Chapter 3

Stephanie started to move her lips but couldn't get any sound to come out. She licked her lips and tried again. This time something came out. "Sportacus," she mumbled. Sportacus stopped searching for the source of the noise and whirled around.

"Stephanie?" He asked. Stephanie's eyes fluttered open and she looked confused.

"Why are there two of you?" She asked as she blinked her eyes trying to focus them.

"There aren't two of me." Sportacus chuckled. "How are you feeling?" Stephanie was finally able to focus her eyes and she stared at Sportacus. His bright blue Icelandic eyes had always made her feel safe for some reason. Sportacus looked at her funny as she continued to stare.

"Stephanie?" Sportacus asked. She snapped back to reality and her cheeks turned red. Sportacus, afraid that her fever was back on the rise, put his hand on her forehead. Her skin was about the same as before. Now it was Sportacus' turn to blush. An awkward silence had settled over them until Sportacus heard the door open downstairs. He promised Stephanie he would be right back and left the room in a hurry.

Mayor Meanswell had returned from Tow Hall. Sportacus began to laugh when he saw the red lipstick on the Mayor's check. The Mayor, Unsure of what was so funny, looked at the glass in the door. He saw the lipstick and turned about the same shade of red. Wiping it off his face, he turned to Sportacus.

"Why aren't you upstairs with Stephanie?" Mayor Meanswell asked.

"She is awake now so I was going to call Dr. Feels Good and let him know." Sportacus explained.

"She's awake? Then I'm going up to see her." The Mayor declared.

"By the way you missed a spot." Sportacus chuckled. With that, Milford ran upstairs and made sure the lipstick was gone. Sportacus called the doctor and he promised to be right over.

"Uncle Milford!" Stephanie smiled as he entered the room.

"Stephanie! I'm so glad to see you're feeling better." He came over and gave her a hug. Sportacus arrived at the door and told them Dr. Feels Good was on his way.

"Good. I want to talk with him." Mayor Meanswell said and went to answer the door.

"You gave me ah us quite a scare, Stephanie." Sportacus faltered. Stephanie pretended she didn't hear his slip up and replied, "Not on purpose I assure you."

"What happened anyway?" She asked.

"Well when I got here your Uncle was holding your head in his hands. You had collapsed on the floor and your fever was at 102. We put you into the bathtub full of cold water and tried to bring your fever down. Dr. Feels Good came, we got your fever down, and he gave you some medication. However, I have a question for you. While you were sleeping, you started to thrash around. You wouldn't calm down until I picked you up. Why was that?" Sportacus finished. Stephanie tried to avoid the question and luckily, at that moment the doctor and Uncle Milford walked in.

"Stephanie, how are you feeling?" Dr. Feels Good asked.

"Pretty good. Sportacus was explaining what happened." She smiled.

"Well lets take your temperature." The doctor said as he stuck the thermometer in her mouth. The reading came to 99 again.

"Well 99 is good. I suggest you stay in bed the rest of the day. Your body is still recovering from today. Call me if anything changes. Tomorrow I'll come by and see how you are doing." Dr. Feels Good smiled.

"Can I play tomorrow?" Stephanie asked.

"After I see you we'll decide." He answered.

"Thank you doctor." Sportacus said shaking his hand.

"You're welcome." He said aloud. Then pulling Sportacus over to the side, "Can I take to you in private later." Surprised by the request, Sportacus said yes and the doctor left. Sportacus went back into the room and Stephanie was beaming as she talked with Uncle Milford. Sportacus caught himself smiling too. He couldn't figure it out. Every time Stephanie smiled, he felt different somehow. He always wanted to smile around her. He couldn't get that slip he made earlier out of his mind. He may not have acted that way but for some reason he was incredibly nervous and concerned when she was in that bathtub.

To Be Continued…