DISC: I DO NOT own any of the characters from Sofia the First. They belong to their respective creators. I only own the ones you don't recognize.
Enjoy!

"True Sisters"

Chapter 4

Sofia's eyes opened much later that night. It took her a minute to figure out what had woken her. As she felt pain rip through her stomach, she realized what it was pretty quickly. She let out a whimper before trying to curl up to stop the pain. A gentle hand on her right shoulder stopped her.

"No, sweetheart, you need to lay straight."

"Mom?" Sofia whimpered before swallowing hard.

"I'm right here, honey. You've been whimpering in your sleep for the past hour. I got worried, so we called the castle physician to come have a look. She won't hurt you. She's just going to take a look," her mother assured her.

"I know. Where's Amber?" Sofia glanced around and noticed her older sister wasn't there.

"She's in bed. It's really late," her mother revealed.

Sofia nodded. She was about to say something else when her stomach twisted without warning. Before she knew what had happened, she had thrown up everywhere. As she repeated the action, she felt her mother slip something underneath of her chin. Once her stomach calmed down, Sofia felt her mother lift her up.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she gently said. With that, she carried her to her bathroom. She left and returned a few minutes later. Sofia watched her mother set a fresh pair of pj's on the sink. After that, her mother drew a bath for her.

"Mom, I'm really sorry," Sofia tearfully apologized.

"Honey, it's okay. You couldn't help it. We're going to figure this out, I promise. Now, let's get you in a nice, warm bath."

As Sofia felt the water make contact with her skin, she relaxed for the first time in the last day or so. Her stomach still hurt, but the pain wasn't as sharp.

"Are you okay in there?" her mother asked.

"Yeah," Sofia replied. "The water's helping my stomach pain."

"I'm glad," her mother ran a hand through her hair. She took her daughter's temperature and was relieved to discover her fever hadn't come back.

Twenty-minutes later, Sofia felt her mother lift her out of the tub.

"Mom, can I stay in just a little longer? It really helped. Please?"

Miranda glanced down and saw the pain in her daughter's Safire eyes. It broke her heart to see her like this.

"Five more minutes, but then we need to get you changed before Dr. Hartfield shows up."

"Okay," Sofia agreed. Despite this, she whimpered when her mother lifted her out ten minutes later.

"Shh, shh, I know, sweetie, I know," her mother soothed.

Once Sofia was changed and back in bed, her mother sat down next to her.

It wasn't long before Baileywick entered the room.

"The physician is here," he announced.

"Thank you Baileywick. You can go back to bed," Miranda told him, "we'll be okay."

"Okay," with that, he left the room.

A minute or so later, a woman with kind brown eyes and brown hair entered.

"Thank you so much for coming," Miranda said. "I'm sorry we had to call you so late."

Dr. Hartfield shook her head.

"Don't apologize, You're Majesty. It's all part of my job."

"Sofia's been having stomach pain for the past day or so. She's had a fever off and on, although it appears to be gone now. She's also been vomiting and unable to keep anything down," Miranda explained.

"I see. Okay, I'll see what I can do," she turned her attention to Sofia. "Hello, Sofia. I'm Dr. Hartfield. Or you can just call me by my first name if you like. It's Emily."

"That's pretty," Sofia whispered.

"Thanks. Is it okay if I take a look at your stomach?" Dr. Hartfield asked.

"Uh-huh," Sofia replied.

"I'll be gentle, I promise," with that, she started her examination. "Let me know when I get to the spot where it hurts the most."

"Right there!" Sofia cried out as Emily got to the middle.

"Okay, sweetie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Emily apologized.

"I know," Sofia assured her.

"What do you think is wrong?" Miranda asked.

Dr. Hartfield shrugged.

"It looks like Sofia just has a normal stomach bug. I am concerned with her not being able to drink anything."

Miranda nodded in agreement.

"I think it's best if I'm able to keep a close eye on her for the rest of the night. I also think she might benefit if I start an IV."

Sofia's eyes widened at the prospect of a needle. She hated them. She reached her right hand out towards her mother and she gave her what she needed.

"Honey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere," her mother assured her.

"Do you have to do this?" Sofia asked, her tone fearful.

"I'm afraid so," Dr. Hartfield frowned. "I promise it won't hurt much. And you'll feel a little better once you have some fluids in you. I'll be right back."

"You're not going to leave, are you?" Sofia asked her mother.

"Not for a second," she promised.

Sofia nodded.

Dr. Hartfield returned a few minutes later. She stood next to Sofia's bed and prepared to do the small procedure.

"Can you make a fist for me?" she gently requested of the nine-year-old.

Sofia did so.

"Thatta girl. I'm just going to look for now," she explained.

"Okay," Sofia whispered.

It didn't take Dr. Hartfield long to find what she was looking for.

"Got it. Now, you're going to feel something cold swipe across your arm. I'll let you know when I'm gonna stick the needle in."

Sofia nodded. She winced as the cold thing hit her arm.

"Okay, sweetie, here we go. 1, 2, 3…" with that, Dr. Hartfield stuck the needle in.

Sofia whimpered, but that was it. To her surprise, she didn't feel it much.

"It's in," Emily informed her. "Now I'm going to give you some medicine to hopefully help your stomach feel better. It'll take a few minutes to work."

Sofia nodded. She squeezed her mother's hand as Emily did her job.

"I need you to let me know if it starts to work," Emily explained.

"Okay," Sofia mumbled, "I will."

Miranda sighed. She could tell Sofia was exhausted.

"Just try to sleep, honey," she encouraged.

"I'll try," Sofia softly said. It didn't take her long to drift off.

*****

The next morning, Sofia awoke to the sound of birds singing outside her window. She squeezed her eyes shut at the brightness of the sun. Slowly opening them again, she cried out as her stomach throbbed.

"Sofia, shh, it's okay. I didn't leave you," her mother assured her.

"Mom, it still hurts!" Sofia cried.

"Did the medicine Emily give you help at all?" her mother asked.

"No," her daughter replied. "Mom, I'm gonna…" her voice trailed off as her stomach twisted. She suddenly felt the bucket being placed underneath of her chin. Once her stomach calmed down, she laid back down.

Just then, Amber joined them.

"Hey. Daddy wanted me to tell you…what's wrong with Sofia?" she rushed to her sister's side.

"She's still in pain. Amber, be careful," her mother advised.

Amber nodded. It was then that she glanced down and saw the IV in her sister's right arm. She glanced up at her mother for answers. If Sofia was sick enough to need one of those, it was bad.

"It's just until Sofia can drink something and keep it down," Miranda assured her eldest daughter.

Amber nodded.

Just then, Emily returned.

"Hi, Princess Amber," she greeted.

"Hi," Amber greeted in return. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to help your sister," Emily replied. She patted Amber's shoulder before turning her attention to Sofia. "Sofia, did the medicine help?"

"No!" Sofia whimpered.

Emily sighed.

"Is the pain worse?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," Sofia gritted out. She grabbed Amber's hand and squeezed.

"It's okay, I'm here," Amber soothed.

"I'm going to take another look," Emily decided. She gently proceeded to do so. "Is it hurting in the same spot?"

"No. It's more to the right!" Sofia cried.

Emily frowned in worry as she finished what she was doing. Turning to Miranda, she announced, "I don't want to scare any of you, but this just got a little more serious. We need to get Sofia to the hospital."

"What!" Sofia, Amber and Miranda exclaimed in unison.

"Mom, please, don't make me," Sofia begged.

Amber blinked hard to keep from crying. She had to be strong for her sister. Still, it was hard for her to see Sofia like this. She had never seen Sofia this scared before.

"Why?" Amber blurted.

Emily sighed.

"She might have Appendicitis. If I'm right, she needs it out as soon as possible to prevent infection."

"I'll go tell her father what's going on. I'll be right back," Miranda stood, bent down and gave Sofia a hug. Straightening up, she left.

"Amber," Sofia turned to her older sister. She choked back a sob as she continued speaking, "I…I'm scared! I've never had an operation before."

"I know," Amber gave her a gentle hug, "it's okay to be afraid. But Dr. Hartfield's one of the best doctors in the whole kingdom. She'll make you feel better. And I won't leave you until I have to."

"Ya-you promise?" Sofia tearfully asked.

Amber gulped.

"I promise," she said earnestly. Gazing into her sister's fearful, tear-filled eyes, she hoped she would be able to keep it…