Hey guys! Long time no see eh?

Well I'm going cut a long story short as to why I haven't been updating or even writing. I kind of fell out of favour with writing for a while what with being so damn busy. I've moved house with my sister twice, her dumb dog that always used to terrorise everything I owned got knocked over, I had a boyfriend for a while too but we split up a while back. Plus it's been hectic at work as we had a larger premises built and had everything to move. So yeah, I have been quite busy. Writing never even crossed my mind.

But everything is all settled now and I've had a bit more time to myself and I finally got over my not wanting to write. So here we go with a new chapter of Brave New World after Lord knows how long of my being away. Enjoy everyone! Even though I may have lost my touch, it's been a while since I wrote.

-Geraldine x

'You have the flu.'

Caterina looked up at the doctor from the examination table she was sat on. Doctor Warren was a specialist in Conduit health and had worked with the Conduit Rights League for the past few years. He was recommended after Delsin had called Stacey from the CRL for advice on Caterina as she had been getting worse as the days went on. Delsin had taken her to see a regular doctor already but wasn't much help.

'I know us Conduits can get sick sort of but it never usually lasts more than a day or two. Cat's been bad for nearly a whole week now!' Delsin interjected. He perched himself beside her on the table and gently rubbed her back in attempt to make her feel a bit better.

'Well with the notes from her regular GP you saw earlier this week and all the tests we have done,' Doctor Warren started as he read from a clipboard he had in his hands. '…the throat swabs confirmed it is most definitely flu.'

Doctor Warren and Delsin both looked at Caterina whos head had just rolled back slightly in a half-asleep stupor, combined with a wheezy, nasally, mucus fuelled gargle as she inhaled and exhaled through her mouth. She was on the verge of falling asleep again. Delsin wasn't surprised in the slightest. Cat hadn't slept properly in a week, nor had she been eating and even when she was awake she was stressed. She even thought at one point that she was losing her powers as the cold wasn't exactly recharging her nor could she manifest her ice ability. Then she started panicking thinking she was somehow pregnant but her first trip to the doctor confirmed that she was still very much sterile. And being sat waiting in the hospital for the best part of the day sure wasn't helping her either.

'I think the problem here is that the human aspect of Caterina's body is trying to fight off infection the way that it normally does, which is to raise the body's temperature to assist the immune system kill off whatever may be causing it. However, Caterina's conduit genes which give her the main ability of ice manipulation is in direct contradiction to this.' Said Doctor Warren. Delsin nodded as he tried to take in what he was saying.

'Her conduit genes make her body slightly colder than usual; a fever will cause her body to heat up. In this case it looks like the fever is winning and she's just not used to it nor does she seem comfortable with it.' The Doctor continued. 'In saying that, I think the best thing to do is to let this run its course.'

'So treat her like a normal human with the flu?' Delsin asked.

'Precisely. She probably won't like it but there's not much else we can do.'

'Okay Doc.' Delsin put his arm around Cat and gently shook her awake. Her eyes rolled around a bit before she sniffled slightly and mumbled something incoherent. Delsin helped her off the examination table and on to her feet. 'Guess I should go buy her some stuff from the pharmacy then.'

'Indeed. Paracetamol, cough syrup or lozenges to ease her throat, I'd suggest a nasal decongestant if she's having trouble breathing at night and maybe even rehydration powders. And make sure she eats something and gets plenty of fluid and rest yeah? More importantly, none of these ice baths she likes to take okay?'

'Sure thing, thanks Doctor Warren.' Delsin smiled as he headed for the door the doctor had just opened for him. Caterina weakly smiled at him too.

Thanks doc.' She managed to croak out as Delsin guided her out of the consultation room and in to the nearest elevator. He went over the list of things he needed to buy in his head from the pharmacist down on the ground floor. Caterina mumbled most of the way about being uncomfortably hot and tired and how she hated being sick. He felt better knowing that it was only the flu that she had and nothing more serious. Conduits did get ill from time to time but it never lasted long with their immune systems and rate of regeneration keeping them well most of the time. Obviously this wasn't working for Caterina and she would have to be treated for an ailment like a regular human.

A few days later, Caterina was feeling much better. Delsin had bought her all the cold and flu remedies she was recommended and was finally getting the rest she needed to get better. Betty had kindly brought round some homemade chicken soup and sat with Caterina for a few hours whilst Delsin went in to town to run some errands and do some grocery shopping. He didn't really want to leave her but Cat made him go as he'd barely been out of the house due to not wanting to leave her and they needed to send parcels and buy food. Betty made sure that Cat ate the soup she had made as her appetite still wasn't that great and she needed to get her strength back up.

Cat stood from the sofa where she had bundled herself up in a big fluffy blanket with her empty bowl until Betty commanded she sit back down as she took the bowl off her.

'Here I'll sort this out and make you a hot drink.' Betty said as she wandered in to the kitchen. Cat did as she was told and made herself comfortable again. She drummed her hands on her knees as she looked for something to do before deciding to turn the TV, settling on some boring channel for background noise. Betty soon joined Cat on the sofa and handed her a hot honey and lemon drink she made. The two chatted for a bit until the news came on. Both women were waiting for any news about the Humans First group. It had been quite a while since their last attack and everybody had nearly forgotten about them. Some people had at least; Conduits however were still waiting for another attack to happen.

Betty eventually left a short while later saying she would pop round again to see how Cat was doing. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep on the sofa.

'Hey? Wake up baby.'

Cat groggily opened her eyes to Delsin stood over her holding two mugs. She up righted herself and took one of the mugs from Delsin who made himself comfortable beside her.

'How are you feeling now kitten?' He asked. Cat snuggled up beside him as she drank from her mug.

'Still a bit tired and achy but not as bad as yesterday.'

'Well I think it's starting to shift,' Delsin said as he held his hand against Cat's forehead. 'You don't feel nearly was hot as you did a few days ago.'

'Well the sooner it goes the better. I hate being poorly, I haven't been this ill in a long time. I just want to get back to normal.' Cat sighed.

'Or whatever normal is to us anyway.' Delsin chuckled. He gave Caterina a light kiss on the forehead as she chuckled along with him.

'I'm feeling better already.'

A few weeks later, Delsin and Cat were in Seattle meeting up with Eugene and Fetch in a diner they liked to frequent every few months when they all got the time. Cat had finally recovered from the flu and had returned to normal; normal for a Conduit anyway. She and Delsin had resumed their morning walks and their artwork. Delsin continued to stash money away for their holiday and Cat did the occasional TV appearance. It had been a pretty busy few weeks for the couple once Caterina was back on her feet.

'So are you guys ready for the camp? I heard from Stacey that you were on board.' Cat asked Eugene and Fetch as she nibbled away at the cheese fries she ordered.

'Well I am.' Fetch replied. 'I mean there's gonna be a lot of kids there who come from like, our kind of background.' She motioned toward herself and to Cat. 'Some of these kids were taken away by the DUP or their families wanted nothing to do with them.'

'Yeah it's not easy being young and having all that happen to you.' Eugene piped in.

'So it's a three week long camp at the start of the summer holidays. I guess we'll be doing shit like archery and arts and crafts.' Delsin smirked.

'Probably. In fact yeah most likely.' Fetch answered. 'I think it's just a way for Conduit kids to meet others like themselves.'

'And we can spend more time with each other too and have a proper catch up.' Cat said. Everyone nodded in reply.

Delsin raised his bottle of beer. 'I think we should make a toast. To new beginnings everyone. And to Conduit Camp, where we hopefully don't have to sing around camp fires all the time.'

'Oh god yes.' Said Eugene as he raised his bottle up with the other. The friends all nodded and chuckled in agreement. None of them were the singing type.