Minnie placed the back of her hand against Mickey's forehead, smiling at the lessened heat. A few days had passed since he was injured, and though he was still unconscious a lot of the time, his fever had come down a little and he was showing other small signs of improvement. He still had a lot of recovering to do, but Dr. Sheckles had said earlier today that it looked like he was turning the corner. More importantly, he said that Mickey's condition had stabilized enough for him to travel, so early tomorrow morning fellow Resistance members would be coming to take him back to Pomona.

Of course, Minnie couldn't risk sending a letter to his family, but she was able to send messages to the Resistance base in the city, thanks to Pluto. At first, she had hesitated to use the secret passage, fearing it may have been found out, but as far as she knew the alley had been quiet since Mickey was attacked. Minnie was pretty sure now it had just been chance, and that whoever did it still didn't know about the passage to the castle. A heavy feeling filled her chest when she thought of how Mickey's family would react to this.

Oswald will want to pound that guard into paste himself… or maybe he'll blame me.

Minnie had to admit, she could understand if he did. The truth was, she blamed herself too. After all, Mickey never would have been in that alley if he hadn't been coming to meet her, or thought she was in trouble. Letting out a quiet sigh, she wrung out a wet washcloth into a bowl of water before pressing it to Mickey's forehead. Though she hadn't been able to stay with him all the time, she did as much as she could, relying on Clarabelle to care for him when she couldn't. She wished she could come with him when they took him home, but that was out of the question.

Minnie's thoughts were interrupted by a soft murmur, and another smile tugged at her face as Mickey's eyes fluttered open. When they found hers, he smiled too. Reaching out with her free hand, she gave his own a gentle squeeze.

"Hi," she said softly. "How're you feeling?"

"Right now?" Mickey mumbled. "Pretty good."

Minnie raised a brow, and his smile grew sheepish.

"Okay, could be better… but don' worry about it. A little rest… an' I'll be right as rain."

Minnie couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm sure," she said, her voice teasing now. "You wouldn't let a little thing like this get you down for long."

He let out a hoarse chuckle, then winced.

"Ouch… don' make me laugh."

Minnie bit her lip, her eyes immediately moving to his bandages.

"Sorry. Are you…?"

He squeezed her hand again, running a thumb over it.

"I'm fine, Minnie," he said softly. "Really… I'll be okay."

Her smile returned, and almost instinctively she bent down to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"Your family ought to make sure of that when you go home."

She apparently hadn't been able to quite disguise the catch in her voice because his was gentle and reassuring when he spoke.

"Don't worry 'bout them… they won't be mad at ya."

Minnie made herself smile again but couldn't stop herself from thinking the reply she wanted to give.

I'm not so sure about that.

Instead of saying that, she dabbed the cloth against his forehead again.

"And you don't worry about me. Just focus on getting yourself better, okay?"

"S-sure thing," Mickey murmured, then closed his eyes. "Sorry… feelin' tired."

Minnie ran a hand up and down his arm, her smile growing concerned.

"Don't apologize, go on and rest… you need to keep your strength up for tomorrow."

Mickey nodded again.

"I'll prob'ly… sleep most a' the way, though. Sleepin' a lot right now."

"Well, I know you like to keep busy," Minnie said lightly. "But you'll just have to put a handle on that for now. Brave as you are, you're not made of steel. So take it easy, and that's a royal command, you hear me?"

That brought a rueful grin to Mickey's face.

"Loud an' clear." He let out a quiet sigh. "I'll get started now… f' that's okay."

"Go ahead," Minnie said, stroking his head. "I'll be right here."

As he drifted off, she heard the bedroom door open. She turned as Donald and Daisy entered, their concerned eyes moving to Mickey.

"He still doin' okay?" Donald asked. Minnie stood from her seat beside the bed, still with a small smile.

"As much as he can be."

Daisy sighed, her concerned frown never fading.

"I don't know, heading back to Pomona… do you really think he's up to it?"

"Dr. Sheckles thinks so," Minnie replied, glancing back at Mickey. "As long as they take it easy. And I think so too… he's strong."

That brought a smile to her friend's face, and she nodded.

"No doubt about that."

Donald crossed his arms, his look growing troubled.

"Still leaves one question… who did it?"

Minnie pressed her lips together; that was a question she'd been asking herself constantly over the past few days.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the Resistance," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "The soldiers would've wanted him alive, to question. But other than that, I just… don't understand who would want to do this to him."

Daisy frowned again, looking both thoughtful and uneasy.

"Well… I can think of someone who might."

Minnie looked at her for a few moments, then clarity struck, and her eyes widened.

"You don't mean… Mortimer?"

Daisy's eyes moved to her.

"Donald and I saw how he looked at you two at our wedding, and clearly, he's getting desperate with his reputation falling the way it is."

Minnie struggled to believe that even a louse like him could stoop so low, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. And if he somehow knew about her and Mickey's casual meetings… that thought made her fists clench.

"If that rat's been spying on me…" she growled.

"And that's not all," Donald pointed out. "If he was behind this, eventually he'll find out it didn't work."

That statement filled Minnie with alarm. If that was the case, Mickey would still be in danger. The alarm was quickly replaced with anger and determination.

"Then I'll make sure he doesn't get another chance."

Daisy looked at her with concern.

"How? Whoever did it was careful, and if there's no evidence…"

Minnie returned her look with a grim smile.

"Rumor can discredit someone just as much as solid proof. Father is already suspicious of almost everyone, and if we get the right story circulating, he's bound to notice. I don't know if he'll listen if I actually accuse Mortimer, but he might trust my word over his."

A slight smile came to Donald and Daisy's faces too.

"It's a big if," Donald said thoughtfully. "But it just might work."

Daisy nodded.

"Consider us in. And I'm sure Clarabelle would be eager to spread a scandalous story."

Minnie's smile grew… it was true, the maid was known for being a terrible gossip. There was a lot of risk to this plan, but Minnie didn't care about risk. Whatever it took to keep Mickey safe, she would do it.

…

The faintest light was just starting to streak the sky as Minnie stood by the hidden door in her drawing room, listening carefully and glancing at the main doors every so often. Finally, she heard a faint rapping on the other side of the wall, tapping out the prearranged rhythm. Being as quiet as possible, she pulled the door open. On the other side, there stood two familiar figures: one was the lanky Resistance member Minnie remembered from her and Daisy's rescue months ago, and with him, much to her surprise, was Oswald. She hadn't expected him to be here, and immediately felt uneasy. He didn't look exactly angry, but she could tell from his expression that he still wasn't pleased.

Pushing back her unease, Minnie gestured for them to follow her, and they made their way across the room in silence. Once they were in the bedroom, she finally spoke in as quiet a tone as she could.

"He's been stable so far, but the doctor said you'll have to keep a slow, easy pace. There's some medicine he's taking for pain and to avoid infection, but there should be enough to last till you get to Pomona and you can get more at any apothecary. There's not as much of a chance for complications, but it's possible, so you need to watch him carefully."

The lanky Resistance member nodded, and to Minnie's surprise gave her shoulder a gentle pat.

"Don't ya worry, ma'am. We'll take care a' him."

Oswald, who had been quiet up to now, finally looked at her and cleared his throat.

"Look…" he said slowly. "You helped him when ya didn't have to… and I wanna thank you for that."

"Of course, I helped him," Minnie said, slightly affronted. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"No, no," the rabbit said quickly. "I just, well…"

He shook his head. "It's not important. Bottom line is, ya saved him and I can't thank ya enough. But… I know you two've been meeting, and… I don't think it's a good idea."

Minnie couldn't help but feel offended, but she managed to keep it off her face; he had every right to feel that way.

"We won't be making any decisions about that for a while…" she said, but Oswald interrupted.

"I know he cares about ya a lot. And I think you do 'bout him too. But what you gotta ask yourself… do ya care enough about him t' stay away?"

For a few moments, neither of them spoke, and Minnie felt strangely small under the rabbit's intense gaze. Finally, she cleared her throat.

"You should get going."

Walking over to the bed, she sat down on the side and stroked Mickey's forehead. He stirred, then opened his eyes. Minnie smiled down at him.

"It's time to go," she said gently. "I wanna know when you get back and hear how you're doing, okay? Send the letters to Daisy… I don't want to risk whoever did this finding out it didn't work."

Mickey smiled back and reached out to squeeze her hand.

"Sure thing. And… thanks. For ev'rything."

Minnie squeezed his hand in return, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I'd do nothing less."

She didn't mention anything Oswald had said, but she felt his eyes on her… and heard his words echoing in her head.

Do ya care enough about him t' stay away?