I Promise You'll Get Better

Two

The morning came surprisingly quickly. The next thing Shellington knew, he was waking up to Dashi still asleep and Tweak sketching on a blueprint, tongue sticking out in concentration. She was paler than usual; when she saw Shellington was awake, she picked up a small book that was beside her and said, "Here. Peso gave this to me. You better read it."

She threw it across. Not liking the worried tone in Tweak's voice, Shellington flipped the book open to where a Post-It note was sticking out. The page was titled: Severe Cone Snail Attacks—The After-Effects.

As he read, his heart began to sink. "Frequent fainting... vomiting... long periods of severe fatigue... emotional breakdowns... weaker... easily tired... this goes on for at least two months?"

Tweak nodded. Shellington closed the book with a snap. "Dashi shouldn't be going through this."

"She doesn't. But she is. She won't be able to work, she'll barely be able to move around without getting tired... we're going to have to help her as much as we can."

"We will. Definitely."

Dashi sleepily opened one eye. She couldn't remember why her head felt so foggy, or why every inch of her body was hurting like it would never stop. She cried out, fat tears running down her cheeks, and rolled over to bury her face in the pillow.

Then someone was tenderly helping her into a sitting position, their arms around her for support. Someone else wiped her tears away, their hands brushing away her hair from her eyes. Dashi leant against the person who was holding her and wept.

"Shh, it's OK," the person said.

Shellington?

Dashi's brain was beginning to work faster now. Tweak was sitting in front of her, holding one of her hands. Shellington was behind her, keeping her from falling over. Her heart was beating frantically as she closed her eyes again and sobbed into his chest.

"There must be something for the pain," Shellington said, scanning around for the painkiller bottle. He grabbed it from the bedside table and read the instructions on the back. Opening it, he poured some into the lid and gently pressed it against Dashi's lips. She swallowed it shakily, blinking away tears.

"Th-thanks," she murmured, her sobs subsiding almost instantly.

"Where does it hurt in particular?" Shellington asked gently. "We can get Peso to have another look, see if there's anything else he can do."

Dashi paused for a moment, rubbing her forehead. "It hurts everywhere, but it's not that unbearable."

"The painkiller should start working soon," Tweak said, shifting so she was sitting beside Dashi. "Is there anything you'd like us to do, Dashi? We'll be here for the next few days, so..."

"No," Dashi said, and there was a streak of determination in her voice. "I can't let you do that. You've got all sorts of engineering to do, Tweak, and I know Shel would love to explore the coral reef more."

"It can wait," Shellington decided.

"We're only here for a week," Dashi argued. "I'll be here much, much longer than that, I think. You asked me if there's anything I wanted you to do, and I'm saying get out there and do what you're supposed to do. Or I'll persuade the Vegimals to personally chase you out of here."

Shellington and Tweak exchanged looks, grinning.

"Well," Tweak said, "looks like we've been told. I'll come back and visit every day, though."

"Same," Shellington said. "And I guess we can take turns sleeping here every night?"

"That's fine with me," Dashi agreed. Her tears had dried up on her cheeks, and there was some of her usual, bright atmosphere around her again. "Now, I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"