For the rest of the day and well into the night I worked. My head was full of white noise, my mind numbed from the work. I couldn't even really see the text before me as numbers and words after a while, just as smears of black ink on white paper. I hadn't been paying attention to the clock, finding it was well past my usual bedtime by the time I looked. My eyes were sore, my vision bleary, and I hadn't a choice but to give in for the rest of the night. There was still much to be done, and without that deadline extension there was no way I would pull this off.

But I needed the work, both for the money and for the distraction. I needed to keep my trust with Daniel to take care of my child. This wasn't hard in and of itself, it was the feeling of impotence that all of this came with. Somehow I'd not really considered what all it might entail for a resident to come down with something. Kids do get sick, after all, but this was my first experience with that as a parental figure.

Was I overbearing?

Was I too easily frightened?

Was I doing something wrong? Was there more I could do and I just didn't know about it?

So many small uncertainties adding up to a hill of insecurities and worries. I couldn't even begin to imagine going through all of this alone, both for Riv's personal sake and my general incompetence. Ulimi visited briefly in the evening to check up on us, saying he heard from Kuri that Riv was sick. He, too, reassured me that everything would be alright and that he'd listen for anything about possible contaminated food. He'd hate to be the source of concern, he said.

The house staff didn't seem to take much notice, though the one day worker seemed to slow herself around us and check on us more. Unlike the others, though, her stares seemed more out of genuine concern so I was more willing to humor them. It was nice having at least one member of Morissey's staff able to tolerate us, though her hesitation toward Riv was still apparent. Small steps.

I couldn't sleep. All night was spent tossing and turning, rolling over and trying to get comfortable in my pointlessly-large bed. Overall I got maybe an hour or two of sleep, waking up more tired than I was when I'd gone to bed. My shoulders were in knots, my hair in every direction, the fur on my tail kinked and frizzy...just an utter mess. I slid off the bed and rose to my feet, my legs and torso feeling as though I'd not stretched them in months. Everything in or on me was stiff and tense.

I sighed and turned toward your portrait-- the only thing of your likeness I could retain. Your shy smile helped quell the palpitations even if it were just a still image. Memories of our first encounters came back to me, how you'd carefully comfort me when I was buried under fear and stress. I hate to be selfish, but I wished...so badly for that again.

...So badly.

It had been months since your passing and it still ached like a broken bone. You were my one confidant, the only one I could really trust with the things weighing me down. I just...didn't have that anymore, and the loneliness was eating away at whatever little bit of a soul I still kept. It took what little strength I had to not buckle and break down that morning, wishing you were still here...wishing you could help me again. It was so stupid; people go through far worse without a spilled tear and I'm...hardly able to keep myself together over a sick child and a little extra work.

I'm sorry I'm selfish. I'm sorry I'm inept. I'll...find a way through this. Everyone else does, right?

I woke early enough to squeeze in a quick shower. Opening my door and peering into the hall it looked as though Riv's and Daniel's doors were still closed. The light pouring in down the hall was still a pale blue so they might not be awake yet. As much as I didn't want to be, either, there was no sleep left for me. I quickly made my way to the bathroom and into a shower stall, wanting to get this embarrassing matter over with as quickly as possible.

I wasted no time, finishing as fast as I could just to get out of there and regain decency. I dried off what I could and stepped out from the stall, looking to my reflection in the sink mirror. My eyes were baggy and sunken, the fur around my face more unkempt than usual. I combed through what could be, hoping the eyes would correct themselves as the day carried on. From my left Daniel's door opened, the large man giving an equally-large stretch from head to toe and ending with a big yawn. He waved to me before going down a door to check on Riv as I finished up for the morning, following soon after.

Work or not, I needed to check on him.

I went in briefly as Daniel checked his temperature. It was still high and Riv was sweaty again, likely needing another bath today. Fortunately those baths seemed to help him feel better provided he was steady enough to walk. With some electrolyte fluid down I quickly rushed downstairs to put together another small, simple breakfast. I brought it back upstairs and stayed with him while he slowly ate. Carefully holding the side of my snout to his cheek and combing my fingers through his long hair I parted for the morning. It was going to be a rough day and I just wanted it to be over, growing more exhausted just thinking about it.

Quickly I shuffled to my room to grab my folder along with Riv's dishes, taking everything downstairs. Morissey hadn't arrived yet so I took advantage of the time to wash up my dishes and set them to dry. By the time he got here I was sitting at my desk, checking over my work from last night. He slowly walked up to my desk and offered me mine and Daniel's weekly pay, my removing Daniel's agreed compensation and taking the remainder. As much as I wished for a bit more, if only to make life easier, I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth and potentially sour one of the few good things we had going for us.

"Just wondering-- how much of that had you managed to finish yesterday?" Morissey asked, looking at the small pile before me and handing me more.

"Um...maybe two thirds of it?" I said uncertainly, tugging my hair. "...Th-There is a lot here. I'm sorry if my pace is too slow, I'll--"

"Reverend, you are one of my better employees," he said, though with an odd look. "If that is as fast as you can work, then by all means. I was just curious is all, and you've already exceeded my expectations with this matter. Please don't rush."

I just swallowed and looked down at the remaining work in the folder.

"I will be back this evening, an hour or so after typical closing time," he said, walking back toward the door. "Say, ten or so hours from now? Maybe a little later. Will that be enough time?"

"...I will make it work," I said quietly, my ears sunk. "I need this."

He furrowed his brow in a strange sense of concern. As he turned back to the door, again, it was as though I saw something red. With the warmth of the sunrise shining through the window it was hard to tell for certain.

Once he left I dove into my work, moving as fast as my brain and hand could manage and trying not to think of anything else but what this could get me. I had already been paid for this, after all, and with the extra time and pay I could finally get Riv a new set of bedsheets, maybe even two. I would also see about getting more groceries before long as tomorrow was Saturday. If I had anything left over I'd look into getting him a nice coloring book or some board games the three of us could play together...he might like those.

Before I knew it the clock struck noon, the bell nearly making me jump out of my skin. I had been so engrossed in this work and what I could put the money toward I hadn't been paying attention to the clock. Of course, once I put my pen down and paused for a moment my exhaustion started to catch up with me. It wasn't even so much as being underslept, I was just...drained.

I got up and left my desk to head upstairs. Just past Riv's closed door Daniel sat with a book, sitting on the floor next to a small pile of papers and a folder. Riv was sleeping, though the clamminess of his sheets bothered me.

"Daniel," I whispered, "could you do me a favor this weekend?"

"Hm?"

"Um...would you mind buying a new set of sheets for Riv's bed if I give you the money to do so?" I asked. "I would be able to watch him while you're out if it's a weekend, and it's...something I've wanted to get for him for a while now."

"That's fine," he said, closing his book. "It'd be a good idea to get all of his bedding washed once he starts getting better, anyway. I'm sure he'd like some clean sheets not dripping with grease after this song 'n dance is over."

I softly chuckled at the thought.

"Now then, I'm gonna head down to fix somethin' up quick," he grunted through a stretch as he stood back up. "Hopefully this'll all be done with real soon and we can have real meals again. Dunno 'bout you but I'm cravin' some decent red meat pretty bad."

"But the E. coli," I said, half-jokingly.

"...Yanno, that's a funny thing," he went on. "I was a bit worried that it mighta been something I did, but...not only is it quite uncommon to get sick from something like a medium-rare steak, but I grind my own cuts. It's harder to trust pre-ground meat since you just don't know how many things it mighta come from or what it coulda touched, so I just kinda do the manual labor on my own."

"Huh, really?" I asked.

"My size might give it away a bit that I take food quite seriously, too," he quietly laughed. "I have my own meat grinder for such occasions and use it pretty often. If I somehow got Riv sick, well, he'd be the first of many I've fed. I do still use a thermometer for everything to be that much more sure 'bout what I put together."

With a small smile I just scratched my head. He always seemed very careful from how I saw him cook so it never crossed my mind. I hadn't even considered Daniel to be at fault for any of this, but the added assurance was nice.

"I'm gonna go get us something to eat, then," he said, walking out of the room. "If last night's any indication I know you gotta still have a lot of work on your plate yet."

I thought back to the pile of work at my desk and tried my best not to cringe, looking over to my sleeping boy. I sat beside him, gently rubbing his back as he stirred awake.

"Can I get you to drink some of this for me?" I asked, opening a bottle of the fluid. "We'll be eating soon and I would like you to get some food down, if possible."

With a yawn he sat upright, groggily taking the bottle and downing what he could of the apple-smelling liquid.

"Have you been feeling any better?" I asked the tired child.

"...A little bit," he mumbled.

"Do you think you can eat some lunch?"

"I...think so."

I capped the bottle and set it aside, opening my arm in invitation. He accepted without hesitation, hugging sleepily around my small ribcage and laying his head on my chest. I softly chuckled before resting the side of my snout on his head as I held him, my eyes closing.

"Father, what was that song from yesterday?" the little boy asked.

"Hm?"

"The one you were humming before."

"Oh...um, just...something I remembered from a long time ago."

"I liked it. Can you...do it again?"

"...A-Are you sure? I...don't have a very good voice."

"I like how you sound," he said, nuzzling into my small chest. "You sound nice and soft."

That was probably one of the nicer things anyone had ever said about me, especially relating to my sound. I'd always been very conscious of my voice, how high and impactless it was and how often I would be mistaken for a woman by sound alone.

After a pause I closed my eyes again, resuming the small tune from the previous afternoon as I slowly ran my fingers through his messy hair. For a moment I felt my mind drift back to those times so long ago.

After a short time Daniel's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. I parted from Riv to accept our food, though before receiving the plate the tall man looked at me strangely.

"Did somethin' happen while I was away?" he asked.

"...No, why?" I answered.

"You got a little waterworks coming from your left," he said. "Just makin' sure you're okay."

Reaching up to my cheek I touched a wet trail streaming from my eye. As much as I wanted to run and hide I had nowhere to go and didn't want to cause a scene. My ears sunk back in reflex as I accepted the plate.

"There somethin' you need to talk about?" Daniel asked me, giving Riv his plate.

"...I'm fine, thank you," I said, stuffing my face to avoid the inevitable.

From the edge of my vision I could see him look down to me, face full of worry, before heading back to get his own food. When he returned the air was silent and awkward, but he would keep looking at me as though to reassure me he was still here. It was both comforting and intimidating, but I'm unsure which one more so.

When everyone finished I took the dishes downstairs with me to wash up before continuing with my work. I dreaded the thought, but surely the reward was worth it. With the dishes set to dry I went back behind my desk, ready to lose another several hours to the monotonous pile of paper in front of me.

---

I pushed onward into the evening, finally finishing the pile and doing so by my deadline. Putting everything into its folder I set it atop the rim of my desk, ready for pickup should I not be here to give it to Morissey directly. Standing up from my desk the full gravity of my condition hit me, leading me to grab the side as my legs tried to wake from sleep and my head went light. I needed to go upstairs to check on them and relieve Daniel so dinner could be made. Before I reached the corridor the front door opened, Morissey behind it.

"Good evening," he said. "Had you managed to finish all of that? I'm very sorry it was so much and on such short notice."

"I-It's fine...it's fine," I said. "I did finish it. It's on top of the...rim of the desk."

"Are you alright, Reverend?" he asked, a slight softness to his face.

"...Just tired," I replied. "Please don't worry about me, I will be fine."

"Well, you've been performing so efficiently and with a rather daunting task," he started, pulling out a bottle from a small bag, "that I thought I would get you something nice."

"Um...wine?"

"You don't strike me as one who drinks, but you could use a break, Reverend," he said, offering the bottle to me. "It's a nice wine, one of my favorites. Fairly sweet but not too sweet, a little bubbly. Your time and work are appreciated and I should be able to hear back about my survey over the course of next week, depending on how far the town is from here."

With hesitation I accepted the bottle. I'd always been apprehensive about alcohol consumption, mostly due to my upbringing, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"...Th-Thank you, Morissey," I said quietly.

"It's nice to have in the evenings to wind down," he shrugged. "Perhaps this is a worthwhile benefit to explore given those baggy eyes of yours."

My ears slunk back, but he just slyly smiled.

"Of course, you also have your weekend work if you'd prefer," he chuckled, turning back toward the door. "Please don't break your back for this. I do have other employees at your rank if it's too much."

Before I could get a word in the door had already closed.

---