"Oh God, no," Haruka thought as she held her unconscious wife. "Michiru," she whispered as she gently laid her down on the floor. She never noticed her baby come into the kitchen.
Kiseki stood behind her father and looked at her. "Daddy?" she asked as she stepped around the blonde to look at her mother. "What's wrong wif mommy?"
Haruka shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, baby. She's fine," she said to keep the child calm. "Great. Now I've got two sick girls in my possession," she thought. Checking Michiru's pulse, she turned to her daughter. "Can you bring me the phone, Ki-chan?"
Kiseki nodded and ran back into the living room as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. She jumped up on the couch and hung over the arm as she stretched her arm out, trying to reach the phone. Once retrieved, she jumped back off the couch and went back into the kitchen quickly, handing the device to her father.
Haruka took the phone and smiled lightly at the child. She pulled her daughter close with one arm and hugged her as she dialed in the number to the hospital, asking for Ami. She waited impatiently for Ami to answer the phone and sighed a bit when she received an answer. "Hi, Ami-chan. It's Haruka. No, everything isn't fine. Michiru just passed out." Ami told the racer to check her wife's temperature so she laid her palm on the artist's forehead. "She's burning up." She listened closely to what Ami was telling her to do and nodded, committing everything to memory. Her friend said that she would come to the house to make things a little easier and the racer agreed. She hung up the phone and set it on the floor, still holding her child. "Baby, can you get me a wet wash cloth from the bathroom?"
Kiseki nodded and left her father's side, running to the guest bathroom that was down the hall from their living room. She grabbed the first washcloth she could reach and jumped up onto the toilet. She turned on the water faucet and let the cloth soak for a moment. Pulling it from the sink, she turned the water off then left the bathroom and ran back to her parents as fast as her legs could go.
Haruka snatched the cloth from her daughter and lightly pressed it to Michiru's forehead. She never noticed the girl's disappointed expression. Leaving the cloth on her wife's skin, she went into the living room and removed a pillow from the couch. Returning to her wife's side, she gently lifted Michiru's head and slid the pillow underneath.
Kiseki walked away and up to her room, frowning the whole way. She climbed up onto her bed and picked up her teddy bear, who she called Kuma, hugging it tightly. Lying back against her pillows, she rolled onto her side and curled into a ball.
Haruka kept an eye on Michiru's breathing just as Ami had instructed her to do for fifteen minutes as she waited for her friend to arrive. When she heard a knock at the door, she reluctantly left the kitchen. Opening it quickly, she ushered Ami in and over to where Michiru was lying. Looking around, she couldn't find Kiseki. "I'm going to go,"
"Where's Kiseki?" Ami asked as she began checking Michiru over. She checked the woman's pulse as she waited for Haruka's answer.
Haruka sighed. "I don't know exactly. I was going to go talk to her. That is, if you don't need my help with anything." When Ami shook her head, the blonde turned around and went upstairs. She didn't know how, but somehow she instinctively knew to check the girl's bedroom. "Ki-chan?" she said quietly as she opened the door. She received no response but went in anyway. The light wasn't on but she could make out a tiny figure lying on the bed. "Hey," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "What's the matter?"
Kiseki rolled back over and looked at her father. "I messed up," she whispered as she hugged her bear again. She covered her face with the toy and closed her eyes.
Haruka blinked. "What are you talking about, baby?" She reached out and moved the bear just a bit, trying to take it from the child.
Kiseki hugged her bear again so her father wouldn't remove it from her hands. "You mad," was her response, muffled through the fluff and stuff of the bear.
Haruka sighed, a small headache starting to grow. She knew why Kiseki thought she was mad at her. She moved her hand from the bear to stroke her child's hair. "I'm not mad at you, Kiseki. You didn't do anything wrong." She bent over slightly and pulled the upset child to her, hugging her. "Ki-chan," she whispered. She felt her little girl trying to pull away from her. "Hey. I'm not mad."
Kiseki stopped struggling and looked at her father. She remained silent as she searched her dad's eyes. She decided to believe her when she smiled.
Haruka sighed internally. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle two sick girls at the same time, especially if one of them misunderstood her intentions and was upset, but she was determined to do her best. She needed to. "I'm probably making it worse than it actually is," she thought. She leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Can you stay up here for a few minutes? I have to talk to Ami."
Kiseki nodded and hugged her bear again. "Mommy is ok?" she asked quietly.
The racer nodded. "She's going to be all right. Just be careful, ok?" When the girl nodded, the blonde smiled again. "That's my girl," she said in a low voice before turning to leave the girl's room. She went back downstairs and joined Ami and her now-conscious wife, who was sitting with her back against one of the dining room table chairs. "Hey."
Michiru forced a small smile as she looked past her blonde lover. "Where's Kiseki?" she asked, the concern blatantly obvious in her voice.
Haruka knelt down next to the aqua-haired girl and stroked her hair gently. "She's in her room. I didn't want her to get freaked out."
"That was a good idea, Haruka-kun," Ami said. She pulled a small, white-labeled bottle from her pocket and untwisted the top. Tilting it and allowing two small pills to land in her hand, she closed it and placed it on the floor to her side. "Can you get a glass of water, please?"
Haruka nodded and stood, moving to the counter. Taking the first cup she seen – Kiseki's tiny training cup – she filled it with water from the kitchen sink. Going back to her wife's side, she took the pills from her blue-haired friend. She helped Michiru take the pills and wondered what they were. "Probably just aspirin," she thought. Placing the cup aside and sitting next to her lover, she gently wrapped an arm around the artist's shoulders, feeling relieved as the younger woman rested her head on her shoulder.
Ami smiled. Even after all this time of knowing the couple, seeing them show affection towards one another made her feel warm inside. She shook her head and cleared her throat. "I'd love to stay but I have to go back to the hospital." She looked directly at Michiru. "Bed rest and fluids: lots of both over the next few days. I know this is going to be the most difficult part, but it's probably best if you don't have much contact with Kiseki until this has passed. Just to make sure it doesn't get much worse for either of you. Um, simple aspirin for aches. I'll leave this bottle here. You can get more of this from the hospital if you need it. Just bring in the bottle and tell them that I gave it to you. It has my authorization code on it in case anyone asks." She seen both of her friends nod and she stood. "Call me if anything happens, and I do mean anything. You have my office number so you don't have to keep calling the front desk."
Haruka chuckled. "I keep forgetting that we have that." She let go of her wife and stood up, walking with Ami to the front door. "Thanks again, Ami-chan."
Ami smiled at the blonde. "Not a problem at all. Just remember everything I've said and there shouldn't be too many problems." After the racer nodded, she turned and waved as she quickly went to her car and left, heading back to work.
Haruka closed the front door and went back into the kitchen. "Do you want me to help you to the couch or do you really want to stay in here?" She received a glare and chuckled. She held out her hand and helped her wife stand, moving to her side to steady her. Together they walked into the living room and over to the couch. She helped Michiru sit down then looked at the staircase. "I'm going to tell Ki-chan that everything's all right."
Michiru nodded. "Did she see me after I passed out?" She really hoped her daughter hadn't seen her. Her fear was confirmed though when her wife nodded. "I wish she hadn't."
Haruka sighed. "I tried to keep her out of the room, and it worked. Just not the way I had hoped. I kind of snatched the washcloth I asked her to get and she thought I was mad at her, so she went up to her room.
Michiru nodded slightly. "You talked to her though, right?" The racer nodded and she continued speaking. "Ok. Tell her to come down here. I want to talk to her."
Haruka hesitated for a moment. "Don't you think you should listen to what Ami said?" she asked in a concerned tone. She regretted the question when she received one hell of a glare.
"She's my daughter," Michiru said sternly. "I'm not going to ignore her just because I'm sick. That's not fair to her."
Haruka nodded. "You're right." She turned back to the stairs and ascended them, heading back to Kiseki's room. "Hey, kiddo. Mama wants to see you."
Kiseki smiled a little bit and jumped from her bed, teddy bear still in hand. "Give to mommy?" she asked as she held up the bear.
Haruka chuckled and nodded. "Sure. She's on the couch." She watched the child run out of the room and down the hall to the stairs, going down them slowly. She decided to go to the opposite end of the hallway and pull a light blanket from the closet across from the master bedroom.
Kiseki walked from the last step to the couch slowly. "Mommy?"
Michiru watched as her daughter stopped and stood in front of the couch. "Come here, baby," she said as she held out her arms.
Kiseki sat next to her mother and held out her teddy bear. Her mom took the bear and set it to the side then motioned for her to closer, so she moved into her mother's lap and curled into a ball.
Michiru wrapped her arms around her baby, hugging her tightly. "Everything's ok, Ki-chan."
Haruka came back down the stairs and stood there for a moment, smiling at the scene in front of her. After a few seconds, she moved over to the couch with the blanket and placed it over the arm. She moved in front of her wife, leaning forward a bit and kissing her forehead. Sitting sideways next to her wife and child, she watched them for a moment in silent triumph.
Michiru smiled gently. "Something wrong, Ruka?" She felt Kiseki start to pull away and loosened her grip on the child.
Haruka shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I was just admiring," she explained. She looked down at her blonde child then looked for the bear. "Where's Kuma?"
Kiseki turned her head and looked at the bear. "Mommy put him ober dere." She leaned back into her mother and closed her eyes.
Michiru smiled and placed a hand on Kiseki's back, rubbing it softly. "I wanted my Ki-chan more," she said quietly.
Haruka smiled and wondered how she was so lucky to have such a wonderful family. Her attention returned to her daughter as she started coughing again. She figured she should give her some more cough medicine and got up from the couch.
Michiru watched as her lover searched for something. "If you're looking for the Dayquil, Ruka, it's by the microwave." She looked down at her child for a moment before hugging her again.
The racer nodded and spotted the bottle. "She's not going to like this very much," she thought as she retrieved the bottle and a spoon. As she walked back into the living room, she seen Kiseki's eyes bug out.
Kiseki turned her head and buried it in her mother's shirt. "Nuh uh," she yelled. "No."
Michiru chuckled. "Ki-chan, come on. It'll make you feel better," she said, trying to pull the child's face from her shirt.
"No!" Kiseki screamed and shook her head. "Don't wanna!" She moved herself off her mother's lap, only to be trapped by a playful, loving embrace.
Michiru laughed. "You're not going anywhere, little girl." She pulled Kiseki to her and pinned the girl's flailing arms to her sides. "You need to take your medicine, Ki-chan." She reinforced her grip when the child started struggling again. "You can have some ice cream after dinner if you take your medicine," she bribed.
Kiseki stopped fighting but she still didn't want to take the nasty fluid. She frowned and stuck out her bottom lip in that cute way that only she could. It was almost a mix of Haruka's smile and Michiru's pout. "Wif icing?"
Michiru laughed quietly. She knew that her daughter meant whipped cream. "Yes, with icing. You have to take your medicine first though."
Kiseki sighed and gave up. "Ok." She sat up and moved back up to her mother's lap, preparing for the moment of disaster.
Haruka was amazed at how Michiru could convince Kiseki to do almost anything. She knelt in front of the couch and in front of her wife and child as she opened the bottle. Pouring the appropriate amount into the spoon, she slowly moved the metal object closer to Kiseki's face with her hand under it in case she spilled any. She watched her daughter's reaction as she took the spoon into her mouth. Both she and her wife had a good laugh as Kiseki reacted to the horrible taste.
Michiru stopped laughing and hugged her little girl when she turned around and faced her. "Good girl," she whispered before kissing the side of Kiseki's head.
Haruka got up and replace the cap on the bottle. After going back into the kitchen to put the bottle where she had gotten it from, she came back to the couch and flopped down on the left side of her wife. Reaching for the remote control, she turned the television on and started flipping through the channels.
Michiru hugged her child again as she felt the girl lean back into her. Running her fingers through her baby's soft, straight hair, she exhaled slowly. Moving her free hand, she intertwined hers and Haruka's fingers, squeezing them gently.
The blonde looked over at her wife with a slightly concerned look on her face. "You all right?" she asked quietly.
Michiru nodded. "I'm fine. Just relaxing a little bit." She squeezed the racer's hand again and smiled.
Haruka smiled back. "Well, let's hope you don't get what Ki-chan had." She let go of Michiru's hand and wrapped her arm around the artist's shoulders.
The aqua-haired girl leaned her head on the racer's shoulder and she sighed contently. "I'm not worried about it right now."
The three sat together in silence. Haruka continued flipping through the channels, Michiru held her daughter loosely, and Kiseki just enjoyed sitting with both of her parents at the same time. Their perfect little world would soon come crashing down though.
TBA
AN: Uh oh! What's going on? Michiru passes out? Is Kiseki really not sick anymore? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out. I'm super sorry that it's taken me this long to get this chapter up. I think I should just stop promising to get chapters up on time because every time I do, I get a promotion at work ((which means more hours)) or I have a project at school. So with that in mind, let me say this: I'll have the next chapter up soon. Lol. Well, that's chapter 4 for you. I hope you liked it. Please R&R. Thanks!