Cara and Amanda were not permitted to see each other much anymore, except at school. Amanda had pretty much recovered from her surgery and was feeling better. Poor Cara had still not been able to find a way to get birth control, so remained a virgin mostly out of fear of getting pregnant. And . . . she had made out with a girl from her Interpersonal Communications class at a party one weekend and liked it very much. So for now, she decided to just not worry about it. Her schedule was very full anyway. Her family was not like Amanda's. Her mom had passed away when Cara was ten, and her father had his hand's full trying to raise her and her two younger brothers. He worked long hours at a parts depot for car parts, putting in all of the overtime he could, and when he wasn't working, he tried to attend his son's football and hockey games. Kevin was seven when his mom died and James was only four. Cara's dad had always looked to her for help with the boys so he could provide for his young family alone. So now, besides attending college on an art scholarship, Cara worked as a barista at the local coffee shop, and, around the holidays and other special events, worked extra hours at a retail clothes store in the mall. She didn't have time to date anyway she thought!

"May I help you?" Cara automatically asked the next customer in line as she looked up during her evening shift. "Yes, you may.", a familiar voice responded. "Hi, Dr. Cole. How are you?" "I'm fine, Cara. How are you?" "Good. What can I get you?" "A tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat, no extras except for a leaf of lettuce. And a cup of orange pico tea, please, Cara." "Absolutely. I'll get it ready right away." After ringing up the sale, Cara said, "Would you like to sit down and I'll bring it over to you." "Thank you." And Dr. Cole smiled a pleasant little smile.

As Cara served the doctor her sandwich and tea she asked, "May I talk to you for a minute, Dr. Cole?" Looking somewhat surprised, the doctor said, "Of course. Please sit down." "I just really want to apologize for what Amanda and I did. I know how incredibly valuable your time is." "From what I understand, it was mostly what Amanda did." "Yeah, but I could've said something right away." "Why didn't you?" Embarrassed now, Cara told her about the hope of maybe getting birth control. "I see." Explaining a bit about her family and the loss of her mother, Cara felt as if she had done the right thing talking to the doctor and apologizing for her part in Amanda's scheme of mistaken identity. And, besides, Dr. Cole seemed much friendlier tonight, warm even. "Well, sorry for intruding on your dinner, but thanks for letting me explain." "You did not intrude, Cara. And thank you for your apology. You make a wonderful sandwich and cup of tea." Both women smiled as Cara walked away.

As it turned out, Dr. Cole lived in a very exclusive apartment complex close to the coffee shop. She stopped in quite frequently since, as she explained to Cara, she did not have time to cook much, nor did she like to. Especially for one. Her days often extended well past regular clinic hours since she was the main surgeon on call for more complicated emergencies. And, she now added, she got the best tuna salad sandwich and cup of tea there than anywhere else in town. That made Cara very happy. Then one evening, Cara was feeling decidedly ill. Many others in her classes were sick with viruses and she was sure she had caught it. Her stomach hurt, she was nauseous, she had felt dizzy a couple of times during the day, and now she was feeling extra warm. As she got to work, she went directly to her manager and explained. "Go home to bed!", he commanded. Heading out the front door, the dizzyness struck with a vengeance. Outside on the sidewalk she felt a strong arm around her waist. "Cara. What is it?" "Oh. Hi. I think I may have the flu. I'm just going to get a cab home." Dr. Cole felt her forehead and said, "You are running a fever. Please come with me. I live right here." Cara wanted to say no, but thank you, but found herself too weak to really object. Without being really sure how she got there, Cara suddenly found herself in a beautiful room, perfectly decorated in rich earthtones, on the warmest and most comfortable bed she had ever been in. Then . . . . nothing.

As she opened her eyes, she felt a cool cloth being placed on her head. "Well, hi." "Hi. Where am I?" "You are in my apartment. You have had a very high fever. Probably a virus. It's going around everywhere. Even classes at your college have been cancelled." "Really?" "Yes. Really." "How long?" "Oh, almost 48 hours now." Cara's eyes opened wide in surprise, but she felt to weak to respond more than that. "I found your phone number and let your father know you were ill and here with me." "Thank you." Cara spent the rest of the day in and out of consciousness. She was so very weak and tired. Once when she awoke, she was aware of her neck, chest and abdomen being wiped down with a cool cloth. Her arms were lifted and her breasts were wiped gently. A warm dry towel gently patted her dry and she was covered with a warm blanket. Then she felt her legs and lower belly and hips being cleaned by the coolness. And another warm blanket covered her again. It wasn't until later that she realized she was naked under the soft, warm blankets. Now she felt a warm hand under her breast. She opened her eyes and realized Dr. Cole was listening to her heart and breathing. She moved the stethoscope gently under Cara's breasts and along her sides. Smiling, she said, "Can you take a few deep breaths for me?" Struggling, Cara gasped out some deeper breaths, but she was almost to weak even for that. "That's fine.", the doctor said, pulling the blankets up and tucking them around Cara again. She placed her hand on Cara's forehead and said in obvious relief, "Your fever has broken."

Cara and Dr. Cole spent another day and a half talking and even sharing stories as Cara regained her strength. The doctor had insisted on helping her with trips to the bathroom and still giving her sponge baths however. At first Cara felt self conscious but it felt so wonderful to lay on her stomach and be washed down with the cool, soft cloth. Then Dr. Cole would massage her sore muscles with beautiful lavender lotion. Once, Cara even drifted off to sleep, waking later only because of the smell of delicious hot soup close by. As it turned out, Dr. Cole was a surprisingly good cook. "Sure. If you haven't eaten for four days!", she teased Cara. Finally, they both felt Cara was strong enough to return home, but not to her jobs and only to some of her classes. The doctor made sure she was excused from extra activities until she was fully recovered. And as Cara got out of the cab at her apartment, they both felt a slight tinge of loneliness as they said goodbye.