common cold + Connie Willis = bad

I finally started reading Blackout by Connie Willis and the very first chapter has Colin's point of view. Apparently I'm supposed to remember Colin from Doomsday Book but I didn't, so I picked up my copy of that and skimmed the last few chapters and...

...and now I'm a blubbering mess. *sobs some more* I have a cold; crying is not what I want to be doing right now! Argh, Connie Willis, you make me care too much about your characters!