Her sleeping robe didn't dare bring Maka dreams. Laying in the bedding did nothing, nor did walking the halls in quiet tiptoe. Tea was useless. On her third turn about the hallway, she spied the light leaking out from under Marie's door and hazarded a knock.

Marie's face looked just as restful as she opened the door just enough for Maka to see it. "Are you alright?"

"Can't sleep…" Maka murmured as she wrapped her arms around her middle. "Is Franken awake?"

There was a twitch of her lip before Marie answered. "He's at the main house tonight."

"In his office?" Maka offered with a little more hope. Maybe a sleeping draft. Maybe just a walk in the night air or–

"Soul's not feeling well." Marie pulled in a long breath. "I don't know when he'll get back."

"Oh…" Her fingers worried into the side of her robe. "That's alright. I'll, um, I'll be fine. Goodnight, Marie."

She searched Maka's face for a moment before cutting it off with the slide of the door. "Goodnight."

In a flash, her feet brought her to the courtyard before her mind could catch up. Star said something was wrong– that he wasn't right today, and I ignored it, and now Franken's with him? I can't– Her heels sunk into the dirt below the arbor. But he practically told me he didn't want my help, didn't he? Her hands drifted up into her hair, tugging the roots as reason warred with emotion.

She started back for the engawa, tears burning at the brims of her eyes as she stepped onto the mat. It was as soon as she caught sight of the koto that she began to crumble since no matter how tightly she gripped herself now, there was no comparison to the drape of his arms around her. She bit into her lip to keep from choking out a breath as she stared. Even if he doesn't want me– need me, I…

The start of footsteps finally reached her ears, hope of any sort allowing itself to blossom in her chest. She rushed to the doorway to catch sight of a swaying figure moving from the arbor to the side of the house. He's not coming here. Even with the sinking in her stomach, Maka followed around the engawa to spy that flash of white hair disappearing towards the crack in the fence. He doesn't. He doesn't want or need or anything with me.

That sour note struck her heart as she leaned into the wall, letting that tortured breath out to rattle in her chest. It was then that the footsteps stopped, replaced by a terrible groan. Maka catapulted forward, making it in time to find him only mostly through the fence, his foot stuck as Soul lay collapsed on the ground. "Soul!" She pushed his leg through even though it barely kept her from tripping over him as she squeezed through the fence herself. "Soul?"

He was mumbling something under his breath, one shaking hand reaching out into the grass to claw at it.

"Soul, what are you–?" She withdrew her fingers as soon as they touched skin because it was an inferno threatening to combust. With a little more caution she reached for him, rolling him on his side and clearing the bangs and mask from his face to get a hand over his forehead. "You're burning up," she hissed.

He moaned, hand reaching out for hers even if it was too weak to pull her away. "M-momma… I… I have to…" Soul started to flounder, legs trying to ground themselves.

"No," Maka snapped as her hands fell flat to his sweat-soaked chest. "Soul, you're sick."

Lantern light suddenly peeked through the divide. "Ah, so this is where he got to."

Maka whipped her head towards the glow, seeing Franken's smile hovering over it. "I thought you were taking care of him!"

Franken sighed as he stretched back to his full height, bringing the intensity of the shine down as he lowered the lantern. "I went to get more medicine from my office and when I came back, he was gone. I knew I should have restrained him when I had the chance…"

"Did you give him anything?" Her voice was fluttering up towards frantic. "His fever is outrageous and he– he has to be in pain!"

He only nodded before taking a step back. "Let's drag him back to the house."

"Soul," Maka murmured as she looked back at him, tenderly clearing his hair again. Those beautiful scarlet eyes were completely unfocused, darting around in the dark. "Can you sit up?" Nothing intelligible came back, so Maka leaned down to him, slipping her arms around his waist and his shoulders to try to clutch him to her. She struggled with him until he was upright, his head lolling against her shoulder.

"Maka…"

She couldn't tell if it was his breath or just the radiating heat of him against her neck. "Don't worry, I've got you." There was no easy way to negotiate both of them through the fence, but as soon as she turned him, Franken's hand appeared and yanked Soul unceremoniously the rest of the way through. Maka scrambled after.

Franken had abandoned the lantern to get enough of a hold on Soul to hoist him over his shoulder. "I'll take him to your room. I'd prefer if Marie didn't see this." That was the only explanation Maka received before he started on his way, leaving her to grab the lantern and follow behind.

Soul was entirely limp, dangling over Franken's shoulder like a doll. There were no more whispers, not even a groan. Even worse were the few wayward drops of sweat that stained Franken's back, spelling out the depth of Soul's sickness. How did it get this bad? I just saw him! She quickened her steps as they got to the engawa, hurrying to her room to get the door open and the bedding straight.

"Take off his kosode– it's drenched." Just as abruptly as he'd lifted him, Franken deposited Soul on Maka's bed. "I'll get some supplies." He disappeared again, leaving her to stare at red eyes that couldn't stay open.

"Soul, I-I'm going to undress you." None of that took away the nervousness especially without any sort of consent from the man while his eyelids fluttered uselessly. She opened the front of his kosode to show skin much more blanched than she was used to. It was as if he'd been bled dry again and Maka couldn't stop from reliving the horror of it in her mind's eye. Her fingers trembled as she tried to negotiate his limp arms out of the sleeves.


Heavy. Every noise was thunderclap. The only reprieve was the coolness of her fingers, the light touches as she moved a body that refused to listen to his commands to help. He wanted to reach for her, to still the worry that he could feel reverberating from her soul to his. "Maka…" He wanted to offer more than her name but the thickness of his tongue made it impossible.

"How could you?" Her tearful voice came from somewhere above him, making him try to force his eyes to focus.

"You're not his wife," Franken's cold reply fell flatly. "He did not say to inform you of any of his current issues."

His fingers could do nothing but scrape weakly against the tatami. I wanted… I needed… Thoughts oozed slowly like maple sap on a winter's day.

"Well, will you tell me now?" she spat back, and her tender hands were with him again as they placed a cool cloth on his forehead.

"He's given up the medicine."

"What?"

"But it's been long enough that doing so could kill him."

"Did you–" Her voice frantically broke as her hands touched his chest. "Does he know that? Does Marie? Does Wes? Does–"

"It was his decision to make." A blur of Franken came into his view, pulling at his lower eyelids one by one. "I'll give him more medicine for his fever, which should do something for the aches as well, but…"

"That's it?"

That same smile that Soul knew so well graced Franken's lips, that echo of grim understanding. "As a doctor, that's all I can do. As a man… I can only have faith that he wants to survive."

Soul tried his best to offer a grin in return, watching a spark of satisfaction in Franken's eyes. It's… the first time… I do.


Maka sat until her legs fell asleep, balancing his head carefully on her lap as she alternated between mopping his brow and trickling cool water into his mouth. His eyes had not opened for hours, not even threatening movement under the lids. While the fever no longer raged, Maka still felt the heat against her lap as he suffered.

Faith that he'll survive. Maka scoffed, but her eyes betrayed her as they welled with tears. How is that the only thing we can do? The question made her own head pound, her body weakening from the hours ticking away. She slid his head from her lap, gently resting him against the bedding. Stretching her legs out, Maka moved to lay next to him, eyes focused on his face and each minute movement that she could gauge.

There was no hint that was enough– his breath so shallow that his chest barely rose. His eyelids still refused to budge. She inched closer, carefully laying her head against the warm softness of his chest. That heart that should be rumbling between his ribcage was a whisper of a thud, making Maka press herself as closely as she could, to verify his life through the touch. It was cruel– so cruel to have his heat again like this, so empty of the sweetness at the koto. Her hand drifted over his stomach to his side, clutching him close. "Please," she murmured.

Her whisper overpowered his heart, drowning it from her ears. As she waited for the next beat, Maka held her breath.

Silence–

Ticking by as her own heart galloped in desperate fear.

"No." Maka sat up quickly, her hands pressing to his chest with a desperate thrust. "No, no, no, no–" She pressed at his neck, feeling nothing but skin with no pulse underneath. "You can't," she barely moaned out the words as her hands frantically searched to find what wasn't there. "I-I won't let you." She struck his chest again, fingers digging into his skin. "I won't let this happen. I won't." She shook him, leaning over his face now as if she could look him in the eyes. "I'll do anything– anything! Please!"