Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Benji

Katies room was dark, the curtains drawn over her skylight so that not even the streetlights outside could sneak in and disturb her.

I trod carefully and crouched down beside her head holding the back of my hand to her cheek frowning with the temperature of it.

"Fuck off David I don't want to learn about tiger sharks I'm tired..." she mumbled rolled away from me, I chuckled and brushed a strand of hair from her face. Still she didn't open her eyes and still she didn't seem to register that it wasnt david Attenborough.

"Kate its me," I said gently, "Ben," I said smiling when she did. She rolled over but shrunk under the covers despite the fact that she was clearly burning up.

"Why are you here?" She frowned, "aren't you supposed to be in Alaska or somewhere..." I smirked at that and shook my head and told her to budge up.

"No you div, im not supposed to be in Alaska," I grinned climbing into bed with her and holding her hand in mine, sitting up so as she might put her head in my lap and drift back to sleep quietly.

"But..." she frowned before trailing off. I wondered how strong a grip on reality she had, whether she really understood it was me or whether she thought I was someone else. She wriggled and shifted uncomfortably again and I stroked her hair down in an attempt to settle her a little wondering what I was supposed to do to help.

"Benji," she said quietly after a minute or two of silence, even talking looked painful, I just wanted to shush her into a state of peace, so she might feel a little better or nothing at all. If she could sleep it off she'd be fine.

"Yeah lovely?" I asked thumb on her cheek stroking her skin softly. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her eyelashes were a little teary like she'd been crying, her nose pink too, she'd have looked cute if she didn't also look like she was the most uncomfortable girl in the world.

"Everything hurts," she simpered, barely getting her words out before the tears started, gentle sobs I'd not have noticed had she not been staining my jeans with her tears.

"Hey, hey you, none of those okay, come here yeah, give us a cuddle, you're alright," I said picking her up and helping her into my lap, cradling her in my arms so that she could sob into my shoulder and I could kiss her hair.

"I want my dad," she said quietly sniffling through her words, barely able to get them out through her sobbing and her shivering.

"Hey honey its okay," I shushed her with my hand in her hair and one on her back, holding her close to me, "why don't you call him tomorrow or something, if you miss him like," I said softly placing another kiss in her hair, she said nothing only crying harder. I swallowed unsure what to do or say to make her feel better.
"Have you been taking your painkillers?" I asked and she nodded nuzzling into me.

"Allypallys been making sure I don't od," she sniffled giggling a little. She was definitely feverous, the mighty boosh tshirt she was sleeping in was damp with sweat and the hair around her face was dark and damp with it.

"Youre drenched you know love, you need an isotonic or something Kate," I said carefully combing her hair back from her face with my fingers. She sat up a little unsteady, by hand jumping to her lower back to steady her as she flattened her palm against my chest the other on my shoulder. Her legs straddled mine and she wobbled a little biting her lip as she looked me over as if to check it was really me.

"You look really familiar," she frowned, I chuckled and shook my head.

"I am really familiar," I grinned, "we've just been through this remember, its me Benji,"

"Blakeway?" She frowned sucking in her bottom lip as if it took all the concentration in the world. "I didn't think I was going to see you again until isle of white?"

"Figured we'd surprise you didn't we?" I chuckled as she cocked her head to one side and studied my smile.

"Benji," she said slowly as if coming to terms with the name, trying to twist her tongue around it. "Benji," she said again.

"Yes Kate?" I chuckled, as sick as she was she was still adorable and still hilarious, she way her eyes seemed to jump from feature to feature with all the curiosity in the world, the way her fingers traced my skin as if she was trying to work out how I'd gotten there.

She stayed quiet for a minute and then she smiled softly again, "can you make it stop hurting please?"

"I don't know honey," I sighed, "where does it hurt?"

"My backs all achey and my necks all achey and my eyes really sting..."

"Can you touch your chest with your chin?" I asked suddenly a little concerned, she frowned and asked why but did it anyway and when she managed it I felt relief wash over me with the knowledge that it was probably just a fever and nothing more sinister.

"You thought I was really really sick didn't you, Saffy thought I had meningitis too you know," she giggled and I smiled stroking her cheek tenderly, "she kept checking me just like that and getting scared we'd need an ambulance or something..."

"Well luckily for you, you dont," I smiled and she smiled too.

"I get to stay here with you until I'm better?" She asked and though I knew it wasn't entirely true I nodded anyway in the hopes that she might feel soothed enough to sleep again if she thought that I was staying with her. She cracked and grin and wrapped her arms around me asking if we could lie down.

"Earlier I watched a thing about the sea and I thought there was a jellyfish on the cieling," she confessed with a giggle sucking her thumb as she rolled over and I lay down beside her, kissing her hair and draping an arm across her waist. She was roasting hot, but every time I asked she insisted that she wasn't that she was freezing cold and needed the covers wrapped tightly around us.

"You're gonna dehydrate..."

"No I wont you cant dehydrate in Alaska," she mumbled on the verge of falling back to sleep again. I chuckled softly and kissed her shoulder before slipping away to get her an isotonic drink and a bottle of water too.

"Hows she doing?" Asked Alice who was mixing up white Russians in the kitchen.

"You got an isotonic or somet, like a lucozaide?" I asked searching the fridge for something grinning proud of myself when I found one.

"Its Fliss's but I doubt she'll need it tonight," nodded alice, "is she still talking about Alaska?" She smirked, "gone mad I swear..."

"Yeah, Alaska, says theres a jellyfish on the ceiling..."

"For gods sake I've told her so many times," sighed Alice with an exasperated smile, "still she'll be glad youre here even if she hasn't registered who you are, she was asking for yous earlier you know," she smirked.

"Really?" I chuckled, "she's been asking me for her dad..." I smiled but Alice's faded and she bit her lip looking suddenly uncertain.

"Really?" She asked softer now, a little sadly.

"Yeah but only for a minute or two, forgot what she was talking about pretty quickly," she smiled again at that and shook her head.

"Good," she shook it off taking a larger sip of her drink than I was expecting. "Come down and join the party once she's sleeping if you like, your nates are missing yous," she flashed me a smile before disappearing into the living room. But I didn't want to rejoin the party, not whilst Kate was upstairs in bed half asleep, half in tears, feeling lonely and lost without someone to hold her close.