I:} is all I'm going to say about this chapter I:}

...

Apollo's POV

I'm just looking at the results of Hermes's last test when my twin sister comes hurrying into the room, followed by Perry. I turn and catch sight of the light pink platypus lying in Artemis's arms.

"Anke...!"

I take the platypus from my sister, place her on the bed next to Hermes's bed, the one he is no longer in, and attach her to a heart monitor. Not needing to ask or check if she has a pulse, I grab a syringe. As I fill it with clear liquid, I say, "Perry, go get Hermes."

Perry nods and leaves the room. Artemis approaches me. "Anything I can do?" she asks.

"Unfortunately not. You may as well get back to work."

"Okay." Artemis goes to the door. "Call me if there's any change."

"Will do."

I don't see her leave because I turn my back to the door and inject the contents of the syringe into Anke's arm. It's an artificial stimulant of my own invention that forcibly restarts the heart. It doesn't always work, but today it does. The heart monitor begins emitting a slow beeping.

Hermes comes quickly into the room, followed by Perry, who is pushing the mobile drip along.

"Anke!"

Hermes hobbles with his father's help to his girlfriend's bedside.

"You might need to check his drip," Perry says to me. "He got to mission prep but Parker had to take him to his office because he felt dizzy."

"Maybe it's the wrong kind of drip," I muse. "I'll look into it."

Hermes is staring down at Anke. "Is she okay?"

"Artemis and I found her," says Perry. "She was unconscious."

"Her heart has been stopped for the last twenty hours," I add softly. "I managed to restart it but I don't know how long it's going to last."

"Will she wake up?" asks Hermes.

"Hopefully," I sigh tiredly. "But if she does and she exerts herself too much, there is an enormous risk of cardiac arrest. I'll have to keep a defibrillator on hand."

"How many visitors is she allowed?" Perry asks.

"Let's keep it to three minimum."

"Four?" says Hermes pleadingly. "Lateysha, Noah, Adrian, and I?"

I nod reluctantly. "I guess. But don't overexert her if she wakes up."

"I won't."

I turn away to prepare the defibrillator when I hear Hermes's voice: "Apollo?"

I turn back. "Yes?"

Hermes pauses. His soft brown eyes look directly at mine. "Thank you. For saving both me and Anke."

I smile. "I wouldn't be a very good doctor if I didn't at least try and help."

"Seriously. Thank you so much."

...

Adrian's POV

I'm chatting to my grandparents when Hermes's sister Quinn comes hurrying up to me and explains that not only is Hermes awake and up, but Anke is in a critical condition.

I follow her back to the hospital wing where I find my best friend standing beside Anke's bed, attached to a mobile IV drip. He turns as I come in.

"Hermes!"

I run towards my best friend and hug him tightly. "Are you okay?"

He nods. "But Anke's not. She went through the same thing I did, but her heart was stopped for longer."

Just after he has gotten me up to speed, Hermes's other sister Hazel comes running through the door, closely followed by Hermes's older brother Teddy. I step back as both of them enclose Hermes in a hug.

Hazel is crying. "We were so worried!" she sobs. "I couldn't concentrate on the mission because I kept thinking 'what if he's died and nobody can tell me?'!"

"I'm okay," Hermes says softly.

He's looking at Teddy, who's still hugging him. I think he's seeing his older brother in a whole new light.

At that moment, Apollo comes into the room, carrying a small white cat, which he lies on the bed opposite Anke's, and goes to the other side of the room. Immediately, at least a dozen rabbits and cats swarm around the bed, a quiet hum of conversation beginning.

Hermes and I go to either side of Anke's bed, him on the side of her IV drip, me on the side of her heart monitor. I gently place one of my paws on Anke's flat palm, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest. Hermes anxiously stares at the heart monitor. I think he thinks if he stops, the monitor will flatline.

"She'll be okay, don't worry," says Lateysha's voice.

I didn't even hear her or Noah come in but now they're both standing at the foot of Anke's bed.

"She's a survivor, like you," Noah says to Hermes.

"I can't stop myself from worrying, though," Hermes says quietly.

"If you could, I'd be very concerned," Lateysha says with a small smile. "It's natural to worry about loved ones."

I see her take Noah's hand and they interlock their fingers. It's nice that their relationship is still strong. The two phoenixes then kiss each other. Hermes and I look away, half awkward, half heart-warmed.

"Get a room," croaks an amused female voice.

Hermes stands up so fast that his chair falls over backwards. "Anke!"

The rose-coloured platypus is awake and smiling. Her hand slowly grips mine. "Don't look so glum. I was barely dead."

"Your-" Hermes begins, before he realises it probably isn't a good idea to tell Anke that her heart had stopped for twenty hours. He quickly switches to, "you're lucky to be alive."

Anke nods weakly. "I know. I remember the pain."

"I got the same thing," Hermes says. "Apollo thinks it's something to do with our altered DNA affecting the natural changes in our bodies."

"That makes sense," says Anke.

"It does?"

Hermes ignores me and puts his hand on Anke's shoulder. "Whatever caused it, I'm just really glad we're both okay."

"Me too." Anke smiles again, before her eyes begin to close. "I'm tired..."

"I guess you can sleep," Hermes says doubtfully. "I don't really know."

Anke's eyes are closed now. She mutters sleepily, "love you, Hermes."

"Anke?"

The heart monitor begins spiking. Anke suddenly jerks in the bed.

"Apollo!" yells Hermes in panic. "APOLLO!"

Apollo's POV

I rush out of the storage closet and to the bed, pushing people out of my way.

"Everybody out!" I shout as I check Anke's vitals.

Nobody moves. They all stare at me.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" I yell as loudly as I can. "OUT! NOW!"

Teddy and Hazel begin to get everyone out, even the family of Ford the Cat.

"Eleni, get the defibrillator!"

My nurse Eleni hurriedly prepares the device. While she does that, I try CPR. Nothing.

"Can't you use the stimulant injection?" asks Eleni fearfully as she hands me the paddles.

"I can't. Using it twice on the same person could do more harm than good."

I wait until I hear the powering up noise, then I shout, "clear!"

Eleni backs away as I apply the defibrillator paddles to Anke's chest. She jerks but her heart does not restart. I keep trying but it doesn't work.

Then the almost empty room hears the unmistakable sound of a flatline.

"Call it," I whisper miserably.

Eleni sadly switches off the IV drip.

"Time of d...d..." I can't say it but I have to. It's procedure. "Time of death: 12:32."

...

*cries* I HAD TO DO IT