Cadence hadn’t even gotten Jack fully across the threshold and into the waiting room when the receptionist came running over to help, alerting the nurse to get Dr. Matthews “stat.” The older woman attempted to help Cadence lead him to a nearby chair, though Cadence knew she was really moving him herself. Dr. Matthews was out in just a few seconds, stethoscope in one hand, black bag in the other.

Jack’s face was almost as white as the doctor’s lab coat now, and his eyes were glazed over. Cadence stood beside him, holding him back in the chair, afraid that otherwise he might slide right out.

Dr. Matthews listened briefly to his heartbeat and his lungs. “How long has he been like this?” he asked Cadence.

“I’m not sure. He called me earlier, said he was sick, and I flew in from Kansas City.”

“Has he been out of the country recently?” he asked.

“No, never,” Cadence replied.

“Anyone else in his family sick? Roommate? You?”

“I haven’t been able to get ahold of his family, and I haven’t seen his roommate all day. I’m fine.”

“All right, well, I think we need to go ahead and call an ambulance and have him transported to Bryan Health. Shirley, will you make that call please?” he asked the receptionist. “I’m sorry, miss, I just don’t think there’s anything much I can do for him here. We’ll get him over to the hospital where they can run some tests and see what might be wrong."

“Okay,” Cadence said, trying to keep it together. She had thought earlier, when he was able to hold a conversation, that once she got him to the doctor, he would probably be fine. Now, he couldn’t even hold his head up, and she was becoming more and more concerned by the moment.

She sat down in the chair next to him, propping him up the best she could. She realized her phone was ringing, but she wasn’t sure how to get it out of her pocket while still keeping him in his chair. She was afraid it might be his parents, so she momentarily let go of him in order to answer it. Even removing her hand for a moment caused him to slouch, and she had to act quickly to keep him from tumbling onto the floor. Clearly, this was a serious situation, and she was hopeful the ambulance would be there soon.

Answering the phone, she said “Mrs. Cook? Thank God. You need to get to Lincoln right away.”

* * *

The doctors at Bryan Health said they thought it was some form of a blood infection. They had never seen anything like it. They started Jack on several high dosages of medication as well as an antibiotic and several other drugs Cadence had never heard of. His parents arrived about an hour after he was admitted, and the doctor explained that they hoped to see some quick improvement; otherwise, they would need to put him in a medically induced coma so that they could better monitor his response to the medication.

Cadence knew that the rest of their group of friends was on the way, but she didn’t know exactly when they would arrive. She still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Aaron, which she felt bad about, but she wanted to stay near Jack’s bed, just in case he woke up. She also thought she should check in with Christian, so she sent him a brief update via IAC while the doctors were working on Jack.

Around 6:30, Jack’s parents went to grab some dinner, and it was only a few minutes after they left that he began to flutter his eyes. She grabbed her phone to send them a text to tell them to return. Glancing up, she realized he was looking right at her. “Hi, Jack,” she said reaching out and taking his hand. “How are you doing?”

“Cadence,” he said smiling, “What are you doing here? You look so pretty.”

“I came to see you,” she said. “I was worried about you. Are you feeling better?”

“Oh, yes, I’m feeling much better now,” he said. His eyes were still glazed over, and she could tell the medication was making him a little loopy.

“Your parents are here. They’ll be right back,” she said hoping that would make him feel better.

“Steve and Alice,” he said, closing his eyes momentarily. “Alice and Steve.”

“Yes, that’s them. That’s your parents."

“Hey, remember that time we snuck off under the bleachers at the football game and did it?”

She couldn’t help but snicker. “No, Jack, that wasn’t me. That was Andrea Lacombe.”

“Oh, that’s right. Andrea had big...”

“All right, medicine is working then. That’s great.” She leaned over to straighten his pillow, and he caught a lock of her hair between his fingers.

“I remember you, too,” he said quietly, gently pulling on her hair so that she had to bend closer to him.

“You do?” she asked, her face inches from his.

He seemed to have fully returned to her for a minute, and he said, “Oh, yes, I remember. I remember everything, Cadence Findley.”

She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She fought to keep them from spilling out, afraid to upset him.

“Why don’t you love me anymore?” he asked, a serious expression on his face.

Cadence thought about her answer for a second. She didn’t love him, not like she used to, but she would always love him. He had been her first love, and there was nothing that could ever change that. “I do love you,” she said. “I’ll always love you, Jack.”

“Promise?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. I promise I will always love you.”

“Good, then kiss me,” he said slipping his hand out of her hair and up to the back of her neck.

She leaned down and gentle kissed his lips, and he pulled her in for more. His mouth was warm, his lips dry, and Cadence felt very uncomfortable but hoped it might help him feel better, so she didn’t immediately pull away.

A noise behind her startled Cadence, and she stood up, just in time to see his parents enter the room.

Red spreading up her neck and face, Cadence stepped back out of the way, allowing them closer access to their son, but just as she did so, she heard him whisper, “You will always be mine.”

Without comment, she turned and smiled in his direction, hoping this would be enough to help pull him through. Once he was well, she could remind him of all the reasons they had broken up in the first place.

Jack’s mom, Alice, whom Cadence always thought looked like the perfect sitcom mom, appeared as if she had recently stopped crying. Steve, tall, and athletically built like his son, had his arm around her, but he looked more than a little concerned as well.

Cadence excused herself from the room before the tears began to splash down her cheeks. His parents were so busy asking him how he was feeling that neither of them seemed to even notice she had left. She went down the hall to try to find a quiet place where she could talk to Aaron.

Once she settled into a seat near a large window, she sent him a message. “Hey, could you call me on my cell phone. I just want to hear your voice.”

Almost instantly, her phone began to ring. “Hi,” she said just above a whisper.

“Hey, how are you? What did the doctor say?”

“Well,” she began, “we’re at the hospital. They admitted him. It doesn’t look good, Aaron. I don’t know. They said it was some sort of infection or something. I don’t even think they know for sure. They think he must have picked it up from a student from a foreign country or something.”

“Really?” he asked. “Cadence, that sounds a little suspect to me.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, wondering if he had formulated his own opinion about what was going on with Jack, though she didn’t know how that was possible since he was so far away.

“I don’t know,” Aaron said quickly. “I guess it’s just… surprising.”

Suspicious that he was back pedaling, Cadence said, “If it isn’t a blood infection, I don’t know what else it could be. He hasn’t been outside of the country or anything. They said they’ve never seen anything exactly like this, and they’re not even precisely sure how to treat it.”

“Are they treating it now? They must be giving him something.” he asked.

“They’re doing something. I don’t know. They named off a bunch of drugs they’re giving him, a shitload of stuff I can’t even pronounce. Antibiotics, steroids, I think. Just a bunch of stuff, trying to figure out if any of it will work for him.”

“And is it working?”

Cadence wasn’t exactly sure how to answer that. “I want to say yes. He was unconscious for the last several hours, but he came around a few minutes ago. He was talking coherently. He kissed me and told me he loved me.” She couldn’t help but stick that last little bit in there, wondering how he might react.

Aaron didn’t say anything for a moment; she wondered if her plan had worked and he wasn’t exactly sure how to take that. “Well, maybe they’re right, and it is an infection. Hopefully, they’ll be able to treat it, and he’ll be fine."

“I hope so,” she concurred.

“Yeah, me, too.” Aaron was quiet for a long moment before he asked, “When do you think you’re coming back?” he asked gently.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Did you say you need me for a hunt?”

“I do,” he confirmed. “We’ve found her.”

Cadence didn’t hesitate. “Send me a plane.”