I do not own the Night World blah blah blah ON WITH THE STORY!

Mare was late for her doctors appointment the next day.

I had woken up around 9:30, and was content with just laying in bed watching Mare sleep. At around 9:45 she had suddenly bolted up and demanded, "What time is it?"

That was when I remembered she had somewhere to be. "Late." I had offered.

She turned to look at the clock on my bedside table, and I saw her jaw drop slightly. She practically jumped out of bed, and I had to jump out after her so I could keep her from falling. I watched Mare run around the room, throwing on her shirt and grabbing her shoes. When she flew out the door and down the stairs I followed her closely, worrying she was going to fall down again.

When we got down stairs we saw Mark, already ready to go and waiting on Mare. She turned around for a second and gave me a small kiss. "I'll come strait here when I'm done." I nodded, and with that she was out the door, Mark running after her to keep up.

I let out a breath, anxiety already settling in my stomach for the results of Mare's tests. I heard a snort from the other side of the room, and turned to see Kestrel staring at me. My cheeks colored slightly as I realized I was still in my boxers. I went back upstairs to take a shower and put on clean clothes, then I spent the next two hours pacing the living room.

"Ash, sit down!" Kestrel finally demanded. I fixed her with a glare that could kill lesser beings, then leaned against the entry way to the kitchen.

Suddenly there was a loud banging at the door, and Jade, being Jade, skipped right up to it and opened the door with a huge smile on her face. When she saw who it was, she squealed "Mark!" then leapt onto the poor boy. He managed to take a few steps into the house, Jade's arms still around him.

Mary-Lynnette came in behind them, a distressed look on her face. She scanned the room, and as soon as her eyes found me, I saw them fill with tears. I held out my arms, and she ran into them, burying her face into my neck. I wrapped one arm around her waist, and held the back of her head with my other hand.

She let out a tiny sob, and I felt her tears spill over and land on my skin. I clutched her tighter and turned to look at Mark, desperate for an explanation.

He looked back at me with a forlorn expression. "The cancer spread faster than they originally thought. The doctors said she now has 2 and a half weeks left."

"At the most." Mare sobbed into me. My world all but shattered around me, I hadn't been expecting this. When I had first heard that I had a month left with Mare, I had taken the short time for granted. Now that time had been split in half, and I clung desperately to each passing minute.

I picked Mary-Lynnette up and quickly carried her to my room. I sat down on my bed and let her finish crying, rocking her back and forth gently as tears trickled silently down my own cheeks. When the worst of it was over we simply held each other, wishing time would freeze so we could stay like that forever.

"I don't want to die, Ash." Mare said suddenly.

I glanced down at her. I couldn't think of anything comforting to say, so I simply kissed her forehead and murmured, "I know."

The next week passed like sand slipping through my fingers. Every minute that I could spend with Mare, I did, though it never seemed like enough.

The first night I spent without her was hell, I got next to no sleep as I spent the whole night worrying about her. The last time I was away from her something horrible happened, and I feared the same thing would happen again.

So the next night, I fixed that. As soon as Mare's parents had gone to their room for the night, I snuck in through Mare's bedroom window. It scared the hell out of her at first, but she relaxed once she realized it was me. I felt relief at being able to curl up in her bed with her and rest, knowing that I was there to protect her from anything that I could.

Though as the week went on, I could see her getting weaker, sicker. I told myself over and over again that I couldn't do anything, and it seamed to be working, keeping me sane and under control. Then Mare took a turn for the worse.

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Mare's P.O.V.

I couldn't move. My muscles didn't seam to want to obey me as I lay on my bed, feeling as weak as a wilting flower. My blood felt like poison running through my veins, stealing the strength in other parts of my body. I hadn't been nearly this bad yesterday, and my promised week and a half ahead of me sounded like a sick joke to me in this state.

I opened my eyes and managed to turn my head slightly as I heard my door open and the only person I didn't want to see me in this state walk in. Though that didn't mean I didn't want to see him.

"Ash," I breathed.

He closed the door behind him and was by my side in an instant. "Mark said you weren't doing well. I came as soon as I heard." He looked down at me with eyes filled with worry and concern. I gave him the slightest of smiles, hoping it would bring him at least some comfort.

He sat down on the edge of my bed and began stroking my hair gently. "Are you okay?"

"You worry too much, I'm fine." I said in the softest of tones. Even moving my lips was an tiring, just talking was an effort.

Ash let out a sharp breath, then suddenly grabbed me and held me to him. Tears pricked at my eyes as I longed to hold him back. To be able to wrap my arms around him and have the strength to hold on.

"You're not fine, Mare." He whispered. "And you're never going to be fine unless I do something about it." While still holding me up with one arm, he used the other to gently lift my chin up, exposing my neck. That was when I realized what he was doing.

"Ash, no." I protested in the same soft voice as earlier.

He bent down and placed a kiss on my neck. "Why not?" His touch was gentle but his voice was fierce and protective. "I don't care what it does to me, as long as it gives you a chance of survival, I'll do it. My life means nothing to me in comparison to yours."

Ash, it might not even work." I tried to make him see reason. "Would it really be worth it to hurt yourself if I die anyways."

"As long as there's a possibility, I'll do it. I love you too much to give up without a fight."

I swallowed. I was too weak to argue with him anymore, and it didn't seam to be doing any good. He nuzzled my neck, inhaling my scent, trying to get his canines to sharpen.

"Don't fight it," He reminded me. "I would hate myself if I ever hurt you." And then he sank his teeth into me.

The bite stung for a few seconds, then quickly melted into pleasure. Ash reached out with his mind, touching mine, circling it, protecting it. It was as if he held my very soul in his hands, sheltering it from everything bad in the world. His love came off of him and washed over me in waves.

My mental powers weren't as strong as usual, but he sent some of his powers to me, making mine stronger. I was able to look into his mind then, and he opened himself up to me completely. Certain parts of his mind were just as beautiful as the first time I saw them, some even more beautiful because they were brightened with the good things he had recently done. But some areas were dimmer, duller. They were the parts of him mind that thought about me. Tainted with worry, guilt, concern, and a deep, throbbing pain that came with him knowing that he was losing me.

Mare, please stop. You shouldn't have to look at that. Ash told me gently.

Sorry. I replied, and went on to look at the bright parts of Ash's mind again.

Too soon, Ash pulled away from me, and our connection was broken. He quickly drew a finger nail across the base of his neck and held me up to him so that I could drink.

His blood was sweet and rich and tasted like pomegranate juice. I felt our minds connect again, and this time Ash explored mine. I could feel him going through my mind, and saw everything that he saw. I would offer up images or memories when he would wonder about or ask for something. He wanted to know everything, though I can't say I did much in life before he came around. He told me that my mind was a brilliant shade of blue, certain parts sparkling with bright, white light, a lot like the stars at night. We both laughed slightly at that.

Eventually he told me to stop drinking, and I obeyed immediately. I worried that if I took too much, I might hurt him.

He chuckled slightly, "I'll be fine. I'm the one who needs to worry about taking too much." He had been listening to my thoughts.

I sighed and rested against his chest. He started stroking my hair again, lightly, but with love and affection. He started humming the melody of Paolo Nutini's Last Request. The song was slow and melancholy, but extremely soothing. I felt my eyelids droop, and eventually close as I let the sweet tenor of Ash's voice lull me back into unconsciousness.

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Ash's P.O.V.

I woke up the next morning feeling like complete shit.

I had exchanged blood with Mare the day before, despite her protests, and finally now understood what she meant when she said her blood was bad for vampires. My whole body aced, my muscles screaming in protest whenever I tried to move. My ears were ringing, and a wave of dizziness swept over me whenever I tried sitting up.

Not long after I woke up, Kestrel walked into my room and handed me a water bottle full of blood. I took it from her gratefully and took a huge sip of it. I had expected animal blood, but what was in the bottle was richer, sweeter.

"What is this?" I asked, taking another sip.

"Mark." She replied. I spit what was in my mouth back out. Kestrel looked discussed, but kept talking. "It's not like we held him down and took it from him forcefully, he offered. He said you deserved it because you were saving his sister. He wont be able to give blood again for a few more days though, so you're getting goat tomorrow."

If I could have, I would have shrugged. "Tell him I said thanks. How's Mary-Lynnette?"

"A lot better. It kind of freaked out her parents when she skipped down the stairs this morning, so she and Mark told them what was going on."

I had to force myself to swallow what was in my mouth, and not spit it back out again. "They did what!"

"Oh, that's right, we never told you." I raised my eyebrows; this had better be good. "You see, one time we were all over at their house for dinner, and Claudine cut her finger chopping vegetables." My eyes widened. "We didn't bite her!" Kestrel snapped. "Unfortunately not all of us can keep our fangs from sharpening. They both freaked out for a little while, but then Mare was able to calm them down long enough to explain. Her dad took it pretty well, I guess that's who Mare got her coping skills from. Anyways, they know, and they said that as long as it makes Mare better, they'll deal."

"Well," I said, turning her words over and over again in my head. "I guess that's just one less thing we have to worry about. At least we don't have to fake her death or anything now. She also won't have to leave her family."

"Yea," Kestrel agreed, then she shrugged. "I'm gonna go, feel better." And then she was gone, and I was left to wallow in misery by myself.

The pain in my body had lifted ever so slightly when there was a nock at my door. I groaned, and was about to tell the person to go away when I heard a soft voice.

"Can I come in." I sighed. Mare.

"Yea," I said, my voice slightly off from disuse.

She opened the door timidly and stuck her head in, looking at me with appraising eyes. She slowly stepped into my room and made her way over to my bed. She laid down on the spot next to me, propping herself up with her elbows. We just stared at each other for a few minutes, noticing changes, things that had gone right and things that had gone wrong.

"Kestrel said you weren't doing so good." Mare said, finally breaking the silence. Her voice was soft. Not like yesterday, when she barely had enough energy to move her lips, but in a way that was gentle, and caring.

I shrugged, forcing myself not to wince. "I've been better, but I've also been worse, so there's really no room to complain." From the look on Mare's face, I could tell she didn't like the idea of me being worse. "And how have you been? Better, I hope."

She nodded, smiling. "I haven't felt this good in weeks. I feel like I could move mountains."

I smiled back, her happiness was contagious. "Well, I'm glad. You know, going through something like this is a small price to pay to see you so happy and healthy. I almost feel like I'm not doing enough to be getting this much back."

Her smile disappeared, and she laid her head down on the pillow next to mine. I hated the space between us. "I still wish you didn't have to go through it at all." Her extreme happyness had disappeared instantly.

"Hey," I said, trying to get back the smile that always cheered mr up. "I'm getting better every second. Plus, I'm a vampire, remember? Nothing can hurt me too badly." As if to prove my point, I ignored my screaming muscles and picked up Mare around the waist, pulling her on top of my. I had to hold back a moan of pain this time, and managed to let out just a tiny wince. The pressure hurt at first, but then the soulmate principle kicked in. and her touch seamed to make everything better. She pressed her lips to mine, so gently, as if she was afraid she might break me, and all of the pain seamed to go away for a while.

We spent the rest of the day just laying in my bed; kissing, talking, and occasionally Mare would start to hum. I didn't know any of the songs, but her voice was so soothing, so beautiful, I could just lose myself in it.

Mare didn't want to leave me, so we spent the nigh together. We fell asleep with our arms around each other, her beautiful voice still ringing in my ears, even though she was asleep.

Yay! I finished this one really quickly. I can't think of anything to say, but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'm working on the next one already. Ummm…Please review! (I honestly can't believe I don't have anything else to say. Oh well!) Peace, love, and chocolate!