Edward's office is empty when we arrive, and he comes up front to bring me back himself, looking apologetic as he takes in my ragged appearance. "I have room one set up for you," he says.

I'm a little dizzy as we follow him and almost fall onto the low exam table as a cough tears through me. It racks through my body, and I'm left even worse as I try to catch my breath. Edward clips the oxygen saturation reader to my finger, and then grabs tubing off the counter without a word.

"How bad is it?" Emmett asks.

"Eighty-six," he says, connecting the tubing to a canister of oxygen he has in the room. He carefully puts the prongs in my nose as he frowns. "Let's lay you back a little, okay?"

I shake my head. "Not flat."

"No, I know that's too hard on you, sweetheart. Just enough so you don't try to face-plant on me."

He brings up the exam table, and I rest back, trying to breathe deeply through my nose. Shit, I'm so dizzy. He checks my other vitals as I gather myself. The dizziness eases some, but not all the way by the time he helps me sit up a little so he can listen to my lungs. He has to keep me up or else I'd easily fall back down.

"Her lungs are bad, Emmett," he says, looking past me with concern etched in his voice. "We need an X-ray, but I'm hearing signs of pneumonia."

"Fuck!" my brother curses. "I should have brought her to the emergency department last night. I had a bad fucking feeling."

"You didn't know," Edward says. "I'm guessing she wouldn't have taken too kindly to that anyway."

I wouldn't have.

Edward steps back, grabbing a blanket from the cabinet and laying it across me before saying he'll be right back. Emmett moves his chair close to me and takes my hand under the blanket.

"It's going to be okay," he says, and I nod.

"I know." I think we're both lying, but I don't ruin it by calling it out. "I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, kiddo. Your immune system is shit, and this was bound to happen eventually. We caught it early though. With some IV antibiotics and breathing treatments, you'll be better in no time."

Tears slip down my cheeks, and he quickly wipes them away as I nod again, hoping he's right. "You'll take care of Hamilton, right?"

He smiles. "I'll keep the furball fed and happy. Try to close your eyes. It might be a bit before a room is ready."

I nod and try to do just that, but the cough makes it nearly impossible.

Please don't let this be it. I'm not ready.

Thanks to May, Nole, Fran, Brier, and Meg for prereading and Sally for Beta'ing.

Next update will be tonight! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!