Things had started to go black. Mattie's head suddenly felt heavier than it ever had, and it took all her strength to keep it from slumping down. She was also fighting to keep her eyelids open. It was a two-fronted battle that she didn't think she could win, but she wasn't going to sleep while a fever ate up Nicholas. It was a vigil, and she intended to keep it through the whole night. 

The sound of Cole wailing was almost a relief. Groggily she rose from the hard chair, stretching her stiff back, and put a couple knuckles against Nicholas' forehead to test how high his fever was. It was, as expected, pretty damn hot. She frowned and hurried to the bedroom, where she discovered that Cole had soiled his diaper. Disgusting, but normal at least. She changed his diaper and pitched the dirty one out of a window into the cool night air. 

"Holy shit!" someone yelled. The sound of that voice...it made Mattie's heart climb into her throat. [i]It can't be.[/i] The voice went on: "Watch where you're throwing!" 

She stuck her head out the window and peered down. She couldn't see a thing, but she'd been sure it was him. Oh, god, oh god oh god oh god. Could it have been her imagination? Maybe she'd caught fever from Nicholas and she was hearing things. But she had to be sure. She called tentatively: "Darrin?" 

Silence. 

"Mattie!"