Taking Care of a Friend

When Téa heard that Emily was sick, she decided to go to the Secret Garden to gather some food to help her. Lopmon heard too and decided to accompany her partner. They came to a tree bearing oranges. Lopmon climbed the tree and picked some oranges and dropped them to her partner. Téa caught the oranges in her hands and put them in her basket.

As Lopmon climbed down and rejoined her partner, she asked, "Téa, do you really think those oranges are going to help make Emily get better?"

"I hope so," she answered. "Oranges have lots of vitamin C and are good for treating colds. They can help ease her sore throat and clear her sinuses." She picked up her basket and set Lopmon on her shoulders. "Come on. There's a field where medicinal herbs grow. Maybe we can find something there that will help."

"Good idea," Lopmon replied.

When they came to the field, they saw Kagome, their friend from Inuyasha's world. Since the battle with Naraku came to an end, Kagome was able to return to her normal life and attend school regularly. On some occasions, she would return to the feudal era to spend time with her friends. She would even come here to the Secret Garden to bring back some food and herbs for her friends and family.

Raye was there too. Kagome was teaching her about what kinds of herbs were used to treat which kinds of ailments.

Téa eagerly called their names. "Raye, Kagome!"

The girls heard Téa's voice and saw her. "It's Téa," Kagome announced.

"Hey, Téa," Raye replied. She got back on her feet. She also noticed Lopmon and asked, "Wow, Téa, is that a real Lopmon with you?"

"Uh, yeah," she answered. "This is my partner Lopmon."

"Wow, a real Digimon," Kagome said with glee.

Téa introduced Lopmon to the girls. "Lopsy, these are my friends Kagome and Raye."

"Pleased to meet you girls," she said politely.

"Aw, she's so adorable," Raye squealed, holding her hands together. Kagome agreed and began petting Lopmon. Raye and Kagome knew about Digimon back home in their worlds since it was a popular game. That and they remembered Mokuba bringing Guilmon with him to play whenever he came to their worlds.

Kagome remembered her manners. "It's great to see you, Téa. What brings you to these parts?"

"I heard from Yugi that Emily was sick," Téa was saying, "so I came here to get some things to help her get better. Lopmon came with me to help out."

"Poor Emily," Raye commented.

"We can help," Kagome eagerly offered.

"Would you?" Téa asked. "I'd appreciate it."

"No problem," Kagome replied. "Anything for a friend." And she began leading the girls to another part of the field where different herbs grew. Kagome found some herbs that were used for colds and fevers. She carefully picked a few and wrapped them in a small cloth. "Here," she said, handing the parcel to Téa. "Just have her boil these in water and drink before bed."

"Thanks, Kagome," Téa said, placing the parcel in her basket. "Do you girls want to come with me to see her? I'm sure Emily would be glad to see you girls again."

As much as Raye and Kagome wanted to, they couldn't. Kagome had to return to the village to bring some herbs back to Kaede so they could be made into medicine and Raye had to return home to help her grandfather. But they still wished that their friend would get better soon.

As the girls went their separate ways, Lopmon commented, "They seemed pretty nice."

"They are," Téa told her. "Raye helps her grandfather out a lot at the Hikawa Shrine and she also has her duties as a Sailor Scout, but she's still able to have time for herself. And things are getting harder for Kagome now that she's in high school, but at least she's able to make time for her friends back in the feudal era."

"So they're from other worlds too?" Lopmon asked.

Téa nodded. "I've been to Raye's world a few times and have hung out with her and the other Sailor Scouts. Yugi also brought me to Feudal Japan to meet Kagome and the others once before. And since this place is connected to all the worlds we've been to and all of our friends are able to come here, we can see each other any time." That was how a lot of friends from the other worlds were meeting each other and getting along.

Téa and Lopmon found the door back home and passed through, winding up in front of Emily's house. The brunette approached the door and knocked on it thrice. The door opened, revealing Emily, who was dressed in a white robe and fuzzy slippers.

"Hi, Téa. Hi, Lopmon," she greeted.

"Hi, Emily," Téa returned. "We heard you weren't feeling well, so Lopsy and I got some things to help you get better." And she presented her with the basket of oranges and the small parcel of herbs.

Emily took the supplies. "That's so thoughtful of you. Thank you."

"While we were in the Secret Garden, Lopsy and I met up with Raye and Kagome and they helped out," Téa added. "They said they hope you get well soon."

"That was nice of them," Emily said. "Oh, do you girls want to come in?"

The two partners nodded. Tea removed her shoes and stepped inside and Lopmon jumped off Téa's shoulders and sat on the couch. Gatomon eagerly greeted her friend. Even Avalon was happy to see Lopmon again. When Lopmon first came over to Emily's house, the young cat was afraid, but Gatomon helped them to like each other. Lopmon saw Avalon lying on the other side of the couch and held out her paw. Avalon sniffed Lopmon's paw, then rubbed herself against the brown rabbit.

Téa and Emily sat down as well. "It's been a while since I last saw Kagome and Raye and the others," said the blonde.

"Are you thinking about visiting them soon?" Téa asked.

"I don't know," Emily replied. "I might hold off on going to another world for a while after I get better."

Téa understood. Then she got an idea. "Hey, Emily, I was thinking, when you get better, how about we have a slumber party at my house and invite the Sailor Scouts?"

The blonde liked the sound of that. "That's a great idea. It can be like a special girls' get-together. A night for all of us to hang out and have fun." She looks at the Digimon and adds, "And I'm sure they'd love to meet our Digimon."

The brunette giggled, thinking the same thing. Then she stopped smiling. She started thinking about what Yugi told her. As much as Téa debated to herself about avoiding the topic, she couldn't bring herself to. "Hey, Emily,"

"Yeah, Téa?"

"Is it true what Yugi told me, about you guys finding a hidden door in the Secret Garden that led to the world of Medieval Paris?"

There was no use in saying differently. "It's true."

Soon her feelings changed from concerned to excited. Actually, the feelings were mixed up inside of her. "Whoa," she breathed. "That must've been awesome, going to the world of your favorite movie."

Lopmon overheard the conversation and invited herself to join in. "What was it like? Did you go to the bell tower and meet the hunchback? Did you run into the evil minister?"

Gatomon decided to answer her questions. "Yeah, we faced him, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. I admit, it was a little scary seeing him in person. But it was awesome meeting Quasi. He was so nice to us. And the sound of his voice can make a girl's heart melt."

"Oh, I know," Lopmon said, smiling. "His voice is so beautiful; especially when he sings. Oh, Gatomon, you're so lucky. I wish I was there."

The blonde and the brunette faced each other. "I guess Gatomon and I will have to take you and Lopmon with us to Paris one of these days," Emily told Téa.

The brunette was stunned to hear that. "You actually want to go back there?"

"Well, we do have friends back there," Emily was saying. "And I kind of promised Esmeralda that I would repay her for helping me."

Téa managed to smile a little. If there was one thing she admired about her friends, it's that they never turn away from a friend. "I want to be there," she said. "I want to go with you to Paris someday. I know it might be dangerous, but even so, I want to see the place and meet the people you've met."

Lopmon nodded. "Me too. I want to be there and help out too."

Emily and Gatomon looked at each other. "Okay. When Gatomon and I decide when we're going to go back, we'll let you know and bring you along."

Téa and Lopmon smiled at each other. "That's so grand. Thank you, Emily," the brown rabbit said happily. "But for now, you just focus on getting better."

The brunette nodded. "And when you do, we can focus on planning on having that slumber party."

The girls liked the sound of that. With that being settled, Téa and Lopmon left Emily's house and returned to their home. When they did, Emily began thinking about her last adventure. Then she wondered if Max would want to hear about it. Well, there was time to consider that. For now, the blonde decided to just take care of her health.