Hey guys, I hope you're all staying safe! I don't have much to say, but this chapter gets a little intense towards the end. Let me know what you think!

"What's happening?" I croaked, hearing Dimitri's feet moving fast on the ground.

"I'm rushing you to the clinic. Hang in there," he said. I didn't say anything else until he spoke some urgent words to someone. The next thing I knew, I was placed on a soft surface which I assumed was a hospital bed. Dimitri left my side for a moment and I immediately reached out to him.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"Relax, Roza, I'm not going anywhere," he said, walking around to the other side of the bed as someone else walked into the room.

"You too, huh?"

I blinked, recognizing Dr. Olendzki's voice. She walked up to me, pressing her fingers against my throat to check my pulse. "You don't look so good. Dimitri told me you collapsed in class."

I nodded. "I did."

"Do you know if there's any other reason you might have fallen aside from your fever?"

"I don't have a fever."

Dimitri looked up at Dr. Olendzki, shaking his head as she gave an exasperated sigh. "Why am I not surprised?" she murmured to herself. "I want to check your vitals. Do you feel okay to sit up?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. Dimitri kept his hands on my back to steady me as I sat up slowly. Dr. Olendzki spent the next few minutes checking my breathing, heart rate, bloody pressure, and the back of my throat. Just like Nevaeh, she used a swab to check for strep throat. There was nothing more than redness in the back of my throat, so I doubted it was that, but I let her do her job. When she checked my temperature, her worries seemed to increase.

"102.8," she said. "You've got a pretty high fever. I want to run a blood test with you too."

"Um, no, I don't need—"

"Sit down," they both said at the same time, pushing me back down when I tried to stand. I huffed, dropping my head as Dr. Olendzki grabbed what she needed.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, I stretched my legs out at the side, letting my toes touch. "This is so strange."

"What is?" Dimitri asked, slipping my boots off of my feet and placing them on the ground. I felt so much more comfortable with them off.

"Getting sick at the same time as Nev. Speaking of her, how is she? Can I see her?"

"Every time she wakes up, she asks for you," Dr. Olendzki noted with a smile. "I want to monitor you throughout the day, and if you're okay with staying here, we can move her into another room with you when she wakes up."

"Really?" I asked. There was hopefulness in my voice even though it sounded a little raspy. "That makes me feel a little better."

"I thought it would. I don't understand why you two are getting sick at the same time, but the rest of us are fine. Whatever you have isn't contagious," she said, tying a rubber band around my arm. It took her a while to find the vein with all my old scars being in the way, but she managed to find it and took a sample of my blood. A bandage was pressed against the site before I was led into a much more isolated part of the hospital. I walked into a room at the end of the hallway that had two empty beds and decided to take the one closest to the door. I stretched myself out, shivering as a chill ran through my body.

"Are you cold?" Dimitri asked, running a hand through my hair.

"A little," I answered with a yawn, slipping my legs underneath the blankets. I wanted to sleep again, so I rested my head on the pillows as Dimitri brought the blanket up to my chin. "You know, I hate sleeping in these things, but I'm so tired I could sleep on a rock right now."

Dimitri chuckled, running his hand over my hip. "You should get some rest. I have another shift, but I could send someone here to keep you company. Maybe one of your parents or your friends?"

"Doesn't matter," I replied lazily.

"What about food? I can have someone send something for you. Also, I think you need some proper blankets because these things definitely aren't warm enough for you—"

"Dimitri." I placed my hand on his arm to stop him. "You're overthinking. I'm fine, don't worry about me. The nurses will handle everything. I'll call you when I wake up."

Dimitri sighed, checking the time on the clock. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I whispered, stirring slightly in the bed. "Thank you for bringing me here though."

"No need to thank me, Roza," Dimitri said in a gentle tone, leaning down to kiss my cheek before he tucked me in and stepped away. As soon as he was gone, I was already asleep.

I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep, but the next time I woke up, Nevaeh was in the bed next to me. Not much had changed and she still looked as sick as she had before. The bed was tilted up so that she could sit while she watched something on an iPad that sat on the little tray next to her bed. I moved around, shaking off my dizziness and sitting up slightly. She noticed me instantly and waved at me with a smile on her face.

"Hi Mommy," she whispered. It was a good thing I had enhanced hearing. She couldn't even talk anymore. Her voice was completely gone and everything just came out in strangled whispers.

"Are you sick too?" she asked, reaching for her water bottle and holding it out to me. The fact that she was still offering me something to make me feel better despite being worse than me almost made me want to cry.

I got out of bed, moving carefully since I still felt a little dizzy as I walked over to her bed. I placed my phone on her tray before running a hand through her hair. "I'm fine, baby. Are you feeling any better?"

She shrugged, moving to the side and patting the space next to her. I crawled in, wrapping an arm around her. She was watching a cartoon I didn't recognize, and although I had grown out of my childhood interests, I didn't mind watching some of it with her.

"Grandma and Grandpa came in when you were asleep," she whispered.

"My parents were here?" I asked. She nodded, biting one of her fingernails. It was so strange to hear anyone refer to them as grandparents. They were pretty young to be called that.

"After, Tasha came in when you were asleep too," she said. My face dropped.

"Why did she come here? Did she say or do something to you?"

Nevaeh shrugged again, sighing heavily. "She said it'll all be over soon. She said I'd see my birth mom again. But I can't see her anymore because she's in peace. What did Tasha mean?"

I had a good idea of what that meant, and it infuriated the crap out of me. Nevaeh's biological mother was dead. Was Tasha trying to imply that Nevaeh was doing to die? How did she even know we were sick? And how did she know Nevaeh's history?

I didn't want to worry her, so I tried to drop the subject. I'd have to mention it to Dimitri, but I wasn't about to tell my child that Tasha was secretly taunting her. "Don't worry about her, Nev. Ignore whatever she tells you. Did you drink blood today?" I asked.

Nevaeh shook her head, turning her head away from the little screen and resting it on my chest. "I don't want to," she murmured.

I rubbed her arm, looking down at her. "Why? It might make you feel better. Your body needs it."

"My throat hurts too much," she said. I could understand her pain. My throat hurt too—to the point where drinking water was painful—but if she didn't get any blood in her system, she would surely get worse. The fact that her symptoms were more severe than mine didn't make things any better.

There was a knock on the door even though it was open. I was surprised to see Dimitri and Lissa walking in. Dimitri hurried over to my side and kissed my head, repeating the affectionate act with Nevaeh.

"Hey," Lissa said, dropping her bag on my empty bed. "You two look as bad as I'd imagined."

"I think she's worse than me," I sighed. All Nevaeh could offer was a smile, but she didn't talk.

"Maybe I could try to heal you two," she said, placing her hands on both of us.

"Lissa, don't." I moved her hand from my shoulder. As much as I wanted to recover, I couldn't let her waste her magic on me. It'd be too much for her to heal two people, but I could let her use some of her magic on Nevaeh. She was worse, and I was far more worried about her than myself.

"You don't have to do anything, but if you want to heal anyone, it should be her." Before any of them could protest, I cut them off. "Guys, please. She's my baby. I only care about her."

Lissa gave Dimitri a skeptical look, but they both agreed. We all knew Lissa couldn't overuse her magic. She leaned over and gently wrapped her hands around Nevaeh's head. I could feel her magic through the bond as she eased some of Nevaeh's symptoms, making her relax before Lissa suddenly snatched her hands back. She stumbled back for a second before Dimitri caught her, holding her up.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked. Lissa wasn't in pain, but she was stunned by whatever had caused her to stop.

"Lissa, what's wrong?" I asked her. She planted her feet on the ground, composing herself while Dimitri kept a steady hand on her arm.

"Something's blocking my magic," she said. She looked down at her hands, looking confused. "I've never felt that before. Here, let me try it on you." Lissa placed her hands on my head this time, and I felt her magic course through me for only a few seconds before she backed away again.

"Something's wrong. It's like some kind of force. I've never felt anything like it. Let me try something." She left our side and headed for the cabinets in the room, looking around for something.

Dimitri watched her, seeming doubtful and she rummaged around. She pulled out a pair of scissors, opening them up a little bit. "Lissa, what are you—"

"I'm sorry," she said, grabbing Dimitri's arm and pressing the blade of the scissors into his arm. The pain didn't seem to bother him, but he was stunned.

"Lissa!" I exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just trust me," she said, dropping the scissors. The cut was tiny and it didn't bleed much, but as soon as she wrapped her hand around his arm, it started to disappear.

"My magic works on you," she said in disbelief, watching the cut heal. "So, it's not just me."

I scowled at her. "He's not your guinea pig."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Lissa said, turning to Dimitri and looking a little guilty. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just needed to see if my magic was working."

Dimitri sighed, rubbing the spot that had been bleeding just a few seconds ago. "It's alright."

Lissa ran a hand through her hair, flipping it back. "I don't know what's wrong. My magic works, but something else was blocking me. Whatever is going on here, it's not natural. I don't think you're really sick." She paced around as she spoke before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"I need to talk to Adrian. Maybe he would know something."

"Wait, Adrian is—" She left before I could even continue. She was so confused.

"I can't stay, but I wanted to come in just to check on you. Do you feel better? Worse?" Dimitri asked, caressing my cheek with his hand.

"I feel...the same," I answered. "Dimitri, before you go, there's something I need to tell you."

Dimitri grabbed my hand, sitting down next to my hip. "What's wrong?"

"Tasha came in earlier and said some pretty strange things to Nevaeh. I wasn't awake, but she told me about it when I woke up. Did you tell her we were sick?"

Dimitri's eyebrows creased together. "No, I didn't. I haven't spoken to her at all. I don't know what she'd be doing here. I think Nevaeh made it pretty clear she doesn't like her."

"What's weird isn't just the fact that she came in here, but what she said to her. She told Nevaeh that she'd be able to see her birth mom again—and we all know she's dead." I shivered just thinking about it. Her mother would probably freak out if Nevaeh paid her a visit on the other side. I couldn't speak for the dead, but I was sure her birth mother wouldn't want her to die. She had been a spirit user when she was alive, and she had used all of her magic to bring Nevaeh back to life when Sebastian had killed her.

"That's screwed up if you ask me. I should talk to her."

I grabbed Dimitri's hand before he could leave. "You don't have to do that. I can talk to her."

"Rose, you can barely breathe without coughing. You need to rest, and I'd rather you stay with her." He looked away for a second and I could hear the hurt in his voice. "I don't understand why my friend would try to scare her like that."

"Maybe she's just trying to get back at me."

Dimitri tensed up. "You think this is about jealousy?"

"I can't think of any other reason," I said, resting my head against the pillows. "I'm going to get some more sleep."

Dimitri nodded. "It helps to sleep on your side. You might cough more if you lie on your back."

I shifted, slightly waking Nevaeh in the process. Both of us turned onto our right side, staying close as she started shivering again. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, spooning her body. I brought my legs up, curling around her and trying to keep her as warm as possible as Dimitri adjusted the blankets. He gave me a soft kiss on my temple, letting his lips linger there for a few seconds.

"I'll come back later," he whispered. "Rest up. Let me know what the doctor says."

I nodded, resting my chin on Nevaeh's head as I drifted off again.

After my nap, Dr. Olendzki decided to take an X-ray of my chest and lungs. The process didn't take long and the results came out quickly. When I was back in my bed, she came in with a blood bag for me to drink. "So, I looked at your results. Based on what I saw and how you described your symptoms, it looks like you have bronchitis. Your blood test shows no signs of a viral or bacterial infection and I've never seen anything like this. All I can do is help you cope with your symptoms, but we're not sure what's going on. As for Nevaeh," she said, sighing as she looked at her sleeping form, "her lungs are filling up with fluid."

"She has pneumonia?" I asked, my heart dropping. If she didn't get treated, she could die.

"Well, it's complicated. She's been coughing up fluid, but what's strange is that she's coughing up water. There's nothing that would indicate an actual infection."

"That doesn't make sense—" I turned away for a moment to cough heavily into my arm. I was out of breath by the time it was over and I could feel my temperature fluctuate. "Why is she worse than me?"

"She's young and has lower immunity. Her body isn't as strong as yours, but I still don't understand. We even tried giving her your blood and she still wouldn't heal. I don't know what to do. I know I'm a doctor, and you probably don't want to hear that. I don't even think I'm allowed to say that to patients."

"Dr. Olendzki, you don't have to be politically correct with me of all people. I'd rather you be honest rather than lie to my face and say everything's going to be fine. My child is dying and there's no possible explanation for what's going on and there's no treatment. Even Lissa tried to heal her earlier and she said something was blocking her magic."

Dr. Olendzki's head snapped up. "What?"

"I know. Crazy, right? She said it was some kind of force, and—"

"Hold that thought," she said quickly, rushing to the door. "I might know what's going on."

A spark of hope ignited in me, but I couldn't answer her as she rushed out of the room. Our room was in a special part of the hospital—separated from the others and a little isolated, so I wasn't sure how long she would take. I heard some more coughing behind me and turned around to find Nevaeh now sitting up. I rushed over to her, placing a hand on her back as she coughed. Usually, she would stop, but this fit seemed to go on and on. I wasn't sure what to do other than comfort her while her chest heaved.

Eventually, some fluid came out, and when I looked closer, I realized Dr. Olendzki was right—she was coughing up water. Well, at least it looked a lot like water. It wasn't just tiny little droplets either. These were large amounts that made it look like she was drowning from the inside out.

"Dr. Olendzki!" I called. She wasn't around, so I started calling out again. "I need help in here!"

Once again, I was met with silence. There was a strange noise coming from Nevaeh's throat and I watched in horror as she struggled to breathe. I had no idea what was going on or what to do. I needed a doctor or a nurse and nobody was around. I hated that we were in a room that was so damn isolated.

Nevaeh tried to take a deep breath and it sounded like she was struggling. I was frantic now, turning her on her side which didn't seem to help. I called multiple times for someone, but nobody came. I heart her pulse slow down on the cardiac monitor before she suddenly stopped breathing.

I shook her, patting her back a few times as some more water came out of her mouth. I had no idea what was going on or what I was supposed to do. I kept calling out for help in the process, refusing to stop what I was doing even as someone's shadow appeared in the doorway. While keeping my hands pressed on Nevaeh's body, I looked up and found someone I hadn't expected to see here: Tasha. I didn't know what she was doing here of all places, but regardless, she was here and she could help me.

"Tasha! Please get me some help! She's not breathing!" I shrieked. My throat was already hurting and the constant shouting didn't make it any better. I wanted Tasha to do something, anything to help, maybe run out and call for a doctor or a nurse, but she didn't. She just stood there and watched. She didn't even look remotely worried. I raised my voice as much as I could despite my harsh voice cracks. "What the hell are you waiting for?! Help me, please! She's dying!"

Tasha sighed, placing her hand on the doorknob. "I'm sorry, Rose," she said, "but I'm afraid I can't do that." Before I could react, she walked out and slammed it shut, locking it from the outside.

"What the—Tasha! Tasha, wait!" I ran over to the door and yanked on the door handle, attempting to break it, but my usual strength wasn't there. I banged on the door, watching her walk away through the little window. I had been screaming out of desperation for so long that I didn't even realize how long I had left Nevaeh's side. There was a split second of silence before her heart finally stopped, leaving me with the sound of the cardiac monitor flatlining.