The dark cloud of anger that had been surrounding Hikaru when they left the school had faded by the time they pulled up the drive to the Hitachin mansion – much to Haruhi's relief – only to be replaced by a sense of worry for his twin.

Even before the car had come to a complete stop, Hikaru had flung open the door and jumped out, racing up the steps and into the house, barely hearing the servants' welcomes. He seemed to have forgotten completely about Haruhi as well, as he raced up the stairs to the second storey. He only stopped at the top step when he heard Haruhi call his name.

He looked down to see her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Where can I warm up the soup?" she asked.

"You can pass it to one of the maids, they'll do it for you," Hikaru replied, panting just slightly.

"I'd much rather do it myself," Haruhi said. She offered a smile. "Its my gift after all."

Hikaru nodded, understanding. "Down the hall to your left. Tell the cook you're there on my authority if they try to stop you from doing anything. Ask the maid to show you to Kaoru's room when you're done."

"Got it," Haruhi nodded, and went to find the kitchen.

Hikaru took a breath, then headed to his brother's room, entering quietly and making his way to the bed. Dropping his bag to the floor, he knelt beside the still-sleeping boy and gave him a visual once-over, checking for any signs that would tell him if Kaoru had been hurt. If that doctor of Kyoya's had touched him inappropriately in any way, Hikaru would unleash hell on all parties concerned.

Convinced for the moment though, that there was nothing amiss at first glance, he leaned over and gently cupped Kaoru's cheek and forehead. Both were still hot, as evidenced at how flushed his face was, which meant that he was still very sick. Hikaru sighed. He had been hoping that with some over-night sleep, Kaoru would start to get better, but now he figured that had been too much to hope for.

"Serves me right," he muttered to himself.

Brushing back some of Kaoru's red-brown hair from his eyes, Hikaru shook him very gently, half-loathing himself for disturbing his brother's seemingly peaceful slumber.

"Kaoru," he whispered softly. "Kaoru, wake up, please."

The younger twin stirred slightly and hazel-green eyes peeked out from the small cracks between their lids. They widened slightly at the identical hazel-green eyes staring back at him, before Kaoru blinked once to clear his vision. It wasn't a dream, as he'd first thought it. His brother was indeed there with him.

"H… Hika… ru," he rasped, his voice sounding as dry as sandpaper.

The older twin winced upon hearing his name spoken in such a parched voice. Immediately he got up and poured out a cup of water from a cooler that sat on a table nearby. Kneeling by the bed again, he carefully slipped his hand behind Kaoru's neck and gently raised his head off the pillow, placing the rim of the cup to his lips.

Kaoru took a small cautious sip. Then another, and another. When he had drained the cup, Hikaru laid his head back down on the pillow and then noticed that his eyes had brightened a little.

"I'm so sorry, Kaoru," he said, his own voice sounding like it was about to break. "I never meant to say that to you yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't listen."

Kaoru touched Hikaru's cheek with a light finger. "Its alright." His voice was still raspy, but didn't sound so dry and painful now.

"No, no its not alright. I'm going to make it up to you. I'm going to look after you and make you well again."

"That would be nice," Kaoru smiled wearily and began to let his eyes close again.

"Wait! Don't sleep yet." Hikaru clutched his hand. "You must eat something. Haruhi's here, she brought some chicken soup for you."

"Yes, and its good for you," Haruhi said, walking into the room – a spoon and a small bowl of warm soup in her hands. "Please have some. Hikaru, prop his pillow up against the headboard so he can lean against it to eat."

The boy did as instructed, gently lifting his brother's light torso up in one arm, while using his other hand to position the pillow. Kaoru tried to make himself as little of a burden as possible, making no sound against the dull ache in his body as Hikaru moved him to lean his body back against the pillow.

When he was sure his twin was comfortable, Hikaru took the bowl and spoon from Haruhi and sat on the edge of the bed in front of him. Dipping the spoon into the broth, he let it fill with the nutritious liquid, before lifting it out and blowing lightly on it to cool it. Then he held it to Kaoru's mouth.

"Please?" he asked, hazel-green eyes imploring silently.

The younger twin relented and leaned forward slightly to take the soup into his mouth. He swallowed slowly, letting the warm liquid slide down his throat, and was pleasantly surprised that not only could he taste it, but that it tasted good. It sent a warm tingle through his body which, though hot to the touch on the surface, was freezing on the inside. He eagerly leaned to take the second spoonful.

Haruhi smiled to herself as she watched Hikaru feed Kaoru the soup, then turned away so as not to intrude on what felt like an intimate moment between the twins. Instead, she looked around to see what more she could do to ease some of Kaoru's discomfort. She didn't need to touch him to know that he had a high fever. One look was enough. She started to walk to the windows.

"When was the last time you let any fresh air into the room?" she asked. "Air conditioning isn't always good, especially for a sick person, and a little sunlight wouldn't hurt either."

The brothers could only watch as Haruhi parted the curtains and let some of the early evening sunlight illuminate the room. Then she opened the windows. A warm, fresh breeze wafted inside, driving away some of the cold, stale air that had been trapped inside. Kaoru breathed in the natural air and almost immediately felt just a little bit better, finishing the rest of the soup as fast as his brother could feed it to him. The air also helped to lighten Hikaru's mood and he smiled a bit as he watched his brother eargerly swallow the remaining broth.

Finally Hikaru put down the empty bowl, then leaned in and gave Kaoru a gentle hug that said wordlessly that everything was alright between them again. Haruhi walked up to them.

"Kaoru, I'm sorry for what I said to you," she apologized.

"Don't." Kaoru weakly raised a hand to stop her. "Let it go, please. I think you more than made up for it."

The girl chuckled then. "There's more soup downstairs, if that's what you mean. Hikaru can heat some up for you tomorrow, and I can bring more over on Sunday if you still want more."

Kaoru smiled. "That would be nice."

He downed the required dose of medicine with another cup of water, then Hikaru helped him to lie back down again, his eyes fluttering closed almost immediately

"How do you know all this?" the older twin asked as he watched his brother carefully.

"We commoners know a few things about nursing," Haruhi replied with a grin.

"Would you care to share a little more of your commoner wisdom? Like I said, I've never done this before."

Haruhi ran a hand through her short, dark-brown hair, but before she could say anything, they were both distracted by the sound of gentle breathing. Feeling slightly better after the food and fresh air, and with the medicine now taking effect, Kaoru had gone right back to sleep, slightly curled on his left side with his left arm resting on the pillow beside his head, and his right arm draped over his waist.

Hikaru sighed as he pulled the blanket up over his brother's shoulder, and Haruhi smiled.

"Maybe we should continue this outside, so we don't disturb him," she suggested.

"Good idea." Hikaru straightened and followed her out, shutting the door softly behind him.

Once outside, Haruhi turned to him, expression serious. "Let the windows stay open, just draw the curtains closed at night so that the frest air can still come in, but not the draughts," she instructed. "If he feels well enough to take solid food, you can give him some toast and syrup in addition to the chicken soup. Most importantly, keep him hydrated and make sure he has plenty of water."

Hikaru looked at her in awe. "Maybe you should stay here and take care of him instead of me."

"Don't be silly, you'll be fine," she replied. "Just make sure YOU get enough of rest. You don't want to fall sick as well, who'd take care of Kaoru then?"

The boy nodded. "How are you getting home? I can send you back if you like."

"I'll be fine, Haruhi assured him. "Take care of yourself. If I were you, I'd have a shower and get some sleep right now."

"Yeah, I probably should." The older twin then pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "Thank you," he murmured. "For helping me and Kaoru."

Haruhi blushed slightly as he released her. "Its no problem at all, I'm happy to help."

Hikaru took a step back to let her go. "Goodnight Haruhi."

"Goodnight Hikaru," she replied. "Call me if you need anything."

The boy nodded, then watched her as she made her way down the stairs and out the doors, after which he retrieved his bag from Kaoru's room, made his way to his own room and took a nice, long shower. Then he headed to the study to finish his homework.

Later that night, he checked in on Kaoru again. He seemed to be a little better than he had been the previous night and that relieved Hikaru somewhat. Hopefully he would be better soon and they could all go back to their normal routines. He placed a cool hand on his twin's forehead and Kaoru stirred in his sleep with a soft sigh of approval that made Hikaru smile,.

He then crossed the room quitely and went up to the windows, where he paused and looked out at the dark starry sky. Before he drew the curtains shut, he made a soft plea to whatever higher powers were out there listening right now.

"Please," he whispered softly. "Help me to help him."

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A/N - Thanks to all who reviewed Ch 6... seems everyone enjoyed the brief Tama/Kyo interlude.. and as promised, this chapter is slightly longer to make up for the brevity of the last one...

In this one we have Haru and Hika trying to make it up to Kaoru for being nasty to him the night before... Haru is right in a way... air conditioning really can be the worst thing when you're having a fever, and outdoorsy fresh air makes a world of a difference.

If Hikaru feels a little out of his element, thats cos he prolly is... usually, its always Kaoru taking care of him, and now the roles have reversed...

thats all i have for now... enjoy!