A/N: See? I got it up!....eventually heh. Anyway yeah thanks for the reviews people and for giving this story your support. Hard to believe it's been a little more than a year already. I'm truly thankful for the amount of support this story has been recieving and I'm especially thankful for sticking with me even with my terrible updating skills. Anyway do not ever think I am going to abandon this story despite my lack of updates. I'll tell you guys if I ever do...XP.

Anyway enough talk and love. Let's get on with the story.

Oh yes, one more thing before the disclaimer.....This chapter is dedicated to my sister 'Yakane' because it was her birthday two days ago. Sorry I couldn't get it up by then, but ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Kaleido Star except for the belief that Sora and Layla should get together :)

"Don't let her put too much pressure on her legs, but if it is necessary for her to get up out of her wheelchair for things you can help her do so. Since it has been about a month since we have treated her broken legs and arm, there should not be as much pain, but in any instances she does feel pain, give her these painkillers. Take no more than four in twenty four hours and she may take them as needed…"

The sound of Dr. Kurr's voice drifted about the room as he gave information to Layla on how to take care of Sora. Sora sat in her wheelchair quietly, not really listening to their conversation as she had already been given the lecture by Dr. Kurr not too long ago.

The past few days had been tiring, with a check up here, and a check up there and other numerous tests. Sora wanted nothing more than to get out of the hospital and breath some fresh air.

"Something the matter? You're zoning out again."

Sora's eyes shifted to the sound of the voice and saw Fool sitting on her arm cast with his legs crossed.

"No, I'm just tired is all," Sora mumbled quietly so she wouldn't disturb Dr. Kurr and Layla's conversation. And also so she won't be labeled as insane if she was caught talking to herself.

"Is that so? Well why don't you ask one of the nurses to let you take one more nice, warm, calming bath before you leave?" Fool said with a twinkle in his eye, but sadly it was met with Sora's healthy hand and death grip. "Kidding! Kidding! Now please, give mercy!!"

Eyebrow still twitching, Sora released her grip on Fool and threw him carelessly into the wall.

"My back… You haven't changed one bit, always the mean, torturous, scary monster who doesn't care for little poor Fool at all," Fool wailed as he struggled to get to his feet.

Sora gave him a look, but was actually happy from his comment. Although a little, okay, really shocked when she first saw the little, floating man, she quickly became accustomed to his presence because he was a link to her past self. The fact that she was still able to see him even though she has completely lost her memory about the stage, gave her hope and overall made her feel connected to the unknown past. He even provided entertainment from time to time when she couldn't fall asleep at night, even if some of the activities he recommended were better left unmentioned and were usually met with many painful memories and several crippled limbs…that weren't Sora's for once.

"Sora. Sora."

Hearing her name, she snapped out of her daze, "Ah yes Layla?"

"If everything is alright with you, Dr. Kurr said that we could leave now."

"Mm, yes. I'm ready."

Dr. Kurr walked over to Sora and knelt down to her eye level, "Now I expect you to come back for weekly check ups." He gave her a quick hug, "Do take care of yourself and don't put too much strain on your body."

Sora smiled and returned his hug, "Yes, I will. Thank you for taking care of me."

"Ms. Hamilton, if there are any questions you have, feel free to call the hospital at any time."

Layla shook his hand, "I will and thank you Dr. Kurr."

"Goodbye doctor! I'll see you next week!"

"Goodbye Sora."

The sliding doors of the lobby opened and the sun's rays felt warm on Sora's skin. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. Finally, she was out of the hospital. She looked at her surroundings in awe.

"Wow," she whispered.

"You haven't been outside before?"

Sora shook her head, "No I have. The nurses have taken me outside a few times, but it's a different feeling this time since I'm free now!"

Layla laughed, "I see. Well let's get you to the car now so we can get you settled at home."

"Okay, thanks Layla," Sora beamed.

For some reason Layla abruptly turned her head away and Sora could see a tiny hint of a blush. 'Did I do something embarrassing?'

"Um Layla, is something wrong?" Sora asked, tilting her head.

"No, nothing is wrong. Let's go to the car now, shall we?" Layla responded quickly, flushing deeper than before and avoided her eyes. She decided to let it go as soon as Layla started pushing her around the corner. As they went on their way, Sora noticed a limo on the side of the street.

She looked on excitedly, wondering who it belonged to. 'Oh, it could be a millionaire, or is it a movie star? Oh! It probably belongs to royalty, like a princess! And…wait, we're slowing down…' Soon enough, Layla put on the breaks and opened the door for Sora.

Sora blinked. Twice.

"Okay, even though the doctor said you shouldn't put too much pressure on your legs, I think it's fine for you to stand for a little while to get into a car… Sora?"

"Ah! Y-yes…umm," Sora looked around, not quite sure how to begin. Layla seeming to understand her, bent down and slipped her hand around Sora, letting Sora's healthy hand drape itself over her shoulder. Slowly, Layla helped Sora up and was able to get her safely in the limo. Not too long after folding up and putting away the wheel chair in the trunk, Layla soon joined her.

"Where to Ms. Hamilton?"

"Home please, Mr. Whithers. I think it'll be best for us to set up everything early."

Sora looked from the chauffer at the front of the limo to Layla and back again, not quite knowing what to make out of this. 'I knew Layla was high class, but not this high class…'

"Oh yes, how could I have forgot. Mr. Whithers, this is Sora Naegino. Sora this is Mr. Whithers, the family chauffer."

Mr. Whithers tipped his hat and gave Sora a big, white, mustached grin, "It's very nice to meet you Ms. Naegino. I have heard tremendous things about you from Ms. Hamilton here and it was truly a pleasure to be able to watch some of your performances at the Kaleido Stage. I look forward to taking care of you even if Ms. Hamilton insists that I take a break once in a while."

"You've only done so much for us for as long as I was born. You deserve a break and I might have to order you to do so," Layla said with a playful smile.

"Please, saying that makes me feel old and I think your father would not approve if I did take one. Now, let us be on our way shall we?"

"Don't strain yourself," Layla joked.

"Ohh, although my hair is white, I am still very much like a twenty-five year old man."

Sora watched their playful banter and smiled as she observed Layla's playfulness, a side of her that she has never really seen so far. As the car started moving and the window separating the driver from the rest of the car was pulled up, Sora didn't know that she was still looking at her when Layla turned her attention to Sora.

"Sora? Are you okay?"

Sora snapped out of her daze and noticed Layla looking at her with a very confused look and if one looked at her closely, which was what Sora was doing, a slightly flushed face.

"Huh? I mean yes. I think I'm probably more tired than I thought I was."

"I see…"

They sat in a relatively awkward silence, Sora not knowing quite what to say after feeling embarrassed that she was caught staring at Layla, that is, until they drove by the ocean. Immediately Sora's brown eyes grew as wide as saucers and sparkled like diamonds.

"Wowww, it's the OCEAN!! It's even prettier than what they look like in the old magazines at the hospital! I can't wait to get healed and dive into-"

Layla's laugh, the sound of tinkering bells, drifted through the car and Sora instantly clammed up and focused her attention to her toes, blushing red as a tomato. 'Oh I am so stupid! Getting excited over the ocean? What am I, three? Stupid!'

Sora still looking down at her toes, gathered some courage and glanced up at Layla. She was still in a fit of laughter, although a bit milder this time and was currently wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"I'm, ahaha…s-sorry. It's j-just, ahaha…" Layla tried to say inbetween her laughter.

Sora still flushed, decided to continue looking at her toes, waiting for Layla to regain her composure.

After what felt like decades to Sora, Layla finally was able to stop laughing to the point where she could form actual sentences from her mouth. With one last wipe at the tears coming out from the sides of her eyes, Layla smiled at Sora and said, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me, but seeing you act like that reminded me of your past self and I was glad to see you haven't changed even though you have lost your memories. I guess I was so overwhelmed with joy that I started laughing."

What she said made Sora feel slightly better, but she was still embarrassed, "So I acted like an idiot back then like I do now?" She asked half jokingly.

"No, not at all," Layla responded, smiling at Sora, "I thought it was cute."

This time it was Sora who adverted her eyes, and blushing, if possible, an even deeper shade of red than before.

"Miss Hamilton, Miss Naegino, we are here."

The limo drove through the opening gates and Layla was greeted by the familiar sight of her humble, little house (mansion). Her eyes glanced over to Sora sitting across from her and her lips quirked into a smile as she watched Sora absorbing her surroundings with childlike interest.

"Wow, Layla! You really live here?"

"I used to. I actually live in Boston now, but I stay here when I'm visiting. It officially belongs to my father." Layla stepped out of the car once Mr. Withers opened the door and began setting up Sora's wheelchair.

"Your father? So is your dad home?"

Layla held out her hand, helping Sora out of the car and gently into the wheelchair, "No, my father is usually very busy with his business and usually travels for work. On average, I would be able to see him about a total of eight weeks a year; ten if I'm lucky."

"I see," Sora responded with a thoughtful look, "Do you ever miss him?"

Layla slowly began to push the wheelchair though the garden. She frowned slightly at the question and answered with a hard and sharp voice, giving the answer she'd been using her entire life, "Not really. I've gotten used to it since I was a child."

It was a lie, of course. No matter how mature and independent she had become, stepping back into her old house brought back plenty of lonesome memories. She had always yearned for her father's attention and respect and although she did achieve it with Sora's help, the fact was that Mr. Hamilton was just as busy as he was fifteen years ago.

Sora was silent for a while and surprised Layla when she suddenly turned in her chair to face her. Layla stopped pushing wondering why Sora was staring straight at her, as if she was looking into her soul. Before Layla could ask what was wrong, however, Sora said, "You won't be lonely anymore," and smiled one of those darn smiles that made Layla's insides jump and her heart leap for joy.

The light wind blew through Sora's hair, causing her to instinctively take a deep breath of air. She was being pushed through Layla's garden toward the entrance of the mansion, and although there was a shortcut, Sora insisted that they walked through the garden. Even though the hospitals had a pretty nice flowerbed, it definitely could not compete with the Eden that is the Hamilton front yard. Even the air tasted different. From red to purple, hibiscuses to lilies, the garden was filled with flowers that made Sora look at them with glee.

"Enjoying the garden?"

"Mm, very much. It's so pretty!" Layla pushed her slowly, letting her absorb in the various arrangements and sculptures. Looking at the various flowers, a pinkish white one caught her eye. "Layla? What's that one called over there," Sora pointed to the flower and looked back at Layla.

Layla paused for a second, looking at the flower fondly. She replied with a hint of sadness in her voice, "It's called a gloriosa lily. They were my mother's favorite because of how it resembled a phoenix."

Sora noticed the 'were' and before she could ask, Layla answered her question, "My mother passed away when I was a child."

They were silent for the rest of the walk to the mansion for Sora noticed the little waver in Layla's voice she knew was desperately trying to hide.

They reached the enormous front doors looming over them, at least that's how the door's seemed to look like to Sora, and she gasped in surprised as the took in the décor of the building. Expensive, black leather sofas, a glass table and tidy fireplace adorned the living area. High ceiling and stark, white walls were decorated with priceless paintings and elaborate flower arrangements. There were also countless hallways, leading to who knows where, but most likely more impressive rooms.

Her mouth was left gaping at her surroundings and was so taken in by the place that she barely felt Layla put on the breaks and tell her that she would be back with her belongings.

A loud whistle snapped her out of her thoughts and she saw Fool floating next to her, also impressed and looking with awe at the house. "I wonder how the bathrooms look like?"

Sora flicked her finger at his head, "Honestly, how do you keep popping up out of nowhere and are showers the only thing on your mind?"

Fool rubbed his bruised head and replied with a very serious face, "I'm the Spirit of the Stage. Entertaining tricks like that are what I specialize in and just for your information, no, showers are not the only thing in my mind. What do you think I am? A pervert?"

Sora gave him a look of disbelief. He continued on, "Honestly, give me some more credit than that! It's the women that I care about."

Fool was rendered unconscious.

"Sora?" Layla had come back. "Your belongings have been placed in the room you're going to be staying in. If you're tired, you can rest there for a while."

Sora yawned. 'Actually, I have been feeling a little drowsy.' "A nap does sound nice."

Layla nodded her head and began pushing Sora to her new room. Just like the rest of the house, her room too, was just as extravagant. A double bed with white and lilac colored sheets and comforters, polished mahogany drawers and tables, and a balcony with a view of the garden and ocean, the room definitely put any five star hotel room to shame.

"It's not the greatest of rooms since it was just one of the guest rooms before you moved in, but I think it should do. Just tell me if anything isn't to your liking."

Sora looked at Layla in disbelief, "No, not at all. This is perfectly fine!" 'If not overly fine…'

Layla helped Sora out of her wheelchair and helped her to the bed. Upon laying on the fluffy mattress, Sora was immediately overcome with drowsiness, letting out another loud yawn.

"I'm going to make dinner soon so it should be ready by the time you wake up," Layla handed her a device with a single button on it. "Just press this button if you need anything. It'll automatically ring me and I'll come help you with whatever you need."

Sora smiled and nodded her head, signaling that she understood, "Thank you again Layla for taking care of me."

The last thing she saw before closing her eyes and drifting off was the light tint of red making its way across the blonde's face.

'What on earth have I gotten myself into?' Layla stood in the empty kitchen completely lost and clueless.

Why did she have to go and open her big mouth to say that she was cooking dinner. If she was thinking clearly, she could said that she was going to buy dinner. Of course, she could always chicken out and do so, but her pride would never make her back down from her word. Plus there was something in her that actually made her want to cook for Sora.

But could she have picked a worse time? House empty, there were no servants currently around. Layla did feel a bit guilty that she had lied to Sora's parents about there being an abundance of servants, but besides Mr. Whithers, who only appeared because Layla had requested for his services and the occasional maid to clean the house, there was no need for too many helping hands. Layla lived in New York, while her father was always out on business trips so why even bother wasting money to serve people who were never there?

Opening the cabinets and drawers, the massive amount of utensils left Layla baffled.

Layla sighed and grumbled, "I need to call Maquarie."

She grudgingly walked to the phone and dialed her phone number.

"Layla Hamilton's residence, this is Maquarie speaking."

"I need help."

"Oh! Miss! How can I help you?"

"I need to learn how to cook."

Layla heard some choking on the other line.

"Cook? B-but can't you order something like you've been doing?"

She sighed, "I don't quite feel like it today and I felt like learning how to cook."

"Well if you insist," Maquarie sounded hesitant, "What are you thinking about making?"

Layla paused for a second. Actually, she hasn't thought about that, "Um, I'm not sure."

Maquarie, seeming to have already expected this replied, "How about you make some spaghetti. It should be an easy meal for you to prepare."

Layla nodded her head, "So where do we start?"

It was a disaster.

Pots and pans littered the countertops. Tomato sauce and spaghetti noodles stained the floor and stark, white walls. Anybody who walked in at that moment would immediately choke and faint from the massive amount of smoke that filled the room…and the stench of the rejected concoctions.

A new pot was currently sitting on top of the stove, bubbling dangerously. "Now, turn down the heat to medium low and stir slowly," Maquarie said as she watched Layla start moving from draining the spaghetti noodles to the stove. They had switched over to communicating by video for obvious reasons.

"Now add one teaspoon of salt and one and a half teaspoons of sugar. Stir over low heat for about two minutes and then you should be done. Before you serve though, remember to taste it yourself. Then add ingredients to suit your tastes."

Layla nodded her head and placed in the ingredients. After stirring for two minutes, Layla lifted up the spoon and blew on it softly. She eyed the sauce nervously and gulped. This was it. The moment of truth. The first pot that had successfully made it to the testing stage. Without hesitating any longer, she stuck the spoon in her mouth, swallowed…and gagged.

Choking, Layla ran to the sink, desperately grabbing a cup of water to rinse out her mouth. Never before had she tasted something so…inedible.

"Miss? Show me the ingredients you used."

Getting herself together, she slowly showed each item she used to Maquarie until she was stopped at a particular item.

"Miss? That's baking soda."

"It's not sugar?"

"No, and I'm sorry to say that you've also been using tablespoons the whole time instead of teaspoons."

"Oh."

Back to square one.

Beep beep beep.

Sora had awaken.

Layla turned off the stove and quickly bid Maquarie goodbye before heading towards Sora's room. Before opening the door, she quickly brushed herself off, making sure she was presentable after the nuclear explosions in the kitchen.

Opening the door, Layla was greeted by an embarrassed Sora, smiling nervously with the remote in her hand. "I hope I didn't call you away from something important."

"No, not at all. I was just cooking our dinner," Layla said noticing her discomfort. "Also, don't be afraid to call me any time. After all, I am here to help you get better. Anyway, are you hungry? Because dinner is ready if you want to eat."

"Oh no, it's okay. I'm not too hun-" Sora's stomach grumbled, effectively stopping her in mid-sentence. "Um, well I guess I am a little hungry right now…" She said as a blush made its way across her face.

Layla smiled knowingly and helped Sora into her wheelchair. She pushed them downstairs using the many ramps built into the house. Feeling the need to spark some conversation, Layla gave Sora some information about her house since she could tell that Sora was interested. "There are a lot of ramps already built into our house because my mother, for most of her life was very ill. She was confined to a wheelchair most of the time, so my father had these ramps built in for easier mobility."

"I see. Is that your mother?" Sora asked, pointing to the family portrait above the fireplace. The picture depicted the three members of her family: her mother, sitting down elegantly in a decorated accent chair with her hands folded neatly on her lap; her father, standing proudly behind her mother with his hand rested upon her mother's shoulder; and her five year old self, standing timidly besides her mother.

"Yes," she looked at the picture fondly and sadly. "We took that picture on my mother's birthday. We were in France and my father was business partners with a photographer there so we had a family portrait done."

They paused there, each staring at it for a few moments in silence. "Your mother is very pretty. You look just like her."

Layla blushed at the indirect compliment. People have always praised and appreciated her looks, but for some reason, hearing Sora say it, whether or not Sora actually realized that she had complimented her, made her heart flutter.

They reached the dining room and helped Sora get settled at the table. She left for the kitchen, preparing the meals. Placing an equal amount of spaghetti on two plates, she poured on the sauce, sprinkled some pepper and added a bit of parmesan cheese. She carefully brought the two plates out and placed them on the table. "I hope spaghetti is alright for today."

"Oh that's fine! This looks really good Layla! Did your cooks make it?"

"Actually, I made it," Layla admitted. Well, she had to tell Sora sooner or later. "And there actually aren't any helping hands now. Besides the occasional maids that clean up the house and Mr. Withers who I occasionally request for, we're the only ones here. I'm sorry I lied before, but-"

Wait. Why did she lie? Why did she care that Sora was going to be taken back to Japan with her parents? And even if she wasn't allowed to go back, there probably would have been another friend willing to take care of Sora. She knew Ken would be more than willing to, plus he had his family here to take care of Sora and they would most likely do a much better job than she could. So why did she take her in herself because if she cared about Sora's health like she does, wouldn't she let someone else with better resources nurse Sora back to health instead?

Before she became even more lost in her thoughts, she caught Sora looking questionably at her. Oh god, how could she have been so stupid. For the first time in a long time, Layla found herself rambling, "I, I just, well, I understand after hearing that you probably don't want to be taken care of by me. It was a mistake on my part. I'm usually much more organized than this and you must think I'm terrible for lying to your parents. I'll begin packing your belongings right now and call for Mr. Whithers to drive you to someone else who would do a much better job-"

"Layla!"

Layla stopped her rambling.

Sora smiled and laughed quietly, "It's fine. I'm just happy that you're even taking the time out of your schedule to take care of me and I'm sure you'll do a great job. I don't want to go somewhere else, but I am worried that I'll be a burden on you since you don't have anyone to help you…But if you're fine with it, then I'll do my best to not ask too much of you. Anyway I'm starving so let's eat!"

Layla's heart thumped as Sora took her fork with her left hand and clumsily picked some spaghetti. Watching Sora put it to her mouth, Layla nervously wondered what Sora would think of her cooking. She had tasted it earlier and while it was edible, it was far from what Maquarie or May could produce in five minutes.

Sora swallowed and gave a contemplating look. Layla discovered then that waiting to hear Sora's thoughts was ten times more nerve wracking than waiting to perform the opening shows in the Kaleido Stage and Broadway. "How is it? And give me your honest opinion."

Sora wiped her mouth and said, "It's better than anything I remember eating in the hospital." Sora laughed and smiled reassuringly, "There's plenty of time to improve." She picked up her fork again and continued eating.

Layla let out a breath of relief. At least Sora didn't throw up, so that was a good sign. She too then picked up her fork and began eating, feeling proud to have cooked a meal by herself. Besides, Sora was right, there was plenty of time to improve.

One step at a time.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it. Not much for me to comment here besides the usual 'comments and criticism are always appreciated.' Yeah, if anything is confusing like the switching of POVs ('cause I know there's a lot) just tell me.

Oh yes, there is one thing I keep forgetting to put/ask. Every fandom has a pairing name, but I haven't seen one for Sora/Layla yet....So how about we make one now? I was thinking along the terms of Sorla, Layra, Sorala, Laylara, etc. Any ideas? (And correct me if there already IS a name...)

Okay, I'll be ending this author's note now...I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please continue the Sora/Layla love. You don't know how happy I am when I see new Layla/Sora stories go up. Let the fandom grow!

Till next chapter! :)