"Close your eyes."

Delphine did as she was told. It was almost unbearable. The loss of her vision enhanced her other senses and she couldn't stop herself from focusing on the rasping she heard within the chest she had her ear pressed against. It only served as a reminder that she shouldn't be just laying there in bed. She was running out of time…Cosima was running out of time. "Mon Cherie, I can't just…" She began to pull away.

"Shhhhh." Cosima held her in place. "Relax."

Delphine sighed softly, feeling the fingers running through her hair. She was tired and her body craved the nap that the shorter woman was trying to coax her into, but there was so much she could do in the time a nap would take. There was an unending amount of research and more tests she could run.

"Delphine…stop."

Looking up, Delphine saw the tired hazel eyes studying her.

Cosima caressed her cheek with a thumb. They had been trying to find a cure for almost two months and she wasn't getting any better. She had spent a majority of the last two days laying in bed after she had passed out after one unstoppable coughing fit. She hated feeling the strength in her body just seep away every time the coughing overtook her which was getting more frequent. "In the event that a cure doesn't exist…" She stilled the expected protest with a finger. "I'm not saying there isn't one…but if there isn't and we have to face the situation of me dying…" She cleared her throat, feeling the emotions she'd tried so hard to keep inside starting to bubble up. "I don't want to have all our time left together spent with me laying in this bed staring at your back as you spend every minute researching." She caught a tear that slipped out of the woman's eye. "Please…I want to just feel normal for a little bit."

Delphine pursed her lips as she tried to control herself. Her insides felt like they were tearing apart. Even the thought of there not being a cure…the thought of living without her…all she could do was bury her face in the woman's chest, hugging her close.

Cosima continued to run her fingers through the wavy blonde hair even as the woman's breathing evened out. It was only then that she let herself cry, not for the fact that she was dying, but for the woman she held in her arms.