A/N: Thanks to everyone for the reviews!


Chapter Nine: The Simple Things

The next morning, Natalie woke up late. She grabbed her robe that was hanging off her desk chair, and put it on, before making her way into her bathroom. She put her hair in a ponytail, before splashing some water on her face. After she finished freshening up, she left her room, intent on going to the kitchen to find something for breakfast.

But as soon as she walked out of her room, Cynthia opened the door of her's. She glanced at Keith's closed door, before glancing to Natalie.

"Is he up yet?" she asked.

Natalie laughed quietly. "Most likely, no."

Cynthia sighed audibly. "Can I wake him up?" pressed Cynthia, taking a daring step towards Keith's room.

Natalie thought for a second. "Maybe we should let him sleep," she voiced.

Cynthia shook her head back and forth, frowning. "But," she whined. "I want to make pancakes and he needs to help. He can take a nap later," she added.

"All right, fine," said Natalie. Cynthia smiled widely before running into Keith's room, not bothering to knock.

When Natalie heard a high pitched scream, she berated herself for not telling Cynthia to at least wake him up nicely. She knew from experience that nicely wasn't how Cynthia woke people up. She walked into the room, and Keith was sitting straight up in bed. His hair was wild standing up in many directions.

"What's going on?" he mumbled.

Cynthia bounced onto the bed. "Time to get up," she demanded.

Keith's previous shock and confusion didn't last long, because he laid back down, and pulled the comforter over his head.

"Keith," whined Cynthia, trying to pull the comforter back down, but he had a pretty strong grip on it, and she couldn't get it to budge. "Get up," she said, shaking him.

"Too early," he mumbled from underneath the comforter.

"We're going to make pancakes," said Cynthia, still trying to pull the comforter down. "So, you have to get up."

Finally realizing that her attempts of pulling the comforter off of Keith weren't working, she jumped off the bed and grabbed the bottom of the comforter and pulled. At this, she succeeded, and Keith let out an irritated moan, Cynthia looked quite pleased with herself.

She ran over to the side of the bed. "Come on, Keith. Get up, pancakes," she said, pulling on his shirt, but he didn't budge. "You need to make me Mickey Mouse ones. Can you do those? 'Cause Natalie's really bad at it."

Natalie huffed loudly, sitting on the bed; she glanced down at Keith's face. His eyes were closed, and at first she was shocked that he could be sleeping through Cynthia's attempts at waking him up. But a few seconds later, he opened his eyes.

"Do you ever get use to this?" he whispered.

Natalie shook her head. "No, not really," she whispered back, before bending down and kissing him on the lips.

At the sight of them kissing, Cynthia stopped pulling on Keith's shirt, and let out a high pitched scream. "Eww. That's just gross. Stop it. That's so disgusting" she screamed, while running out of the room.

"Well," Keith smirked, "at least we know how to get her to leave."

Natalie smiled. "Sorry about that, I kind of forgot about her rude wake up calls."

Keith sat up, straightening out his shirt. "It's cool," he smiled. "But, my heart is still racing."

"Poor thing," said Natalie. "You feeling okay today?" she asked.

Keith looked thoughtful. "Actually, I feel great," he smiled at this sudden revelation.

"That's great," smiled Natalie. Keith got out of his bed, and located his sweater.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But, sometimes the symptoms don't come for a few days after, you know, after a treatment I mean." He found his hoodie and pulled it over his head.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe it has to do with going through the blood system or something," he mused.

"That makes sense, I guess," agreed Natalie. "So, are you ready for some pancakes?"

Keith smiled. "Definitely."


Natalie decided that she wanted to attempt to try and make Cynthia her Mickey Mouse pancakes, but she wasn't having much luck. Every pancake she had tried came out to be a blob, she couldn't seem to get the ears right, and if she did, when she went to flip it, the pancake broke.

"Oops," she said. "I messed this one up, too," she sighed, looking at her sad attempt of Mickey Mouse. Keith came up behind her, glancing over her shoulder. At the sight of the pancake he started laughing. Natalie turned around, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

"Are you laughing at my pancake?" she asked.

Keith was laughing so hard he was gripping his sides. "No," he laughed. "I wasn't," he stopped to take a breath and calm himself. "I wasn't laughing at your pancake," he stated, trying to attempt to look serious. "I was laughing at…"

"Me?" huffed Natalie.

He gave her an innocent look. "Maybe…"

She glared at him, swatting him with the spatula before, turning back around to check to see if the pancake was ready to be flipped. He stood next to her, and at the sight of the pancake again, he started laughing.

"Okay," he admitted, pointing to her pancake. "I was laughing at your pancake. I mean, that's supposed to be Mickey!" Natalie went to hit him with the spatula, but this time he dodged it.

"Cynthia," Keith called, "your sister is trying to hurt me." At Keith's call, Cynthia came running into the kitchen, glaring at Natalie.

"What are you doing?" Cynthia exclaimed to Natalie.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to make Mickey Mouse pancakes, but Keith," she turned to glare at him, "keeps laughing at my attempts."

Cynthia went to look at the now burnt pancake. "Well, I can see why he was laughing. That doesn't look like Mickey at all," Cynthia laughed.

Natalie sighed. "I give up," she said defeated. "Keith, you try," she demanded handing him the spatula.

He took the spatula from her hesitantly. "What?" he said, looking unsure. "I'm not sure. I don't really cook. Ever."

Natalie shrugged. "Nothing could be worse than my attempts. Just think of today as the day you learn to make pancakes," she smiled. "Mickey Mouse pancakes."

He nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll try. Wait, where are you going?" he asked, watching Natalie leave the kitchen.

Natalie turned around. "To watch cartoons with Cynthia. I want to be surprised to see what a great chef you are," she winked. He glanced at the bowl of pancake mix, before scooping up a ladle full of the mix and placing it on the pan. He glanced back at her, a determined glint in his eye.

"Be prepared to be amazed," he smiled, eyes shining.

And amazed they were. When Keith had called them both, telling them breakfast was ready, Natalie had been expecting to see pancakes like the ones she had made, but they weren't. They were good. They looked just like Cynthia wanted them to.

Like Mickey Mouse.

Keith had also added chocolate chips to for eyes and mouth. Cynthia was so excited, that she couldn't stop grinning. She sat down at the table in a daze, staring at her Mickey Mouse pancake. "This is so cool," she smiled. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Keith sat down next to Natalie, taking her hand into his. "It was no trouble," he smiled.

"I don't want to eat it," said Cynthia. "He's too cute."

"You have to eat it," said Keith. "Mickey wouldn't want it any other way."

"You're right," mused Cynthia.

They all ate their Mickey pancakes and more. After a few pancakes, both Cynthia and Natalie were full. Cynthia took a sip of orange juice, while glancing at the remaining pancakes, a strange glint in her eye.

"Keith," Cynthia said, he looked up from his plate.

"Yes?"

"I dare you to eat the rest of those," she pointed to the remaining pile of pancakes.

He grinned. "All of them?"

Cynthia nodded. "Yup, all of them."

Keith looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay," he nodded in agreement, moving the plate in front of him. He placed butter and syrup on the pancakes, cut them into small pieces, before taking his first bite of many.

Natalie thought he'd be able to eat them all, but after Keith had eaten half of what was on the plate, he began to slow down.

"I'm full," he said, glancing at the remaining pancakes with dread.

"You don't have to eat them all," said Natalie, looking at Keith with concern.

He shook his head, determination etched on his face. "Yes, I do. It was, it is," he clarified, "a dare." He took another bite.

Natalie glanced at Cynthia who looked like she was about to start laughing. He took a few more bites, slowly. And a few minutes later, he only had one more bite left. "I feel like I'm going to throw up," he said, staring at his last forkful of pancakes with dread.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Then why are you going to eat it?"

Keith rolled his eyes back at her, before glancing at Cynthia, smiling. "Last bite," he indicated before popping the last forkful of pancakes it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "Ugh, I'm never doing that again. I don't think I want pancakes for a while." He placed his head on the table. "I don't think I can move," he mumbled.

"You're funny," laughed Cynthia. "Are you okay?" she added a few seconds later.

Keith groaned. "He's fine," spoke Natalie for him. "He's just being a big baby," she laughed.

Keith glanced up and glared at Natalie before returning to his previous position.

"Can we go to the park?" perked up Cynthia.

"Sure,' said Natalie. "How about you help me clean up, then we can go," said Natalie.

"Keith," said Cynthia. "Can we take your truck?"

"If I can move," he said, his voice muffled.

"Cool," smiled Cynthia, grabbing her and Keith's plate and taking them into the kitchen.

Natalie grabbed the rest of the dishes off the table, when she went to go walk into the kitchen she noticed her mom watching them from the doorway, smiling in approval. Natalie wondered how long she had been there.


An hour later, once Keith could move, they all changed out of their pajamas and into some other clothes. Cynthia couldn't stop talking about riding in Keith's truck.

"This is such a cool truck. I think I want one like this when I can drive," stated Cynthia.

"Which is not for a while, thank God," added Natalie. This statement caused her to get a death glare from Cynthia.

"When did you get this truck, Keith?" wondered Cynthia, gaining Natalie's attention. This wasn't something Natalie had ever thought to ask, and she was curious to find out.

"For my sixteenth birthday. It was the best present ever," he exclaimed, eyes shining. He merged off of the highway and followed signs towards the park.

"Who gave it to you?" asked Cynthia, turning on the radio and looking for a station.

Keith was silent and cleared his throat before speaking. "Um, my mom, actually."

Cynthia smiled. "Really? That's cool. Where is your mom, though?" Keith kept his gaze straight ahead, as he took a sharp right turn and the park appeared. He turned into the closet parking lot.

"Keith?" she pressed.

He parked his truck and looked over at her. "She died, actually," he said quickly, then turned to look out his window.

Cynthia's face turned from a smile to an immediate frown. "Oh, I'm really sorry. I had no idea—"

He turned to look at her. "Hey, it's fine. You didn't know. Anyways, it was two years ago. I should be, I mean, I am over it."

Cynthia frowned even more. "You don't have to be over it, you know."

He sighed. "Well, I am, okay?" he stated a little too harshly, causing Cynthia to back up against her seat. At this reaction, Keith looked downright upset with himself. "I'm sorry for yelling. I just—shit." He opened his car door, and got out. Natalie and Cynthia watched him walk over to the swings.

Cynthia looked over at Natalie, with tears in her eyes. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make him upset. I had no idea."

"Hey," started Natalie soothingly, "don't worry about it."

Cynthia sniffed. "Are you sure?"

Natalie nodded. "Keith really likes you. He didn't mean to yell. He just misses his mom a lot and it's hard for him to talk about it."

Cynthia nodded. "I understand. Should we go talk to him?"

"Yes, we should. Come on, let's go. How about you teach him that cool trick on the swing where you jump off?"

"Okay," Cynthia nodded, a smile reaching her eyes. "He'll like that."

They walked over to Keith, who was swinging but kept his gaze focused on the ground as they walked up to him.

"Keith?" said Cynthia quietly.

He slowly looked up and Natalie wished she could take the guilt and pain away that radiated in his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Can I show you a cool trick?" asked Cynthia hesitantly.

He smiled. The pain and guilt diminishing quickly from his eyes. "Sure, what do you want to show me?"

Cynthia sat in the swing next to him. "You start to swing really high and then you jump off. It's really fun," she said before starting to show him the trick.

For a few minutes, Natalie watched Cynthia show Keith the trick before she walked over and sat down on a bench. Keith took to the trick right away, and Natalie had to hold her breath when Keith jumped off the swing from a ridiculously high point. He landed in the sand, and got up, laughing, the height and fall had not even fazing him.

After many jumps later, Keith came over to sit next to Natalie, while Cynthia went to play on the slide and monkey bars.

"Hey, there," he said, leaning up to her and kissing her on the side of her neck, making goosebumps to appear on Natalie's arms.

"Hey," she smiled. "Having fun?"

He nodded, leaning up against the bench. "Yup. I'm sorry, for earlier, yelling at Cynthia like that," he said.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You should talk about it, though, your mom."

Keith shrugged. "I know. When she," he took a deep breath, "died, Dad and I, we didn't talk at all, about her, about anything…really. We should have, but we never did and now it seems strange to bring it up."

Natalie leaned her head on his shoulder. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

He kissed her on the top of her head. "I know," he whispered. "So, um, I overheard you and your parents last night," he mentioned.

Natalie sat up. "You did? But I checked on you. You were asleep."

"I know," he smiled. "Anyway, Partner, I want to make sure that you're not not going to Duke because of just me. You aren't are you?" He looked serious.

"Honestly?" He nodded. "You're a big part of it. But, Duke, it never really interested me. I never really wanted to go. There's actually this State school nearby that has an excellent English program that always looked more exciting to me than Duke, but I just never told my dad," she shrugged.

"You need to go to the school that you want to go to, okay?" He paused. "But, are you sure you don't want to start the State school in the fall? I mean, I know it's nearing the end of July, but I'm sure you could still get in and get registered. Plus, you could still live at home, and we'll still be by each other."

"I've thought about it, really, I have," she answered honestly. "But, I'm just so tired of school. I'd like a break. Plus, I want to be with you while you go through this. Chemo, I mean. I want to be there for you."

Keith licked his lips. "You will be there for me, Partner. Just because you're going to school doesn't mean you won't be there for me. But, I don't want you to completely stop your life because you think you have to take care of me, which you don't have to do. You know that, right?"

She nodded. "I know I don't, but I just would feel so much better if I do. Plus, it's only one year, right? It'd be nice to have a break, anyway. And, I don't think I have to take care of you, I want to take care of you."

Keith stared into her eyes. "Well, if you're sure that's what you want. I don't want to be the reason you're not going to—"

She placed her finger on his lips. "Stop, you're not holding me back or anything else, okay? I know I could go, but I really want a break, too, okay? Trust me, this is my decision and I'm really happy about it," she grinned.

He grinned back, bringing his forehead down to touch hers. Natalie stared into his sparking green eyes. "You're my favorite, you know that?" he smirked.

Natalie touched her lips ever so gently against his. "And you're mine," she whispered against his lips.

It was the simple things he did, the simple things he said, that made Natalie fall, if possible, more in love with him.


They stayed at the park most of the day, and after stopped to grab a late lunch. Natalie was shocked that Keith was even hungry; she couldn't understand how he could just eat so much. They stopped off at The Diner and all ordered hamburgers and shakes. Once they were done, they drove home. It was late when they drove up to Natalie's house, but as soon as they got near, Natalie saw a familiar truck in her driveway.

"Why's my dad here?" Keith asked, looking over to Natalie and Cynthia. They both shrugged.

"No idea," replied Natalie. Keith turned his truck off, and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Were you supposed to call him?" wondered Natalie, unbuckling her seatbelt as well. "Maybe, he was worried when you weren't at home."

Keith shrugged. "I don't know, he's never worried when I haven't come home before." When they walked into the house, Natalie's parents and Keith's dad were sitting around the kitchen table talking.

"Cynthia," said Caroline, "how about you go up to your room?"

"But, mom," she whined, but at her mom's face, she stopped. "All right, fine," she said, walking away sulkily.

The atmosphere of the room worried Natalie, as she sat down at the table. "What's going on?" she asked. Keith sat next to her, and looked to be thinking the same as she.

"Dad?" wondered Keith.

Henry sighed loudly, before picking up the steaming cup of coffee in his hand and taking a sip. After, he finally looked over to Keith. "Keith, I have something to tell you," started Henry solemnly, by the tone in his voice Natalie knew it wasn't going to be good.

Natalie watched as Keith got increasingly worried. "What?"

"I have to help with a construction site in Michigan," he sighed.

"Can't someone else go?" interrupted Keith. "Why you?"

"My boss has personally requested me; he told me if I can't go that he'll have to let me go."

"This is stupid," said Keith, his voice rising. "Who cares? Let him fire you or just quit."

"Keith, the last thing I want to do is leave you but if I quit, I'll lose your health insurance. We need that, you need that."

"Wait," said Natalie. "I thought you said Keith's health insurance has maxed out."

Henry nodded. "I did, but he still has health insurance; having it maxed out just means I had to pay more percentage towards his medical bills."

"Oh," breathed Natalie. "So, the people or person that's paying for Keith's treatment, they're just paying what the insurance won't?"

"Yeah, exactly," Henry cleared his throat, looking at Keith. "So, if I quit or lose my job, you won't have health insurance. I don't know who's paying for it, but I'm almost positive they couldn't pay for all your medical bills without some type of insurance coverage. The amount would be ridiculously high."

"Crap," said Natalie, realizing the position Henry was in.

"This is bullshit," yelled Keith suddenly, sitting up so quickly that his chair crashed to the ground.

"Keith," said Henry warningly. "Don't do this." Henry gently grabbed Keith's wrist to keep him from leaving. "You have to understand the position that I'm in. You need your health insurance."

Keith moved his gaze to the floor. "But, I need you here."

"I know," said Henry softly. "I know you do."

"Well," spoke up Caroline, "we'll be happy to have him."

"Have me? What?" Keith looked up to his dad. "What do you mean?" he added.

"Keith, I've asked the Andersons' if they could watch you while I'm gone," he whispered slowly. He was staring at Keith, waiting for a reaction.

"Why?" spoke Keith rudely.

"I'm not letting you on your own. I don't want to worry the whole time I'm gone," he stated, looking at Keith for approval.

"But, I don't want to stay here," he whispered. "I'll just be in the way," he mumbled.

"You won't be in the way, dear," said Caroline. Keith glanced over to her quickly, before looking back up at Henry.

"I'm sorry," said Henry. "But, there's nothing I can do?"

Keith sighed. "How long?"

"I have no idea, months, at least," said Henry.

"Months?" Keith repeated. Henry regretfully nodded, and at this, Keith tore his wrist out of Henry's grip, before leaving, slamming the door on his way out.

Natalie stood up, intent on following Keith but Henry stopped her. "Leave him. He needs some time to cool down." He turned to Natalie's parents. "I'm really sorry for his behavior," he stated, picking up the fallen chair.

"Hey," said Pete, "we understand. It's fine."

"It means a lot," he smiled, but it looked forced. "And thanks for watching him for me. I don't know how to thank you guys enough."

"He's no trouble," said Pete. "Really."

"Well, I better get going," he said, pointing to the door. "I should go talk to him."

Caroline on Pete said their goodbyes and Natalie walked Henry to the door. "Bye," said Natalie. Once she closed the door behind him, Natalie turned to her parents. "Well, that was unexpected. I hope he's going to be okay."

Her mom gave her a reassuring smile. "He'll be fine, dear," said Caroline.

Natalie nodded, hoping her mom was right. "Thanks for letting him stay here, though. It means a lot. Well, I think I'm going to go take a shower," she said, turning around to walk upstairs to her room.

"Natalie?" her dad called.

She turned around. "Yeah?"

Pete smiled. "We would never be disappointed in you."


That night Natalie was in her bed reading when Cynthia walked in. "Hey," said Natalie, putting her book on her nightstand.

"Hi," smiled Cynthia, sitting next to Natalie on her bed. "Mom told me that Keith's going to stay here for a while."

"Yes, he is," said Natalie.

Cynthia grinned. "It's going to be so much fun."

"Did mom tell you that Keith might not always feel good?" wondered Natalie.

Cynthia nodded. "Yeah, she said that he was sick and taking medicine that might make him feel bad."

"Right," nodded Natalie.

"And when he doesn't feel well, I'm not going to bother him." Natalie went to speak but Cynthia hurriedly added. "But, I told her that I could help."

"That's nice of you, but it may take him some time to get use to staying here, oaky?"

"What do you mean?" asked Cynthia.

"Well," started Natalie, "he might be uncomfortable around here for awhile."

Cynthia smiled. "Oh, I see. But, I'll show him all my Hannah Montana movies. I can, right?"

Natalie laughed. "I don't think Keith even knows who Hannah Montana is."

"Really?" she asked shocked. Natalie nodded. "No way," exclaimed Cynthia as if this was the worst bit of news she had ever heard.

"You can show him all your CD's, DVD's," smiled Natalie, knowing what torture she was subjecting Keith to.

"That'll be fun," smiled Cynthia. "I had fun today. Can we do that again sometime?"

"I had fun, too," smiled Natalie. "Of course, we can do it again."

"Promise?" asked Cynthia, looking into Natalie's eyes.

Natalie nodded and Cynthia and jumped off the bed. Just as she was about to leave, she turned around to face Natalie. "I like Keith a lot more than Raff," she stated, before running out of Natalie's room.

"Me too," laughed Natalie. "Me too."


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