(Odd's POV)

I walked through the store, looking at the shelves of things I wanted to buy for my friends. It was almost Christmas, and I wanted to cheer everyone up. Especially Aelita, who had already been in the hospital for three weeks now. They had preformed the final test needed yesterday, and she would start chemo treatment tomorrow. I was glad she would start getting better, and that we had raised the money needed without having to dip into the school's fund. I just hated what was going to start happening to her. Yolanda had explained to us that Aelita would get sicker before she got better, and while I dreaded that happening, I was glad to think she'd get well again.

I managed to find a new journal for Yumi, knowing her old one was growing increasingly full after seeing her write in it the other day. I had no idea what to get Ulrich, and the fact that I was being serious about presents this year was making the decision harder. I finally gave up, deciding I'd be better off spending time with Aelita than wasting time looking for presents that I needed to put more thought into. I paid for the journal and left the store, walking through the streets of Paris. The shops were filled with various items, none of which I thought good enough for my friends.

"Huh?" Something shiny caught my eye and I stopped. I had found the perfect gift for Aelita. I dug the remaining money from my pockets, knowing I would have to wait until my next allowance before I could buy gifts for Jeremie and Ulrich, but it was worth it.

Codelyokocodelyokocodelyoko

Aelita lay sleeping on her bed, her skin whiter that it had ever been. She was surrounded by machines and wires, and the sight of her made my stomach turned. I hated knowing she was so sick and there was nothing we could do . It had only been twenty-four hours, and the chemo was already starting to take its toll on her. She had already thrown up once, and refused to eat no matter how much we begged. My Christmas gift to her bulged in my pocket. There was still two weeks until the holidays, but I didn't want to wait.

Aelita groaned, and I couldn't tell if she was about to cry or not. I got up, walking over to her bedside, pushing her pink hair back. She skin was cold but she felt clammy. "Aelita?"

"It hurts," she groaned, her face scrunched up in pain. Having had an uncle who was on chemo treatment before, I knew which button to push to release the pain meds. Aelita's face relaxed and she looked up at me with her mint-green eyes. "Hi, Odd," she said with a weak smile.

"Hey, Princess," I smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," she giggled. "Everything hurts."

"Yeah, I heard radiation can do that. Maybe after this is over you'll get some mutant powers, you can join the X-Men."

"I don't think it's that type of radiation," she mumbled, attempting to sit up.

"There's different types of radiation?"

"Probably not but I don't think I'll end up with mutant powers." Her eyes shifted to my pocket. "What's that?"

I pulled the small box out, handing it to her. "I know I should probably wait, but I figured what the hell, you know? Merry Christmas."

She opened the box, revealing a small silver locket with a pink stone rose in the centre. "Odd, it so pretty!"

"Open it," I grinned. She did so, revealing a picture of her parents on one side and a much younger, almost infantile picture of her on the other. I had spent almost four hours at the Hermitage trying to find pictures that would be good enough, and it appeared my efforts paid off.

"Odd…" Aelita's voice was barely a whisper. "Thank you."

I bent over, giving her a small hug. "Just trying to lighten the mood around here, Princess. I hate seeing everyone so down about everything."

"It's perfect. Just what I needed." She winced, her hand flying to her chest.

"Are you okay?" I asked, alarmed.

"Yeah. It comes and goes, no big deal."

"Aelita, are you sure you're okay?"

Aelita laid back on her pillow, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I just wanna rest for a little while." She closed her eyes, and in a matter of seconds, the alarms went off.

"Aelita!"

Codelyokocodelyokocodelyoko

I sat in my dorm room, holding the small box containing Aelita's Christmas present. I didn't want to chance anyone talking it while she was in the ICU, and she wasn't allowed to wear it because the metal would affect the MRI machines she was constantly being put into. I let out a sigh, practically ignoring the dog laying at my feet.

Ulrich lay on his bed, facing the wall, and I wasn't sure if he was asleep or just incredibly upset. Jeremie sat at my desk chair, his chin resting on his hands, staring blankly at the floor. Almost surprisingly enough, Yumi was there, laying in the middle of the floor, tossing Kiwi's tennis ball repeatedly into the air and catching it upon return. None of us wanted to go to class today, and the teachers were excusing us anyways, given the circumstances.

"What do we do, guys?" Yumi asked sadly, sitting up in her spot.

"What can we do?" Jeremie mumbled, almost glaring at her. "This isn't XANA. We can't run and deactivate a tower and make it all better."

"We have to do something. She's getting worse by the second."

"Maybe it's just a fluke," I muttered, looking up at the two. "You know, like they said. She'll get worse before she gets better. Maybe this is what they were talking about."

"It's been one day," Yumi replied, shaking her head. "I don't think she would've gotten this bad so fast."

I shrugged. "I'm not gonna stop hoping. Aelita can make it. She's pulled through worse."

"Will you guys shut up!" Ulrich yelled, sitting up in his bed. "It's not going to help anything, sitting here talking about it, so just shut up!"

Tears streamed down his face, and he had a look about him I had never seen before. He pressed his fist against his forehead, pulling his knees to his chest. "Ulrich…"

"Just shut up, Odd."

Yumi got up from the floor, sitting next to him on his bed and wrapping her arm around him. "She'll get better Ulrich. We just have to give it some time."

"What if she doesn't?"

Yumi looked at Jeremie and I, her face begging for help. "We're here to help each other get through this. If Aelita doesn't make it…we'll be here to help. You're not alone in this."

I got up, sitting on the other side of my roommate. "And when she gets better, we'll all be stronger than ever having to deal with this. Besides, after a few years of fighting XANA, I don't think something as small as cancer can stop us."

Jeremie stood up and took a seat next to Yumi. "We have to stay strong for Aelita, that's the most important part right now."

Ulrich shrugged. "What's the point? We aren't even allowed to go and see her right now."

"No, but she'll be out in like a week," I shrugged, "and by then that chemo is gonna be hitting her pretty hard, she's really going to need some support. That's where we come in, right?"

Ulrich gave us a small smile. "Right." He frowned, and his smile faded almost as quickly as it appeared. "Guys?" he sounded nervous. "What are we going to do when Aelita's hair falls out?"

There was an awkward silence among us. Jeremie scratched the back of his head, Yumi looked at the floor, and I scratched Kiwi behind the ears hoping to avoid the conversation. Nobody wanted to think about this part of the Princess's treatment. Especially when we would have to explain to her why her pink locks had fallen out.

Yumi smiled, shrugging. "Guess we'll just buy her a wig. Maybe she can have blue hair this time."

I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of a blue-haired Aelita, and suddenly things didn't seem so bad. Sure, Aelita was in the hospital, but take that out of the equation and we were pretty well off if we still managed to laugh. In the back of my mind I knew, whether Aelita pulled through or not, we would be okay in the end.