Steven rounds the block to Viola’s house. He comes for their regular trip to the grocery. Ever since that night he comes over more often and checks in frequently but after driving her to the point of being angrier than when she workouts he finally backs off.  He snickers to himself because he must have had such a puppy dog face to cause Viola to suggest messaging each other instead. Now he understands why some people check their phones so often. One thing they agree on doing together regularly is taking grocery trips.

This groceries trip begins shortly after another health worry, which she recovers from nicely. Steven begins looking forward to grocery day. She even got an extra fridge in the garage to store in till he goes home. Today Mr. Marrigold and his dog see Steven rounding the corner. Mr. Marrigold comes to the edge of the lawn as his dog runs over to jump on Steven as soon as he gets out of his truck.

Viola comes out of the house as she hears the dog barking. Steven puts the dog down and goes to say hello but notices that she’s a little pink today. He holds her shoulder with one hand while the other checks her temperature. All of this causes Mr. Marrigold to have a field day about teasing him about caring for his girl as they get into the truck.

“People have been saying things like that more and more lately,” Viola complains as she wedges on the door.

“Oh,” Steven almost cheerfully plays as he drives to the store. He glances over to catch Viola’s hand tighten.

“Even the gym’s being odd,” she mutters. A warm thing brushes her hand. She glances over to see Steven holding her hand. He smirks at her comments; countering that he does not mind the teasing at all. She pouts but squeezes his hand. For most of the trip, things are fine till she coughs again. His head spins around. Now she is smirking, “You’re a worry wort.” He chuckles before going back to driving. Now more casual conversation starts.

He parks, hurries around the truck to help if she needs it, and all while still talking to her as she gets out. They go in with her pushing the cart and him loading it. “I like hanging out with you. You should try this one,” he says putting a different bread in the cart. She put the original one in anyway sparking a back and forth about different groceries. She’s not sure what he is doing with how much he tosses in the cart. He teases that she doesn’t eat enough and he would love to cook for her. She coughs again. He appears by her side, immediately rubbing her back.

They slow their pace for a little bit. The next stop is the butcher counter for some nice meat. “Tom!” Viola cheers. Her face lights up to see the large-built man working the counter. He smiles at her like an old friend. Steven’s confusion is written on his face while coming up next to her. “Steven, this is Tom. The elusive third Bull of The Pit,” Viola enjoys her playful title which causes both men to smirk as they fidget in place. “He’ll definitely know the best beef,” she continues.

“You mean besides what’s next to you?” Tom teases.

“Tom!” Viola turns red as Steven chuckles. Steven jumps in and finishes getting the meat they both want. Only mildly playing that it is not all going to the same refrigerator. They wave bye happily enough.

It is when they start walking again that Steven catches it. Viola is itching her side, her eyebrows are moving as much as her lip, and her face is still pink. Usually, she turns colors easily but she would not still be red from his comment. “We just have a couple more things, right?” he checks in. “How about I get these few things and come right back?” he holds the list. Viola just nods. He disappears quickly.

It is not far away from the meat counter. Some of the prepackaged proteins were in the display cases. ‘I just need to pick,’ Viola tries to focus as she is having trouble catching her breath. She turns to grab the portioned fish when lightning shots through her body, her head erupts in thunderous pain, and her chest vacuums close. A loud thud resounds as her arm hits the case on her way down. She begins gasping for air as the tightness continues resounding the pain.

A few people turn to see what the noise is but most ignore it. “Hey are you all right?” a man’s voice comes through the crowd. A teenager is kneeling next to Viola as he starts calling for help. More people are looking at her now as a small group is forming. Tom hears something and Steven returns.

Steven feels something drop in his chest. “Excuse me,” he pushes through the crowd.

“Vi!” Tom shouts coming around the corner. The teenager moves away. “What happened?” Tom tries asking anyone as he grabs her shoulder.

Steven dumps the groceries in the cart. He comes down in front of Viola, “Vi. Which one?”

Viola gasps as she taps her breastbone, “Breathing. I know. Plur.” Her vision disappears.

Steven scopes her up, “Is there somewhere we can go for a little bit?”

“Sure,” Tom confirms before taking their shopping cart. Steven thanks the teenager before following Tom out of public view.

Something warm is pressing against her as the sound of moving plastic and wheels welcomes Viola back. She starts blinking to have the shopping aisle come into focus. The warmth is coming from something on her side, she is resting on Steven’s chest. Her feet are resting on a stack of bottled water in the cart. She tries to move and grabs his shirt as her head begins to hurt again. He hugs her to him, “It’s ok. I got you.”

Viola shifts a little as she tries to look around. He strokes her shoulder, “A personal shopper is helping us finish up. We sat out of view till your breathing got more regular. Tom helped us out.” He did not want it to sound stressful to Viola but he is thankful for all the help of the last few minutes.

She curls up tighter, trying to disappear into the ball. “I’m a dead weight now. So pathetic… You should just go,” she mutters broken sentences.

Steven stops walking. His arm wraps around her as his hand rubs her shoulder, “I said it before, I’m not leaving.” He knew things were going to get worse; he does not want to admit how much he expects to happen.

“You should go! I’m not… You should just leave...”

“For someone who wants me to go away so much you are holding me awfully tight,” he cheerful says into her hair. She notices how tight her hands are on his shirt; looks up to see him smiling. She pushes away while blushing causing her head to spin again. “I don’t mind. You can hug me tighter if you want to,” he encourages guiding her back against him. Her shoulders bunch up. He glances down to notice she’s trying not to cry

“That’s probably why people think we’re dating,” she finally broke the silence.

“I don’t mind that either,” he almost laughs while declaring.

Her hand tightens on his shirt again, “You shouldn’t date a dead girl… I’m sure other people want you.”

He kisses her head. “Maybe. But I don’t want them and you aren’t dead. Doc isn’t going to let you die.” Her shoulders begin to vibrate. He strokes her back as he recalls things she mentions.

“You’ve been doing this for a long time, right?” he wonders as he recalls her mentioning being sick a lot. The serious illness is more recent but it is less than a year since she lost her father. She simply nods. “Now you’re not doing it alone,” he declares. Viola sits up to look at him. “What good are big muscles if they can’t lift up the people you care for?” he happily states while cupping her cheek.

Viola’s shoulders come up. Her eyes blur a little as she crashes back on his shirt. She covers her face while crying on him. He hears the sound and closes his eyes. He wraps both arms around her. “Steven,” she faintly cries. He just smirks as he hugs her tighter.

After the sounds calm down Steven looks at her, “Can you walk? We just have a little bit left.” She nods sitting up for a moment. He scopes her up and eases her onto her feet. She drapes over the cart handle. They begin to walk.

He lets her set the pace. The personal shopper comes, drops some things off, gets the next part of the list, and goes back. Steven watches Viola’s movement. “Let’s make a deal. Every three months you continue exercising, as your health allows, I’ll take you out to bodybuilder’s dinner,” he suggests.

“Really going for that dating concept huh?”

“What do you say?” he teases leaning in front of her.

“Sure,” she shrugs.

“It’s a date.”

The pair begins moving again. He lets her keep walking while he picks out a couple of items. He watches her walk. ‘She might not make it… She might not be able to blow up like us or become as strong as she wants but I’m not… I can’t let her give up on her dream. Not now,’ he thinks as his hand tightens around the can.

They finally make it to the checkout. She sits down while Steven and the personal shopper take care of everything. The shopper helps them to his truck; taking the items while Steven carries Viola out under protest. He considers it a good sign. He loads her up in the truck. They both wave goodbye and give thanks to the shopper. Steven hurries back to her place.

Mr.Marrigold is out front checking his mail. He when he hears a faster than normal familiar sound. He sees Steven making the turn, a different look on his face, his driving is drastically different, and notices something with Viola. “What’s going on, Handsome?” he asks coming over.

Steven jumps out, “Vi had an attack at the store.” He hurries over to her side as she is trying to get out on her own.

“Oh dear,” Mr. Marrigold says. He feels for his keys as he sees Steven pick up Viola. He hurries to the door, “Let me get that.” He opens the door fast enough for his dog to barely burst through before Steven carries Viola in.

She waves at Mr. Marrigold, “Hey Gorgeous.”

“Hey yourself, Beautiful. What happened?” he asks as Steven puts her on the couch.

She explains it is another bad chest flair-up. Steven starts getting the groceries out as Mr. Marrigold gets Viola whatever she needs. Viola tells them she knows what to do, takes different medications, sets up on the couch, and instantly falls asleep. Partially under the supervision of Mr. Marrigold’s dog.

After all the groceries are put away they check on Viola. She is fast asleep. Steven is almost pacing till he finally rests his arms on the back of the recliner.

“Something on your mind Handsome?”

“No, it’s stupid.”

“Come on now.” He pokes his side a little bit. “You can tell Mister Marrigold,” plays with his name.

Steven smirks and looks back to Viola sleeping on the couch. “Even with all this...all I can think is ‘that I hope she makes it to my birthday’. Silly right?” he slips out as he strokes the back of his neck.

Mr. Marrigold smiles and pats his back, “Not at all, Handsome. Not at all.” He checks if Steven needs anything else before he and his dog leave.

Steven messages Doc, part of a new set of rules for them after last time, who says she is doing what she is supposed to. The message does not relieve him much. He stays the night with her in the living room, sleeping in the recliner so he can watch her on the couch. As the night goes along, he gets anxious when he doesn’t see her breathing as deeply.

Viola wakes up late that night, probably time for the next medication dose. She feels something different on top of her. She looks down to find Steven asleep. His arm up next to her side, his head on her stomach, and the rest on the floor. Her hands cover her mouth as a soft tone comes across her cheek. She takes the blanket off the back of the couch and covers him up. She takes the close medications and returns to him. Her hand gently strokes his hair till she falls asleep again.