I pushed open the door to Beth's room and peeked in. The TV was on. Beth turned her head to the door. For a moment her face transformed. She smiled like I was the light of her life. I smiled back and moved into the room, Jeremy right behind me. My footsteps stalled as her face took on a look of sadness.

"You shouldn't be here. You'll get hurt, too." She said, she seemed to have not noticed Jeremy. "Alex, you need to..." Her voice trailed off as she finally noticed Jeremy.

"Hello." She said uncertainly.

We moved to stand by her bed. Her face pinched she inspected him from head to toe.

"Beth, this is Jeremy, my uncle." I waved my hand at him. "Jeremy, this is Beth." I motioned to Beth.

"Um... Nice to meet you." She told him and threw me a harassed look.

I lifted the paper bag and sat it on the end of the bed. I smiled, pleased.

"I got something that may help you pass the time till they release you." I told her ignoring Jeremy. I knew he wouldn't show his displeasure with me in front of her. I removed the laptop and it's charger. I laid it by her feet, removed the blank disk and other things from the bag. I had to ignore her protest as well. She even told me to return them. "I'm sorry Beth, I can't take them back. They've been opened." I said at last using Jeremy's excuse. I pocketed the cell phone and charger, put everything else in the bag and placed it in her lap.

For a moment I thought she was going to throw something at me.

"I'm not keeping them." I said sternly indicating the bag. I fully intended for her to keep them.

Tears flooded her eyes. At first I thought it was sadness. But she lifted a hand to the back of her neck. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

"Beth?" I couldn't have disguised the concern in my voice even if I had thought to try.

"I'm fine." She whispered. Clearly, she wasn't. She pressed a button on a small device taped to the raised rail of the bed. I heard the IV give a barely discernable click.

It was almost a full minute later before the look of pain faded and she relaxed back on the bed.

"Morphine, it sometimes takes it a minute or two." She informed us softly.

Both Jeremy and I wore similar looks of concern.

"I'm fine. Really." She assured us. Then she frowned. "I'm actually sleepy. I think I'll take a nap. It's amazing that I've done nothing but still feel this tired."

I knew that was her way of asking us to leave without having to ask. I also believe that it was true. I nodded.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Beth." Jeremy said in his proper way that somehow didn't feel out of place. "I look forward to seeing you again. I'm sure."

"I- it was nice meeting you, too," She said but she didn't sound sure.

Jeremy reached out a hand and she lifted hers and took it. I was shocked when he spoke.

"Do not continue to push Alexis away unless you truly want her out of your life. Alexis is strong enough to help you through this." He said softly. I heard the command in his voice and knew he had used his gift. I seethed with anger even though it was me he was defending. He gently released her hand and smiled.

She nodded up at him, looking a little bemused. She placed her hand on the back of the other one over the IV.

"We, Alexis and I, shall visit you after lunch. We have a business meeting with your sister." He took a step back from the bed. "Real estate is a passion of mine." He told her in a offhand way. "If you need Alexis you'll find my number in the contacts on the laptop."

"I'm sorry." I apologized to Beth. I felt responsible for the command. He had worded it in a way that gave her a choice but it was still a comand. She would be unable to ignore it completely.  I ducked out of the room. I was halfway down the hall when Jeremy moved up beside me.

"You had no right to command her." My voice was whiny but I didn't care. I believed he had overstepped his bounds.

"Alexis, I simply stopped the drama before it could fully start." He reached out a hand and grabbed my elbow. I stopped in front of the open waiting room. "It would use alot of energy for her to keep pushing you away. This is best, Alexis."

I didn't want to admit that he was right. Every ounce of energy she spent trying to shove me back was energy she needed to fight her illness. That didn't mean I liked his methods.

I shook off his hand and continued toward the elevators. Neither of us spoke as we waited for the next elevator to open.

It's shinny chrome doors slid open to reveal its mirrored interior. There were only two people inside.

A male human dressed in black slacks, loafers, and a white doctors coat. He had a stethoscope drapped over the back of his neck and shoulders.

The other was a small female werecat. Her blond hair hung past her hips in shinny waves. She looked so young but I had learned that in the paranormal world looks could be deceiving. She took a step back from the door to allow  them to enter. The doors slide shut.

The doctor exited the elevator on the next floor leaving the paranormals alone.

"Don't usually see your kind here." The werecat said. She didn't speek disrespectfully just mater of factly. My estimate of her age increased.

"I thought vampires were immune to illness." She said in a conversational tone.

"Not all. But in this case we're visiting a human, visiting a friend." I said.