When had she lost track of the story? When had she started to daydream of magical adventures?

Caroline knew that Artemis could probably answer her questions, but she didn't really want to know the answers all that badly. She was way too preoccupied in the feeling that she'd been struggling to cope with for the last… hour? Two hours?

Had she been properly rested or sober, she would've been able to gauge the time since the cute thing had injected her, but she wasn't and couldn't.

How many times had she choked back a laugh as Artemis patiently explained to her about the existence of magic and the People? Mulch had laughed too, but probably for different reasons.

Was she tuning Artemis out because it was all boring or because she couldn't get a handle of what he was saying? Maybe she had finally gone mad and this was some crazy schizophrenic illusion.

Madness would explain why she wasn't feeling horribly, horribly empty on the inside. She vaguely recalled a centaur telling her about the medication being secreted into her brain.

Did crazy people know of their affliction?

"Sometimes." Oops, she had said it out loud. Did she giggle out loud as well?

This was futile.

Artemis rubbed his eyes slowly. They'd introduced the People's world too quickly, and the slightly stupid glaze in her eyes told him that some part of her brain had shut down in order to cope with everything that was going on.

The only way to get her to understand what was going on was to turn on that part of her brain, and the only way to do that was impossible because she needed constant monitoring.

It'd been almost an hour after the anti-depressants had been administered and she was still high. The drugs had been necessary, however, for in order for her to have a successful mind wipe her mind had to be healed.

It would not do for Caroline's fragile sanity to shatter while under his care.

Especially if he ever wanted a chance with M-

Mulch said something to Caroline, sending both of them into fits of giggles.

Artemis rubbed his temples and counted to ten.

It was weird for her, not being tired or sad or even hungry, though logically she knew she should be at least two of them seeing as she hadn't had a lick of food since the… adventure began, and her weak body needed rest as much it could get.

Maybe that stuff that had been dripping into her brain was like… what was the word for it? S-something… Sill… still… it was in coffee, whatever.

What if she fell asleep? Would she wake up in her bed in New York?

She couldn't possibly be expected to go into the airport again.

Caroline didn't want to think about the airport, about what had happened there, because when she did, the ridiculous fuzzy feeling receded slightly.

She tried to stop thinking about it, but found the feeling ebbing away from her anyways.

Caroline felt a certain genius' eyes burning a hole into her from where he stood. Was she sorry that she couldn't get a grasp of what he was trying to tell her?

She frowned, why was she asking herself so many questions? It was unnatural, before she'd just know. The last vestiges of the euphoria ebbed away, and Caroline started to think more clearly. She kept her eyes on the floor, frowning at the way her mind was moving sluggishly.

Was this how other people felt on a daily basis? Not that they'd have anything to compare it with, anyways. Her mind raced; what if she'd gotten brain damage and was stuck like that? How could she possibly survive with being of average intelligence?

She knew from experience that the shuddering breaths she was taking would lead to a panic attack.

Experience proved wrong, and Caroline actually calmed down.

Everything was so alien and confusing, and she wanted to cry.

After Mulch and the girl were done with it, Foaly knew that he'd need a new couch. Instead of gnashing his teeth and possibly biting his cheek (something he'd been doing lately and it hurt) he continued what he'd been doing.

The girl's file was frighteningly easy to access, and the centaur was glad that doctors had moved to computers. If it was in a file on a computer with internet access, Foaly could get it.

Seriously, the only human he knew of with a really capable firewall was in his very office, looking like he was trying to pass coins. And really, the firewall only took him minutes to take down though he was sure if Artemis Fowl was to turn against the people they wouldn't know what was behind all that protection.

The girl didn't have any allergies, and the reason why she was just starting to become lucid was that she'd never actually been sick so she'd never really needed medication for anything. Except all the psychological damage that had been done to her after being kidnapped.

There was definitively something wrong with those parents.

Foaly was startled out of his wits when Artemis put a hand on his shoulder. He pushed aside millions of years of instincts and didn't begin trampling the boy to death.

"I have an idea."

The boy looked at the screen stoically. Of course the mud boy would have an idea; he should've just waited for that instead of reading Caroline's depressing file over and over again.

He had to call Caballine and tell her he would probably be stuck in the office for a couple more days. Damn, she got that little inflection in her tone that made him want to rush home, but this was Artemis Fowl, and he'd done more for them than they had for him.

Owing Artemis Fowl was not the best position to be in, so he could only be glad that it was only a girl they'd asked him to take care of. He half listened to Artemis through his thoughts.

"Foaly?"

"Yeah, yeah, put her in a dark room and let her wake up. Mesmer yeah, yeah."

The boy frowned slightly and the centaur commended himself for being the most annoying creature under the earth.

Butler was starting to think that leaving for vacation was a bad idea. Even though it was summer and he was really in no state to actually bodyguard Artemis, he was a friend and great at having ideas bounced off of.

Also, he'd called the house several times and nobody had picked up.

Artemis hated voicemails.

And after he'd taken the liberty to check, he found seventeen voicemails. Ten drunken calls from his mother, all within an hour, one from him, two from Juliet, one from Artemis Sr., one from Minerva, and two of a muffled conversation.

Butler berated himself for leaving Fowl manor, seeing as whenever the boy seemed to find time alone, the Fairies whisked him away to save the world.

He knew he was old, but was he too old to go on an adventure? How many times had he saved them? Couldn't they just have called to ask if he'd wanted to come?

His phone rang, and he clumsily pulled it out, excited at the prospect of his thoughts coming true.

When had he become this sentimental?

It was always weirdly disorienting to wake up if you didn't know you'd fallen asleep. It was weirdly disorienting to find that the strangely vivid dreams you had been just dreams, and that your imagination was really something to be reckoned with.

The room she was in was strangely warm for nighttime, and what she guessed was a nightlight bathed it in soft light. Even if she squinted, she couldn't make out anything but looming shapes and darkness beyond that. She stirred and sat up, wrapping the blankets around herself.

Her leg touched something warm and living, startling her. Her eyes flickered down and noticed Artemis, and how her leg was touching his butt. She withdrew her leg quickly and did her best not to laugh.

"Artemis?" The poor boy had probably had to drag her from somewhere in the house up to bed, and Caroline felt the prickles of guilt.

"Yes?" His voice was layers of honey and silk, caressing her brain softly. She wished that the room was a shade darker because her jaw dropped, and she knew he could see it. It sounded like the kind of tone you used on a lover rather than someone you'd had to drag up three flights of stairs.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Oh." Frowning, her eyes flickered up to meet his, and her disbelief was dispelled.

Parts of her mind were screaming at the prospect of his voice seducing her. Because that was clearly what it was doing with all that soft velvet and sweetness going on. And why couldn't she tear her eyes from his?

"When I leave, someone else will come in here."

"Okay." It was okay.

"Everything they tell you is true."

"Okay." Artemis would never lie to her.

"Everything they show you is true."

"Okay."

"Everything I tell you is true."

"Okay." There was a moment of silence, and Caroline found herself holding her breath, anticipating what Artemis was going to say next. Anything he told her to do she would. He would never, ever lie to her.

"Good." His voice had changed back, and his eyes lost their grip. She gasped with the loss. It was just like Artemis, to mess with her like that.

The bed shifted and he left. How he could navigate his way through room was beyond her. Well, it was his house, so he probably knew it pretty well. Caroline was glad that the sluggish feeling was gone from her mind, and that she hadn't become stupid.

She heard a doorknob twist, and yellow light spilled into the room; casting definition into the room.

The outline of a child with a clipboard came in and closed the door behind itself.

"Hello?" Why was there a kid in Artemis' house? She knew that the Fowl's had twin boys, but weren't they much younger than that?

"Hello Caroline." It was the voice again! Her heart surged and adrenaline rushed through her.

"Uh, hi." She tried not to sound too excited.

"I'm going to tell you something." Anything, anything to hear that voice. Were the eyes coming too?

They were, the child walked towards her, the light shining off of her eyes. It didn't even have to try to catch Caroline's eyes because they were seeking them out.

"Magic is real." Caroline nodded dumbly. If the voice said it, it had to be real. As she accepted the fact, her dreams started to make sense.

"My dreams?"

"Are real." She breathed in slowly and brought a hand up to touch the back of her ear. Magic is real.