A/N: SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG! If anyone out there is still reading this, I have a valid excuse at the end of this chapter.

I'd been searching for Tara for about 5 minutes before a bright light lit up the forest, almost blinding me and casting deep shadows all around me. Almost instantly a deafening crack shook the ground, almost causing me to loose my balance. After the sound had faded away I was about to start my search again when I heard a pained howl from the opposite direction.

That's gotta be Tara, I thought, sprinting in the direction of the sound. It wasn't long before I burst into the clearing the noise was coming from. My heart began to race as my mind processed what I was seeing. Halfway concealed beneath a giant tree root and a fallen branch was Chelsea with Tara curled defensively beside her.

"Oh no," I said breathlessly as I ran to her side, "Please, Goddess, let her be alive." I bent down to see if she was breathing. Amazingly enough, she was. Barely.

"Good girl, Tara." I told the puppy. I contemplated moving Chelsea's unconscious body, but I was afraid she had injured her spine, and everything I knew told me not to. The weather decided for me as the wind picked up, driving the rain painfully hard against my bare arms. "Screw it." I mumbled, lifting her gently from the ground and cradling her securely against my chest. After a few steps toward the farm, I checked to make sure that Tara was following me. Every few feet I would whistle, hoping that she was keeping up.

When we arrived back at Chelsea's house I was grateful to find that she had left the door open. Relieved, I walked in and gently placed her in her bed. I fumbled around looking for a thermometer, and after finding it, placed it in Chelsea's mouth. Better safe than sorry. While I was waiting to see if she had a fever or not I went over to the kitchen and filled a bowl with warm water. I grabbed a rag I found laying next to the sink and draped it over my arm on my way over to the tiny wooden bed. I set everything down on her bedside table and checked to see what her temperature was. My heart fell when I saw the number glowing at the end: 103.2.

Crap. I knew that anything over 100 was bad news, but I had never seen anyone with a fever this high. I pulled a chair over from the table and began soaking the rag. I decided that perhaps the best thing for me to do would be to wash off some of the mud that had covered her face. When that was taken care of, I refilled the bowl with cleaner water and placed the rag on her forehead to try and cool her down. Then I sank slowly back against the chair, feeling defeated. I didn't know what else I could do for her.

A few minutes later, I sat up suddenly. There was something else I could do. I walked over to the phone hanging on the wall and dialed a number that I was hoping to never use again. After a few rings, a cheerful female voice answered.

"Dr. Miller's office, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Dr. Miller. Tell him it's urgent."

"One moment please." she said, and the kind of music typically reserved for elevators replaced her.

"Hello, this is Dr. Miller. What is your emergency?"

"Listen, I need your help." I grumbled.

"Vaughn, is that you?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes, Dad, it's me. Now I-"

"Vaughn! How've you been son?"

"Dad! This is no time to talk! I have a friend who was out in the rain for hours. A branch fell on her and she's been unconscious for nearly an hour now. She has a fever of 103.2 and I don't know what to do."

"Well, this is serious," he said, clearing his throat. "Are there any scrapes or severe bruising on her head that you can see?"

I glanced down to Chelsea's lifeless form. "Um, no."

"Good. I assume that her clothes have already been discarded?"

"Dad!" I yelled, blushing.

"Son, if she was out in the rain then her clothes must be drenched. If that's the case, then that'll only make matters worse. You need to man up and do what's best for your friend."

"… Fine." I replied. I felt my own temperature rising as I swiftly removed Chelsea's shirt and jeans, looking only when necessary. When I had finished I pulled her comforter securely over her exposed body. The next few hours were spent gruelingly listening to my father and praying that I was doing the right thing. Finally, my father became silent.

"That it?" I growled into the phone as I slumped into the chair beside the bed.

"Yes, now all you have to do is keep an eye on that fever until it goes down. But if it continues to go up, find the closest doctor you can."

"Fine."

"And hopefully next time you won't wait until someone gets hurt to call-" I hung up the phone, finally fed up with the sound of his voice. With nothing else to do and a long night ahead of me, I crossed my feet and pulled my hat over my eyes for a nap.

A/N: SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG TO WRITE THIS! If anyone's still reading this, my excuse is that my computer caught a virus and wiped everything. Plus I have no internet. So I was lost. Anyway, thought I'd write from Vaughn's point of view this time. Hope you like what I had to say regarding the whole sick thing, not to mention Vaughn's dad showing up. Reviews and comments please!