Hey! Back with another chapter! :) Hope ya'll didn't mind the wait~

As before, thanks bunches to my beta, Lioness's Heart!

Enjoy!

Green: Life; energy; spirit

Ersken fell with a thump, crying out in surprise. Beka- who had sidestepped Kora's fire spell and was not in the least bit charred, though not much could be said for the door- stared at them in disapproval. "What," she asked dryly, "was for the wake-up call this morning?"

"I don't know what you mean." Kora shot back. "You were the one to wake us up."

Beka snorted, and it was then that they noticed she was dripping wet. "I'd appreciate it if you knew who planted a bucket of half-melted snow above my door so it would dump on my head when I got breakfast," she said, glaring at them. Wincing, Kora stood, moving to the door. "I don't know, and I couldn't help you anyway. Now close the door. Unlike you, I'm warm, and I want to stay that way." She snapped the door closed. "Don't call me again until breakfast is ready, or if the place is burning down!" she hollered.

"So long as you aren't the one to burn it down in the first place!" Beka retaliated, and heard what sounded like laughter coming from Ersken. Shivering, she went back upstairs, deciding to change so she could be warm once more.

See? This is what happens when you decide to get out of bed during winter, she thought. She hated the cold. And the whole snow-in-a-bucket thing didn't help. No, now she hated it more than ever. Winter was supposed to stay outside! Not insist on plaguing her even to her very doorstep!

The puddle of melted snow was still in front of her door, and she splashed through irately, going to her clothes-press to find a change of clothes. Shivering, she stepped out of her dripping outfit and slid on a thicker woolen dress. Rubbing her arms to warm herself up, she went back downstairs, fingering the coppers in her pocket. She was to buy bread this morning, and she had to do so early so she could eat it while it was still warm.

As soon as her feet hit the landing outside the door, she slipped, tumbling down the few steps leading to the inn and landing in a snow drift. Shrieking, she floundered, struggling out.

"I hate this pox-ridden weather!" She cried, stumbling indoors to change yet again. Rosto, who had just come out of his own room, smirked at her state. "Decided to play around in the snow?" He asked.

She glared at him. "No. And I don't care what anyone says, I'm not going out there unless I have to, breakfast or not!" She said. Stomping toward the stairs, she said, "Everyone can get their own bread!"

Rosto sobered. "Sorry I teased you. I couldn't help it at the time. I know you hate the cold." He blocked her way, dark eyes holding her ice ones intently. "I'll get the bread this morning, so you won't have to go outside until Watch."

Unnerved by the look in his eyes, she said, "If you'll let me get upstairs, then I'll happily accept." Her words brought back the Rosto she knew. Smirking, he said, "You owe me, remember." Then he was gone.

Shivering at the implications- curse him, he had gotten to her again! -she dashed to her room, threw off her dress, and dove under the sheets. Sneezing, she realized that she was going to be sick…again. Just after she had gotten over that bout from last month!

"Pox," she moaned. She instantly sneezed again.

The next two days were spent in bed, sleeping fitfully. Beka usually breathed through her nose, since breathing through the mouth was decidedly louder, but when her nose was stuffed she regretted it. Nearly suffocating several times a night, she was irritable at her best moments, and downright ugly at her worse.

On the third day, she was too sick to even speak, let alone notice if anyone was there.

The fever raged within her, burning every part of her body and leaving her weak and helpless. She hated being weak- it just wasn't like her. She could chase down any Rat all night any day, and now she couldn't even move her arm!

The fever held her firmly, sending her crazed dreams that she couldn't remember, much less understand. All she remembered was being scared- truly, utterly frightened- by something she couldn't see. Later, Kora would tell her that she hadn't screamed, but Beka doubted it. Her throat had been too raw for her to not have.

The only thing she was sure of was a constant, warm presence at her side, and a gentle pressure on something she thought was her hand. Whoever –no, whatever, since only an angel could have made her feel safe like that- it was banished most of the evils, she was sure. Had she been left alone, she was sure that some of her fears- ones even she didn't realize- would have surfaced.

Oh, she hated being weak!

The fever broke on the fourth day. Blearily, Beka woke to see Rosto and Kora standing over her, anxiety clear on their features. Only when they had stared at each other for a few moments did Rosto sigh gustily in relief. "Welcome back, Beka," He said, grinning.

Kora hugged her. "You were almost a goner. I'm so glad you're stubborn, Beka, else you wouldn't have pulled through."

"I had an angel watching over me," She croaked, not even realizing what she said.

Rosto turned a funny shade of red, eyes lighting up. "You don't say?" He said, "That's good to hear." Somewhere, Ersken was laughing. Rosto looked behind him, where the Dog was standing in the doorway. "Not a word," he warned, before turning back to Beka. She was asleep again, a smile on her face. It was such an improvement from yesterday's expression that he couldn't resist bending down and laying a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, my Beka," he murmured, and then followed after Kora.

He would be there when she awoke again, he vowed.

And indeed he was, when Beka opened her eyes a second time three hours later. The first thing she noticed was that he was regarding her with an odd look in his eyes. The second was that he was holding an iridescent emerald rose.

"Hello." Her voice still sounded awful, but, he noted, not as bad as it had. "What's with the flower?"

He smiled. "A get-well-soon gift from a friend; you were too sick to appreciate it earlier, so I thought now would be a good time."

"Did you get me anything? I thought I'd see some gillyflowers, at least." She didn't know if she wanted his answer to be yes or no- so many things were out of sync right now, and not just her body. It seemed her entire world went off-kilter when Rosto was present. It was downright disconcerting.

"They didn't seem appropriate." He replied, handing the rose to her. She accepted it, of course. "This is only among the few presents." he added, gesturing at a pile at the foot of her bed.

"Who's the flower from?" she asked. He still stared at her with the odd look, but this time the faintest of smiles- a real smile- graced his features. "Your guardian angel," he said, then rose and left before she could question him further.

Beka wondered where he had gone, but when the rest of her friends burst inside, she assumed he went to tell them she was awake and well. Throughout it all, however, no one answered her one main question: Who had sent the rose?

Ersken was sitting at the foot of her bed, Kora at his feet, with Aniki beside her. Pounce was curled up on Beka's lap, Phelan in a chair near a door. Rosto was nowhere to be seen- the only explanation her friends supplied was that he had watched over her enough. Now, he was catching up on his sleep.

"We've missed you at Watch, Beka," Ersken said. "Goodwin's been even more unbearable without you there to curb her wrath. Even Tunstall's getting a short temper."

"It's not like I'm their Puppy anymore," She said. "I've been a Dog for a while now."

Ersken shrugged. "Still, they miss their Terrier."

"We all do," Kora said. Beka stared at them all, tears threatening to spill. Gods, I must be sick, to cry in front of them, she thought.

Everyone realized her thoughts at the same exact time. "We'll let you sleep some more, Beka. Sorry for keeping you up like this- I know you're tired. Everyone-out!" Kora barked, and they rushed to obey. Only she stopped outside the door. "By the way, Rosto found out who pulled the bucket trick. A few Puppies from another kennel thought it would be funny to prank another Dog- so long as it wasn't one who knew them, of course. They thought the Terrier would be a good target." She gave a wicked grin. "A few friends of mine gave them a right merry chase the other night. All of them ended up in the River Olorun at the end of it."

Beka glared at the ceiling. "Probably Unicorn district, no doubt. Kora…" She hesitated, and then blurted out, "Rosto stayed with me all yesterday, didn't he?"

She nodded. "And all night, too. Fairly upset the Court, with them wondering where their Rogue had disappeared to. Aniki had to think fast to cover for him. Sweet dreams, Beka," She said, then closed the door.

Leaning her head against the pillow, Beka stared once more at the rose. Your guardian angel, Rosto had said. Was he? Was he really her angel?

No, she thought. He's not my angel. He's my savior.

She fell asleep curled protectively around the rose and clutching the note still under her pillow, her dreams filled with a certain Rogue. It was the best sleep she had had in a long time.

So, what did ya think? Drop me a review! I love to see how everyone enjoys my work~