She was sick again.

Elissa usually was sick, though. XLA made sure of that, and without the money to afford either gene therapy or blood transfusions, there wasn't much to do beyond treat each infection as it came.

Anti-biotics, anti-virals, whatever they could get their hands on, although William, not yet being an adult or having a job, but still feeling a need to help his sister, turned to the only source he could think of.

Elissa had a lot of dolls, more than most three year olds. One for every new illness, each one hand-stitched and hand-stuffed, made from whatever materials and colours were at hand, and each one holding a fetish, each one an intercession to a higher power to help her.

William didn't like things being out of his control, but for now, what could he do? For the latest doll he had to use his pillow, carefully making each incision, carefully adding each piece of thread, unwilling to make even the slightest error in his craftsmanship. Each one was different, each one was a work of art.

And it was the least he could do, it was his fault they couldn't afford treatment. His biotics had drained most of their resources, food, implants, training... they got by, barely, before Elissa. There just wasn't enough.

The last stitch in place, he stopped to examine his work. It would need to be cleaned, and he'd need to wash and then dye it, but it was almost done.

This one had the same vibrant red hair as Elissa, the warm, loving smile of mom, and the strong, determined eyes of dad. Or at least, he did when he was done with the bleach and the dyes. He slipped a medical mask on, no need to risk adding more diseases to the mix, picked up the doll, and walked to his sister, still in bed.

Seeing her brother walk in holding another pretty doll just made Elissa's day. She was pale, much too pale, much too thin, but she was smiling, and William smiled too.

"Hi Willy!" she said, as much an energy as she could muster.

"Hey Eli. I made you another doll," he said, stepping closer and holding it out to her, and she quickly took it from his hands and squeezed it between your arms. "I asked a different one for help this time. Hopefully he'll help you get better. And don't tell mom and dad about that part, ok?"

Fetishes, carvings, anything remotely deviating from the norm were frowned upon in their household. William's biotics had pushed his parents tolerance to the limit, and he certainly wasn't going to risk pushing them further with his ideas on religion and spirituality.

Not that Elissa cared. It was a pretty doll, her brother had made it just for her, and he had done it to help her get better! It might seem weird that she could tell mommy and daddy, but she wasn't going to question him. He was smart, wise, clever, and strong.

"Okay Willy! Thank you!"

"You're welcome sis," William said, as he gently hugged her and patted her hair. They couldn't keep up like this, not for ever, something had to be done, and soon. "Get well soon, okay? I'll see about finding a more permanent solution."

A permanent solution? Elissa was having a hard time imagining [b]not[/b] being sick and in bed, not having everyone who saw her have to wear a mask, not wearing the same mask herself more often than not.

But Willy was the one who said he'd find it! If anyone could, it was him!

___________________________________________________________________________

There were medical treatments available. And there were people willing to provide them. They always wanted something in exchange for it, and they never seemed to have it. William was a smart man, he had read into it, he knew someone who could provide it, and who wanted something he could provide.

It was a small building, for what it was offering him. There was no window and a distended, dirty sign outside. No one had been in after the first month since they opened up, no one had any interest. It was all too far away, too pointless, nothing to be concerned with.

He walked in the door to a jingle, and the man, dressed in some shade of dark blue, immediately looked up from his datapad. He was playing a game on it that William had never seen before, but that seemed colourful and innane. And the man at the desk that seemed to serve as the main decoration for the entire office looked very irritated at being interrupted by the young local who walked through his door.

"Yah? What you want?"

He knew what he wanted, he knew what he was going to say, what he was going to do, and what was going to happen. It was a huge step, and he hadn't told anyone about it beforehand. He took a deep breath before replying. "I want to enlist, sir."