Disclaimer: I do not own "Lilo and Stitch" or any of the characters therein.

CHAPTER SIX:

THE MORNING AFTER

The next morning, precisely at the crack of dawn, Nani knocked on Jumba's door. After a very long minute he answered it, looking frazzled and rather irritated at having to get up so early when he had been up so late the night before. "Do you not understand the physiological benefits of sleep?" he muttered, rubbing his two right eyes while glaring at Nani with the other two. "Most important one is, I don't get cranky vhen I get a full night's sleep." There was a slight growl in his voice. Nani growled back. "Well, maybe if you didn't stay up so late working down in that lab of yours, you wouldn't be so cranky when I come to wake you up!"

"I don't believe I ordered a vake-up call," Jumba replied, looking cross. "Now, vhat do you vant?" Here Nani became very serious. "I want to know where Lilo is. She's missing! I went to her room to wake her up for school and she wasn't there! Stitch is gone, too. Do you have any idea where they could be?" Jumba let out a huge yawn. "Of course! I know exactly where they are. Look -" he stepped aside, gesturing for Nani to come in. As she stepped over the threshold, she spotted her sister's dark mop of hair protruding from under the blankets on Pleakley's bed, and Stitch curled up at her feet like a cat.

"She vas already sound asleep vhen I came in last night. Shortly after I vent to bed myself, Stitch came in and climbed into bed vith her," Jumba explained. Nani moved closer to the bed, looking sadly down at her little sister. She couldn't help thinking of Pleakley just then, and of the other time she had seen Lilo sleeping in his bed. It had been only a few months after they had rebuilt the house, and Lilo had been sick with the flu. One day she had felt particularly bad, a feeling made even worse by the fact that no one had wanted to go too near her for fear of catching the flu themselves. Even Stitch had avoided her.

As a last resort, she had decided to seek company in Pleakley, knowing full well that he was a pushover when it came to the pleading puppy-dog eyes she would sometimes flash him. Even though she was sick (and probably highly contagious), he just couldn't garner enough conviction to tell her to stay away from him. Pleakley had been alone in his room, writing something down in a little black book when she came in and curled up on his bed. When Nani brought her soup later on, she found them both fast asleep, Lilo snuggled against Pleakley, who held her securely in his arms.

It had been one of the most heartwarming things she had ever seen. In spite of that, Pleakley ended up catching the flu anyway. Nani smiled at that, knowing that he knew he was bound to be infected, and knowing also that he hadn't really cared. What he had cared about was Lilo, and from that point on, underneath the yelling and the nagging and the tyrannical big-sister façade, Nani had developed a soft spot in her heart for the sensitive little alien.

As she looked upon Lilo now, she saw briefly the aura of hurt that had caused her little sister to crawl into Pleakley's bed, and the memories and emotions to which she must have fallen asleep. Sighing, she glanced over at Jumba, who was just climbing back into his own bed. Jumba looked back at her, bleary-eyed. "How much longer do you plan on standing there?" he demanded. "You can make yourself comfortable if you vant, just don't even think about climbing into bed vith me. I hadn't planned on hosting a sleepover, you know."

Nani smirked at him, then looked back at Lilo. "I'm trying to decide what to do about her," she told him, gesturing toward the other bed. "She has to go to school, but I just don't have the heart to wake her up." Jumba grumbled as he pulled his blankets up over himself. "Vell, don't vake her, then. She'll probably be very upset vith you if you do, and I vouldn't blame her." This not-so-subtle hint had no effect on Nani as she continued to stand in the center of the room staring at her sister's sleeping form.

"It's just that - with Pleakley gone - ohana breaking up - she always takes this sort of thing hard. You know how she gets at times. Always dwelling on something painful. Like when our parents passed away. But she has to learn to get on with her life. If I don't make sure she -" "Let her dvell, Nani," Jumba said, interrupting her. "Let her be alone vith herself, if only for one measly day." "But -" "Call the school and tell them she's sick, because, in a vay, she is." He rolled over to face the wall. "Just give her time to heal. And to figure out a vay to help Pleakley."

Nani looked at him sharply. "What?!" But Jumba didn't respond. "Lilo is not going to do anything! Cobra warned her not to." At this, Jumba snorted. "Ha! Do you really think she vill listen? I am only speaking of the inevitable. Little girl vill not stand by vhile alien terrorists hunt down her friend. You vait and see."

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Well, whaddaya think so far? Sorry about another short chapter. I'm in a hurry to post as much as possible before I go on vacation. I'm leaving tomorrow (Sept. 30th) and I will be back in one week. I don't like to leave you all hanging, so that's why I'm not mentioning certain things in this chapter… oops! Guess I shouldn't have said that! Anywho, I should have plenty of good stuff for this fic when I return. Till then, aloha!!!