Bet you weren't expecting an update, huh?

I decided to go ahead and try to get back into the groove of things - I've been craving to write, so why not Blissfully Ill? I also have a few more ideas for what's going to happen later on, and everything's beginning to tie in with itself.

I've been listening to Blue October and Joe Hisaishi for the past four hours, so that helped too.

For those of you who don't know, I've posted the first chapter of Stickers, a story which introduces my three OC's. If you haven't read it, you should.

And for those of you who do know and have chosen not to read or review, I encourage you to do so. I really do want to know what you think of my OC's, because I like them and I will be using them in future AU stories. So tell me what you think of them. I only have one chapter up so far, but maybe a few reviews will encourage me to get the last two out faster.

And as for Blissfully Ill updates, well, they might be effected by your generosity as well.

I'm not saying you have to like my OC's - I don't mind if you dislike them or just plain hate them - but I want your honest opinions. And also, don't look at them as OC's. Try to think of them as regular HTF characters.

I'm wasting your time, I apologize. Please enjoy.

Please read the Memo, if you haven't.

Chapter 17

And so days passed. They came and went quickly, and their contents were but a blur in Flaky's memory. She walked, talked, and did her duties as a nurse, but her mind was so far elsewhere that she could hardly remember any of it.

It's almost like I've become a zombie, Flaky thought, and she laughed dryly, without mirth. She'd allowed herself a break from work and had quickly escaped upstairs. Flaky sat on her bed, head in her hands as snowflakes from outside sprinkled from her cracked open window. The chill was sending shivers up and down Flaky's back, but as it numbed her fingers she – for the first time – felt grateful for its presence. She'd never found comfort in snow, but there was something soothing and reverent about its silence, how it was always so peaceful as the snow stilled all life.

Flaky found herself wising, for a moment, the world around her would stop completely. Maybe then she'd have some time to herself, some time to think. She hadn't been able to do so in three, maybe four days, it wasn't like she could remember now. Time didn't exist anymore. There weren't days or nights anymore. There was only one long, never-ending strip of existence and Flaky didn't see any way out.

A shudder ripped through the porcupine, and Flaky bit her lip, lying down on the covers. Oh, how she wished she could just curl up and go to sleep, sleep for hours, days even. She was just so tired, her muscles hurt, her head hurt. She was tired of smelling all of the chemicals and medication and cleaning supplies. Flaky didn't want to clean or serve or help anymore. Kicking her legs, Flaky inhaled shakily and buried her head in her pillow. She wanted to go home, she wanted everything to go back the way it was and she wanted everyone to be the way they were oh how Flaky wanted so desperately just to go home…

That morning Sniffles had collapsed. He'd been trudging up the stairs from his bedroom into the kitchen when it happened. He'd been sluggish and fatigue had drugged his awareness. Sniffles tripped himself up, and when the anteater realized he was on the floor, he found he couldn't get himself back up.

Flaky hadn't been there when it happened. She'd been trying to calm down Giggles and Lifty, who'd both fallen victim to temporary amnesia and didn't know where they were. The chipmunk was easy to calm down, she almost instantly accepted (or tolerated) what was being told to her and agreed with Flaky that if she went back to sleep all would be better when she woke up again. It was Lifty that frightened her. The raccoon hadn't suffered from any sort of memory loss beforehand, unlike most of the others, but he hadn't even recognized his own brother when Shifty tried to help him calm down.

He tried to hide it, but Flaky caught the look of desperation and hurt on Shifty's face when Lifty questioned who the fedora-wearing raccoon was. With dark eyes, Shifty sat with Lifty and calmly told him that they were twins and it would be best if the other got some sleep. Lifty seemed eager to comply, easily accepting that this other green raccoon was his brother and quickly fell back to sleep. Shifty didn't leave his spot on the bed.

It wasn't for another twenty or so minutes that Flaky found the downed anteater, and her heart had stopped for a moment, just a moment, as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen and spotted his still form on the blue tiles. She thought he'd collapsed from exhaustion. She'd feared he was dead.

Rushing over to him, Flaky immediately checked the anteater's heartbeat and found it. Sighing heavily in relief she rushed back to the heavy ward and, finding Evil was the only other able bodied animal in the hospital, called for his help in moving Sniffles to the light ward. Evil complied without trouble and once Flaky tucked Sniffles into bed and checked his condition, Evil had quietly left.

It isn't fair, it isn't fair! Flaky thought, hot tears wetting the pillow she held to her face. Evil didn't have to worry about Sniffles after his part was gone, he'd simply left. The bear didn't have to check for wounds and administer medication and make sure that not only was Sniffles comfortable but that Mime would keep a steady eye on him and he didn't have to rely on a mute to call for help if something went wrong. What did it matter to him if one of the others didn't make it out of this illness, if they lost their memories permanently?

He didn't have to think about what could have happened; how if Sniffles had fallen while going down the stairs or wandering outside, unattended.

Flaky knew she wasn't being fair or even rational. She was breaking, crumbling beneath the pressure. She couldn't help it; sobs were pushing against her eyes and throat and more tears spilled from her shut eyelids. She'd been doing so well, keeping her emotions under control and working with whatever the illness had thrown at her. With Sniffles's help and Flippy's encouragement, Flaky had been feeling optimistic, hoping the sickness would eventually be cured when Sniffles found the antidote.

But what was there now? Sniffles was incapacitated and cure or not, Flaky was not going to let the anteater out of the ward. He hadn't been so bad at the beginning of all this, but overworking had drained him both physically and mentally and Flaky wasn't sure how much more abuse he could take from himself.

I should have made him stop, Flaky thought. I should have forced him to stop working and get some rest but I didn't and now look at him!

The sobs broke through and Flaky tried to cry into the pillow as quietly as possible. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair because now that Sniffles couldn't get out of bed, she would be the only one who could help around here. Cuddles and Giggles had fallen to the unknown illness; Flaky had settled them both in the medium ward. Giggles's mother wasn't far behind. Now it would be Flaky who made every meal, Flaky who kept the hospital clean and her patients as comfortable and healthy as she could manage.

But what was she to do? What was she supposed to do all by herself? Frustration and hopelessness grew and Flaky whimpered, kicking her legs in sheer desperation. There was nothing she could do. Without Sniffles, there would be no antidote, if there was even one to be found. Her friends had gotten better, but now they were dying. It wasn't just symptoms of the illness anymore. They were dying, slowly but surely, and by the way they all looked at Flaky as she brought in their meals and did the routine check-ups, they were all beginning to realize the reality. It had taken nearly two days for Splendid, Lumpy and Nutty to return to them, and though they'd been fine after being reborn, they'd fallen back into the illness faster than before. Who was to say anyone would return at all the next time?

The absolute futility of the situation was beginning to drive Flaky insane. She couldn't even imagine what the following days would be like. Her friends would be suffering and all she'd be able to do was watch and try to make them comfortable. With no possible cure to hold her up, Flaky wasn't keeping them alive anymore. She was simply prolonging their deaths.

Flaky allowed herself a selfish wish: that she'd been one of those to fall ill and someone else was immune to the illness.

Time passed – an hour, it felt like – and Flaky had finally calmed down when someone knocked loudly on her door. The sound startled Flaky, who had nearly fallen asleep. She called for whoever it was to come in. Sitting up and whipping tears from her cheeks, Flaky's heart stopped when Mime slipped into the room. His purple face was etched with worry lines and the mime began making expressive gestures, but Flaky was in no mood to play charades.

"What is it? Is it Sniffles?" she demanded, standing up and making her way over to the deer. To her relief, Mime paused and then shook his head, saying no to her question about Sniffles. Flaky sighed happily and then said, "Well, what's wrong then?"

Mime was about to begin his explanation, raising his arms, when Flippy and Evil stepped into the room. Flaky was alarmed to see Flippy out of bed. It was difficult for him to stay awake let alone walk and the movement was probably giving him a massive headache. Flaky immediately told him so and was about to usher him out of the room when Evil put a hand on Flaky's arm. Before the porcupine could even blush at the contact, however, Evil said, "Flaky, something's wrong with the power or something. The heater isn't working anymore."

"Do you want me to hold the light?"

"No, I'm fine." It was a lie. Flaky's hands were shaking so bad that they could hardly see anything as they carefully descended down the shadowed stairway. The flashlight in her hand was shuddering worse than a leaf against a strong wind, and Evil was quickly becoming annoyed with Flaky's reluctance to give him the light. He could understand her stress – he wasn't oblivious to her rapid fall into semi-depression, and the news of the possibly nonoperational heater had nearly given her a heart attack – but there wasn't any reason for her to forgo his offers at help. It was quite irritating really; here was a woman who was overworked and stressed out of her mind yet she refused to allow others to share her burdens. If you asked Evil, it was a little selfish of the porcupine.

So, ignoring Flaky's surprised squeak and huff of averseness, Evil gently took the flashlight from her hand and pointed it downward. All of the power had gone out in the hospital-tree – Flaky hadn't noticed because she'd been distracted and she had enough light in the room from outside.

Evil had suggested they bring Handy along with them, in case the beaver would be able to fix the problem, but he'd fallen asleep in the heavy ward. The beaver, without permission, had dragged a chair into the ward, sat himself beside the Mole's bed and sat there, his crossed arms and hard expression daring anyone to ask him to move. Luckily no one did. Flaky honored Sniffles's opinions, but with things being the way they were, she didn't think letting wards intermingle was the worse of their problems anymore.

Which was why Flaky refused to bother the sleeping handyman. She said that if there was something wrong, they could wake Handy up later but the beaver had spent all night watching over everyone in the heavy ward for her (she'd been in desperate need of some sleep and Handy was an eager volentere) and he deserved some rest. Evil personally didn't think Handy had any reason to hang around the heavy ward, but a few theories were forming in his mind.

Besides, Evil thought, leading Flaky down the wooden steps, I've fixed enough broken stuff. I can turn the power back on.

"Una inmensa y radiante playa y se enfrió la luna enjoyada

El tiempo ha llegado de nuevo

Bajo la luna

Elija ellos cantan los Antiguos"

"Hm?"

Evil blinked and turned around, pointing the flashlight at the wall beside Flaky's face. She was giving him an inquisitive look. She had a blanket warapped around her, and Evil had put on an undershirt. The temperature had already begun to fall. "What?"

"What was that you just sang?" Flaky asked, tilting her head cutely – cutely? – to one side. Evil thought about her question. He hadn't even noticed he was singing.

"It's just a verse from a song," Evil said. "One of my army buddies taught me."

"A Spanish song?"

Evil turned and started down the stairs again, wondering if they were close to the bottom. "English. He knew it in Spanish, though. That's how I learned it."

"What does it mean?"

Evil paused to think, and then said:

"A vast radiant beach and cooled jeweled moon

The time has come again

Under the moon

Choose they croon the Ancient Ones

"It's all I can remember of the song," Evil said. To Flaky the tone of his voice was indifferent, almost sad. She decided to stay quiet for the rest of their decent.

Eventually they made it down to the bottom of the stairs. The basement was smaller than Flaky had imagined, with wires hanging on the walls in S's. Wooden boxes with holes chewed in the sides were stacked at the far end of one wall, and to Evil's right was the power box. Immediately, the bear went over and unlocked the white box (Flaky had given him the keys out of Sniffles's desk drawer) and opened it.

"Ah," Evil said, immediately spotting the problem. One of the wires had been bent, and another completely undone. Evil gave the flashlight to Flaky. "Hold it steady," he told her. Flaky nodded and watched as Evil unraveled the wires and put them back where they belonged. Flicking the switch off and on, the lights above them flashed, and then illuminated the room. Flaky smiled and turned off the flashlight as Evil closed the door of the power box. "That wasn't so bad," Flaky said, setting the flashlight down on the bottom step so she wouldn't forget it. Evil nodded, but there was a frown on his face.

"It wasn't too bad," he agreed, "but the damages to the wires seemed almost deliberate."

"What?" Flaky shook her head. "Everyone here is sick, besides you and me."

"I know. It wouldn't make sense anyway…"

"Is the heater back on, too?"

Evil shrugged. "I don't know. I fixed the power, but if there's a heater down here it wouldn't have helped any."

Flaky's ears drooped. "Yes, there is a heater. It's behind the stairs." Flaky stepped around Evil and pointed behind the stairs. There was a large heater, about her height, sticking out from the wall. It was slightly outdated but Flaky supposed it was because Happy Tree Valley had been around for so long. Usually the heater would grumble and emit heat from the mouth, but now it was silent.

Evil examined it. Flaky waited, sitting on one of the wooden boxes. After a few minutes of silence, Evil muttered something in Spanish and then cursed soon afterward. Flaky stood. "What's wrong?"

"Ice," Evil snarled. He pointed to the pipes that led from the heater into the higher floors. Many of them seemed to have burst open. Somehow, both were covered thickly in ice. Flaky gasped; she hadn't noticed it before, but not only were the two pipes on ice, but most of the heater was as well. All parts of the heater pushed against the wall were thickly coated. Flaky didn't believe it. How could the heater freeze without the ice melting right away?

Evil cursed again and kicked the heater. It hurt badly but the bear was much too upset to notice. He closed his eyes and bit a knuckle.

"Can we scrape the ice off?" Flaky asked, touching the metal object lightly. Her fingers had involuntarily begun to shake again. "Maybe, if we get the ice off, the heat will come back on."

"No," Evil said simply, trying not to growl at her. "The ice would have gotten into the pipes and even if we did get the ice off of the surface it's too late to save the heater. Besides, the pipes are busted. Es roto, terminado. We can't do anything to fix it."

"Nothing? Are you sure?"

"Nada."

Flaky nodded slowly. She turned away from Evil, tears pricking her eyes. The bear behind her growled loudly and punched the stair railing. Flaky could hear the wood cracking beneath his fist.

What were they going to do now?

Yep.

Just so you know, I don't know anything about power boxes or basement heaters, so... yeah. If any of the information isn't good enough, PM me and I'll make the changes. As for the Spanish song part, it was a spontaneous decision, but I think it fits pretty well...

And just so you know, you really shouldn't expect my usual regularity with updates - I'm not officially back on my high horse yet, so if there isn't another chapter in the next three days or so don't be disappointed.

Read and Review. *eats a brownie*