"Sorry dad," I grimaced as I stood next to his bed. My hand was on his shoulder, and I gave him a gentle reassuring squeeze and asked "Are you ok now?"

The shock of seeing my recently-acquired demonic traits sent him into a coughing fit, and at first I worried he was going to hurt himself. The way he was going I was almost ready to call a nurse or something, but he finally started to calm down after a solid minute or so.

He lay back in his bed and took several deep breaths, with the tube under his nose providing more oxygen to help him recover quicker.

After another half minute he finally shook his head, "Ok now. Lexi. It was. A shock."

Hearing him almost struggle to talk left me feeling more anxious again, that either the coughing or my foolish reveal left him so weak and out of breath. I could see the weariness in his eyes too, which worried me even more.

Most of our two visits yesterday he'd been more alert, but I realized that was probably from the excitement of our reunion. That excitement was wearing off, and the coughing fit left him drained. Now I was seeing the reality of his situation. He had stage four cancer, and his prognosis wasn't good.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I asked in a quiet, worried tone. "Maybe I should call a nurse after all?"

He shook his head again, "Just need. A minute."

My girlfriend suggested softly, "Lexi come sit down with me. Give your dad some time to recover, ok?"

I nodded and moved back to join her. She'd already pulled the chairs back against the wall, so they wouldn't be in the way in case we did need to call for help. It also meant we were a couple meters back from dad's bed, and gave him some space to calm down or rest.

As soon as I was seated next to her Marianne slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer.

I leaned against her and half-whispered, "Surprising him like that was stupid. I could have killed him. I can't believe I did something so reckless Marianne. I work in a hospital, I should know better."

"Don't blame yourself Lexi," she whispered back. "You're still recovering from a massive life change. We both are. I think perhaps it was a mistake for us to come here so soon after that? I'm worried neither of us are thinking clearly right now."

I sighed as I watched my dad. He had the back of the bed tilted up at an angle so he wasn't laying flat, his head was against the pillows and his eyes were closed. I couldn't tell if he'd drifted to sleep or if he was just dozing a little, but at least he seemed to be breathing easier.

My eyes flicked to the monitor next to him. He still had that O2 saturation clip on his finger, and I frowned at the elevated heart rate and low oxygen number. I knew those figures weren't good, but I didn't really know anything else about it.

"I don't want to lose him Marianne," I whispered. "Not now, not right after we've made up and he's accepted me."

She held me a little tighter as she whispered back, "You won't. Eva will help him, or Lily will. Maybe they can do it today, as soon as Eva is awake?"

I sighed again, "I hope you're right."

The two of us were quiet after that, we just held hands and cuddled as we sat there and watched my dad sleep. He didn't wake until about an hour later when one of the nurses came in to check on him. She pretty much ignored us as she moved past and checked the monitor, then checked dad's IV.

She replaced the saline with a fresh bag, and checked the drug infuser attached to it. That made some beeps as she was pushing buttons, and the noises roused dad from his rest. The nurse apologized for waking him, then she finished up what she was doing and turned to leave.

Then she froze in her tracks as she stared at me and Marianne. Her eyes were wide as she looked the two of us over, but her attention was mostly on me. And behind her my dad was looking more alert, except he ended up staring at me as well.

After about five seconds the nurse started moving again. She slowly tore her eyes off me as she walked past, then continued on out of the room. And it took me another five or ten seconds before it finally dawned on me what she was looking at.

My stomach lurched slightly as I realized I never bothered to re-cast that spell after my dad started coughing. My demon cat parts were all on display, and the nurse saw them.

"How are you feeling now Mr. Harris?" Marianne asked my dad. "I hope your rest helped?"

"A little," dad sighed. He still sounded weary as he continued, "I think I'm still tired from yesterday, to be honest. It's lovely to see you both, but I'm sure you have better things to do than watch your old man sleep."

I got up and moved to his side again, "I don't mind staying here with you dad. I'm sorry we haven't been able to have a quiet normal visit. And I'm sorry I startled you earlier, with the whole fuzzy demon thing."

My cheeks coloured at that last part, but I continued talking quietly. "It's going to take me a while to get used to that stuff, but that's still not an excuse for springing it on you like I did. I'm sorry I shocked you dad. And I'm sorry I did all this so fast. Maybe I should have talked to you about it first. Or maybe..."

My voice trailed off as he reached out his hand towards me, so I took hold of it in mine. It sent another shock of worry through me, to feel how weak his grip had become.

Dad looked up at me with a smile as he shook his head and said quietly, "Fuzzy demon or not you're still my daughter. Only there's something I have to tell you Lexi, and I hate to be the one to break it to you. But hon? You look more like a catgirl than a demon."

I felt my cheeks burning even brighter red, while my girlfriend stifled a giggle behind me.

After that, it felt like the atmosphere in dad's room had lightened up again. He was still weary and he struggled to keep up a conversation, but there was no doubt in my mind he was happy to have me and Marianne there with him. Even if we were both part demon now.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with him. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we just sat quietly and enjoyed the time together. And sometimes me and Marianne cuddled while we watched dad rest. Nurses came and went, they always stopped and stared at both me and my girlfriend but they never said anything. And a volunteer came in with his dinner when it got past five o'clock. She stared too but like the others she didn't comment.

Dad sat up and ate a bit, but like the night before he didn't have much of an appetite. That was another thing that worried me. Once again even without medical training I'd picked up enough over the past few years to know he probably wasn't going to last a whole lot longer.

It was only about half past six when he seemed almost ready to call it a night. I was starting to worry that maybe I should stay with him just in case. Like I didn't want to spend the night at the hotel only to come back in the morning and find out something happened overnight.

Marianne had an arm around me, she could probably tell I was conflicted. Before either of us could say anything there was a knock at the door, and we turned in time to see Eva hurry into the room.

"Lexi!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around me.

She practically pulled me out of the chair and into a very tight hug, that left me overwhelmed with emotions but also struggling for air.

"Eva!" I gasped as I hugged her back. "Too tight, need air!"

She relaxed her grip just enough that I could breathe properly, but she didn't let me go. As she continued hugging she whispered, "Lexi why aren't you hiding your ears and tail?! People will see them!"

Our demon was in her human guise, and she was dressed in her typical leggings and t-shirt style, right down to the sneakers on her feet. She looked like a beautiful blue-eyed blonde in her mid twenties, just a year or two older than myself. In fact she looked for all the world like my big sister, and apart from my unusual fuzzy appendages anyone might think we were a pair of normal sisters visiting our dad in the hospital.

"I had them hidden earlier but I wanted to show my dad," I replied as I kept holding her as well. "Then I forgot to do the spell again. A few nurses have seen me but nobody said anything."

Eva finally let go of me and took a step back as she looked me up and down. She smiled, "I'm sure they all thought you look adorable."

Her attention turned to Marianne and she hugged my girlfriend next, "Marianne the added height suits you. You look stunning my dear!"

Finally she shook her head as she addressed the both of us, "I'll give Mara a good scolding later on, she should have known better than to let you two drive off so soon. When I woke up and found out she let you both leave I worried something might have happened to you!"

"I also need to have some stern words with Lily," she added with a frown. "There's a significant difference between 'you might be unconscious for a little while' and 'out cold for half the day'! She could have at least warned us how long she slept every time she used that process on herself!"

I couldn't help smile, "Calm down Eva, we're all ok now. I'm sure there's a hundred more things the three of us need to discuss, but this really isn't the time or the place, right?"

She pouted and her shoulders slumped, but then she spun around and moved to stand next to my dad's bed. Dad looked awake again, like he definitely couldn't sleep through that entrance. He'd been watching and listening as Eva talked to us, but now her attention was on him.

"Mr. Harris it's nice to see you again," she said in a polite friendly voice. "I apologize for yet another interruption of your visit with Lexi and Marianne."

Dad shook his head, "It's fine. It sounded like you've had a lot going on today?"

"Yes and no," Eva replied. "We had an exciting morning, but not exciting enough to excuse the fact that I spent the rest of the day passed out in bed."

My dad didn't seem to know what to say about that, or maybe he was too tired to come up with a response. The excitement of Eva's arrival was already wearing off, and I could tell he was looking weary again.

Our demon probably noticed that as well. She stayed by his bed but looked back at me and Marianne and asked, "Lexi may I discuss some magic with your father?"

"Oh!" I gulped but nodded, "Yes, of course Eva. If there's anything you can do, please do it!"

She smiled then turned towards my dad again. She moved a little closer then lowered her voice as she began explaining what we were talking about.

"Mr. Harris, you heard Lexi's story yesterday about how I helped her. I conjured her a new body from scratch and brought her back to life. I'm not offering you quite the same thing, but I can offer you something similar. I have magic that can heal you, I can restore your body to perfect health. I can also restore your youth, or reshape your body in just about any way you might like. The only catch is demonic magic works on contracts and consent. The only way I can permanently heal you is if you sign a contract with me."

Dad frowned, he looked like he had questions but he also looked like he was too tired to really focus on this stuff.

Eva obviously noticed that too. She gave dad a sympathetic smile and added, "Don't worry Mr. Harris, I'm not going to take advantage of you. With your permission I can do something for you right now, temporarily? It will help you feel better immediately, then we can talk more."

After a few seconds dad's eyes flicked to me. He asked softly, "Do you trust her Lexi?"

"Absolutely," I nodded. "I trust her completely dad, with my life."

He looked to Eva again and nodded, "Ok then."

Our demon smiled and just like that some colour and life came back into my dad's face. His hair became thicker and darker, and his body regained some of the weight and muscle that had been lost. His eyes widened and he sat up and took a deep breath, then pulled the oxygen tube out from under his nose.

I found myself staring in shock as dad suddenly looked like he did four years earlier, before he shipped me off to spend a month with my cousin.

"Lexi, Marianne, will one of you get the door please?" Eva asked as she glanced at my girlfriend and I. "We don't want any interruptions for this."

"Right," I nodded, but Marianne beat me to it. She hurried to the door and quietly closed it, while I moved to my dad's side.

I gave him another hug, and this time I felt the strength in his arms. He really did seem fully healed, like Eva rolled the clock back to before the cancer even started.

After dad and I let go of each other our demon addressed my father again, "Now Mr. Harris, as I mentioned this is only temporary. We have twenty-four hours before your illness returns to the state it was a few moments ago. I cannot permanently heal or change you unless you enter into a contract with me."

"Ok," dad responded as he looked to Eva. His voice sounded a lot better, but there was some anxiety or uncertainty in there too. And maybe a bit of awe, at how easily our demon just healed him. "What sort of contract are we talking about? What do I have to give you, in return for your help?"

Eva grinned as she climbed up and sat cross-legged at the foot of dad's bed, which surprised all three of us. Except I realized she'd gotten into the habit of doing that with me and Marianne, so I shouldn't have been too surprised she'd do it here too. I also noticed her shoes had vanished, so she was barefoot as she got comfy.

"I promise my terms will be very generous," she told him. "But first, let's discuss what you would like me to do? It could be as little as simply making what I've already done permanent, but it could be as much as helping you start a whole new life. As I said, I can restore your youth and reshape your body just as easily as I've restored your health. So think about it Mr. Harris. You have this opportunity, what would you like to do with it?"

Sure enough a thoughtful frown settled on dad's face. He looked from Eva to me, then stared at a spot on the wall for a few moments.

Finally he looked back at Eva and asked, "Is it ok if I discuss this with my daughter? There's a few things I need to talk to her about, some questions I need to ask her, before I can start making any decisions."

"Of course Mr. Harris," Eva smiled. "Lexi, pull up a chair. You too Marianne, we're all family after all."

I had some butterflies in my stomach as I wondered exactly what sort of thing dad needed to talk to me about, but Marianne and I brought our chairs over next to the bed. We both sat down then the four of us talked about what my dad's new life might be like, and what sort of terms would be in Eva's contract.

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