The morning sun shone in through one of the windows in the guest bedroom. The slim elf lying on the bed wasn't in any sort of mood to enjoy it. Her eyes barely open, she coughed raggedly, shaking with the pain it caused. It seemed to split her apart. Then someone opened the door, apparently alerted by her coughing. Looking up through unfocused eyes, the elf could barely see a human shape approaching her, carrying a tray. The human set it down on the bedside table, sweeping some of the as of yet ineffective cough syrups out of the way. She was dimly aware of another human figure joining the first. Then she coughed and the familiar pain tore through her body again. She shut her eyes tightly.

Shaking from the chill and the pain, she was barely aware of one of the humans stroking her short hair, wiping the sweat from her brow and saying something in a low voice to the other. She felt the other gently lift her hand and put two fingers to her wrist. Checking her pulse. Then she felt something slipped under her tongue. Thermometer. It was held there for a while then removed.

She tried to open her eyes, but she was rendered too weak to do so by her recent bouts of coughing. The first human still hadn't stopped stroking her hair and murmuring things to her that she couldn't quite hear. The gentle touch and soft words soothed her. She felt another blanket being laid on top of her trembling body and felt someone gently tuck it in around her neck. As the hand and voice continued to calm her mind, she slowly stopped trembling and with a semi-contented sigh, lay still asleep again.

Artemis kept his hand on his friend's forehead, stroking the elf's short spiky hair until he knew she was deeply asleep. Juliet stood nearby, recording the elf's pulse and temperature on a chart. Artemis stood and quietly pulled the curtains to shut out the light. Holly needed a dark quiet place to recover from her sickness and injuries. Once the room was sufficiently dark, he beckoned Juliet into the hallway and quietly closed the door. He was reluctant to leave her, but he had various cameras set up around her bed to keep an eye on her. Halfway down the hallway, Juliet spoke.

"What are we going to do about this, Artemis? Will she be ok?"

Artemis sighed, feeling partly responsible for her pain. As a genius, he hated to not have the answers, but this time there was no way around it.

"I don't know." The boy replied.

Flashback

Holly Short was on her first above ground mission since returning from the past with Artemis Fowl. She had been kept below ground for observation and was glad to be in the fresh air again. Her mission was to track down a group of teenage sprites who had gone to the surface illegally to party at Tara. Illegal tourists were often the most irresponsible about being seen by mud men, so it was important that they be found and returned to Haven.

She found the group lounging around in a small clearing near the magical site. They had obviously been drinking mud men alcohol – also illegal. She approached them, flashing her badge. The sprites had surrendered immediately and she had cuffed them and sent for a retrieval shuttle to bring them back.

What she was not expecting was the large gnome with the metal walking stick that came from the woods. He was at first startled to see the elf in uniform standing over his drinking buddies, then angry at the officer for ruining their party. He ran at her with the metal stick. She had been calling for retrieval, and hadn't seen him approaching. She terminated the contact and turned around just as the gnome was swinging the stick at her back. It struck her in the side – hard. Hard enough to break several ribs.

Unfortunately he struck her where, just a few months ago, she had been stabbed by a cursed sword on Hybras. The magical curse had remained embedded in her body, harmlessly, until the wound was reopened by a broken rib stabbing through the area. She shot the gnome with her neutrino on reflex and through the pain, waited for her ribs to heal. The blue sparks began to work on her body, but suddenly the curse, activated by her magic, stopped all healing. Suddenly red sparks sapped all of the magic from her body and left her feeling empty. Gasping in pain, she sank to her knees.

Her only thought as she slipped out of consciousness was to call Artemis. He would know what to do. She fumbled with her communicator and dialed him just as she lost her balance and fell to the ground. She heard him answer, heard his frantic voice as he saw her through the hologram image, heard him calling Butler and trying to reassure her. His words fell on deaf ears.

"How long has it been?" Juliet asked as they neared the kitchen.

"Hm?" Artemis hadn't been paying attention, he'd been thinking about Holly.

"How long has it been since she was hit?" She asked again.

"Almost six hours. We found her in that creek around nine this morning."

His mind went back to when he and Butler had showed up on the scene. The LEP retrieval team had come and gone, thinking that Holly had already left. They found her at the edge of the woods, half in half out of a creek. Butler gently pulled the limp body out onto the grass and Artemis began examining her injuries. A fractured rib had punctured her skin and was still bleeding slightly. She was very cold. It was mid October, and while pleasant during the day, it became quite chilly at night, and remained as such until afternoon, and Holly was soaked from the cold stream.

They wrapped her in a blanket from the back of the Bentley and laid her on the back seat. Artemis held her limp body still while Butler drove back. Her head lay on his lap. While the situation was not altogether amusing, Butler allowed himself a small smile at the sight of his master cradling the elf's head in his arms, holding her small body still as they rode. It was unusual for Artemis to show so much concern, even changed as he was. Butler was rather enjoying it, understanding the reason behind the concern more than Artemis himself knew.

Upon arriving, they had immediately called Qwan and No 1. Qwan was able to remove the curse, with much difficulty, but was unable to make her wound heal. He explained that while the active portion of the curse was resolved, a residual had been left but would slowly dissipate over time. He estimated that she would be able to complete the ritual in a week to two weeks time. The warlocks then set her ribs as best as they could, then showed Artemis and the Butlers how to wrap them. Butler and Artemis had left the room for Juliet to wash and redress the unconscious captain. She wrapped Holly's ribs as instructed and lay her down on the bed.

The first time she awoke, Artemis and Juliet had rushed into the room. Artemis carrying a tray with some water and broth in case she could eat. The warlocks had also discovered that she had contracted pneumonia as a result of her long exposure to the cold air and water. They suggested that she be kept from coughing as it would hurt her ribs and possibly move them from where they had been set.

This was what had alarmed Artemis and Juliet when they heard her coughing. Now walking back down the hall, he felt slightly better about the situation. The captain's temperature was down; she had a fever when they arrived at the manor that morning, and it hadn't gone down by noon, but now it was lowering. He was also able to calm her, soothe her pain and send her to sleep. This made him feel very good. It also stirred up an emotion he couldn't quite place. He had felt the same way when he was holding her in the back of the Bentley. He decided he would have to ask Butler later.

"It's a good thing your family isn't here." Juliet noted as they arrived in the kitchen. "I don't know what they would think of you bringing an elf and some demons into the house."

Artemis nodded thoughtfully. "Mother knows about them, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind, but Father and the twins have no idea about them. Holly would kill me if any more humans found out. She wasn't very pleased about Mother knowing, but since they've met, I think they're on better terms now."

They sat down at the bar. Butler was preparing lunch.

"Was she able to eat anything?" the giant manservant asked. Juliet and Artemis looked at each other. Juliet answered him.

"She was coughing as we got near her room. The only thing we could do was calm her enough for her to go to sleep. We will probably have to wait a while before we can get her to eat anything."

"In that case, she should have somebody looking after her until she feels a little better. None of us will be able to hear her coughing from down here." Butler noted. "So who wants to watch a pretty elf sleep?" He said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I will." Artemis said immediately, then fell silent as he caught the bodyguard's amused look. "I'll watch her." He said softer, his cheeks going red.

Juliet, mercifully, had not noticed this and said, "I will watch her after you, Artemis. Call us if you need help." Artemis nodded and walked out of the room, grateful that he hadn't stuttered and even more grateful that Juliet hadn't noticed his discomfort and Butler's amusement. He quickened his pace as he was out of sight of the Butlers. He practically ran to Holly's guest room.

Back in the kitchen, Butler chuckled quietly to himself. Juliet had gone to watch wrestling, so she didn't hear his parting comment. "Artemis… smitten by an elfin woman. Never thought I'd see the day."