"Come on, Ro" Darius begged as Rosalina's head slipped to the side, feeling himself grow more desperate.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stirring softly as Gareth continued to rock her gently, Calista turned slightly in the mage's arms though she did not awaken.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina remained limp, her breathing shallow.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"Ro!" Darius cried out in fear as he heard the shallowness of her breathing. "Fight it," he whispered to her. "Don't go."
------------------------------------------------------------
"Rosalina..." Calista murmured, her voice barely audible. "How--?" she started to ask.
"Shh, my love," Gareth whispered as he lightly caressed her cheek with his free hand. "Just rest," he added soothingly.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina didn't hear his words, she had been inclosed into a world of darkness.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

A few days had gone by...a long two days for Darius. During all that time he had not left her side, whispering encouraging and loving words to her as he held her hand, and kissed her---praying that she would return to him.
Now, he simply just sat by her bedside, as he had done over the past days, hardly taking a moment to rest even though he needed it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The past days had been a trying for Calista and even more trying for Gareth. Calista had been extremely weak over the past days, yet she refused to rest---instead trying to prepare meals for everyone and wanting to keep a vigil at Rosalina’s bedside so Darius could rest. Whenever Gareth would leave to check on Darius and Rosalina, Calista would beg to come as well and once when he refused to carry her to the room in hopes that she relax, she had staggered into the room after him. At one point, he used to his magic to keep her in bed but returned to find her weeping bitterly, her pale face flushed from her tears, her blonde hair so disheveled and her writhing in bed that he never had the heart to restrain her again. Hence the mage found himself busy trying to care for two guests and the love of his life---who seemed never to know when to stop pushing herself. As time wore on, Gareth found that his temper could be tripped easily and had already severely rebuked Calista more times in the past days than he had for most of her life.
"Do you think Rosalina is all right?" Calista asked sleepily early that morning as she slowly sat up in bed.
"I don't know," Gareth remarked a bit sadly as he gave her a forced smile. He had been up sometime before and was already dressed for the day.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

In the two days Rosalina had not woken, she had suffered another seizure, and had coughed so much her throat was raw, something that could be heard in her breathing as it stayed shallow. She also vomited anytime anything was poured into her mouth.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"Come on, my love, pull through this," Darius remarked as he gently caressed her face. Over the past days, Darius had to call on Gareth a number of times to help Rosalina and it seemed that the only things that would bring her some comfort where the healing spells---which only served to tax the mage even more. Sighing once again, Darius took the woman's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, praying that she would recover.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sighing, Calista brushed back a strand of blonde hair as she averted her gaze. "I'm worried, Gareth," she whispered. "She had another seizure, coughs so much and can't keep anything down. And you are just wearing yourself out so much trying to take care of everyone," she whispered.
"My love, I am all right. Just worried about you," Gareth insisted as he sat down beside her on the bed and pulled Calista into his arms.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

On this day, Rosalina started to moan, her eyelids twitching, her hand started to move.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

Feeling Rosalina's hand start to move in his and noticing her fluttering eyelids, Darius felt a hope seep into his heart. "Ro," he whispered hopefully. "That's it, come back to me, my love," he whispered before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Do you promise me you will rest sometime?" Calista asked Gareth softly as she gazed up at him, worry in her eyes.
"Rose, you don't need to fret. If anyone one should rest it is you. You have not been sleeping well these past few nights..." Gareth muttered, frowning slightly as he saw the dark circles forming under her eyes.
"I'll be okay," Calista mumbled softly as she rested her head against his chest.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"D-d-d-ary . . . . ?" Rosalina croaked, her voice barely above a whisper.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"I'm here, my love. I'm here," Darius whispered as he leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to Rosalina's forehead, feeling tears of relief and sorrow fill his eyes---sorrow at how weak she was and relieved that she was alive.
------------------------------------------------------------
Gently rubbing his hand along her back, Gareth simply rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I want you to rest today, Rose," he whispered, knowing that she was probably going to argue with him.
"All right," Calista remarked simply. "After I check up on Darius and Rosalina," she added and Gareth could not suppress a sigh of frustration.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina opened her eyes a slit. "wha-what . . . . happend?" she asked.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"Love, you have been unconscious for two days. During that time you had several seizures and vomited quite a bit. The only thing that seemed to help you was Gareth's healing spells," Darius whispered as he gently caressed Rosalina's face.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Calista you need to rest!" Gareth told Calista. "If you push yourself too hard, you could become just as ill as Rosalina---or end up in an early grave. And I cannot bear that," Gareth remarked choking up a bit.
"Please, Garry. Don't worry. I will be fine..." she whispered with a soft sigh.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

Rosalina stayed silent for a while. "Oh . . . " Then she looked at Darius. "THe baby . . . . "

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)

"I don't know..." Darius remarked. "I-I didn't think to ask Gareth. I was just worried about you," Darius remarked before kissing Rosalina lightly on the lips.
------------------------------------------------------------
Sighing softly, Gareth just shook his head. "You need to take it easy, love," he added. "Please, don't strain yourself. Trying to heal Rosalina nearly killed you."
"Garry. I'm all right. Please, don't worry," Calista remarked as she raised her head to stare into his hazel-green eyes as she lightly caressed his face.

_________________


AWESOME set by the AMAZING Lembas!!!

"I . . . . want . . to . . . . . know . . . . . " Rosalina said weakly.

_________________
Where do you go when your running away,
The cost of stopping is too great to pay.
~Amanda (saw this written in a washroom stall at a movie theater)