While Gerald was inside the confession room, Kim went to the kitchen to finish cleaning the dishes.  While at it, she couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the moments she shared with Gerald while they were still Big Brother’s housemates almost 4 years ago.

          When she was through with the kitchen, she looked to see if Gerald was still inside the confession room.  Finding that he was, she went to get her toiletries and pyjamas so she could wash up before Gerald gets back.  As she searched her luggage for the clothes she was going to wear, she realized that their clothes were still inside the luggages so she went about in putting their things inside the cabinets.  She arranged Gerald’s clothes first before attending to her own.

          “Bakit kaya ang tagal-tagal ni Ge sa loob?”  Kim thought to herself.  She has just come out of the bathroom, all cleaned up with nothing else to do but wait.  She remembered that Gerald would be taking a shower later so she took one pair of boxers, a jersey with matching shorts and his bath towel from the cabinet and laid them on the bed beside her.  Kim sat on the bed and waited.  Finally, the door opened, and a very tired-looking Gerald came out.

          “Babe, what’s wrong?  Ano’ng ginawa mo, bakit parang ang tagal mo ata sa loob?”  She bombarded him with questions.

          “Wala lang, nasa mood ata si big brother na makipag-kwentuhan.  We talked about the house, how much he likes it.  Ikaw, nagustuhan mo ba?”

          “Oo naman!  Ang cute nga eh, malaki ang similarities sa resthouse sa Hundred Islands, pero may differences din.”

          “Alin ang mas gusto mo?”

          “Eto…mas ok saken ‘to…Ikaw?”

          “Ito rin.. O, tapos ka na ba sa banyo?  Pwede na ‘kong maligo?”

          “Hmmmm….sige, sa isang kondisyon.”

          “Ha?  Bakit, si big brother ka ba?  Bakit biglang nagkameron ng rules and regulations?”  Gerald , knowing she would catch the bait.

          “Hmp!  Wag na nga, kainis ka!  Maligo kang mag-isa mo!”  And with that, she threw the towel at his face before walking out of the room.

          Gerald shook his head in amusement and followed Kim, bringing the towel with him after grabbing his boxers from the bed.

          “Kimmy….ikaw naman, di ka na mabiro.”

          Suddenly, a wave of dizziness enveloped him.  Trying to keep his balance, he tried to hold on to whatever was near.  He fumbled with the backrest of the chair which he couldn’t see clearly.  It fell backwards, hitting him on his right shin.

          Hearing the commotion, Kim looked back just as Gerald tumbled on his back, hitting the floor with a massive “thud”!

          “Ge!”  She rushed to his side and cradled his head on her lap as she gently but forcefully tapped on his cheeks to wake him up. “Baby, please wake up…please, please, please!”  Kim was already crying in panic, not knowing what to do.

          “Big Brother!!!!  Tulong po!”

          There was no answer.

          “Focus, Kimmy, focus…”  She tried to calm herself, trying to remember what Gerald taught him about first aid. “Ano nga ‘yun….baby, help me please…ah, ah, if a person faints, check if he’s breathing…”  Kim plopped her ears to Gerald’s chest and tried to listen if he was breathing.  Deafened by the sound of her own heart, she pressed her pointer and middle fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse.  She found one.

          With tears streaming down her face, she still tried to recall the rest of Gerald’s instructions.  “Alin nga babe ang itataas, paa ba?  Oh my God…please help me remember…Ge…Ge….please….”

          Kim tried to calm herself by breathing in and out slowly, trying to regain her focus…  Gerald still hasn’t moved and he has gone quite paler than the usual.  “Ah…..!  Bahala na…!”

          Kim placed his head down, reached for his right foot and tried to raise Gerald’s leg about 12 inches from the floor to restore blood circulation, or so she hoped.  When he still hasn’t regained consciousness, Kim went back to his side, positioned herself to do CPR.  She tilted his head and lifted his chin.  Pinching his nostrils, she covered his mouth with hers and breathed air into his.  She repeated the routine before gently giving his chest a compression.  “1…2…3…4…” 

          Gerald gasped for air and opened his eyes.  He saw Kimmy’s tear-stained cheeks and smiled lamely.  Kim sobbed and hurled herself at him, pinning him down.

          “Kimmy….bakit?”

          She cried harder, both in fear and annoyance.  “Eh luko-luko ka pala eh, mahihimatay ka lang, di mo pa alam kung bakit kita iiyakan…Hmp!  Pasalamat ka at mahal talaga kita, kung hindi, nakuuuuuu!!!!”

          “O, inaaway mo na naman ako…”

          “Halika na nga, kaya mo na ba’ng tumayo?”  And she helped him get up from the floor and into the couch nearby.  Kim just held on to him, locking her arms around his waist.

          “Baby, baka naman hindi na mag-circulate ang dugo ko nyan, sa higpit ng yakap mo saken?”  Gerald tried to make light of the situation.

          “Wag ka magbiro, wala sa timing.”

          “Sorry po, tao lang, di nakapag-paalam bago nahimatay…”  He wouldn’t let up.

          Kim stood up and faced Gerald furiously.  “Hindi ka ba talaga titigil?  You can laugh all you want, bahala ka sa buhay mo!”  And she stormed to her room, shutting the door behind her.

          Gerald felt the pain on his chest just as tears slowly made its way down his face.

          “I’m sorry, Kimmy.  I didn’t mean to faint on you….”

          He went to the confession room, locked the door and took out the phone from where it was stashed.

          “Hello?  Ate Zoe?  I fainted again.  Nakakahalata na yata si Kim.  Pano ‘to?”

          “Get inside the blue room immediately.  I’ll be there in five minutes…no, make that 3.”  And with that she hanged up.

          “What the…..”  Gerald was confused with what Zoe told him, but he couldn’t just up and leave Kim without telling her.  So he went out and headed straight to her room.  He tried the knob and found it unlocked.  Turning it, he slipped inside the room and found Kim under the covers, still hiccupping from her sobs earlier.

          Gerald sat on the edge of the bed, slowly lifted the covers and pulled Kim to him.  She embraced him tightly, fresh tears rolling from her eyes.

          “Sshhh…baby, don’t cry.  Please.”

          “Ge, ano’ng nangyayari?  May dapat ba akong malaman?”  She looked at him in the eyes, trying to find the answers to her questions.

          “Wala, ano ka ba?  Ano’ng klaseng tanong yan?  Pagod lang ‘to…Pahinga lang ang katapat, ok?  Tama na.  nase-stress ka over nothing.  Enough na, sabi mo, the night is still long, marami pa tayong pwedeng gawin…”  

          “He!  Tumigil ka nga, mamamatay na ako sa pag-aalala sa’yo, kaberdehan pa rin ang nasa kukote mo!”  And she pinched him on his love handles, just like before.

          The chase began once again.

          Meanwhile, inside the blue room, Zoe was already fuming mad because Gerald chose to ignore her.  She was as worried as ever because if the treatments weren’t started immediately, it could prove to be detrimental to Gerald’s condition….While Gerald was inside the confession room, Kim went to the kitchen to finish cleaning the dishes.  While at it, she couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the moments she shared with Gerald while they were still Big Brother’s housemates almost 4 years ago.

          When she was through with the kitchen, she looked to see if Gerald was still inside the confession room.  Finding that he was, she went to get her toiletries and pyjamas so she could wash up before Gerald gets back.  As she searched her luggage for the clothes she was going to wear, she realized that their clothes were still inside the luggages so she went about in putting their things inside the cabinets.  She arranged Gerald’s clothes first before attending to her own.

          “Bakit kaya ang tagal-tagal ni Ge sa loob?”  Kim thought to herself.  She has just come out of the bathroom, all cleaned up with nothing else to do but wait.  She remembered that Gerald would be taking a shower later so she took one pair of boxers, a jersey with matching shorts and his bath towel from the cabinet and laid them on the bed beside her.  Kim sat on the bed and waited.  Finally, the door opened, and a very tired-looking Gerald came out.

          “Babe, what’s wrong?  Ano’ng ginawa mo, bakit parang ang tagal mo ata sa loob?”  She bombarded him with questions.

          “Wala lang, nasa mood ata si big brother na makipag-kwentuhan.  We talked about the house, how much he likes it.  Ikaw, nagustuhan mo ba?”

          “Oo naman!  Ang cute nga eh, malaki ang similarities sa resthouse sa Hundred Islands, pero may differences din.”

          “Alin ang mas gusto mo?”

          “Eto…mas ok saken ‘to…Ikaw?”

          “Ito rin.. O, tapos ka na ba sa banyo?  Pwede na ‘kong maligo?”

          “Hmmmm….sige, sa isang kondisyon.”

          “Ha?  Bakit, si big brother ka ba?  Bakit biglang nagkameron ng rules and regulations?”  Gerald , knowing she would catch the bait.

          “Hmp!  Wag na nga, kainis ka!  Maligo kang mag-isa mo!”  And with that, she threw the towel at his face before walking out of the room.

          Gerald shook his head in amusement and followed Kim, bringing the towel with him after grabbing his boxers from the bed.

          “Kimmy….ikaw naman, di ka na mabiro.”

          Suddenly, a wave of dizziness enveloped him.  Trying to keep his balance, he tried to hold on to whatever was near.  He fumbled with the backrest of the chair which he couldn’t see clearly.  It fell backwards, hitting him on his right shin.

          Hearing the commotion, Kim looked back just as Gerald tumbled on his back, hitting the floor with a massive “thud”!

          “Ge!”  She rushed to his side and cradled his head on her lap as she gently but forcefully tapped on his cheeks to wake him up. “Baby, please wake up…please, please, please!”  Kim was already crying in panic, not knowing what to do.

          “Big Brother!!!!  Tulong po!”

          There was no answer.

          “Focus, Kimmy, focus…”  She tried to calm herself, trying to remember what Gerald taught him about first aid. “Ano nga ‘yun….baby, help me please…ah, ah, if a person faints, check if he’s breathing…”  Kim plopped her ears to Gerald’s chest and tried to listen if he was breathing.  Deafened by the sound of her own heart, she pressed her pointer and middle fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse.  She found one.

          With tears streaming down her face, she still tried to recall the rest of Gerald’s instructions.  “Alin nga babe ang itataas, paa ba?  Oh my God…please help me remember…Ge…Ge….please….”

          Kim tried to calm herself by breathing in and out slowly, trying to regain her focus…  Gerald still hasn’t moved and he has gone quite paler than the usual.  “Ah…..!  Bahala na…!”

          Kim placed his head down, reached for his right foot and tried to raise Gerald’s leg about 12 inches from the floor to restore blood circulation, or so she hoped.  When he still hasn’t regained consciousness, Kim went back to his side, positioned herself to do CPR.  She tilted his head and lifted his chin.  Pinching his nostrils, she covered his mouth with hers and breathed air into his.  She repeated the routine before gently giving his chest a compression.  “1…2…3…4…” 

          Gerald gasped for air and opened his eyes.  He saw Kimmy’s tear-stained cheeks and smiled lamely.  Kim sobbed and hurled herself at him, pinning him down.

          “Kimmy….bakit?”

          She cried harder, both in fear and annoyance.  “Eh luko-luko ka pala eh, mahihimatay ka lang, di mo pa alam kung bakit kita iiyakan…Hmp!  Pasalamat ka at mahal talaga kita, kung hindi, nakuuuuuu!!!!”

          “O, inaaway mo na naman ako…”

          “Halika na nga, kaya mo na ba’ng tumayo?”  And she helped him get up from the floor and into the couch nearby.  Kim just held on to him, locking her arms around his waist.

          “Baby, baka naman hindi na mag-circulate ang dugo ko nyan, sa higpit ng yakap mo saken?”  Gerald tried to make light of the situation.

          “Wag ka magbiro, wala sa timing.”

          “Sorry po, tao lang, di nakapag-paalam bago nahimatay…”  He wouldn’t let up.

          Kim stood up and faced Gerald furiously.  “Hindi ka ba talaga titigil?  You can laugh all you want, bahala ka sa buhay mo!”  And she stormed to her room, shutting the door behind her.

          Gerald felt the pain on his chest just as tears slowly made its way down his face.

          “I’m sorry, Kimmy.  I didn’t mean to faint on you….”

          He went to the confession room, locked the door and took out the phone from where it was stashed.

          “Hello?  Ate Zoe?  I fainted again.  Nakakahalata na yata si Kim.  Pano ‘to?”

          “Get inside the blue room immediately.  I’ll be there in five minutes…no, make that 3.”  And with that she hanged up.

          “What the…..”  Gerald was confused with what Zoe told him, but he couldn’t just up and leave Kim without telling her.  So he went out and headed straight to her room.  He tried the knob and found it unlocked.  Turning it, he slipped inside the room and found Kim under the covers, still hiccupping from her sobs earlier.

          Gerald sat on the edge of the bed, slowly lifted the covers and pulled Kim to him.  She embraced him tightly, fresh tears rolling from her eyes.

          “Sshhh…baby, don’t cry.  Please.”

          “Ge, ano’ng nangyayari?  May dapat ba akong malaman?”  She looked at him in the eyes, trying to find the answers to her questions.

          “Wala, ano ka ba?  Ano’ng klaseng tanong yan?  Pagod lang ‘to…Pahinga lang ang katapat, ok?  Tama na.  nase-stress ka over nothing.  Enough na, sabi mo, the night is still long, marami pa tayong pwedeng gawin…”  

          “He!  Tumigil ka nga, mamamatay na ako sa pag-aalala sa’yo, kaberdehan pa rin ang nasa kukote mo!”  And she pinched him on his love handles, just like before.

          The chase began once again.

          Meanwhile, inside the blue room, Zoe was already fuming mad because Gerald chose to ignore her.  She was as worried as ever because if the treatments weren’t started immediately, it could prove to be detrimental to Gerald’s condition….