She squeezed his hand and forced herself to smile. “A gift for both of us, in other words.”

Ian laughed, giving her one final, quick kiss before he walked out of their bedroom. Tessa was fast asleep before he reached the foyer.

***

After lazing away the better part of Monday, Tessa was relieved to wake on Tuesday and feel considerably better. Her period was still going on but seemed to have eased a little, and the cramps were still present but bearable. She was able to eat a decent breakfast, and felt a little stronger with some food in her system. Somewhat guiltily, she realized that she’d only had tea and saltine crackers the day before.

‘God, if I wasn’t having the period from hell I’d almost think I was pregnant from how I’ve been feeling the last few days,’ she thought to herself wryly. ‘Thank goodness I’m going to get this rotten IUD removed soon. I will not miss these horrid cycles!’

Still, even though she was feeling much better, she was glad Ian had arranged for Simon to drive her to and from the campus, since she continued to feel a little light-headed and wouldn’t have felt comfortable behind the wheel of a car right now. The orientation for her online classes lasted several hours, after which she ventured into the campus bookstore to buy the materials she’d need for the four classes she’d be taking this fall.

She hadn’t been thrilled to learn that one of the required courses towards her business degree was algebra, a subject she’d struggled with in high school. But Ian had teasingly offered to be her “after-school tutor”, telling her with a snicker that his services came cheap.

“And I accept all forms of payment,” he’d joked. “Missionary, cowgirl, oral. I’m quite flexible, in fact.”

She’d gasped in mock outrage. “I’m not sure I should be listening to this sort of talk. I’m just a naïve little college girl, you know.”

“No so naïve any longer, love,” he’d whispered in her ear. “And speaking of lessons, I have a few new ones I’d be very interested in teaching you sometime soon.”

Tessa couldn’t help smiling to herself as she recalled how that particular conversation had ended, and was still grinning as her phone rang. Hoping that it would be Ian, she dug the phone out of her purse while juggling an armload of heavy textbooks. When she saw it was Julia calling instead, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

“Hi, there, newlywed,” she greeted, forcing herself to sound cheerful.

Julia’s bright laughter on the other end immediately made Tessa feel better. “Well, happy to report that the honeymoon isn’t over yet. In fact - mmm, never mind. I get annoyed with Nathan when he talks to his friends about, uh, stuff we do so I guess I shouldn’t over-share, either.”

“Probably not,” teased Tessa. “Though I do appreciate some of the tips you’ve given me. Ian does, too.”

Julia snickered. “And I always appreciate getting flowers, so maybe I’ll think of some more naughty advice to pass along. But I really called to see if you wanted to meet for lunch tomorrow. I walked by our favorite place yesterday and get this - they now have salted caramel cheesecake on the menu. I mean, how can anyone say no to that - right?”

Tessa agreed it sounded out of this world and arranged to meet Julia there at one o’clock the next day. They chatted until it was Tessa’s turn in line to pay for her books.

As she walked to the spot where Simon would be waiting to pick her up, she checked her phone yet again and couldn’t help the disappointment she felt when there were no new texts or voice mails from Ian. She’d spoken to him only sparingly since he’d left yesterday morning, the situation in Las Vegas evidently much more complicated than he’d first hoped. They had talked very briefly this morning, but as yet he hadn’t replied to the three different texts she’d sent him. Tessa consoled herself with the fact that he was super busy, and wasn’t intentionally neglecting her. And since the very last thing she wanted to do was act like a demanding girlfriend, she put her phone away and resolved to wait patiently for his call.

But the call didn’t come until much later that evening, and Ian sounded so worn out and stressed that she didn’t have the heart to keep him on the line for too long.

“And I’m so sorry, love, but I’m afraid this is going to take a bit longer than I’d hoped,” he told her regretfully. “It’s likely going to be Friday before I can make it home.”

Tessa struggled to hide her disappointment, and tried to sound as supportive as possible. “I understand. I just wish I could be there to help.”

“I wish you were here, too, though in all honesty there wouldn’t be much for you to do in this particular case. It’s certainly not a situation I’ve ever had to deal with before. Now, tell me about the orientation today.”

They talked for a bit longer, until he started to yawn and she teasingly told him to get some sleep since she was evidently boring him.

Tessa had a hard time falling asleep that night, tossing and turning, even getting out of bed a little before midnight to brew some chamomile tea. These past two nights had been the first time in months that she’d been alone in this big house, and she automatically found herself being troubled by her old fears and depression. She drifted into the library with her mug of tea, and reached for one of her mother’s books.

Ever since Ian had surprised her with the books for her birthday, Tessa had read all three volumes at least twice. Ian had just recently heard from one of his rare book dealers that they had a solid lead on the fourth book, and Tessa was eagerly awaiting its acquisition.

The tea and the book seemed to do the trick, and this time when her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep within a few minutes.

***

She knew almost immediately upon waking on Wednesday morning, however, that something was very wrong. She was groggy and disoriented, despite the fact that she’d slept like the dead for hours. Groaning, she reached for her phone and saw she had three voice mails and two texts from Ian, each one sounding more anxious than the last. Without lifting her head from the pillow, she sent him a quick text, apologizing for having overslept, and promising to call him in a little while.

It was when she tried to sit up that she realized several things at once - she was dizzy, oh, so dizzy, and had to brace her hand on the headboard to stay upright; the awful cramps were back except they were worse than she could ever remember, like a knife blade stabbing her in the gut; and she was burning up, her skin hot to the touch, and she realized she had a fever. Her mouth was so dry she could barely swallow, and her head was pounding unbearably.