"Thirty-nine point nine," Nathalie whispered to Marinette, putting the first aid kit back on the table.
She replied with a nod and turned her attention back to the conversation.
"...But maybe it's 'born,' like the literal definition of the word," Adrien was saying, running his fingers through his hair.
"It makes more sense for it to be figurative," Gabriel argued. "Like having a natural ability."
With a sigh, Adrien stopped pacing and sat down. A second later he stood up and started pacing again. "Have there been any other ideas posted to the Ladyblog?" he asked Nathalie.
She checked her tablet. "Nothing new since you asked ten minutes ago."
Frustrated, he went over to Marinette and kneeled down in front of her chair. "How are you feeling, Princess?" he asked softly.
"I'm... okay."
"How's the pain?"
"About the same," she lied.
"Don't worry, we'll keep working. And we'll figure it out real soon. I can feel it."
She reached forward and caressed his face with her fingertips. "What do you think about recording a video to announce a winner of the contest?"
And the smile that appeared on his face at her touch suddenly disappeared. "A winner? But, no one has solved the riddle yet."
"Yeah, I know," she murmured. "But someone has to win the prize money. We'll just pick the person who got the closest to correctly guessing the other ingredients."
Adrien shook his head. "If we announce a winner then people will stop uploading their ideas."
"They've already stopped. We haven't gotten any new ideas in days. I think if someone was going to solve it, it would have been done by now."
He actually considered the idea for a moment, but then quickly dismissed it. "Let's just wait a little more. If no one solves it by next week, then we'll announce a winner. How's that sound?"
Her heart felt like it was breaking as she looked at him. The poor thing was still in denial. "Okay," she whispered. "But why don't we take a break from all of this right now? So we can get some breakfast."
He tilted his head. "Princess, we already had breakfast. Don't you remember?"
Marinette blinked at him. "Uh yes, I remember. I'm sorry, I meant to say lunch."
His heart felt like it was breaking as he looked at her. The poor thing was confused. "Princess," he said gently. "We already had lunch too. It's almost three o'clock in the afternoon. You don't remember any of that?"
"I... I..." she sputtered, putting her hand to her forehead.
Adrien kept staring at her.
"A break is an excellent idea," Emilie said, coming to the rescue.
"No, we can't take a break," Adrien insisted. "We have to keep going. We have to keep going until we figure it out."
Marinette leaned closer. "Let's take a break. I have something important to talk to you about." And she leaned back with a smile.
"I'm sure it can wait, Princess. We should keep working."
The smile fell. "It can't wait."
Stuck, they stared at each other until Gabriel spoke. "We'll take a short break, and reconvene here in five minutes."
They both nodded to the compromise.
"We'll go check on Annabelle," he continued. "That way you'll have some privacy here."
"Thank you, Gabriel," Marinette responded as he, Emilie and Nathalie made their way out of the study.
With just the two of them there, Adrien moved closer. "What did you want to talk about?"
A huge smile. "Well, I was reading my book this morning... wait, today's still Wednesday, right?"
"Yes Princess, it's still Wednesday," he replied quietly.
"Right. So I was reading, and I think that I finally found the perfect na..."
She stopped as a commotion was heard coming from the foyer.
Adrien turned his head toward the door. "I'll be right back," he said before standing up and hurrying off to find out what was going on.
Using her hands to push herself up, Marinette carefully stood, paused a moment to get her bearings, and slowly followed. Even though she was moving so slowly, she could feel her heart racing. And the fogginess in her head wasn't helping anything.
It took a minute for her to reach the foyer, and the scene there was the thing she had been dreading the most.
Emilie was on the floor, Gabriel and Nathalie kneeling down next to her. Adrien had joined them and was kneeling by her feet.
But she wasn't asleep. Her eyes were still half open and she was saying something. She must have been whispering because Marinette couldn't hear anything from her place at the study doorway.
It looked like Emilie paused, and a second later Nathalie stood up and ran up the stairs.
Adrien took her place beside his mother. And then Emilie started speaking again.
Marinette tried to get closer, but was too unsteady on her feet and had to grab the doorframe to catch herself. With the noise, Adrien looked over at her. But he turned back to Emilie as she kept speaking. Then he nodded before standing up and approaching Marinette.
They embraced when he reached her.
"Adrien," she said, holding onto him. "What's going on?"
He replied through tears. "It's happening. She's falling into her enchanted sleep again. We're too late."
Marinette started tearing up too as they held onto each other in despair.
Knowing that she only had a few moments left, Emilie was determined to do one last thing. And that was to tell her husband something. "Gabriel?" she whispered.
"Yes, my love," he cried, leaning over her and cupping her cheek in his hand.
A second passed before she got the words out. "I forgive you."
Gabriel shook his head. "You don't have to..."
"I forgive you," she insisted. A pause as she fought to keep her eyes open. "And I know that I was angry with you about all those horrible things that you did. But I'm not angry anymore. I forgive you, and I... I give you permission to do whatever you need to do to fix this."
His eyes widened as he listened to her.
"Whatever it takes, you have my permission," Emilie continued.
Across the foyer, Adrien, Marinette and the kwamis watched the scene. Marinette wanted to go up to Emilie to say her goodbyes, but Gabriel deserved that more than she did. So she let them have their private moment together.
After a minute, they watched Gabriel nod at his wife. Then Emilie closed her eyes and she was gone.
There was a heavy silence that followed. It only ended as Nathalie walked down the stairs, carrying an unconscious Annabelle in her arms. "She won't wake up," she announced tearfully once she reached the bottom.
Overwhelmed, Adrien turned and hugged Marinette again.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. And she let him cry against her as there was another silence.
After a minute of nothing, Gabriel finally wiped his face and stood up. "We need to find a place to put them for now."
"Should we... put them downstairs?" Nathalie asked quietly.
"No," Adrien replied, spinning around to them. "Not downstairs."
Gabriel agreed. "Not downstairs."
A pause before a quiet voice spoke. "We don't have to move them anywhere," Marinette said.
Confused, Adrien turned back to her. "What do you mean, Princess? You know that we can't keep them right here in the foyer. How about we move them up to my old room?" he continued, looking at Gabriel. "That way they can be together. Annabelle's bed isn't big enough for both of them to stay there."
"Okay," he replied, kneeling down to pick Emilie up. But he stopped when Marinette spoke again.
"Leave her there. Nathalie, put Annabelle down. We don't have to move them anywhere."
Everyone looked at her.
"Princess," Adrien said gently. "I think you're still a little confused from your fever. Let me take you upstairs to Annabelle's room so you can lie down and rest for a while. We'll take care of this and then get back to work."
"No, I'm not confused..."
"It's okay, I'll take you," he interrupted, scooping her up bridal-style.
Her arguments fell on deaf ears. "No Adrien, I don't need to rest..."
"You'll feel much better soon, Princess," he continued, taking her upstairs. "Now don't worry about my mom and Annabelle. We'll make sure they're comfortable in my room."
"No, it's not that..."
"You rest for a little bit. Then I'll come back and check on you. Don't worry about anything, my beautiful Princess. We'll keep working and figure it out in time."
"But Adrien..."
"Here we go," he said, entering Annabelle's room. He walked over and lay her down on the bed. "You rest. I have to go help Nathalie and my father."
"Adrien," Marinette said desperately. "I need to..."
"Shhh," he insisted, putting his finger to her lips. "I told you, don't worry. Just let your mind rest." Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead. "I love you. I'll be back soon." And he nodded at Tikki and left before she could say another word.
Adrien caught up with Nathalie and Gabriel in his old bedroom. They had already brought Annabelle and Emilie there and placed them down on the bed.
"Should we put them under the covers?" Adrien asked, interrupting their hushed conversation.
"No, they should be fine here until you can get them in a cryogenic pod," Gabriel answered. "We don't want to risk them overheating."
"But what if they get too cold?"
"Too cold is better than too hot. Being too hot will make their tissue break down faster."
Adrien stopped breathing. "Wait, heat makes tissue break down faster?"
He nodded.
"So, Marinette's fever is probably making her injury worse?"
With the realization, Gabriel reluctantly nodded again.
Adrien looked down as tears started welling up again. "Can we please go downstairs and get back to work now?"
Gabriel stepped over to his son. "It's okay, Adrien. Marinette is going to be fine." He glanced down at the silver ring on his right hand before continuing. "She's resting in Annabelle's room?"
A nod.
"Why don't I go check on her?" Gabriel suggested. "You two go downstairs and I'll meet you there in a minute."
"Okay," Adrien whimpered. "Just don't take too long. We need to work."
"It will be quick. I promise." He took a step away but stopped when he saw someone. "Marinette?" he asked.
Adrien spun around. "Princess! What are you doing? You should be resting," he added, running up to her and grabbing her hand.
"I need to talk to you," she cried. "Please Adrien, please listen to me."
Seeing how distraught she was, he nodded. "Yes of course, Princess. I'll listen." He guided her over to the couch and sat her down. Then he kneeled down in front of her. "Alright, go ahead."
Marinette reached over and pushed some hair away from his eyes. "I'm sorry Kitty," she whispered. "But we're officially out of time."
He blinked at her. "No... that... that's not true. You said it's going in order. My mom and Annabelle just fell asleep, so we should have at least a few days."
"It's not the injury. It's the infection. It's spreading too quickly and the baby won't make it a few more days."
"The baby?" he repeated in a whisper.
"There's not enough time to save him. Even if we figured out what the ingredient is right this very second, it would take too long to get it here in time to make the potion and fix the Miraculous. The infection could have spread to him already. And I can't handle losing him too."
All Adrien could do was stare at her. He wasn't even trying to keep his tears in anymore.
"I'm sorry Adrien," she continued, fighting back her own. "But it's time."
After a moment, he nodded. "You're right. It's time."
She nodded back.
Then they both held their open hand out towards the other.
Confused, Adrien looked down at her empty hand. "Wha... what are you doing?"
Equally confused, Marinette answered. "I'm waiting for you to give me your ring. What are you doing?"
"I'm waiting for you to give me your earrings."
A beat of silence.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not giving you my earrings. You... you promised that you wouldn't..."
"I'm sorry I lied to you," he interrupted, a tear falling down his face. "But I can't lose you. You know that. You need to survive, and the baby needs to survive."
"We've already had this argument," Marinette cried, closing her eyes in frustration. "You can't heal us both. If the infection has already spread then we'll lose him anyway." She paused to catch her breath and open her eyes again. "Adrien, please. Please just give me your ring."
"No, I... I don't understand. Why do you want my ring?"
A weak shrug. "So I can wake them up," she replied, looking back at where Emilie and Annabelle were lying.
He shook his head, confused again. "You wouldn't be able to save them both..."
"But the baby and I can."
Overhearing the whole conversation, Nathalie and Gabriel were just as fazed as Adrien at her suggestion.
"This was all meant to be," Marinette continued. "It's fate. Everything that's happened has been leading up to this. Don't you see? This is the reason why the other two babies didn't make it. I had to be pregnant at this exact moment."
"No," Adrien argued. "You're not thinking straight. Your fever is making you confused."
"I'm thinking clearer than I ever have before. It's suddenly all so obvious. I mean, do you think it was a coincidence that Hawk Moth's son was the one selected to have the Black Cat Miraculous? Do you think it was a coincidence that Ladybug and Chat Noir fell in love with each other without even knowing? Those weren't coincidences, and neither is this. Right now we have two people who need to be saved, and two people who are already dying. There's no reason to lose all four of us."
"Marinette," Nathalie said, finally stepping forward. "Don't do this. Give me the Miraculouses, and I'll make an ultimate wish to fix the Starfish. Then we can use it to heal all of you."
She shook her head. "If you make a wish to fix something, something else will break. And we don't know what."
"I don't care," Nathalie replied, full of steadfast determination. "I'll take that risk."
"And if that something to break turns out to be Adrien's heart? Or Gabriel's heart? Or my heart? Or yours? What then? You would die instantly, and no Miraculous in the world can bring people back from the dead."
And her gaze fell to the floor.
"Making an ultimate wish isn't the solution people think it is," Marinette continued softly. "But at least it can help us with this problem. Let me wake them up, and you won't have to worry about solving riddles ever again."
After listening to the back and forth, and to all of her valid reasons, Adrien came to a decision. "No."
Marinette turned to look at him. "I'm sorry, Kitty..."
"No. There's nothing to be sorry about, because you're not going through with this. We're going to keep working, and we're going to find a solution."
"Adrien..."
"No Princess. I'm not giving you my ring. And with your injury, you're not strong enough to take it away from me."
She scrunched up her face. "You're right. I can't take it from you. But I can still beg you. Please Kitty, please don't let us die in vain. Let us save your Mom, let us save Annabelle. I mean, she's only five years old. What if it takes another five years to solve the riddle? How are you supposed to explain to people why she hasn't aged?"
"It won't take five years," he argued. "We're going to figure it out real soon."
She put both hands to his face. "Please Kitty. I'm begging you."
He shook his head.
And she closed her eyes as she started crying.
"Alright," Gabriel said, stepping up to them. "Emotions are running too high right now. I think we all need to stop and take some space."
Adrien wouldn't move away from Marinette.
"Adrien, come with me," Gabriel continued.
He still didn't move away. "I'll be right back," he whispered. Then he reluctantly stood up.
"Plagg, stay here," Gabriel said as the kwami started following them. "I need to speak to Adrien in private."
With a confirmation nod from his chosen, Plagg did as he was told.
Then Adrien followed his father out to the hallway. And he sighed when they were alone. "Marinette's just confused," Adrien explained. "She's been saying strange things all day. It's from her fever. She doesn't really want to combine the Miraculouses, so we can't let her go through with it."
Gabriel moved up and put his hand on his shoulder. "I know this is a difficult decision," he murmured before pausing for a second. "But I think we should let her."
It was suddenly so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"What?" Adrien asked, barely at a whisper.
"We should let her combine the Miraculouses to wake Emilie and Annabelle up. And then..."
Adrien pulled back from him, his despair turning into anger. "Get away from me," he seethed. "How could you say that? After everything that's happened, you'll let her kill herself so you get what you want?" He stopped and shook his head. "I'm taking Marinette home, and we're taking the Starfish Miraculous with us. Once she's better, we'll give it back to Nathalie so she can wake up Mom and Annabelle. But we're never coming back here again..."
"You can't take Marinette home," Gabriel interrupted. "She won't be alive much longer."
"Don't you say that! Don't you ever..."
"It's true, Adrien. Nathalie just told me."
And that made him stop. "Told you... what?"
Gabriel exhaled. "After we brought Emilie and Annabelle to your room, Nathalie told me that Marinette's fever is getting too high. And like you said, she's been confused all day. So the infection must have already spread to her blood stream."
"Wha... what does that mean?"
"That means that the cataclysm isn't going to kill her, the infection is. And we don't have much time left until that happens."
And Adrien stared at him, too upset to respond.
So Gabriel continued. "Let her combine the Miraculouses to wake Emilie and Annabelle up..."
"No," Adrien tried to argue.
"...And then I'll combine the Miraculouses to bring Marinette back," Gabriel finished.