Chapter Twenty-Two: Orders

Sohma Kazuma took a deep breath, rubbed his face, and counted to ten. He once again reminded himself that Kyo was still sick and didn't feel good, that he was acting like a brat because he was sick; yelling wasn't going to help the situation any though he was extremely close to doing exactly that. Hatori had examined them, and concluded that somehow the infection had gone away. It was either the vitamin shots, or their body's immune system fought it off. Whatever the reason, it was gone, and the boys were out of danger, however, they were still achy and feverish. Akito-san had certainly been right about dealing with two miserable, insubordinate children. Kyo and Yuki had been challenging Kazuma and Ayame on every request and order. Both men were at the end of their ropes, and desperately didn't want to punish two sick, little boys, but couldn't see an alternative. Both boys had been threatened already with time-outs in different rooms, but neither believed the threats and continued to run around the house.

"No, put me down! I wanna play!"

"You told me fifteen minutes ago that you felt miserable, and now you're running around. The body aches are not coming and going that quickly. You have to stay in bed to get better; I told-"

"I am better. I'm all better. Put me down, so I can play."

"I am not putting you down, and do not interrupt me. I have told you numerous times to stay in your bed, I have been staying with you, but you keep getting out of bed to play. You're still too sick to play, and you are going to stay in bed whether you like it or not."

Kyo's mouth dropped open. Why was Daddy being mean when he didn't feel good? "Daddy, why are you yelling? I'm sick. You're supposed to be nice to me' cause I'm sick." Kazuma's annoyance faded the tiniest bit at Kyo's softly spoken, forlorn words while trying to determine if the child really meant what he was saying, or if he was just trying to get out trouble.

"Yes, you are sick. That is why I told you to stay in bed, so you can get better. You have to rest and stay in bed, so you can get all your strength back. After you're well, you can play as much as you want. I was not yelling at you. My voice was not any higher than it normally it is. I was lecturing you." Shishou pulled the covers under Kyo's chin and snuggly tucked in him for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"But it's boring in bed, and it seemed like it was yelling." Kyo pouted, upset. He hated it when his dad yelled, or whatever he wanted to call it, at him. He knew he was supposed to stay in bed, but it was sooooooooooo boring in bed.

"I was not yelling, but I told you ten times to get back in bed, I put you in bed, and yet you still got out of bed. You deliberately disobeyed me."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that you did something that you knew you shouldn't do."

"So even though I knew I wasn't supposed to do it, I did it anyway?"

"Yes, that's what it means." Kyo looked down and turned over on his side.

"Are you going to punish me?"

Kazuma seriously considered not doing anything to the child at his pitiful voice. "Yes, you knew perfectly well that you were doing something you weren't supposed to be doing."

"Do I have to stand in the corner again?" he whined.

"No, because you have to stay in bed. You're not allowed to talk for twenty minutes unless it's to tell me that you feel worse, and you have to stare at the wall behind you. If you argue, it'll be half an hour." Kyo scowled and turned over, arms crossed under the blankets.

Fiver minutes later, Ayame entered with a protesting Yuki in his arms. Kazuma couldn't help but smile as he heard Ayame giving the rat the same speech his had just given his own son. "Has he been running around too?" The long-haired man looked over at him and nodded. "Kyo's in time out for another ten minutes for the same thing. I'm hoping he'll fall asleep." He heard Kyo humph. Ten minutes later, Kyo was almost asleep, and it only took a little coaxing from his dad for the sick child to fall asleep.

"I thought they were supposed to be better in a couple of days. It's been over a week, and it's been almost two months since they've been little." Ayame's worried voice was quiet.

"Hatori is still working on something that will cure them. I think we have to wait on Akito-san's word to turn them back into teenagers."

Sohma Hatori still had no idea how the children's brain infection had disappeared, and why they were still getting fevers and aches. He had been trying to see Akito, but the head of house was seeing no one but Kureno. He doubted Akito would give him any answers, but he needed to at least try. It would be another week before Akito allowed Hatori in with new orders.

Kyo and Yuki had been getting better little by little, but even after two weeks they still had a fever off and on. Ayame, Kazuma, and even Shigure were ready to pull out their hair. Yuki and Kyo would feel a little better, play, and then feel ten times worse. It took over fifteen minutes to give them a little dose of medicine, and almost an hour to get them to stay in bed. Tohru and Haru were helping as much as they could, but the children didn't listen to them any better than they did their guardians. The rat and mouse were sick of being little and asked several times a day when they were going to be teenagers again.

"Yuki, for the hundredth time, I have no idea hen you will be a teenager again, okay? That's up to the head of the family. When he's ready to turn you back, I'm sure he'll send Hatori. If you get back in bed, I'll bring you a big bowl of ice cream, okay?" Yuki smiled and happily ran up the stairs to his room.

Two days later, Hatori knocked three times on the door with two shots in his medical bag. He had wanted to see Akito, but he wanted answers, not orders to turn the kids back into teenagers. No explanation, nothing except for two sentences:

"I want them to be teenagers. Go now and give them the shots."

He said nothing about any side effects, or if they needed to stay asleep like when they were turned into children. He had brought along something that would put them to sleep for several hours just in case.

Kyo was the first to spot the doctor, but said nothing. He really wanted to be a teenager again, but he felt like he was going to be sick at the thought of getting another shot. He looked away as Shigure and Ayame greeted him in their usual fashion. Kyo buried his head in Daddy's chest, body already tense. He heard Hatori sit down next to him and adress his father. "Kyo?" He refused to look up. Kazuma tried again to get the child to lift his head and loosen the grip on his shirt, but Kyo was stubborn. Suddenly, the sharp, harsh smell of alcohol invaded his nose.

"No, please don't get me a shot. I'll be a kid for the rest of my life. Please don't give me a shot." The child didn't notice that his tears had began spilling down his cheeks. Kazuma rubbed his lower back in small circles and held him tighter while Hatori swabbed the cat's upper arm.

"Kyo, I want you to listen me. This shot is not going to make you a teenager. You should barely feel the medicine going in. This is going to help you go to sleep for several hours; I'm going to give you a shot to make you a teenager after you're alseep. This shot isn't going to hurt much at all." Hatori thought he had proved his point, that it would make the child feel better, but he was sorely mistaken.

"It's still going to hurt! I dont wanna a shot!" Kazuma tried to divert his attention again, but it didn't work. Hatori ignored the child's protests and gave him the shot, gripping his arm firmly. Shishou held him even tighter and petted his hair, trying to comfort both of them. Even though he had seen millions of tears for a variety of reason, it still hurt to see Kyo crying because he was in pain.

Kyo didn't move even after the band-aid had been put on his arm. He only curled further against Daddy and focused on his hair being stroked as the sedative began taking control of his small body. "Daddy, can we go to my room? I wanna go to sleep." Kazuma lightly kissed the top of his head, carefully gathered his son, and walked up to the room while Hatori administered the shot to Yuki. Once in the boys' room, Kyo wouldn't let go.

"Honey, everything's fine, just let me tuck you into bed." Almost asleep, Kyo slowly shook his head.

"You... stay. Sleep with... me."

As much as he loved Kyo, and he would die for him, he really didn't want to lay down right now. Regardless, he settled both himself and Kyo in the child's bed as Ayame walked in with Yuki snuggled in his arms and Hatori close behind. The doctor waited until Yuki was settled in bed to start speaking. "I don't know if the sedative was necessary, but I wanted to be safe. I don't know Akito's reasons for wanting them to be teenagers again, but this was his order. They should be teenagers in the morning. I don't know what this will do emotionally. They'll probably still want to be held and cuddled like they have been for over two months until their teenage emotions come back."

"So all we can do, again, is wait?"

"Yes."

"What good has any of this done? I don't think the kids have resolved many of the their insecurities or issues. Was this just some sort of torture from Akito?" The doctor shrugged to the older man's questions.

"I disagree with you though. They have resolved numerous issues. Kyo's calling you Daddy now, isn't he? Your relationship has been strengenthed, and Yuki... well, Yuki is simply more secure now. He's let you help him, and he's learned that it's okay to accept help. He's learned to love and to be loved. He's given you a second chance, Ayame. I doubt Akito expected anything good to come of this, but most things have been good. They boys are actually friends now."

"Yes, but we don't know that any of this will stay true when they're teenagers again. Kyo probably won't want to call me dad."

"Maybe not at first, but I think how well they cope with everything will depend on how you handle it. Just be there for them I suppose, even though that sounds kind of cheesy, but it's what they need. Even as teenagers, they're going to be need stability and support. We're simply going to have to wait." Ayame leaned back and got comfortable.

"We're going to be the Kings of Waiting when this is over with."

Author's Note: The delay is not my fault this time! My computer had virtually no memory space left, only 455 MB left, so I've spent two days trying to delete everything I can't live without, and somehow, Word got deleted. I've proof read this, but I don't know how well I did. There won't be an udate for probably about two weeks because I won't have internet next week to post anything, and I'm going on a trip later. THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST ONE!!! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!! This is the most reviews I've gotten for a story, ever. Also, THERE WILL BE NO SEQUEL. I can't get a sequel finished before school starts, even if I had one planned. Anyway, thanks again, and PLEASE REVIEW!!!