Jake was a strong man. He took pride in his ability to be able to do things alone, without much help. He never needed partners, never needed to beg for help.

And he didn't mean that in a bad way towards you. You were his beautiful girlfriend. He did need you. But he never had to rely on you to be comfortable.

Until now.

He had randomly gotten a headache. Whatever, it's a headache. He went on his mission anyways. But it got slowly worse over the two days he was on that mission. So much worse.

By the time he was home, he felt like he was half dead. He felt his heartbeat in his head, at least he imagined it, and he could barely keep himself upright.