Thank you for your encouraging and motivating reviews, and thank you especially for your patience while waiting for an update. Disclaimer, as always: It all belongs to JKR, and no infringement is intended in the writing of this story.

A cool hand against his face brought Severus momentarily out of a heavy sleep. He had been dreaming just before awakening -- not the disjointed fever dreams of previous nights, but clear and vivid -- dreams with Lily's soft voice in the midst. He longed to drift back into sleep, but he was slowly becoming aware of how uncomfortable he was. His shirt, damp with sweat, clung to his body and he shivered despite the warm atmosphere of his room. Severus blinked, trying to focus his eyes, but only hazy light was finding its way through the windows. He sensed someone standing near his bed, shifting from foot to foot, but couldn't make anything or anyone out.

"Mum?" he asked, his voice rough and cracked. When there was no answer, he sat up quickly, pulling the blankets around himself. His heart hammered in his chest, partially from the exertion of rising, partially from fear of who might be hiding in the shadows.

"Who's there?" he asked, his hand automatically reaching under his pillow where he normally kept his wand.

"Sev, it's okay. It's just me."

When he heard Lily's gentle voice and recognized her familiar features and kind smile resolving out of the gloom, he sagged in relief. She sat lightly on the edge of his bed, her hair swinging forward as she bent her head to fussily arrange the blankets around him. She settled a cool hand on his forehead and he gave an involuntary shudder.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, moving her hand to his cheek. "I can't tell if you have a fever or not."

He ignored her question. "Lily, what are you doing here?"

"You're ill," she said simply, not looking at him. "And you needed someone with you,"

Severus had lost all sense of time, the hours passing in a hazy blur of coughing and fever and jagged nightmarish images and shouts and distorted voices. Taking in his surroundings, he had no idea if it was morning or evening.

"What day is it?" he asked, looking back to her.

"Tuesday," she said.

"I've been out for...?"

"Nearly three days." He still couldn't see well enough to make out her expression, but her voice was tremulous as she added, "You had me so worried."

An awkward silence hung between them, the only sound the soft patter of rain against the window glass. Why was she here? Severus squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember the events of the past few days, but there was no clear memory he could grasp. He felt the mattress shift as Lily rose from the bed and watched as she moved to one of the windows to draw back the curtain. It was a grey afternoon, storm clouds hanging low in the sky, but even in the subdued light spilling into the room, Lily seemed to glow from within.

"Lily, I..." he began, but she held up a hand to stop him.

"First things first," she said in a no-nonsense tone. "Are you hungry?"

Severus started to deny it, but for the first time in days, the thought of food wasn't completely nauseating. "A little," he conceded.

"Good," she said, bending to retrieve a knapsack from under the bed. "I hope you don't mind, but I told my mum you were ill. Now she won't let me leave the house without sending something along for you. She thinks you're too skinny."

He watched with interest as she pulled a small table up to the side of the bed and plunked the bag on top of it. She withdrew a vacuum bottle from the depths of the bag, unscrewed the lid and lifted it off cautiously.

"Beef stew," she said with satisfaction, glancing up at him. "Just the thing for a dreary, rainy day like today." Rummaging further into the bag, she pulled out a thick, square package wrapped in wax paper. "Sandwiches, too," she said, peeling back the paper. "But you haven't eaten for a while. You should probably take it slowly at first. What sounds best?"

The smell of the stew was wafting over to him and he was beginning to feel famished, but he couldn't bring himself to eat anything yet, not while he felt so grimy and sweaty. He scooted to the edge of the bed and before his feet even hit the floor Lily was beside him, putting a steadying arm around his shoulders.

"You shouldn't be up," she scolded, helping him stand nonetheless. "What do you need? Just tell me and I'll get it for you."

He colored slightly. "You can't..uhm..help me with this."

"You might be surprised," she said.

"Lily!" he protested. He couldn't judge by her expression if she was serious or teasing, and decided to let it go. "I just want to clean up a bit and change out of these..." Severus trailed off, taking notice for the first time of what he was wearing. "...tartan pajama pants and an orange shirt?"

Lily giggled at his astonished expression. "I had to improvise with what I could find, Sev. I brought over some of my dad's old things."

"And is your dad color blind?"

Lily tried to give him a severe look, but her mouth twitched and she finally threw her head back and laughed. "I've missed you," she said, her voice so warm with affection that he felt the color rise in his face again.

His legs trembled as he stood at the sink and he braced himself against the edge of the bowl. As he reluctantly raised his eyes to the mirror, Severus barely recognized himself. He had at least three days worth of stubble and his hair hung lankly, framing his hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. He cleaned himself up as best he could manage, feeling weak and unsteady, and hurriedly changed clothes so he could make it back to his room before his strength failed.

When he returned to his room, he leaned against the door frame, feeling an unexpected sense of contentment wash over him as he took in the sight of Lily sitting cross-legged on his bed, a magazine open across her knees. The rest of the house was as cluttered and oppressive as ever, but his room was orderly and peaceful, which had as much to do with Lily's presence as the cleaning she had obviously undertaken at some point. The windows had been scrubbed, cobwebs knocked down and the corners of the room swept out.

She watched him carefully, appearing self-conscious and embarrassed as she followed his gaze around the room. "I was worried," she said, gesturing vaguely. "So, you know, I tried to keep myself busy..."

"It looks nice," Severus said. He flipped the hood of his jacket up and sunk his hands deep into the pockets before joining her on the bed. It was summer, but he couldn't seem to shake a persistent chill.

Lily spooned out a fair portion of the stew and passed the bowl to him, sitting quietly as he took a tentative mouthful. It tasted wonderful and he almost thought he could feel his strength returning with each bite.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Lily said after a few minutes, relief evident in her voice. "That first night was..." She stopped talking and Severus glanced up from his meal, noting the tense lines around her mouth and her shadowed eyes as she looked past him. "It was horrible. You staggered in, soaking wet, half out of your head...I don't think you knew me or even where you were."

The spoon he had been holding slipped from his grasp and clattered against the floor as the memories returned to him in a rush: The horrific and seemingly endless bus ride where he had tried to avoid getting sick and failed; sitting slumped at the makeshift bus stop, watching his mother walk away while he tried to marshal the strength to follow; the long walk home in the rain; collapsing in a near-faint when he crossed the threshold of his house. From that point, he had only a vague memory of someone walking him up the stairs, helping him change out of his wet clothes and settling him in bed. At the time, in his feverish haze, he had assumed it was his mother, but all along it had been Lily.

"No matter how many blankets I put on you, I couldn't warm you up," she continued softly. "And you were coughing so hard I was afraid you were going to choke to death. You fought me the whole time. It's a good thing I was able to get your wand away."

He stared at her, horrified at what he might have done. "I drew my wand on you?"

"Yeah, but nothing happened. You were easy enough to disarm." Lily smiled mischievously at him, the strain on her face giving way to amusement. "Luckily for me, you're still really ticklish."

She jumped off the bed to pick up the dropped spoon and studied it critically before handing it back to him. Severus resumed eating, although he was having a hard time keeping his hand from shaking.

"After I convinced you to take your potions, you were finally able to sleep a little." At his confused look, Lily added, "The potions...from Madam Pomfrey, don't you remember?"

Severus shook his head and Lily huffed in impatience. "She caught me as I was leaving, told me she had forgotten to send them with you and asked if I would make sure you got them. That's the only reason I came by that night. I was going to give them to you on the platform, but then your mum was there, and..."

Lily didn't have to elaborate. They both knew without saying that she wouldn't have been welcome. For some reason his mother harbored a bitter antipathy towards the Evanses, Lily in particular, which made her presence in the house even more of a mystery to him. As if on cue, there was a sudden clattering from downstairs, then a shouted curse and a slamming door.

Lily went very tense and still as she listened to the commotion, but when there was no sound on the stairs, her shoulders dropped and she blew out a relieved breath.

"How have you been getting in?" Severus asked in an offhand manner, spooning up more of the stew.

She gave him a quick, guilty look. "Your mum doesn't lock the back door, so I've been letting myself in."

"What if she would have caught you?"

"Sev, c'mon," she said. "Your mum is oblivious. I don't think she's been upstairs once to check on you. Does she even come out of her bedroom?"

"Not very often," he said. "Mum and dad fought constantly, sometimes couldn't even stand to be in the same room together." He lifted one shoulder in a tired shrug. "I thought they hated each other, but ever since dad left, she's been like that. I can't figure it out."

"Have you had enough?"

Her abrupt question confused him for a moment. Had he had enough of his mum's odd behavior? He opened his mouth to reply and then noticed she was motioning toward the bowl resting in his lap.

"Oh," he said, passing the dish into her outstretched hands. "Yes, I have."

The hot meal and Lily's company had warmed him from the inside out. He was comfortably full and very drowsy and didn't think he could stay upright for one more minute. He flopped sideway across his bed, draping one arm across his eyes to shield them from the light. Severus felt Lily stretch herself out beside him, and he placed a hand behind his head, trying to concentrate on keeping his eyes open.

Don't stay awake on my account," Lily told him, placing her fingertips lightly against his head and smoothing her thumb between his brows until his eyes drifted shut again. "You need to rest. Besides, I'm starting to get used to hearing you snore." She reached over him and pulled a blanket up to his chest, leaving her arm slung casually about his waist.

Severus turned toward where Lily lay, her head resting on one outstretched arm, her hair spread over it and pooling in the space between them. It appeared burnished in the filtered light. Her eyes were closed, a half-smile on her face. Severus lay still, looking at her, trying to memorize every feature; the curve of her brow, the way her lashes rested against her cheeks, the strands of hair moving lazily with each exhaled breath. This is how he wanted to remember her. He let his fingertips brush the edges of her hair, scarcely breathing, afraid she would open her eyes and catch him at it.

Severus groaned as he felt the familiar burning pressure growing in his chest. He rolled away from her quickly, propping himself up on one elbow as he began to cough. Lily's hand made gentle circles on his back until the fit passed.

"You still sound awful," she said, her voice edgy with frustration and worry. "And I gave you the last of the potions yesterday. Should I owl Madam Pomfrey...?"

"No, I'm okay," he said, knowing it wasn't a false assurance. He was very tired and weak, but even with that he was beginning to feel more like himself. He curled up on his side facing away from her and Lily settled the blankets around him again.

"Madam Pomfrey told me something else," she said quietly, inching closer until she was stretched out fully against his back. "She said you were ill because of...." Her voice faltered and she swallowed audibly before she went on.. "..because of what James Potter and his stupid mates did to you."

He shivered, more from the feel of her pressed against him than anything, her breath warm against the side of his neck, but she quickly said, "Never mind. I'm sorry I brought it up."

He looked back over his shoulder towards her. "Don't you think we should talk about it, at least?"

"We will," Lily said softly. "And for once, we're both going to be completely honest with each other." Underlying her casual words, Severus heard the unspoken assertion that for once, he needed to be honest with her. "But not yet, okay?" she said. "I've been right here for three days, and I'm not going anywhere. It can wait until you're feeling better."

"No, Lily. I can't stand this any longer, not knowing if I've completely ruined our friendship."

"We've been best friends for years, Sev." She captured his hand in her own and settled her head next to his. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, so stop worrying about it for now."

"You know I didn't mean it."

The silence stretched out between them and Severus stared at a spot on the wall over his bed, not completely certain if he wanted her to respond or not. Lily finally sighed and tightened her grasp on his hand.

"I know," she said. "Just rest."