'm sorry," said Kat smoothly. "This is a private party."
And she grabbed Jade's arm and pulled her through the door, and started to swing the door closed. Leo's foot connected with the door, stopping it from closing.
"I was invited," he said, staring hard at Kat.
"Not by me," she replied, pronouncing each word clearly, and glaring back at him.
Erick moved forward.
"What seems to be the problem, kitten?" he asked, looming over her shoulder.
Leo took one look at the girls father, and paled slightly.
"He's not invited, Daddy," Kat explained, and Erick stepped forward, followed closely by his brother, Aaron, who was just as burly as Erick.
Jade began to protest, but Kat shook her into silence. Confronted with Erick and Aaron, Leo gave up, and turned and stalked down the footpath, cursing to himself.
"Thanks Daddy. Thanks Uncle Aaron," Kat said, standing on tip toes and kissing both cheeks after they obligingly bent down a little.
"Not a problem, princess," said Aaron with a chuckle. "I'm off to get another drink."
Kat smiled at him, but her gaze was flat when she looked at Jade.
"You and I need to talk."

Kat closed her bedroom door firmly behind them, and turned to her sister.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing."
"I don't believe you. You're pissed 'cause I moved out?"
"Of course not. Don't be stupid. I don't need anyone but Leo."
"What about Darryl?"
Jade shrugged. "Leo is all that matters."
Kat frowned at Jade, who was looking anxiously around the room.
"Where is your mirror?"
"What mirror?"
"The mirrors we were given."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Silver mirrors, with roses, from L-... someone."
Kat vaguely recalled something, but it was hazy. She did remember wrapping the mirror and putting it in a box Jade had been packing.
"It'll be in a box, somewhere. In here or the spare room."
"We should find it."
"Why?"
"Because we need to!"
"Why?"
"Well... You don't have any mirrors in this room."
Kat pulled open a wardrobe door to reveal a full-length mirror.
"What's with the mirror, Jade?" Kat asked, quietly.
Jade looked nervous.
"They're pretty."
"And?"
"They're beautiful."
"Jade."
"And they were a birthday gift."
"From who?" Kat asked suspiciously.
"Le- um... a secret admirer."
"From Leo."
"Yea- No. Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"Because you've almost told me about four times."
"I didn't!"
"Hmm..." murmured Kat, looking at her sister strangely. "Tell you what. You look through that box there for the mirror, and I'll just sit here and see if I can remember unpacking it."
Jade instantly fell to searching through the box, and Kat carefully traced the thread of consciousness back to Jade's mind and lightly brushed her thoughts over her sister's mind. There seemed to be a black thread there, tangled through Jade's mind, but it slipped away when Kat tried to look for it. After a moment, Kat withdrew. Jade looked puzzled.
"What am I looking for?"
"The mirror."
"Right... Why?"
"You wanted to."
"I did?" Jade asked, blankly. "Oh well. That can wait, I'll come look for it after Mum and Dad leave tomorrow. Is Darryl here yet? I haven't seen him for ages."
"Yeah, he's in the lounge."
"Great! You don't mind if we don't look for it now, do you?"
"No, of course not."
Jade bounced out of the room, leaving Kat feeling very puzzled.

***

"Hey, beautiful," Marc said, sliding an arm around Kat's waist as she re-entered the hall.
"Hey. Where's Jade and Darryl?"
"Making out - uh, up - on the couch."
"Oh?"
"Mmm, yes. I don't think he needed much cheering up after she downed about 3 shots of tequila, then jumped him."
Kat's eyebrows shot up.
"I see."
Those two words spoke volumes. Marc laughed.
"The strangest thing is, your parents actually look relieved. You work out what was wrong?"
"I think I have an idea. I'll talk about it with you tomorrow though. She seems to be herself again for the moment."
"Then let us go and enjoy your party."

***

Leo cursed savagely. He had almost completely lost his hold on Jade. The connection was still there, but it was only just barely hanging on. He would have to get her to look in the mirror again to re-establish his hold on her. He tried pulling her mind towards that, but she'd been drinking, and he couldn't get a good hold. His "persuasion" just slid off. Damn that Kat. She'd undone all his work. Leo scowled. He would have to wait until morning.

***

Kat picked up a glass of champagne and mingled. She noticed Darryl and Jade slipping out the back door into the garden, and decided not to worry about them for the moment. When they returned from the garden, Kat opened presents. Most were "homey" things - plants and crockery and cutlery, all of which Kat was absolutely delighted with. Erick and Lucia had teamed up with the girls grandparents and aunt and uncle, and bought a fridge, and a TV, and a group of friends from Uni had purchased the microwave. There was a large supply of help stocking the liquor cabinet - obviously that was considered to be a high-priority task for Uni students. Kat adored the box from Jade, and Marc had obviously thought very hard about what to get - he'd bought all the cleaning things, medicine, and household materials Kat would need. Kat just laughed when she opened it.
"And are you going to do my cleaning for me too?" she teased.
Marc just grinned. "I have something else for you too," he said. "But that can wait until later."
There was a lot of good-natured teasing following *that* particular comment. The party lasted well into the morning, filling the house with people and alcohol, but most importantly, the laughter and good cheer which drove out any negativity remaining from previous owners and created personal protection wards all around the house.

People started leaving shortly after midnight. Erick and Lucia had an early-morning flight out, so they were the first to leave. Slowly people followed suit, and by 3:30 in the morning, Kat and Marc were alone in the house with the kittens again.
"Had a good party?" Marc asked, quietly, wrapping his arms around her.
"Mmm, yes," she replied, leaning into him. "Just thinking of all the cleaning up!"
Marc laughed. "Don't think about it. Can't you feel the energy?"
Kat smiled. "Yes. I'm bathing in it. These people love me very much."
"You're easily loveable."
"So I've been told," Kat returned with a smile, wanting to keep the mood light.
Marc smiled, and lightly kissed her neck.
"Your other present is on your bed, before you go to sleep. Why don't you go get ready for bed, and I'll pick up a few glasses and things?"
"Alright, baby."
Kat turned and kissed him softly on the mouth, then moved into her bedroom and gently closed the door. Marc sighed and began collecting glasses.

***

Jade awoke in the morning feeling slightly hung-over. She rolled over and snuggled up to Darryl, who was snoring quietly beside her. Jade smiled, happily. The last few days seemed to be a blur, but she definitely remembered Kat's party, and the rest of last night. Jade pulled herself from the bed, and got dressed for the day, after a nice long shower. Darryl woke up just after she'd finished, and she went downstairs while he showered. Erick and Lucia were sitting in the kitchen, suitcases by the door. The family had decided they would go out for breakfast before Erick and Lucia's flight, and Jade told her parents she was going to jog over and wake up Kat.

The morning was bright and sunny, though the chill hadn't worked its way out of the air yet. Jade rang Kat's bell, and she opened the door looking surprisingly awake, but still in her dressing gown.
"Come in," Kat offered. "I realised this morning that I'm going to have to be the one that drives, seeing as though you all walked home last night."
Jade laughed and entered the house.
"It feels like you in here now," she commented absently, placing a hand on the wall beside her.
"I'll make a mystic of you yet," laughed Kat.
"Have a good time last night?"
"Yes. You?"
"Oh, yes." Jade grinned. "What did Marc end up getting you, by the way?" Jade asked, hoping it sounded casual, but actually dying of curiosity.
Kat casually untied her robe to reveal a black lace teddy, complete with black satin ribbons that tied it in place. It fit... rather well.
"Oh my..." breathed Jade in shock, as Kat re-tied her robe. "Oh, my."
"Yup, about that!" Kat laughed.
"And where is lover-boy this morning?"
Kat pointed silently to the closed door of the second bedroom.
"You made him sleep in the spare room after he gave you that!?" Jade exclaimed.
"Yes," Kat replied serenely. "I did."
"That outfit just screams 'I want to sleep with you'. And you made him sleep in the spare room?"
"I showed it to him first," Kat offered.
Then she grinned an extremely wicked grin. Jade stared at Kat in shock for a long moment. Then she killed herself laughing.

***

Kat and Jade returned to Kat's place after their parent's flight had left. Jade called Darryl on the way, so by the time they arrived, he and Marc were both waiting for them.

Kat sighed.
"Jade is sick. She has Systemic lupus erythematosus, better known as SLE. It manifested as Antiphospholipid Syndrome, which in turn led to her contracting Addison's Disease. We thought she was over it, but now she's having a relapse."
Darryl gave her a blank look.
"She has an autoimmune disorder, Dazz, which attacked her adrenal glands. The damage was quite extensive - like, 90% of her adrenal cortex was destroyed, and so her body doesn't produce enough cortisol or aldosterone. And *that* means-"
Kat stopped, as Darryl held up a hand.
"Hang on there, Kat. I'm doing engineering, not biomed. In English, please."
Kat thought for a moment.
"Alright. Jade has an autoimmune disease, which basically means her body thinks she's allergic to herself. Her body started fighting itself, and pretty much destroyed her adrenal cortex, which is something that produces certain hormones... With me so far?"
Darryl nodded, once.
"Right... so the lack of adrenal cortex led to lack of hormones which led to her contracting Addison's disease, which is rare... it affects 1 in 100,000 people."
"Ok, so she's sick. What are the symptoms?"
Kat sighed again.
"Well, the Antiphospholipid Syndrome means that she's at higher risk for strokes, blood clots, heart disease, ulcers, dementia, hypertension, and recurrent pregnancy loss."
"How much more likely?"
"A lot more likely. The strokes are the lowest, at 10%. The Addison's Disease symptoms are Chronic fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, changes in skin pigmentation - usually dark tanning on scars, skin folds, elbows, knees, knuckles, toes and lips, and sometimes the mucous membranes in the eyes, gums and other areas, and low blood pressure, especially when standing causing dizziness or fainting spells, which is what happened in the restaurant."
Kat took a deep breath, and Darryl said nothing.
"Also, Addison's disease can cause irritability and depression, and hypoglycaemia - which is low blood sugar... which can lead to diabetes if not properly treated, and it also messes up her cycle, and causes salt cravings."
Darryl leaned back in his chair, trying to absorb it all.
"I never had any idea."
"She doesn't really like to talk about it."
"What's the treatment?"
"Steroids, mainly. She takes a couple of tablets every morning and evening, and eats lots of salty foods, and drinks lots of water."
"Yes, I'd noticed that... Well, not the tablets, but the others..."
"I think the last time she went to the doctor they were testing some new slow release tablets or something, so she'd only have to take them once a week or something... They seemed to be working ok."
Darryl sighed, and looked down at Jade.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her quietly, looking hurt.
Kat placed a hand on his arm.
"It's alright, Darryl. She had her ID tag in her purse, so the doctors knew what to do with her. They've done all the right things, and she'll probably wake up soon."
"How can you be so calm about it?"
"Because I know that she'll be OK," Kat replied. "You forget how many times I've been through this. I spent 2 months laying beside her in a hospital bed before they finally figured out what was wrong with her. Now that we know what the problem is, we can treat it. It's going to be fine."
"I'm sorry," he apologised. "I just... It's a bit of a shock."
"I know. And Jade probably should have been the one to tell you. But I couldn't not, after this."
"I'm glad you did tell me," Darryl said, putting his other hand over hers and squeezing slightly.
"That's good. Now if you will excuse me, now that I've checked on Jade, I need to go and look after Marc."
Darryl chuckled.
"You hit him pretty hard."
"So I have been told," Kat replied. "I'm going to see if the doctor looked at it, and then get some food, and then I'll be back, ok?"
"Alright," he replied. "I'll send someone to find you if she wakes up."
Kat smiled. "If she wakes up, I will know."
Kat left the room, and Darryl resumed his watch.

Marc had protested that he was perfectly fine, and the doctor concurred after a brief examination, adding that he would have a nasty bruise there in a couple of days. Before they had a chance to attempt to find something eatable in the hospital, Kat sensed that Jade was waking, so she, Marc, and the doctor returned to her room. Jade was just waking when they entered. The doctor checked her over, and assured them that she'd be Ok. Jade was staring hard at Kat.
"Kat," she whispered, trying to voice her fears.
"I know, dear. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
Jade sighed and relaxed, and shortly drifted off to sleep. Kat turned to Darryl.
"Are you staying?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Marc and I are going home, to my place, if you need me. If Leo shows up, call me. And tell the nurses not to let him anywhere near Jade."
"Yes ma'am," he smiled, more relaxed now Jade was sleeping.
"I'll talk to you later."
Kat and Marc left the hospital.