The smell from the hall was what woke Mikaela up. A smell of cleaning product mixed with alcohol and ether that she was already used to. Ever since her father's lung cancer reached alarming proportions, she and her mother had spent more time in a hospital than at home.

" Where are we?" Thomas asked. The boy stood beside her and helped her to her feet.

"I don't know, some kind of hospital? Where's Daniel?" Looking around, all Mikaela could see was that she and Thomas seemed to be the only people in the long hallway full of doors.

All around, beds could be seen with no patients in them. Everything looked very clean, and the room was well lit by a series of fluorescent lamps.

"I hope he's not in trouble. What do we need to do now? Enter any of these rooms?"

Thomas approached a random door and read what was written on the sign. It was only at that moment that Mikaela understood where they were. That wasn't just any hospital, it was the place where her father was hospitalized. The Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital is one of the nation's most highly regarded places for cancer care.

" Mika, I think the name written on this plaque is your..."

She just couldn't process what Thomas was saying to her anymore, and before she knew it she was running the farthest away from him. Mikaela ran and ran, but somehow the corridor never ended. There was no way out, no elevator, no stairs, nothing!

Nothing but patient rooms, where on all the signs she could read the same information: Jacob Dawson.

What kind of sick joke is this?

Hurried footsteps behind her told her that Thomas was nearby. Now and then he would yell her name, but she ignored him and continued to look for a way out of that accursed corridor. She needed to go away.

Then, materializing out of thin air, the silhouette of a man loomed in front of her. It was a figure made completely of shadows that had the contours of a male form, its eyes were completely red, and its mouth smiled in such a strange and menacing way that it made her stop running immediately.

Two things happened next. First, the shadowy figure materialized a small, baseball-sized ball in his right hand and hurled it at her. Second, Mikaela realized that she was without her bat and that she couldn't move.

"Careful!" Thomas pulled her by the shoulder and stepped forward with his golden shield ready to protect them.

The sound of the ball hitting the golden metal made Mikaela imagine that it must be the same sound a wrecking ball would make when hitting a wall. The impact threw Thomas on top of her, and they were pushed down the hall until they landed on top of each other.

" Are you okay? " The blonde asked with a pained expression on his face.

Mikaela realized that she was lying on top of him and got to her feet, helping him up as well. Together, they looked toward the man in the shadows who was laughing like a maniac, throwing a new ball into the air and catching it with the skill of a professional baseball player.

" What do I always tell you, Mika? Eye on the ball!"

Father???

This time her muscles obeyed and Mikaela ducked, pulling Thomas back just in time to avoid the ball hitting one of them in the head. Something in the hallway exploded, and she didn't have time to look back, as the pitcher was already preparing for another attack.

"Are you really going to keep hiding from me, girl? That's not how I raised you. Why don't you face me?"

" SHUT UP! " Mikaela clenched her fists and considered running into the shadow and kicking him in the balls. With her super speed, this shouldn't be difficult. Unfortunately, when she concentrated on her magic, nothing happened.

Excellent! No weapon and no powers! Is this for real?

Thomas took the lead, his shield flashed with a very bright intensity, and he slammed his weapon down on the ground.

"GET LOST!"

A blast of golden energy swept through the hallway and Mikaela just didn't end up being thrown away because she was right behind the basketball player. Her enemy was not so lucky and when the energy of Thomas's attack hit him, he broke into several pieces as if he were a balloon exploding after meeting a needle.

Silence took over and, apart from the crater made in the floor where Thomas had hit his shield and some cracks in the walls caused by the shadow balls, the hospital corridor was once again very calm and eerie.

"So," Thomas looked at her over his shoulder. "Was that really your father?"

"That's what it looks like." Mikaela sat down on one of the beds and covered her face with her hands. " Or some kind of dark version of him that came out of my worst nightmares."

Thomas sat beside her, and Mikaela was surprised when she felt his right arm wrap around her in a hug.

" It's going to be okay. Whatever this stupid test is asking of you, I know you can handle it. I'll help you however I can."

Mikaela knew at that moment that she wouldn't have the courage to look at Thomas. Her tears wet her hands and she was one hundred percent sure she was going to break down in front of the boy. She didn't like the idea of allowing him to see her so shaken up, so she just asked the first thing that popped into her head.

"Why can you have your magic shield while I'm left unarmed and helpless?"

" I don't know, Mika" The basketball player shrugged. "I didn't make the rules."

Silence fell over the two of them again. Mikaela took a few deep breaths and counted slowly to ten. Only after that did she manage to lower her hands and look to the side. Thomas wasn't looking at her, he seemed far more concerned with looking in any direction but at her.

He doesn't want to make me feel uncomfortable. How cute...

She wondered why her test needed to be in that hospital, but she knew the answer to that question very well.

"I haven't visited yet," she said in an almost whisper. She crossed her legs and fiddled with her feet, just because she couldn't sit still.

The blonde didn't say anything, and she wondered if he'd heard her. She opened her mouth to explain further, but he cut her off.

"Hospitals scare me to this day. They remind me of what I lost and the pain I caused my brother. I don't like even looking at one and just being here..."

She noticed how Thomas trembled as he told her those things. He looked up at the ceiling, but his eyes looked lost as his mind wandered through a memory that must have been very painful.

"Why do you say you caused your brother enormous pain? You can't truly believe that your parents' accident was your fault." Mikaela looked into Thomas's blue eyes and realized that he really did blame himself.

" I don't want to talk about my parents' accident. I just want you to know that I understand your fear. " He spoke again and faced her. "When my parents were taken to the hospital they were still alive, but no one expected them to survive. My uncle picked me up from school that day and when we got to Cleston general hospital I... I couldn't even get out of the car. I think I know what it feels like to have to look at one of those doors, and I don't judge you for being terrified."

It was Mikaela's turn to hug the boy. There was nothing she could say at that moment to help him get over the pain he was carrying in his soul. She couldn't even imagine what he felt. Her father was in bad shape, but he was still alive. In the real world, behind a door like the ones she saw in that hallway, he must have been suffering and wondering where his daughter was. Wondering why she hadn't visited him yet.

Mikaela was angry that he and her mother hid from her how much his cancer had progressed. She still had hope that the medications and treatments were helping, but apparently things weren't going so well for Jacob Dawson. And they knew about it from the beginning of the year and decided not to tell her. She felt so betrayed that she decided to quit the baseball team in the middle of the competition, just because she wanted her dad to wonder what had happened. She didn't explain anything to anyone, just so someone else besides her would know what it's like to be left out.

Baseball was her and Jacob's thing. It was the foundation of the father-daughter relationship and what made them more than just that. It made them friends and confidants. But if he didn't care to tell her the truth about his health, why should she care to keep playing?

Now, listening to Thomas's story, she realized how stupid it all sounded. She knew the chances of losing her father were very high, but life was giving her a chance to say goodbye. Thomas clearly regretted not taking advantage of his opportunity and yet, even with the memories that the hospital corridor must be awakening in him, there he was consoling her and helping her through that test.

Suddenly, all the lights in the hallway went out and darkness took over. Mikaela heard the laughter of the evil shadow version of her father and jumped to her feet. Thomas also got up and stood very close to her, with his shield glowing and providing some light. Although the two were alert, neither of them reacted quickly enough when the first ball was released. Thomas screamed, and his shield clattered to the ground. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to bear the pain as he gripped his right shoulder with his left hand.

" Leave us alone! " Mikaela bent down and picked up the shield.

She barely had time to get the magic weapon right, a second ball hit her hard, sending waves of pain through her arms. Thankfully, the metal absorbed most of the impact, but she lost her balance and landed beside Thomas. Once again, the shield hit the ground, rolling away and leaving them in the dark.

" It's time to face me, Mika " The shadow teased her. "Your friend will no longer be able to protect you from me."

How do they expect me to fight this thing without my powers and bat?

Even wounded and without his shield, Thomas got up and stood in front of her.

" Maybe if I distract him, you can take my shield and hit him from behind. " He said, keeping his voice low enough for only her to hear him.

Mikaela thought about their chances of defeating the shadow man without the shield. They didn't look very good, he probably wasn't going to give her the chance to run until she recovered the only weapon they had.

Why hasn't he attacked us yet? Why are you just teasing me?

Then it hit her, she finally got it. The elves didn't expect her to face the twisted version of her father. They wanted her to face the fear that the hospital door represented.

"So you want me to face you? Great!" She approached one of the doors in the hall and when she heard the sound of another ball being thrown, she ducked and let it hit the door in front of her.

The ball opened the entrance to the room, and she ran as fast as she could until she was facing the only bed in there. Lying there was Jacob Dawson, her father. Mikaela shuddered to see how much the cancer had weakened him. There were still some traces of his athletic build, but they were fading fast as the disease won the battle.

Jacob was sleeping and through the window Mikaela saw the snowstorm that covered the city of New York. Lauriel's magic had put the world at her mercy, and her father was helpless and alone in that room.

All the lights came back on the moment she walked through the door, and Mikaela didn't know what to say to her father. She sat on the bed and took his hand on hers.

"I don't know how long it's going to take, Dad. But I promise you that I'm going to beat this crazy winter sorceress, and I'm going to come back here, so we can catch up."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but for the first time in a long time, they weren't tears of sadness.

"Focus on the ball, eye on the game, Mr. Dawson. You fight in your dreams and I fight outside, okay?"

Jacob didn't respond, but a smile formed on his lips, and Mikaela knew he had heard her.

Outside, Thomas appeared with his golden shield and leaned against the door frame. From the look on his face, he was still in pain, but he looked much better. Mikaela hugged and kissed her father on the forehead. She didn't know how she could be so sure, but something told her that her test was complete and that she and Thomas needed to head down the hall, towards the next challenge.

" Everything will be fine, dad. I promise you that."

Mikaela smiled and then left the room. A little awkwardly, Thomas waved goodbye to her father and hurried down the hall with her.

"I think that's our ticket to the next test." Mikaela pointed to an elevator parked at the end of the hall with its doors open.

" Will we find Daniel? " Thomas asked.

The doors closed without any of them even pressing any button on the panel, and the elevator started to descend.

" I have no idea, but I hope so. Whatever his test is, it doesn't seem fair that he has to face this alone."

Thomas didn't say anything, just placed his shield on the ground and smiled.

" I bet he's better than you and me. The guy can set things on fire, I pity anyone who gets in his way because..."

He fell silent when Mikaela walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you." She said and took a step to the side, staring at the elevator door.

" For what? " The boy managed to ask after a few seconds.

" For being a good friend and protecting me back there. I couldn't have done it without your help."

Silence again.

Thomas's face was red like a tomato, but Mikaela managed not to laugh about it.

"So... Are we friends now?" he asked, smiling.

Mikaela laughed and punched him in the shoulder.

" After all the crazy things we've been through together? I'd say we're getting there"

A chapter full of action and emotions!

What do you thin about the relationship of Thomas and Mikaela? Are they great together or what? :)

See you next week!