A/N: I'm sorry this took a while and the chapter is a little shorter than normal . . . there wasn't much more of the story I could put in this one. Next one will probably be a bit longer.

This chapter is dedicated to ibliniy, who wanted to know more about Glimmer. :)

As always my loyal readers, R&R and I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl. That's a genius by the name of Eoin Colfer.

Artemis wasn't any better the next time Holly saw him. If anything, he was worse. Before he had been unconscious and totally unresponsive, unusual, sure, but it meant his mind was attempting to heal itself. One didn't resist the Mesmer without some severe mental strain. Now though, the boy whimpered. The fever was worse than ever, Artemis' body covered in a dull sheen of sweat as the boy tossed and turned.

Holly had woken early from a nightmare, and been unable to get back to sleep. She was too worried for her friend, and the dream had not helped. She couldn't remember details . . . just that it had something to do with Artemis and . . . and something she didn't want to think about. She slipped out of the overlarge bed, followed by Calypso, whom she had apparently woken with her tossing and turning. She tiptoed to Artemis' room. His father was still there, asleep in the chair he'd been sitting in since Angeline had left.

Holly began wiping at her friends face with the cloth, despite the fact that the water was now lukewarm. Artemis whimpered, and Holly lay one hand on the human boy's forehead.

"Shh, you'll be fine," Holly said quietly. The next noise was rough, rasping past his dry lips, as if his throat was rubbed raw. A tear slipped past an eyelid, trailing down his cheek and into uncharacteristically messy black hair. Holly couldn't stand it. She put the cloth down and gently transferred herself from the chair to the bed, sitting beside Calypso, who was now curled against Artemis. Artemis spasmed suddenly, giving a violent jerk and causing Calypso to spring up, startled.

"Hey," Holly said gently, cradling her friend's head in her hands. "You're alright, Arty. You're alright." The words were hollow and hopeless sounding, and she choked back tears. The boy quieted, laying still once more. Holly's eyelids began to shut slightly, and when she checked, the clock beside the bed read three in the morning. Holly could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her again.

The elf lay carefully next to the boy, the cat stretched out between them. Holly could feel Artemis' breaths as they rasped out of him, as though the boy had just run a marathon. Not something Artemis Fowl the second was ever likely to do, the captain reflected.

She lay her head close to her friend's shoulder, and she could feel him shaking. Holly shot up, worry etched into her features. "Artemis . . ." she hugged him as well she could while he was lying in a bed unconscious. He was indeed shaking. "Come on!" Holly whisper-yelled. Her magic couldn't heal him, and what good was she without it, really? Her friend was trying to fight something that had never been successfully fought by a human, and it was killing him. Something furry rubbed up against her side.

Calypso looked up at her, lamp-like eyes reflecting the light of the nearby lamp; silently the cat asked if Artemis would be alright.

"I don't know, Calypso. I really don't know." Glimmer Vendera was a dangerous fairy, not in the same way as Opal, with all of Opal's plans for world-domination. Glimmer wanted to wipe out the humans, and her magical ability rivaled that of all warlocks when she was alive. Well, before her supposed death, anyway.

It had been Holly's first recon mission, but because of extenuating circumstances (mainly, a mandatory Haven shut-down due to the fact that a crazy sprite-elf with some intense magical ability was trying to start a war with the humans) she had also played the part of retrieval. Julius Root and Foaly had been her the voices in her helmet during that mission. Holly could remember Julius' reaction when he found out that Holly had no back-up, and that she was essentially a rookie. Namely, a 'we're-all-doomed' reaction. It had been the talk of police plaza for about a month when she succeeded, before all of Holly's screw-up missions. Then . . . it was kind of forgotten. After all, Glimmer was dead, no need to worry about her, right? Apparently, wrong.

Holly held Artemis as the shaking subsided, as abruptly as it had started. She lay back down, doing her best to stop worrying. But it was near impossible. It would be a few hours yet until Number one came, and then Artemis would be okay . . . right? The demon warlock was the most powerful magical creature, more powerful than Glimmer. But Glimmer might have gotten more powerful over the years, came a voice, unbidden, in the back of her mind.

"Shut up," she told it grumpily.

Well, why else would she have been so quiet? It's been three decades. Who knows what she could have found in that time?

Holly buried her face into the crook of Artemis' neck, feeling the feverish hotness of his skin against her forehead. The mud boy smelt of paper, fresh grass, and a sharp smell that one could classify either as magic, or electricity. All in all, he smelled like Artemis. For some reason, this calmed her enough to quiet her worries.

Holly fell asleep like this, one arm over Artemis' chest, the other under her own head, and her head resting on his shoulder. For some reason, it didn't feel awkward as Holly thought it would, which was odd. But she could dissect the meaning of this later, when Artemis was better (because he would get better) and she wasn't so damn tired.

She didn't have any more nightmares that night.