Unexpectedly, the group paused and turned to the double doors as frenzied shouting was suddenly heard from behind them, and soon enough the doors ruptured open again to reveal several doctors making a run for the ICU, Dr. Kayo right on their tails.
"Dr. Kayo! Wait!" Tai shouted, and the doctor hurriedly rushed back to them. "Is it about my sister?" The doctor nodded quickly and kept his eye on the other doctors as he hopped from left foot to right in his anxiety.
"Yes, she's gotten worse! She's stopped breathing, and she's got the slightest heartbeat and pulse on record! I have to go, now!!" He raced in the direction the other doctors had gone to get to the ICU and help all he could, leaving the Digidestined and their families (or rather, ONE family) in a chaotic mess. Tai simply stood there in alarm and fright for his little sister, when his mother flung herself on him and cried like there was no tomorrow.
'Which, there might not be…for Kari…' He thought, and his head went down in defeat. 'No! I can't think like that! If I don't have hope, then who will? I have to be strong! Kari wouldn't give up, so neither will I!' He suddenly caught a glimpse of T.K. and saw that the kid was in hysterics, leaning into Matt's chest for support while his brother's arms 'protected' him from the outside world for those few moments. He gently handed his mother over to his father, and then went to kneel down in front of T.K. The twelve-year-old saw him and slowly brought his head out of his brother's chest, and Matt stared at his best guy friend in the world, his blue eyes reflecting the grief he felt on the inside, even if he wouldn't let himself cry on the out. Then Tai's attention was turned back to T.K.
"You okay there, little buddy?" The blond boy stared at the ground bitterly, yet sadly.
"How could you ask that question, Tai?" He sighed. "Of course I'm not okay, but there's nothing I can do about it. The girl I've fallen in love with is on the brink of death, and all along, I know there's something I could have done to stop it…"
"Listen, T.K., my sister is not going to die, all right? You have to trust her, to give her the chance to heal herself, and there's nothing you could have done to help her."
"That's where you're wrong, Tai. I could have stopped this whole thing from happening, but I had to do what Kari said and keep it a secret! Oh great, and look how that turned out! Don't you understand?! I am the rock that causes the fall! I am the rapid that causes the drowning! I caused this, Tai, you didn't! Yes, I could have stopped it, but I didn't!" The room went still as it suddenly got loud, and everyone listened intently to the conversation between the two Chosen Children.
"But that's where you're wrong, T.K.,"
"Huh…?"
"You see, the point to me is that you did what Kari asked. You didn't let her down by keeping her secret; you helped her when she needed it, and that's why I have to thank you. You aided her in her time of need, and that's all I want from any of my friends, ever. They can be total jerks every other time, but when someone desperately needs something, they had better be willing to help," He smiled and gave T.K. the thumbs up sign as he winked. "Or they'll answer to me!" All three boys laughed, and everyone beamed at them as they made the gloomy situation a bit brighter. By the time his father had gotten his mother to calm down, and everyone else's parents had arrived, it was past nightfall, and Tai had fallen asleep right next to T.K., Matt, Izzy, Sora, Joe, Mimi, and the rest of the new Chosen Children in one row of chairs, while the parents either watched over them or slept in the other. A few of them didn't sleep for most of the night, staying by the adolescents in case they woke up screaming like T.K. or Tai had earlier that evening. It seemed like just about everyone had missed quite a bit of sleep, but none more so than Izzy and his parents, since they refused to go to bed while their son was trying so hard to find more information on Kari's disease. Or at least, beyond what the doctors and Joe had told them, which he knew wouldn't be much, but he wanted to try anyway. The fourteen-year-old turned from his laptop to Tai and frowned as he watched the boy breathe as if relaxed, when his face showed complete discomfort in every way imaginable.
'The only reason he fell asleep was because he was emotionally and mentally drained from putting too much stress on himself, and having so much going on in his life at once. He was physically drained from the way he put excessive stress on his body when he went berserk with me, and how he ran all the way here from his high school. Poor guy.' He smiled, however, as the Digidestined leader mumbled in his sleep,
"Sorry for what happened, Izzy…"
"Don't worry about it," He whispered softly and took the blanket from around his shoulders and draped it across Tai. "It's a new day in a few hours anyhow." Then he crept back to his laptop, closed it, and fell into a deep sleep beside his parents.
It's a short chapter, I know, sorry. I don't want to spoil it! If you want to find out what happens next, read the following chapter!