I spent the rest of the day buried deep in a thick historical fiction book that told the story of a small group that had gotten trapped behind enemy lines during the Great War between packs in the eastern states and those in the west, centuries ago. It was just the kind of enthralling read I needed to take my mind off of the comparatively minor dramas in my own life.

Somewhere close to midnight I closed the book, and my muscles screamed when I stood up out of the sunken leather armchair. Stretching out for one last night in the giant bed sounded far better than finding out whether the remaining brothers ever made it home, so I tucked the book back into its space on the shelf and made my way towards the foyer.

Just as I began to climb the stairs, the front door flew open behind me and Gabriel stormed in from outside, snowflakes dusting his dark hair and shoulders with white. His brow was furrowed and the crease between them appeared even deeper than usual. He looked unsteady on his feet, almost too focused on walking in a straight line.

"Are you okay?" I asked, descending back down to the first step. He paled visibly when he saw me standing in front of him.

"I'm fine." The effort it took to speak drew his attention away from his forward motion and he stumbled slightly before catching himself on the banister. I moved to his side quickly and put my arms out.

"Alright, clearly you're not." He shot me a dark look. "Let me get you to your room. If you go down out here, I'm not going to be able to get you back up on my own."

We climbed the stairs slowly and he leaned on the banister for support the whole way up. Ready for him to fall, I kept an arm out behind his back, even though realistically there was no chance in hell my small frame stood a chance if he lost his balance. When we reached the top, he managed to make it down the hallway with one hand braced against the wall. I stayed close. He fumbled his keys at his door, so I took them gently and unlocked it for him. Although he flinched away at first, I kept a hand on his back as he crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Have you been drinking?"

"I don't drink," he snapped. He eyed his boots wearily, contemplating the effort it would take to reach down and untie them.

"Here, let me." I knelt in front of him and got to work on the tightly knotted laces while he watched. Once I had pulled them off, Gabriel swung his legs up onto the bed and sat back against the pillows. I stood and put my fingers on the inside of his wrist, feeling for his heartbeat. His skin was hot. He tried to push my hand away but I waved him off. His pulse was strong, but far faster than it should have been.

"Your heart's racing." Mine was, too. "Stay put, I'm going to get my bag."

"No."

"You brought me here as your healer, so let me do my job," I insisted. I left him there and jogged down the hall to my room where my medical bag was sitting on the table. I hadn't expected to need it—I'd hoped I wouldn't—but I was glad I'd taken the time to resupply before coming.

"Does your stomach hurt?" Back at his bedside, I hooked my stethoscope into my ears and placed it against his chest. He glowered as I moved it around.

"No." When his deep voice vibrated up the instrument and reverberated in my ears, I almost shivered.

"What about your chest, are you having any tightness or pain when you breathe?" His lungs sounded clear; I already knew the answer.

"No."

I stood and walked back to where I'd set my bag at the foot of the bed, folding the stethoscope into its pocket. "How long have you had a headache?"

He paused. "How did you know?"

"You just told me." I smirked. He made to roll his eyes but the action made him flinch. I pulled out a container of ibuprofen and dumped two out onto my palm.

"I'm not taking those." Gabriel's voice was threatening. I went back to stand beside him and held my hand out.

"They're just mild painkillers, that's all. They're not even strong enough to have side effects."

"I'm not putting that shit in my body," he growled. I sighed and dropped them back into the bottle. He watched me, cautious. "Why do you know so much about human medicine?"

"My mother taught me. She went to nursing school before she moved back to work in our clinic." I returned the pills to my bag.

"It's useless."

"It's not." I argued. "They do a lot of things better than we do. We're really not all that different from them."

"We?" Gabriel scoffed. "You're one of them."

"Not really."

"You're not one of us." I tried not to let him see how his words hurt me. Now wasn't the time to try to change his mind.

"I know. Let's try something else." Gabriel regarded me apprehensively and I raised my hands. "It's not medicine. I swear." I moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside him and turned off the lamp. He watched me silently in the dim firelight.

"Lie back." I instructed. He hesitated for a beat before laying down, body stiff. Leaning over him, I reached my hands toward his head. He caught my wrists and gripped them forcefully. An alarmed look flashed across his face. I knew he could smell the rush of fear that filled me instantly.

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me, will you? Give me two minutes." I paused, waiting for him to bite back, but he stayed quiet and waited for me to finish. "If it doesn't help then I'll take my bag and go, and you won't see me until we leave here tomorrow."

His hard eyes searched mine for several moments. Finally, Gabriel released my arms and crossed his tightly over his chest.

"Now relax," I urged. "Close your eyes." I placed my thumbs on his temples, hands holding either side of his head gently. I pressed both thumbs in softly and moved them in small circles. Gabriel tensed for a moment, then settled into the pillow.

"Focus on your breathing, nothing else." I studied his face as his frown lines relaxed. His pulse, fluttering rapidly under the skin on his neck, began to slow with each steady breath. I pressed a bit harder, widening the circles I was making with my thumbs on his temples. He winced almost imperceptibly.

"Is the pressure okay?" I asked. He nodded. "Do you get headaches like this often?"

"More and more recently."

"Do you know what's been causing them?" Gabriel didn't answer. I didn't push. After some time, his head began to dip to one side as he nodded off. Careful not to disturb him, I pulled my hands away. He snapped awake, again reaching up quickly to catch one of my wrists.

"It's alright. Go back to sleep." I whispered, though I thought that he might not be fully awake to begin with. He pressed my hand to his cheek, turning his head slightly into it and inhaling deeply through his nose. I stilled, watching. I could hear my blood rushing in my ears. His jaw tightened, then relaxed against my palm.

"I can stay a little longer," I offered. He made no move to release my hand, but sighed and closed his eyes. He resumed snoring lightly after several minutes, and his grip softened enough so I could ease my hand out of his. I watched him for a minute more before I snuck out quietly.

Back in my room, I sank onto my own bed to collect myself. My heart pounded in my throat and my whole body shook. The closeness that had just passed between us sent my nervous system into overdrive; I could hardly think straight. I knew it should have been just as clinical as our very first encounter when I'd stitched up his chest. But something about my hands on his skin in that dark room, the way he'd pressed my palm to his cheek, the way he'd breathed me in, felt different. Intimate. Unguarded.

The churning in my stomach was still there when I woke up the next morning, and continued as I carried my bags down the stairs, through the foyer, and out into the freezing morning air. The cars were idling, warming up for the long drive back. I'd hoped to say goodbye to Dmitri and Constance, but they were likely still in bed. Victor took my things and put them in the trunk of the car while Gabriel watched from where he stood outside the open door.

"Morning," I muttered. I kept my eyes down. I didn't want him to see the thoughts that were written all over my face. He stepped to the side so I could get past. As I climbed in, Gabriel's hand moved up automatically to block the top of the car door so I wouldn't hit my head and something deep inside of me fluttered. It was a small gesture, probably unconscious, but it set my cheeks ablaze. I pulled my scarf up around my face to hide it once I was settled.

I wanted to ask him how his head was feeling, but by the time I'd turned around, he was already walking away toward the lead car. Odette was waiting for him there. Instead of a cordial goodbye, he took her hand and helped her into the backseat, then followed her in himself. A metallic taste filled my mouth and I slumped back, for the hundredth time feeling humiliated and sick to my stomach.

"All set?" Victor asked. I nodded tightly and he shut the door. I laid down across the seat so neither he nor the driver could see the hot tears as they spilled down my cheeks.