see me like this."

  "Don't worry about it. You're very sick. Besides, I already know what you look like." Miranda reached into her bag and grabbed her otoscope. "Let me examine your ears." She had Jamie turn her head back and forth as she carefully inspected each one. "Okay, they look good. No signs of infection."

  "That's good, huh?"

  "That's very good. I know it's frightening to be this sick, but try not to worry, okay?" Miranda took a penlight and a tongue blade out of her bag. "Now, let me see that throat. Open up and say aaaah." Miranda peered inside. "It's really inflamed in there."

  "It hurts."

  It troubled Miranda to see Jamie so fragile and vulnerable. How she longed to soothe her, comfort her in some way. Again, she stroked Jamie's face and brushed her hair back from her forehead. "I've seen you look a whole lot better."

  "You sure look good to me, Doctor." Jamie reached up and took Miranda's hand in hers. She held it tightly and pressed it against her cheek. "What do I have, the plague?"

  Miranda laughed, softly. "No, silly, but I do think you have the flu. We've treated a lot of this all week in the ER." She continued to hold Jamie's hand, touched by her need and needing to touch her. As sick as Jamie was, it still felt so good to touch her. "God, I hate to see you like this even though I know you'll be all right."

  "That's hard to believe, right now. Why did you call me?"

  "I was going to ask you to go out with me."

  "You wanted to go out with me?" Jamie closed her eyes and smiled. "When?"

  "I don't know. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I thought maybe I'd take you out to dinner tomorrow evening. Anyway, it's out of the question, now."

  "Damn...hate to miss that." Jamie struggled to focus.

  "We'll go out as soon as you're better."

  "Promise?" Jamie asked, a glimmer of light shining in her eyes.

  "I promise."

  "I wanted you to call me, so much. I thought you might not."

  "Why would you think that? I mean, why would you think that now?"

  "I thought after we went out...I thought you might run away again."

  "No way. I wanted to see you again."

  "That makes me happy."

  "I'm really pleased I've done something to make you happy for a change. Now, let's see what we can do to make you more comfortable."

  "Can you help me...to the bathroom? I need to wash and brush my teeth." Jamie let go of Miranda's hand and tried to sit up.

  Miranda held her back. "Wait, not so fast. You're not going to last long so we need to have a plan. You stay here while I fill the tub and get everything ready and then I'll help you with the rest. A bath might bring your fever down and I know it'll make you feel better."

  "Wonderful." Jamie moaned as she lay back down.

  "Where do you keep your underwear and clean pajamas? I'll take them in there with me." Jamie told her where to find them and after Miranda had a pair of clean panties and pajamas tucked under her arm, she said, "Stay put. I won't be long."

  In the bathroom, Miranda filled the tub with hot water, adding a handful of bath salts she discovered on a shelf. She also found a new bar of herbal soap under the sink and clean towels on the towel bar. Satisfied that things were ready, she went to get Jamie.

  "Okay, try to sit up." She stood by Jamie's bed and pulled the covers down.

  Jamie sat up in bed, hanging onto Miranda's arm and steadying herself with her other hand. "Phew...dizzy." She sat for a minute, just breathing.

  "Here, lean on me and take it slow." Miranda put her arm around Jamie's waist and helped her stand on her wobbly legs. "Put your arm around my shoulder." Step by step, they made their way to the bathroom.

  Jamie paused outside the door. "Can you wait out here for a minute? I have to use the toilet first before I do anything else. "

  "Sure. Will you be all right?"

  "I hope so. I'll hang on and take it slow."

  "Okay. Leave the door open a little and let me know when you're done." Miranda waited until Jamie finished and when she was summoned, she found Jamie standing at the sink, holding on with one hand while she brushed her teeth with the other. "I'm glad to see you're still standing."

 
"Barely. I look like death warmed over." Jamie scowled at her reflection in the mirror. "Maybe worse."

  "Do yourself a favor and don't look." She waited while Jamie rinsed with mouthwash before she asked the unavoidable question, "Do you think you can get undressed without any help from me?"

  "I'm not sure. Better stay close, just in case."

  "I think I'd better. I'll turn around until you're in the tub." Miranda put the toilet seat lid down and sat with her back facing Jamie. "I promise I won't look."

  "Don't care if you do." Jamie removed her pajamas and panties and threw them into a pile on the floor. Somehow, she got herself into the tub, groaning with pleasure as she submerged her body into the hot water. "I'm in. Feels so good."

  "Why don't you let me help you get washed? I know you're too sick to wash your own hair. I don't mind, honestly I don't."

  "Okay." Jamie was too weak and too sick to object.

  Miranda knelt beside the tub and wet Jamie's hair with the sprayer attachment. Try as she might, she failed to keep her eyes from taking in the breathtaking beauty of Jamie's body, the swell of her soft breasts, her dark pink nipples bobbing just below the water line, her flat abdomen, her toned thighs and the dark triangle of hair at the top of her legs. Just looking at Jamie's body made Miranda incredibly aroused. She's so beautiful. Here she is, sick as can be, and here I am, getting turned on.

  With trembling hands, she shampooed Jamie's hair and rinsed it, trying not to look anywhere else.

  "That feels so good."

  "Want me to wash it a second time?"

  "Please." Jamie shut her eyes.

  Miranda washed Jamie's hair a second time, relieved to see shampoo bubbles partially covering Jamie's body. "You finish washing yourself and soak for a minute. I'll wait over here." Miranda sat on the toilet seat, discreetly facing in another direction. It felt intrusive to sit there while Jamie did something so personal, so she said, "Do you want me to put clean sheets on your bed while you do that?"

  Jamie shook her head. "No, I did that the day before yesterday."

  "All right. I'll go fluff your pillows and straighten the bed up and then I'll come back for you. Wait for me. Don't try to get out on your own." As soon as Miranda entered the hallway, she faced the wall, one hand stretched out above her head. She pressed her forehead against the blessed coolness of the wall and pulled in a few ragged breaths to steady herself against the constant blitz of desire that attacked without mercy. She was in trouble, big trouble, and she had no idea what she was going to do. It took her a full minute before she felt able to go into Jamie's bedroom and tackle the bed.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  "ALL DONE?" MIRANDA asked when she returned to the bathroom. Jamie was soaking in the tub, her head resting against the back of it.

  "More like done in." Jamie turned her head and smiled weakly.

  "Okay, let's get you out of there," Miranda said, knowing Jamie was too weak to get out on her own. She held a towel open and waited while Jamie stood up. "Hang onto my shoulders." The instant Jamie's feet hit the floor Miranda wrapped her in the towel and sat her on the toilet seat. Then she handed her another towel. "Here, for your hair."

  "Thanks. I can dry myself."

  While Jamie did that, Miranda got Jamie's underwear and pajamas and handed them to her. "Can you get these on by yourself?"

  "I think so. Stay here in case I need your help."

  "Okay." Miranda turned her head to the side although she wanted to feast her eyes on Jamie's beautiful body until she'd had her fill. More than that, she had to fight the urge to take off her own clothes and hold Jamie's naked body against her own.

  "You can look now. I'm decent." Jamie stood up and rested her hands on Miranda's shoulders. She looked into her eyes. "Thank you so much. I can't think of anyone who would have done this for me."

  "It's all right, Jamie. I'm glad I called you. I wouldn't have known how sick you were and I wouldn't have been able to stand it if I found out that you'd been this sick and that you'd been here all alone and I didn't know." She slipped her arm around Jamie's waist. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."

  Jamie groaned and settled into the sheets as soon as she climbed into bed. "It feels so good to be clean and back in this bed." She reached for the covers, her body shivering, her teeth chattering. "I felt warm when I was in the tub, but now I'm freezing."

  "You're cold because of your fever." Miranda got a pair of soft cotton socks from the dresser and put them on Jamie's feet and then she got an extra blanket from the closet and spread it on top of the quilt. "There, that should help. Before you drift off to sleep, I want you to take some Tylenol and drink some fluids. I also think you should eat some toast or crackers with the pills so they won't upset your stomach. Do you think you could?"

  "Yeah, some toast, maybe. I have bread--and butter too."

  Miranda went out to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with two pieces of warm buttered toast and a glass of fruit flavored vitamin water on ice.

  Jamie downed the pills, drank most of the water and ate two pieces of toast before she fell back on the pillows with a sigh. "That water tasted good. I didn't realize how dry I was. Did you buy that for me?"

  "I stopped at the store on the way over. I wasn't sure if you had anything."

  "That was sweet of you." Jamie smiled faintly, her eyelids heavy.

  Miranda sat on the bed by Jamie's side and felt her forehead. "You need to sleep."

  "Don't go away." Jamie grabbed Miranda's arm. "Please don't leave me."

  "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here."

  "Good." Jamie let her eyes fall shut and before long, her limp hand lost its grip on Miranda's arm and fell onto the bed. Miranda sat there for a while and watched Jamie sleep, thinking she looked like an angel. Lightly, so as not to wake her, Miranda stroked her flushed cheek and touched her hair.

  Satisfied Jamie was sound asleep, Miranda went to get the turkey sandwich and bottle of ice tea she'd bought for herself at the store. On the way to Jamie's she'd already made up her mind to stay all night. She knew she'd never be able to sleep if she left her alone and she also knew she'd worry about her the entire night.

  She laid her sandwich and drink down and went to examine the contents of a large bookcase. The eclectic collection of interesting books she found there pleased her greatly and she smiled broadly when she discovered a number of lesbian romance novels on the two bottom shelves. Miranda considered them one of her private diversions and she was pleased to see that Jamie liked them, too. They beat the hell out of the medical journals she had to read to keep up with her profession. Seeing one by one of her favorite authors that she hadn't read, Miranda grabbed it and sunk into the chair by the window. As she ate, she started turning the pages.

  About half way through the story, just when things were beginning to heat up between the two main characters, her head began to bob and at some point she dropped the book in her lap and it fell on the floor. After a good stretch, she took her plate and glass out to the kitchen and made a trip to the bathroom. Back in the bedroom, she retrieved her book and climbed onto the bed next to Jamie. Feeling a bit revived, she propped a couple of pillows behind her, opened the book and began to read.

  The next time she opened her eyes, the soft light streaming in through the shades on the windows signaled her that it was early morning. To her surprise, she found herself curled up against Jamie's back, her arm draped over Jamie's waist. Concerned that she might wake her sleeping companion, Miranda carefully removed her arm and slid off the bed. Before she did anything else, she'd go into the bathroom and freshen up and then she'd put something together for breakfast.

  "Good morning, Doctor." Jamie's eyes were open and she smiled when Miranda came back into the bedroom.

  "Hi there. How's my favorite patient this morning?" Miranda set a plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast and a cup of hot tea on the bedside table.

  "Not great, but better--a little, I think."

>   "Good. I made you some breakfast. I hope you like tea." Miranda arranged a couple of pillows behind Jamie's back and helped her to a sitting position.

  "I do. Did you eat already?"

  Miranda nodded and handed her the plate of food. "You work on that and I'll go get my tea. Be right back."

  Miranda sat in the chair, sipping her tea while Jamie ate. As soon as Jamie placed her almost empty plate on the bedside table, Miranda came over, sat next to her and felt her forehead with the back of her hand. "You don't feel like you have a fever right now."

  "Your hand is so cool." Jamie took Miranda's hand in hers and pressed the palm to her cheek. "You slept next to me all night, didn't you? I felt you holding me."

  Miranda nodded again. "I wanted to keep an eye on you so I got on top of the bed to read and the next thing I knew, it was morning. I must have been tired." Miranda hoped she wasn't blushing. "I don't know how I ended up against you. I hope you didn't mind."

  "Mind? I don't mind. I used to want to be in bed with you, remember? Of course, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind at the time." Jamie kept Miranda's hand pressed to her face the whole time they spoke to each other.

  "Is that so?" I used to want to be. Miranda noted Jamie's exact words, thinking they pretty much indicated that Jamie's attraction for her had long since faded away. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but we both slept through the whole thing."

  "That's too bad." Jamie winked. "Hey...aren't you worried you'll catch this flu thing I have? Being so close to me and all?"

  "Didn't you know that doctors are immune?"

  "I know they'd like to think they are."

  "How do you think they got through all the plagues and epidemics throughout history and still survived? Anyway, I had a flu shot in the fall, so let's hope it covers the strain you have and if it doesn't, then maybe I'll just get lucky."

  "I hope you do, because I wouldn't wish this on anyone, especially you." Jamie smiled but then her face looked serious. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

  "No, go ahead."

  "Am I keeping you from something or somebody important? Having you here made me feel so comforted and cared for, but I wouldn't want to take advantage of you."