Hey everybody! I hoped you liked strawberry picking... it was fun to write. Poor Total. :) You'll find out what happens next in three... two... one...

***

"We're home!" Angel called softly, running into the house. We followed her into the living room. Total was sitting on the stark white couch, a pout on his face.

"Oh. So this is how you treat the only pet in the house... not inviting him to go strawberry picking," he sniffed and then edged a little bit closer, "Did you at least bring any back for me?"

"Of course! And Iggy's gonna make a strawberry shortcake and maybe strawberry syrup and sttawberry preserves and..." I began to tune Nudge out. I stood up and left the room quietly. I knew no one would notice I was gone. I knocked quietly on Max's door.

"Come in," she called weakly. I pushed the door open to find her sitting up in bed, "Hey."

"Hi," I said, "You feeling any better?"

"No... not... really," she replied, coughing between each word. She reached for another cough drop.

"Umm... should I call your mom?" I asked. She'd probably know what to do. And she lived right down the street. Convient.

"Yeah. I think so," Max replied. I sat down on the edge and put a hand on her forehead. She was still really hot.

"Okay." I left as quietly as I came to go make the phone call.

***

"Thanks for coming," I muttered, opening the door to Dr. Martinez and Ella.

"It's no problem. She probably has a bug or something," Dr. Martinez said, giving me an awkward hug. She and I weren't really that close, but we were making progress.

"Max's in her room. Ang Iggy's making a strawberry shortcake in the kitchen, if you wanna help," I said, turning to Ella.

"Cool." She headed down the hallway with me on her tail. I didn't want to invade on Dr. Martinez's privacy. The kitchen was a flour-filled tornado.

"Woah! This place is hopping," Ella commented. Everyone looked up at the new voice.

"Hi Ella!" said Angel, running over to give her a hug. Gassy and Nudge came over, too.

"Does anyone wanna help me here? Considering I can tell myself which is the half teaspoon," Iggy said, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I will!" Ella offered, coming over, "What do you need?" She smiled at him sweetly.

"Half a teaspoon of vanilla," Iggy smiled back, almost sensing that she had smiled, "And then a cup of brown sugar." Everyone returned to their working. I sat on the side, watching. Baking wasn't exactly my thing.

You'd do fine at baking if you tried, Fang. Angel looked over at me hopefully. I shook my head. I was not going to bake. Not now, not ever. Suddenly, I felt compelled to bake.

"Angel, stop trying to get me to bake," I said, resisting the urge.

"Please?" she begged. I rolled my eyes and gave in.

"Fine. Ig, what do you want me to do?" I said. He pushed a bowl filled with eggs towards me.

"Seperate these eggs. Get rid of the yolks," he demanded. I set to work. Perhaps this could get my mind off of the sick Max upstairs. That wasn't the Max I knew. It wasn't my Max. She was strong, fierce, funny, talkative, pretty, smart... I backtracked over my thoughts. My Max? Pretty? Was I starting to lose my mind?

***

So there's the next chapter. I hoped you liked it. Please, please, please review! Click that little green button. The more reveiws I get, the faster the next chapter will go up!

xoxo, Chantal