"What do you mean she's sick?" Inigo said, shooting the woman sitting beside him a worried look.

The woman, the village doctor, rubbed a hand down her face and sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say. High body temperature, shivering and fatigue–they're all signs of the body being attacked by a virus."

On the bed before them, Brady's mom shuddered, and her brows furrowed, but she did not wake from the bed Inigo had laid her down in. It'd been only half an hour since she had collapsed on the street, and she hadn't stirred since. Even to someone as inexperienced with medical conditions as Inigo, that felt a little unusual.

"Then can't you fix that? Heal her or something?" he said.

Inigo knew that probably wasn't how that worked, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when the woman shook her head. "I'm not a cleric, and even if I was, a heal staff deals with surface level wounds. A virus attacks the body from the inside–unless you have any recover staves handy, I can't recommend anything other than simply waiting for it to pass."

That was great. Terrific, even. Out of all the ways he'd seen people die, sickness would have to be one of his least favorite. At least with the Risen, your suffering was horrible, but quick. Illnesses could last for days, weeks; all that pain and suffering, and he could do nothing but stand by and watch. Inigo hated it.

But it was here to stay, so with a sigh, he slumped down in his chair. "I don't understand," he said, running a hand down his face. "How could this happen?"

The doctor shrugged. "I don't know. Has she eaten anything strange?"

"Nothing that hasn't been prepared by you good village folk, no. Anything she eats, I eat."

"Has she been in contact with anyone sick?"

"Not that I can remember, no."

"Then I'm afraid I'm at a loss." The doctor suddenly frowned, then pointed to the bandages wrapped around her head and her leg. "Those aren't recent, are they?"

Inigo furrowed his brows. "I believe so? She was like that when I found her."

"And you don't mind if I take a look?"

Inigo was sure Brady's mom would mind very much, stubborn as she was, but she was asleep, so it wasn't like she could argue.

And she could die, he thought, biting his lip, but he chose not to say that out loud, nodding to the doctor instead.

"Go ahead. What's the worst you could find?"

"You wouldn't believe," the doctor said, shaking her head. She nudged the bandages on Brady's mom's leg aside with the delicate touch of a woman handling a venomous snake, and as soon as she had a chance to peek underneath, she winced. She moved over to the bandages over Maribelle's head, but Inigo expected her to have the same reaction, and when she did, his stomach dropped just a little.

"How old are these bandages?" the doctor asked.

"Maybe one or two days. That's not a problem, is it?" he replied, doing his best to keep his smile in place.

"You should be changing them daily."

Inigo winced. "Well, to be fair, we've been a bit busy these past few days."

"That's no excuse. Even so, for bandages this old, it shouldn't look bad. Washing the wound would have gotten rid of most of the–"

"Wait a minute. No one said anything about washing the wound."

The doctor blinked. Then, she turned to him and gave him the most gobsmacked look he'd seen since he'd accidentally spilled Risen bile over Severa's favorite dress of the week.

"You didn't wash the wounds?!" she said.

"Was I supposed to?"

"Yes! You are supposed to wash the wounds so they don't get infected and cause sickness like this!"

Inigo laughed nervously. "O-oh. I see."

Well, it's not my fault! he wanted to say. Healing people is hardly my area of expertise! If Brady's mom didn't want this to happen, she should've told me!

Then, Brady's mom shifted again, and she groaned in pain as another spasm of coughs wracked her body. Inigo's eyes widened, and he rushed to her side in an instant, careful to steady her so she didn't fall off the bed.

As soon as she'd calmed down, Inigo palmed his face and sighed. What am I thinking? Brady's mom could die here! That's the only thing that matters here!

Turning back to the doctor, Inigo asked, "There isn't anything I can do to... you know, help, is there?"

The doctor looked at him for a whole minute. Inigo couldn't help but feel like he was being searched for something, and he glanced away, a blush creeping up his cheeks. Whether the doctor found what she was looking for, he couldn't tell, not even as she sighed and got to her feet.

"Well, you may start by making sure she gets plenty of rest," she said. "I'll head back to see if I have anything to help with the infection before you go changing the bandages."

"I'll try my best," Inigo said, waving at the doctor as she headed out of their little inn room.

As soon as she'd closed the door behind her. His shoulders sagged, and finally, he let the smile fall from his face.

"Oh Naga," he muttered to himself. "I really messed this up, didn't I? Don't mess up the timeline, Inigo. Don't do anything stupid, Inigo. And here we are–if Brady finds out I got his mom killed, he's going to kill me."

"Who's killing who?"

Inigo voice rose an entire octave with a yelp, and as he jumped back, Brady's mom finally sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Oh, no one's killing anyone!" he said, and he scrambled to regain some sense of secrecy. "I've just been doing errands for someone's mother in this village. Yes, that's it."

Brady's mom nodded. "Ah, I see. And you wouldn't mind introducing me to this Brady fellow soon, would you? I'd like to have strong words with what I think of his mother loaning out my personal help."

"Oh, that's too bad. They just left town."

"Nonsense. I shall catch up to them by foot, if I must."

The bed groaned as Brady's mom turned and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. Too late did Inigo realize what she was trying to do, and before he could stop her, she pushed herself to her feet.

Immediately, she cried out in pain and clasped her head. She lurched forward, but Inigo caught her just before she could fall.

"Hey now," he said with a nervous laugh. "We wouldn't want you pulling a muscle on your pretty face, would we?"

"Please shove your tongue into a cheese grater," Brady's mom groaned. "What happened? How did I get here? I demand an explanation, Iago!"

"Inigo."

"Inigo, then."

Sighing, Inigo motioned over to her leg. "I'm supposed to keep you in bed until the village doctor comes back to treat your wounds."

"Why would she? I thought I had you heal that."

"Yeah, well I guess it wasn't good enough, because now you've come down and won't be getting out until the doctor says so."

Brady's mom frowned. "Oh, I certainly did come down. I'm surprised it's not hurting more, frankly."

"What do you–" Inigo shook his head. "No, I mean, come down with a fever!"

"Oh, did you? You should have been more specific."

Inigo threw his hands up helplessly. "I don't know what to tell you! This is for your own good, Ms. Maribelle."

"I think I know what's for my own good. I am a trained cleric, after all."

Brady's mom tried to get up. This time, Inigo was ready to push her back down again. Brady's mom didn't seem to like that very much.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" she said. "Get your hands off me right this instant!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Inigo replied. "The doctor told me to keep you here until she gets back."

"And I keep telling you, I'm perfectly fine. Now let me–" Before she could finish, Brady's mom broke down into a fit of coughs. Inigo didn't think the sickness had seemed that bad, but with Brady's mom coughing so loudly she had to clutch her stomach in pain, he couldn't stop the uneasy feeling creeping up his back.

"See? What did I tell you? You've got to stay in bed." Inigo said, and he planted his hands on her shoulders as he pressed her back into bed.

Brady's mom shook her head. "I can't just stay in here all day! I have things I must attend to."

Inigo shook his head with a sigh. Even at the worst of times, Brady could still be horribly stubborn, and now, Inigo had the feeling he could tell where he'd gotten it from.

"Don't you worry about that. Anything you need done, you've got a pair of hands right here who can do it for you," he said with a wink. A wink that he quickly regretted, but it wasn't like he could take it back now.

Thankfully, for once, Brady's mom didn't comment, and her eyes fell to her lap as she bundled up the blanket around her legs. "It's not the same."

"But it's all you've got."

Brady's mom let out a long sigh. "How did I get sick, anyway?"

"Bad bandages. Who knew?"

Brady's mom shot him a look, and for a moment, Inigo thought she was going to somehow find a way to turn the blame to him, before she sighed and said, "That figures. I should have remembered to explain that to you."

Inigo blinked. "No, no, it's fine. It was a pretty obvious thing to do; I should have figured it out on my own."

"Well, you wouldn't have had to if I'd known better."

Inigo opened his mouth to reply, then took a moment to really think about what she'd said. "Come on. No one's gonna blame you for forgetting."

"Of course you wouldn't, but I am Maribelle of Themis. I have a duty to be better."

"Maybe in Ylisse, but in case you haven't noticed, we're not in Ylisse. You're not Maribelle of Themis out here."

"Oh, yes? Then what am I?"

"My friend."

The words left his mouth before he could really think about them, but even as Inigo really thought about it, it wasn't untrue, was it? They'd fought together, they'd eaten together, and he certainly wouldn't be so comfortable speaking like this to a stranger, would he?

Maribelle looked quite stunned, too, but she had yet to protest, so before she could speak, Inigo said, "You're my friend, and I don't want you to get hurt trying to wear yourself out. So... take it easy, why don't you?"

"I... I guess," Maribelle mumbled into her sheets. "Just as long as it doesn't take too long."

She didn't look to happy about the idea. Frankly, Inigo wasn't eager to put his hands on his friend's mom, but right now, it wasn't like they had much of a choice.

Then the door opened, and the doctor walked in, stopped, and widened her eyes. Only then did it occur to Inigo just how he looked, pinning Maribelle to her bed, and he jumped off with a yelp.

"I don't think it should go without saying that this is neither the time, nor place," the doctor said, already folding her arms across her chest, like nothing had happened.

"I swear, it's not what it looks like!" Inigo said.

"Excuse me? What does it look like?" Maribelle asked, confused.

Shaking her head, the doctor decided to not answer that question and turned to Inigo. "Do I need to ask you to leave the room for a moment?"

"Already on it!" And boy, wasn't Inigo glad for that, if only to hide the flustered look on his face behind a solid, wooden door.

"Wait, what does it look like?" Was the last thing he heard before he slammed the door behind him and slouched down behind it with a sigh.

"Guess who's back?" Inigo said, pushing open the door with a pair of soup bowls balanced in his hands.

The bed on the other side of the room shifted, and from within, he heard a soft groan. Slowly, Inigo's smile fell from his face. She wasn't in the mood for it, it seemed.

Quickly making it over to her side, Inigo set the bowls down on the bedside table and pulled out a nearby chair to take a seat. "Supper's here," he said, doing his best to keep his voice bright. "Come on, you've got to eat something if you want to get better."

Again, Maribelle groaned, but at least she had enough strength to peel the covers off herself and reach for her bowl. The doctor had only left a few hours ago, and since then, Maribelle only looked like she was getting worse. Her skin had turned pale, her voice had gotten weaker, and even in the dim evening light, he could catch the faint sheen of sweat rolling down the side of her face.

Her fingers pawed at the bowl next to her, closing around the spoon and lifting it out of the bowl, but she barely made it over her bed before she dropped the spoon, spilling soup over the floor.

Maribelle cursed. "This blasted soup is too far!"

Inigo sighed. "You should have let me know before. Now your spoon has dirt all over it."

"You can get me another," Maribelle said, waving a hand dismissively.

He could, but right now, another trip downstairs wasn't appealing, so Inigo took his own spoon out of his bowl and placed it in Maribelle's bowl, then placed it between her legs on the bed. Maribelle frowned.

"What are you going to eat with, then?" she asked.

"Same thing I've been using for years." And with that, Inigo picked up the bowl, tilted it back into his mouth, and took a sip. Maribelle pulled a funny face, but out in the Risen wasted lands of the future, utensils had been a luxury, and this was how Inigo was most comfortable eating soup, so she'd just have to suck up and deal with it.

Shaking her head, Maribelle took her own spoon, and raised it to her lips. A fit of coughs interrupted her this time, and as her body trembled with each great, gasping breath, the spoon slipped from her fingers again and spilled soup all over the sheets.

"Naga dammit!" she groaned, falling back into the bed with a pained whimper. "I can't do this! I can't!"

Inigo put down his own soup and picked up her spoon, setting it back in her bowl. "Here, let me help," he said, but Maribelle shook her head and stopped him in his tracks.

"No–no. I'm a lady. I must be able to take care of myself."

"I don't mean to sound presumptuous here, but I don't think you can."

"I can!" Maribelle pulled the sheets closer to herself, and her gaze fell to the bed again as she said, softer this time, "I can..."

Inigo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm only doing this because I care."

"Well, this is my problem. The last thing I want is to burden you with it!"

"Then ask me!" When Maribelle blinked, not quite sure what he meant by that, Inigo added, "I mean, it's not a burden if I want to take it, is it? We're friends, after all."

"We... we are?"

"We are! Er... I hope we are, anyway." Inigo frowned. Surely she hadn't already forgotten their conversation from earlier, had she?

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Friends are supposed to help each other, aren't they?"

"Yes... yes, I suppose so." Whether she'd noticed him accidentally slip back into old habits or not, she gave no indication, refusing to meet his eyes as she asked, softly, "You... you wouldn't mind terribly, giving me some help, would you?"

"From an esteemed lady like yourself? The pleasure is all mine," Inigo said, and, with permission finally granted, he scooped up a spoonful of soup and held it out for Maribelle to eat.

She hesitated before the first bite, before she leaned out to take it. Inigo hummed, and he fed her another spoonful, then another.

By the fourth, he noticed that, with every spoonful, Maribelle began to sink deeper and deeper into the bedsheets, slowly pulling them higher until only her head was visible above the stained white blankets, and suddenly, he was struck with the realization of just how tiny she looked. In the future, she had towered over him, a fully grown woman to his tiny childish stature, but now... seeing her like this, her head looked so small he could practically cup it with his hands.

Inigo spooned another helping of soup into her mouth, and as he turned back to the bowl, he heard her whisper, "Thank you."

Inigo paused, not quite sure if he'd heard right. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked.

Maribelle's face flushed bright red. Inigo wasn't sure if it was the fever, or if it was something else, but before he could look closer, Maribelle shook her head. "No, I did not!" she squeaked out. "Just focus on your job, dolt!"

Inigo shook his head, and he did as he was told without another word. Maybe one day, he'd understand why she did the things she did. Right now, though, he was just here to feed her soup, so that was exactly what he was going to do.

So, I accidentally went an entire month without an update. Oops. Got carried away working on my original stuff and accidentally forgot I had this on the docket. That's my bad. I was going to upload this on Saturday, too, but I also forgot to do that until my internet died for an entire day. Funny how that works out, huh?

During my time out, I actually ended up visiting a village with my family for vacation–and I mean, like a village-village, one that only had a grand total of 15, maybe 20 whole buildings and with the nearest McDonalds a good 2.5 hour drive. I'll admit, there was something kind of calming and serene about that place, and I spent the whole time there wishing I could go write a story that took place in a village. I only realized that I'd already done so when I had just about wrapped this chapter up, so funny how that all works out. Not sure how much I could translate that into this specific story, since I set out with a very different tone and idea here, but it's nice to have the option.

As much as I'd like to say I'm going to try to keep a better schedule this time around, I did just get back into school, so I don't know how manageable that'd be. Between all the classes and new responsibilities, there's not much time to write. Certainly doesn't mean I won't try my best to meet that two week mark, but I'd expect there to be a bit of a delay until chapter 14. Until then, take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!