Lexie Sloan smiled at her husband of fifteen years. Mark was currently making breakfast while she packed the kids lunches. It was like this every morning, Mark made the breakfast and Lexie made lunches. On today's menu was pancakes for breakfast and turkey sandwiches for Mattie and Nate while the twins got peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch, along with a bag of chips and either yogurt or a pudding.

Mark and Lexie got pregnant with there first child a year after they were married. After Mattie, two years later Nate was born and then four years ago Lexie had twins Rylie and Ryan.

Mattie was the spitting image of both her mother and father. She had Lexie's dark curly locks while she had Marks aqua blue eyes. She adored her younger siblings always helping her parents when they needed it, and she was smart just like Lexie was and she loved to play soccer.

Nate was a little ladies man. He could get any girl he wanted just by smiling at them. He was a great big brother to the twins always helping out when needed and he loved astronomy and basketball.

Then there were the four year old twins. Rylie was a little tom boy always wanting to get messy. She would rather climb a tree then play with barbies yet she loved her dance class. Ryan was the trouble maker of the group. If the twins were doing something wrong you would find Ryan with that sweet little smile that could help him get away with anything.

"What's for breakfast?" Twelve year old Nate asked as him and the twins came down stares for breakfast.

"Pancakes." Mark said with a smile as he put one on each child's plate. "Where Is Mattie?"

"I think she is still asleep." Nate said as poured syrup on his pancakes followed by taking a very big bite

"It's a school day." Lexie says with a puzzled look on her face looking at her husband. Mattie was a straight A student who hated to miss school. She was only 14 and she was already a Sophomore.

"Maybe she is sick?" Mark asked.

Deciding to see what was wrong Lexie headed upstairs and walked into Mattie's room. Her room was fairly clean except a few text books laying open on her desk. She had her TV on and something on MTV was playing. Switching of the TV Lexie looked over at Mattie who seemed to be sound asleep.

Walking over to her Lexie sat down on her bed and gently shook her. "Mattie your going to be late for school sweetie." Lexie said sweetly.

"I don't feel good." Mattie mumbled under her breath as she turned over and pulled her covers up under her chin.

Lexie placed her hand on Mattie's forehead. "You don't feel warm. I'll come check up on you in a little while." Lexie said standing up and kissing Mattie's forehead before walking out the door shutting it gently behind her.

Mattie kept her eyes closed tightly as she tried to sleep. It wasn't that she didn't feel good. She was just really tired. She always seemed tired lately. Yesterday she even fell asleep in class. Something she had never done in her life. She was so tired that she didn't even want to go to school, one of her favorite places to be.

Once Lexie got downstairs she found breakfast done and the three kids heading outside to wait for the school bus.

"What's wrong with Mattie?" Mark asked as they followed them out the door. Mark and Lexie always tried to wait for the bus with the children if they could, they did the same at the end of the day. Both Mark and Lexie worked long hours and shifts so they tried to spend as much time as possible with the kids.

"She said she doesn't feel good. She didn't feel worm though.."

"Poor baby." Mark said with a frown. "I'll pick up her favorite soup on my way home today. I shouldn't be late I only have one surgery."

"I'm sure she would love that." Lexie smiled

They said goodbye to the kids as they climbed up on the bus and Mark headed off to work while Lexie went inside to check on Mattie.

Mark arrived home later on that afternoon with a brown paper bag in tow. Inside was Mattie's favorite soup, chicken noodle from the deli a few streets down from the hospital. He had had a very short shift at the hospital that day. He just went in to check up a few of his patients and then he treated a little boy who decided he wanted to help his mom cook. After applying some burn cream to the little boys hand and wrapping it up he was good as new. When he walked inside the house he found Lexie sitting on the couch reading a book.

"How's Mattie?" He asked as he kissed her forehead.

"Sleeping. That's all she has been doing. She doesn't have a fever or anything. She just says she is tired and that her muscles ach." Lexie explained to Mark as she placed her book down.

"Maybe she is tired from soccer. The couch has been running them pretty hard lately."

"Maybe." Lexie said with a sigh but she wasn't so sure. She just had that gut feeling that something was wrong with Mattie. She just couldn't figure out what it was.

Mark sat down next to Lexie and put in arm around her shoulder. He could tell his wife was worried. "She is probably just coming down with the flu or something." He said trying to reassure her. "If she is still not back to her old self in a few days will take her to the doctor."

"Your right." Lexie said standing up and walking into the kitchen. She started to pull out the ingredients for spaghetti. "I'm probably just worrying about nothing."

"Yeah maybe its just that time of the month?" Mark said with a guess.

Lexie just stared at him. "He obviously had no idea what he was talking about."

"Alright I'm shutting up now." He said with a laugh as he went to help her cook dinner.