Lightning's Thoughts

On Sickness and Stubbornness

"Why is mom in the hospital?" Serah grabbed Claire's arm. "Claire, what's going on?"

She had her back turned to her sister, she didn't want her to see. Claire closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She was trying to hide it from us." She kept staring straight ahead, she had to be strong. "I knew it, too. That's why she kept-"

"You knew what!" Serah yanked on her arm. "Claire!"

"She's-" She wanted to just say it, she wanted to just tell her that their mother wasn't going to make it. Claire had already come to terms with it, she had already began making plans for what they would do once it was over. Yet the words wouldn't come. Serah, how would she take it? She couldn't say it, she couldn't see her cry despite the inevitable. "She's sick, very sick," they were on their way to the hospital, walking there from their house. The path was so familiar, the houses, the trees, but soon it would all be gone. Soon they wouldn't even have their home. "It's cancer." Her voice wavered.

Her mother had been right. She had taken things for granted. She had been stupid and childish. She should have, maybe she should have spent more time at home instead of wasting all of her time fooling around with her so-called friends who didn't even - Claire shook her head, tears stinging in her eyes. "And she's, she's not-"

"Don't say that!" Serah ran in front of her, searching her face for any chance that what she was saying was false.

Claire turned to face the ground. She couldn't say it to her face. She couldn't look into her eyes and break her little heart. "Serah." Her voice was firm.

Serah wrapped her arms around her. Claire could feel her tears soaking through her shirt. She hugged her sister back, squeezing her tight both for Serah's comfort and her own.

"Mom wants to say goodbye," Claire whispered hoarsely into Serah's hair. She let go, taking her sister's hand. "Come on, she needs us." Serah nodded and wiped her eyes.

Having watched her mother waste away before her eyes, Lightning was always very wary of any sort of sickness in general. At least, she was wary when it came to Serah. Serah, of course, found this paranoia irrational and annoying. While the older sister knew that it was, she couldn't help herself.

"Lightning, I don't have a fever," Serah complained. She was sitting at the kitchen table, her cereal getting soggy.

Lightning shook the thermometer before handing it to Serah. "Under the tongue," she instructed.

"Light!" Serah protested. Lightning placed her hands on her hips, waiting. "Ugh, fine," Serah rolled her eyes and stuck the rod under her tongue. The two waited impatiently, both of them knowing what would happen even if she had the slightest fever. There would be no school that day, Lightning might even call in for a personal day.

She knew that she babied her sister at the slightest sign of illness and she knew that Serah almost always found it annoying. But…that was her job as her big sister. She was family and she had to protect her, from anything.

"See? A normal temperature," Serah said, handing the thermometer back, "told you I wasn't sick."

"Alright fine, off to school then." Lightning rolled her eyes at Serah's eye roll. Despite how much Serah complained, when in the reverse situation Serah was just as bad.

Lightning pressed her hand against her temple, she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. "You okay?" Serah asked, leaning over in front of the television. "Light?"

"I'm fine."

"If you're not feeling good, you should just go to bed."

Lightning sighed, a ring of annoyance in her voice, "I said I'm fine."

"Sorry for worrying, grumpy-pants," Serah muttered, sitting down on couch next to her.

"I'm not grumpy, you were standing in front of the T.V!" Lightning snapped. Probably the one thing that made her the most angry was when someone thought she was angry. Serah was the worst offender of this. Serah placed a hand on Lightning's forehead. "Get off," She mumbled, batting her hand away.

"You feel a little warm, are you sure you're not sick?"

"Serah, I'm tired and it's, like, a hundred degrees outside." Common sense was not in either of the girls vocabularies when in came to the other. "Of course I'm hot."

"Well if you're tired just go to bed."

Lightning narrowed her eyes and glanced sideways at her sister. "Well," she stretched and feigned a yawn, resting her weight on Serah and squashing her. "I think I'll just sleep here."

"I don't want your sick germs!" Serah squirmed under Lightning's weight, her attempts at freedom futile.

"You mean these germs?" Lightning sent out a barrage of tickles, leaving the younger sister to helplessly squeal with laughter.

Finally, Serah was able to free herself. Her cheeks flushed and she tried to catch her breath.

"But seriously, you should get to sleep."

Lightning sighed. Stubborn as always. At least she's learned something from me!

A/N: Parts of this I like and parts I don't, Opinions? :S

Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D