Disclaimer: Don't own The Immortal or any of its characters, blah blah blah, not making money, don't think anyone would actually pay me to do this anyways!

Here is my next chapter! Didn't even take me that long to write it! Go me! Hope you like it!

It had been three days since Kiyomi had fallen through the ice and Goodwin had gone to rescue her. In those three days Kiyomi was only just beginning to make a recovery while Goodwin was getting worse.

The first two days had been the most difficult. It took hours for them to finally warm up and both Goodwin and Kiyomi had gotten sick from the experience. Kiyomi was lucky enough to have only caught a minor cold. She certainly didn't feel very well, but her illness was not life threatening. Her parents at the time might have argued that point knowing that their lovely daughter could be a life threatening force when she was in a grumpy enough mood. She could keep them from hours of precious sleep with her tantrums and cause them the kind of stress that would one day lead them to a very unfortunate and very fatal heart attack.

Goodwin on the other hand had been affected far worse. What had seemed like a minor cold at first had turned into a major fever. Goodwin had made the switch from trial by ice to trial by fire where his life was on the line.

Goodwin lay on the bed Mikiko had set for him near the hearth, tossing and turning back forth. Through all his discomfort he had finally managed to fall asleep. Unfortunately for him, while he may have chosen to sleep, his fever still raged on relentlessly both night and day.

Mikiko sat by his side wringing out the cool cloth she had been placing on his forehead. Yashiro had warned them that if his fever got too high, he could die very soon. They had to break the fever for Goodwin to survive, but at the moment they didn't know how.

Yashiro was out with Raphael collecting herbs for a remedy he thought would help. It was the third remedy they would try so far, and it became more and more apparent that if this one didn't work, it would be too late for Goodwin.

"No…I…hmm…no…can't…" Goodwin was mumbling in his sleep.

"Shhh…" Mikiko hushed placing the cool cloth back on his forehead. She could only imagine what the boy was dreaming about. Mikiko knew he had had a difficult past. Though he had never said anything she could tell from the moment she met the poor boy. He had had cuts all along his back when they had found him, obviously from being whipped. It was what assured her of her suspicions that he was a run away slave. Pirates along the coast were always attacking foreign traders. They had probably attacked their ship, taken him and maybe a few others, and sold him to a local slaver or work house. It would explain why a boy like him was all alone in Japan. She certainly couldn't see him choosing to come here all by himself.

It made her sad to think he was all alone. She had always wondered what kind of life he had lived, what his parent were like, did he have any siblings, where he grew up. But never ever did he talk about them or even mention he had had a previous life before meeting them and no one here had the heart to ask him because they knew that would involve him explaining how he got here, and how he got to them. It was something he'd have to tell them in his own time.

Mikiko turned around as she heard the creak of the door opening. Raphael and Yashiro nodded to her as they headed for the kitchen. They obviously found the herbs they were looking for and were about to get started on the remedy.

Mikiko turned back, staring sadly at the frail figure that had once been the cowardly, quirky, yet energetic boy they knew as Goodwin. She was curious. She wondered if he had known his family, if he had known his mother. There was a connection she had always had with her child that she too had had with her own mother, one that could only come from the sharing of one body, from giving life to another. She knew there were always children out there whose mothers had died in birth and it made her wonder at what was sadder, losing the one you love, or never getting the chance to experience that love. She'd have to ask him that one day, maybe then she'd be able to understand the sadness she saw behind his eyes that he only let show when he thought she wasn't looking. Then she'd know.

Mikiko sighed as she wrung out the cloth again and placed it back on his forehead once more. She hoped Yashiro's remedy worked this time, or else she may never even get the chance to ask that question.Andthen, she's never know.

To be continued…

So there ya go! Chapter two! Hope you liked it! I had fun writing it! I personally had always wondered where Goodwin was from and I'm sure Raphael had wondered, if he didn't already know, they just never showed that on the show. Who knows, maybe I'll write a story explaining it, because I'll never be able to find out for real considering the show got cancelled. Oh well!

ANYways! As always! Please review! Whethergood or bad, friendly or flaming, its allgood to me!While I've neveractually gotten one I don't think I'd mind that much ifI did get flamed, so long as itincluded an explaination of why they hated it so much! I really just want honesty, helps me improve my writing!

Thanks!