It was raining again

Author's Note: Okay people, this is my very first digimon fanfic, so bare with me. lol. Most of my stories will probably be about Matt and be in season 01, since he is my fav character, so fair warning. Anyways R+R please. That way I will know if I should post more stories, or if you completely hate my stuff. ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. There! Are ya happy? I said it.

Rating: PG, for now. I just realized that the other stories I wrote got pretty gruesome, so to be safe, I'm rating this PG for a little violence now and then. Oh, and sometimes these stories start to get a little sappy at the end, just to warn ya! I love that whole brotherly love junk! lol.

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It was raining again.  It had been for the past two days.  A blonde little boy with khaki shorts and a green shirt, with a blue and green baseball cap sat in front of a sliding glass door, peering out at the gloomy, gray weather.  He watched as the raindrops hit the pavement, ultimately collecting together to form a moderately sized puddle on the back porch.  He wished that he could go out and maybe jump in the puddle, but he knew that such an attempt proved to be quite impossible, while under the watchful eyes of his mother, who was only a few feet away, cooking in the kitchen.  The young boy had a look of longing in his eyes, as if through that sliding glass door would be the answer to all his boredom. He sighed as his eyes panned over the scenery before him.  Everything seemed darker when it rained, he thought, even his attitude.  His mother had noticed her son's depressed demeanor, and an idea popped into her head that she thought might cheer him up.

"T.K., are you alright?" she implored.

The boy shifted slightly in his position and turned his head to face her.

"I'm okay mom, I just don't like rainy weather very much.  There's nothin' to do when it rains." he replied.

"Why don't you watch some T.V.?" she smiled, trying to perk him up a bit.

"There are only reruns on." he stated dismally.

"Well, I'm sorry I haven't been spending much time with you lately. I know I shouldn't make excuses, but work has been very busy, and with the housework and everything, I'm afraid it doesn't leave much time for play," she said.

T.K. bit his lower lip and looked at her thoughtfully.  She knew what he was about to ask, but didn't know how to explain to T.K. that she was far too busy to take him over to see his brother, and she absolutely was not going to let him ride the bus or the subway in the rain.

Before he even had a chance to say anything, she chimed in with, "How about a video game, or a book?"

T.K. looked at the ground, he knew what his mom was trying to avoid, and he fully understood why, it was just that he wanted to see his brother so bad.  He often got lonely and missed the companionship he and his brother had shared while on their adventure in the digital world.

"Okay mom!" T.K. said with more enthusiasm than he had wanted to project, "I got a great video game that I haven't played in a while!"

And with that he scampered off to his room, leaving his mom feeling relieved that he had something to occupy himself with, but T.K. knew all too well that he would not be playing a video game.

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The rain was getting worse, and seemed to beat down like hail as Matt ran down the street, with only his jacket pulled up over his ears.  He thought that it would let up a bit so he could go down to the store and pick up some groceries, but after about two blocks he realized that there was no break in the swirl of dark clouds, that seemed to grow darker as he continued on his journey. 

Once again his dad was working late, and it was up to him to provide dinner for himself, but as usual his father had forgotten to go shopping the night before.  Matt was used to this, and it didn't really bother him, or at least he tried not to let it.  His luck appeared to be getting worse, by the time he had reached the end of the street, he realized that it was blocked off by a mess of orange road cones.  On further inspection he noticed that the street was completely flooded.

"Oh great!" he muttered to himself.

There's another store about four blocks back in the opposite direction he thought to himself, I'll just have to go to that one. He turned on his heel and began jogging back in the other direction, hoping that that street would not be flooded as well.

Meanwhile, T.K. sat in his bedroom, devising a plan to see his brother.  He was a big kid now and could handle himself, he thought.  After all, he and his friends did save the digital world.

T.K. crept over to his bedroom door and peeked out of it.  He saw his mom still cooking in the kitchen, as he was about to sneak down the hall to the front door, he saw her look up suddenly, an expression of shock written across her face.  Then she turned off the stove and proceeded to her room.  When she re-emerged, T.K. noticed that she was wearing her raincoat and was carrying an umbrella and her purse.  He dove back into his room, flopped onto his bed, and grabbed his hand-held video game, when he saw her coming towards his room.

She opened the door and glanced in.  "T.K. I was supposed to pick up some paperwork from work today, and I completely forgot!  Could you do me a favor and be a big boy and look after the house while I'm out. I'll be back in a few hours.  The roadways are a horrible mess on account of the rain, but I should be back by dinnertime.  Now you know not to answer the door for strangers, or go outside, okay?" she said as she made her way towards the front door.

"I know mom!" T.K. said, almost irritated by the fact that she still treated him like a little kid.

"Behave yourself now," she said as she kissed him on the cheek before she left.

As soon as her car left the driveway, T.K. was ecstatic.  His plan would work perfectly now!  All he had to do was make it home before his mom did, and with her out for the day he knew he could do it!

He grabbed his backpack, raincoat, and umbrella and went tearing out of the house.

"Won't Matt be surprised!!" he exclaimed.

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Matt was beginning to get really perturbed now.  Not only was the rain continuing it's wrath, but the store that he had wanted to go to was closed.

"I guess dinner's off for tonight," he said gloomily to himself, "Nothing to do now, but get back home."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and started to trudge back towards his house.  Something began to worry him though, as he looked down at his feet, he realized that the water was beginning to get deeper.

"As long as I get home, everything should be okay." he tried to reassure himself.

Elsewhere in the city, a boy about the same age as Matt, except with a shock of brown hair on his head, adorned with a pair of blue goggles, sat on the couch in his living room flipping through the channels on the T.V.  His sister, Kari was busy coloring on her favorite drawing pad.

"Look Tai!" she squealed as she held up the book for him to see, "this is you and Augumon!" She turned the page, "and over here is me and Gatomon. I started to draw the others, but I can't remember what color Mimi's gloves are, I guess they'll be pink." she shrugged.

"That's great!" Tai complimented, "you've become quite the artist!"

She looked up at her brother from the drawing pad for a moment, "Tai…"

"Yeah Kari?"

"I miss Gatomon.  I miss all the digimon.  What do you suppose they're doing right now?"

"Probably thinking of us," he paused, "and chowing down on some food!" he added.  "Which reminds me, I'm starving, what do we have to eat around here?" he said as he got up and made his way to the refrigerator.

"You really think Gatomon is thinking about me?"

"Sure she is!" Tai said with a mouth full of food.

Kari laughed, and continued to color, but something else caught her eye.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Look at the T.V.  The man on the news is saying something about flash floods.  What are those?"

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about right now, they're just saying that we might possibly have a flood.  But we haven't had one in years!  Actually, I can't remember ever having one."

"Well, I hope so.  Mom and Dad are out there still."

"They'll be fine Kari." Tai assured her. No use in worrying over something that'll probably turn out to be nothing, he decided.

"Okay Tai, if you say so." she smiled and went back to coloring.

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T.K. had made it halfway across town before he stopped and realized he hadn't a clue where he was.

"Oh no, I thought I knew where Matt's house was?"

He suddenly became very frightened.  Not only was he lost, but it was really raining hard now.  The water came up to his knees.  Another factor was that nobody seemed to be around.  Everyone was inside because of the rain, and T.K. wanted to be inside too.

"Mom is going to be so mad. I wish Patomon was here, or Matt. They'd know what to do."

T.K. wanted to cry, but held back his tears.  He was a big kid, and big kids didn't cry.  Just then, T.K. saw a figure running down the street in front of him.

"Hey, I could ask that person where Matt's house is, I know the address!" T.K. began to cheer up.  He then started to slosh down the street in pursuit of the figure.

Meanwhile, Matt was not fairing too well in his situation.  The water was now up to his knees, and he was becoming scared at the fact that the city could be experiencing a flood.  Not to mention he had started coughing two blocks back.

Looking at his watch, he figured that he must have been out in the rain for almost three hours.  The cold, damp air had attributed to his illness and now all he wanted to do was get back home, where it was dry and warm.  His sickness came on very suddenly, but did not waste any time in wreaking utter chaos on his respiratory system.  Every few minutes he had to stop and cough, which left him more exhausted and worn out than the running did.  He looked up the street and saw that his house would only be a few more blocks away.  Matt leaned up against a wall and tried to muster up his strength before he continued on.  He was now completely drenched from head to toe, and his shoes and socks were soaking wet.  His cheeks had begun to glow a pinkish-red color and he started to feel very disoriented.  Matt was unsure if he would be able to make it back to his house at all, but he knew he had to try.  It wasn't that far, he thought, only a little bit more to go, he tried to urge himself. Another coughing fit came on, and Matt clung to the side of the wall, as the water that had risen well above his knees threatened to knock him over and swallow him up.  He stared down for a moment, trying to remember how long he had been standing there, especially since the water had time to rise so fast.  He hadn't even thought about it.

Suddenly a voice rang out, and Matt could swear it was T.K.'s.

"Now I know I really must be out of it, that sounds like T.K."

"Matt! Matt!!" the boy cried when he realized that the one he was chasing was indeed his big brother.

"T.K.?"

Matt glanced over his shoulder to see his little brother struggling down the street towards him.  The water had risen so much that T.K. could barely keep his head above it while fighting to half swim, half run towards Matt.

"Oh no! What are you doing out here!?" Matt managed in between coughs.

"I came to see you!" T.K. hollered over the sound of the thunder, rain, and rushing water.

"Are you crazy! Mom's gonna kill you!! Do you have any idea how dangerous this is right now!?"

"I'm sorry Matt!! I just wanted to see you!" T.K. replied, almost within feet of his older brother.

Just then, Matt realized that the water was rising at an extremely fast rate, and what looked like a wall of water was heading right towards them.

"T.K.!!!" he yelled in panic. "Look out—

But that was all Matt could manage to say before a wave of water swept over them.

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T.K.'s mom was now driving like a maniac through the storm.  By the time she had gotten downtown, the roads were all blocked off because of flooding.  Now she desperately wanted to get home and make sure her youngest son was safe.

"I should have never left home!" she screamed to herself, fighting back tears.

She slammed on the brakes when she came upon a large tree that was knocked over by the rainwater, and had fallen in the middle of the road.  This stretch of roadway happened to be on higher ground than the downtown area, but instead of skidding to a halt like she expected, the car began to hydroplane across the road, spinning as it did so. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out an ear-piercing scream as she braced herself for impact with the fallen tree.

The vehicle's left front end hit the broad side of the tree, which sent it up and over the trunk, and with the built up momentum from hydroplaning, it continued to roll over and over until it slid to a halt about 300 feet down the road.  T.K.'s mother was knocked unconscious when the force of the impact caused her head to slam up against the steering wheel.  Now all was silent, and she lay slumped over inside the car, bleeding from various wounds she had acquired during the ordeal.  The windshield was cracked and had splintered into a spider web pattern.  The front end was crunched in, and the roof of the car was slightly caved in from rolling.  Luckily, she had survived the crash, but the water was still rising, and it would only be a matter of time before it would entirely engulf the small car.

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"Tai!!!" Kari cried as she went running down the hall to her brother's room.

Tai jumped up from his bed and collided with her as they ran into eachother in the doorway.

"What is it Kari? What's wrong?!"

"Tai, come look!" she grabbed his arm and hauled him over to the front window of their apartment.  "The water's so high, I can't even see the street anymore!"

"What!?"

Tai looked over the side of the balcony and could only see a river of water.

"What are we going to do Tai? What if the water gets higher?"

"It won't get up here." Tai reassured her, "We're too high up."

"But what about Mom and Dad? They're still out there Tai! What will we do!?"

"It's okay Kari, I'll call Mom's cell phone and see if she's alright, then we'll try Dad's."

Tai suddenly had another thought, what about his friends, were they alright too?  He decided he would call them as soon as he could get a hold of his parents.

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Elsewhere, at an office building downtown, reporters and news personnel were scurrying back and forth.

"Who's going to cover this story!?" someone shouted.

"Are you nuts, this is a flood, I need to get home to my family!" another replied.

A younger employee carrying a camcorder ran up to a tall, brown haired man.

"Mr. Ishida, what should we do?"

Matt's father looked down at the cameraman, "Go home or get to safety, we can't cover this story right now, it's too risky."

"But what will you do sir?"

The taller man looked down at the cell phone he carried, a worried expression spread over his face.

"I don't know, I've been trying to get in touch with my son for an hour, and now the phone line is dead."

"Sir, my uncle is a retired rescue worker, he owns a boat and only lives a block away from here.  If you want, I can have him loan you the boat to go look for your son."

Matt's dad thought about it for a few seconds, and decided it was worth a shot, especially since Matt might be in danger.

"Thank you Thomas, let's go." he said to the younger man.

With that, the two ran down the hall to the stairs and headed out of the office building.

T.K. was the first to pop his head up out of the water.  He splashed around frantically searching for his brother, and besides that, he couldn't swim very well.

"Matt!" he called as the water pulled him back and forth.

Matt emerged from the murky depths and paddled over to T.K.

"Grab onto me bro!" he yelled.

T.K. jumped onto Matt's back and latched on to his neck.

"Loosen your grip," he sputtered, as the added weight and T.K.'s grip began to pull him down.

"Sorry Matt, I'm just scared."

"Everything's going to be okay," he choked, "just hold onto me and I'll swim us to safety."

Despite the misfortune of the situation, T.K. was overjoyed to be with his big brother.

"I'm glad you're here Matt."

Matt tried to smile at the sentiment, but another coughing fit came on, which caused him to bury his face in the water.  He tried not to suck any water into his lungs, but this proved to be very difficult considering he had someone on his back, and the fact that the water was sloshing them to and fro.

"Are you okay Matt?" T.K. asked when his brother finally stopped coughing, "You sound sick."

"I'll be okay, just feel a little under the weather," he slightly laughed at his own stupid joke.

T.K. gave him a worried glance.  He didn't look good at all, and even though the water was freezing, Matt was burning up.

" I wish Patomon and Gabumon were here!" T.K. yelled.

"Hold on, I think I see some railing on that balcony we can climb onto!"  Matt motioned with his head towards an apartment building.  But the water was flowing faster, so they only had a small chance of actually being able to get to the balcony before the water carried them away.

"Okay T.K. when I tell you to, you have to jump over to that balcony, alright?"

"Alright, but what about you Matt?"

"I'll be right behind you, don't worry."

"Okay." T.K. said trembling.

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T.K.'s mom had eventually woken up, and managed to avert the rising water.  When she pulled the wrecked car into the driveway, she wasted no time, and raced up to the front door and threw it open. Water had already begun to soak the carpet and floors.

"T.K.!! T.K.!!" she cried hysterically.

The blood from her wounds was seeping down her face and onto her clothes and the bump on her head was beginning to swell.  She tore into his bedroom and found it empty, then proceeded to search the other rooms of the house.

"Where could he be?!" 

That's when she found the note on her bed.  Even though T.K. would scheme to run off while she was out, he knew that she would want to know where he was.  The sheer innocence of a child, she rolled her eyes in relief, that is, until she read the note.

"Oh no! He went to see Matt!" she nearly fainted.  There was no way to get back to town now.  All the roads were flooded.  Now all she could do was sit, wait, and worry.  She picked up the phone to see if it still worked; to her surprise there was a dial tone.  The flood hadn't knocked out the phone lines yet.  She decided to call Matt's father.

Back at Tai's, Kari and him were resting comfortably in the fact that their parents were safe at a rescue station on the outskirts of the city.  They were actually part of the first group of people to know about the flood.  Tai had also called Izzy, Joe, Mimi, and Sora, and found that they were safe as well.  In fact, Mimi was visiting her relatives out of town, but was pretty upset that all her belongings were probably floating around the park or who knows where.  Sora was also out of town at her grandparents, and Joe and Izzy had evacuated to higher ground with their families.  The only problem Tai had, was that he couldn't get a hold of Matt or T.K.  Matt's phone line was dead, and nobody had answered at T.K.'s house, which led him to believe that he was okay, at least he tried to remain optimistic and hope so.

"TAI!!" Kari shouted from across the room.  "Come here quick!"

"What is it Kari?"

"Look down on the second floor, there are people down there!"

Tai looked over the balcony and sure enough, he saw two people floating towards the building.

"We need to help them Tai!"

Tai fished out his mini telescope and took another look down at the figures floating in the water.

"Hey! That's Matt and T.K.!!! Come on Kari! Let's go!"

"That's what I said Tai! Let's go!" she said, as he grabbed her and they both raced towards the stairwell.

"Okay T.K., are you ready?"

"Yeah Matt." The young boy replied, uncertainty ringing in his voice.

"Then jump!" he yelled as another wave of water came crashing towards them.

T.K. leapt threw the air and was able to land on the balcony without too much trouble.  As his feet touched the solid ground, he whipped around and grabbed Matt's hand before the wave could drag him under.

"Okay Matt, now it's your turn. Come on, you can do it big brother." T.K. said, straining to keep his hold on Matt's hand.

Matt began to reach for the railing, but another coughing fit came on.  His other hand was nearly on the railing when a large wave of water slammed into him, knocking him from T.K.'s grip.

"MAAATTTTTTTT!!!" T.K. screamed.

But there was no response, and all T.K. could see was the faint image of his brother being pulled down under the water.

Tai burst threw the door of the second story balcony and rushed over to where T.K. stood. Kari was seconds behind him.

"T.K.!" Tai yelled.

"Are you alright?" Kari asked.

"Where's Matt?!" Tai continued.

T.K. suddenly became very pale, and could only stare with glazed eyes and point in the direction of where he last saw his brother, before the water swallowed him up.

"Oh no!" Tai cried out, "You don't mean…"

T.K. grabbed onto Tai's shirt, he was shivering and soaking wet.  He looked up at the older boy, with tears in his eyes.

"Tai, he's real sick! You have to help him! You have to get my brother back!"

"Stay here with Kari!" Tai yelled. He stood looking hesitantly over the railing before diving into the icy water.

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"T.K.'s where!?"  Matt's dad screamed into the phone.

"He went to go see you and Matt.  I don't know where he could be." she sobbed into the receiver. "You have to find him, you have to find THEM!" she cried.

"Don't worry, I will." he said, and hung up.

He gazed out over the horizon of office buildings, apartments, and shops.

"I will find you two." he stated solemnly.

The boat pulled away into the streaming river of water.

Tai was frantically searching for his fallen friend.  He swam faster and harder than he had ever swam in his life. Then he spotted him, the blonde boy was drifting farther and farther into the depths.  Tai dove after him.

The final wave had done it for Matt.  With the knowledge that his brother was safe, his body could now give in to the exhaustion of his afflicting illness.  His last images were of T.K. safely on the balcony before he blacked out and was pulled under by the malevolent forces of nature.  Water filled his lungs, and even though he was unconscious, he could feel himself drifting towards the bottom.  His unconscious mind was at ease knowing that if he died, his brother was safe, so it was easy for him to give up.  He had fought for so long, long enough to keep him and his brother alive, and what really mattered in the end, was T.K.'s safety and well-being.  Then something strange occurred, he could feel two hands embracing him, pulling him to the surface.

Then there were voices, barely audible, but he knew who they were.  Tai, and Kari, and…T.K.  The will to fight had returned to him, he would not give up! Not while his friends and his brother were pulling for him.  Giving up is the coward's way out, he thought.

"Does anyone know CPR!?" Tai shouted.

"We learned it in camp Tai, remember?" T.K. said.

"Oh yeah, um what do I do first??" Tai questioned frantically.

"Check for a pulse!" Kari shouted, as she began to clench her fists impatiently.

There was a pulse, but a faint one, fading fast.

"Um now I think you're supposed to tilt his head back and check for breathing!" T.K. shouted.

"No breathing!"  Tai yelled.

Kari took Tai's hands and placed them on Matt's chest.

"Now start pushing up and down like this!" she yelled.

"I hope this works!"  Tai said, almost in tears.

In moments, Matt began to cough, he turned his head to expel the rest of the water from his lungs.

Kari and T.K. began cheering and danced up and down in circles until they were both dizzy.  Tai let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Matt cracked his eyelids to see the face of his best friend, then Kari and his brother.

"It's okay Matt," Tai said, "you're gonna be alright!"

Matt somewhat nodded before his head lolled back and the sickness overcame him once again, this time with potent force.

"No!" Kari exclaimed.

"Matt!?" T.K. began to cry again.

"It's okay you guys, I think the virus or bacteria infecting his body is really doing a number on him now, so we better get him up to our apartment fast and call the paramedics."  Tai said, trying to calm down T.K.

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As the call went in, Matt's dad heard it over the scanners they had on board the boat.  He radioed in to the hospital of the nearby city and told them he would take the children there.  Now it was just a matter of making it in time before the floods really got out of control.

The children laid Matt down on the couch in Tai's living room and were trying to make him as comfortable as possible until help arrived.

T.K. sat by his brother's side, keeping watch over him, while Tai and Kari went to get ice packs to cool down his fever.

"I'm sorry Matt," T.K. sobbed, "maybe if I hadn't come down here, you wouldn't have almost drowned."  T.K. looked down at the still form of his brother.  He laid his head on Matt's chest and began to cry some more.  He could hear his brother's breathing. It was hoarse and raspy.  Matt began to stir a little. He forced his eyes open and looked up at his brother.

"Don't be silly T.K….you saved my life…" he managed to say before blacking out again.

"Matt!?" T.K. called to him.

When Tai and Kari came back, T.K. told them about Matt's breathing.

Tai didn't want to alarm the two younger kids, but he suspected that Matt might have Pneumonia.  They needed to get him to a hospital fast.

"Tai?" T.K. asked.

"Yeah buddy?"

"Matt's gonna be okay right?"

"Sure he will," Tai said, trying to sound convincing, though he wasn't sure if he believed it himself.

All they could do now was watch and wait until help arrived.

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It wasn't long after, when Matt and T.K.'s dad arrived in the rescue boat.  The rain had stopped which gave them time to load everyone aboard the boat and head for the hospital.  Things were looking brighter already.

Matt's dad had phoned their mom, and she was already in the lobby of the hospital when they arrived. Likewise, Tai and Kari's parents were there as well.

The two families waited anxiously as the doctors fought to stabilize Matt's condition.  After what seemed like hours one of the doctor's finally came out and told them that Matt would be fine, but that he would need to stay in the hospital for a while to get better.  Everyone could take a sigh of relief.

Five days later, the floods had passed, leaving thousands of dollars of water damage in their wake.  Everyone was trying to get back into the normal routine.  Luckily there were no casualties of the flood.

Matt was still in the hospital, recovering from the Pneumonia, as well as the flood, that days earlier had threatened his life.

He was happy to have such great friends, and thankful for his family, who even though were separated, came together in a time of crisis.  It gave Matt hope for the future.

Matt sat in his hospital bed, hooked up to an I.V., trying to force down the medicine the nurse had given him to fight the infection.  T.K. sat on the bed with him, while Kari and Tai were seated in a couple of chairs.

"I want to thank you guys for being there for me, " Matt said, "You saved my life."

"No problem bud!" Tai said, "I'm used to it by now."

Matt gave him a playful menacing look.

"Well, we had to save you, " T.K. said, "Who else could be my big brother, but you?"

Matt laughed and T.K. gave him a huge hug.

"This is getting a little too sappy for me," Tai said, "Why don't we go to the cafeteria and get some ice cream Kari?"

"Okay!" she smiled.

"Hey bring some back for us too!" T.K. added.

The two raced out of the room and the two boys' parents entered.

"Matt, I'm sorry for not being around much…"his dad began.

"It's okay Dad," Matt interrupted, "next time just remember to go to the store on time." he smiled.

"T.K., I never want you to go off on your own again." his mom interjected, "and…I'll try to make it so you two can see each other more often." she smiled.

"Alright!" T.K. shouted.

For the first time in a long time, Matt actually felt like they were a family again.  In his heart, he knew they were, even if they were miles apart.

The End.