“Fuck you,” Dana said fondly, shaking her head and giving Shane a bright smile.

“So,” Shane said, as she sucked on her spoon with a thoughtful expression, “germs aside, how are things between you and Alice?”

“Oh, uh, you know, things are good,” Dana said, surprised by Shane’s sudden shift in the conversation.

“Good? Well, that’s good to hear,” Shane replied, scrutinising Dana’s face closely. “It’s just that, you know, before you got sick it seemed like you two were getting closer.”

“Well, we’re definitely friends again, if that’s what you mean,” Dana replied, avoiding Shane’s gaze by looking down at her hands, which were clasped tightly together on her lap. The truth was she didn’t know what was happening between her and Alice. The past few days in the hospital had drawn them closer together than ever before, but she still couldn’t define what they had.

“That isn’t what I meant,” Shane responded, giving Dana a knowing look. “Come on, Dana, I saw the way you two looked at each other at the basketball game Helena took us to. And, at Max’s fundraiser dance you seemed pretty tight.”

“Yeah, that was nice,” Dana said, letting her mind travel back to that evening. She and Alice had had a terrific time together, hanging out and taking goofy pictures. But, her face darkened as her memories were suddenly interrupted by the image of Chandra, the woman Alice had spent part of that night with, and with whom she had subsequently gone on a date. “But, we’re still just friends,” Dana continued, her voice betraying her disappointment.

“Dana, after everything that’s happened over the past nine days, I think even Alice realises that you two aren’t ‘just friends,’” Shane said, sighing in frustration at Dana’s obvious stubbornness. She didn’t want to stick her nose into her friends’ relationship, but she couldn’t stop herself from at least trying to make them aware of what still existed between them. She had been a first-hand witness to Alice’s terror about losing Dana over the past nine days, and she hoped they would take advantage of the second chance they had been given.

“I don’t know what Alice and I have now,” Dana replied honestly. “I think we’re both confused by everything that’s happened over the past few weeks, with the cancer, the chemo, then this infection. Everything has been so insane that we haven’t had time to process it all properly.”