“Jo.” Jane waved her head in the general direction of her dog, hoping the action would be enough to silence the animal. “Jo!” she growled again, her voice raspier and smokier than usual.
It had been a late night. The beer and wine had flowed freely into the wee small hours, as many of her friends from the department had swung by to wish her the best; many bringing more beer, some gifts and Jane had indulged herself. This morning, she knew she’d been foolish.

“Good morning!”

Jane squinted towards the voice and found herself stunned to see Maura in the doorway, fully clothed and pristine as ever, holding a large mug of what she hoped was coffee.

“You. No!” she mumbled, burying her head under the pillow.

“Jane.” Maura sat gently on the edge of the bed and gentle shook her shoulder. “You need to drink this.”

From under the pillow, Jane grunted something that Maura couldn’t make out.

“It’ll help with the hypoglycaemia, dehydration…..”

Jane sat up suddenly, the room spinning wildly as she did so and her hand shot out, covering Maura’s mouth and silencing her.

“Walking Google.” She growled, regretting the sudden movement that caused her stomach to somersault wildly. “Just….. don’t.”

She took the mug and drank deeply from it.

“Damn Maura.” She gulped loudly as the excessively sweet liquid coated her mouth and throat with enough sugar to kill a diabetic at 50 paces. “What the hell….” She put the mug on the side table and hid her face in her hands.

“You need to drink that.” Maura’s tone was soft, and she cocked her head to one side like a curious cocker spaniel as Jane crawled, literally, from the bed and into the bathroom. “It’ll make you feel better.”

From the sounds emanating from the bathroom just moments later, it was obvious that no amount of sweet tea would make Jane feel any better at all.

“Let me get you a glass of water.” Maura called towards the door as Jane groaned into the toilet bowl.