Silence. It hung around her like horrible giant spider webs. It pressed around her with an almost unbearable pressure. She felt a shiver go down her spine, a shiver that was drenched in a cold sinking feeling of fear that left her feeling weak. It was hard to breathe- so hard to breathe! Like when you jump into a cold pool and the cold water squeezes the air right out of your lungs. And in the darkness of this place, she couldn't see anything, couldn't even tell if her eyes were open or not. As the fear gripped her tighter and tighter, she silently thought, 'I-I don't want to be here…S-something isn't r-right about this place…I want to get out of here! Ranma!'

"R-Ran-ma…"

He almost missed her mumbling his name. It had been said so softly and so weakly, it made Ranma have to close his eyes and shake his head to focus enough to get the lump out of his throat. After setting the mugs down on the coffee table, he resumed sitting in the same spot as he had before. Watching her face, he saw her shift slightly and wince from the movement, and put a little tear in his heart. Unconsciously, he moved his hand to hold the side of her flushed, feverish face and lightly, slowly caressed her cheek with his thumb. Almost numbly he wondered what would happen if she didn't get better soon. Instantly he was slammed by fear, causing him to gasp and tears to come into his eyes. He blinked, startled by the emotions. 'Is this what it's like?' he wondered to himself, 'To love someone?'

Suddenly, Akane began coughing violently again, snapping Ranma out of his thoughts. As the coughing continued, the fear clawed at Ranma, tears now falling from his face. Without even thinking about it, he began to talk about his dream.

"I had this crazy dream a little while ago. I was by the chanal so I was coming back to the house and when I passed the Cat Café, Shampoo was getting in trouble but Mousse stood up for her and I had never realized how much her does look after Shampoo. Anyway, then there was Ucchan's and Ukyo and Ryoga were talking. Who'd have thought they'd be such good friends. Then I finally made it home and there was with really beautiful lady there. She said she was your mom and if she was like how she was in my dream I can see why everyone misses her." He was rambling now, having ended the dream. He talked about when he first came to the Tendo's house, about how crazy all their friends were, even stories from when he was a little kid. His tears no longer slid down his face but his voice would still hitch every once in a while. Finally he went silent, watching Akane in restless sleep, just holding one of her hands in his. Then, quietly he whispered, "Please don't leave me missing you Akane. Please."

And a single teardrop fell onto her hand.

She was so cold, here in the unforgiving darkness and the unmerciful silence. She couldn't figure out how to get out. She couldn't even move, her body weighed down by the weakness from the cold. Abruptly, there was a spot of warmth on her hand. The collision broke the silence and let in a soft voice that told her of dreams and memories. Turning towards the sound, she forced herself to move towards it, to follow it out of the darkness, which seemed to shrink with the sound. With one last burst of will, she pushed forward and was blinded.

AN: Hey! First, want to say sorry if Ranma seems a little out of character but it's how it had to be. Second, sorry this chapter was a little short but again how it had to be. And thirdly, thank you so much for reading. There will only be one more chapter and I'm coming up with a sequel as I type this to you. Please, R&R.

Special thanks to pursemonger for all their help.