It was as if somebody had just tried to impale her with a spear. Taylor woke up with a start, feeling her kidneys burning in her lower back. It was so unbearable that she almost could not breathe normally. She tried to sit up, but her body felt all numb, and it was as if invisible leather strap were forcing her to lie on the mattress.

However, she managed to move her left arm. At first, she clenched her fist a few times, just to make sure that her fingers were not dead. She gently patted the spot beside her, where John was peacefully sleeping, without any shirt. She stroked his arm and choked on her voice. An ugly sob came out from her mouth, and she slowly shook John.

“John...”

He frowned and moaned, without waking up. Taylor sighed and winced, shaking him a bit harder. She was repeating his name again and again, until he finally opened his eyes.

“What?” he whispered in a drowsy voice.

“Pain.”

Without a word, and as if he had not been sleeping a few seconds before, he immediately sat up, gently taking her arm and helping her up. He spread his legs on the mattress, pushing the sheets off him. He lightly picked her up like a child to make her sit between his legs, and made her curl up.

Taylor was crying, biting the skin of her wrist. She felt John's warm hands rest on her shoulders, his thumbs massaging her shoulder blades.

“We're going to wait a bit to see if it gets better, mmh?” he whispered, kissing her neck. “If it doesn't, I'm going to get your pills.”

“Okay...”

She heaved a long, desperate sigh and cried again as the pain struck once again. She closed her eyes firmly, trying to think about something else. But in spite of all her efforts, the pain was still there, and she felt herself being away a few times. As soon as she felt her eyes rolling upwards, she squeezed John's hand, and her immediately talked to her, gently tapping on her cheeks with the back of his fingers.

“Stay with me, sweetheart, stay with me.”

Taylor struggled to stay awake, and suddenly, everything got back to normal. She wept harder, and John tenderly wrapped his arms around her.

“Can I leave you for a second, so I can take your pills?”

“I think so” she mumbled, feeling the pain starting to fade.

John nodded and took their pillows, gathering them to create a comfortable spot for Taylor to rest on. He slowly removed his legs from her and knelt down, carefully laying her down on the pile of pillows. He got up and pulled the sheets, covering her thin and trembling body.

After he gave her a tender kiss on the forehead, he left the bedroom, running up to the kitchen. He took a look inside the bag of medicines and read all the labels on each box to make sure that he would not give her the wrong pills. When he finally found the right box, he put it asideand grabbed a clean glass on the edge of the sink, which he filled with fresh water.

An idea popped in his mind. He ran up to the corridor and opened a cupboard, in which he found a hot water bottle. Getting back to the kitchen, he opened it and filled a tiny pan with water, which he heated up. He waited a bit, focusing on all the noises he could hear in the house, so he would be ready if Taylor was calling him.

Before the water in the pan boiled, John removed it and poured it into the hot water bottle thanks to a funnel. He closed it with its top, stuck it under his arm, took the pills and the glass, and went back to the bedroom.

Taylor was crying in agony, in a hoarse voice, which frightened her. When she heard John's hurried footsteps, she lightly opened her eyes and sighed. John put two pills in the palm of his hand and sat beside her. He slipped his other hand behind her neck, making her sit up a bit. He tenderly put the first pill in her mouth, making her drink a large sip of water from the bottle. She swallowed it with a wince, before John gave her the second pill.

He put the glass aside on the bedside table, and grabbed the hot water bottle. He buried a hand under the sheets and slowly made her lift her hips.

“What are you doing?” she weakly whispered.

“I'm putting a hot water bottle under your kidneys. Perhaps it'll make you feel better and help you sleep.”

“I don't want to be in that position, John, it hurts even more.”

“Oh. Do you want me to sit behind you like we did before?”

“Please.”

John smiled and shook his head, removing his hands from her lower back. She wrapped his arms around her shoulders and made her sit. He slithered under the sheets behind her and tangled his legs with hers. Heaving a long sigh, she rested her head on his bare chest, stroking his thighs, trying to comfort herself.

He pulled away lightly and stuck the hot water bottle behind her kidneys, before wrapping his arms around her and pressing his body against her back. She giggled and stroked his hand.

“You're going to burn your little bird.”

“What little bird?”

She laughed a bit and patted his crotch.

“This little bird.”

“Oh!” he laughed. “This bird... Nah, he won't be injured. His wings are still beating for you.”

“How nice from him, let me give him a kiss!”

John chuckled and let Taylor spin round and kiss his boxers, tickling it. Then, she winced lightly in pain, pressing her back again against his stomach. She sighed in relief, feeling the hot thing against her kidneys. She closed her eyes and felt John's lips tenderly kissing the skin of her neck. She smiled and intertwined her fingers with his.

“Sorry I had to wake you up.”

“It's alright, darling. I prefer waking up in the middle of the night to take care of you instead of you hiding that to me.”

“You haven't slept much for the last days, it's been happening for days...”

“I don't care, Taylor. My role is to take care of you at any time.”

Taylor sighed and shook her head. With his ankles, John made her spread his legs before her, and he gently pressed on her chest to make her lie properly; as for him, he pressed his back against the pile of pillows.

“Try to sleep, darling.”

“I'm scared...”

“I'm here if you need anything, love.”

“O-okay...”

She sighed and closed her eyes, wanting to snuggle against him a bit more, so she would be lullabied by the sound of his heart beating. But as she had to keep the hot water bottle against her kidneys, she did not move. John started to stroke her hair, kissing the top of her head. At the same time, he was humming something he did not really know.

Thanks to the soft sound of John's voice, she finally managed to fall asleep.