Hello all! I apologize for the long wait...I was bouncing around a lot this summer and had neither the time nor the resources to post a new chapter. Also, I lost inspiration a few times...

Anywho, here is the newest installment!

Previously...

"Mama?" He nervously patted her shoulder trying to wake her up. There were beads of sweat all over her face, and Tian could not hide the worry he felt for Tintin. The small child was so confused as to what to do. Should he leave her here and go get help? Should he wait for her to come around? However, when Tintin let out a pain-filled moan, Tian set off running towards the house.

"Help! Something's wrong with her!" Tian shrieked, barreling towards the door. The man he now knew as Alan jumped up from the table, followed by five other men. By the time they returned to the beach, Tintin was panting heavily.

Alan ran to her side and collected her in his arms. Without a word, he ran her back to the house. He was panting by the time he reached the infirmary, Virgil and Scott right behind him. The three men worked quickly, analyzing the unconscious woman.

"Guys, I don't think it's anything to worry about anymore." Virgil informed the others. "She's got a bit of an elevated heart rate, and she's running a fever, but other than that…I can't find anything wrong with her. I think she just got a bit dehydrated…maybe heat exhaustion."

"But Virgil! It's not even that hot outside!" Alan protested.

"I know, but it's still possible that that's all it was."

A small groan turned everyone's attention to the woman on the bed. "What's going on?" Tintin asked groggily.

"We were hoping you could tell us what happened on the beach." Scott replied, getting straight to the point.

"I'm not entirely sure…I remember feeling really woozy and a bit warm. I think I'm just tired…yesterday was a rough day, and I couldn't seem to stay asleep last night." Tintin hated that she was leaving things out, but she didn't want anyone to worry unnecessarily.

"But Tintin…" Alan started to say.

"Mama!" An excited voice screeched from across the room. Tian flung himself at Tintin and wrapped his short arms around her neck.

"Sorry, guys…" Gordon grinned sheepishly from the doorway.

Tintin shot him a playful glare before turning back to the boy who was chattering excitedly in her arms. She glanced over at Alan to find that he was still looking at her worriedly.

"Honestly, Alan," Tintin said while grabbing his hand, "I'm just tired. Nothing to worry about really." She smiled at him, and he shot her a small smile as well, though the worry remained in his eyes.

Tintin spent the next few hours entertaining Tian in the infirmary and, once she got the all clear, the pair returned to the beach. This time, however, Alan went with them. The three of them spent a good hour building sand castles and splashing each other in the water, but as the sun began to go down, Tintin began to feel light-headed. Her smile dropped off her face, and she could feel her vision tunneling. Tintin backed away from the water and dropped heavily onto the sand, trying to hold herself in a sitting position.

"Tin, honey, are you alright?" Alan called from the water.

"Y-Yeah, Al…I'm fine. Just getting a bit tired." She yelled back to him.

She leaned back on her hands and tried to enjoy the gentle breeze ruffling her hair, but when she closed her eyes, she felt as though she was being sucked down. Her eyes snapped open, and her body jerked forward violently. Tintin gasped in surprise. Something was most definitely wrong, and the events of earlier were not a fluke at all.

When Tintin looked up at the boys still playing around in the water, she noticed Alan glancing at her every few seconds. For once, she was thankful for his doting, and she waved him over. Her arms felt like lead; her head was swimming. All in all, Tintin felt like crap.

Alan hurried over to her and stood right next to her as he quickly dried himself off, wetting her in the process. Normally, she would have smiled while protesting loudly about his disrespect for her personal space. Instead, the only sound coming out of her mouth was a soft moan of pain as her head began to pound horribly.

"Tin? What's wrong?" Alan asked, bending down to her level.

Tintin tried to tell him that she was in pain, but all that came out were a few muffled words that were too jumbled to understand.

Alan put his hand to her forehead and found it to be warm and sweaty. He looked into her eyes and saw glazed orbs, and when he glanced at the rest of her, he noticed that she was extremely pale.

"I think it's time we got you back inside, eh?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood while picking her up. Tintin could only nod before placing her feverish cheek against his bare shoulder.

"Tian! Come on; we're heading in now!" Alan called to the boy, who appeared at his side in an instant.

"What's wrong with her?" Tian asked as he wrapped a towel around himself and followed the two adults.

"She's just not feeling very well. I'm sure she'll be better after a good night's sleep." Alan was not sure whether he was trying to convince himself or the boy. When he felt Tintin go completely limp in his arms, Alan picked up the pace and was practically jogging back to the house.

Knowing how much Tintin hated attention, Alan kept a low profile as he headed towards the infirmary. No one needed to know that she had relapsed, and Alan desperately hoped that he did not run into any of his brothers on the way. Unfortunately for him, he passed Virgil's open door and received a stunned cry. "What happened?"

"Can we walk and talk, Virge?" Alan asked quietly, still heading towards the infirmary.

By the time Alan, flanked by Virgil and Tian, reached his destination, he had told Virgil his side of the story, but they were no closer to finding answers. This time when they analyzed Tintin, they also hooked her up to an ECG just in case.

"I really hate to do this, but I have to get the kid bathed and fed or Tintin would have my hide…can you keep an eye on her until I get back…" Alan pleaded.

"Of course, Allie. I'll keep you updated if anything happens while you're away." Virgil replied, turning back to the woman on the bed.

An hour later, Alan had managed to get Tian fed, bathed, and in bed before he remembered that his 'mama' was missing. Alan watched the boy's eyes go from hopeful to heartbroken as he told him that Tintin could not sleep in the bed tonight because she was feeling ill.

"I want to go sleep with her then." The boy was adamant.

"I think Mama would be much happier if you would sleep here tonight, okay? I promise you two can hang out together all day tomorrow." Alan told him. Either Alan had a way with kids or Tian was much too tired to argue, because he simply nodded his head and drifted to sleep.

Alan made sure the boy was tucked in before heading back to the infirmary to see how his girlfriend was faring. As he neared the room, he heard loud, shrill beeping and took off sprinting.

And that's all she wrote! ...for now anyway!

Until next time!

~Rose