A/N: Okay, you guys. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. The beginning wasn't a problem, but the ending was a pain. I think it turned out pretty good, though.

Twelve Years Old

"Eww!"

Kayla tried to ignore nearly four-year-old Mary's voice as she vomited again. She heard Jess come to the bathroom and scold Mary for staring at her sister. Kayla wanted to say don't fuss at her, Mom, it is pretty gross, but words weren't an option at the moment. The second she opened up her mouth to say anything else, into the toilet all her words-and lunch-went.

Kayla felt her mother pull back her hair with one hand and rub her back with the other. It was comforting, but just barely. Kayla's stomach felt like one of the stress balls Kayla had to squeeze when she got a shot. She wondered if she was imagining it, but she felt that every time she stood up, her stomach moved in a different way than the rest of her body.

Where had this come from? Kayla had felt fine the day before. She hadn't had an appetite, but she had put that up to just not being hungry for some reason. Then, that morning, she'd woken up with a fever and nausea that made her not want to move. As much as she might not have wanted to, though, the throwing up compelled her to do just that. Sleeping in her own vomit was enough of a push to get her out of bed.

Finally, she stopped. She felt Jess flush the toilet and pull her away gently. Kayla was a little dizzy, so she stayed where she was while Jess went back to the kitchen and got a cold bottle of water out of the fridge. Kayla shook her head, afraid to put anything in her mouth for fear of it coming back up again.

"Just drink a little." Jess urged. "You need to stay hydrated or you'll get even sicker."

Kayla nodded and took a couple of sips of the water. Her dizziness ebbed away, and Jess helped her up.

"You're not getting any better, are you?"

"No." Kayla said.

"You really didn't feel bad yesterday? I thought you looked a little pale."

"I just wasn't hungry. That's all."

"Okay." Jess said. "Come on. Let's go back to bed."

"Can I sleep in your and dad's bed?" Kayla asked.

Jess was surprised. Kayla hadn't wanted to sleep with her or Sam when she was sick since they'd moved the year before.

"It's closer to the bathroom." Kayla explained.

"Sure, sweetie." Jess said. "I know you're a little old for this, but do you want me to lay down with you?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay. Come on."

Jess first took Kayla's temperature, which had crept up slightly from the night before. She'd tried to give Kayla some fever reducer, but it had just come right back up the first time she'd vomited that morning. This wasn't the stomach flu. Jess was sure of it. Kayla had had it before, and while it made her miserable for twenty-four hours, she had never vomited with it more than three times. When she'd taken Mary out of the bathroom just a few minutes before, that had been the fourth time since she'd woken up six hours earlier. Once Jess was certain that Kayla was asleep, she carefully climbed off the bed and went to the living room. A worried Mary was watching a cartoon while holding on to the stuffed Snuffleupagus toy that she and Kayla shared.

"Mommy? Is Kay'a okay?"

Jess smiled, trying to hide how very worried she was. "She's sleeping now, baby."

"I'm sorry I was mean to her. I didn't mean to be."

"It's okay. Kayla forgives you and so do I." Jess said.

"Can I gives her my 'nuffle?" Mary asked, holding up the toy and looking towards the hallway.

"Let her sleep for now, okay? You can give it to her when she wakes up if you want."

"Okay, Mommy."

"I'm going to call Daddy, okay? You stay here and watch cartoons."

Jess stepped to the front door and dialed Sam's number. She couldn't shake the feeling that something worse was wrong with Kayla. Each ring of the phone seemed to take forever, and just when Jess was about to give up and just go back inside, Sam finally picked up.

"Hey. Sorry, I was in with my boss. What's wrong?"

"Sam, Kayla's gotten really bad. I think we should go to the ER."

"What's wrong? How bad is she?"

"Her fever's gone up to 102. She just threw up for the fourth time."

"Where is she right now?"

"She's asleep on our bed."

Sam was torn. Kayla had seemed to be okay that morning, but was apparently getting worse. Sam was just about to tell Jess to go and check Kayla's temperature again when Mary yanked open the front door.

"Mommy! Come quick!"

"What's wrong?" Jess asked, but she heard it before Mary could say anything.

"MOM!"

Kayla was awake again. And this time she was screaming.

"Sam, Kayla just woke up screaming. We're going to the ER right now."

Jess didn't even wait for Sam to answer, just hung up the phone and ran back into the house. Kayla was sitting up on the bed, crying and breathing hard.

"Kay? Talk to me, baby, what's wrong?"

"Mom, it hurts really bad." Kayla cried.

"Worse than before?"

"Yeah. A lot worse. Ow, Mom, help…"

"Come on, honey. We're going to the hospital."

It was a slow trek to the car, but they finally made it. Jess buckled Kayla into the front seat, ordered Mary into the back and climbed into the driver's seat. Kayla was trying to breathe through the pain, and Jess just hoped she could get to the ER quickly while both trying to comfort Kayla and keep her eyes on the road. But another obstacle was in their way. When Jess turned the key in the ignition, all she heard was a sputtering noise.

"DAMN IT!"

"Mommy?" Mary asked from the back seat. "What we gonna do?"

Jess didn't have another choice. She dug out her cell phone. She unbuckled Kayla's seat belt and grabbed her hand. "Kay, come here, honey."

Kayla, still crying hard, slowly pushed herself over in the seat towards her mother. Jess helped Kayla turn so that she was lying against her side, and it seemed to help Kayla calm down ever so slightly. Jess turned to the frightened Mary in the backseat. All the while she talked, Kayla was sobbing under her.

"Mary, do you remember the talk we had about calling 911?"

Mary squeezed Snuffle closer to her. "Yeah."

"I have to do that now. I know you're worried, but I need you to be quiet and not say anything right now. Do you understand me?"

"Can I get up there and hold Kay'a's hand?"

Jess swallowed. "Yes. But get out and open the door over here, so you're not climbing over Kayla, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy."

Jess dialed the phone, stroking Kayla's hair and kissing her forehead as she talked to the operator. She would later marvel over Mary's courage during the ordeal, but right then, all she was worried about was Kayla. As she talked to the operator and suppressed her panic, Mary held Kayla's hand and assured her over and over again,

"Don't be scared, Kay'a. Me and Mommy's here. Daddy's coming. You be okay."

Kayla knew of nothing going on except the pain in her stomach. When she closed her eyes to just go to sleep for a minute, hoping it would kill the pain, she figured that she would just open them in a few minutes and everything would be okay. But when she did open them, it took several seconds for her to realize that things weren't as they should be.

The first thing she noticed was that the pain was gone. For a half second, she felt relief. But the pain had been replaced by an all-encompassing fatigue. She took a breath and felt an ache where her stomach had been hurting just minutes before. She finally opened her eyes and looked around. She wasn't in her mother's car anymore. Before the panic could set in, Kayla saw two familiar faces come next to her.

"Hey, Bug."

Kayla swallowed. Why was her mouth so dry? "Daddy? When'd you get home?"

Sam chuckled. "You're not home, Bug. You're in the hospital."

"Hospital? What happened?"

"How much do you remember?" Jess asked, speaking for the first time since Kayla woke up.

Kayla had to think about it for a second, but she remembered the car, her mother trying to hold her and tell her it would be okay while also talking to someone on the phone, and Mary holding her hand and telling her not to be scared. "My stomach."

"Yeah. Bug, your stomach hurt so badly because your appendix ruptured."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you had to have surgery." Sam explained.

"Is that why I feel like crap?"

"Yep." Sam answered. "How long did you feel sick?"

"Just since this morning. I didn't feel hungry yesterday, but not too bad." Kayla's head was becoming clearer, making it easier for her to talk. "Can I have a drink of water, please?"

"Sure." Jess said. She poured Kayla some water and held the straw to her mouth. "Here."

"Thanks, Mom." Kayla said. The water woke Kayla up a little more, and she asked, "Where's Mary?"

"She's asleep in the chair over there." Sam said. He pointed to the door, and Kayla spotted Mary wrapped up in a blanket in one of the large, semi-comfortable chairs the hospital provided each room. "We tried to get her to go home and stay with Mrs. Davis, but she pitched a fit and wouldn't go."

Kayla smiled. "Did she say it was because I'd stay if it was her?"

"That's exactly what she said. How'd you know?" Jess asked.

"Lucky guess." Kayla answered. Her eyes were getting heavy again. "Mommy? Daddy?"

"Yeah, Bug?"

"When do I go home?"

"The doctor wants to keep you for a few hours." Sam explained.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" Kayla asked.

"You go on, Bug." Sam said. "We'll be right here."

Kayla nodded. "Love 'ou."

"We love you too. Go to sleep, kiddo."

When Kayla woke again, she found Jess sitting on the bed with her, looking down at her. They shared a smile with each other, and Kayla would be an adult before she realized that her mother had stayed that way, sitting on her bed and watching her sleep, for hours. She saw Sam sitting on the chair next to the bed, Mary still sleeping in his lap. He too was awake, and shook awake Mary the second Kayla laid eyes on him. Though the long day and night had scared all of them to the core, it had strengthened them and made them stick together even tighter than before.