Here it is: the final chapter! I'm a little sad it's over, but I'm excited to present it.

Fair warning: This one is longer than the others. Much longer.

With that out of the way: Enjoy! c:

-Chapter Six: Calm After The Storm-

He tried to open his eyes, with very little success. Barely conscious, he could only deduce he was being carried; presumably by Descole, since he was the most recent person Hershel had come across. But where was he taking him? That question never did get answered. Or...Was it Emmy? Perhaps she escaped capture as well? Although, if that were the case, why would she be carrying him? And what of Luke? Was he not with them? He heard people talking, but had no idea what they were saying; as a matter of fact, they didn't even sound like anyone he knew...

When he finally could open his eyes, they were greeted by near-blinding lights, and they closed tight once again. A few minutes passed when something sharp yet small jabbed itself into his left arm, to which he struggled to suppress a surprised, pained shout.

"Seems he felt that!" remarked a woman's voice he was unfamiliar with. "No, no! Leave it in!" She gently insisted upon catching Hershel grabbing where he had been jabbed, in an attempt to remove the object. Something then held onto his right hand. Another set of hands, perhaps? Then something beeped off, and was removed from his mouth.

How long had that been there? He wondered.

"That's really high..." An anxious man gulped. He didn't recognize this man, either!

Just what on earth is going on?! Was all he could think.

His head started swimming again before he could listen to the remainder of the conversation. The next thing he knew, his chest and arms were exposed and met with...Packs of ice? It was only when the cold wet pouches were laid on top his sweaty, hot body, did he realize the dire situation he was in, after which, he stopped resisting. Some time passed; he wasn't sure what medicine he was injected with, but it seemed to help, as his head and body aches lessened in severity. Though now, he was rather sleepy as well...

It wasn't long after Emmy and Inspector Grosky arrived at the hospital that they learnt which room number the Professor was in, and rushed down the corridor until they found the room itself. The door was shut, so Emmy knocked, and was surprised to hear a "come in" from inside. Upon entering, while Grosky stayed at the threshold, she blinked when she saw another man sitting at the Professor's bedside. He had reddish-brown hair, and red-framed glasses, exactly like the constable had described.

"Oh, hello!" said Emmy, before she approached him. "You must be...?"

"Desmond Sycamore." He confirmed, extending his right arm. "Are you, by any chance, the "Emmy" Hershel here mentioned in the midst of his rambling?"

"I am!" She answered, taking his hand as they shook. "I can't thank you enough!"

"It was no trouble." Desmond stated.

"Where was he?" She asked, laying eyes on the sleeping professor.

"A few meters short of Tower Bridge's entrance." said he. "I was returning home from an evening out, when I happened to spot him shielding himself from the thunderstorm."

"How long has he been here?" Emmy asked. "Will he be staying overnight?"

"It's been almost two hours now." said Desmond, briefly checking his watch, before returning it to his pocket. "He was delirious, along with showing a few early signs of hypothermia." A pause. " Ice packs were used to help break his fever, and he was also put on IV treatment. His shingles rash was redressed as well." A pause longer than the first. "...And the ER staff is currently debating whether to keep him overnight, on the off chance he develops pneumonia."

"Does that happen often?" She asked, taking in what he had just said.

"I suppose it is possible. Hershel is the only one who knows how long he had been out there for, though I doubt he'll remember." He responded. "I apologize; I may not be the best person to ask about this."

"Are they still debating?" She asked. "Did you say it was alright?"

"No, I've yet to." He answered. "They want to see how he's doing once this IV is finished." He added, pointing to the IV bag that still contained just under a full 30 minutes worth of fluids.

She could only nod in understanding. Despite how small the room was, she made her way to sit next to the Professor, opposite of Desmond, until Desmond offered her his seat, which she gratefully accepted. It was quite late now, but she just had to make sure Hershel was okay.

"Professor..." Emmy whispered, while gently stroking his hand with her thumb. "Professor, can you hear me?" She watched as he slowly opened his eyes, only to squeeze them shut in response to the bright ceiling lights. Noticing this, she motioned Grosky to dim them a little; once that was done, the Professor managed to open his eyes without much trouble, only somewhat surprised at his surroundings.

"D...Descole?" He mumbled, still clearly half asleep. Desmond grew nervous, thinking the other man was looking at him in that moment.

"What? No. Descole isn't here!" Emmy corrected him, to which he turned his head towards her. "It's me. It's Emmy."

"Emmy..." he quietly repeated. "What happened?" he asked. "Where's Luke?"

"What happened, Professor, was your fever got the better of you." She answered, before sharing with him a summarized version of that night's events.

"I'm...I'm terribly sorry..." Hershel frowned as he apologized, looking away in place of his usual concealing his eyes with his hat. He knew he had been a stubborn patient, even if he didn't want to admit it. "I should have awoken you then."

"Somehow, I think you would have ended up here either way!" She remarked with a sympathetic smile.

Just then, a knock; it was one of the ER doctors coming to check the professor's vitals, along with observing the progress on the IV, which now had about 15 minutes worth of fluids.

"Why, you seem to be doing rather well now." The doctor remarked, once everything checked out. "We might have to keep you overnight, after all!"

"That is excellent to hear!" the half-awake Professor said.

"We'll let the IV finish up, while I fetch the discharge papers." said the doctor, before exiting the room. He didn't take long, only about a 15 minute wait. Once the papers were filled out and signed, Hershel was free to go.

"It's rather late, so I'll escort you both home." Grosky spoke.

"Thank you, Inspector." Hershel replied, as he looked around for his shoes, before remembering he didn't have them. Oh dear. I seem to be a bit out of it still...

Noticing the Professor was still a bit unsteady as he stood, Desmond helped him the whole way to the patrol car, insisting the other man lie down in the backseat. Though offered a ride as well, Desmond declined, since his ride was still waiting for him at the other side of the building.

Get better soon, Layton. He thought, as he saw the others off. Life is rather dull without anyone to play with!

A week passed since then. The Professor was doing much better since his fever went away! His rash had scabbed over, too, and no longer needed to be covered with gauze; his favorite sweater could now do the job just as easily. In fact, he finally returned to work, the worry of anyone else getting sick now behind him.

Or so he thought...

"Look, Professor!" Luke called out as he entered the study, and approached his mentor. He then held out a white envelope. "A letter came in for you."

"Thank you, my boy!" the Professor replied upon accepting the letter, opening it to see who it was from, as he didn't recognize the return address. "Let's see what it says..."

To Professor Hershel Layton,

I hope you are recovering well from your ailment. Believe me when I say it was shocking to find you ill and delirious. I wished to check to see how you were doing in person before I embark on another excavation, but due to the short amount of time I have before I leave, a letter will have to suffice for now.

Let us meet again sometime in better circumstances!

Yours Truly,

Professor Desmond Sycamore

"That's the Good Samaritan who got you to the hospital, right?" asked Luke. "That's nice of him to check on you!"

"Indeed." Hershel commented, blinking at the bad handwriting, before folding the letter back into the envelope, and setting it aside on his desk. "I'll have to reply soon! In the meantime, Luke, have you heard from Emmy? She's normally here around this time, but today she has yet to arrive."

Luke shook his head. "Have you tried to phone her?" he asked.

"A few times, but she never answered." The Professor confirmed. A pause. "I do think we should pay her a visit."

Still groggy despite a long restless night, and sleeping in all that morning, she opened her eyes, vision taking longer to come into focus than usual. Even with the humidifier she had running, she had trouble catching her breath in between coughing fits. She had been feeling unwell for a few days now, and especially felt worse today. Her illness was further confirmed by her thermometer when she checked her temperature.

I should eat something, but I'm not hungry... she thought, reluctant to push away her warm covers again, knowing her bare feet had to touch the cold hard floor to do anything!

"I need some tea..." she decided, after pondering the idea for a minute. While the kettle was filled and put on the stove, she heard a knock at her flat's door.

"Emmy?" A familiar voice was barely audible from the other side of the thick door, followed by another knock. "Emmy? Are you home?"

"Emmy, it's us!" Another voice chimed in. "Professor and Luke!"

"Coming..." She could barely speak up with her raspy voice. Why are those two here? she wondered, as she opened the door to greet her unexpected guests, only to be met with even more coughing.

"Wow, you look terrible!" Luke bluntly remarked. A bit harsh, though she had to agree with him; between her un-brushed hair, her heavily flushed face, and her disheveled PJs, she really was a mess!

"Have you gone to see a doctor yet?" the Professor asked, after placing his hand on her forehead.

Emmy attempted to verbalize a "no", but ultimately found herself shaking her head instead. "I...I was going to go later this afternoon...I made the appointment yesterday..."

"But it is afternoon." Luke stated.

"It is?" she asked, only to receive two confirming nods in response. Not long after that, Emmy was taken to her regular clinic.

"Aye, I've 'eard this kinda rattlin' before." said the scrubs-clad doctor while listening to Emmy's heartbeat and breathing with her stethoscope. "It's definitely pneumonia!"

"I see. I'm...I'm not going to have to go to the hospital, am I?" Emmy questioned in between coughs.

"In yer case, I doubt it." said the doctor. "Yer symptoms are pretty mild, so I'm sure yer boyfrien' can take good care o' ya, no problem!"

'Boyfriend'...? Emmy wondered. Oh, she didn't mean- Flustered, she tried to correct the other woman, but a coughing fit hindered her from doing so.

"She thought I was your boyfriend, did she?" Hershel asked Emmy with a small chuckle, while pouring her a cup of tea, adding a little honey to help sooth her throat.

"Yes, I tried to correct her, but no luck." she answered. "Ah, thanks." she added, as she accepted the cup, breathing in some of the steam before taking a sip.

Hershel joined her on the sofa, pulling the blanket closer to her shoulders so she remained well covered. It wasn't the first time the pair had been mistaken for a couple, yet it could still catch them both off guard so easily! And, if asked at that moment if he could picture it himself, Hershel would be quick to say yes. It would be nice, since he hadn't felt intimately close with anyone in years; if only he had the heart to move on...

"Maybe you two should start dating." An unexpected response came from Luke, who was getting himself a cup of tea.

"W-wait, what now, Luke?" The two adults nearly said in unison. Sheepishly, they tried to laugh it off.

"Oh, Luke." Hershel started, inviting the boy to sit with them. "Even if Emmy and I...liked each other...that way...we would still be first and foremost Professor and assistant!"

"It would not be...Very professional." Emmy added, as she cleared her throat.

"Yes, and we wouldn't want to mix business with personal." the Professor stated.

"...Does that all make sense?" Emmy asked, hoping neither would have to elaborate further.

"I suppose." Luke answered. "It sounds a bit complicated, though..."

"Yeah, some things just tend to be!" said Emmy, relieved they could brush it off so easily!

Even if they aren't a couple, the Professor continued to take care of Emmy for the duration of her illness, in return for taking care of him. After all, it was simply the gentlemanly thing to do!

The End

And that is that!

Here's the last bit of medical info for this fic:

IV treatment works by delivering much needed fluids through a tube directly into the bloodstream. It consists of saline solution, along with medicine and vitamin supplements. Since the bag is hung above the patient's head, gravity carries the fluids into the veins gradually. The duration of a single treatment usually lasts no more than an hour.

Pneumonia is caused by many different factors, depending on its type. A virus and bacteria are the most common causes. Diagnosis is based on how breathless you feel, how long you've had a cough for, and if you are experiencing chest pain. Doctors usually also check for any crackling or rattling sounds in the chest with a stethoscope.

Mild pneumonia can be treated at home with bed-rest, fluids, and antibiotics.

And that is all the wisdom I have to share this time. Until we meet again with a new story, honest reviews, please! c: