"You look like hell, Em," Derek said gently from the bathroom doorway.

In the light spilling in from the bedroom, he could see that her pyjamas were damp with sweat and her hair looked like she'd styled it with a blender. She was curled up on her side in front of the toilet with a towel wadded up for a pillow. She was trembling slightly – he couldn't be sure if it were from the cold of the tile floor or low blood sugar.

Emily gave a dramatic groan as she pushed herself up off the floor, scrubbing a hand over her eyes. She affixed him with the sternest glare she could muster without opening her eyes too wide. "Could you close the door? The light is killing me."

"I always suspected you were a vampire," he teased, closing the door so they were left in complete darkness.

She lowered herself back to huddling on the floor. "I'd humour you by laughing, but your devil spawn is making me throw up very time I move too fast," she deadpanned, voice muffled as she pressed her face into her towel-pillow.

"My devil spawn?" he repeated, "Who says it gets the evil from me? You're the vampire..."

"You can't tell because it's dark, but I'm giving you the finger," she growled.

He settled on the floor beside her and stroked her hair softly, trailing his fingers through her tangled sweaty locks. "I'm guessing you won't be going to school today?"

"I won't even be getting off the floor today," she mumbled. "Or possibly ever again." She nuzzled her head into his hand, seeking out his affection.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright here alone?" he asked, concerned. He felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "I can take the day off to look after you."

"No," she insisted, batting his hand away. "You can't miss any classes if you want to graduate on time and stay on the football team."

"I'd feel better if I knew someone was here with you..." He grabbed her swatting hand and squeezed it gently.

"I promise to call you if I get worse, okay?" she bargained. "Your mother will be home at noon before heading to her second job and your sisters get off school at 3:30."

He thought about that for a moment, then sighed. He obviously wasn't thrilled about it, but she was too stubborn to let him have his way and they both knew it. "Just let me grab you a few things first."

Ten minutes later, he was back in the bathroom with a cooler filled with cold water and gatorade, saltines and bananas, sour patch kids and mints. He left the room again and came back with every quilt off the bed and a pillow, proceeding to make her a nest next to the bathtub.

"Hopefully that's a little more comfortable than the bare floor," he said, wrapping her in the warmest blanket. He leaned down to kiss her forehead, mumbling against her skin, "You need a shower."

She started to sob, startling him.

"Oh, Em, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry..." he said, alarmed.

"No, no," she whispered, wiping away her tears, embarrassed. "You're just being so sweet and..." She shook her head, then started heaving again.

He dug in the cooler for a moment, then handed her a piece of ginger root. "We didn't have any gravol, but this is supposed to help."

"You're an angel," she whispered from her spot leaning over the toilet bowl. "Now go to school."

When Derek returned home after football practice, it appeared that Emily hadn't moved since he'd left. "Have a good day playing hooky?" he teased. Emily didn't respond. "Em?" he repeated, more urgently.

She groaned. "Make the room stop spinning," she whispered hoarsely.

Derek felt a spike of fear. "How long have you been dizzy?" She shrugged. "Have you drank any water today?"

"Can't. I can't keep anything down – not even water. I've been sick eight times already."

"You should have called me," he scolded lightly, "You need a hospital."

"I'll be fine," she insisted, "It'll pass...I hope." She started retching again.

"We're going to the hospital," he insisted, grabbing the garbage can and her coat.

After ten hours waiting in the ER, they were back at home with a diagnosis of Hyperemesis Gravidarum. They'd given her some IV fluids to help her with dehydration and Derek very strict orders to watch her carefully for symptoms of something worse. Derek was officially freaking out.

She had lost so much weight that they wanted to keep her on bed rest for several weeks, only allowed up for daily walks to keep up her muscle mass. Emily was much more upset about the forced imprisonment.

"What if I get too far behind to graduate on time?" she griped as he tucked her into bed and passed her a gatorade.

"What if you don't take care of yourself and end up in the hospital?" he countered. She glared at him. "Drink," he ordered.

She chugged half the bottle and made a face. "The lemon-lime flavour is disgusting."

He chuckled. "I'll get a different flavour next time." He kissed her. "Don't worry about graduating – your teachers will accommodate you – I'll get your homework, you can take tests online...that's the beauty of the digital age."

She gave him a stern look. "I'm just trying to keep our plan on track. We need my trust fund to pay for this baby and I need my diploma to gain access to it."

"I know." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "But we'll get there – without you making yourself sick with stress."

She smiled softly. "I just want this baby to have everything," she whispered.

"I do too. But you are my first concern. You need to be healthy to have a healthy baby." He pulled her wrist towards him and gently worked the pressure point the doctor had shown him.

"Do you always have to be so reasonable?" She pouted.

"Always." He kissed her wrist.

"Will you sleep here tonight?" she asked, batting her lashes pleadingly.

"My mom will kill me if she catches me..."

"I'm already pregnant," she said with a shrug. "You're just monitoring my condition." She grinned mischievously.

He sighed dramatically. "Fine. I'll cuddle my cute girlfriend."

She nuzzled into his side as he reached to turned off the light. "What if it's a girl?" she whispered after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Don't say something nerdy like Arwen," he groaned.

"I actually like that..." she said thoughtfully, only half teasing.

"Veto. What about Sadie? It means princess, right?"

"I thought I was your princess..." she teased, pouting dramatically

"You'll always be my princess," he vowed with a tender kiss.