He couldn't help but grin. The soft sound of her voice was encouraging. He'd spent the last few days thinking he may actually lose her, and he wasn't sure if his heart could beat without her.

He replaced the oxygen cannula yet again, and this time, she didn't move. A few hours later, the harsh cough began, and her labored breathing returned, though not as fiercely as before. Again, they called for the doctor.

He couldn't help but smile at the panicked look on their faces when he heard the rough cough. "It's fine. That's what we want... coughing is good. Coughing irritates the airway though, so it's going to make it hard to breathe."

"This is good?" Anna questioned, watching Emily cough violently.

"Yes, it is," the doctor tried to reassure them.

Storm made the arrangements to send the doctor home the following day and to pay him immensely for his help. Chevalier was surprised to learn that the doctor offered to come again if the need arose. It was always good to have resources on the outside.

Once Emily fell back to sleep and there was a break in the coughing, Chevalier appeared in the corner with Kyle.

"You have some explaining to do, and it better be good." Kyle could feel the intense rage emanating from Chevalier.

"Sir?" he asked, not sure how much Chevalier knew.

"It seems that in my absence, you spent a lot of time... too much time, with Emily. Explain yourself," Chevalier hissed, and took a step closer to Kyle as his hands clenched into tight fists.

Kyle's mind pulled out the excuse he had formulated. "She was going to leave, sir. I simply tried to keep her here."

It worked, and Chevalier's anger ebbed slightly. "This required you to spend the entire four days with her?"

"I was afraid that the second she was alone, she would leave." Kyle crouched defensively. "She was convinced you wanted her to."

Chevalier's anger immediately left him when Kyle's words sank in. "She thought I wanted her to leave?"

"Yes, and she'd be gone right now if I had let her leave."

Chevalier studied Kyle's face, and he hissed, "How close did you get to her?"

Kyle didn't ease up from his defensive posture. "Chevalier, I wouldn't..."

Chevalier stopped him with a growl, "Are you falling for her?"

"No!" Self-preservation kept Kyle from confessing the truth.

"She is mine," he said through gritted teeth.

"I know, sir." Kyle tried to relax to show his respect for the Chief Enforcer. He had to hide his true feelings, feelings that would get him killed.

"Then leave." The command was whispered, but the expectation to obey was strong. Kyle instantly disappeared from the room.

Chevalier walked over to the bed just as Anna was replacing the cool cloth on Emily's forehead. She pretended that she hadn't seen what just transpired, and she didn't comment. She liked Kyle, and what she had seen of him lately could be detrimental to him.

Emily's hand unexpectedly shot out and wrapped around the tubing coming from her arm. Chevalier was quick enough that she didn't have time to remove her I.V. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. "No, Em, leave it alone."

He could be himself around Anna. Her life depended on her ability to keep what she saw to herself. Anna re-taped the I.V. down, not watching Chevalier.

"Take it out, please," Emily whispered. Her eyes were still shut.

Chevalier bent down and brushed his lips softly against hers, then whispered into her ear, "Leave it, love."

He heard Anna gasp lightly, and he sat up. Emily's eyes were open, and she was looking at him.

"How are you feeling?" he whispered, touching her cheek lightly.

Her eyes moved from him, over to Anna, and then returned, but she didn't speak. She reached her hand up and pulled the oxygen off of her face. Chevalier put it back on her. "Leave that alone."

Chevalier and Anna watched as her eyes suddenly slid shut again.

Emily slept most of the night, with interruptions from coughing fits. Only once did her breathing turn raspy for a while, but it was quiet again within a few hours. The light of dawn came through the cracks in the heavy curtains, and she opened her eyes.

"Chev?" Her voice was cracked and soft.

He looked down at her and kissed her forehead softly. "Yes?"

She tried to clear her throat but ended up coughing instead. Chevalier pulled her gently into a sitting position to help it pass, and then he laid her back down.

"Shhh, don't talk," he encouraged her, as Anna left to get a fresh cool rag.

Emily's pale complexion brought out the vibrancy in her green eyes, but her lips were dry and cracked.

"You came back," she said softly, watching his reaction.

"I never left. I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. We'll discuss this later though." He adjusted her pillows.

Her eyes scanned the room. "Where is Kyle?"

He pulled her up to sitting again when she began to cough uncontrollably. By the time it stopped, she was exhausted and fell back to sleep once he laid her down.

Chevalier watched her sleep. He gently ran his fingers across her collar bone. It protruded from tight skin, and he worried about how thin and pale she'd become. Her arms were finally cool, so he pulled the blanket up around her and waited.

The next morning, he was finally alone with her. The cool rags were no longer necessary without the fever, so he told Anna to take the day off to go feed. She was looking haggard. Chevalier pulled the heavy curtains back and let the morning sun into the room. When he turned toward the bed, Emily was watching him.

He smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Perfect," she whispered, watching him closely.

Chevalier sat on the bed beside her and took her hand, but she pulled it away weakly.

"You don't have to do that," she whispered, unable to draw up the strength for more.

He took her hand again, and this time, he didn't let her pull it away. "No one is forcing me."

She reached up with her other hand and pulled off the oxygen.

Chevalier sighed and tried to put it back on, but her hand was in the way.

"No," she said softly.

"Em, you need it. Put it back on." He tried again, but she blocked him with her hand.

She glared at him. "You put it on."

He gently moved her hand and put it back to her face. "I don't need it. You do."

She coughed forcefully and then settled back down on the pillow. "You don't have to stay here. I don't need a pity friend."

Chevalier waited while he got his anger under control. "No one's making me, and I don't pity you."

"It's okay, Chev. As soon as I'm better, I'll leave." She turned her face away from him and shut her eyes.

He growled softly, "I don't want you to leave." He glanced around the room once, and then bent down and whispered into her ear, "I love you too much for you to leave."

Her mouth fell open, and she turned back to him, searching for signs of humor or sarcasm, but she found none.

"Don't look at me like that. You knew it all along." His face was stern, but then he smiled.

She turned away from him again when tears welled up in her eyes. She shut them to hide the evidence but soon fell asleep.

Soft whispering woke her up, and she watched as Gordon delivered a shiny, silver tray to the bedside table. He smiled when he saw her look at him, then he bowed and disappeared. Chevalier pulled the dome off the top of the tray and set it down before turning to look at her.

Chevalier smiled. "Dr. Edwards said you need to start eating again. I had Gordon bring some soup. I hope you like chicken noodle, or is that too... prosaic?"

Emily shook her head. "I'm not really hungry."

She sat up coughing.

"Well, he also mentioned that if you'll eat, we can remove the I.V." Chevalier explained, playing off her weaknesses.

She reached over and quickly yanked out the I.V., wincing at the sting. Chevalier hadn't been watching her at the time, so he was a fraction of second too slow to stop it. "Damnit, Em. You're a horrible patient."

She yanked off her nasal cannula to toss it onto the floor, but Chevalier caught it before it hit. "Nope, put that back on."

Emily swung her legs over the side of the bed and scooted to stand up, but his hands on her shoulders forced her back onto the bed.

"Stop it, Chevalier." She coughed and then tried again.

"Will you please stay down?" His voice was a cross between amusement and frustration.

"No, I'm well enough to leave now." Her body betrayed her with a violent coughing fit.

Chevalier wrapped his arms around her waist, frowning when he felt her ribs sticking out against her skin. "Lay down."

Emily didn't lie down, but she did stay seated. When she'd tried to stand, she discovered that her legs weren't strong enough to carry her yet.

"Fine, we'll sit," Chevalier said, releasing his hold on her. He grabbed the bowl of soup and offered it to her.

Emily stared at it.

"Eat... for me," he said.

She sighed and took the bowl. The soup felt wonderful against her parched lips and throat, and the warmth of it spread quickly through her body. She hadn't realized she was getting cold.

Once she finished, she returned the bowl to the intricately decorated silver tray and turned to face Chevalier on the bed, sitting cross-legged.

"So now..." he began, facing her in a similar fashion, "let's talk about you leaving, shall we?"

Emily nodded.

"Might I ask why you are planning on leaving?" he asked, looking closely at her. He noticed again how thin she'd become and how she was almost as pale as he was.

She stared down at her hands. "I know what you must think about me now. It's only fair to give you an easy out." Coughing stopped her from saying more.

Chevalier's eyes narrowed. "So you know what I think about you, do you?"

Emily nodded.

"I'm guessing it's along the lines of... hmmm... let's use the immortal words of Keith 'You're just a little dirty slut aren't you? Whoring around in the city?" He paused. "Is that close?"

Emily winced and nodded, still staring at the pattern on the quilt.

"Let me see if I can continue then... useless?" He watched her.

Emily nodded.

"Worthless?"

Another nod.

"Insignificant and repulsive?"

She didn't react. She was concentrating on the flowered pattern of the quilt to keep from crying.

"So does that mean that you count Keith and me in the same category?" he growled.

The words shocked her, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. "No."

He moved closer to her and touched her cheek lightly. "Then stop comparing us, and stop letting his words cloud the way I feel about you. It's insulting."

Her eyes met his, and he saw the hesitation there, the brief glimpse that she for once doubted what her ex-husband said. Chevalier took the opportunity of weakness and concentrated on her eyes, willing her to submit to his trance. Her body relaxed, and her breathing matched his own.

"Emily, I love you, and you need to trust me. I love everything about you." His words flowed toward her like music. She was unable to pull away from their mesmerizing qualities. "You are worth it."

Chevalier pulled back away from her, broke the gaze, and waited while his words sunk in. When the trance broke, she couldn't remember what had transpired, but she suddenly felt relaxed and comfortable.

She glanced over at the tray and picked up a piece of a quartered sandwich. A blush rose to her cheeks when she realized that Chevalier was watching her with a smile.