Hey, all! So, this is a fic for Mirabel's birthday. Well, not really. I had planned to make this before I even learned that Mirabel's birthday was today, but when I found out her birthday the other day, I decided to start writing this fic, hoping to finish it in time. It worked! So, I hope you enjoy, and happy birthday, Mirabel. Even if it's not really a very nice present, lol.


Something was wrong. But...what was it? The world felt off, felt strange. Groaning, Mirabel sat up in bed, bringing a hand up to her throbbing head, and feeling her curls messily falling around her face.

She squinted, trying to focus on the world around her, but it seemed her room didn't want to make sense today.

"Casita?" She mumbled, hearing an answering squeak in reply. She looked over to where the house was moving, and saw that Casita was shifting the small table she kept her glasses on. "Oh."

When she went to lean over to the side of the bed to grab her glasses, she almost fell. Well, that was embarrassing, she thought. She managed to grab her glasses, though, so she considered it a win. The world was clearer now, and with a smile, she hopped out of bed, her feet landing in the shoes Casita pushed over for her.

Then she almost fell again. Apparently, the glasses issue wasn't the only thing disturbing her vision, although she wasn't sure what the other thing was. All she knew was that the room was spinning, and she couldn't get it to stop. Oh, and it was making her dizzy, and her stomach was shifting. She must be hungry. Yah.

It was also hot, she realized as she wiped the sweat from her face. Oh well, maybe she would feel better once she got out of her room. It was probably dry in here, and stuffy. Maybe she should have opened the window last night?

Shrugging the confusing thoughts away, Mirabel walked, a bit unsteadily, to the door, and stepped out into the hallway. Antonio came flying past, giggling as he ran down the hallway, and spun towards the stairway.

"Morning, Mirabel!" The four year old laughed. Despite how awful she still felt, Mirabel smiled back at her younger cousin. She didn't know how long he had been awake, but it was strange that she didn't hear him when he woke up, considering they slept in the same room.

Voices came to her from downstairs, as she smothered a yawn with her hand and stepped onto the first stair.

"Oy, Camilo, no sampling the food before breakfast," Mirabel heard her mother's voice, followed by a smack and a yelp.

"Ai, Tia!" Camilo's voice responded. "I'm hungry!"

"Do I need to get your mother to tell you, young man?" Julieta's voice rang out again. By that time, Mirabel was down the stairs, and could see her mother standing in the kitchen, hands on her hips, and a wooden spoon sticking out of one of her hands. Camilo was hunched over, a grimace on his face as he rubbed his behind, probably stinging from the impact of the wooden spoon. But, Mirabel knew that her mother never hit hard enough to really hurt.

"No! No, no thank you, Tia Julieta!" Camilo exclaimed, straightening up and rushing out of the kitchen. He saluted to Mirabel when he saw her, then ran outside.

Julieta shook her head, and went to turn back around to the stove, when she saw Mirabel standing there. "Good morning, mi vida," she said, taking her hands off her hips, and smiling softly at Mirabel.

"Morning," Mirabel replied. Or, well, she tried too. Her voice cracked part way through, and the last half of it didn't sound much like anything at all.

She cringed at it, as her mother's face adopted a look of concern. "Are you feeling alright, Mirabel?" She asked, putting the wooden spoon down on a counter, and walking towards the girl, while wiping her hands on her apron.

Quickly clearing her throat a couple times, Mirabel forced a grin to get face, and said, "Yes, Mama, I feel fine." Her voice was still a bit scratchy, so she tacked on, "I think I might be thirsty."

Julieta's face was still twisted in concern, and Mirabel could detect doubt in her eyes, but luckily she didn't push. Rushing forwards, Mirabel gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, earning a faint smile, before she rushed to fill herself a glass of water, and gulp it down.

It helped her sore throat some, she admitted, but it definitely didn't help anything else. Tossing her discomforts aside, Mirabel rushed back out of the kitchen, and went outside.

Most of the family was there, either helping to get ready for breakfast, or just waiting on the breakfast. Mirabel went to join Camilo, who was in the latter group. She wanted to help prepare for breakfast, to do her part, but she didn't quite know what to do yet.

Her eyes narrowed, honing in on something she could do. Luisa had moved the table to where the sun was shining the best, and some of the rest of the family were setting it. Mirabel saw that most of the chairs were still over where the table had been before.

Pushing off against the wall where she had been leaning with Camilo, she walked over to the chair, squinting in the bright sunlight. Slipping her hand through the back of one, she lifted it off the ground, grimacing at the weight. A moment later, it got a lot lighter.

Glancing over in surprise, she came face to face with a worried looking Camilo. When did he get there?

"Are you okay, Mirabel? You seem...kind of off this morning." He said, his brow furrowed. She loved her cousin, he was so sweet. Well, she loved all her family, but she was pretty close with Camilo, considering how close they were in age.

Putting on what she hoped was a reassuring smile, she gently tugged the chair free from his grasp, and replied, "Sí, Camilo! I am fine. Just a bit tired, is all."

He didn't look like he quite believed her, but luckily he let it go, going to grab one of the other chairs instead. Sending him one more smile, she started walking slowly over to where the table was, trying to lift the chair off the ground to carry it, so it wouldn't drag. This seemed harder than it usually was.

Oh well. No matter how hard the work was, she needed to do it; she needed to help her family, to help the Encanto. Even though she didn't have a gift, she could still help out. She knew she could.

After a few more trips, all the chairs were paced around the table, which was all set, complete with steaming food, and everyone was gathered around. At a signal from Abuela, they all took their seats, and began to dish up quietly as Abuela began to dictate what everyone's known tasks for the day were.

Of course, Mirabel didn't have anything specific; she never did. But, she always tried to help where she could. Normally it was by entertaining the kids in the village, or just lending one of her family a hand if they needed it. Not that they usually did, or that there was anything they were doing that she could help with. But Mirabel liked to think that she was even somewhat helpful.

And, of course, they couldn't all be completely silent as Abuela talked. They tried to be quiet, certainly, but the grandchildren tended to mess around a lot, even during meal times. Right now, Mirabel could see Dolores nudging Camilo with a frown on her face, and him responding with a look of confused innocence. Oh, and there was Isabela glaring over at the both of them, then putting her perfect smile back in place.

Smiling slightly, Mirabel shifted her attention away. She caught the eyes of her mother. She had a frown on her face. Oh no, did Mirabel do something wrong? The chairs were all in place, that was all she had helped with this morning! Wait, was someone talking to her and she missed it?

She could feel her heart rate begin to pick up, as her limbs went cold, and her hands clammy. She was panicking. That wasn't good. She stared at her mother intently, trying to understand. A moment later, Julieta looked down to Mirabel's plate, then back up at her. Mirabel hadn't taken any food. Oh.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Mirabel just smiled reassuringly at her mother, and started to dish up for herself. The rest of the family had all taken, so she wasn't in anyone's way like this. Good. And she just realized that Abuela had finished speaking, and everyone was carrying on with their own individual conversations.

Huffing out a breath in frustration, upset with herself that she was so out of it today, Mirabel went back to loading her plate with food. Or...maybe not loading? She didn't feel that hungry.

She debated on what to take, if anything at all, but knowing that her mother wouldn't like it if she skipped breakfast, and would get worried, Mirabel grabbed some egg, and some fruit. And maybe an arepa. That would satisfy her mother, and anyone else, and convince them that she was fine. Cause she was.

It was really hot though. She was in the sun, maybe after breakfast, she would sit in the shade for a bit. No! She had to help out, to prove her worth, pull her weight!

She ate a few pieces of banana, and a couple bites of egg. She still wasn't hungry. When she bit off a bit from the arepa, and went to swallow, she almost gagged. She couldn't really taste it, but it was dense. She managed to swallow it down, but it sat heavily in her stomach.

Glancing around to see if anyone was looking at her, she pushed the arepa off her plate, and sat back. She had eaten enough.

She watched as everyone around her ate their meal, chatting with each other, eager and happy smiles on their faces. She was tired. Maybe if she just closed her eyes, she would feel better.

"Mirabel!" She woke up with a start at the sound of Abuela's call, a sharp pain going through her neck at the abrupt motion, and her head throbbing painfully with a steady beat, drowning everything else out. When did she lay down on the table?

Everyone was staring at her, but she didn't have time to try to interpret their expressions. Abuela was staring at her, a frown on her face, and obvious frustration in her eyes. Mirabel leaned back in her chair, looking down, and fidgeting with her hands.

"Is your familia, is the Encanto, so boring that you need to sleep at the breakfast table, Mirabel?" Abuela spoke again, her voice hard and cold. Mirabel could feel tears building up in her eyes, giving her just another reason to keep looking at her lap. Her head still hurt, and Abuela's raised voice wasn't helping.

"Look at me when I am speaking to you," Abuela ordered. Trying to sniff discreetly, Mirabel raised her head up, looking at Abuela's upset face through tea-filled eyes. "Good, now answer me."

Sniffing again, Mirabel shook her head, ignoring the way it made everything spin around her, and the throbbing pain worsen. "Sorry, Abuela."

Abuela's lips pursed, but she looked away, signaling that the conversation was done. Mirabel could feel more tears gathering, but swiped them away quickly with the back of her hand.

"Are you feeling okay, Mirabel?" Tia Pepa asked. Mirabel smiled at her, and nodded her head slightly. Her eyes felt a bit wet, still, but...she was fine. Really, it was her fault.

"I'm fine, Tia, just tired." When she looked away from her tia, her eyes met those of her mother. Julieta was sitting across the table from her, and one seat down, and staring at Mirabel intently, and seriously. Her brows were furrowed, but Mirabel couldn't tell if it was in worry, confusion, anger, or something else entirely.

She opened her mouth to try to reassure her mother, but at that moment, Abuela stood up, signaling the end of the meal. Everyone started to disburse to do their own chores, and Mirabel took the chance to escape from her mother's gaze by hurrying away, too.

She didn't want to hang around her family, not wanting to worry them, and also afraid of how they would treat her after the display earlier. Just the thought of it brought more pinpricks of tears to her eyes. She fought them off with a huff, and lifted her head up high as she entered the village.

Since she didn't have a gift, there was no specific tasks she could do, so she generally just walked around, looking for something she could help with. Most often, that ended up with her taking care of the village kids.

This soon after breakfast, however, there weren't generally many kids running around. Or, if they were, they didn't need entertained, really. So, Mirabel didn't have anything specific to do at the moment.

Antonio ran past her at just then, most likely looking for one of his friends in the village to play with, but paused, and came running back to her.

"Are you okay, Mira?" He asked. "Are you lost?"

Mirabel smiled at him, surprised at his boundless energy, as always. "No, I'm not lost, Tony. Why would you think that?" Her voice was a bit scratchy, but she managed to talk through it.

"You just look lost, or confused, or something," Antonio replied, a frown on his small face.

"I'm fine, Antonio, thanks for checking, though," Mirabel grinned at him. The sun was bright, and not helping her headache.

Antonio stared at her for one more moment, then nodded his head, said goodbye, and ran off again. Mirabel chuckled to herself at his antics, then looked around once more, to see if there was anything to do. There wasn't.

Taking the opportunity of not having anything to do, she ducked between two buildings where no one could see her, slid to the ground by one of the houses, and leaned her back against the wall. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped firmly around them, and her throbbing head was buried in her arms. She was sitting in the shade, resting, where no one could see her. It was what she had been wanting basically all morning, and within a minute, she has fallen asleep.


Julieta was worried. She was certain something was wrong with Mirabel, and while she didn't know exactly what, she had her suspicions. Her gift may not require any medical training to heal people, but she had a lot of experience with pain, injuries, discomfort, and even diseases. Most things she could heal, but for some reason, she couldn't heal sicknesses.

She suspected it had something to do with the fact that the body used sicknesses to heal itself, and so healing the symptoms wouldn't actually get rid of the problem, so her gift just didn't work. She didn't know enough about it to actually know, so all she knew was that she couldn't heal people if they were sick.

That didn't mean she couldn't help them, so she needed to be able to help Mirabel. Her daughter was in pain, or so she assumed, and all she was doing was standing in the kitchen kneading dough.

Her fingers maneuvered the dough more aggressively with each thought, her motherly instincts chafing at the thought of her daughter, sick and alone, while she sat there cooking. It's not like anyone would die if they didn't eat her arepas, and if they would, then she could always make something simple for them in a rush, or give them day old food, or anything!

That's it, she was going to go find her daughter and make sure she was okay, no matter what Mama would say. Yes, she cared about the Encanto, but she cared about her family more! She pounded the dough flat on the counter, and started grasping at her apron, trying to untie it and pull it over her head at the same time.

Steady hands grasped hers lightly from behind her, calming her frantic motions. Spinning around in surprise, wisps of hair flying around her face, she came face to face with her husband.

"Agustin." She breathed out, slumping forward in relief. He would help her find Mirabel. She took a few deep breaths, head bowed, and hands gripping Agustin's, before looking back up at him, calmer.

His face, however, was very worried. "Mi amor, what has gotten you so worked up?" He asked, worry and concern swimming in his eyes. Julieta loved him for it, for his love and protectiveness of his family. He was what held them together, and held her up.

"I am worried about Mirabel," she replied quickly, but smoothly. "Did you see her this morning, she was falling asleep at breakfast, she hardly ate anything, and even before breakfast, she wasn't herself!" As she spoke, the memories of how tired, pale, and distracted Mirabel had looked that morning reentered her head, and she was working herself up more into a panic again.

She hadn't realized she was tightly gripping Agustin's arms until he squeezed her hands reassuringly. "Mi amor, calm down. Yes, I noticed, and I am worried too. But she will be fine. She most likely just woke up off, or has a small cold. She will be fine. And if, for some reason, she isn't, then we will find her, and help her. I was just coming to ask you if you knew where she went, but we will just have to look together. I searched the house, but she wasn't here. And Felix said he saw her heading to the village after breakfast."

Julieta nodded eagerly a few times, then spun around and settled things in the kitchen, so that neither the food nor the house would burn. When she went to grab at her apron again, she felt Agustin untying it from behind her, and then grabbing it to slip it over her head.

When it was off, she took it from him while giving him a kiss on the cheek, before hanging it up on a hook in the kitchen. Then, glancing around once more, she and Agustin rushed out, and down towards the town.

When they got there without seeing her, they asked a few people if they had seen her, and even stopped Luisa to ask if she had seen her sister, but the answer was always no.

Julieta clenched her fist, and held it up to her chest. "It will be alright, amor," Agustin soothed. "You go around the East side of the village, I will go West. We'll find her. We'll meet at the church when we're done, and if we haven't found her, we'll search somewhere else. But she will be fine. She's probably already perfectly fine."

Taking a few deep breaths, Julieta slowly released the tension in her fist, and nodded to her husband, then set off towards the East side of the village, as they'd agreed.

She first started going through the streets, and between the houses, that were closest to the main road. When she had gone down almost all of them, she started panicking again, but managed to calm herself down. After all, she had always been the calm one, even growing up with Pepa and Bruno, she had been calm, steady, mature. And she had to be able to be calm in stressful situations, she was a healer, after all.

So, another few deep breaths later, she started walking down the second last row between houses, before she wouldn't be in the village anymore. When she reached the end of that lane, and was starting off down the last lane, she was getting discouraged, and just hoping that Agustin would have found Mirabel, and they would both be waiting for her at the Church.

She sped up her pace at that thought, eager to cover the last of her area and regroup with Agustin, who surely must have found Mirabel, after all. And that's what made her almost miss it. Almost, because it was hard to miss Mirabel's brightly colored clothes, even when they were curled together, colors mixing, and propped up against the side of a house.

Seeing the form of her daughter ahead, just sitting there, Julieta started running, and calling out her daughter's name. "Mirabel, mi vida!" She called as she reached the girl, kneeling down on the ground beside the still form, and reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"Mirabel," she repeated, shaking her daughter to try to get her to respond. "Mira, wake up!"

That got a response, at last. Mirabel shifted, her clothes rustling with the movement, and then her head raised. Her eyes were still half closed, her gaze was unfocused, and her face was pale yet creased and reddened from where she had been laying on her arms and skirt. But she was awake.

"Mama?" Mirabel asked groggily, bringing a hand up to rub at her eyes, a wince crossing her face.

"I'm here, mi vida," Julieta replied, reaching out to cup her daughter's cheek with her hand. "Your father and I have been looking for you everywhere." Her face, which had been forming a soft smile before, now grew set with worry, as she allowed herself to feel her daughter's face. "You are burning up, you need to be resting."

When Mirabel went to respond, Julieta quickly cut in, "And I don't mean out here, sitting on the ground, at the edge of the village. I mean at home, in bed. What are you even doing here, Mira?" She tried not to let the panic she was still feeling seep into her voice, so instead she smothered her daughter. She knew it wasn't necessarily the best thing to do at that moment, but she was a mother; she couldn't help it.

"Sorry, Mama. It was hot, and I was tired, and...no one would see me here. I'm sorry for worrying you and Papa." Mirabel's voice was choked with tears, Julieta could hear, and it broke her heart in two.

"Come on, mi amor, let's get back to your father, and then get you home in bed." She placed her hand under Mirabel's arm, and started trying to lift her up. Mirabel helped, of course, standing up on her own mostly, but she had a confused expression on her face, and a still-dazed look in her eyes.

"No, Mama, I need to help in the village, to help the Encanto, like the rest of the family. I...I need to do my part, I need to help! If I can't help, even in some small way, then...then I'm useless!"

Julieta could feel tears welling up in her eyes, to match the ones in her daughter's. Had Mirabel been feeling this way for a while, or was it just the fever? There was no way this was just from the fever. Which meant that she had been feeling this way about herself for some time, and Julieta hadn't even noticed. She was a terrible mother, but, this time, she told herself, she would do better. She would let Mirabel know how much she was loved, and needed, and useful, even if she didn't have a gift. But for now, she needed to get her sick daughter to bed.

"No, Mirabel, you aren't useless. And it's okay to take time off to yourself, especially when you are sick. You can't do this to yourself, amor, you need to rest. Okay?" She said soothingly, wiping a tear from Mirabel's cheek. The girl nodded, closing her eyes and leaning into Julieta's hand, which was cupping her cheek again. She was really warm, Julieta needed to get her in bed, and her fever down.

"Come on, your father will be waiting for us at the church, then we can get you to bed." She put her hand around Mirabel's arm, and started leading her back towards the center of the village. To avoid unwanted attention, she went around the back way.

Sure enough, Agustin was waiting for them at the entrance to the church, a worried look on his face. That look changed to relief, and a smile, however, when he saw his wife and youngest daughter walking towards him. Mirabel was stumbling a bit, it's true, but Julieta was keeping her steady. She would never let her fall.

"Ay, Mirabel, mi amor," Agustin called out to them, as he walked to greet them. "Are you alright, mi vida?" He asked Mirabel, reaching out to cup her cheek, just as his wife had done, not five minutes ago.

Mirabel nodded, as Julieta replied, "Mirabel is sick, she's burning with fever, as well as other symptoms. She needs to be in bed, resting." That was all she said, but the look she gave Agustin let him know that there was more about this they would be talking about later.

"I am sorry to hear that, Mira," Agustin replied. "Let's get you back to bed, huh?" How else do you feel, besides having a fever?" He asked. Julieta had asked those questions on the way over, as well, but she didn't interrupt them, letting her daughter and husband have their time.

As they walked back to Casita, Mirabel explaining how she felt to her father, and sometimes needed promoting to be completely honest and not downplay her symptoms, Julieta thought over what Mirabel had told her. She would need to talk to Agustin about this, and perhaps Isabella and Luisa, too. There was no telling what else she had missed in her family, with her own responsibilities to the family, and the Encanto.

And maybe she would have to talk to her Mama about how Mirabel felt. It was about time that conversation happened.

But first, she and Agustin would get Mirabel settled in bed, as comfortable as she could be, and Juliet would make some soup for her. They would make sure they helped Mirabel get better first, before focusing on fixing the family. One step at a time.

And, oh, how Julieta loved her family, as she saw how Mirabel leaned into her father's side, head on his shoulder, and his arm around her waist, as they made their way home. She caught a glimpse of Isabela's dress on another street, and could hear Luisa calling out to someone somewhere else that she couldn't see.

Yes, Julieta loved her family, and she would do anything to help them. Starting with her youngest, Mirabel, who deserved the world.


Umm, so this was supposed to be a Mirabel focused fanfiction, and it was! But then, it became more focused around Julieta...what can I say, Julieta is one of my favorites! Of course, almost all of the Madrigals are my favorite.

And sorry if the Mirabel focused part in this was kinda confusing, I was trying to go for the whole, her fevered thoughts are all over the place, and very focused on how awful she felt, making her kinda childish, kinda thing. Idk, I like reading that in sickfics a lot, but I don't know how well it turns out when I try it. Maybe I overdo it? ️ ️

Well, I hope you enjoyed!

p.s: I am so sorry, Mirabel. I made you sick as a birthday present. But I got you some comfort from your amazing parents!