Chapter LII: Again with the Hospital?

Hello again, everyone and welcome back to "Summer Love, Summer Fears." We thank you for sticking with us, even in the face of a lot of medical drama! Thanks again for all your reviews. They are greatly appreciated by Peach and 15animefreak15.

Last time: Even in the summer, our teen heroes can't seem to catch a break. So Bastion and Violet are now in the hospital and someone might have mono. So what will the tests reveal? Read and find out.

Disclaimer: We don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. We own our characters and this version of the Yugi-verse. We don't own any songs. We don't own Starbucks, though Peach lives near a Starbucks. We also gratefully acknowledge the various medical websites that helped us figure out what would happen in best-case, troublesome and worst-case scenarios.

Finally, the cars pulled into the hospital parking lot, both able to catch a spot near the entrance. The teens and adult got out of the cars and walked into the building.

Hiro, fortunately was waiting for them. "Hi, Hiro!" everyone greeted.

"Hiro, where are they?" Annie asked.

"Ah, good, you're here. I'll take you to their room..." Hiro led the way down the hall, taking a flight of stairs to the second floor. After that it was only a few feet to the door of their room, where Katai and Kisara both were.

The kids entered the room. "Oh, thank goodness you're here, kids...Annie, I could use a hand if you're up to it...Violet isn't cooperating...she's scared..."

"Okay, Kisara...Hey, Bastion!" Annie greeted.

"Hello, Annie, everyone..." Bastion said weakly. Kisara quickly ushered Annie out of the room.

Syrus blinked as Annie and Kisara left. "Uh, Bastion, what exactly was that about?" he asked curiously.

"Violet is very much afraid of needles...I don't like them much either, but I manage them," the boy explained. "Violet...detests them...I can't be with her," Bastion groaned softly.

"He's staying in here overnight..." Katai said.

Meanwhile, in another room, Violet still had a pounding headache. Just the thought of having a needle stuck in her arm made her feel queasy, and the thought of blood didn't exactly help.

Meanwhile, back in the blood draw room, a nurse pleaded with Violet. "C'mon, honey...it won't be that bad and Dr. Kaiba will be back soon..."

Violet simply closed her eyes again to block out the light, which still aggravated her headache. However, they snapped open when she heard two sets of footsteps coming down the hallway. Then, the door opened to reveal- "Annie!"

"Violet!" Annie squealed, coming through the door and giving her best friend a hug. "You're having a bad headache...aren't you?"

"Yeah...that squeal didn't exactly help much," Violet replied, wincing. However, she was grateful for the hug, which comforted her a little.

"Sorry..." Annie apologized, sitting next to her.

"Okay, Violet, do you think you can get through this blood test with Annie here?" Kisara asked seriously. "We need to do it so I can analyze it, all right?"

Violet bit her bottom lip nervously, and sighed. "I guess...can I see Bastion again once it's done?" She'd been hoping he could be with her during this, but since he couldn't she wanted to see him as soon as she could when it was over.

"Of course," Kisara answered. "You'll be staying in the same room...he's doing better and that IV is giving him plenty of fluids."

"All right. I'll do it..." She swallowed nervously, glancing at Annie and taking her hand. When the nurse brought out the needle, she paled a little and squeezed her best friend's hand.

Annie flushed a bit, too, definitely not liking needles but needing to be strong for her best friend. "It'll be over in a minute...just look at me..." she said.

"Okay, this'll just hurt for a minute," the nurse said, tying on the cuff and then wiping the area to be poked with a cleaning swab.

"R-Right..." Violet turned her gaze onto her friend, trying to keep her eyes from glancing at the spot on her arm. 'Don't look. Don't look. Don't look,' she thought over and over.

It was over nearly as quick as Violet felt the jab. "Thanks, Violet. Dr. Kaiba?" Kisara nodded as the nurse handed her the tube now cased in a bag with Violet's blood in it.

"Nurse, take the girls back down to Violet and Bastion's room, all right?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"And give Violet a headache remedy and an IV..."

"Yes, Doctor..."

Violet "eep'd" at the thought of another needle, grimacing. She'd seen an IV numerous times, and it didn't look very comfortable.

"Okay, Violet, you need to stay in the wheelchair," the nurse said. "Annie, why don't you walk alongside her?"

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Annie, was the IV you had...painful?" Violet asked nervously. The nurse was wheeling her back down the hallway, Annie walking beside them.

"I don't remember them putting it in, but it felt really nice," Annie assured her. "It felt really nice and cool and any medicine they wanted to give me went right in the IV tube, so nothing icky tasting in my mouth!"

Violet would have replied, but they'd made it to the hospital room. The nurse rolled her in and over to the second bed, as she was greeted by the others. "Hey guys..."

"How are you feeling, Violet?" asked Alexis.

"Well, I have a pounding headache, dizziness, a sore throat, and my arm's a little sore."

Bastion raised his head. "Violet, darling...you got through okay?"

She smiled at Bastion as she was helped into the hospital bed, glad to see him. "Yeah...thanks to Annie I was able to. How are you doing?"

"I feel like my deck came alive and turned on me..."

"You should feel that way, honey," Katai said. "You have a 102-degree fever, Bastion."

"Oooh..."

"And you're on a lot of medication," she sighed.

"Man, what is it with us and hospital stays lately?" Jaden wondered aloud.

Violet sighed. "Bad luck, I guess. You should have seen our date. Since Bastion-baby's a little...out of it, I'll tell you." Her eyes were closed to block out the florescent light, the medicine not having kicked in yet. "Right away, I find a cute black cat, and I'm petting him. But when it sees Bastion, it goes ballistic and basically mauls him!"

"Ouch!" Annie groaned.

"Yikes," Chazz added.

"That's a reason I like dogs better," Zane said drily.

"Pharaoh wasn't exactly nice to me. I feel Bastion's pain," replied Atticus.

"Anyway, we went to a Starbucks so that he could clean up. But, while I was waiting for him, I spilled some salt. That's bad luck, so I threw it over my right shoulder...and into someone's face. They ran out of the Starbucks, knocking their chair into the walkway. So, when Bastion comes back, he trips over the chair and face-plants the rug," Violet explained.

Alexis blinked. "That's...strange..."

Annie sighed. "Not that abnormal...You should've seen us in Obelisk, Alexis or down at the Slifer dorms...So then what happened?"

"We left the Starbucks to go to the bistro, and I accidentally walked under a ladder. A few seconds later, Bastion pushed me out of the way of a falling bucket. I, of course, fell face-first into the pavement. When Bastion tried to help me up, he slipped on some nails and landed on my back. This, of course, made my face slam back into the sidewalk and gave me a bloody nose," she continued simply.

By now Syrus was wondering how anyone could have so much bad luck in one day. "Geez..."

"Man, Violet...that sucks," Annie said. "I'm sorry that happened. But then...how did lunch go?"

"That was the best part! We had salad at the plaza fountain and dessert. Then, we kissed and he spun me around like in the movies. But, of course, more bad luck. Bastion tripped and we both went splashing into the fountain. But, it was funny when Bastion-baby had a dime stuck up his nose!" Violet couldn't help but giggle, even though it hurt her throat.

"How is that even possible??" asked Alexis, laughing as well.

"Aw," Annie said. "Sounds like a romantic comedy...So...that can't be how you ended up in here..."

"Yeah, unless Bastion had surgery," Jaden observed.

"No..." Bastion groaned. "It...started raining...we were soaked. I started sniffling and Violet got...sick...Ooh..." He laid his head back down.

"We were dancing in the rain! But, you guys can see what happened," Violet sweat-dropped, then realized how much energy the story had taken up. She fell back against the pillows, eyes half-closed tiredly.

"Just relax, Violet," Annie soothed. "Should I sing for a little bit?"

"Yeah, I love your singing, Annie," Violet replied, smiling. By now everyone had managed to find a seat, and no one had objected to the song.

Annie took a deep breath and sang "Come What May," as it had been sung in "Moulin Rouge." She finished and smiled. "Sy and I watched that movie today. It's one of my favorites."

"Yeah. But, Annie, your singing did it again," Syrus replied, pointing. Violet was sound asleep, purple hair spread freely around her head and Bastion was too.

Katai smiled. "They both need the rest, Annie. By all means, if you can keep them asleep, do it. What was that song you sang?"

"'Come What May.' I love that one because of what it meant in the movie...No matter how bad things are, you still have each other."

"Man, that's a deep song," Jaden observed. "Isn't that a romantic tragedy, though?"

Annie nodded. "But it's hilarious for the first hour or so...It's great to see a bunch of old men in tuxedos singing grunge..."

Alexis blinked. "I think I'm gonna have to watch that movie!" she replied, smiling. Atticus nodded in agreement.

Syrus sighed. "It's too bad this happened now. They probably can't go to Ohio tomorrow..."

Meanwhile, a floor up in a lab, Kisara Kaiba looked at Violet's blood through a microscope. "Yup...it's mono," she said to her fellow doctor.

"You sound relieved," the African-American woman said.

"Yeah, Aretha, I am...Violet'll be okay after some treatment."

"Oh, that's wonderful, Kisara...you'll want to tell them immediately?"

"Yeah, I'll head right down. Thanks for your help, Aretha."

"No problem," Dr. Franklin answered, smiling.

Kisara printed out the results and headed down to the kids' room. "Hi, everybody...oh, they're asleep..."

"Uh, yeah, Annie's singing did it. Katai said they needed to rest, anyway," replied Syrus.

"Do you have the blood test results, Kisara?" asked Hiro.

"Yeah, I do...Bastion doesn't have mono, fortunately, but he definitely has strep. Violet, however, has it."

Kisara moved over to Violet's bed. "Violet...sweetie...wake up," she coaxed softly.

Violet yawned and opened her eyes a bit, a little disoriented from being in a hospital bed. "Is it breakfast time yet, Bastion-baby?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Hello, Violet...I've got the results of your tests...and you can have dinner in a little bit," Kisara said gently.

Violet blinked, then remembered exactly where she was. "Oh...right, hospital," she groaned, frowning. "Uh, so...what exactly did you find out?" she asked nervously.

"You're going to be okay...Violet, you have a nasty case of mono, but you'll be okay. I'm going to give you some medicine to get your body back together. And you do have an ear infection and strep, so I'm starting you on antibiotics for that and then some corticosteroids which will get your spleen back to normal and also some medication for the pain, all right?"

Violet was trying to properly register so much information at once, so didn't say anything for a few minutes. "So...how long do we have to stay in the hospital?"

"Just a day or two...I want to be sure you're on the road to recovery before I let you out of here, and I'm going to have Bastion stay here with you. He's got a nasty bug, too but he didn't get mono," Kisara smiled. "I'll bet you have some questions."

"Actually, yeah. First of all, what the heck is mono??" Violet asked. Kisara quickly explained and told Violet that she and Bastion would be in the hospital possibly until Monday. Violet sighed and played with a strand of hair, thinking for a moment. "Well...I've never been in a hospital as a patient before. If it'll help, then I don't mind staying a little longer," she replied, glancing over at Bastion.

Bastion woke up at this point. "Huh? Violet? Oh, hello, Kisara...are we...all right?"

"You have strep and you and Violet aren't leaving at least until tomorrow night. And I'm thinking we'll keep you until Monday and then you can fly to Ohio on Tuesday."

"Oh...no wonder I felt as if Oxygeddon hit me..."

Violet rolled her eyes and giggled, then remembered something. "Hey, Kisara, you called my parents, right?" she asked. That wasn't her main concern, though...

"I did, honey. I had to get clearance for testing you. They're just glad you're going to be okay..."

Violet was a little relieved, but now to get to her real question. "Was my brother there yet??" she asked, getting a dangerous gleam in her eye. 'If he's not there by now, I'm gonna sock him when I get home!' she thought.

"Yeah, he was there, and worried about his little sister. But he knows you're not in any position to be tackle-hugged for a while. Your spleen being enlarged is dangerous, but as long as you're careful, you'll be just fine."

"It's what?!" Normally, Violet would have sat up in surprise, but was still drained. So instead, she lifted the blanket and the bottom of her tank top worriedly.

"Your spleen is swollen...that's why you've been hurting. The spleen is a line of defense against infections, Violet, and yours has been fighting for a long time, judging by what your parents told me..." Kisara sat in a chair next to Violet. "Honey, when your spleen is swollen like that, it can be dangerous...but since I'll put you on some corticosteroids, it'll come down and you'll be all right in a few weeks..."

Violet dropped the blanket down and sighed. "You mean like how I was sick almost every day and was better by the afternoon? I hated that...but, after this is cured, that won't happen anymore??" she asked hopefully.

"That's it," Kisara said. "You'll be okay, with any luck, but you're going to have to rest a lot. Mono thrives on you overexerting yourself. The only definite way of getting better is not pushing yourself too hard and...you must be really careful with what you do physically. A blow to your belly could be very dangerous for a little bit here..."

Violet pouted, realizing what she meant. "So...I can't run or jump around or tackle Bastion-baby or my friends anymore?" Haverbrooks were known to be very...physical with their emotions.

"It's just temporary, Violet...a few weeks and you can go back to tackling everyone you want," Kisara said calmly. "By the time you go back to school at the end of August, you'll be able to tackle everyone..."

"Hoora-ow-ow-ow-ow..." Violet's smile quickly became a grimace, as she placed a hand on her throat. 'Note to self: no yelling for a while...oh, man!' she thought.

Kisara seemed to understand. "Try not to yell...your throat needs the rest..." She got a glass of water off the nightstand and helped Violet sip it. "Just relax now, okay?"

"Oh, all right..." Then Violet's stomach grumbled, and she sweat-dropped. "Uh...you mentioned something about dinner?"

"Yup," Kisara smiled. "Unfortunately, you're not having pizza or anything too spicy tonight. I'll have someone bring in some hot chicken soup..." As if by magic, an orderly came in with two hot bowls of the stuff.

"Bastion, dinner time..." Katai said, taking the bowl.

"Thanks, Mum...I wish I could help you, Violet, darling..."

"Just having you here is help enough, Bastion-baby." Violet would have yelled the reply, but knew it'd hurt if she did so. So, she decided to occupy herself with her soup, and swallowed some. However, Violet winced and stuck out her tongue, waving at it. "Ah! Hot!!"

"Violet...slowly," Kisara said, taking the bowl and blowing on a spoonful of soup. "The rest of you...why don't you head down to the cafeteria?" She quickly set down the bowl of soup, grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a note. "Alexis, keep the group together and give the cashier this note, okay?"

Alexis nodded and took the note. "All right, guys, let's go. I know we're all probably hungry," she stated.

So, the group waved goodbye and left, Violet waving enthusiastically back at them. "Do I have to eat it slowly? I'm used to eating fast..."

"It'll hurt your throat," Kisara said, "if you eat too fast. I got strep once and I could barely eat for a couple of days..."

Meanwhile, the group of moderately healthy teens headed down the hall. "Annie?"

"Yeah, Jaden?"

"Are you wearing a nightgown?"

Annie blushed. "Uh...yeah...it's pretty thick..."

"Yeah...it looks nice."

Chazz sighed, "You know, I think I'm getting over my fear of hospital rooms, now..."

"That's great, bro! I guess we've spent so much time in them, that they're not as scary anymore," replied Alexis, sighing.

"I have a bad feeling this won't be the last we'll see of them, though..." Atticus stated, surprising them. Usually, he was the one who had the upbeat attitude and found the silver lining. Syrus had to admit that things didn't exactly look promising, though.

"Man, thanks for trying to cheer us up," Annie said sarcastically.

Zane sighed, too. "Yeah, I'm the one with the downer thing going most of the time..."

"Nah, that's me," Chazz said, laughing.

"And what am I?" Jaden asked.

"High on sugar," Zane said, totally deadpan.

That got some laughs out of them as they made their way through the first floor hallway. "Sorry, guys. I guess all this bad stuff's just bringing me down," Atticus admitted, shrugging.

"Hey, you can't be expected to be happy all the time. No one can," Syrus stated, smiling.

"No..." Annie sighed. "It's okay, Atticus. I hope you're wrong..."

They got into the cafeteria and Alexis handed the note to the cashier. "Ah, you kids are with Dr. Kaiba. Pick and eat all you want!"

"SWEET!" Jaden yelled happily.

"Jaden, show some dignity," Chazz groaned.

Atticus grinned, just as excited as Jaden. Both boys started grabbing any food within reach, and Alexis just sighed. "You should have known they'd do this, bro," she told Chazz. Syrus and she didn't even take half as much as the two boys.

Annie, meanwhile, picked out her food quietly. She got what she wanted and headed to a table with the other kids. "You got some good stuff, Annie. Feeling like eating a little more?" Zane asked. She nodded.

"I'm glad that she's getting better. You think we could take something up for Violet and Bastion?" Syrus asked as he ate. They weren't really sure what the two were allowed to eat in their current state.

"Let's see what Kisara tells us," Annie said. "She might want us to wait for them to feel a bit stronger."

"Good point," Jaden commented.

"So, Atticus," Jaden asked, thinking of knowing about mono and shocking Alexis, "what else do you know about besides mono?"

Atticus blinked in surprise at the question. "You mean about medical stuff??"

"Yeah...I mean your mom is a doctor, but she works with kids...isn't what you know about more...well...adult?" Chazz and Zane sweat-dropped, fearing where this was going.

Atticus caught the look Alexis was giving him and sweat-dropped. "Well, uh, you see...it's kind of complicated, Jaden. I'm not sure if it would be the best idea to talk about it here...now...in front of certain people..."

"Thank you, Lord," Zane whispered under his breath.

Annie sweat-dropped. "Uh...yeah...let's not go there and say we did," she said, laughing.

Jaden looked at her. "Oh...oh! Yeah...good point..."

"Oh, so you do have a brain," Chazz said.

"Uh...yeah?" Jaden answered, a little surprised.

Alexis punched Chazz's arm, half-playfully and half-seriously. "Chazz, don't start with me," she stated warningly, kissing Jaden's cheek. Atticus snickered, until a napkin was thrown in his face. "And don't you start, either. I know perfectly well what you were avoiding," she added.

"Um...maybe I don't want to know anymore," Jaden grimaced.

"Nah...you don't," Annie said. "Atticus, do us a favor and don't talk about it, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't," he replied, sweat-dropping.

Alexis sighed and finished her food, most of the others having also finished. "So, are you and Syrus still flying out tomorrow?" she asked curiously.

Annie looked at Sy. "I don't know if we should...I don't like leaving," she said, worried.

Syrus nodded. "I know we'll both worry the whole time, but it's up to you, Annie. I can wait a few more days," he replied.

"I...I'll ask Kisara what she thinks when we get back," Annie said, concerned.

"Annie...she said they'd be fine," Zane said.

"I know...it's just..." Annie seemed to not be able to figure out what to say.

"Hey, you guys are best friends. Let me guess, you feel like you're abandoning them by leaving, right? Because they were here for you when you were in trouble," explained Atticus knowingly.

Annie nodded. "I don't want to leave them alone..."

Jaden laid his hands on Sy and Annie's shoulders. "They won't be...Alexis, Atticus, Chazz and I'll be here, we promise."

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere," added Alexis, smiling.

Syrus smiled, turning his gaze to Annie. "It's up to you, Annie. We can go back upstairs now since everyone's done eating. Then, you can ask Kisara like you wanted to."

"O...okay..." Annie said. And so they all headed back upstairs. "We'll call Tyson and Rosa in the morning since Violet and Bastion aren't in..." And then Alexis's cell phone rang.

Alexis blinked in surprise, quickly answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Hola, Senorita Alexis!" greeted the familiar Spanish voice.

Alexis smiled. "Guys, it's Rosa. Should I tell her and Tyson now?" she asked, covering the phone.

They looked at each other uncomfortably. Jaden spoke. "They should know..."

"Okay...Hi, Rosa! How are you?"

"Bien! I was just calling to check on Senorita Annie. Wasn't she being released today?"

"Oh, yeah, she was. Annie's doing just fine. But...is Tyson with you right now?"

All the way in Texas, Rosa blinked in surprise. "Eh, no, he is outside. Should I get him?"

"Yeah, that would be a good idea..." Rosa set down the phone and stood from her spot on the couch, going to the back door. Outside, Lily and Josephina were watching Jose, Tyson, and Dean showed each other different fighting techniques they'd learned. "Ty-Ty! Can tú come in here for one momento, por favor?"

"Sure, Spanish Ro--WHOA!" Jose hadn't heard his daughter calling his future son-in-law and so Tyson barely had time to dodge.

"Oh, lo siento, hijo. Are tú alright?" Jose asked worriedly. Rosa, back at the doorway, let out a slightly aggravated sigh.

"Yeah, I'm all right, Jose...Just a little distracted!" Tyson laughed. "What is it, darlin'?" he said, trotting up to Rosa.

"Well, I called to check on Senorita Annie. Ella is doing fine, but Senorita Alexis wants to speak with us," she explained. They went back to the living room and she pressed the speaker phone button. "Senorita Alexis? We are both here now."

"Hi, Private Lexi! How's everything?" Tyson asked cheerfully.

"Hey, Tyson. Things were fine, but something happened. See, uh, Violet and Bastion are in the hospital. They got sick again, and both of them have strep. And...Violet has mono," explained Alexis, frowning. Rosa was shocked by the news, not having expected this. Two of her friends were in the hospital the very same day another was released!

"Aw, no!" Tyson yelped. "Private Lexi, do we need to fly back there?!"

On the other end of the phone, the other kids looked at each other. "Well, it's not fatal or anything. They just have to stay in the hospital a few days to rest and take medication. I mean, if you really feel like you need to..." Alexis didn't want them to spend the money to fly there if it wasn't really necessary.

Tyson looked at Rosa. Both were relieved. "It's not life-threatenin'?"

"Well, only if Violet over-exerts herself, takes a blow to the stomach or on the very off chance that her spleen ruptures on its own. But there's a low risk of that happening, so they should both make a full recovery," she explained, smiling.

"That is bueno. We were worried," Rosa replied.

"Yeah...are you guys okay? How's Private Annie?" Tyson asked.

"We're all fine, and so is Annie. She hasn't had another episode yet," Alexis answered. By now they were standing near the hospital room's door.

Kisara waved to the kids and noticed Alexis on the phone. Violet was sound asleep and Bastion was awake but pretty groggy. "Keep it down," Kisara whispered.

"It's Tyson and Rosa," Annie whispered back.

Alexis nodded and turned around so that her back was facing them, lowering her voice. "Okay guys, I have to go now. Violet's asleep and Bastion's getting there. If you want, you can talk to them tomorrow when they're up."

"All right...Thanks, Alexis, for lettin' us know...We'll be leavin' for Spain in two days..."

"Oh, that's right. Well, talk to you tomorrow. Bye," the blonde girl replied, smiling.

"Adios, Senorita Alexis!" With that, the conversation ended, and Alexis put away her cell phone.

"Man...I think we need discounts for hospital stays," Jaden observed as they came in.

"Hey, who was that on your mobile, Alexis?" Bastion asked sleepily.

"It was Rosa and Tyson, I told them about how you guys are sick. Kisara, it's okay if they call tomorrow to talk, right?" Alexis asked, keeping her voice down.

"Yeah, it's fine. At this point, all the morale boosting you can give would be great. Violet really needs it..."

"Then...Kisara?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, Annie?"

"Could Sy and I delay going home tomorrow? I...don't want to leave Violet or Bastion..."

"We don't mind staying a few more days," Syrus added, holding Annie's hand. Little did anyone know that Violet was actually dozing, hearing every word they said.

Kisara smiled. "I can make the arrangements. You'll worry, Annie and that puts you at risk of another episode. I want you to be as relaxed as you can be for a while. So if staying here helps, then we should do that..."

"Okay...oh! I need to call Mom and Dad!" Annie realized.

"Here, you can use my cell phone, Annie," Alexis offered, handing her the small phone.

Meanwhile, Violet was thinking about the current situation. 'Annie...she and Syrus both gave up their flight plan tomorrow to stay with me. Is this what having real friends is like?' she wondered, holding back tears. They'd be a dead giveaway that she'd heard everything.

"Thanks, Alexis," Annie said softly. She dialed the number and in Medina, Washington, the phone rang.

Alex, sitting in his favorite chair, set down his newspaper and answered the phone. "Hello, Hanson residence. Alex speaking."

"Hi, Daddy!" Annie greeted. "How are you?"

"Oh, Annie, it's you! I'm doing just fine. And how are you?"

"Good, but...I can't come home tomorrow..."

This surprised Alex. "Oh? And why's that, sweetie??"

"Violet and Bastion are in the hospital now...they'll be okay, but Daddy, Violet needs me...she needs all of us..."

"Oh no, that's terrible! And just when things were starting to look up. Annie, I don't mind at all if you want to stay with your friends until they're better. Do you know what exactly is wrong?"

"Yeah...Bastion has strep and a nasty virus...and...Violet has strep, an ear infection and mono...she got it too young to get it from kissing, though..."

"At least it's nothing fatal. Of course, mono can be, but it has a very small range of being so. As for how she got it...most likely from sharing drinks in school. Anyway, go ahead and keep your sick friends company, Annie. When will you be coming, then?"

"Probably Monday, Daddy...at the earliest. Bastion and Violet were supposed to leave for Ohio tomorrow," Annie explained, "but...well, they're both just too sick..."

"I understand, honey. You're a very good friend for staying with them. All of you are. I'm sure they both appreciate it. I love you, Annie," replied Alex, saying his goodbyes.

"Love you too, Daddy. Night!" Annie said, and terminated the call. "It's okay...they'll just wait for us," she said to Sy. "Thanks again, Alexis."

"No problem, Annie," she replied, taking back the phone.

Syrus smiled. "That's great, Annie. I thought they'd understand."

"Yeah...what is it Tyson says? Never leave a man behind and stick with your platoon," she said.

Alexis laughed a little. "He has a point. We always stick together. Even Chazz," she stated, placing an arm around him.

"Hey, sis!" Chazz said, laughing. "You're right...and so's Tyson...man, that is weird..."

"What's weird?" asked Atticus, confused.

"Calling him Tyson," Chazz said.

"Well, it's nice to know his real name. I always thought there was something fishy about Tyranno," Syrus replied.

Suddenly, a nurse poked her head around the door. "Excuse me, but I'm afraid visiting hours are over. Dr. Kaiba?"

"It's all right, Georgia, these people can stay. The patients need morale boosters," the white-blonde doctor told the nurse.

"All right, Dr. Kaiba." Georgia then left to continue her rounds.

Syrus sighed. "You know, when Annie couldn't do much it was one thing. But Violet's probably going to hate this."

"Yeah, but I think since it's temporary, she'll be all right, Sy," Kisara soothed.

"Maybe," Annie said, wondering. Violet hadn't taken sitting around in gym class too well, so how would she handle a few weeks of no tackling?

"All we can do is hope that she can take not being able to exert herself as much as she usually does. It is only for a few weeks," Alexis offered.

"Yeah...but there is one good thing about it," Chazz said, remembering something.

"Yeah? What's that?" Annie asked.

"If we make her mad, she can't go after us with the pink bazooka..."

Atticus grinned at this. "Yeah, like she did at the movie," he agreed, relieved.

Alexis sighed. "You still better not make her mad, though. She'll find a way to get you back for it."

"Yeah, she will," Jaden said, remembering what had happened a few weeks ago when he'd made Violet mad. She'd borrowed Pharaoh.

Alexis had an idea of what incident Jaden was thinking about and grinned. "Did Jaden tell you guys what happened after lunch at the academy one time when he'd eaten Violet's fried shrimp?"

"She got really mad at me...and she grabbed Pharaoh... and threw tuna at me," Jaden winced.

"And Pharaoh basically mauled Jaden. Miss Fontaine really had to patch him up," added Alexis. Many in the group giggled or laughed, glad for the uplifting story.

By now Violet had really fallen asleep, comforted by how much her friends cared about her. Syrus stifled a yawn. "It is getting kind of late, isn't it?" Alexis realized.

"Yeah...you kids can stay here with these two, if you'd like," Kisara offered. Everyone nodded. "Okay, then. Annie, it looks like you're the best dressed for this, huh?" the doctor asked, grinning.

"Yeah, I guess I am...Thanks, Kisara..."

"No problem."

"At least we're all kind of used to sleeping in hospital chairs," stated Syrus, grinning. Everyone got as comfortable as they could sitting in the chairs, some drifting off immediately while most stayed awake.

"Yeah...Oh, I didn't get to do that," Annie said.

"It's okay, Annie. Just sleep next to Sy. I stayed next to Alexis," Jaden said easily.

Katai and Hiro had already stationed themselves next to their only child's bed. "E equals MC squared...Pi is equal to 3.14," Bastion muttered in his sleep.

"Pie?" Jaden asked, confused.

"Pi, Jaden...P-I...it's a math thing," Annie explained patiently.

"Stupid Bobby...that's my pudding," Violet mumbled, lightly smacking the mattress.

Alexis saw Jaden's face and sighed. "Go to sleep, Jaden. You can have some pudding tomorrow..."

"Do I talk like that when I sleep?" Jaden asked.

"Yes, you do...always about marshmallows," Chazz growled.

"Do I talk in my sleep?" Zane wondered.

Syrus couldn't help but laugh a little. "I don't know if you still do, but you did when we were kids. You always used to talk about training your Cyber Dragons to fly through hoops."

"What?" Zane asked in shock. To his surprise, Atticus was cracking up.

"Ha ha, and here you complained when I talked about training my Red Eyes to jump through hoops!" Atticus replied, stifling his laughter.

"Yeah...but I didn't keep half the dorm awake dreaming about girls," Zane shot back, grinning.

That made Atticus shut up really quick, blushing a little. "Atticus...when we get home I'm searching your room," stated Alexis, brow twitching.

"Oh, man...do I even want to know?" Chazz groaned.

"Um...you probably don't," Jaden said, thinking of earlier.

"Maybe we should get to sleep, guys," Annie said.

"Good idea." Atticus replied, quickly making himself doze off. Alexis sighed and did the same, Syrus placing an arm around Annie before drifting off.

The kids drifted off, as did Kisara and the Misawas. And for a while, everything was peaceful. But at about 1 in the morning, things went wrong.

Cliffhanger…Next time: Oh, BEEP! What Next? So what lies in store for our teenage group? Tune in next time and please, read and review! Thank you!