I slept. Finally. Even if it was in an uncomfortable plastic chair under fluorescent hospital lighting. The nurse pushing past me with the obs chart was enough to make me stir, but Carlisle responding to her pulled the room back into focus as I raised my head off of my hand. My wrist ached from holding the weight of my skull, a crook in my neck from resting my cheek on my palm for so long, but the rest felt good. I glanced at him to see what was wrong, but he looked okay too. For the first time in what seemed like months, he looked okay.

"How's the water going?" the nurse was asking him.

He managed to smile at her somewhat genuinely. "Good, actually. It's just solids that are dicey."

She chuckled at his wording, and I tucked my feet under my chair to keep myself from becoming an obstacle as she passed. "Your blood pressure is a lot better. We just need to get your temperature down."

"Hmm. I'm less lightheaded." His hand drifted to mine as he met my gaze. That horrible redness in his skin seemed angrier, but he looked so pleased. "You alright?"

I nodded and waited impatiently for the nurse to leave. "Does all that hurt you?" My fingertips nudged up his sleeves, examining the skin that peaked out beneath the bandaging, and seeing that the welts had spread there too.

"No, Gar, I'm fine. It just feels hot." He pressed the hand not tangled in mine over the marks on his throat, testing the heat. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, what'd you mean?" I frowned.

"You were out for four hours - It's almost midnight."

"Jesus. I'm good, I'm just tired, sorry." I brought his knuckles to my lips.

"Go home. I'll see you tomorrow?"

I couldn't refuse him. The fatigue was too strong, the pull of bed too much, and I found myself hugging him goodbye before I'd processed it. "See you tomorrow."

.

.

I felt like a naughty child as I sat on a bench outside of the principal's office. My heart was hammering so loudly that my pulse was deafening. My nervous glances around the office didn't put my mind at rest - that crazy bitch was in the building whether I could see her or not.

Finding that the photos had been shoved under our apartment door had been the last straw. I'd called Carlisle again mid-meltdown, despite it being one in the morning, and he'd phoned the school for me the next day. He was also smart enough to urge me to keep the photos this time, in case the school wanted evidence, but that didn't take the burning from my cheeks as I waited for the principal to see me. I'd spoken to the man on the phone as well; he'd asked me to come in, considering the weight of my accusations. I was already blushing uncontrollably. I wished Carlisle could have been with me.

The whole conversation was painful. I couldn't look him in the eye while I showed him the pictures, and he kept referring to Carlisle as my 'friend', despite my multiple corrections. That small detail was driving me crazy. He took me seriously, though, assuring me that he'd look into it. Her greatest offense in his eyes was that she'd abused the school's database to obtain information she shouldn't readily have. He returned the photos to me with a grimace and ushered me from his office.

I couldn't breathe as I walked back to the car. The air felt thick as I sucked it in and out. My frantic surveillance of the carpark showed no sign of Heidi. Of course she wasn't there. She'd be at the front of a class for the next few hours.

As shitty as it was, I already knew where I was going as I buckled my seat belt - I was about to force my hospitalised partner to fix it. Again. If the cheating didn't drive him away, this would. I made myself calm down a little once I'd reached the hospital premises, not wanting to cause a scene.

The welts seemed worse. Near blistering. The redness stinging his skin. I tried not to look as I sat down. "You're definitely allergic to that stuff, huh?" I said once our greetings were over.

"Yeah. I still don't feel that bad, it just burns." He'd spent most of our conversation trying to stop the collar of his sweatshirt rubbing against his throat, talking causing the fabric to irritate it. "I don't care, if it makes me feel better in the long run."

"Are you feeling well enough to go for a walk with me?" I sank back into the chair, sure the answer would be a clear 'no'. We needed to test whether it was actually safe for him to come with me to my niece's recital, but I didn't want to stress him out by thinking about it. A walk about the hospital grounds seemed like a safe first step.

He nodded enthusiastically, already starting to haul himself out of bed. I caught his arm, easing him back to the edge of the mattress as he tried to stand too quickly and the blood rushed to his head.

"Slowly, yeah? I don't want you to faint. Have you had enough pain relief to be up for a while?" The last thing I wanted was for him to be stranded while we were away from the ward.

"I've had morphine, Gar, I'm fine." Still, he'd paled a little from moving abruptly, and I was glad I was holding him.

"You're not lightheaded?" I checked. I waited until the faint flush had returned to his cheeks before letting go, not trusting the shake of his head. The wind left his sails when he tried to tie his shoes; leaning forward instantly brought back the nausea, and he didn't dare to move as he struggled to regulate it. I watched his face as I bent onto one knee, looping his laces around themselves as I tried to gauge whether he would even make it out of the room. "Carlisle?"

"I'm okay," he whispered. He still didn't move. Eventually, the attack seemed to ease enough for him to slide to his feet in front of me. "Better now," he promised.

"Alright." I took his hand in mine as we headed for the door. The nurses looked concerned as I took him toward the exit. "Promise me you're not going to run?" I whispered, the squeaking of our shoes on the linoleum coming to a stop as we did.

"I won't," he mumbled, his gaze dropping to the ground. He tried to push around me, to get out of the conversation and out of the ward.

My hand slid up his arm, holding him there, essentially dragging him back. "I mean it, Carlisle. You're not going to bolt as soon as you're out of here?"

"Yes, I promise," he hissed. "Do you really think I can run anyway?"

"You know what I mean." I let go of his bicep to take his hand again. He allowed the contact, calming down once we were out of the confines of the unit, breathing a sigh of relief as we made our way toward the elevators.

We were quiet as we wandered the corridors. Carlisle hadn't spoken since we'd left the ward, squeezing the bar that ran the length of walls so tightly his knuckles were white. I'd thought he was feeling awkward with me until I stole a glance at him. "Are you about to be sick?" There wasn't anything I could hand him, any privacy I could offer, but that didn't change the hand over his mouth. I couldn't pick what had triggered him, though I wasn't sure that he even needed it by this point.

He'd stopped to lean against the rail as soon as he had my attention. Despite shaking his head and swallowing carefully, he still looked awfully queasy.

"Do you need to go back up?" I asked quietly, trying not to sound disappointed. I'd hoped we'd make it a little further than this.

"Just need a minute," he told me tightly. His hand dropped from his lips to his stomach, bunching around his shirt. Still, he seemed to be able to breathe through the feeling, well enough to push away from the wall once it had passed.

.

.

We only went to the cafeteria, just so that we could sit on the balcony and he could get some fresh air. He carefully sipped on the cold tea he'd ordered, relaxing slightly as he sucked in air that wasn't tainted with harsh antiseptics. "How'd it go with the school today?" he asked eventually.

I stretched my legs out in front of me, pleased for the sunshine that had peaked through the thick clouds that always seemed to plague us, warm despite the chill in the wind. "Alright, I guess. They said they'd investigate it. Heidi is going to murder me once she finds out."

"Psycho bitch," he grumbled into his cup. "Are you actually worried about her hurting you?"

I laughed before I meant to. "No; I'm almost a foot taller than her - what is she going to do to me?"

He rolled his eyes at my humour. "Just be careful, Gar. She's obviously got a screw loose, and she knows where we live."

"She's a teacher, Carlisle. I'm sure she was background checked before they let her loose on the children," I teased. I draped my arm around his shoulders, pulling him into my side and kissing his temple while he wouldn't be ratified.

"Still." His spine was stiff with my affection. Not wanting to argue, he took another uncomfortable mouthful of his drink, forcing a swallow of the too-sweet liquid.

"Do you want to try some of this?" I hadn't been able to touch my bagel yet, on account of the tightness in the pit of my stomach and the crowd around us. I started to unroll the paper bag, hoping to tempt him into a bite, but he was shaking his head and already trying to push it away before he'd caught sight of it.

"I-I don't think I can handle cafe food yet. Thanks."

"Oh, right. Sorry." We were awkward again. Despite his patience, Heidi's intrusion into our lives again had opened a rift between us. He wasn't quite so comfortable with me anymore - never outwardly hostile, but definitely luke-warm. It sucked. I'd thought things had been going well. Maybe he was just feeling better.

His voice pulled me out of my internal grumbling. "Did you, um, did you say anything to Alistair about what's been happening?" The question was careful, like he was trying very hard not to be accusatory, but was struggling.

I frowned. "No; I haven't spoken to him. Our last conversation wasn't particularly friendly, I'm sure you can imagine."

"Are you sure?"

I could see he didn't believe me, not trusting me enough to take what I was saying for truth. "I promise you, Carlisle."

"Someone told him. He was upset when he called me this morning."

"What does he have to be upset about? He was the one being a jerk."

"About being left out of the loop, I guess."

"Don't let him pick at you; this doesn't have to involve him, unless you want it to." I hesitated before dropping my hand onto his leg. We both ignored the tremor that ran through his body at the weight of my hand.

"It isn't that. I know he's difficult, but he's been my friend for a long time." Just from his tone, I could tell he knew I would disapprove.

"He's treated you pretty terribly for the last few months. He tried to trick you into being with him," I reminded him bitterly.

"You had an affair, and I'm still here," he snapped back. Apparently regretting his words, he lightly covered my fingers with his own, squeezing. "He also flew out here to stay with me."

I held my tongue. He was technically right. Even if Al had obvious ulterior motives. I left it, nudging him with my shoulder instead. "Are you sure I can't get you anything to eat?"

He sighed and nodded. "I don't want to push it. Try this?"

I leaned forward to take a sip from the straw just to humour him. Even having a sweet-tooth, the drink was too much. "That's so sweet I can feel it rotting my teeth," I complained to him. His soft laugh made me smile anyway, both of us giggling as he took another swallow.

"The sugar makes my nausea better," he admitted.

"Should I be trying to tempt you with baking, then?" It was only half a joke - I did genuinely want to know what he felt like he could swallow.

"I tried to eat a muffin yesterday, and it didn't go well."

"What does help, then?" I traced the lines of his fingers, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek when he started to look discouraged again. "We'll figure it out."

"Can we go outside? Like outside outside?" he asked suddenly.

"You want to go downstairs?" I frowned.

"Yeah. Please? It's a nice day."

"I'm not worried about the weather, Carlisle, I'm worried that you'll faint once I take you down there."

"I'm not dizzy. It's still on the hospital grounds?"

"Are you sure you're not going to take off?"

"Garrett, I quite literally can't run; I get out of breath trying to get dressed by myself and I'll throw up if I move too quickly. Where the hell are you so sure I'm going to go?" His attempt to complain at me had turned into a plea. "Please. I've been in here for a week and a half, and I'm going crazy."

"How's your hip feeling?" I stalled.

"It's fine."

I watched him for a second, the absolute desperation on his face pushing me to give in. "Would you like to walk around the gardens? I took Kate the other day, and it's pretty at the moment."

He nodded eagerly, already standing again, pulling at me to do the same. I didn't approve of his rushing; he was going to hurt himself before he got down there. Still, I let him take my hand, and we slowly started to make our way back to the elevators.

"I'll make you a deal," I told him as we waited to reach the right floor. My thumb brushed over his knuckles, and he hadn't pulled his hand from mine despite our confined space.

"What'd you mean?" He sounded exhausted suddenly, tired of my games.

"I'll take you outside, but you have to finish that drink before we come back in." I kissed his shoulder, silently willing him not to be upset with me.

He just laughed. "Okay."

"Okay? Just like that?" I teased. I had to hide my grin, pleased that the tension between us had dissolved again. He was leaning against me again, the tightness in his shoulders dropping.

He bit back his own smile. "I'd eat a three course meal if it meant I could get out for a little while."

.

.

Despite the sun and pretty scenery, our trip was over rather soon. He wouldn't admit it, but he quickly exhausted himself as we meandered up and down the paths. I slipped my arm around his waist, matching my step to his while he tried to pretend that he hadn't gone horribly pale and shaky. Just like he promised, he finished the tea, using throwing away the cup as an excuse to stabilise himself on the trash can for a few seconds.

"You alright?" I asked lowly. My hands met his hips, drawing him in as he turned toward me.

"We can keep going," he mumbled to the fabric of my jacket. "I'm alright."

I coiled my arms around him. He let the hug continue for a minute or so as he tried to get his bearings back, and I slowly stroked his shoulder as I guessed at what was wrong. I wasn't so stupid as to not be able to figure it out. "Let's go and sit in the car for a while," I murmured lowly.

"Thank you." He kissed me suddenly, cautiously, hugging me a little more tightly.

"It's alright, Carlisle. Tell me when you're ready to go back up." I kept him against my side as we made the short journey through the carpark. There was no way in hell that I was taking him off the hospital grounds, but couldn't see a problem with just sitting there for a while if it made him feel better.

I turned the key in the ignition once we were inside to get the radio going, my free hand wandering to Carlisle's again. I pulled his wrist into my lap, tracing circles against his palm. He just leaned his head against the window, his eyes squeezed shut. "Nauseous?" I guessed.

He nodded. "Little bit." Another forced swallow. "I don't want to go back."

I floundered for a moment, not knowing how to help him. "Do you want a peppermint?" I offered uselessly. Once he'd cautiously nodded, I dug through the center console to find the packet, pressing a couple into his hand. "I've got water if…" I trailed off, squeezing his fingers as the silence returned between us. I watched his face as he squirmed, willing the sweet to relieve some of his discomfort.

He was watching the wind bend the hedges in front of us as I studied his face. "I think you've got a parking ticket," he murmured after a pause.

"I haven't even been here half an hour," I frowned. I followed his line of sight to the ticket of paper under my wiper blade. It was flapping madly in the breeze, threatening to take off. Rolling the automatic window, I reached around to grab hold of the white scrap. It was just an address scrawled in loopy handwriting. I handed it over when Carlisle asked for it, but I couldn't pick what it related to, in the process of typing it into my phone when I noted his silent concern. "You know where that is?"

"It's my office building."

I froze as we looked at each other. "She doesn't know what you do for a living."

"Are you sure it's Heidi?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Caius." Just the name made him hyperventilate a little, biting down on one of the peppermints hard enough to cause an audible crunch.

"Is that his handwriting?" I stupidly realised that I hadn't paid enough attention to Heidi's font to be able to pick it.

Carlisle relaxed a little as he shook his head. "I don't think so." He still threw a nervous glance around the parking lot, searching for his face amongst the cars. "I want to go back inside," he told me in a whisper.

I nodded. It felt like we were sitting in a fishbowl - whoever left the note could have been anywhere, and we wouldn't have known. Worse was that my boyfriend shared my paranoia. I threw myself out of the car in a rush, slamming my door and hurrying around to rip open Carlisle's. My frenzy had frozen his movement. "Carlisle," I hissed at him. "Now. Let's go now."

The plea was enough to jumpstart him. He let me drag him back toward the building, begging me to slow down the entire way. "Garrett, stop," he got out as we burst through the self-opening doors. "I can't breathe."

"Sorry." Guilt picked at me as he braced himself against his knees, panting to get air into his lungs as he presumably got light-headed. I had just finished telling him how sure I was that she wasn't actually a threat. "Are you alright?"

"Give me a minute," he choked out.

"I'm really sorry."

He glanced up enough to smile, trying to reassure me. It subsided after a few minutes, and he took my hand again, starting to lead me back toward the ward, shushing my apologies. "Will you stay for a while? Or we could ask security to watch you walk to your car?" he suggested. His face was pink from the exertion, still slightly breathless.

"I'm not scared of her," I repeated. It felt like I was trying to convince myself of it at this point. Especially after I'd quite literally fled from her. I was still anxious as we waited for the lifts.

"We don't know for sure that it's her, Garrett."

"I doubt it's anyone else. How's your stomach?" Still guilty, I caught his waist, leaning over to kiss his temple once the elevator started to move back up.

"Better. The peppermints helped." He tiredly pressed his cheek against my shoulder, groaning a little once the doors had opened and he was forced to move again too soon. "I really don't want to be here."

"I know, baby. Do you still think you're going to be up to coming to Kate's recital with me?" As cute as seeing my niece dressed up as a ladybug would be, I'd jump at the chance to bail. He had survived my makeshift test, for all intents and purposes, and I'd lost my chance to force him to stay behind.

"As long as I don't have to stand the whole time, then yeah."

.

.

The day was a disaster from the start. Despite feeling terrible, Carlisle defensively refused to let me go alone - it was very obvious he wasn't over Heidi. We had to fight to get him leave from the ward, and it didn't help that he was particularly nervous about the whole thing. Leaving the hospital grounds didn't bring him the relief I'd hoped it might.

I wasn't much better. I didn't want to see her either, and I already knew my family were going to needle my boyfriend over what was happening to him. The change of clothes I'd brought him from home, a little more formal than what we usually wore, didn't fit him properly anymore, and I watched him fight off a panic attack as he got dressed. His self-conscious fidgeting only intensified the closer we got to the school.

The doctor who released us hadn't helped his nerves. He was free for the day, but still wasn't allowed out of my sight. I had to get my head around the medications he'd need over the next few hours, and had to record anything he ate for the nurse's charts. The scrutiny wasn't making him any happier. I was tired by the time we finally left the hospital.

"Here." I passed him the bag of supplies I'd bought as we got into the car. I watched his initial confusion turn to stifled embarrassment in the rearview mirror; it was only lemonade and a random selection of sweets I hoped he might be able to tolerate - my sad attempt to settle his stomach when he inevitably felt sick. "For your tummy, if you're having a hard time while we're out." I'd also stolen a couple of disposable vomit-bags from the ward before we left, stashing one in the car and rolling the other in my back pocket, but didn't plan on telling him that unless he needed it.

He mumbled a thankyou, hands closing around the thin plastic.

"Are you sure you're okay? We could just go for a drive instead."

"I'm nervous," he said tightly.

"You're not feeling well today though." I reached over to rub his thigh. I shouldn't be dragging him into any of this really; it would be difficult even if he was well.

"I had another dose of the treatment last night. It's just the allergy again."

"It didn't make you pale like this last time."

"I'm really nervous, Gar."

I sighed. "Me too. Let's get this over with."

.

.

I'd chewed my brother out the night before over the phone. Now, he wouldn't even look at Carlisle, and I wasn't sure if it was better or worse. He was technically doing what I'd asked; he was leaving him alone. His eldest daughter, rushing around us in a ladybird costume, was a good distraction too. Kate tugged at the front of my coat, throwing her arms above her head until I lifted her, leaning over to pester my partner as he tried to inconspicuously stand next to me.

My parents still tried to joke with him, mom hugging both of us as we arrived at the school, Irina cradled in her arm. He'd squirmed a little, checking again that his sleeves covered the ID band around his wrist and the cannula in his hand, shaky from our walk through the carpark. That same red marking had started under his sleeves again, stinging at his throat, and standing in line in the wind was quickly becoming taxing for all of us.

My head was on a swivel as I scanned the parking lot. I couldn't see her. That didn't help my nerves. "Nothing is going to happen in front of all these people," Carlisle whispered.

"She's not here anyway," I whispered back. My free hand trailed down his spine, rubbing against his jacket. It was a blessing the two of them had never met. I wondered if I could pretend that she didn't exist if she did choose to rear her head - he'd be none the wiser unless she had the gall to confront me in front of my family.

"Nothing to worry about then." Nothing, except he had gone so horrendously pale that I thought he would faint. My arm curled protectively around his waist.

"Feeling okay?" I checked quickly.

"Not great," he admitted. "I'm alright, though."

The line we were in had started to shuffle forward impatiently, the chill in the air driving people toward the closed hall doors. Carmen took Kate from me, setting her on the ground to guide her around to the back entrance where her class was gathered. Other children were starting to do the same, the grumbles from the crowd only growing.

I did another check.

Still no Heidi.

"How have you been, love?" My mother was closer now, her hand resting on Carlisle's bicep.

His eyes were wide, darting to mine, trying to gauge what lie I'd fed them about the state of him. "Uh, fine," he stammered unconvincingly. He'd frozen under her touch, looking between me and my parents.

My palm was still against his back, bunching in his clothing, a useless attempt at comfort. I didn't want to say anything, not wanting to throw him under the bus if he didn't want them to know. Mom didn't push him any further anyway.

"It's nice to have a family outing like this; I'm glad you could make it, Carlisle. It's been so long since we were all together," she commented. Eleazar scoffed. I glared at the back of his head until he turned to face me. My boyfriend watched his shoes scuff the concrete.

I couldn't help but rub salt in my brother's wounds. "Kate was happy to see you. She's asked whether you'd come every time I've seen her." The urge to be overly affectionate, to have my hands on him in a way that wasn't school appropriate, grew with Eleazar's scowl, but Carlisle didn't need to suffer it for my selfishness. Just my words earned me a soft elbow in the ribs.

"Have you two made any wedding plans yet?" Mom continued obliviously.

I tucked my hand into my pocket as Carlisle stuttered for an excuse, my thumb rubbing across where my ring should have been. He was getting worse the longer I was silent, eventually settling for shaking his head with a hard blush. "We've had a lot on our plate," I mumbled.

"Oh, please. Indoors or outdoors? Summer? Fall? You two haven't thought about this at all?" Teasing, she was giggling to herself, taking our discomfort for something else as she clasped her hand over his shoulder. She was far too touchy with him this afternoon.

"No. We've been busy, mom, come on," I tried to joke. Anything but having to explain to her that we were barely dating again.

"You're no fun, Garrett," she complained. She let me think for an entire minute that we'd come out unscathed before asking; "Garrett Cullen?"

"No," Carlisle abruptly replied before I could open my mouth. His outburst had made both my parents frown at him, my brother's attention returning to him as well. Mom drew her hand back from him, watching my face as I avoided her gaze. "I was going to- I, uh, I'd take his name. Your name." It had been a while since he'd been so incompetent around my family. It was too nerve wracking to be entertaining.

Dad was pleased, pretending not to be but failing to hide his grin. "We need to go out and celebrate - we can't let your engagement fly under the radar like this; you've gotten away with it for far too long. And it's your birthday soon, Garrett. Let's go out for a drink one evening."

"Can't we just get through this afternoon first?" Eleazar grumbled.

For once, I agreed with my brother's sentiment.

.

.