Jakey lay in his hospital bed, his head a whir. He'd spent that past couple of days with a fever so high that they'd just been one long, winding hallucination. In the corner of the room, he made out a figure, they'd been sat there for the past two days, and as far as he could tell they'd barely left his side. They were dressed entirely in black. Jakey hoped it was his wife, taking the delirious plunge with him. He couldn't quite tell if they were real or just another hallucination. As he breathed in and out slowly, he could hear crackling. His pneumonia was back, and in his immunodeficient state, the drugs were doing all the work for him. So, he lay there, helpless, his breathing growing weaker by the hour.

As the person left the room, he gasped. It felt as if someone was standing on his chest. He coughed, trying to catch his breath - but he couldn't...

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, patient put onto mechanical ventilation due to severe hypoxaemia and risk of multiple organ failure. Attempts to return oxygen saturation have been moderately successful, but will need to be monitored very closely. I will return soon, notify me of any changes, no matter how slight.

The doctor hovered over Jakey for a second, before leaving the room. He'd seen this before - leukaemia, pnuemonia, respiratory failure and the fatality of another young man or woman. The reality was that there was very little that could be done. It was down to Jakey now, to pick things back up or to let go. He'd keep checking back, but all he was really doing was checking that he wasn't fighting a losing battle. He felt it odd that there was no one there for Jakey, a well loved icon in the music industry, other than his wife. They were clearly in love, which makes what is happening even more heart breaking. He opened the door to his office and sat at the desk, starting to fill out paperwork, passing the time more than anything else.