Dawn- California, here I am! I can't wait to see my friends here for the next two days! I bet Stephie would want to see Mary Anne again. Sure enough, she was excited to see her long-lost cousin.

The next day, we were heading to California and some of us get to spend the two nights with my dad, stepmom, and Jeff.

"Where are you going to stay?" I asked.

"Mr. Thomas and I can stay with you girls. I'm sure your father wouldn't mind," said Richard.

"Sounds good," I agreed.

"I can't wait to see Stephie again," said Mary Anne.

Stephie is attached to Mary Anne because they had a few things in common. Like Mary Anne, Stephie's mom died when she was a baby, her father was strict, and she's got asthma. Mary Anne knew asthma is like a breathing problem. Mary Anne and Stephie recently found out their mothers happened to be cousins while Mary Anne and I visited here. They think that's cool that they're long-lost cousins.

At first, Mary Anne didn't understand why Richard never told her about it, but then she realized it reminded him of her mother. Even though Mary Anne felt bad, she likes to hear stuff about her mother since Stephie was from her mother's side. Her grandmother always tell her everything about her daughter to her granddaughter.

That afternoon, when we got to California, at my house, I heard a collapse.

"What was that?" asked Kaylee.

"I bet that's Mary Anne," said Kayla.

I rushed up to see what was it and it was Mary Anne whose body shaking non-stop and blue foam coming out. I went down to Richard and told him.

"Excuse me, she has been having seizures lately," said Richard as he rushed up to her. "Dawn, call the ambulance."

I went down to do so while Mary Anne was still in a seizure mode.

"Just hang on, sweetheart," said Richard.

That was when I came back up and told him the ambulance is on its way.

"Okay, good," said Richard.

The ambulance arrived ten seconds later and rushed her to the hospital. Richard told the doctors Mary Anne had a few seizures this week and the doctor gave her a shot to stop it.

"This is not my idea of being here with that seizure," said Mary Anne.

"I know," said my stepfather.

She was able to get released like she always does when the seizure stops. My father was with them, so they can bring them back to the house.

"I'm so sick and tired of these seizures," said Mary Anne.

At the house, Mary Anne was outside relaxing for awhile. Fresh air usually helps her when she gets seizures for the past two to three days.

The doorbell rang and I went to answer it.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi, Dawn," said Stephie.

"Can you watch her for a few days? Her father's got a cold," said her soon-to-be stepmom, Carol.

"Sure, I'm only here for two days. We're doing the road trips, but I'm sure my father still can watch her when we leave until Mr. Robertson gets better," I said.

"Okay, thank you," said Carol.

Don't get confused. That's my stepmom's name, too. Carol gave me the overnight bag with Stephie's stuff in it.

"Tell your father we'll call when James gets better," said Carol.

"I will," I promised.

"Road trips sound like fun to do," said Stephie after Carol left for home.

"Yes, it is," I said. "We're camping, but we're staying with my father this time."

Stephie must have spotted Mary Anne because she rushed out to her excitedly.

"Hi, Mary Anne!" exclaimed Stephie.

"Hi," said Mary Anne as we hugged.

"I'll be staying with you guys for a few days because Daddy just got a bad cold," said Stephie.

"I'm glad you'll be here while I'm here," said Mary Anne.

"Me, too," said Stephie.

That night, Stephie wanted to sit with Mary Anne at dinnertime, so we decided to let them sit together. After we had dinner, we were in my room when she couldn't breathe and she tried using her Proair, but it didn't seem to work and she suddenly passed out.

When I checked her inhaler, I said, "Uh-oh. It just went empty."

"I better go get Richard," said Jeff as he went out to Richard and told him.

I came back down and said, "We better hurry. Mary Anne stopped breathing."

Richard and I went back up to get her as we rushed out the door.

"What's happening with Mary Anne?" asked Stephie who was in the guest room in her nightgown.

"It's only her breathing issue, that's all, but she'll be fine," said my father who didn't want to scare her.

At the hospital, the doctors tried to get Mary Anne to breathe better. But there was one tiny problem: she was still not breathing correctly. They ordered the inhaler to get it refilled as soon as possible. She gets two in case one goes out.

"She still uses Advair," Richard told them before doing the prescription for the inhaler refill.

When he ordered Advair, he said, "You can keep her here while I go fetch the inhaler."

"And, hurry," said the doctor as my stepfather left.

What did he mean hurry? Did he mean before we could lose her? We almost did last time and it's very scary especially for Richard.

Thirty minutes later, Richard returned with the inhaler while he gave it to the doctor who rushed to Mary Anne to get her breathing. She didn't wake up yet. This is what she hates about her breathing problems. She woke up ten minutes later, but it took her two hours to breathe better on the breathing machine, which they decided to use instead of wasting the inhaler. That was a smart thing to do.

"That was a scary moment," said Mary Anne after she came out with the doctor.

"I'm sure it was," I agreed.

"I wish the breathing issue would last long, so I didn't have to deal with it," said my sister.

She tries very hard to accept it, but it's tough for her to do so. At the house, we were getting ready for bed. Mary Anne was downstairs on the couch so she can get some rest. Stephie came out and went to her cousin.

"I'm glad you're doing better," said Stephie.

"Me, too. Two hours is just too long for me," said Mary Anne.

The next day, we decided to take a drive into town. My California friends got permission to be with us! I couldn't wait! They would be meeting us at the Cafe for lunch and would be with us for the rest of the day.

At lunch, Sunny said, "Too bad you're here until tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know, but we'd be going to New Mexico next," I said.

"Wow," said Maggie.

"I can't wait for that," said Mary Anne. "Mexican food is so good. I like tacos and Spanish rice."

"Yuck, let me know on how it went," I said.

"Tough luck," said Mary Anne as we laughed about it.

After lunch, we were able to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. Stephie was with us. She wanted to be with Mary Anne since we'd be leaving in the morning.

We were browsing in the gift shops for awhile until it was time to go.

"Already?" asked Sunny.

We went to the movie star museum.

"There's my name next to Cam's," said Mary Anne who remembered that part while she was here with me.

"I remember that one, too," said Sunny who was with us at the time.

We didn't go back to my house until later on that evening after supper. At the house, we got ready for bed.