A/N Hello again – I have an apology to make:

Anna: I'm so sorry I took this long. I say it all the time, but things got really hectic. I am sorry. This chapter is for you.

AND

Everyone: I've had some reviews telling me to stop with the fluff and really stir things up, and others that said they liked it. So, I'm going to mostly be fluffy – I just can't cause a fight now, but fear not, I'm planning a sequel! For now, please bear with me and my sunny story :) The story is going to take a bit of a detour. I figured Dracula needs some time to heal – I want him at full strength later on. So to give him time to recover, I decided to use my friend Anna's idea and take it out in Miss Valerious. I hope you like it.

I'm a bit sick at the mo, so please forgive me if the writing's a bit off.

Chapter 17: Fever

The following morning, Valerious Manor was peaceful. Morning sunlight shone through the windows and across the beds of it's sleeping inhabitants. A blissful blanket of security seemed to have settled over the house, leaving it cosy and secure. Still, only two of the people within it, were enjoying the comforting atmosphere.

Gabriel was in Heaven – caught in that wonderful feeling of contentedness when you're not awake but not quite asleep. He felt warm, comfortable and secure, both within himself and in the place he was. Everything was going to be fine. Dracula was mortal. His nightmares had finally left him and he was going to marry Anna Valerious.

Slowly becoming more aware of himself as he woke, Gabriel thought of Anna. He could feel her weight against his chest as she slept against it. All the good that had happened to him was because of her. And he would treasure and protect her forever. Gabriel wrapped his arms around Anna, gently pulling her closer. Suddenly he stopped dead. His whole body went stiff. Something was wrong. She was trembling.

Van Helsing's eyes shot open and he squinted against the harsh sunlight that stabbed at them. He sat up and looked down at Anna. Her lips were parted as they did when she slept, but she was taking short breaths. Her face was flushed - it almost matched her crimson lips- and troubled. Gabriel put a hand on her forehead. It was hot.

"Anna?" he said gently. She didn't respond.

"Anna." He repeated more forcefully, running a hand over her hair.

Anna moaned softly and Gabriel strained to hear her.

"Gabriel?" she whimpered, curling into a ball and pulling his arms around her, but keeping her eyes closed.

"Anna, what's wrong?"

"Cold…" she said softly.

"Cold?" Gabriel said disbelievingly. He put his hand against her cheek. She was many things, but cold was not one of them. "Anna love, are you sure?"

Anna said nothing but frowned and snuggled closer to him, clearly seeking warmth.

"God, you must have a fever!" Gabriel cried. He bent over Anna, checking her temperature a third time. There was no doubt about it: Anna had a fever, a bad one. Gabriel looked out the window. What time was it? Was Carl awake? Gabriel considered yelling for Carl, but figured it would only upset Anna. Instead, he turned to her and ran his hand up her arm to try wake her.

"Anna, love, please wake up," he said gently.

For a few seconds, it seemed as if she hadn't heard him but soon, Anna groaned and struggled to open her eyes. When she succeeded Gabriel noted how red they were.

"Gabriel?"

"Anna, tell me how you feel," Gabriel said. She paused, trying to steady her breathing. How was she feeling? Horrible. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, working hard to keep her blood flowing and bring oxygen to the rest of her body. Her mind was foggy and she felt nauseas and dizzy. And cold. It didn't help that Gabriel was sitting up and letting cold air in under the blankets.

Anna took a shaky breath, "Bad."

"Where," cried Gabriel desperately, "Where do you feel bad?" He hoped that finding out Anna's symptoms would help him figure out what was wrong with her – if he could keep her awake long enough to tell him. She looked exhausted, her eyes only half-open.

Slowly but painstakingly, Anna was able to tell Gabriel how she felt.

"Don't worry". He comforted her, "I'm going to fetch Carl – he'll know what to do! Just bear with me!" Gabriel jumped out of the bed, pausing only to see that Anna was covered, before hurrying to the wardrobe to find a warm coat: it may have been sunny, but it was never warm in Transylvania.

Carl lay awake. He knew he should get up, but his bed was too cosy and he knew it would be a long time before Anna or Gabriel got up. Carl sighed. It gave him a warm feeling to see Van Helsing as he was: content and happy. Love was a funny thing, he thought. Funny, but powerful. It had changed his friend's life. Carl smiled to himself. Right now, Gabriel and Anna were probably lying together making wedding plans or just cuddling as he so often saw them doing. Either way, he had no doubt that they were as happy as him, if not more so.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

"Carl!"

Carl's head shot up. "Van Helsing? What's the matter? What are you doing up so early?"

"It's Anna. She's sick." Van Helsing bent over, breathing hard. He had clearly been running.

"What's wrong with her?" Carl asked, sitting up and pushing the blankets aside.

"She's got a fever, but she says she's cold."

"Hmmm, tricky," said Carl, rummaging through a stuffed duffle bag, trying to find shoes.

"Carl hurry up!"

"Relax, Gabriel!" Carl said sharply as he tossed a suspicious looking shirt over his shoulder. Gabriel stopped dead; Carl had used his first name. He pushed the thought aside, but his surprise showed on his face.

Carl noticed. "Oh yes," he said with a cocky smile, "I do know your first name. And stop panicking, we've dealt with worse than a little fever before."

"But this is Anna, " said Gabriel, "What if Dracula's responsible?"

"Well, you wounded him quite severely. I can't imagine him doing anything to prompt you into attacking him now," Carl said, pulling on a pair of shoes.

"But what else could have caused this?" asked Gabriel.

"Anna did spend a fair amount of time out in the cold recently, perhaps it's that?" suggested Carl as he pulled his cloak on.

"Impossible," said Gabriel, "She grew up here. She's used to this cold. Why would it affect her now?"

"You have a point there," admitted Carl, "Well, lets just see what we can do for now."

xxx

Carl took one look at Anna and turned to Gabriel. "Did you check her feet?"

"What!" Gabriel gave Carl a skew look.

"Her feet," repeated Carl, "Are they cold?" Gabriel continued to look sceptical.

Carl rolled his eyes in irritation. "Just check."

Gabriel crouched beside the bed and slid his hand under the duvet, searching for Anna's feet. His hand brushed something soft. Soft and icy cold.

"Cold," he said, withdrawing his hand and turning to Carl.

"Just as I thought," said Carl he moved to the other end of the room and picked up the bowl that Gabriel had used when he cleaned Anna's wounds.

"What? Tell me Carl." Gabriel said.

"Van Helsing, try to warm her feet. The fever's sitting in her head and torso, we need to draw it down from there. It's probably what's causing her dizziness." Carl explained before leaving the room with the bowl.

Gabriel hurried to do as Carl said. He noticed that Anna was stirring again.

"Hello love," he said gently, leaning to kiss her on her forehead.

"Mmm." Anna rubbed her face against his. "What… are you doing?"

"Making you feel better." Gabriel said tenderly. He placed his hand over her heart, feeling for the first time how fast it was beating. Anna closed her eyes and gripped his hand. "Stay with me." She said, before closing here eyes once more.

A few moments later, Carl came back with the bowl. It was filled with water and he handed it to Van Helsing. "Here, take this and put it on her forehead."

Carl tossed a small cloth to Gabriel. Gabriel sniffed the water. "What's in here Carl?"

"I added some mint, it should help draw the heat and cool her down," Carl explained, taking a seat in front of the now-dead fire.

"Hmm, impressive," said Gabriel, raising his eyebrows, "Quite the alchemist."

"I like to think so," Carl said cleverly, clearly preening at the compliment.

Gabriel sat down and began to gently dab the water along Anna's forehead. Carl noticed him looking longingly at Anna. His concern was obvious, but Carl suspected there was something else in his frown.

"What's wrong?"

Gabriel sighed, "I just can't fathom what could have caused this. It's so sudden."

"Hmm," muttered Carl as he thought about it. Suddenly it hit him.

"Maybe," he started, "but no…it couldn't have…could it?"

"What Carl? What are you thinking?" Gabriel asked.

"You're not going to like this," Carl said.

"Tell me anyway," Gabriel said sternly.

Carl winced, "Well, it might – and only might, the possibility is very small – have been an ingredient in the…erm…tonic that caused this." He looked up at Gabriel nervously.

Gabriel frowned, "How is that possible?" he asked surprisingly calmly.

"Anna may have a natural aversion – an allergy- to one of the ingredients that we weren't aware of. This is only one of many possible reactions her body could have had." He paused, making sure that Van Helsing was still calm, and continued, "In fact, we should actually be grateful. Allergies haven't been much studied to date, but certain other reactions have been said to be fatal."

Gabriel took a deep breath to calm himself. Fatal? He wanted to hit Carl, but he knew Carl had Anna's best intentions in mind when he gave her the tonic – Carl was blameless.

But which ingredient was it?

"Carl, couldn't you make some sort of cure?" he asked.

Carl shook his head, "Not for the allergy. It's not like a common sickness. Anna's body will have to recover on its own. I don't think you'd want me to bleed her to help with the fever?"

Gabriel thought of Anna's blood flowing from her body. "No Carl, I don't want that," he said firmly.

"Even if I could make up a new tonic to aid her body, I wouldn't know what to add – we don't know which ingredient was the cause, " Carl continued.

Gabriel frowned, which ingredient had caused it? He thought of the previous night. One ingredient had had a most obvious effect.

"The lavender? Could it have been that?"

Carl paused for a moment. "It's possible, but not likely," he said, " If anything, it would be helping Anna. By making her sleepy, it would force her to rest, giving her body a chance to recover."

Gabriel sighed, his eyes scanning Anna's face. Relief began to trickle through his body. Anna's breathing had slowed a little, and she seemed to be more comfortable.

"I guess we will just have to wait?" he asked Carl.

The friar nodded slowly. "I'll go make you something to eat. Anna should have something when she wakes up." He went towards the door, but stopped.

"Van Helsing? I do apologise. I never intended for this to happen when I gave the princess my tonic…"

Gabriel smiled comfortingly, "Don't worry Carl, I do not blame you."

Carl returned the smile, and left in the direction of the kitchen.

Gabriel dipped the cloth into the bowl and turned back to Anna.

"Come back to me princess."

A/N Well, that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed. PLEASE NOTE: I'm going on holiday and won't have access to a computer for a while – please don't abandon me, great readers! I shall return!

Oh, and about the bleeding: apparently that's what they did those days to cure fever –weird, but true.