I let my eyes slip closed for a moment, almost dreading facing Kevin after what I did. Take the long way, I pleaded with him in my head. I coughed again and found it was becoming more painful to breathe. Okay, maybe don't take the long way, I amended silently. "Well, well, well. Having a rough day Gwenny?" I sighed internally and opened my eyes. "Not as bad as yours is about to be." I smiled slightly. I tried pulling mana into my hands; only to find out I was too weak. Whatever illness that made me faint in the garage was affecting my manna as well. Great. Could this day get any worse? "Gwen you are in so much trouble! I'm going to-" I heard Kevin yell before he saw he saw me lying on the ground in front of Charmcaster. "If it isn't the infamous Kevin Levin? Coming to hide behind your girlfriend again? I don't think she can even save herself this time. Just let me finish this and I'll be right with you." she sneered. I watched Kevin's face turn from shocked to infuriated in a second. I took solace in the fact that she would kill me first, giving him time to run. But to my relief, I heard the unmistakable sound of Ben's voice. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the fight. Charmcaster had both of them in an energy sphere. I saw the look of terror in their eyes and it made me strong. I pulled all the manna I could manage, not much, and shot Charmcaster's back with it. I stayed awake just long enough to hear a horrible yell and my name. Then, the blackness overtook me. Allowing me some much needed rest.
"Is she going to wake up soon? I'm hungry!" I heard Ben's voice. "Shut up! Let her sleep!" I heard Kevin retaliate, followed by a loud crash and a quite curse. "Language." I scolded, my voice thick with sleep. There was immediate silence and I opened my eyes. "It's rude Kevin." I smiled. He looked back at me with those big black eyes, and mine filled with tears. "If you ever do that again I'm going to…" "I love you Gwen, I'm glad you're back, can I go eat now? PLEASE!" I forced a smile onto my face and nodded once. He was out the door in a second. "Anyway…" Kevin continued, annoyed, "If you ever do that again I'm going to…" The door swung open and a doctor walked in. "I'm glad to see that your awake now Mrs. Tennyson. We've run a few tests and the tests will be back in a few days. Until then, we want to keep an eye on you here." With that, she smiled and exited the room. I felt my eyes widen and a great gust of wind rush from my aching lungs. "Stay here?" I whispered. "It'll be okay Gwen. I won't leave your side. I promise." He soothed me. He took breath, "But if you ever do that again I'm going to have to…" The door opened and a nurse came in to check on my vitals. "OUT!" Kevin roared. The nurse looked frightened, turned, and ran out of the room. "For the love of God! The next person to interrupt that sentence is going to be punched right in the face, God help me!" Kevin leaned back down to me and I smiled. "If you do that again I'm going to have to…" I leaned up slightly and kissed him. He didn't respond at first, but soon his lips were moving gently with mine. I felt wetness on my cheeks and didn't realize what was happening until he pulled back and wiped my tears away gently. "…send you to your grandma's house." He finished quietly. "I'm sorry." I whispered huskily. "It's okay baby. I'm here. I've got you." He climbed onto the bed with me and held me tight. I fell asleep on his chest with him stroking my hair and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I dreamed of a time when I could breathe easily again.
"This place is AWFUL!" Ben shouted, coming into my room. It had been three days without knowing what was wrong with me. Sometimes, the pain was bearable and sometimes it wasn't…this was one of those times. "Shut up." Kevin muttered loudly enough for him to hear and turned back to me, concern filling his eyes. "I'm fine." I groaned. "Yeah, you sound fine." He chuckled sarcastically. I winced as a sharp pain invaded the base of my skull. "I'll get the nurse." Ben said, walking out of the room. "I hate this." I muttered as the nurse left after administering more medication. "I know honey, but I'm here with you, and Ben's gone most of the time." he smirked as Ben looked at him defiantly. We all heard the familiar ring coming from Ben's pocket and I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Hello?" Ben asked, answering warily. "I see. Okay, we're on our way." He promised. He closed the phone and we were silent for a long moment. "Forever knights and Charmcaster were spotted downtown. We should…Kevin and I…we should go." I felt a lump form in my throat and I took a deep shuddering breath as they both looked at me. "Go then. Kick some Forever Knight butt for me." I smiled weakly. I felt fear bubbling deep inside my stomach. How could I just lay here and send them to fight? I bit my tongue to keep myself from telling them to stay. What were the police for anyway? "Be careful!" I called as they walked out the door. "Please, for me, be careful." I whispered to myself.
I don't know how long I sat there while they were gone. It could have been minutes as well as it could have been years. I was just about to go crazy when the doctor walked into the room, she looked at me gravely. "I can do this one of two ways. You're a smart girl Mrs. Tennyson and I want to give you the choice. I can give you the 'diluted to make you happy' version, or I can give it to you straight. The outcome is the same either way." She told me. I didn't even register the words at first. Slowly, they sank down into my brain. I, however, stayed strangely calm. "Straight." It was all I could manage. "Your powers are affecting your body. This is a disease that's the anodite version of…brain cancer. Only it's caused in unknown ways by your powers." I waited for a moment. "Can you fix it?" She frowned, "We can give you medication. But you'll also have to do some exercises with your powers to keep them from moving and attacking the other parts of your body."