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Yumi smiled slightly as Ulrich sighed in his sleep with his head on her shoulder. In one hand, her fingers intertwined with Ulrich's. He other hand rested on top of Odd's. It was about one in the morning and still she hadn't been able to sleep, not while Odd was in the hospital. Ulrich had become so exhausted from his frustration that he'd been unable to keep his eyes open. Yumi tilted her head against his and closed her eyes sleepily, hoping for all of their problems to disappear.
A groan from the bed made her eyes snap open quickly. She saw Odd move his head slightly to the side as his eyes cracked open to see an IV in his arm. A squeeze from Yumi's hand alerted him to company on his other side, so he turned his head slowly. "Where…?" His voice was raspy and weak.
"The hospital," Yumi whispered in response. "You had us really worried, especially Ulrich."
Odd looked at Ulrich guiltily. "Sorry…"
Yumi's eyes softened. "Oh, Odd…" She gasped as she felt Ulrich shift.
Ulrich took his hand from Yumi and began to wipe sleep from his eyes. "Hm?" he grunted, half-asleep. He was jolted completely away however, when he saw Odd's eyes open. "Odd!"
Yumi almost expected the boy to punch Odd across the face, but instead Ulrich practically jumped on top of him and hugged him. It wasn't until she and Odd saw Ulrich shaking that they realized he was crying. It made Yumi have to fight back hard against her own tears to keep them from falling.
Odd slowly hugged Ulrich back with one arm. "Please stop Ulrich," he pleaded tiredly. "Don't cry…"
Ulrich pulled away and wiped his eyes after a few minutes. Yumi could tell that he was embarrassed of his display of tears. She looked back at Odd. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Like my heart swelled up and almost stopped," Odd said. He took their silence as a response. "That is what happened, isn't it?" He looked away from his friends' disapproving stares.
"I can't believe you Odd," Yumi said. "How could you have kept this a secret? How could you have put yourself in so much danger? Jeremie thinks that the Lyoko missions probably made this happen. Did you even notice that they were making you get worse?"
"I wanted to go on the missions," Odd said. "I am not one to sit back and let you all save Aelita alone."
"Was it making you feel sick Odd?" Yumi asked and gained no response. She began to feel less patient. "Damn it, Odd! Did you know? Did you know that Lyoko was making your heart worse?"
Odd bit his lip guiltily. "I…"
"You should have said something!" Ulrich scolded him. "You lied to everyone, even to me! Is a trip to Lyoko worth all of that?"
"I just didn't want to be treated differently," Odd explained desperately. "I wanted to be a normal, healthy kid, just like the rest of you. I wanted to live my life, not wait around for you all to have fun in Lyoko without me-"
"Lyoko isn't supposed to be fun Odd," Yumi said. "Every time we step into those scanners, we take the risk of never coming back out. Every time we stay to control the situation here, we take the risk of dying before the return trip. It's dangerous enough, even for a normal, healthy person!"
"That's what makes it worth it," Odd said. "If I never took any chances, I wouldn't really be living."
"You wouldn't be in this hospital bed either," Ulrich pointed out. "I just don't understand how you could do this to us. You have no idea how horrible it is to find out that your best friend needs to get a heart transplant!"
Odd's eyes widened. "I… I do?" he asked fearfully. "It's that bad?"
Yumi looked at her feet. "You have a few months," she said. "But… yes… They put you on the recipient list…"
"Oh my God," Odd whispered as he closed his eyes in thought. "They said… I wouldn't need one so soon…"
Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other sadly, neither knowing what to say. Ulrich pulled Odd into another tight hug. "I'm sorry Odd," he said gently.
Odd opened his eyes and looked blankly at the wall ahead of him. "I… I really didn't know… it was this bad… Ulrich… I… I' scared…"
"So am I."
Conveniently, the next morning happened to be Sunday, the only day that no one had any classes. (A/N: I am assuming they have classes on Saturdays because of something Ulrich said on one of the episodes) Jeremie, Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich all spent the entire day at the bedside of the unusually quiet blonde. Aelita used up most of her time trying to cheer Odd up by telling jokes that he himself would normally have been telling. Odd tried to be his usual self, but he was tired and a little bit shaken up. Dr, Greene had gone over all of his new restrictions with him before Jeremie and Aelita had come, and he wasn't at all happy with all of these new rules. Odd knew he wasn't going to enjoy sitting around all day, but the others were going to make him follow the doctor's orders, whether he liked it or not.
Aelita was in the middle of another bad joke when Ulrich, who'd been considerably moody, interrupted her. "Sissi was really worried yesterday," he said as if he'd been silently contemplating it in confusion for a while.
"Sissi?" Odd asked. "What was Sissi so worried about?"
"Well, she was he with Mr. Delmas and me in the waiting room," Ulrich said. "She was worried about you. I think she was as scared as I was last night."
Aelita nodded in agreement. "I forgot that I saw her when we got back last night."
"You did?" Jeremie asked.
"Yes," Aelita said. "I was going to my room, and when I got there she was knocking on my door. She said that she was there to ask if I knew anything about Odd."
"Wow," Yumi said in shock. "I never would have known, but Sissi does have a heart."
"She asked if she could come see you today," Aelita told Odd.
"What did you tell her?" Odd asked suspiciously.
"I told her that you would be glad to have visitors," Aelita replied innocently.
Odd groaned. "How could you do such a thing to a guy who can't defend himself? I thought we were friends Aelita!"
Yumi and Jeremie giggled a bit while Aelita looked confused. Ulrich sighed. "He's just kidding Aelita." He smile though, glad to hear Odd joking.
"Oh," Aelita responded.
"I am not!" Odd said. "If you guys were in the hospital I would never send Sissi in to finish you off! Actually… now that I know what Aelita is really like, I might consider doing it to her."
"What time is Sissi coming?" Yumi asked warily.
"she said that she and her father are coming at noon," Aelita said as she checked her watch. "So in about ten minutes."
"Great," Odd said sarcastically. "It's been nice knowing you guys."
"Strange," Yumi commented. "At the mention of Sissi, you become the liveliest you've been all day."
Odd rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yea, let's all crack jokes at the kid who's dying."
"That's not funny Odd," Ulrich warned him.
A knock on the door cit the tension in the room and Sissi tentatively walked in with her hands behind her back. "Hi guys," she said.
"Where is Mr. Delmas?" Jeremie asked.
"Daddy is talking to the doctor," Sissi said. She shifter awkwardly on her feet.
"I want to go get lunch," Ulrich said, not really wanting to be around Sissi if she suddenly remembered her crush on him and decided to redirect her attention.
"Me too," Yumi agreed.
Aelita didn't really catch on to their reasoning, but she was fairly hungry. "I'll come too," she said. "I'm starved."
Of course, Jeremie didn't want Aelita to leave without him, so he too stood to leave. He smiled apologetically. "See you in a little bit Odd!"
"Guys!" Odd tried, but they were gone, leaving him alone with Sissi.
Sissi's there! Poor Odd. I don't really like Sissi much, but I think in the right situation she could be a much different person. So you'll all have to see where this goes ;)