Other People's Heartache

Sharing and Caring

The drive to the festival is long and miserable. We have all piled into a small van with a trailer holding all of their equipment. I end up sitting in the back row of the van between Dan and Woody while Kyle and Will sit on the front bench. I tried to sleep a little more since this was going to be a long ride and I woke up early. Instead of sleeping I stayed awake, fighting off a headache caused by the raucousness of an overexcited Kyle.

When we finally make it to the venue, I am the first out of the van, literally shoving my way past everyone. I walk a few feet away from the van before I, unceremoniously, sit on the ground and put my head between my knees while taking deep breaths. I feel Dan's hand rest on my shoulder and feel the concern radiating off of him.

"I'm fine, Dan. Go set up, Coop is here and he can show me where to go. I just need a few minutes, please." I say without lifting my head. My mind is just pounding and I feel like I'm going to puke. I'm pretty sure this is just car sickness and it should pass quickly, but I don't plan on moving for a little while, just in case. I sit there for about 15 minutes before I feel good enough to get up and go find the guys.

Coop is standing there, leaning against the van, clearly just waiting for me. I walk towards him and get his attention, letting him know I'm okay. He quickly leads me to the stage the guys will be at and then goes to do a last minute check of the small amount of audio equipment they have. The guys are not on a very large stage, but that's okay, it's always better to start small. I watch them go through the last few minutes of sound check before they come off stage to relax before the actual performance.

"Hannah! How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Dan exclaims as he pulls me into a hug and proceeds to check any part of me he can see.

"Yeah, Hann, are you okay?" Kyle asks as he walks out from behind Dan. I can see the concern on all of the guys' faces when they see me.

"I'm fine. I think it was motion sickness and the headache that I got during the ride. I'm feeling much better now." I say with a forced smile; not one of them falls for it.

"You are not fine! You looked like you were about to pass out when we got out of the van! You still look like you feel bad now, too." Dan chides.

"Dan, I'm fine! I want to be here and watch you guys play. If I don't feel good I'll go sit down; promise." I am so not in the mood to deal with an over-concerned boyfriend and his over-concerned band right now!

Turns out, I really was sick. I didn't actually get to see the guys perform because I actually did go and puke about 10 minutes before their set started. After that little episode, Dan made me go back to the van and lie down. I made sure someone had the keys so that I could lock the doors once I was inside the van. I fell asleep soon after I curled up on the front bench and didn't wake up until we were almost back to London. I briefly remember the guys getting back into the van and moving so that my head was on Dan's lap, but that was it.

Dan and I are dropped off at my flat, despite my arguments that I can take care of myself, besides I don't want to give Dan whatever I've picked up. Accompanied by many complaints and comments of, "I can do this myself!" Dan walks me inside my flat and gets me ready to go to bed. He helps me get into my pajamas and then tucks me into bed before going and making some soup so that I can eat something. I finally give up and accept his help before succumbing to whatever I've caught and falling into a very uncomfortable sleep.

I wake the next morning sweating like I've just run a marathon, but freezing on the inside. Dan takes my temperature, 101, and then brings me a glass of water and a couple of the Tylenol that I had brought with me from the States. I wrap my duvet around me and shuffle out to the living room area, so that I'm not just in my bedroom all day, and turn on some reality TV. I end up sleeping most of the day, but by nightfall my temperature is down to only 99, which is still a little high for me, but much better than it was this morning. I end up taking the whole week off of work while I get over whatever this bug was.

I'm feeling much better by Friday, and can't wait to get to see Lizzy. I text Dan to see when he's going to come over, but I don't get the response I was expecting.

<Sorry, Hann. I can't make it tonight. I think I caught what you had.>

<Oh no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get sick too>

<It's fine. I'll be better soon. I'll just stay quarantined for a few days so I don't get any of the guys sick.>

<Okay. I'll make some soup and bring it over later today. Feel better!>

<Thanks babe!>

I call Lizzy and tell her that we'll have to push dinner back about an hour because I want to get this soup over to Dan and make sure he actually eats it. She agrees and I start on making soup to help my poor, sickly boyfriend feel better. I finish preparing the soup pretty fast, but the trek over to Dan's place takes a little longer. By the time I make it into his flat, he is passed out asleep on his couch with tissues littered everywhere. I pop the bowl in the microwave for a minute to return the heat that was lost on the drive over here. I quietly walk over to the couch and gently shake Dan awake.

"Hmm? Who is it?" he mumbles while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His glasses are off and he can't see that well without them.

"It's just me, hun. I've brought some soup over for you to eat." I press a small kiss to his forehead and can just feel the heat radiating from him which means he definitely has a fever.

He sits up slowly and wraps his blanket around his shoulders, "Hey, Hann. I missed you! You're so pretty, did you know that?"

Oh great! He's delirious, too. "I missed you, too, Dan. I'm going to grab this soup and once you eat it you can go back to sleep, okay?" he just nods like a five year old receiving directions. I go back to the kitchen and grab the, now warm, soup and a spoon. Dan eats slowly, but at least he eats some of the soup. I leave the rest in the fridge with Dan's promise that he will eat the rest of it later. I make sure he is cozy on the couch and that he has everything he needs close by before locking up behind me and heading back to my dinner with Lizzy.

"Hey girl! I've missed you! You look much better, by the way." Lizzy says as I walk towards my front door after exiting the taxi.

"I've missed you, too, Lizzy!" we hug each other before heading inside to sit down and have a nice grelaxing night. "I can't believe I missed a whole week of work! I've been so nervous about what I've missed that I'm pretty sure I prolonged my illness by a day or two."

"Hann, you worry too much. Nothing remotely exciting has happened at the office and you know it! Frank finally announced his retirement, which we all knew was coming, so I'm sure they'll start to look for his replacement, but even that isn't very exciting."

"That is exciting! It's an opportunity for someone to move up! I think it's a great job that Frank has, but I don't think I'm ready for it so I won't even consider applying for it."

"Not ready for it? You are one of the most dedicated workers I've ever met! I think you would be great in Frank's position. I won't pressure you into applying, but I think you are totally ready for it."

"Do you really think I'm ready? I'm just so hesitant to apply. If I get it that would be awesome, but I'm also up for a transfer soon and I really don't want that; I want to stay here with you guys!" This is not turning into the relaxing night I thought it was going to. Time to change the subject, "Have you heard from Cassie and her boy yet?"

"UGH! NO! We talk every day at work, but every time I ask her about this mystery guy, she totally blows me off and changes the subject!"

"I think she might really like him if she's this secretive about him."

"Or he's just really weird and she's scared that we'll hate him."

"Don't think like that, or you will hate him when she finally introduced us to him!"

We continue to chat and gossip for a couple more hours until we are both exhausted and ready to turn in. Lizzy, while always invited to stay the night, decides to head back to her own place for the night. Once she leaves I take no time in getting ready for bed and passing out.