[3:31 a.m.]

Alison loathed waking up from a peaceful slumber. But out of all of the ways to wake up, this was definitely the worst. Alison tried to ignore it, wanting nothing more than to just fall back asleep. If she could just SLEEP, she wouldn't feel the pain. Ignoring it, though, was next to impossible. It viciously swirled around and around in her stomach, and then slowly, crept up until she felt that familiar tingling sensation in her jaw.

NO Alison thought to herself. She refused to let it come to that. She swallowed a few times in an attempt to hold it back. Even though she knew she would probably feel a little bit better if she went ahead and did it, Alison really hoped there was an alternative.

Alison clutched her pillow tightly and once again, tried to block out that awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. She pulled her legs up to her stomach and hugged her knees, hoping for some kind of relief, but the ache wouldn't go away. Her skin was clammy, and Alison felt chills. Then hot. Then chills again. Her mouth was watery. Alison closed her eyes.

It couldn't be avoided any longer. Whatever it was…it had to come out. And as much as Alison hated doing it, she quickly got out of bed and ran down the hall to the bathroom.

Yeah, definitely not a pleasant way to wake up at three-thirty in the morning.

Rafe awoke, and he had to think for a moment if he was dreaming or not. He looked to Alison's side of the bed, and she wasn't there. Rafe got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. In the glow of the nightlight, he could see Alison sitting on the floor against the wall next to the toilet, her face buried in her knees. He rushed to her side. "Alison…you okay?"

Alison looked up and shook her head. "I threw up," she cried.

"Oh no. I'll get you some water, okay?"

She shook her head and Rafe left the room. Alison leaned over and pulled a kleenex out of the box from the table. She wiped her eyes and face and gave her nose a good blow. She thought about how attractive she must look now as she sat on the bathroom floor next to the toilet with her hair all in disarray. Lovely.

Rafe came back with a glass of water, which Alison took gratefully. She hated that burning sensation in the back of her throat and that awful taste left behind in her mouth.

"Do you know what made you sick? Was it something you ate earlier?"

"I don't know. I just woke up and felt like I was going to throw up."

"Are you going to be sick again?"

Alison shook her head no and handed him the glass of water back.

Rafe moved some of her hair behind her ear. "Maybe you'll start to feel better now. Let's get you back to bed." Rafe picked up Alison and she buried her face into his neck. Alison thought about how good it felt to have someone take care of her.

When they got to the bedroom, Rafe put Alison down carefully and wrapped her up. "Need anything?"

"Can you just hold me?"

"Yeah, I can do that." And so Rafe climbed into bed and held Alison until she fell asleep again.

But Alison didn't sleep for too long. Around four-thirty, she found herself hugging the toilet again, only this time, Rafe was there to hold her hair back. She began to wonder if she was going to spend all night in the bathroom.

Alison insisted that she would be okay, but Rafe couldn't help but worry. He hated seeing her in misery and not being able to do anything about it. If he had his powers still, Rafe thought, he'd make her pain go away. As they lay in bed, Rafe looked up, wondering if Ed would give him a little assistance here, but Ed wasn't going to come through this time apparently.

Around six o'clock, Alison awoke once again and called out for Rafe.

Rafe had been half-asleep all night since Alison got sick. He opened his eyes and sat up. "How you feeling?"

"My stomach still feels upset, but I don't think I'm going to throw up anymore."

"Well that's a good sign. Can I get you anything? Some water? Something to eat?"

"Hmm, maybe some ginger ale…and some cinnamon graham crackers. That always helps me when I feel queasy. I hope we still have some."

"I'll go check, and if we don't have it, I'll go buy more." Rafe gave Alison a little kiss on her forehead, then headed out the room. He came back with a smile on his face, announcing that it was the last package in the box. Alison ate a little bit, and when she felt like she had enough, she fell back asleep in Rafe's arms.

When Alison awoke for the fourth time that morning, she noticed something in her hands. She looked down and saw one perfect pink rose.

Rafe looked away from the book he was reading when he saw Alison move. He had been waiting all morning for her to wake up. "Hey, how you feeling?"

Alison turned around with a smile on her face. "Better."

"Oh good," Rafe said, relieved. "You had me really worried there for a while. Don't scare me like that again."

Alison laughed. "When did you get this for me?" she asked, holding up the rose.

"I went to the store when you were sleeping and bought you some more graham crackers and ginger ale, just in case we ran out and you wanted some more. And there was a flower stand there so I bought it."

"I love it."

"Do you feel like eating anything?

"Hmm, well, maybe like, some toast? With butter."

"Okay, I can handle that," Rafe said with a smile.

"And could you…"

"Cut it into triangles?"

Alison nodded.

"Sure."

"And don't burn it like last time."

Rafe laughed. "I won't burn it. Now don't you move from that bed. You need to rest." Rafe pointed a finger to her and then headed to the kitchen.

When Rafe returned, he saw Alison up on her feet walking around the room. "Hey, I thought I told you to stay in bed."

"I had to use the bathroom," Alison said defensively.

"Oh. Well…that's okay. But don't get up for anything else."

"Rafe, I feel fine," Alison said, crawling back under the covers.

"I know, and we want to make sure you stay that way. That's why you need to rest and take it easy."

"But Rafe…"

"Alison."

Alison sighed. "Okay, okay, I'll rest."

"Good."

"But I feel fine," Alison repeated.

"Here's your toast," Rafe said, changing the subject.

Alison smiled. "Thank you."

"Listen, if you're feeling all right then…"

"I am."

"I'm going to go run some errands then, okay?"

"Okay."

"But I still want you to take it easy. And if you need anything, call me."

"Okay."

Rafe smiled. "Bye. I love you." He kissed her cheek.

"Bye, I love you too."

"And don't get out of that bed!" Rafe hollered back.

It didn't take long for Alison to finish off the toast. Then, with Rafe not around to order her to rest, she hopped out of bed and headed for the shower.

"What are you doing here?" Livvie demanded. "Alison, go home."

"What?"

"Rafe told me you were sick, and he also said you would try to sneak out of the house while he was gone. You really shouldn't be here working. I can handle things."

"Oh, Livvie, Rafe just exaggerates. I'm fine. Really! Look at me."

"Alison, you sure? I mean it's not even a busy day. Look, only half of the blueberry muffins have been sold."

"Livvie," Alison said, taking her friend lightly by the shoulders, "I'm okay!"

"Okay, if you say so," Livvie said.

"You went to the bakery, didn't you?" Rafe asked as soon as Alison walked into the door.

"Rafe, we're not going to start this again, are we?" Alison walked over to Rafe. "Look, if I felt bad, I wouldn't have gone to work. I promise you, I feel much better."

"All right. Come here." Rafe pulled Alison in for a welcome home kiss. "I am glad you feel better."

"Well you did such a good job taking care of me. So, what do you want to do for dinner?"

"How about dinner and a movie?"

"You want to go watch a movie tonight?"

"No, bring the movie here. How about I go pick us up some takeout from the Recovery Room and then rent a movie?"

"Okay, I like that idea. Can you get me a chicken sandwich and some fries?"

"Sure. I'll be back in a little while then."

"Okay."

"Oh, by the way, you have a message on the machine."

"Oh, thanks. Drive safe."

Rafe gave her one more kiss for goodbye and headed out the door.

Alison walked over to the phone and pushed the play button.

"Hi, Alison, this is Becky from Natural Body and Health Spa. I'm just calling you to remind you of your massage scheduled for 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. If you can't make the appointment, just let us know…555-8734. Looking forward to seeing you, Alison! Bye!"

"Tomorrow?" Alison said to herself in confusion. "It's not for tomorrow. That's next week." Alison walked over to the calendar on the wall just to be sure. But to her surprise, Becky was right. "Hmm, well I guess apparently, it already is next week. It is tomorrow. How did I miss that?"

Alison shrugged her shoulders. She never really was good at keeping track of dates, even when she wrote things down. And as Alison continued to stare at the calendar in front of her, wondering how in the world this past week went by so fast, she got the feeling that something was a little peculiar.

Rafe had rented two movies. One more of a romance, which he knew Alison loved, and the other one a comedy, but also with romance. Alison opted for the second one for them to watch first.

Rafe smiled as Alison walked into the room carrying a big bowl of popcorn. This made Rafe very excited. The smell of the popcorn wafting from the kitchen had been driving him insane.

"Here you go," Alison said with a smile.

"Great," Rafe said and took the bowl, grabbing a fistful of popcorn.

"I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"Just going to run to the bathroom."

"But the movie's about to start," Rafe whined.

"But I gotta pee!" Alison laughed. "I'm only missing the previews. I'll be real quick."

"Okay well if it starts before you get back, I'll pause it," Rafe said with a serious look on his face as he held up the remote.

"You better save some popcorn for me," Alison called out as she ran out of the room. Rafe grabbed another handful of popcorn and stuffed it in his mouth. He didn't want to be greedy but it was so good, he couldn't help himself. He smiled. This was a great idea. Just a night alone watching a movie with his wife. Life was so good.

"I'm back!" Alison said cheerfully and sat down beside him.

"Wow, that really was quick," Rafe laughed.

"I told you. Oh good, I'm just in time, the movie is starting. Hey, popcorn-hogger."

"What?"

"Give me some."

Rafe took the bowl and held it over his head, teasing Alison.

"Rafe!" Alison laughed.

Rafe laughed and handed the bowl over to her.

Alison curled up against Rafe, and he put his arm around her.

And as the movie played, and Rafe had almost finished the bowl of popcorn off, Alison smiled to herself.