Carry On

Chapter six: Is

Josh lay contented, on his small hospital bed. The springs that dug into his back didn't bother him, nor did the horrid smell of cleaning products. Nothing could ruin this moment.
The little cat that Lilly had brought him, sat purring on his lap. Its short tabby fur was soft underneath his fingers and its silver-blue eyes gleamed impishly.

"I knew you liked cats," Lilly remarked, grinning as Josh let the cat lick his face, "but I didn't think you were that serious about it."

"Of course I am," Josh replied, returning her smile with a weak one of his own. "Cats are the most wonderful creatures in the world. Why do you think I asked you to put cats in your story?"

Lilly gasped in mock surprise, "You listen to them?"

"Of course I do. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't listen to my girlfriend when she told shitty stories to try and make me feel better?"

"Asshole!" Lilly laughed, and picked the cat up when it slid off of Josh, letting it lie across the back of her neck.

"See, you love cats just as much as I do, look at yourself!" Josh accused playfully

"Goddammit cats, why do you have to be so irresistible?"

************

They lay next to each other for hours more, hand in hand, with the cat lying across their legs, listening to the soft patter of rain hitting the ground outside. It was peaceful, and Josh found that if he closed his eyes, everything was okay again.

When he closed his eyes, he was in that little wood cabin, sitting by that crackling log fire with Lilly and the little cat...

"What are you going to name it?" Lilly asked gently, motioning to the sleeping bundle of fluff at their feet- and although he'd never thought of it before, Josh knew exactly what the cat's name would be.
"Hope," he said softly. But not because Josh needed hope. No, he was too far gone for that. Lilly was the one that needed hope, because when Josh was gone, Lilly would need all the hope she could get.

"Hope... I like that name."

Josh wanted to reply to that with some stupid comment like 'of course you do, you're supposed to.' But the words were torn from the tip of his tongue at the same time as the breath was stolen from his lungs

The pain hit him a few seconds later. It snaked its way around his bones - setting them alight, it laced his nerves with deadly poison and filled his lungs with toxic smoke. It was agony. Pure, blinding agony- all focused on Josh.

And his poor heart was working overtime to try and compensate for it. He could feel the pounding in his head; hear the ringing in his ears. But all he could see was black churning darkness, rising up to his knees. His waist. His neck...
He opened his eyes before it could drown him, and everything started spinning.
Lilly's wide green eyes looked down at him in fright. He saw her mouth moving but heard nothing. Nothing but his own irregular heartbeat.
There was something sticky flowing out of his nose. Blood. Why would he have a bloody nose now? Why was he thinking about a bloody nose now? Why was he thinking about anything than the fact that he must be dying?
Every time he blinked, the darkness rose higher. He tried to keep his eyes open, to stop himself from giving in to that darkness, but he was weaker than even he imagined he was.
In the end, he succumbed. He closed his eyes, and let the darkness consume him. He let the pressure in his head go. He fell into unconsciousness. And it was the most peaceful thing Josh had felt in years.