Konnichiwa Minna-san! I'm back! Yay! Winter break is here! So I'll be able to update a lot more! I don't have much to say about this aside from Tieria might be a tiny bit out of character but then again, just look at what he'd been though. Oh well Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam 00 or its Characters, they belong to Bandai, Sunrise and Yun Koga. But Veda said I could borrow them for a bit.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Nine: Motherly Care

The next time Lockon woke up he found Feldt sitting in front of his bed holding Haro.

"Feldt," Lockon said as he sat up a bit, "What is it?"

"How are you feeling?" Feldt asked.

"Sick," Lockon said, "Hey, how's Tieria doing?"

"He was up all night," Feldt said, "He fell asleep around five according to Setsuna after a fever reducer was administered."

"How bad did his fever get?" Lockon said.

"Forty point four," Feldt said, "He's still running a forty degree fever and I think that Sumeragi is going to call Dr. Moreno again."

"Really," Lockon said, "It got that bad last night?"

"Setsuna said that Tieria was awake for about seven hours before he finally fell asleep," Feldt said, "Oh and Sumeragi said that Haro is not to leave this room."

"Why?" Lockon said.

"She doesn't want it falling into Hallelujah's hands again," She said, "And Tieria's retaliation really pissed Sumeragi off."

"Oh boy," Lockon said, "What did the kid do?"

"He set off firecrackers in Allelujah's room, covered the room in silly string, dyed Allelujah's hair pink and purple and he had Haro attack Allelujah and his room with a paintball gun," Feldt said, "And Tieria was asleep through most of it."

"Wow," Lockon said as Feldt's communicator went off, "He must have done it all through Veda then."

"Yeah," Feldt said.

/Feldt I need you to either make lunch or come monitor Tieria/ Sumeragi said.

"Okay," Feldt said, "How's Tieria doing?"

Sumeragi sighed, /It's still the same/ she said, /His fever is still forty and he shows no signs of waking anytime soon. So what do you want to do?/

"I'll make lunch," Feldt said, "What do you want me to make?"

/Soup and sandwiches/ Sumeragi said, /Most of the crew is sick anyway so comfort foods will be best./

"Okay," Feldt said, "I'll get started."

/Thank you/ Sumeragi said as she shut the line.

"I have to go," Feldt said, "Do you want anything?"

"Sure," Lockon said, "That would be good

"I'll be back in a bit."

Sumeragi sighed as she turned towards Tieria, saying that the boy looked uncomfortable would be an understatement. His face was still very flushed and sweaty, his breathing was still heavy and pant-like but considering how high the boy's temperature was she wasn't quite surprised. She hoped that Dr. Moreno would get there soon, she was extremely worried about the boy in front of her and she wasn't quite sure what to do anymore.

She had decided that keeping the boy hydrated through the IV was the only thing that she could do until he woke. She removed the damp cloth and ice pack from his head and replaced them and she sighed when Tieria didn't stir. /Setsuna said that placing an ice pack on the back of his neck helped this morning/ She thought, /I'm going to try it/

She gently lifted Tieria's head a bit and slipped another ice pack under the boy's neck. At that moment the door opened.

"Feldt I'm sorry but I need you to bring more ice packs here when you get the chance." She said without turning.

"You must be really tired if you think that I'm Miss. Grace."

Sumeragi turned and found herself looking at Doctor Moreno. "I'm sorry," She said, "It's been a difficult few days."

"I can imagine," Joyce said, "With three of your pilots and two crew members sick. So you said that Tieria's gotten worse?"

"Yeah," Sumeragi said, "Around five or six yesterday evening his fever spiked to forty point three. He spent the entire night awake until Setsuna administered a fever reducer at about five am. His temperature is down to forty since then but I'm just concerned."

"That's understandable," Joyce said as he began his exam, "I take it his stomach isn't holding anything down."

"No," Sumeragi said, "He ate a little bit the other day but he kept saying that he was too nauseous to eat anything."

"Which is why I told you not to worry about it," Joyce said, "Tieria has a rather weak stomach, it doesn't take much to make him sick." He paused, "I don't think you have anything to worry about with Tieria right now. His lungs are clear despite his breathing so it's not pneumonia. My advice, just let him sleep. His body is exhausted, remember he's never been sick before. His fever is still breaking he should be feeling better in about a day or so.

"Don't be surprised if he's still feverish for a few more days, his fever might be breaking but it will take a few more days for his fever to be completely down." He paused, "And it will be a while before he feels one hundred percent so I'm going to say another forty-eight hours of bed rest after his fever goes down, just to be sure he doesn't relapse."

Sumeragi nodded, "Thank you for coming," she said.

"It wasn't a problem," Joyce said, "I know how difficult it can be to tell the difference between when a fever is breaking and when it's turning into something worse. Just keep him hydrated and keep him in bed."

"Okay," Sumeragi said as Joyce turned for the door.

"Do you need me to examine any of the others?" He asked.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Sumeragi said, "I'm not as worried as the others."

Joyce nodded, "I think it's safe to say that Tieria is mostly out of the woods," he said, "As long as he rests he'll feel better in a few days or so."

"Thank you so much again." Sumeragi said.

"No problem," Joyce said, "Get some rest yourself, you don't need to get sick either."

"Eh, I won't get sick," Sumeragi said, "Viruses don't like alcohol very much so I'm all set."

Joyce sighed, "Still," he said, "Get some rest."

"I'm fine," Sumeragi said.

He came around feeling better, a lot better than he had felt in the past who knows how many days but he was still feeling rather sick and exhausted. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for but he didn't care, he was feeling better. He slowly opened his eyes and found Setsuna asleep in front of his bed.

"Setsuna," He tried to call out but found that his voice was almost non-existent and it only came out as a hoarse whisper. He cleared his sore throat a bit and tried again, "Setsuna, wake up."

The younger boy stirred and opened his eyes, "Tieria, you're awake," He said tiredly, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright," Tieria said, "Still not great but I feel better then I did the last time I was awake. What time is it?"

Setsuna looked at his watch, "About seven thirty," Setsuna said.

"You mean I've only been asleep for two and a half hours?" Tieria asked. It didn't seem possible to him. If he had only slept for two hours, then why did he feel so sick when he had finally fallen asleep and why did he feel so much better now?

"You're a bit behind the times Tieria," Sumeragi said as she walked into the room holding two trays, "You've been asleep for about twenty-six hours."

"I've been out for a day?" Tieria asked.

"Yeah, I was really worried about you." Sumeragi said as she placed her hand on Tieria's forehead, "You're still rather warm are you feeling any better."

"Yeah," Tieria said as he realized how hungry he was and how good the food on the trays looked, "Could I get something to eat?"

"Sure," Sumeragi said, "What do you want?"

"Just something light," Tieria said, "I don't want to upset my stomach again."

"Okay," Sumeragi said, "I'll bring you some toast and some orange juice. But first I want to take the IV out of your arm."

Tieria sighed then closed his eyes and turned away, "Hurry up, please," he said.

"I'll make this as quick as I can," Sumeragi said as she removed the bandage that held the needle in place.

"Just do it," Tieria said as he clenched his eyes closed.

"Okay on the count of three," Sumeragi said, "One…two…" Just as she said two, she removed the IV line from Tieria's arm, "Three."

Tieria felt himself beginning to blackout just after Sumeragi said two. He clutched his head and kept his eyes tightly shut. He was sure that had he been standing, sitting up even, he would have probably fainted when the needle was removed.

"There," Sumeragi said as she put another bandage on the boy's arm, "All done. Are you alright?"

"Just give me a minute…" Tieria muttered as the dizziness subsided.

"Okay," Sumeragi said, "Setsuna, thank you again you're relived of your duties." She then turned to Tieria, "I want to check your temperature before I get you something to eat."

"Okay," Tieria said as he sat up a bit and took the thermometer from Sumeragi. When it beeped he removed it and handed it to back, "How is it?"

"It's still up there," Sumeragi said, "It's come down quite a bit but it's still thirty-nine point four. The good thing is you don't look as sick as you did the other day, don't get me wrong you still look really sick but it's just not as bad. Well I feel as though you can be left alone now, so I'll be right back with your food."

Tieria nodded and sighed. He was tired of feeling sick. The other night had pushed him to his limits and he just wanted it to be over. He made a mental note to ask Sumeragi how much longer this was going to last and he wanted to know how the others were doing.

After a few minutes Sumeragi walked back into his room with a few pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice, "Here you are," She said, "Just eat what you can, don't force yourself."

Tieria nodded, "How much longer is this thing going to last?" He asked.

"It will be a few more days before your fever's down completely," Sumeragi said as she placed her hand on Tieria's warm forehead, "And Dr. Moreno wants you to stay in bed for about forty-eight hours after your fever breaks, just as a precaution."

Tieria sighed, "How are the others feeling?" he asked as he lightly buttered a piece of toast.

"Lockon's sick," Sumeragi said, "Allelujah's on the mend, I think his fever is breaking so he'll be better in a few days."

Tieria sighed again. He found he had gotten full surprisingly fast. It had only taken two and a half pieces of toast and the glass of orange juice to fill him. "I'm finished," He said tiredly. He still had absolutely no energy and he was getting really drowsy, "I'm going to sleep."

"Okay," Sumeragi said as she took the tray from Tieria and helped tuck him in a bit, "Sleep well." She then placed a cool damp cloth to his forehead.

"Sumeragi," Tieria said as he shut his eyes, "Is this what a mother would do to her sick child?"

Sumeragi was taken aback by the question, "Yeah, it is," She said, "Why do you ask?"

"So this is what it feels like to have a mother then," Tieria said, "It's very nice."

"Where did this come from Tieria?" She asked. She would have never expected to hear such a question from Tieria.

"It's something I've been thinking about since Setsuna watched me the other night," Tieria said, "He must have had a dream about his mother and I've been thinking about it since. Thank you Sumeragi, for caring for me as if I was your son."

"You're welcome Tieria," She said, "Get some sleep. Call me if you need anything."

Tieria nodded a bit then slipped into a deep and very restful sleep.

Aww, Tieria was wondering what it's like to have a mother, he's so cute. And Sumeragi didn't almost flip out like she did at Allelujah but then again Tieria's in a slightly different situation. Sumeragi's so nice; she's worried about everyone, even someone who blamed her for his mistake. This is my last update of 2009. Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year! Happy 2010 Minna-san!"

Ex-shark-V-005