It's not what you are thinking. I got some sort of a cold or flu and was feeling miserable. I didn't want Athena to feel awful and suffer like I was so I did everything I could to prevent her from getting the virus from me. That included sleeping on the couch and even using the guest bathroom to keep my germs far away from her. 

By sleeping in the living room, Athena wasn't awakened every couple of hours by my hacking cough or when I blew my nose for what seemed like minutes. She was able to have a good night sleep and therefore I even benefited because she was in good health to be able to take care of me (well, she actually pampered me quite nicely). 

Sleeping on the couch really wasn't so bad. Our couch is long and comfortable. Also, because I was so tired I ended up sleeping through much of the day and I would wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back to sleep. Athena moved the television and VCR in front of the couch and rented a bunch of comedies (laughter is good medicine). 

Some people have the motto "If I have to suffer, I want the whole world to suffer along with me." Romance is just the opposite.