Augustus awkwardly plopped down into the simple hospital chair and stared at Hazel. She was fast asleep, her face swollen and unnaturally pale. Machines beeped and purred at her side, slurping the liquid from her relapsed lungs.

He couldn't lose her now, he thought. Not again. Not the same face, the same setting. Not while he was still here. Not while he sat there, helpless-useless. No, no, he had to do something, anything.

"There's always something you can do, sweetie."

A woman slinked in, a mischievous smirk tainting her lips. She was attractive: blonde and curvy, with the poise of confidence. But simultaneously she was repulsive: the hair too perfect, body too sultry, poise too powerful. She wasn't... right. Somehow he sensed, in his gut, what she was.

"I can bring her back, you know. She'll be just like when you met her. Sick, yes, but very alive. And still your Hazel Grace. You can whisk her away like Prince Charming to explore a far away land. You'll be her hero."

"Why are you here?" Augustus retorted, his voice revealing his exhaustion.

"I'm always here. Hospitals are great business." The demon looked around the depressingly cheerful decor fondly. She turned to him again, and he swore he saw a glint of red flash across her eyes.

"Save her, Gus. You've always wanted to be the hero. What better chance? And for what better cause?"

Augustus turned his gaze to stare and Hazel. Her machines beeped in the silence.

The woman leaned in close and whispered. "If you don't, she will die, I promise you."

She leaned back. "I'll give you two your trip. Believe me, it'll be the time of your lives. I'll even give you a few months after that." She paused. "But then you're mine."

Augustus kept his gaze determinedly on Hazel. His entire body was stiffened with repressed emotion.

"Save her," the woman said, her voice sounding surprisingly sincere.

He did.