I sat in a chair behind Diane quietly as she spoke to Kerry. Ace silently leaned against the doorframe. He was just as dubious about the wisdom of Diane's latest plan as I was. She had donated blood last night, and she wanted to try donating blood again tonight. Considering how hard a single blood donation hit her, it didn't seem like it was something that should be done a second time within several days.

Kerry also looked at Diane as if to check her sanity, "Are you sure you want to try today? You donated over half of what we needed yesterday."

All of us thought that she was off her rocker, but she had her own reasons as well, "There may be a situation where I donated blood the one day and come across an emergency the next day outside of the fence where someone needs the virus. At least I can see if there are any side effects of calling up the chill two days in a row in a controlled situation."

Neither Ace nor myself had come up with any valid argument for her logic, regardless of how much we disliked her plan. The day after giving blood, Amber usually made sure that Diane took it easy and it was usually a good thing since Diane didn't seem to be entirely up to full speed until the day after that. She was close enough to normal that most wouldn't notice, but Ace and I knew her very well and could see it.

Kerry sighed as she also saw the logic, but had no way to refute it, "Good enough reasoning for me, but I will not be held responsible if someone has to pack you out of here."

I couldn't believe that Diane was arguing to get another needle... Then again, she knew it was coming since we needed a few more vials to fire the waiting group at Kerry's preferred dosage.

Diane chuckled, "If someone ends up carrying me out, then I am going to insist on carrying one of those modified epipens that you have been handing out. I am sure Roland will have no issue allowing me to have one."

At least she had a backup plan. Roland would likely let her carry an epipen without issue. Only certain people were allowed to have the epipens to prevent any accidents or an overeager newcomer from getting a hold of one too early. Those who got fired were carefully supervised their first two days to ensure that they weren't having any problems. This was also one reason that we fired several people at one time and arranged the date in advance.

I followed Kerry and Diane to the exam room where the proper needles and equipment were stored. Another nurse joined Kerry. Two nurses could take twice as much blood as one nurse. It didn't affect how long Diane could hold the chill, although it did put a bit more of a dent in her energy as she recovered. I stood beside her and Ace leaned against the back wall.

Diane closed her eyes in concentration even as Kerry got things ready, but that was normal. What wasn't normal was how much longer it was taking this time. I had never sat here so long while waiting for Diane to pull off this magic trick. I could see her muscles twitching and it looked like she had a headache, but there were no goosebumps yet.

Diane suddenly exhaled as goosebumps appeared, "Now."

Diane's eyes opened and I could see her silver eyes glowing in the dim light of the two led lanterns. Her breathing swiftly grew heavy. I glanced at Ace in concern, but he was watching Diane with a blank expression. I could see a hint of concern in his eyes as he also noticed that Diane's breathing had gotten heavier much faster than normal.

Diane lowered her chin to her chest as she swayed slightly. Her breathing was labored at this point and it hadn't even been fifteen seconds yet. I was getting worried and I could see Kerry and the other nurse were also concerned.

My Heartfire stirred and rose in response to both Diane's declining condition and to my own worry. My rising Heartfire increased my abilities, but when Diane's eyes glowed, her Heartfire went into a state where it burned tremendous amounts of energy and seemed to deprive her of oxygen.

Even leaning back in the chair Diane was swaying. "Stop." Her voice was a breathless whisper, but the nurses heard it as easily as I did. I saw that everyone's eyes were much brighter than was normal for the room lighting or the usual blood donation. Their concern was also causing their Heartfire to react.

Diane leaned over to put her head between her knees. I jerked my head in shock as I saw Diane's shivering for a few seconds. I had never seen her shiver before. Even if she went out in winter without a jacket for a few minutes. I saw Kerry frown as she also saw it, but Diane's shivering had already stopped and her goosebumps were fading.

Her breathing was still quite heavy, as if she had run a marathon. She hadn't sat up yet either and she usually did by now. That detail didn't escape Ace's attention either. He spoke quietly, "Are you okay?"

Diane sighed, "Tomorrow I am going to track down Roland and demand an epipen."

She still sounded out of breath, but her breathing was no longer heavy. Kerry was putting the six vials in a special carrier while the second nurse went to the cabinet to grab some honey disks for Diane.

She held them out to Diane, "Here."

Diane sat up slowly before reaching for them. My mind was stunned by the sight of her eyes. They were dull and barely even a shimmer was present, almost as if she was hiding their light like she had at Wainwright Fort. She didn't hide the light of her eyes here though, and never had.

Kerry came towards Diane with a faint frown of concern as she crouched down in front of Diane to get a better look at her eyes, "Your eyes are barely even shimmering. Are we actually going to have to carry you out of here?"

Ace's eyes brightened as he left the wall to come around so he could see Diane's eyes. Diane chuckled weakly, not liking the scrutiny or the attention, "I sure hope not. I think I will hang out in the waiting room for a while though. I am not looking forward to that ladder."

Ace tilted his head as he looked at Diane' eyes, "Even in this low light, the rest of our eyes are glowing noticeably. Yours were glowing similarly at the beginning. Kerry is correct though, your eyes barely even have a glimmer. You must be able to see the difference."

Diane shook her head, "I am electing not to answer that question."

Ace chuckled at her attempt to evade the rather obvious answer. At least she was breathing normally now, although she sounded much more exhausted than she normally did. Diane ate the last honey disk and Ace exchanged a look with Kerry.

Kerry went to the cabinet and I heard the jar of honey disks being opened again. Diane yawned deeply and shook her head as she fought against the exhaustion that seemed to be hitting her pretty hard. Kerry handed her some more honey disks.

I watched closely and realized that she wasn't really able to focus on the disks in the dim light, but could see Kerry's hand. Ace had been right. She wasn't able to see any better than if she hadn't been fired at all. It was good thing that Kerry had brought two dim led lights out of habit.

Diane inspected the ten honey disks that were dropped into her hand, "Isn't this overkill?"

She still stuck another one in her mouth and dutifully crunched it up. Kerry seemed to have relaxed a bit now that Diane was talking and joking. Kerry's eyes easily glowed in the dim light as she grinned at Diane, "Considering you are still sitting in that chair, probably not."

Diane sent Kerry a dirty look for that observation, and I grinned as her expression was ruined by another yawn. Diane shook her head again, "Did you have to install the most uncomfortable seat for this room?"

Kerry seemed amused by Diane's attempt at bantering, "How long someone sits in it is reflective of what kind of shape they are in."

The unspoken insinuation was clear in Kerry's words. The seat was uncomfortable for a reason and there were much more comfortable seats in the waiting room. Diane had also just set a record for the amount of time she had ever spent in this chair. Diane shook her head in mock disgust as she ate another honey disk.

Diane had complained about that seat in the past and yet she still sat there for a few more minutes eating the honey disks. Once she finished, she stood up with heavy sigh. All of us watched her closely since she was more unsteady on her feet than we had ever seen her.

I knew that both Kerry and Ace were ready to catch her if she fell, but gave her a bit of space. Diane headed towards the hallway and the nurses grabbed the solar lights and held them up to help Diane see. They also knew, or suspected, that her sight wasn't up to par.

Diane sat down heavily in a soft waiting chair. I bounced into a chair beside her. Ace leaned against the wall, still watching her with overly bright eyes. My Heartfire was more restless than usual and I bet that Ace and Kerry also felt it from how bright their eyes were. I glanced at the open door, but no one was in sight, which relieved me.

Diane yawned, "At least these chairs are more comfortable..."

Kerry shook her head and headed off with her fancy cooler. The other nurse had gone the other way down the hallway. Ace remained leaning against the wall. I wasn't sure how she planned to even get to the ladder, let alone up to the deck. It was too bad that there wouldn't have been any way to convince her to take a nap in one of the nursing rooms.

Five minutes later, Diane finally got to her feet again. I was beginning to wonder if she just planned on sleeping there, although I knew she had an aversion to nursing areas from the days at Wainwright when she tried to prevent the nurses there from discovering her oddities.

Ace and I walked beside her. It was a slow walk. A very slow walk. I looked around and noticed that the cliffs were deserted. Then I recalled that there was a massive pool party at the lake several kilometers from the cliff and that most, if not all, of the population had gone.

I was confused when Diane didn't head directly to the ladder, but I swiftly realized that she was heading straight to a bench. It was closer and on the way to the ladder. She sat on the bench and tried to catch her breath from that small walk.

I began to seriously wonder if Diane would make it to the deck on her own power. Kerry might be right, we may end up carrying her since she was clearly tiring more than she was recovering as time went by.

Ace didn't comment or offer to assist and I realized that he was trying to let her keep her pride intact. He was giving her the courtesy that he would give any other fighter. He would let them be independent, but he was there if they needed it.

A trip that had taken Diane five minutes last night after donating blood took us half an hour this time as Diane stopped at several benches to rest. We were currently on a bench near the base of the ladder as Diane eyed it up. How she was still awake was beyond me.

She was breathing like Trish did if she had climbed too many stairs. The frequent blinks and yawns were also small giveaways. Her body language told the greatest story though. I had never seen her so tired and it made my heart ache to see her like this.

Diane took a deep breath before getting to her feet shakily once more. I went up the ladder ahead of Diane, and Ace followed behind her in case she slipped or fell. She made it up without a mishap though.

She shuffled to a long lounger before sitting heavily on it. She leaned back until the back was at a 45 degree angle, which was as far as it would go. She draped her one arm over her eyes and mumbled, "I am never doing that again..."

I certainly hoped not. If she did try it, I would leave her in Ace's care for a few minutes to grab a horse and saddle it. It would save us a lot of time and trouble. Ace spoke for the first time since we left the nursing area and his voice was quiet, "Good. Otherwise I would have started to question your sanity."

Diane lifted her arm to look at him in disbelief, "You can't tell me that you never pulled a boneheaded move and regretted it later."

At least Diane knew that her plan had not been the brightest idea after all. Ace grinned slightly and turned his head to examine the silent meadow, "Possibly."

I knew he was watching for any potential threat. The cliffs were empty and with Diane halfway passed out, it even had my Heartfire on alert. If my Heartfire was reacting, then his was probably acting up worse than mine was.

There was a small end table in the center of the chairs and it had a storage area under it. I opened up the door and pulled out my chessboard. I was getting better, although I knew that when I won a game of chess that Ace had let me win. It didn't stop me from enjoying the strategy game though.

I glanced up at Diane as her breathing leveled out. Her arm was still across her eyes. I had only seen her drowse off once or twice in the past and it had only been a light doze. This was a heavier sleep. Ace and I kept the game quiet while she slept.