A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I know their relationship seems a little quick, but I needed them to get to it so I could have Link start having problems. I hope it goes a little better from here.

This chapter was going to have the Fire Temple with it, but that made it seem too long. So I took that part off and will post it as a separate chapter.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Navi screamed, as Link practiced her swordplay on a scarecrow in the Kakariko graveyard. "You have a land to save, and instead you waste two whole days messing around with that boy!"

"Navi, calm down," Link shushed, following through with a stab. "I was hurt, and Sheik was comforting me. Do you think I would have been able to do anything while I was laid out and crying from what the Deku Tree Sprout told me?"

"...Well, no."

"Then it doesn't matter." Link looked down at her equipment bag, and saw that the egg she got from the Cucco Lady had hatched. "Come on, let's go wake Talon up so we can find out what happened at the ranch."

Link spent the next month training as promised, beginning with the liberation of Lon Lon Ranch. Ingo was easy to frighten back into line, and Link was relieved that Malon was unhurt. Malon was so happy to see her friend again that she gave her Epona, a cow and goat for fresh milk, and invited her to use the ranch as a training ground any time the hero needed a break in her duties. Link thanked her before resuming her training, taking a tour of the war torn Hyrule. She discovered the empty Lake Hylia, the frozen Zora's River, and the destroyed bridge into Gerudo Valley.

Worst of all, Link discovered that Goron City was deserted with the exception of one tiny Goron who rolled along the city midway. Finally catching his attention, she learned that Ganondorf had rounded up all the Gorons and imprisoned them inside the volcano, as food for the demon dragon Volvagia. This little Goron happened to be Darunia's son, and revealed that his father had left to try and save them by killing the dragon.

Realizing that Darunia was the Sage of Fire, Link knew that she had to help him. The little Goron, named Link in her honor, showed her how to reach the Fire Temple and provided her with a tunic to protect against the intense heat inside the volcano. Link quickly changed, and hurried to the secret entrance in the chief's room.

Link was feeling a little dizzy as she entered the Death Mountain Crater, but she persevered and quickly spotted the warping stone next to the temple entrance deep inside. "Hey, Navi... See it over there? The temple..."

"Yeah, I see it. Are you okay?"

"Just the heat," Link mumbled, and withdrew her hookshot to cross the broken bridge separating them. She fired successfully but miffed her landing, falling face down on the bridge and nearly scorching her face from the lava bubbling below.

"Hey there, you better be careful. That tunic won't protect you from the boiling lava."

Link blearily looked up as she heard someone speaking to her, and then a few seconds later felt that someone pick her up and carry her over to the warping stone. When she looked up to see who it was, she found a pair of crimson eyes gazing back at her. "...Sheik?"

"You don't look so good," Sheik said, feeling her forehead. "I don't feel a fever but maybe you need to rest for a little bit. How about I teach you this song, then we take a break?"

Nodding, Link fumbled for her ocarina as Sheik strummed the notes for the Bolero of Fire. She fumbled the first try, but the second came out correct. "...My head hurts."

"Shh, it's okay. The heat must be a little too much for you." Sheik quickly tucked their equipment away, then gathered Link into his arms and warped out of the crater. The pair materialized in Kakariko Village, and Sheik quickly carried Link into his master's house.

"Link, I'm going to have you rest here for a little bit," he said, tucking her into bed. "You've probably got a little heat sickness or something else from being in that crater. It will pass."

"I was feeling a little sick earlier," Link admitted, "but I thought I could work through it."

"Now now," Sheik chided, dabbing her forehead, "you're very important to us, you have to take care of yourself. Rest when you need to. I'll be downstairs keeping watch, you sleep."

A fuzzy feeling came over Link, which she soon recognized as how she felt when Saria used to comfort her after Mido's bullying. Sheik was looking out for her, and for just a moment, she felt relieved of her burdens. She dozed off, grateful that someone was there for her.

Link overcame her dizziness after a day's rest and some potion, and readied to return to Death Mountain Crater. "Be careful in there, Link. Watch out for Like Likes who might try to steal your tunic," Sheik warned, adjusting her cap before kissing her farewell.

"What's a Like Like?"

"It's... uh..." Sheik scratched his temple. "I guess 'blob monster' is the best way to describe it. They're giant slugs who eat shields and clothing. If your shield is lost, there are ways to cope, but if it gets your tunic that will be disastrous."

Link squirmed. "Guess I better stay away from those, then."

"Right." Sheik winked, before pulling a Deku Nut from his belt. "Once you awaken the Sage of Fire, head to Zora's River. I'm sure you've seen by now that it is cursed with winter frost, so bring a coat. I don't want you sick again. Good bye, little hero." With that, he vanished.

"I love that boy," Link sighed.