Little is known about the reciprocal influence of communication difficulties on the care relationship. To illuminate care providers' lived experiences of relationships with stroke and aphasia patients, narrative interviews were conducted with providers particularly successful at communicating with patients. A phenomenological hermeneutic analysis of the narratives revealed three themes: Calling forth responsibility through fragility, restoring the patient's dignity, and being in a state of understanding. The analysis disclosed caring with regard to the patient's desire, which has its starting point in intersubjective relationship and interplay, in which nonverbal communication is essential--that is, open participation while meeting the patient as a presence. Thus, care providers prepare for deep fellowship, or communion, by being available. They described an equality with patients, interpreted as fraternity and reciprocity, that is a necessary element in presence as communion. The works of Marcel, Hegel, Stern, and Ricoeur provided the theoretical framework for the interpretation.