Chapter Eleven: Horrid Medicine

"Penny's awake!" Pete cried seconds later, as he found Nora up in the lighthouse chamber, lighting up for the night. Nora smiled as she gave Pete a tap on the shoulder.

"See? What'd I tell you? She'd be up and running in no time." She said. "How is she doing?" Pete shrugged.

"I don't know. She looked confused. At first, she didn't remember anything, but then I told her what happened, and she told me everything. She fell asleep in the cave, and when she woke up, the water was already coming in. She couldn't get out." He explained, still freaked out by what had happened. Nora nodded.

"Well Pete, it's normal for Penny to feel a little strange after something like that." She immediately felt her heart in her throat. "I suppose I should give her some of that medicine the doctor gave me."

Pete nodded with a smile, but Nora was apprehensive. She hadn't said much of anything to Penny, and Penny had hardly said two words to her, and the ones she did say, were angry. No, we wouldn't!

Nora sighed, following Pete down the stairs where he ran right back into where Penny was. Nora busied herself in the kitchen, pulling out the bottle of medicine and a spoon. She wished the doctor were still here - in fact, Penny would probably be more willing to take this medicine from the Gogans than her right now.

Still, she couldn't let her fears stand in the way of helping a little girl, so she mustered up her courage, and entered the room.

Penny was rubbing her head, but Nora was glad to see there was a little bit of pink returning to the girl's cheeks. She looked tired, black lines forming under her eyes, but at least she was awake. Nora resisted the urge to press her hand against her forehead to see if she still felt hot.

Neither Pete nor Penny had noticed her entrance, so she cleared her throat.

"Hi Penny." She said as cheerfully as she could muster, despite her nerves.

Penny looked up and met Nora's glance, but she didn't say anything.

But, Nora noticed, she didn't give her any glares either. She looked anything but angry.

No, she looked...upset. Could she really blame her? What she had just been through was terrifying, at the very least. Nora remembered how she felt when she saw Penny, blue, cold and unconscious. How on earth must Penny be feeling? All she wanted to do was scoop up the little girl and hug her, tell her it would be okay, but she held back.

Nora stepped in further, feeling a little less anxious.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. Penny didn't answer her, not right away. She only looked at her, as though trying to look right through her.

Instead, Penny looked over at Pete, who looked at Penny expectantly. This was a first, Nora thought. The way Pete spoke of Penny, it was as though Penny was the dominant one, and now, she was looking to Pete.

They stared at each other, sharing some deep twin connection that Nora was left out of. It was as though they were communicating to each other on a deeper level. Pete simply raised an eyebrow, and Penny cleared her throat.

"Okay." She replied quietly, so quietly, Nora hardly heard her.

But she talked to her. This was strange. Why the sudden change? Did it take a scare like that to allow herself to be a little girl again?

"Are you warm enough?" Nora asked. Penny simply nodded. Nora didn't understand - this wasn't the same child she met only a day earlier. What had happened?

Still, Nora felt a little more relaxed walking in with the medicine.

"You gave us quite the scare. I know Pete was awfully worried about you. He never left your side, you know." She explained, unscrewing the cap of the medicine. "The doctor was here, he said you're gonna be just fine. But he does want you to take some medicine."

That was when Penny reacted.

She sat up fast, and gripped the covers tightly.

"Why?" She said quickly. It wasn't angry, it sounded more like she were afraid. Pete fielded this one.

"It's to make you better, Penny."

"I am better." Nora had to stifle a laugh. Why did children insist on being so stubborn when it came to medicine? Not that she had any children of her own, but that was what she kept hearing.

"Penny, the doctor said you had a fever, so it's important to take this medicine so you can get strong again." Nora explained. Penny was clearly not happy about it. She crossed her arms stubbornly and looked as though she had a tear in her eye. Nora braced herself for an argument, but none came.

Instead, Penny finally breathed out and nodded slowly. Nora, amazed, poured some medicine on a spoon and approached Penny, who glared at that spoon like it was a snake.

But she took it. She scowled, but she took it.

Pete flashed a smile at his sister as she shuddered a little from the taste.

"Oh come on Penny, it can't be that bad." He said with a grin. She glared at him.

"Then you take it." She spat. Nora laughed. It was fun to watch the interactions between the two.

"Well Penny, the doctor says you need lots of rest, so I think you should stay here for a couple of days-"

"What? No-"

"Penny, please?" Pete's voice broke through quietly, but desperately. Penny took one look at him and his blue eyes and she melted. "I don't want you to get sick again."

Nora could tell, just by looking at the little girl and boy, that they were inseparable, and today's experience taught them just how close they had come to losing one another.

Penny finally nodded, but she didn't like it. To Nora, it didn't matter. She was coming around, and now she had at least two days with her. Who knew what could happen in two days? She hoped she would be able to convince Penny that she was safe.