Like every morning, Robert woke up early. But unlike other mornings, the first thing he did was to put his hand on Sharon’s forehead and check whether her fever had risen or subsided overnight.

It seemed the same to him, but a hand wasn’t a thermometer. Julian should be up already. Maybe he could borrow the guy’s device. It seemed easy enough to use, just point it at the ear and press a button.

The doctor was an early riser like him, and most mornings they hit the gym together, but not today. Robert wanted to stay with Sharon as long as possible.

Kissing her forehead, Robert got out of bed and rushed to pull on his training pants. He then headed to the kitchen hoping to catch Julian before the guy left for the gym.

“You’re just in time for coffee.” Julian took another cup out of the cupboard and poured the fresh brew into both. “Here you go, buddy. How is Sharon doing?”

“Still sleeping. I wanted to ask if I can borrow your thermometer. I don’t think her fever has risen, but I want to make sure.”

Julian put his coffee cup down. “I can do it.”

Robert lifted a hand. “No. She sleeps naked.” For the past two days, she’d left her panties on because of the menses, but the rest of her beautiful body was bare. He wasn’t letting Julian anywhere near her.

“You’re aware that I’m a doctor. Right? I see people with no clothes on all of the time. I’m immune to it.”

Right. Like being a doctor meant that he wasn’t a man, and getting an eyeful of a beautiful nude female was not going to affect him.

“Not going to happen. Can I borrow the thing or not?”

Julian shook his head. “You’re a strange fellow, Robert. I was sure you were the mellowest, non-confrontational guy I’ve ever met. I couldn’t figure out how you could’ve been a Doomer. But that’s just a façade, is it not? Underneath there is a whole different man who is hard as steel.”

Robert rubbed his jaw. “It’s not a façade. I’m both. When nothing important is at stake, I’m very happy following the rules and doing what I’m told. I like order. It gives me peace of mind. But I’m more than capable of fighting for what’s important to me. Sharon is important to me.”

“Obviously.” Julian was still eyeing Robert as if he was a puzzle the guy wanted to decipher. “I’ll get the thermometer.”

“Thank you.”

It took less than a minute for Julian to explain how it worked.

“I’ll wait for you to be done. Just remember. Anything under a hundred and two is considered mild.”

“Understood. And don’t worry, I’m not going to damage the thing. I’ll leave it on the counter when I’m done.”

Julian waved a hand. “I don’t care about that. I meant that I’ll wait for you to go down to the gym with me.”

“I’m not going. I want to stay with Sharon.”

“Are you taking the day off? Because I’ll have to stay with you.”

“Right.” Robert smoothed a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m not taking a day off, but you can’t go to the gym if I’m not going. I apologize for making you miss your workout.”

“No problem. I can go through a basic routine in here.”

Robert was grateful for Julian’s easy-going attitude. “I planned to do the same. We can do it together in the living room.”

“You’re on.” Julian slapped his back.

Robert palmed the thermometer. “Just give me a moment to check Sharon’s fever.”

Back in the bedroom, he found Sharon sleeping in the same position he’d left her—on her back, her lips slightly parted, her wavy dark hair spread over his white pillow.

Beautiful.

He hated to disturb her peaceful sleep, but it needed to be done. As gently as he could, Robert put the tip in her ear. He sighed in relief when she didn’t wake.

The display said. One hundred and one.

It was a little higher than last evening, but not high enough to cause worry. According to Julian, it was considered mild.

He glanced at the floor where Sharon’s clothes had been haphazardly dropped last night and fought the urge to pick them up and fold them for her. But Julian was waiting for him in the living room, and Robert didn’t want to make him wait any longer than needed.

He grabbed a muscle shirt and his athletic shoes from the closet, a pair of socks from the pile of clean laundry, and then tiptoed out, taking one last look at the woman sleeping in his bed.

A big mistake.

Not watching where he was going, Robert tripped over one of Sharon’s shoes, knocking a vase off the dresser as he tried to steady himself. Naturally, his quick reflexes were good enough to prevent him from falling on his face, but the damn vase slipped from his grabbing fingers and shattered on the floor.

“Fuck.” Now he had to clean the mess up.

As he started collecting the larger pieces, it occurred to him that the noise of breaking glass and his loud curse hadn’t woken Sharon. He rose up and glanced at her.

She was still sleeping in the same position.

Sharon wasn’t a heavy sleeper.

Something was wrong.

Dropping the shards he’d just collected, Robert rushed to the bed.

“Sharon, sweetheart, wake up.” He nudged her shoulder.

When she didn’t respond, he repeated the words and shook her.

Nothing.

Panic setting in, he bellowed, “Julian! Get in here!”

A split second before the door burst open, he remembered to cover Sharon’s naked breasts. Not that it mattered to him anymore. But she would’ve expected him to do so.

“What happened?” Julian looked down at the floor and the glass shards strewn about. “Did you cut yourself?”

As if he would’ve screamed for the doctor because of a cut. “Sharon didn’t wake up from the noise. I shook her and nothing. She is unconscious.”

In a blur of movement, Julian was at Sharon’s side. “Pulse is fine, and she is breathing normally.” He narrowed his eyes at Robert. “You didn’t use the condoms like I told you, right?”

Robert shook his head. There was no point in denying it.

“She is most likely transitioning. According to my mother, fever and loss of consciousness are the most commons symptoms. We need to take Sharon to the clinic and call Bridget.”

Stupefied, Robert nodded.

“You probably want to put something on her.”

“Right.”

“I’ll go get the gurney. Unless you want to carry her?”

“I’ll carry her.”