Jane cracked an eye open, only to squeeze them shut immediately. The light shining through the cracks of her curtains hurt her head. The left side of her face hurt and felt swollen along with the lower side of her stomach. Her body burned with a slight fever, but Jane felt extremely cold. Any move she made, no matter how slight, made her symptoms worse.

This wasn't good. Turning slightly on her side, Jane became dizzy and nauseated. Between her legs, she felt wet: as if her bladder broke while she slept and leaked everywhere. This is not good. She groaned, afraid of moving any further. Jane had gotten her period.

Nooooo! She weakly moaned, the pain growing worse with every second of consciousness. Jane was a strong woman hands down, but her periods tended to be stronger. Worse than that, the brunette's monthly friend had the ugly habit of dropping in randomly. It made tracking her menstrual cycle on those apps useless.

Normally, she was vigilant about her menstrual cycle - paying close attention to her body when it felt off. However, this time she had been distracted. Working with police to bait her stalker. She was working on repaying Nona for her help. The pile of work at the office had kept her preoccupied as well. Lastly, Jane had gotten so busy avoiding her boss, that she hadn't questioned it when her body gave its aged-old signals that her monthly was creeping up on her. She had foolishly assumed it was the stress and lack of sleep catching up to her.

Now it was here and it was not happy with Jane at all. Jane was laughably unprepared. The worst part of this situation was that it came with the flu. In times like these, Jane wished she were born male.

Counting down from five, Jane used what little strength she had to roll over. Blood gushed out, making the usual stoic secretary squish her eyes in disgust. She covered her mouth, feeling her stomach and head protest at the movement. Still, it had to be done.

Keeping her eyes closed, Jane felt around for her bedside drawer. She always left her phone charging on there, next to the lamp. After a couple of seconds, she felt the device and grabbed it. She needed Quinn.

Quinn had taken care of her during the worst of her period flu before. Jane felt safe around the blonde medic during these times of vulnerability. From past experiences, Jane knew that no matter what, Quinn would show. She was that kind of person: a sister who dropped the world for her siblings.

Jane teared up a little thinking about it. She reminded her it was her PMSING, but it didn't stop her brain from bringing up painful memories. She hissed at herself for acting like a baby. Cracking an eye open, she typed her code into her phone, unlocking it.

The migraine doubled from the electronic light. Her eyes squinted on reflex, though it did little to ease her headache. She groaned from the painful cramps. She clicked on Quinn's contact and sent her a voice recording.

When she was finished, Jane dropped the phone by her side. She was drained and wanted the room to stop spinning. Quinn would be on her way. All Jane had to do now was get a pad and wait for the medic to arrive. Jane moaned thinking of the long journey to her cabinet. It took her some time to roll out of bed.

If only she realized sooner that she had messaged the wrong person. She would've canceled the text or messaged it was for someone else. If she did, then a certain boss wouldn't be knocking on her door an hour later. She answered with her eyes still shut, believing it was her angel of a friend. They snapped open when it was Ricky's voice she heard. It was an instant regret. The pain that exploded in her brain was enough to make her cry.

Of all the people she could have sent that message to, it had to be the man she'd been avoiding. Her boss. 'Because of course, it would.' The agonizing thing about this situation was that this time, it was Jane's fault. She wanted to kick herself.

"You ok?" He asked worriedly looking over the brunette.

It was a stupid question. Jane was winded from dragging herself out of bed to answer the door. Her usual pale complexion was even more so, with tinges of brown under the lids of her eyes. If the Grim Reaper had a sister - it would be Jane. She thought of slamming the door on her handsome boss. Unfortunately, Ricky Evens didn't give her that lovely opportunity.

Jane heard plastic rustling before she felt Ricky arms gently guide her to the couch. He helped her into a sleeping position before turning back to gather the bags he left on the floor. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Ricky didn't know. He had been about to shave when his phone chimed. He had a personal chime for Jane - thus he immediately grabbed the device and opened it.

She sounded awful. Ricky's eyes widened hearing Jane say she felt she was dying and couldn't open her eyes. That she needed help. She also mentioned the possibility of needing pads. 'She must be sick. This isn't like her at all.' It was a call to action that Ricky couldn't ignore. In the end, Ricky called Ted and informed him he would be off today.

Forgoing his shave, Ricky dressed in casual wear and headed off to the local pharmacy store. While he shopped, he called his older sisters for some help. That's how he ended up at Jane's apartment. Looking at the secretary, he was glad he had come. She looked ghastly.

"You asked for help." Ricky closed the door and locked it. He put the bags on the kitchen island before turning his attention back to Jane. "You messaged me this morning and I couldn't exactly ignore it."

Jane wished she could punch herself in the face. "That was meant for my friend." She explained, blushing slightly. She couldn't believe how weak she was being in front of her boss! "I'm sorry for disturbing you. You didn't have to come here."

"Well, I'm here now." Ricky figured the message had to be for somebody else, but it was he who was chosen. He wasn't going to give that up. Jane had spent a good amount of time avoiding him. The only time she spent in his presence was when they had to talk about work appointments and emails and blah, blah, blah.

Ricky wasn't sure what he felt towards his secretary, but the desire for closeness never left. It grew worse. Now, he kind of got what he wanted: time with Jane. It wasn't disappointing.

The first thing he pulled out of the bags was a heating pad. "Pardon me for a moment." He informed Jane as he approached her. He plugged the cord in and guided Jane's hand to the pad. "My sister recommended this brand. She said it helps with cramps a lot." He allowed Jane to take it and place it where it needed to go.

Some relief washed over her face. It felt so nice and provided some comfort to the shivering woman.

Today must have been Ricky Evens' lucky day: he was seeing another side of his infamous secretary. He didn't know she was capable of making such vast expressions. He smiled a bit. Jane reminded him of a feisty kitten. Not thinking much, the lawyer placed a hand on her cheek. Jane let out a painful gasp. It was the sensitive side he had touched. Instantly, Jane slapped his hand away.

"I'm sorry!" Ricky frowned. "I didn't mean to hurt you but you're burning up!" Standing up, he walked back to the bags on the island and pulled out the rest of the stuff.

He had brought medicine; a box of pads (super absorbent); bed sheets and a fleece blanket. He also brought some groceries to cook for Jane, as well as praline chocolates. The chocolates were a sedative in case Jane became angry with Ricky. He thanked God that he grew up with two sisters. They were very moody on their monthly. It made Ricky feel like all those years he suffered with them, had trained him for this moment in time. His sisters should be proud.

Opening the medicine, Ricky took out two capsules. He got a glass of water and the fleece blanket he had brought and took it to Jane. "I'm going to place a blanket on you, ok." He stated, not wanting to hurt his secretary again. "Just bear with me for a sec, Jane."

The noise hurt Jane. She wanted Ricky to stop talking, but the sudden warmth of the blanket he placed on her felt so comforting. It was the best type of material for a PMSing woman. Jane felt embarrassed that the one caring for her this way was her boss. 'How does he know what I needed?'

Jane forced her eyes open, against her better judgment. Thankfully, Ricky's body blocked out the majority of the light from her windows. He leaned over her; a deep concern etched on his face. It fuddled Jane's already hazy mind. Very seldom had she seen a guy care deeply for her well-being. Her boss was a complex man.

"This medicine should help that migraine." Ricky offered her the capsule and water. He was too nice.

Plain-ordinary-Jane would've refused to be babied like this. She would have given a quick thanks for the concern but threw Ricky out immediately. Her period flu was none of his business. It breached etiquette; he was her boss and she was his employee. She should've maintained the line.

But Jane was not her usual self today. So she did not demand that Ricky leave. Instead, she became docile. Opening her mouth, she allowed her boss to feed her the capsules. She didn't fight him when he placed the cup of water on her lips. "Sorry." She croaked as some water had spilled onto Ricky's hand.

"It's ok."

Jane closed her eyes again, feeling the medication take effect. The pain in her body had ebbed to a normal throb. At least now she could relax enough to sleep. "This feels nice." She thought out loud, not realizing it. The next thing she realized, she had fallen asleep.

She'd awoken sometime in the evening. 'How long was I out?' She still had a headache, but it wasn't as painful. As her brain caught up with her, Jane realized two crucial things: 1) Something smelled amazing in her kitchen. 2) She had an ice patch on her forehead.

Cautiously, the brunette sat up and looked around. Her boss was gone but he had left his mark on Jane's home. Fresh tomato soup sat on her stove with some garlic bread and there was a box of chocolate on her kitchen island. The third thing she finally realized was how hungry she was! Unable to resist the aroma, Jane made her way over to the food.

By the bread, Ricky had left a note. There were instructions on how to toast the bread and a suggestion to use the cheese he had brought - if Jane desired. Why that was a suggestion, Jane didn't know, because cheese was amazing. Ricky also mentioned that he left due to an emergency at work. He ended the letter by giving Jane the week off and that he hoped she would get well soon.

"You truly are something else, boss." Jane put the letter down. In times like this, Jane truly believed her boss came from a different planet. He was annoyingly nosy and for what? Was this kindness free? "What's your angle?" It was a question Jane had repeatedly asked, but never to his face.

What annoyed her the most was that she felt a little glad that her boss was the way he was. Doing something like this had made her feel special. She rolled her eyes at herself. 'I need to clear my head.' Sometimes, being a girl can be difficult.