"I'm dying."

"What?" River yells and I flinch.

Alexis notices and gives him a stern look. "River, calm down. Let her explain."

River stares at me, wide eyed. "Are you kidding me? She's my wife and she's telling me she's freaking dying! I will most certainly not calm down!"

"Leader, with all due respect, she's our best friend. We're worried about her too." Sam interrupts.

Cody nods in agreement. "Yeah. Instead of freaking out, we should listen and help her, leader."

"Trust me, I'm going crazy right now. But it won't help her situation, whatever it is." Drake says and Alexis smiles at them. River gazes at them in thought.

"I just–" River's voice breaks as he looks at me. "Tell me you're not dying. Please."

I'll never forget how vulnerable and broken he looked at that moment.

"I'm sorry." I whisper and he falls to the ground in front of me. His head lays on my lap and his hands hold mine tightly.

I hear a quiet sniffle from him.

"We'll leave you two alone." Alexis mutters but River shakes his head.

"No." He says quietly. "All of you deserve to know what's happening to her."

They nod and sit around us. "Okay, Blair. Tell us everything." Alexis smiles reassuringly but the sadness in her voice doesn't go unnoticed.

I take a deep breath. "It started when I went on my first mission with River."

"Good. We gotta get moving. The target will be close at any second." He leads me down some corridors until we get to an alley.

River glances at his watch, "On three, we get him."

I nod, loading and aiming my weapon. He leans against the wall and I silently count in my head.

1

2

3!

River pounces on the person exactly on time and they fall to the ground. I see a passerby, who looks extremely scared, and quickly shoot at them. It obviously wasn't a bullet. Just a little shot of an amnesia drug.

"I don't understand. What's causing you to die?" Cody asks and I sigh.

"I made a mistake. It wasn't the amnesia drug that I used. It was that new drug."

River raises an eyebrow at me. "Which one?"

"The one that releases chemicals into the body and eventually kills them." I answer and his eyes widen.

"Did you come in contact with it?" Alexis questions, concern evident in her eyes.

I nod solemnly. "Yes. When I was loading it."

"And just one touch is enough for an infection." River sighs shakily.

"Well, " Drake looks at me expectantly. "What are you doing about it?"

"I made the most intelligent person in our lab work on a cure. I didn't cause any suspicion because I tricked River into thinking it was only for safety measures."

I give River an apologetic look. He simply nods.

River rubs his temples, stressed. "Do they have anything yet?"

"They're close."

Sighs of relief echo in the room.

"But..." Alexis gulps. "How much time do you have left?"

My eyes avoid theirs, staring at the ground. "Um...about two months."

Sam and Alexis gasp while Cody begins to pace. Drake is frozen in spot with his food on the ground, long forgotten.

I hear River's breath hitch and he visibly pales.

"River..." I murmur but he doesn't seem to hear me. Alexis and the others silently leave us.

I touch his cheek and he gasps quietly.

"You..." He grumbles. "You might..."

"Shh, I'm here right now." I whisper soothingly as I caress his face. River closes his eyes and holds my hand.

He leans in. "I just don't want to lose you."

"Well, " I smile softly. "Maybe you won't."

His eyes open and he stares at me. As if he's seeing me for the first time. River gently plants a kiss on my palm and keeps it on his lips.

"I really need you."

"I need you too."

We stare at each other for a while before I sigh.

I open my arms, smiling. "Come here, you."

River grins and picks me up. He carries me to his room and lays me on his bed. I smile when he lays beside me but a bit further away.

"River." I chuckle. "Come closer. I'm not contagious, I checked."

"Okay, okay." He grins and gets a little closer. I roll my eyes and grab his collar, pulling him close enough that our bodies touch. His eyes widen while I smile, satisfied. River tenses at our proximity but I don't mind it.

"Much better." I mutter, my hands on his chest. After a minute, River sighs and slowly puts his arms around me. We lay in each other's arms in comfortable silence throughout the rest of the day and night.

We only spoke once.

River looks down at me, his eyes shining. "Thank you."

"For what?" I furrow my eyebrows and he smiles.

"For making me happy."

"Well, " I grin. "Thank you to you too."

River chuckles and slowly meets our lips. I put in all my love in that kiss, as does he. Because that's really all we have.

Love.