The rain is turning out to be helpful.

It makes it look like Aiden and I are just ducking our heads against the downpour as we stagger across the street to my building. Hopefully no one can see that we’re actually both on the verge of collapse, that I’m barely managing to hold Aiden up.

The stairs feel like the last leg of the world’s most difficult marathon, but somehow we make our way into my apartment. Into my room, my bed. I lower Aiden down onto the blankets and kneel on the bed next to him. Brush his soaking hair out of his eyes, take his face into my hands.

I thought that he had fallen asleep on the drive back. Now I think that he was just too exhausted to move or open his eyes. And apparently he can’t speak, which is scary, but - god, am I fucking relieved just to have him back. Contradicting emotions crash against each other in my chest like hurricane waves.

I peer down into Aiden’s face. His breaths are short and shallow, but his skin isn’t cyanotic, so he must be managing to get just enough air.

“Oh my god, Aiden,” I breathe, putting my forehead to his. “I missed you so much.”

His eyes open, look up at me, and tell me that he missed me, too. A lot. My heart lurches when I see that his eyes are the specific shade of blue that they turn when they fill up with tears.

But no tears come. I guess he’s literally too tired to cry.

“Okay, I know you can’t talk,” I say, stroking the side of his face with my trembling fingers - “But you’ve got to tell me what’s wrong, so I can help. So...”

I put a hand on the bare skin of Aiden’s neck, and he realizes what I’m about to do. He shakes his head at me, his eyes filled with warnings. I know that he’s afraid of overwhelming me with his emotions, but there’s no other way for us to speak right now, and we have to.

I open the connection, then hiss out a sharp exhale through my gritted teeth, nearly doubling over as an onslaught of fear and pain goes screaming from Aiden into me.

Jamie, he gasps.

Even his inside voice sounds strained and choked, but I am so damn happy to hear it. A burst of joy smooths out the raging chaos of our emotions for a second, lets me speak over it.

What happened? I put my forehead back against his. What’s wrong?

I sense Aiden struggling as hard as he can to gather up enough energy to speak.

Have - to go to it, I have to, it’s - calling me -

What is?

Aiden’s answer comes through so broken and fragmented that it takes me a moment to understand.

Tree? I ask frantically. Your Guardian Tree?

A rush of affirmation, and then the connection starts to break. Aiden doesn’t have enough magic left to keep it open.

Hey, stay with me, I say desperately, cupping his face in my free hand. I don’t know how to get there! I’ll go find it, I’ll figure out what’s wrong, but you have to tell me how to get there!

No response from Aiden for a second. My heart goes cold with fear, but - I feel him pulling together everything he has left, centering all of his remaining magic and energy into one place within himself.

He leans up, presses a kiss onto my startled mouth.

With a mammoth, superhuman effort, he sends all of his energy surging through the connection. Every last piece of it he has. I feel it burst into me in one sparkling wave.

Then Aiden lets out a heavy exhale, collapses back against the bed, and goes still. The connection snaps closed.

I take in a shuddering gasp, terrified - but he’s just unconscious, still breathing. He gave me everything, and he’s officially out.

“No, Aiden!” I nearly burst into tears again, taking his face into my hands. “You didn’t tell me how to - to get there…”

I fade off, confused.

It’s the strangest thing, but I could swear that I do know how to get to the Tree. As I’m thinking about it, I feel some internal, intuitive understanding of the right path to take. I don’t know the way by sight, and I couldn’t tell anyone else how to get there - I just know. I know it by heart.

I run an affectionate hand through Aiden’s soaked hair, then let out a watery laugh, smiling down at him. 

“That’s new, Guardian. You’ve never put knowledge directly into my head before. I’m impressed.”

He doesn’t answer, but it’s okay. He’s here, and he’s breathing. That’s all I can ask for. Besides, I’ve got somewhere I need to be.

There’s a plant in need of my attention.

I take a second to strategize, then get up and start gently working Aiden’s arms out of his jacket. He has no energy left, so he needs to be kept warm through regular, human means. I can’t leave him here in his drenched clothes.

I go slow, taking off his Timbs and socks, then his sweater and jeans and boxers. He’s heavy, and he can’t help me, so it takes some time. But eventually I’ve got him naked, got his hair toweled off.

I tuck all of the blankets on my bed around him, trying to make him as cozy as possible. Push open one of my windows, get him some air. Then I press a kiss onto his forehead, and change out of my own soaked clothes.

I get a big, comfy sweater from Aiden’s drawer, pull it on, then go to the kitchen to get a snack and a thermos of hot coffee. I could care less about food right now, but I need all the energy I can get. Even with Aiden gifting me all of his, I feel like I could drop at any second.

I bandage up the cut on my foot that I got from the brambles, and pull back on my torn Converse. Grab myself a flashlight, and… I think I’m ready to go.

I need to see Aiden one more time before I do.

The vetiver scent of his sheets helped me earlier, so - I don’t know if it’ll make a difference, but I take one of my flannels and tuck it up next to Aiden’s head like another pillow.

“I’ll be back soon, okay?” I sink my fingers into his hair, give him a little scratch. “I love you.”

He hasn’t moved since he passed out, but now he turns his head, buries his face into my flannel.

I bend down and brush a gentle kiss onto his cheek, my heart aching.

I stop in the doorway to look back at Aiden, hating that I have to leave him. All I want to do is curl up with him in the warm nest of my bed, wrap myself up in his arms.

I forge on into the living room, calling out for the ghosts.

“Will, Kasey! Can you come here, please?”

They materialize in front of me, both of them out of breath.

“Hi,” I begin, before they can say anything. “No talking, please. Just need you to listen. I found Aiden. He’s in my room.”

Will lets out a relieved laugh, and Kasey sags back against him, pressing a hand over her heart.

“He’s - not doing so good,” I continue, and the celebration comes to an abrupt end - “But I’m gonna go try to fix this. Kasey, I need you to stay here with Aiden, and Will, I need you to come with me.”

Kasey opens her mouth, then bites back whatever she was going to say. She can clearly see that there’s no time to argue.

I glance at the bedroom, then meet her eyes with mine. “If anything happens to Aiden...”

Kasey nods, understanding. “I’ll let you know.”

She disappears, and Will steps forward.

“How can I help?”

I nod at the door, pulling out the key to the rental. “Let's talk in the car.”

At the last minute, I grab a pair of secateurs and tuck them into my pocket. I don’t know what to expect, but I always have them on me when I’m caring for a plant in need.

~~~~

It took me so long to find Aiden - and then so long for us to get back - that the moon is out by the time I slip into the driver’s seat of the silver rental.

“This is not your car, Jamie,” Will observes. “Where’s blue?”

I take a giant sip of coffee, hoping it’ll warm the part of me that went cold at the mention of my abandoned car. “It’s - I’ll explain when we get going.”

“Alright.” Will twists in the passenger’s seat to face me. “What’s the situation?”

“I haven’t slept in ages,” I explain. “I need another set of eyes on the road. I'm exhausted, and my reflexes are shot. Can you help me out with that?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay, good. Thank you.” I take another long sip of coffee. “I’ll get you up to speed on everything that you and Kasey missed while we drive. Can you fill her in for me?”

“I can, but-” Will hesitates. “Might I ask why you specifically chose me for this task, over Kasey?”

“I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.” I rub my tired eyes, then screw the cap back onto the thermos. “Asking her to help me prevent a car accident, after, you know. How she died.”

Will doesn’t answer for a moment. I glance over at him, wondering if I said something wrong.

“What?”

"Nothing.” Will shrugs, his lips turned up in a small smile. “It’s only - I think it’s rather nice that you’re still thinking of her feelings, even at a time like this. I’m glad she has you for a friend, Jamie. And that I do, too.”

I return Will’s smile, grateful for the burst of warmth his words just brought me.

I turn to face forward, put my hands on the wheel. “Keep me safe, Will.”

He nods firmly. “Happy to.”

I tell Will about everything he missed as we go. Talking helps keep me awake, anyways. But I fall silent as we approach the mountain.

The closer we get, the more it dawns on me why Kasey didn’t find Aiden’s footprints around the field. The bright current pulling me towards the Guardian Tree doesn’t give me a route to take, only an understanding of where.

I think that my theory about the beeline was correct. Aiden must have gone directly from Kent’s house and then started walking right up the side of the mountain, ignoring the road, following only the current. The field isn’t where you have to go in order to get to the Tree. It’s just where we happened to set out from on the night of the Fling Thing.

It’s a good place to start, though. Aiden and I didn’t go too far uphill or downhill when we walked to the Tree from there. The Tree must be at a similar elevation to the field, so it’ll save me a lot of time to take the road.

Will comes to stand with me when I get out of the car. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, which means slightly better visibility. But it's a dark, cloudy night. Impossible to see too far into the forest.

It… looks terrifying. The beam of my flashlight doesn’t cut into the depths at all.

“I’ll keep you company,” Will offers.

I shake my head, trying to steel myself.

“No. I need you to go back and be with Aiden. If there's an emergency, one of you has to come get me, and one of you needs to stay with him. I don’t want him to be alone, not even for a second.”

“But…” Will hesitates, casting a sidelong glance at me. “Kasey led me to believe that you are uncomfortable in the deep woods, Jamie. Even in the daylight, and with company. Something about bears?”

I let out an exhausted laugh, helplessly rubbing my forehead. “Guess I have to take my chances.”

Will nods slowly. “Good luck, then.”

He disappears. Without his ghostly glow, the forest before me looks even darker. Pitch black like the starless sky. I can make out the movements of the windblown branches, but not much more than that.

I start shrinking back from the treeline, then jolt to a stop, trying to get a hold of myself.

You're not gonna panic. You’re fine, this is fine. There’s nothing to be scared of...

My hands are shaking. I only realize when I see the feeble beam of my flashlight start to tremble. I swallow hard, wishing that I had the rich brilliancy of Aiden’s fireflies to light my way.

Love comes with risks. Loving a Guardian, doubly so.

I stare out at the inky blackness of the forest, my heart hammering. This is a risk I wouldn't take in any other situation, but I love my Guardian.

I take a deep breath, and venture out into the darkness.

The forest rises up on all sides around me, whispering and shifting in the wind. I keep my eyes forward, following the sense of direction in my heart. Fighting my instinct to flee back to the car. Trying not to think too hard about what I'm doing.

Trying to pretend that I'm not terror-stricken, right now. Just keep going. Walk.

And somehow, even though I'm shivering with fear, I do. I lose sight of the road. I strike out deep into the woods.

Every noise I hear scares the hell out of me, as does the prospect of what could be hidden only feet away in the all-encompassing shadows. Thoughts of snakes and bears force their way into my head. The sudden flight of an unseen bird right in front of me nearly sends me sprawling back against a tree. My heart is going crazy, slamming against my ribs, snagging up my breaths.

But something strange happens as I go. My fears start to fall away. Or maybe I’ve hit a level of such extreme hysteria that I’ve gone beyond them.

It’s as if cool water has broken over my head, like the breaking of a fever. I was cowering at every sudden noise that rose up from the forest, but now I’m ignoring them, walking with my chin up. I forge ahead in silence, my breaths misting on the cold air. Some kind of deep, determined hum settles into my heart, my veins.

“Fucking try me,” I snap, at the next threatening noise I hear. “I don’t even care!”

When it comes down to it, all I care about is reaching the Tree.

I desperately hope that the problem with Aiden's Tree is something within my capacity to fix. It feels better to know where Aiden is - so much better - but I’m still deeply afraid. Afraid of the agonized way he's breathing, his cut-off voice, the fear in his blue eyes.

My hands begin trembling again at the memory. My heart starts to race, and I want to cry out in distress about the state I’ve had to leave my Companion Plant in.

But I force myself to keep going, following the current pulling me towards the Guardian Tree.

I'm beginning to wonder how long I've been walking. How deep in the forest am I? How much farther can I go before my exhaustion puts me out?

And then, finally, I see something I recognize. The ridge of thick, leafy brush that encircles the clearing around the Guardian Tree.

I sprint the rest of the way, go bursting out into the clearing. I stop there, panting, and could almost drop to my knees with relief.

There it is.

It looks how I remember it. Standing tall. A sea of gorgeous, multicolored leaves in every shade of green, so many that the branches are heavy with their own growth, weighed down. The graceful sweep of its canopy, how it rustles in the night breeze.

But one thing is different. I press my fingers to my mouth when I see it.

A choking vine has twisted its way up and around the trunk, rising all the way into the canopy. Climbing so high that it's even starting to wrap around the branches.

“Oh, Aiden,” I whisper, as understanding breaks over me.

No wonder it seemed like he didn't know what was happening any more than I did. No wonder he can’t speak, can barely breathe.

His Tree is slowly being strangled, suffocated.

My heart twists horribly. Tears sting my eyes as I realize what this must feel like for Aiden - but then a second realization dawns on me, and I let out a sobbing laugh, overwhelmed with relief.

The choking vine is a problem I can fix.

I go up to the Tree, stand beneath its unique, stunning canopy, and put a hand to its silver bark.

“It’s gonna be okay, Aiden," I stammer, wiping the tears from my face. “Everything's gonna be okay."

I slip my secateurs from my pocket, and slowly begin to set my Companion Plant free.