CM: Okay, so I saw how excited everyone was by the recent chapters so I decided to crank this one out just for all the faithful and excited readers. I hope it came out well. Enjoy! :D

HAPHAZARDOUS SITUATIONS

"Kylie… Kylie…"

Kylie's eyes snapped open and in the darkness she could see Momiji's face looming over her with a distressed look. "Momiji?" Kylie groaned sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "What's the matter? Why are you up so late?"

"I lost my picture of my mom and I can't find it anywhere. I think I dropped it while skiing," Momiji cried. "Will you help me find it? Please!!!"

"Well…." Kylie looked over at her cousin who was still sleeping, dead to the world. She knew that she would be able to help Momiji find it, but if her cousin were to find out she would be so angry. She looked at him once more and could see tears filling up his eyes. He looked so desperate. "Alright," Kylie agreed finally. "But we need to be quick about it, okay?"

"You got it," Momiji agreed happiness reappearing on his face. He followed Kylie out the door and into the night, trudging through the snow with a flashlight as he tried to find his mothers picture. After about an hour of searching the two discovered the picture lying in the middle of a large, frozen pond. "Do you think it's safe?" Momiji asked looking from the ice to the picture.

Kylie tested it out first by lightly stepping on it. "Stay here," she told him before walking gingerly out the ice. Slowly she bent down and picked it up. She waited, and when nothing happened she walked over to Momiji and handed him the small booklet.

"Thanks!" Momiji exclaimed, taking it happily.

"Alright, now let's go back before…" CR-CRACK! Kylie looked down before yelling, "Look out!" and shoving Momiji back as hard as she could.

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There was a dark shadow moving across the wall as Hatori woke up. He glanced around and noticed that the owner of the shadow was Hatsuharu. "What are you doing down here?" Hatori asked sitting up.

"Momiji is missing," Haru explained in a deep voice.

"I see you went black on us. You haven't found him in the Lodge yet?" Hatori asked.

"Do you think I would be in here if I'd already found him?" Haru asked blatantly.

Hatori heaved a sigh.

"There's another thing…" Haru said.

"What is it?" Hatori asked though he wasn't sure if he wanted more bad news. "Momiji's coat isn't the only one that's missing. Kylie's is gone too."

This caused Hatori even more disquiet. Suddenly the still quiet of the cabin was shattered when Linda's shrill scream tore through it. "KYLIE!"

The rest of the boys, except Ayame, woke up at the sound of the scream and together they ran up to the girls room where Linda was kneeling on the floor trying to reach the door in desperation. "Linda what's wrong?" Yuki asked coming forward.

Linda pointed to the bed next to her own, "Kylie ran off somewhere. I have to go find her, there's no telling what kind of trouble she's in right now."

"This is indeed troubling," Shigure said seriously. "Kyo, Yuki, Haru, you three come with me. We're going to find them. Hatori, please stay here and look after Aaya and Linda." He smiled at Linda. "Don't worry, we'll find your cousin and bring her back safely."

Linda watched as they left, helpless to do anything to help.

"You really should prop your foot up," Hatori told her concernedly.

"At least let me wait downstairs. I know I can't do anything to help but I want to be there when she comes back," Linda said desperately.

"Alright," Hatori said helping her up and then handing her her crutches before going downstairs.

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"How far out here could those two have gotten?" Kyo asked angrily.

"We don't really know…but we need to find them a.s.a.p," Yuki replied.

"I see someone," Haru stated.

Indeed, a small figure was running headlong towards them. It was Momiji. He looked very pale and his eyes were wide. "Thank goodness you're here! Come quick!"

"What happened?" Shigure asked him. "And where's Kylie?"

"She's fallen in the lake!" Momiji cried. "Hurry up! We've got to save her!"

Fear engulfed Shigure's features and he hurried off after Momiji while the others followed.

"What were you two doing out here anyway?" Kyo asked angrily.

"I lost mom's picture and I had to get it back," Momiji explained.

"Why didn't you just wait until tomorrow?" Yuki asked slowly.

"Because we were leaving tomorrow and I wouldn't have the chance," Momiji cried sadly.

"You should have asked me for help then. I would have found her in no time," Haru declared.

"There's no need for us to argue, we just need to get to the lake now," Shigure retorted breaking through their conversation. They all fell silent after that and focused their energy into getting their as quickly as they could.

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Cold…. It was so cold. Kylie could feel herself being pulled down deeper into the water, her clothes weighing down on her like an anchor. She couldn't move. She couldn't see. She couldn't even breathe. Her heart beat, which was growing slower by the second, boomed loudly in her ears. In fact, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. The cold feeling soon vanished and all became numb. "Am I going to die?" Kylie thought as she felt her body slowly descending more and more. She felt alone and frightened. She didn't want to die. There were still so many things she wanted to do before her life was over. But then she remembered the joy on Momiji's face when he got his picture back. Maybe it had been worth it. Maybe… She heard someone calling her name from very far away. Whether or not she had imagined it, she didn't know. She felt her body finally settle itself down on the cold bottom. She felt what was left of her breath slowly leave her mouth, and she remembered nothing more.

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The door burst open and in ran Shigure holding onto a dripping wet Kylie followed closely by the others.

"What happened? Is she alright?" Linda asked jumping up and ignoring the pain that shot through her ankle.

Hatori allowed them to set Kylie down before he went to examine her. "She's not breathing," Hatori said out loud checking everywhere to see if there was even a small chance of saving her.

"What?" Linda asked sinking back into a chair and staring at the prone figure of her cousin. "She's going to make it right? She can't leave now…..we promised," she continued tears filling up her eyes.

"I know it seems hopeless but…." Yuki started putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, she can't leave me. You broke the promise….why did you have to do it again? BAKA…baka….why did you have to do it again. You promised…..you promised," Linda muttered over and over again tears pouring down her cheeks.

Kyo looked stunned. "She's… no, she can't be…" Yuki and Haru said nothing, merely looked on with remorseful eyes. Momiji looked as if he might start bawling any second.

"Hatori," Shigure said in a steady voice. "Can you help her?"

"Yes there is still a chance but it requires CPR," Hatori said standing up.

Linda looked up at him with a fleeting glint of hope just barely visible in her dejected eyes.

"I'll do it," Shigure volunteered.

The other boys looked at Shigure sure that he was going to do something indecent, but Hatori stepped out of the way and allowed Shigure to proceed. Several minutes after the procedure started Linda's faint sign of hope vanished and she started crying harder than ever….though silently. Then when all hope seemed lost there was a spluttering noise and Kylie's eyes fluttered open. At the sound Linda's head shot up and stared finding it hard to believe that her cousin had pulled through. Then she jumped forward and pulled Kylie into a hug landing on her knees as she went.

"Baka….you weren't really planning on leaving me were you?" Linda asked tears still pouring down her cheeks.

Kylie's eyes stared out as if they were trying to register what they were seeing. Then, slowly the haze cleared away and she wrapped her shivering arms around Linda tightly, half with reassurance, and half with the simple desperate need for warmth. "Mmmm s-s-s-sor-ry, "she whispered through chattering teeth as tears began to trickle down her own face. She tried to say more but she was shivering so violently that it was near impossible to form a sentence. Everyone in the room was relieved to see that she was alright.

Haru and Momiji both handed Kylie a towel the moment Linda let her go. In the meantime Yuki got a fire going and Shigure helped Kylie get closer to the fire while Hatori helped Linda back to her chair.

"How are you feeling, Kylie?" Tohru asked having come back from making a glass of hot chocolate.

"M-much b-better. Th-thanks," Kylie managed to get out. She took the hot chocolate and took a sip. The warmth from it seemed to spread throughout her entire body.

"Kylie, I'm really sorry," Momiji said sitting beside her with wide tearful eyes. "I didn't mean to get you into trouble. You were only trying to help me and you almost…"

"Shhhhh…." Kylie shushed him and gently pulled him into a one armed hug. "It's alr-right. I'm f-fine now."

"That was a pretty close one you know," Kyo muttered. "Be more careful next time."

"What's with all the sad faces?" Ayame asked stepping into the room having finally woken up. "Kylie what happened to you? You're soaking wet," Ayame asked noticing the shivering girl.

"She went and nearly drowned in the lake," Kyo explained harshly.

"But Shigure and Haru pulled her out. Then Shigure saved her life using CPR," Yuki finished.

Kylie flushed several shades of red. He had really…? So that meant she owed him her life. She didn't know whether to be thankful or worried.

"That's dreadful!" Ayame exclaimed in horror. "Kylie, I'm so thankful that you made it. My shop would never be the same without you!"

"No need to worry, Ayame-san," Kylie assured him. She was warmed up quite a bit now so she could speak normally again.

"You really should have told someone you were going out before you left," Shigure scolded.

"If you heard about it you'd just end up going with her and then who knows what would happen," Kyo exclaimed sarcastically.

"Kyo's just upset because he wanted to be alone with Tohru," Momiji said earning a smack on the head from Kyo.

"I'm even disgusted by you stupid cat," Yuki muttered.

"Would you quit believing everything that kid says," Kyo shouted back.

"If you two don't quiet down now I'll throw you outside," Hatori cut in harshly. The glanced over at him and noticed that Linda had fallen asleep and that he had just placed a new bandage on her ankle.

"I'm sorry everyone," Kylie murmured an apology before she drifted off into a restful sleep. Momiji slipped out of her grasp and after a few moments, Momiji transformed into a rabbit with a pop.

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The next morning proved to be quite interesting, as Linda woke up with a cold sweat in her bed and thought she had dreamed the whole thing. Looking over she noticed that Kylie was covered in more blankets than when she went to bed and her hair had signs of drying after being wet.

"So it wasn't a dream," she thought feeling the stickiness of her own dry tears on her face. She limped downstairs with as few sounds as possible and found all the Sohma boys passed out on the floor. "Wow…I don't think I've ever woken up before everybody," she thought to herself. "In that case I'm going to go grab what I want from the fridge before anyone else wakes up." She limped through the room over and around people as to not wake them up and into the kitchen. "Hmm…I wonder what time it is," she thought seeing that the sun hadn't come out yet.

"You're up awfully early," the deep voice of Hatori told her. She glanced over to see him stride into the kitchen and he set to work on making some coffee. "You are by far the most stubborn patient I've ever seen."

"Why because I don't like staying in one place?" Linda asked opening the fridge and taking out a glass of orange juice. "I figured it was good if the patient could move on their own."

"Not if it means that you end up hurting yourself in the process," Hatori retorted. "Oh give me a break," Linda groaned rolling her eyes.

"In any case, I'm glad to see you're doing better," Hatori said sitting down at the table.

"I'm fine. Is Kylie going to be alright?"

"She seems to have stabilized," Hatori informed her. "It doesn't seem like she caught anything while her immune system was down. She should be back to her normal self once she wakes up."

"That's good. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see her again back there," Linda said after taking a swig of her juice with some difficulty. "I really should show my gratitude toward Shigure and Haru for saving her life. I just wish I knew how."

"I doubt they would feel that was necessary," Hatori told her. "I'm sure they were just as relieved as you were. That fact that she's still alive should be more than enough for them."

"You sure?" Linda asked glancing up at him. By the look on his face she could tell he was definitely sure. "Never mind. Um….thanks…for helping with my ankle I mean."

"You're welcome," Hatori said with a ghost of a smile.

"I smell coffee," Kylie said poking her head into the kitchen. When she saw the two of them she stopped. "Sorry… should come back later?"

"Kylie wa…" Linda started only to stop as Kylie left the room in a hurry. "Wow…that was rather unexpected," she muttered rubbing her head.

"Is there something wrong?" Hatori asked.

"No it's just….I didn't expect Kylie to come in right now or to leave so quickly," Linda replied as she continued to rub her head.

Hatori must have decided the coffee was done because he got up from his seat and poured himself a cup. "Well, if she can move around so diligently, then she must be feeling better. However, she might need to take it easy for a while… just in case. The same goes for you."

"You don't have to worry about me…I'm just fine. As soon as my ankle's all better I'll be back to my old self," Linda declared standing up straight only to fall back to her crutches as she had accidentally put her foot down.

Hatori immediately set his coffee down and strode over to her. "You were saying?" He asked with a hint of exasperation in his voice as he helped her up.

"Hehe… wari," Linda said with an embarrassed laugh.

"I would really appreciate it if you were more careful," he told her softly as he gently brushed some of the fringe that had fallen in her face away.

Linda's heart skipped a beat as her eyes met his and her face turned really red. Then she looked away quickly so that he wouldn't notice and made sure she had her crutches in the right position. "Well I'm going to go see what Kylie needed," Linda said hastily limping out the door. He watched her go, staring after her for several moments before deciding to go back to his coffee before it went cold.

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One by one, people began to wake up. Kylie helped Tohru make breakfast so that once everyone was awake, they could come in, sit down, and eat their food. Kylie sat down next to Shigure once she had served herself. "Well now, this is a surprise," Shigure remarked teasingly. "Usually you avoid me as if I was a leper."

Kylie stared down at her plate as she spoke. "I just wanted to thank you… for last night." She had already thanked everyone, but she felt she owed a special thanks to him for some reason.

"Don't worry about it, just knowing you are alright makes it all seem better somehow," Shigure replied with a smile. "Besides I didn't want to lose you, and knowing you're still around brings joy to my soul."

Kylie said nothing but smiled in appreciation. After breakfast, sadly, it was time to go home. Ayame wanted to ride hime with Yuki but Hatori convinced him it would be better if they left the way they had come. So the two said their goodbyes to the group, Hatori reminding Linda once more to be careful, before leaving. Once Shigure's group was loaded in, they left for home as well.

"I knew this trip would be interesting but I think Linda and Kylie went a little overboard," Kyo expressed shaking his head.

"You may be right but even so I had a lot of fun," Linda replied with a grin.

"It was rather fun wasn't it," Yuki agreed.

"I had fun," Haru murmured.

"Oh yeah I nearly forgot…what happened to Haru last night…I could have sworn he was a completely different person," Linda said suddenly remembering his expression.

"That was black Haru…he get's like that every once in a while but as long as your around us when it happens you won't have to worry," Yuki explained.

"Wow…so he's skitzo?" Linda asked without thinking.

"I think the term is having a split personality," Kylie corrected.

"Well, I personally had fun," Shigure said with a bright smile. "We should do this more often."

"Idiot!" Kyo and Yuki muttered.

"So, Momiji," Kylie spoke to the small boy. "After this are you and Haru going to leave again?"

"Yeah, but we'll be sure to come by and visit more often," Momiji assured them.

"Yeah, and cause even more trouble," Kyo muttered.

"I wouldn't mind seeing you guys again….it should be a lot of fun," Linda said cheerfully nullifying Kyo's comment. "Besides I was wanting to do a really cool carving for your family….but I'd need a little help from you guys."

"Oooh…I can't wait to see it," Momiji exclaimed happily. "I'll definitely come and help…how about you Haru?"

"Sure..I'll come to," Haru agreed.

"Great…you'll love the finished product…I promise," Linda said stretching her cramped leg.

"Could you draw us another picture some time?" Momiji asked Kylie.

"Sure thing," Kylie said with a nod. It was a very pleasant car ride back home and once they had gotten settled back in, Haru and Momiji said their good byes before leaving. "You guys have a really nice family," Kylie commented.

"As long as you don't have to see them everyday," Kyo complained.

"Well no matter who your family is you get annoyed with each other eventually if you see them everyday," Linda said waving her goodbyes with her crutch. "I mean even Kylie get's on my nerves every once in a while."

"Yeah well at least she isn't as annoying as that kid….he's only a year younger than us and he acts like a freakin' elementary student," Kyo shouted his hands turning into fists.

"Are you serious?" Kylie and Linda asked together.

"Yes, Haru is also one year younger than us," Yuki informed them.

"Wow," Kylie murmured.

"I honestly thought that Momiji was in elementary while Haru was close to graduating," Linda admitted.

"Come come," Shigure told them. "Let's get out of the cold. We wouldn't want to freeze to death."

Kylie flushed red in humility.

"You can be so tactless sometimes," Yuki said glaring at him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kylie," Shigure said dramatically reaching for her. "Please accept this embrace with my apology."

"Knock it of you pervert!" Kyo shouted, interrupting his action by knocking him on the head.

Linda rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother. I guess it's back to the old routine stuff."

Kylie giggled. "Hehe, looks like it."

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CM: Wow, was that intense or what? ;) Hehe, stay tuned! And HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!