I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

One

Danny sighs as Linda pulls her scrub top over her head. He wishes she didn't have to do this; why would they send her? She has a family! He knows it probably sounds selfish and terrible for thinking it, but why couldn't she stay home and someone who didn't have a family go to the hellhole? What would happen if she got sick, or worse, died?

He stands behind her and wraps his arms around her body. He buries his head in her hair, knowing what she is going to say.

"Danny...." her hands rest on his arms.

"Do you have to go?"

"You know I do."

"I don't like you in the hotspots."

"I don't like it either. I'd much rather be here, with you and Sean."

He kisses her neck, breathes in her perfume. Doing this every morning makes her leaving a lot harder on her, and he knows it, but he can't stop himself. He has to make sure she knows where he stands, and how much he loves her.

Linda turns around in his arms, kissing him soundly. "Hey, we're Reagans. What could happen?"

"You always say that, and the worst things always happen."

"Please don't do this. Leaving the house to go to the hospital every day where the virus is thriving is already hard enough. You begging me to stay and not go doesn't help."

He hugs her tightly, "I don't want you dying." His voice cracks, and he prays his wife doesn't hear it.

"Listen to me, Danny, listen," Linda cups his face with her hands. "There's a shot. The shot's out, it's been approved and tested. I'm getting my first dose today, and two weeks later, the next one. With the shot, I'll be much better being in the hotspot. And after the doctors and nurses get it, it's going to seniors and essential workers. You'll get it soon, and then Sean. We're going to be fine, I promise. As long as we follow all the guidelines, we'll stay together."

Danny still doesn't like it, "okay."

He watches her leave the house, praying she will be safe. He's almost lost her before- too many times to think about- and he doesn't want to lose her again. She is his life line, his anchor, his rock. He can't live without her.

Danny, at first, is an anti-masker. That thinking doesn't last long though when Linda hears of it. She has blown up at him, yelling medical jargon he doesn't understand and telling him how selfish he is for thinking that. She has really struck a chord when she has asked him how'd he feel if Henry or Frank caught the virus all because he didn't wear a damn mask. So now he wears a damn mask, and is annoyingly making sure everyone in the family wears a damn mask.

He has an appointment with Doc today, but he doesn't feel up to it. So he sends the therapist a text claiming he has a headache and looking at the computer screen increases the throbbing behind his eyes. That is a lie, but Doc buys it, sending a text back wishing him well and a potential time for the next session. Danny feels a little guilty for canceling, but he can't do it today. The virus is on the rise again, and he is worried about his family- especially Linda, Henry, and Frank.

He knows Linda is following all the protocols, and so are Henry and Frank, but they are all susceptible. Linda is in the thick of it, and Frank and Henry are seniors. They have weakened immune systems, and are, therefore, more likely to get it. And what about Jack? Jack is stuck in his dorm at college, and the college students are the worst at following guidelines. Would Jack follow the rules or bend to peer pressure? They talk to him everyday, and he claims he is following the rules, but is he really?

Danny has to put his computer away, so he doesn't  feel a twinge of guilt every time he looks at it. Virtual appointments are stupid, he thinks. What is the point? The connection cuts out half way through, the speaker glitches in and out, the volume has to be up all the way because Doc has a quiet voice... it is just all too much. The boys would probably call him old and go on about how easy it is to talk to someone via a screen.