Rhett stood before the mirror in the men's bathroom at the chapel, the reflection staring back at him wore a tux and appeared moderately well-groomed. It had been a challenge to get ready that morning with only one arm. Link had to help him out with everything, even though he said Rhett shouldn't go through with this. Jessie agreed - they thought it would be reasonable to at least postpone it a day to give him time to rest. But Rhett refused to hold the wedding back on his account. What about the guests who had flown in? What about the expense of renting the venue for their reception? What about the promise he made Jessie to begin with? Rhett wasn't backing out.

He wasn't feeling great at the moment, however. The doctor determined that Rhett had a bad reaction to the pain medication the night before and gave him a different kind. It helped in that he didn't have any bursts of intense pain, but he had a constant ache in his bones now - almost flu-like. The doctor had warned him that he may feel a bit under the weather after the rabies vaccination, so Rhett assumed that's all it was. But he was sweating profusely, uncomfortably warm as his heart raced.

Rhett took a moment to use his good hand to splash water on his face. It felt cool and refreshing - calming what Rhett figured to be a blend of pre-wedding jitters and medicinal side-effects. He took one final look at his reflection, droplets of water clinging to his beard and glistening on his face. Rhett didn't bother to dry off, heading for the door only to hear a knock.

"Just a minute. I'm almost done." Rhett called out.

"No. I was wondering if I could come in." It was Link's voice.

"Oh. Yeah. Of course, man." Rhett went over and opened the door to reveal his best man.

Link looked even better than Rhett in a suit, which probably should have been upsetting since it was Rhett's wedding day and all. It was almost like Link was made to dress formal, making Rhett feel out of place. But then again, Link usually looked better in everything he wore than Rhett. And out of those clothes? Rhett shook his head. Those thoughts had no place in his mind on his wedding day.

"Jessie wanted me to check on you." Link frowned, looking Rhett up and down. "You don't look too good, Rhett."

"Gee, thanks. Guess I'm just not a suit kind of guy." Rhett turned back toward the mirror, attempting to adjust his tie with one hand.

Link approached his friend, reaching up to help out with the tie. "That's not what I mean." He pressed his hand against Rhett's forehead. "Jesus, man. You're burning up. You really shouldn't go through with this."

"No way. I'm going through with this. If it gets really bad, I'll just cut out of the reception, but I'm not leaving Jessie on our big day. In sickness and in health and all that."

"Well you didn't make the vow yet. And I'm pretty sure she'd rather marry you at your most healthy..." Link shook his head. "I should've made you do something else other than hunting. It's my fault."

"Don't go blaming yourself again. We've been over this. You're absolutely, one hundred percent not at fault, Link. It was my idea, my shot, my decision to try and put the wolf out of its misery that landed me in this position. And I'll deal with it. What's a broken arm and some painkillers? Hell, the way I feel, it beats drinking. Oughta make the wedding even more interesting."

"That sure is an optimistic way to look at things..." Link rolled his eyes.

"Sure hope you're filming 'cause I might not remember anything that happens today." Rhett attempted to laugh heartily, but it came out weak and strained. He really was exhausted, and the thing was, he didn't know whether that was the stress or the medication.

"I'm really worried about you, buddy." Link sighed, staring up at Rhett with an expression of deeply rooted concern.

"Stop. Stop it with the worry."

"No, I'm not gonna stop until you stop being something to worry over. How is the pain?"

"It's fine. I'm fine. A hundred percent. I feel no pain."

"Try that again with a little more truth and a little less lie..." Link stared at him dubiously.

Rhett sighed. "Okay, so I'm feeling a little feverish and a tiny bit off."

Link's expression became even more doubtful.

"Alright. Fine. I feel like crap. But I'm not so sure that all has to do with the bite. I'm a nervous wreck. I mean, this is marriage, man. That's a big deal. Can I really make Jessie happy for the rest of our lives?"

"Well there's always divorce." Link pointed out, but then held up his hands with small laugh. "I'm just kidding. You've got nothing to worry about, Rhett. You are the most loyal, most faithful, most amazing person I know. You and Jessie - you're what those fairy tales talk about when they say happily ever after. 'Cause I know you're gonna live it." He smiled, but there was something slightly off about it - something a little less bright than Link's usual smiles.

Rhett stared at him, trying to figure it out. He wondered if it was his imagination - some trick of the light or strange hallucination brought about by his fever. Somewhere inside of him, he hoped Link was slightly unhappy with this arrangement for the same reasons and regrets Rhett had himself. There was something unexplored between them - some curiosity and fascination and 'what-if' scenario that Rhett always thought had to play out. In his feverish state of mind, Rhett flirted with the idea of kissing Link. Hell, Link looked incredibly kissable with his slightly parted lips and his upturned chin.

He was about to go for it. Rhett found his body moving against his will, drawing closer to Link's. He saw Link's face go from confused to surprised - and Rhett realized Link had no idea what was about to happen. He probably never even thought about them in that light. It was stupid. It was a dumb thought. Rhett went to pull back, but his body kept going and he realized that was because he was losing his footing and unable to stand.

Fortunately, Link managed to catch him before he fell entirely. "Whoa, buddy. You just about toppled over onto your face. That's it. I'm telling Jessie this whole thing is off."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no-" Rhett clutched to Link with his good hand until he was strong enough to stand on his own. "Don't do that!"

"You're not really giving me much of a choice here."

"I'll be fine. It was just a random dizzy spell. See?" Rhett stood back and did a twirl that caused his stomach to leap to his throat - but he remained standing. "Fine."

Link regarded him with the same suspicion he housed earlier. But after staring at him for a while, he sighed and nodded. "Alright. If you say so. Let's get this show on the road before you have another near pass-out."

Rhett smiled weakly at him. "It'll be fine. I promise." And with that, he tossed a glance back at the mirror. He didn't know who his reflection was - pale, weak, and genuinely ill - but he hoped that guy could keep it together long enough to keep his promise to Jessie and get married.

The wedding went well. It was a case of mind over matter. Rhett mentally told himself to stand there and look into Jessie's eyes even when his body wanted to collapse under his own weight. It also helped to have Link as his best man - standing beside him and offering a single, discrete hand of support every time he sensed Rhett was about to fall. That wasn't to say the ceremony didn't drone on for far too long and tested the very fibers of Rhett's limited strength. But eventually they got to their 'I do's' and kissed to seal the deal, offering the sweet reprieve of Rhett finally being able to get off of his feet.

Rhett did feel bad. There was Jessie - as beautiful as could be in her long, glistening white dress and veil emerging from a nest of loose curls like a pure, white halo. Her makeup was flawless, but beyond that she radiated such an elegant, happy glow that it brightened the room and probably made the wedding worthwhile for their friends and family. Unfortunately, she had to marry him. Rhett couldn't even fit his broken arm through the suit sleeve, he was sweating so bad from the fever that his hair products were starting to leave a sticky residue on his forehead, and he was trying his damnedest to be happy and enjoy this moment - but all he could do was will himself to not pass out and ruin things, and hope the expression on his face didn't make him look like he was constipated for the whole ceremony.

They got to the reception, and Rhett was finally able to sink heavily onto his chair. He had a glass of water in his free hand, clutching it like a lifeline. He had already passed on the first dance, which wasn't too big of a deal because Jessie simply danced with her father. Everyone else had been too caught up in the happiness of the celebration, they hadn't put up much of a protest at missing the first dance. The fortunate thing about weddings was that they were mostly about the bride, so most of the congratulations and conversations went to Jessie. A few chatted with Rhett, asking what he did to his arm and other things along those lines. But the conversations ended soon enough, and Rhett found himself blessedly alone - keeping hazel-blue eyes glued on his glass of water.

"How're you holding up?" Link slid into the empty seat at Rhett's side.

"It's getting worse, Link..." Rhett didn't have the strength to lie. "I don't know what's happening to me, but I know something's not right."

"Rhett..." Link uttered, staring at him quietly. His eyes searched the room for some answer before he took Rhett's hand off of the glass and wrapped the arm around his shoulders. "C'mon. I'll get you outta here."

"But it's my wedd-"

"You did the wedding. Now you're done and we're getting you home. Jessie'll understand. They don't need the groom now anyway. You did your part." Link struggled to help Rhett to his feet.

Rhett winced, somehow finding himself upright and dizzier than before. "We should go tell Jess-"

"I'll text her. We'll be discrete. Get you out of here with no one noticin'. And then she can find a way to play it off. Jessie's crafty like that."

"She's gonna kill me..." Rhett groaned, hanging his head.

"Yeah. Probably." Link offered a weak smile. "So just make sure there's enough of you left to kill after this is all done."

They managed to get out the door and into the cool, night air. It was brisk and refreshing. Rhett drew in a breath and looked up at the sky, drawn to the stars and moon. For the first time since the incident, he had a moment of peace and understanding. Images flashed through his mind - running through the brush with nothing but the moon on his back, flopping over and turning his belly toward the sky as he rolled around in the dirt, chasing and piling on top of the others until they all met on an embankment and howled at the - Rhett stopped the thought.

He was going crazy. That was it. He was convinced. Starting to have fantasies about being a wolf after being bitten by one? Rhett was pretty sure that wasn't a side effect of the rabies shot. Link managed to get them both to his car, and Rhett got in, dropping heavily onto the passenger's seat. He stayed there for two seconds until his stomach did a flip and he leaned out of the car to dry heave on the sidewalk, grateful that the only thing he had consumed all day was several glasses of water.

"Oh geez, Rhett..." Link frowned at him. "Alright. It's gonna be alright. We'll get you home and get you to bed. And you'll be alright..."

"Don't you start panicking..." Rhett said, hoarse. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaning back against the seat and buckling himself in. "If you panic, then I start panicking, and that'll do none of us any good. I just wanna sleep. Relax and sleep."

"Relax and sleep. Right." Link drew in a deep breath and started the car. After a moment, he exhaled and looked over at Rhett. "You sure you don't wanna go to the hospital?"

"No. No way. I'm sick of hospitals. I just want my bed. And for Jessie not to kill me. But mostly bed. And if she decides to kill me in that bed, I guess that won't be such a bad thing..."

"I'll do my best to talk her out of killing you for at least the night."

Rhett laughed - or at least gave a weak, half-hearted attempt at it. He felt worse than he ever had in his life. Even his worst flu couldn't compare to what was going on inside of him. The nausea was constant, the fever was relentless, and the pain had spread from his arm to his muscles, causing a ceaseless ache. Did an infection spread this quickly? He really didn't want to go back to the hospital. Maybe it was just a horrible side-effect of avoiding rabies, but whatever it was, it caused a small fear to lance through the back of his mind. Maybe it was going too far to think this way, but what if he died?

"Link?" Rhett closed his eyes. "I'm scared, Link..."

An awkward silence fell over his best friend. Rhett chanced opening his eyes to look over at him and saw a tension had appeared in every fiber of Link's being - from the way he squared his jaw to the way he gripped the steering wheel. Rhett sighed. He shouldn't have admitted it, even if it was true. He didn't know what was happening to him, and who knew if it was bad or normal? He didn't exactly have a similar situation to base it off of.

Link wet his lips and chose to answer - short and precise. "You're gonna be fine, Rhett. You always are."

"Yeah, but how can you be sure?"

"I just am."

"But how can you be really su-"

"I just am, okay!" Link snapped. Silence fell between them, giving Link enough time to cool down and say in a much calmer tone. "Any thing else would just crush me - crush everyone who loves you. You're one of the strongest guys I know. You're not me. I would've been down for the count by now, but you're a champ, Rhett. You're gonna get better. And then you can live life like a superhero - the guy who survived the wolf attack."

Rhett managed a chuckle. "Sounds more like some kind of werewolf story..." The laugh faded as soon as he said those words. A sudden, horrifying realization struck him like ice to the core.

"Well, you're hairy enough to be one..." Link joined in the joke, but Rhett was no longer laughing.

Rhett was no longer laughing because of his thought and longing when he saw the full moon - how it made him feel inside. He thought about the two wolves in the woods, the telling humanity behind the eyes of the one he shot - the way the other came in to protect its injured companion and drag it off to safety. Did wolves really care about each other that much? The action had been near human; too human.

Rhett hoped like hell this sudden epiphany was wrong, because he was pretty sure turning into a werewolf was going to be pretty disruptive to the normal life he had wanted to build with Jessie. And he was also pretty sure werewolves weren't real. How did one handle turning into something that wasn't supposed to exist? He was pretty sure Link wouldn't be able to help him through this one. Rhett was going to have to figure it out on his own.

He closed his eyes again and fell into contemplative silence for the rest of the car ride home.