After cleaning up the broken glass, Allie reached under her bed, feeling for the place on the floor where she'd hidden the pen.

Instead, her fingers brushed against something much longer.

Something that felt vaguely like electricity zapped through her fingertips and ran all the way up to her wrist. And she knew, as she dragged it out, that the pen would be in its full, sleek and elegant, staff-form when she unearthed it.

Miles was helping her, just like he'd promised.

"Thanks, Miles," she whispered, clutching the staff and using it as a sort of crutch to pull herself up beside it.

There had to be something she could do. Maybe, if she brought the staff to him, at the hospital, he could subconsciously draw power from it, enough to wake up. No, that wasn't any good. All that would do was give Nikki a chance to steal it back. Miles said he'd help her stop Nikki; even if he could draw power from the staff, Allie wasn't stupid enough to think he'd sacrifice helping her. Besides, if he woke up now, with Nikki still in control of him and his magic, what kind of life would he be stuck in?

It was like those cases when a person had a choice between going into a sweet oblivion, dying and getting complete rest, or living like a vegetable.

In most cases, when it came to things like that, it was complete death verses miserable prolonged life. In this case, it was miserable prolonged life verses one of relative freedom in Avalon. If she freed Miles from Nikki's control, he could probably be pretty comfortable there. Waiting might be boring, but it didn't sound like such a bad place, actually. They had cider, after all. Probably lakes, too. Or maybe the whole country was a lake. No, wasn't Avalon an island? Like a lost continent or whatever? No, wait, that was Atlantis, not Avalon. Oops. Well, anyway, Gwaine didn't seem to totally hate it, whatever Avalon was really like.

Then again, was she really going to base an important life decision on what a drunk ex-knight of Camelot thought? Not freaking likely.

But Miles didn't offer to help her so that he would wake up still a prisoner. She could be ruining so much more; maybe even, for all she knew, Will's chances at becoming the leader he was meant to be. Mr. Moore, Nikki, Morgan, and Anna would stand in his way. Nikki was probably the most powerful out of all of them. Being the reincarnation of Nimueh and having been taught by Merlin's reincarnation gave her a whole lot going for her. A whole lot she didn't deserve, but that was beside the point. She was the one who held Miles trapped in a coma on a hospital bed, defenseless. If she stopped her, the others would sort of go away, for a little while anyway. They'd have to come up with a new plan for striking at Arthur's circle. And, if she did as snow globe water Miles had told her, they wouldn't have lost Merlin's help entirely, the way they would if Nikki still held him trapped. His gift would be shared through her (through the reincarnated Lady of the Lake) in this lifetime, keeping Will (Arthur) safe until it was time for him to take charge and change the world.

But she'd never see him again! Miles wouldn't come over her house anymore. She'd never spot him walking down the halls of Avalon High or see him studying on the park bench. His voice, his snarky comments, gone. Just like that. He'd never watch Jeopardy with her starstruck, Arthurian-fanatical parents again. If she woke up crying some night, dreaming about Camelot, or worse, killing that man in self-defense, she couldn't call him. Avalon, apparently, didn't take collect calls from the mortal realm. So a long-distance friendship was pretty much O-U-T.

How was she supposed to go on without him? She needed him. She needed him, and it scared her.

Well, whatever she had to do, whatever she had to give up, whatever she had to let him sacrifice for their cause, she could go to the hospital and see him one last time. He couldn't be dead already.

At least, she hoped not.

She couldn't go barging into the hospital with a staff. Who was everyone supposed to think she was? The blond, chick version of Gandalf the Grey?

More likely, they'd all think she was totally nuts.

Allie put the staff down on top of her unmade bed and folded the sheets over it. It left a pole-like impression in the comforter, but otherwise it was pretty well concealed. She'd come back for it later. If Miles was right, she'd need it to defeat Nikki. Cuz, frankly, she didn't think she was going to be able to stop her with, like, the power of positive thinking or whatever.

Mr. Pennington gave her a ride to the hospital. On the way, they happened to pass the park, and Allie, looking out the window, saw two familiar people just getting off the curb and trudging into the deeper greenery, the denser parts of the property that public maintenance workers didn't get around to trimming or clearing out that often: Nikki and Anna.

"Now, don't be too upset if the nurses won't let you in the ICU," her dad told her as the car rolled to a stop and she put her hand on the door-handle. "They're just doing their job. They don't know you're the Lady of the Lake."

"I know," Allie said quickly, getting out and shutting the door behind her. She looked at Mr. Pennington through the window, which was still down halfway. "Bye, Dad."

"Good luck, sweetheart."

"Thanks." She nodded and walked through the revolving hospital door, straight into the front lobby.

Marco was standing, to her surprise, on one of the iron-railing balconies, looking down into the lobby. His medallion dangled from his neck, glinting.

Allie had an idea. "Marco!"

Less than two minutes later, she was exiting an elevator pretty much directly behind him, panting slightly. "Marco, I need you to do something for me, okay?"

"What?"

"I need to borrow your Order of the Bear necklace."

He raised one of his dark eyebrows at her. "Allie, it's not a necklace, it's the official seal of the Order of the Bear."

"Whatever." She waved it off and rolled her eyes. "You wear it around your neck, don't you? So it's a necklace. And I need to borrow it. Now."

"Allie, I can't just give you-" Marco started, looking understandably peeved.

"I need it to get into the ICU," Allie insisted. "Marco, please. I'm begging you. I have to see him one last time."

It wouldn't be the same as seeing him in the globe water, since he wouldn't be able to talk to her, and she wouldn't really be saying goodbye (she'd already done that), but it would be something; something that she couldn't do without. If she had to make this choice, she had to get in there-in that room, not just stand outside it staring in through the glass-and see him in person.

"What are you talking about?" Marco asked.

"Can I trust you?"

"You're kidding me, right?" He cocked his head at her.

She sighed. "Okay, listen." She put her hand on his arm and led him a short way back from the railing's edge, lowering her voice. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but you of all people have to believe me. Miles talked to me. There was all this broken glass and this magic water, and he was in Avalon, and he told me-" Her voice cracked. She swallowed and exhaled heavily. "He told me... Well, it's a long story, but the cheat-sheet version is, basically, he's going to give up his life in this world so we can defeat Nikki. He's going to help me stop her. With his magic, I can use his staff. But it means he's not going to wake up."

"Ever?" Marco blurted, taking a step back, out of her light grasp, and rapidly blinking at her in shock.

Allie looked down at her feet.

"God, Allie!"

"I know," she whispered.

"Are you seriously going to let him do that?"

"I don't think I have a choice." If she did, if she really did, maybe she would have saved him. Or switched places with him.

"Here." Marco reached behind his neck and took off the medallion. "Just... Give it back when you come out."

"Of course." She nodded and stretched out her hand.

To her surprise, Marco actually leaned over and put it on her himself, giving her a quick brotherly kiss on the forehead.

It was enough to make her want to break down and sob all over again; to run back home and curl up in a fetal position knowing Miles wouldn't be able to intercept her falling apart this time. Except, she couldn't. Everyone was counting on her. Marco and Will, Mr. Guy, even Miles himself.

One day, Merlin, I will repay you. I promise.

She didn't remember, but somehow she was sure she'd kept that promise in her past life. She had to keep it now, too. The only way to repay Miles would be to keep what he-as Merlin-stood for alive: the hope Arthur bringing back Camelot. She had to support Will, like Merlin-Miles-would have if none of this had happened, if Nikki hadn't gone all psycho and tried to kill him.

"Do what you have to, Milady," Marco whispered, stepping back and bowing on one knee, same as he had the night of the big game.

His face was all serious-like and she knew he understood. "I will."

Allie started to walk towards the ICU. She was in the waiting room closest to it when she spotted Jen carrying a Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee.

"Jen, what are you doing here?" What she really wanted to know was if they'd let her in to see Miles. If so, then maybe she hadn't had to borrow Marco's medallion after all. Not if they were letting regular people into the ICU now, or if they'd moved him to another room.

"Oh, Mr. Guy's been here since about six." She shrugged. "I feel really bad for him. He's taking it so hard, what's happened to Miles." Her voice weakened. "Not that I blame him. I'm all busted up inside. I just wish there was something I could... Anyway, I've just been hanging around running errands for Mr. Guy. I can't leave him alone like this. I know he's just a teacher, but ever since this happened, I feel like he's almost family or something and I have to be here." She held up the cup. "This is for him. I don't really drink much coffee, but Mr. Guy is totally hooked on the bean."

"So they're still not letting anyone except his mom see him?"

Jen wrinkled her nose. "They let Marco in for some reason. But he's kind of...scary...sometimes, so I really can't say I blame them."

"Where's Lance?"

"He's not here," Jen said. "It's probably for the best. He's having a tough time dealing with all this (he says if he can't go in and see him, then there's no point staying here, knowing Miles is...um...) and it's hard being around him anyway since the break up, so." She shrugged, careful not to spill the coffee. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out between you guys."

"It's my fault," Jen told her. "I messed it up. Just like I messed things up with Will. Two guys, and I made them both give up on me. It can't be them. Not both of them."

"It happens, sometimes," said Allie, trying to be comforting. "I mean, maybe you didn't mess up. Maybe this love stuff is what's messed up."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've only ever been in love with two guys before that I know of, but-"

"One's Will," Jen noted.

"Sure is. Anyway, it's-"

She cut her off. "The other one's Miles, right?"

Allie thought she was going to barf up a lung. What had Jen just said? Had she seen them at Will's party, too? God! "Wh-what? No! No way. Of course not. I was talking about, um, this other guy, uh, Tommy, from a long, long time ago, like back in junior high."

Jen smiled knowingly. "It's okay, Allie, I'm not going to say anything. I don't get a lot of stuff, but I totally knew there was something between you two, cuz of the way Miles used to look at you, at school and stuff, like whenever Will kissed you."

Allie nodded, though, really, she had no idea. What way had Miles looked at her when she and Will kissed? Like he was jealous? Or sad, maybe? She'd never noticed, and Jen obviously wasn't about to clarify. How was it even possible that of all people, the cheerleader caught onto it?

Not that it mattered anymore.

"Miles is really special," Jen said. "I understand why you two would like each other. Will's wonderful, but he's one of those tough, run out and change the world types. Miles is more of an idea person. God, he was always so nice to me! I so can't believe something like this happened to him of all people."

"Neither can I," Allie said softly. Clearing her throat, she added, "Hey, that coffee's going to get cold. Aren't you bringing that to Mr. Guy?" She couldn't storm into the ICU flashing the Order of the Bear medallion like a VIP pass if Jen was watching.

"You're right. I gotta go. See you later, Allie." Jen turned and went into the waiting room to give Mr. Guy his (probably lukewarm by then) coffee.

Allie got into the ICU without any real trouble. The same nurse from before recognized her, giving her the stink eye, but since everybody else on the staff was apparently all gung-ho for letting the clearly underage teenager in just because she had some kind of bear company necklace, she didn't say anything.

Miles was still lying there, hooked up to that breathing machine. His mother had fallen asleep in a fold-out chair in the corner of the room, her head flopped onto the side of her shoulder and pieces of her hair hanging in front of her face, only moving upwards when she snored.

Poor woman, thought Allie.

She crept in quietly, not wanting to disturb her. "Hey, Miles," she whispered, going over to the bedside. "I know we, like, just talked, but I had to come and see you before..." Biting her lower lip, she pushed her wrist through a fist-sized gap in the thick, white plastic bed-rail and touched the back of his hand with her fingers.

Suddenly his hand wrapped around hers and squeezed.

Allie gasped. He knew she was there; it was just like he'd told her, he was with her, and he was ready to help her. If he could wiggle loose enough from Nikki's magic to squeeze her hand, he could definitely guide the staff he'd turned the pen back into. That would be it; he'd never wake up, but he would be free. And Will would be safe from whatever blow Mr. Moore planned against King Arthur using Nikki (Nimueh).

But surely there was time. He couldn't mean for her to do it now. To chose to end his life in this time period now... Where was the urgency? If Nikki meant for him to lie there for a while, unconscious, as punishment for whatever in her mind made him an enemy, then, obviously...

Outside, storm clouds gathered and lightning crackled.

Real subtle. Allie shuddered involuntarily.

Miles let go of her hand. His grip loosened on hers, his fingers dropping, useless and limp all over again. One of the machines he was hooked up to started beeping like crazy and his mom woke up, bolting upright, eyes widened.

"What happened?"

"I don't know." Allie glanced out the window. It was raining pretty hard. Lightning even struck a pole across the street, sending bursts of yellow firework-like sparks shooting out from a number of transformers.

Two doctors and four nurses came in and hustled her out in the process.

Allie felt dazed. Something was very, very wrong. Miles couldn't be going, not for real, and not yet. She hadn't stopped Nikki yet.

Nikki. Suddenly it all made sense. Nikki at the park with Anna... They had to be up to something; something that was going to prevent Allie from messing things up for them. If they thought, even for a minute, Miles was going to help her use that staff...

She wasn't going to let him down. She raced through the white hallways, taking the stairs so she wouldn't have to stop at the elevator, and rushed out a side exit. It was supposed to be a fire exit only, and she set off the alarm when she pushed it open, but Allie didn't care. She just kept running as fast as her feet would take her. Luckily, all her track team training was paying off; she might as well have been flying, given the speed she was going strong at.

Soaking wet, she practically threw herself into the house and up the stairs when she reached home.

As soon as she was in her room, she pulled back the covers on her bed and grabbed the staff.

Wait, she couldn't go running down the street holding a staff...

Allie grunted impatiently and pretty much ripped the thinnest sheet (already damp from her dripping on it) right off the bed, wrapping and draping it over the staff.

Then she took off again, almost forgetting to shut the door behind her.

She'd have to keep running through the rain, straight to the park, not even stopping to pant for breath. She had no time to hope a taxi would stop for her and no money in her pockets to pay for it anyway. Besides, what good was a taxi? Somehow, she kind of figured Nimueh and Morgause could stop a taxi easier than than they'd be able to stop her.

The park (barely, due to how thick the rain was and the fact that Allie's eyes were seriously beginning to smart) came into view at last.

Allie went straight for the place where she'd seen Nikki and Anna headed. Pushing past overgrown shrubbery, she found herself in a practically non-existent clearing, complete with a boulder that took up about half the space and tangled ivy vines.

On the middle of the boulder was a some kind of fancy ancient Celtic chalice. Solid gold, it glimmered and sparkled, even in the murky storm-covered light.

Allie hadn't been expecting this. "The Cup of Life."