Boo! Another chapter for your perusal:

"Spencer?"

"What?" Spencer replied, not looking up.

"I...um...I'm sorry...about yesterday...I know I should have apologised sooner, but..."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does to me. I'm sorry." She sat down beside Spencer and hugged him tightly. Slightly uncertainly, the Russian trailed one arm around Mariah's waist, turning and burying his face in her hair. It was so strange, to have someone come and hug him all the time. No-one had ever bothered before. It was...comforting. Knowing that Mariah was always there for him...on his side...and that she -wanted- to be...

He tightened his hold, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. "Bananas."

"Hm?"

"Your hair...it smells of bananas..."

"Do you like it? I got mango as well..."

"I've never tried a mango before. I've never even seen one, not a real one anyway."

"Really?" Mariah's voice buzzed against Spencer's neck, making him shiver. He nodded, hugging her tighter, as tight as he could. She was so warm...so... He blushed at the thought of Mariah's curvy figure, feeling like some kind of pervert. Still, she was so different to the people he'd always known- mostly men and only one woman who was old and bad tempered. Girls had been like some kind of unimaginable thing. Of course as he'd travelled to tournaments and places, he'd seen girls, had met them...but...had never been so close to one before...

"You're so cuddly...like a big cuddly bear!" Mariah giggled, slipping out of his arms as Judith approached.

"Spencer..." Her voice was wheedling, and the only comment that could follow was: "We need to take another blood sample." Spencer went pale.

"You don't. Really you don't. I'm fine!" He burst out instinctively. Judith raised an eyebrow.

"So you call being unable to get up and move without wanting to be sick, or even being sick, fine?" Spencer's eyes flicked to Judith's hand, which was in her pocket, and swallowed nervously.

"I don't...you -can't-! Surely you have enough by now?" He sniffed. "I have bruises." This sulky afterthought made Mariah sigh, clambering onto the bed beside him and covering his eyes. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"If you can't see it, you don't know where it is and you won't be able to look at it and panic." She said matter-of-factly, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. He shook with terror, but didn't shy away, much as he wanted to. He felt the needle dig into his arm and tensed, unable to contain the cry of fear that rose in his throat. Mariah kissed him again, chattering to him about nothingy things. Weather, clothes, whatever. It was what he needed- a distraction, as his arm shook and his head spun, until finally the needle was gone. He sagged with relief, panting. Judith looked genuinely apologetic as she went to leave again. "I'm sorry, Spencer. I really am." The Russian just shook his head.

Slowly and painstakingly, Kevin signed out the word 'hello' letter-by-letter. He'd bought a book from the hospital shop and had forced himself to learn the sign language alphabet overnight. It seemed to cheer Ian up at any rate. He signed back, just as slowly, 'hello you'. Kevin flumped down beside the Russian boy and took hold of his hand. That seemed to be the one thing Ian always wanted- someone to hold his hand. "Missed you." Came his gargled voice. Kevin nodded, snuggling up closer.

Ian seemed to enjoy just sitting there quietly, occasionally squeezing Kevin's hand or stroking his hair; the Russian seemed to be fascinated by the green mop, so Kevin left it down, free to be played with. It was a nice, peaceful way to spend the days as they watched Bryan persuade Lee to take him around the hospital, and Spencer develop a fragile and yet beautiful relationship with Mariah. And while all that happened, Ian laid in peaceful reflection, and Tala laid in a total state of unconsciousness. He was starting to worry Judith and James, that was for certain, because sat as he was with Ian Kevin could see their faces as they whispered over Tala, worried and puzzled.

Darker and darker, blacker and blacker...

"Lee?"

"Mm-hm?" Lee looked over at Bryan, who he was lying beside.

"I want some clothes."

"Clothes?"

"Yes. I'm sick of wearing these stupid gowns. Every time I leave the ward people look at me like I'm contagious." Lee considered this thought.

"Where would you get clothes from? The hospital shop doesn't stock anything but bath robes." Bryan sighed, and Lee knew he wasn't going to like what he'd heard.

"I want to go outside. I'm sick of being in here..."

"You want to go out and shop for clothes in that getup?" Bryan bit his lip.

"I want to get out. I -hate- having to stay in here all the time."

"You don't. You run around the hospital all the time." Bryan laughed, letting Lee hold him closer. The Chinese had been good for him, drawing him out of his half-hysterical shell. Now all that seemed to be wrong with him was a case of disturbing nightmares and uncomfortable mouth ulcers. And it had been, oh, how long since he'd woken up? Not that long. Spencer had woken up a week after they'd all been hospitalised, and Bryan had woken up a few hours after, and it could only have been about a fortnight since then. With another sigh, Lee rolled onto his side and snuggled Bryan, kissing his cheek. "What size are you?"

"...I don't know. Boris always chose our clothes for us. We've never needed to know what sizes we are..." Lee hmm-ed thoughtfully, then slipped off the t-shirt he was wearing.

"Try that on."

Doubtfully, Bryan untied the hospital gown and tugged away the top half, pulling the t-shirt on. It was red, and while the colour had looked warm and inviting on Lee, it made Bryan look decidedly ill. It was a little big for him as well. Lee eyed him thoughtfully, then smiled. "You're about a size smaller than me. And," He wound his arms around Bryan's waist, measuring the distance. "What a slim waist!" He looked down slyly, then kissed Bryan full on the lips "I'm sure I can find some nice trousers for your nice little waist...little Bryan."

"I'm still taller than you!"

"And I'm still the alpha cat and I expect you to submit." Lee growled playfully, but Bryan could see that he was serious. Strangely, he didn't mind the fact that Lee wanted to dominate him- he'd lived too long obeying orders to be able to give them, and having a dominating partner- who he actually liked a lot- seemed a good substitute for Boris' regime. Although, he supposed, Lee wasn't quite his partner yet. Just someone who he flirted with (after discovering that Lee didn't mind, he had decided to explore his newfound freedom of choice) and spent most of his day with.

"What colour shirt would you like?" Bryan blinked at the question. What colour -would- he like? He'd not had the novelty of choosing for years...

"Um..." He frowned. He wanted something nice, something that would look cheerful... "Purple." That seemed like a nice, safe choice. It wasn't a colour he'd worn before, so he would have that!

"What about your trousers?"

"...Umm..." He would have liked to ask for yellow, but that would make him look ridiculous... "Black."

"And after that you can go out and get your own." Bryan nodded, excited at the prospect, and let Lee pull him closer still. The neko-jin's chest was warm, and Bryan could hear his heart beating steadily beneath the surface. He closed his eyes, letting the gentle rhythm lull him to sleep.

The next day they were all sitting peacefully, chatting and laughing in their respective pairs. Then, without warning, the doors of the ward were flung open and five nurses came in, followed by James and Judith. The nurses grabbed Tala's bed and started to wheel it away, leaving Rei sitting in the chair beside where the bed had been. James followed them back out as Judith looked around at the now silent ward.

"We found out what the drug was..." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "It...it affects people by blood type. That's why you all took to it differently..."

"Where have you taken Tala?" Asked Rei, looking anxious. Judith sighed again.

"Spencer's AB, so it's affected his brain so that he can't control motion and his stomach muscles at once. Bryan's B, so it's affected his mouth, Ian's A, and so it affected his hearing..."

"Tala's O." Rei said, worry clear on his face. Judith looked away, unable to meet any of the eyes that were upon her.

"The drug's affecting him...so that he...his internal organs...are starting to shut down. It's a very slow process...but..."

"But?" Bryan spoke this time, not liking the note of sadness that had stolen into Judith's voice.

"The chance of us being able to actually stop the effects are slim." The room went cold. "They've taken him to theatre." Judith sniffed. "I'm so sorry...but we only just got back the final test results...James is going to try everything he can...but..."

The other seven people on the ward stared at her. "There's a very real chance that it'll be too late. If we can't stop the process then...he'll die in the next few weeks." She sniffed. "I'm sorry..."

"What's she saying?" Ian said slowly, not having understood. Swallowing, Spencer turned and signed to him for a few seconds. Ian's eyes filled with tears.

Dun dun duuuun! Next chapter is either going to be the nice ending or the nasty one...haven't decided which yet. Suggestions welcome.

Next Chapter: Shameless angst or happy-happy fluff!

R&R please (the 8/9 people who usually don't as well!).

PS: I seem to have confused people- I'm posting both endings, but which one do you want -first-?