I sneezed as I walked into work on Monday. I had woken up that morning with a slight cold. My throat was tender, my nose running, and my eyes watery. I didn't have a fever when I left home, but I was a bit warm. I didn't feel the best, but I didn't want to call in sick at work. I hadn't been working that long after all and didn't want to be out right before Christmas break.

"Gesundheit," said Asa, who was walking in behind me with Viveca. I glanced back at him with a weak smile. "Are you all right?" he asked, striding faster to catch up with me.

"I've got a little cold," I admitted, rubbing my raw nose with the back of my hand.

"And you came into work?" said Viveca, countenance suddenly switching to worried. "Why aren't you at home?"

I shrugged, then nodded in greeting to Addison, who waved back. "It's not that bad. I don't have a fever."

"Fever? Who's got a fever?" Xiyang fell into step with us, approaching from another side of the building.

"No one," I said, pressing the button to summon the elevator.

"Alessandria is sick," Asa told him, peering at my face. "You look a little pale. Did you take any medicine?"

I rubbed my forehead. "We didn't have any at home."

"What kind of humans don't have medical kits at home?" Viveca said, seeming almost upset. "You should always have proper medication. You are too delicate not to."

"Maybe you should take the day off to heal," suggested Xiyang, his brows drawing together.

"I think that would be wise," said Asa.

I glanced at my friends who were looking at me with more concern than my own mother had when I told her I was sick. "What is up with you three? It's just a little cold. I can handle a day at work with a sniffly nose."

"It's just..." Asa glanced at the other two. "Humans are prone to illness... and illness can lead to death. You weren't around for some of the plagues like we were. It always began with something small, but the humans would almost always catch something more."

I chuckled a little. "Guys, we're not in the eighteen hundreds anymore. Sometimes a cold is just a cold. I'm going to be fine, but thank you for your concern." I was the first into the elevator when it opened, so I leaned against the back corner.

None of them looked reassured, but Xiyang changed the conversation. "I heard you and the boss are finally dating."

I'll bet he's been waiting to ask about that. Asa and Viveca glanced at me as well. Viveca was a little smug since she already knew everything, but Asa looked curious. "Yeah, we've been out twice now, once to a club, and once to his house for coffee. I'm hoping he's going to ask me out again this weekend." I was the first into the elevator, so I leaned against the back corner.

Smiles bloomed on everyone's faces. "Good for you two," said Asa. "A lot of us have been waiting to see if you two would ever go out."

"All of you are entirely too interested in our lives," I laughed, then sniffed, reminding myself, and I'm sure my friends, of my mild illness.

The elevator dropped my friends at their respective floors, then carried me to Damon's office. "Andi!" Damon sang as soon as I walked in. "I have something for you." He was beaming as he held out a plate with a cinnamon roll on it in one hand and coffee cup in the other.

Tears gathered in my eyes right before I sneezed into my elbow. I cleared my throat afterward, blinking away the water in my eyes. "Sorry." I put my stuff by Milly's desk, not moving to take the things from Damon. "I'm a touch sick, so I'll keep my distance." Can vampires get sick? I've never really thought about it before. Do they have immune systems? I mean, they have all of their organs and stuff.

Damon stepped over to the desk. "You're sick? What are you doing here then?" His voice was lined with concern. "You should be at home with a doctor or resting."

I shook my head. "It's really not that bad. I'll be home a lot during Christmas break, I didn't want to miss anything at work until then."

He came closer and put a hand on my forehead. His skin was deliciously cool, but it could have been I was incredibly hot between my sickness and Damon's proximity. "No fever—yet," he muttered. "Sore throat?"

"A little."

"Headaches?"

"No."

"Trouble breathing?"

"I can't breathe through one nostril, so yes."

"Did you take any medication?"

"I was going to, but we didn't have any at home and I didn't want to be late."

He took a slight step back, dark eyes filled with worry. "You should go home, Andi. You need to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine, really," I said. "It's just a cold."

"Andi," he said, not quite sharp, but a lot more firm. "Go home." He fished his phone out of his pocket and began searching for a number. "I'm going to send a doctor over to you."

I was surprised by his sudden rigidness. Damon was always very gentle, and I was not sure if I had ever heard him sound so firm on a matter, not even in work-related issues.

He must have noticed my confusion because his eyes softened. He lowered the phone, leaning forward to give me a light kiss on the forehead. "Come on, angel. I'll walk you to your car." He picked up my satchel to drape it over his shoulder, put an arm around my own shoulder, and began walking me back to the elevator.

I glanced back at Milly, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Get better soon, Alessandria."

Once the elevator doors closed, Damon offered the drink to me again. "Coffee? It should still be warm, I picked it up from a bakery on my way here." I took it, gratefully allowing the warm liquid to sooth my throat. "I didn't mean to snap at you," he said regretfully. "I just let my worry take over."

"I'm really okay," I said, acutely aware of his arm still around me. "I don't need a doctor or anything."

"Better safe than sorry," he said lightly, but when I glanced over at him, he was staring painfully at the wall as if remembering something.

I nudged him a tiny bit with my shoulder. "Are you alright?" My eyes began to water again. Oh dear.

He looked at me, trying to smile. "Of course. I just want to make sure you're taken care of." My heart swelled a little, touched by his concern, but it was covered by the rapid succession of three sneezes. "Oh dear," he said, fishing a handkerchief out of his suit. "That doesn't sound good." He gently wiped the watery tears from my eyes and cheeks, then gave the hanky to me to rub my nose on.

I hope this is clean. If you don't use a hanky, do you leave it in your suit until you do use it or do you switch it out every day anyway just in case? Damon doesn't seem the type to carry around a dirty tissue and give it to someone else.

The elevator doors opened. Damon put a hand on my lower back and directed me towards the doors. "I'll be right back," he said to Addison at the front desk.

I cringed as the doors opened and cold air body-slammed into me. Wind tears immediately took over my sight, so I was grateful for Damon's arm, which wrapped around my waist to guide me to my car through the snow. I felt bad for him, he hadn't grabbed any additional coat beyond his suit, so I couldn't imagine how cold he was.

Then again, do vampires feel the cold? They already are cold... But they have blood in them. Does that keep them warm? Does it depend on how much blood they have? I really should do my research on vampires. I unlocked my car as we drew near. The cold bit into my face, but Damon's body blocked out the wind from one side at least.

"Now, you go home, get into something warm, and relax," said Damon, opening the door for me. "I'm sending a doctor to visit you as soon as possible. I'll be sure he brings medicine for you. Stay inside." He looked at me sternly for the last part as I slipped into my car.

"All right," I said, helpless to do anything else.

He smiled, then leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Get better soon, angel. I'll call you later." He closed the door, waved, and stomped back through the light layer of snow towards the building.

The ride home felt longer than ever before. I kept having to search for napkins in my glovebox at red lights so I could blow my nose, not that it helped any. I expected to be relieved when I got home, but instead I was confused. There was a dark blue car in my driveway. It reminded me of Delilah's.

Could it be her? No reason it should be, it's not a holiday or a birthday. Who else would be here though? Maybe one of Mom's friends? I pulled into the drive and was waiting on the garage door to open wide enough when Delilah and Mom stepped out of the house, arm-in-arm. What in the world? What is Del doing here? She never comes for just a visit. I threw my car in park and jumped out.

Delilah stopped cold, staring at me. "A-Andi," she said, trying to regain her composure. "What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be working with your vampire boss?"

It certainly didn't take long to recover her snootiness. "I'm sick. Damon sent me home. What are you and Mom doing?"

She took a step away from me, lip curling a little. "Keep away from me then."

"We're going to visit Blue Creek." Mom was the one to answer my question. "Del talked me into just a quick visit. We'll be back in a little while."

I raised my eyebrows, glancing at me sister who looked more than a little smug. How dare she. "Delilah!" My voice came out like a whip crack. "We are not sending Mom to a retirement home. I'm taking care of her. She doesn't need to go anywhere." Why doesn't she understand that?

"Come on, Andi." She rolled her eyes. "You know as well as I do that most people Mom's age are in retirement homes. She needs proper care, and you can't give that to her since you're always working. I think she'll like Blue Creek as compared to your pitiful home." She wrinkled her nose at my house.

Oh yes because her country home is so much better than mine. "I work because I have to provide for the both of us," I snapped. "I don't see you chipping in to get Mom a better house." You didn't help with the hospital bills either. You don't really care about Mom. You just want to do this because you're stubborn and can't let go of an idea.

"I'll help pay for the retirement community."

"She doesn't need that!"

Mom stepped in. "Girls! No more of that. I'm going with Del for the afternoon. Andi, you need to stay home and get better."

I gritted my teeth, taking a deep breath of freezing cold air, closing my eyes for just a moment. "Fine. It's your choice, Mom. I'll let you two get to it." I kissed Mom on the cheek, then returned to my car to put it in the garage. By the time I came back inside and checked out the window, Delilah and Mom were gone.

I collapsed on the couch, groaning angrily. What is her problem? She needs to let it go. Mom isn't going to a retirement home. I suddenly couldn't remember the last time Delilah and I had wanted to see each other. Had it been since before Dad died? I almost miss what we used to have. We were never close... but at least we didn't hate each other. Do I hate her? Can one ever truly hate their sibling? Deep down, you're still blood, still family. I suppose some people hate their siblings. I don't think I do though.

I hung around in my sweatpants and hoodie watching TV and sniffling for about an hour. When my doorbell rang, I was loathe to move out of my comfortable spot, but I did. It was the doctor Damon had said he would send. He gave me a quick examination, told me it was just a cold and should blow over in a day or two.

Only a few minutes after the doctor left, my phone rang. A call from Damon.

"Hey," I said when I picked it up.

"Did the doctor come by?"

"Yeah, he just left. It's just a cold, it should be gone in a few days."

"Good, good." He was quiet for a minute. "I'm sorry that I got so worked up over it. I just... I worry about you."

I walked over to the kitchen to hunt for a snack to wash down the horrifically flavored medicine I had taken right before he called. "Why? I don't think I'm particularly fragile."

"But humans are. You don't know how many people I've watched die. Why do you think I built my company with only vampires and elves? I... I got tired of my friends leaving me because of their short lifespan. That's why everyone has been so surprised that I'm dating a human. I swore off them a long time ago."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry I worried you then." I took a bag of popcorn out of the pantry, putting it in the microwave to heat up.

"Don't be. Modern medicine is much better nowadays. There's no reason for me to be concerned. I hope you get better soon. Give me a text how you're feeling tonight before bed."

"I will." We said goodbye, leaving me alone with the bag of popcorn that was rotating slowly in the microwave.

I enjoyed the peace for a couple hours, but headlights streaming through the windows roused me from the couch. It looked like Mom and Delilah were back. "You don't know how many people I've watched die..." "I... I got tired of my friends leaving me because of their short lifespan." Damon knows human life is short. Someday, Del and I will die. It might be any day now. Do I really want to leave our relationship the way it is?

Delilah was walking Mom up to the front porch, so I unlocked the door and held it open. "Hey. How was your visit?"

My sister didn't look very happy, but Mom was smiling. "It was lovely, but I'm tired. I'm going to get into my PJs for the night. Goodnight, sweetheart, love you." The last words were directed to Delilah, who echoed the sentiment, then made to return to her car.

"Del," I said. "Can we talk for a second?"

She turned back to me with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah. What?"

"I... I wanted to say I was sorry." Now both her eyebrows were up to the middle of her forehead. "For arguing with you so much. It's Mom's choice whether she stays at a retirement home or not. I shouldn't interfere or drag us down by arguing all the time."

Delilah crossed her arms. "You're right, it's Mom's choice." I winced a little at her cruel tone. "And," her voice and eyes softened, "she chose to stay with you. So I choose to respect that." She tipped her chin back. "Don't think I'm finished though. I still think it's the best place for Mom."

I nodded. "Okay." We stood there for a moment. "Well, goodnight, Del. Love you."

She turned to go, throwing her words over her shoulder like a casual flick of a wrist. "Love you."

Only a family member could say such important words so casually and still mean them. I know she means them. She really loves me despite our differences and arguments, and I really love her. Just like it should be.  

I think the next chapter will be the last already! I'm hoping to make a more action/fantasy sequel of this story, but that's only if the right idea will come to me, haha! Thanks for reading this far! I would love to see your votes and comments—I always check out the profiles of people who do those for me because you never know when you're going to make a new friend! Thanks again for reading, hopefully I'll be back with the last chapter next week. Have a great Christmas! 

Stay happy!

~AJ.