EPISODE SIX

A man with messy black hair and a slightly worn doctor's coat looked up as Katie and Kurt entered the Sanatorium. "Oh, hello. How may I help you?"

"Um, well, we're here to see Dia," Katie said, moving the hand holding the basket. "I'm here to give her these Cookies, and Kurt's here to…" She trailed off, not knowing why Kurt was here.

"How is she doing?" Kurt asked, looking concerned. "Is she awake?"

The man eyed the basket in Katie's hand but looked up at Kurt when he spoke. "She's awake, but I'm afraid she won't be having any visitors." Kurt's frown deepened.

"What's wrong?"

His question seemed to hang in the air, and Katie could feel a strange tension. The man shifted a little, letting out a tired sigh. "I can't let you see her right now, Kurt. I'm sorry."

Katie watched Kurt's face, and he seemed to be almost angry about this. But he turned on his heel and left the Sanatorium silently.

Katie watched him go, waiting for the door to shut before looking back at the man. "Can I still give her these?" she asked, holding out the basket. The man turned his attention back to Katie and took the basket from her. "I'll give them to her. Thank you. I am Doctor Alex, by the way. Please stop by the Clinic if you're ever not feeling well."

Katie nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. I hope Dia will recover soon," she said before turning and leaving the Sanatorium.

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Dia kept her ear pressed to the door, listening to Katie, Kurt, and Alex talk downstairs until they finally left. She pulled away and glared at Gina. "Why are you doing this? Why are you hiding me? What's…" She stopped talking as she was overcome by dizziness again, and fell face forward as she blacked out.

Dia knew immediately that she was in the forest again. She was feeling even more determined than before, almost desperate to know who the woman was.

She ran through the trees now, the forest becoming a blur at her sides. She focused only on the spring ahead of her.

She came to a stop next to the crying woman, still holding the infant as she always was, stopping only a moment to catch her breath before grabbing the woman's shoulder. The woman turned to look at her, but her bright green eyes seeming to stare right through her. Dia looked at her, confused before turning to look over her shoulder.

But she woke up, flailing in her bed. Alex and Gina were trying their best to hold her down.

"Dia!" Alex was shouting her name. She started to calm down a little, breathing heavily. She felt so aggravated. She was so close to finding out more…

Alex and Gina waited a few moments before releasing her. Dia's breathing was returning to normal, but she felt like she was going to vomit. Suddenly her eyes stung as tears pressed at the back of her eyes. She'd never felt so helpless.

"I need Martha," Dia pleaded. "Please, where is she? Take me to Mineral Town." Somehow, Dia felt that if she found out who the woman in her dream was, she'd be able to know what was going on.

Alex and Gina exchanged looks before Alex shook his head. "No, Dia. As I said, Martha will be back, and I cannot allow you to leave the Sanatorium. You fainted again. It's too dangerous to let you leave. You will stay here until I can help you."

Dia sniffled a little, knowing it was useless to argue. She closed her eyes, trying to shut herself away from the rest of the world.

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Katie caught up with Kurt and walked alongside him. He didn't look at her, but instead stared at the ground as he walked. She could tell he was upset, but wasn't sure what to say, so just kept quiet.

They arrived at the Workshop and Kurt walked up to the door. "…Bye, Kurt," she said as Kurt put his hand on the door knob, and he paused for a moment, but opened the door and walked inside without saying anything in response.

Katie knew that he was acting a little rude, but decided that he was just upset and that was how he normally acted anyway. She stared at the door, lost in thought when it suddenly swung open and a boy carrying a fishing pole appeared in the doorway.

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Lyla and Nina walked to the Hearty Lyla and before Lyla went inside the small shop, Nina called out to her.

"Hey, Lyla…can we go to the Moonlight Café again tonight?" Lyla smiled at her, hearing her question.

"Of course. See you then, Nina."

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Katie stood, frozen to the spot. It was Joe.

Joe seemed a little surprised to see someone was standing there, but smiled anyway. "Oh, hey," he said, not seeming to recognize her. "Are you new?"

"No…I mean yes, but…" Katie struggled to get the words out, feeling her face getting hot. "I'm Katie, don't you remember? I lived with my grandfather at the Sunny Garden Café back at Sugar Valley!"

Joe stared at her for a moment before smiling wider. "Oh, yeah! Katie, how are…"

Suddenly Katie was bumped from behind. "Ow…" she muttered, rubbing her shoulder and turning to see who bumped her.

"Joe! I've been looking all over for you! I see you've found Katie," Gwen said in a bubbly voice, elbowing Katie rather hard in the side. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something." All of a sudden she started acting shy, and Katie tried to not roll her eyes. Joe seemed completely unaware of the situation, however, and just looked at Gwen. "What is it?"

"Well, you know tomorrow's Fall 17th, right? The Fall Horse Race happening then, and I wanted to know if you'd go with me."

Katie thought she was going to be sick. She knew that Gwen was asking Joe out in front of her on purpose, flaunting the fact that she had one more thing than Katie did.

"Um, I dunno," Joe said, not looking like he wanted to go. "The Horse Race? I've never gone…" Katie took this opportunity to speak up.

"Neither have I. So maybe all three of us should go together," Katie said, smiling sweetly at Gwen, glad to interfere with her date with Joe. Gwen's cheery expression faltered slightly.

"Yes, well, that sounds wonderful," she said through gritted teeth. Katie just smiled back.

"I'm glad you agree, Gwen."

Joe looked between the two girls, obviously confused. "So, um, I'll see both of you tomorrow? Maybe you and I can catch up then, Katie." This only served to further irritate Gwen, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Right. Bye, Joe, Gwen," she said happily, waving a little to both of them before turning around and walking back to the Calloway Café, feeling very pleased with herself.

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