End

"Mom, aren't we gonna go see Thomas?" she asked. Nicole glanced at the clock, alarmed.

"Oh yeah, right, I almost forgot!!" She jumped out of her chair grabbed her jacket.

"Thomas?" Davy asked. "Where's Thomas?"

"He's in the hospital," Joanne informed them. Nicole grabbed her purse and checked her pockets to make sure she had her car keys.

"The hospital? Why?"

"Long story. Not time to explain," Nicole replied, turning to leave.

"I'm coming with you," Davy decided, following her out the door and into the car. On the way there, Nicole and Joanne explained to him as best they could about what had happened to Thomas.

"He's very weak," Nicole explained to him as they stood in the door way of the hospital room.

'Not just weak, Mom, in pain, too. Too much pain.'

Davy stepped into the room and sat next to the bed. "How long 'as 'e been like this?" he asked, fear in his voice.

'Uncle Davy?'

"Three days, maybe four. He's getting progressively worse," she replied.

'That's for sure.'

"The doctors don't know what caused this?" Davy asked.

'Doctors don't know diddly squat.'

"They haven't got a clue," Nicole replied with a shake of her head.

"Do you mind if I stay with him for a while?" Davy asked, glancing down at Thomas and then at Nicole.

'Please do.'

"No, go ahead. I'll be back a little later," Nicole told him. "Bye, Thomas," she called as she left.

Davy looked over at the boy. He pale and skinny. Thomas had always been a skinny child, but he looked even skinnier than usual now. His eyes were shut, making his face look almost dead. An IV was attached to his right arm, and next to him a silent heart monitor - just in case.

"How do you feel?" Davy asked, unsure of what to do.

'Weak. Pain. Too much pain. Not enough strength to even send thoughts.'

'Enought to receive them?' Davy sent. He smiled slightly as Thomas' eyes flew wide open.

'You heard me?' the silent thought asked.

"Yep," Davy answered aloud. Suddenly, he jumped. "Thomas, your eyes!" he gasped.

Thomas blinked involuntarily. 'My eyes?' he asked. 'What about them?'

"They're, well," Davy searched for the right words. "They're blue!"

'Blue? How could they be blue?'

"I don't know, but they are. Bright blue, almost like they're glowing!" Davy replied in a hurried voice. "They were never blue before."

'I wonder what's going on?' Thomas wondered, half to himself.

"I think we might find out eventually," Davy replied.

Things were getting worse by the second, Mike realized. Morning came and Peter looked even worse. He was getting scared.

When Peter had told Mike the night before that he was getting sick, Mike tried not to worry. But logically, he knew that any illness in the freezing winter woods would not be good. Peter was looking paler by the moment, and Mike let him sleep.

Originally they planned to keep shifts and try to keep th fire going, but Mike abandoned that idea. Instead he let Peter sleep and resorted to taking a few short cat naps throughout the night. Now, however, there was another problem.

Aside from Peter's illness, they also had no food, the fire was dying out, and they were nearly out of wood.

"A little help would be nice," Mike said to no one in particular as he prepared to leave the cave.

'Help?' A thought whispered in his head.

"Yeah, help," he replied.

'Help?'

"Yeah, I said help. Don'tcha know English?" Mike replied. "Wait a second. Who am I talking to?"

'Me.'

"Gee, now that's real helpful," he muttered sarcastically.

'Do you still love me?' the voice asked.

"What?"

'Don't you remeber?'

"Remember?" Mike asked. Images flashed through his head. A cold night. A blizzard. A fire in a cabin. Warm body.

'Remember?'

The soft glow of candles. Soft, soothing touches. Kisses in the right spots. Love.

"Fiona?"

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