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 6

Sofia squeezed Amber's hand as the doors to the procedure room closed behind them. She swallowed hard as the bed stopped. Sitting up the first chance she got, she buried her face in Amber's chest.

Amber wrapped an arm around her little sister, hugging her without making her grip too tight.

"I'm really scared!" Sofia whimpered.

"I know you are," Amber ran a hand through her sister's hair. She noticed her tiara was gone. She figured their parents had it. "I'm not leaving you until I have to."

Sofia nodded as more tears flowed.

"Sofia, honey," Emily spoke gently to her.

Sofia nodded to show her she was listening, but she didn't turn to face her.

Emily took it in stride.

"I need to put your hair up so its' out of the way."

Sofia shook her head.

"Sweetie, we don't want it to get tangled in the IV wires," she explained.

"Will you let me do it?" Amber asked.

Sofia thought for a minute before nodding. She pulled out of her sister's arms and turned slightly so the older girl had access to her hair.

Amber put her hand in her pocket and frowned.

"I don't have any extra hair ribbons. I usually keep a few in my pocket. I Guess we left so fast I forgot."

"That's okay, Amber. I'll be right back," with that, one of the nurses' left.

"Wait, I got it!" Reaching around, Amber undid her own hair style. Extending her hands, she gently pulled her sister's hair into a ponytail. Feeling her jump a little, she assured her. "Sofia, it's okay. It's just me."

Sofia relaxed when she felt her sister's touch. She allowed her to put her hair back.

"There you go," she declared.

Feeling the familiar golden and pink glittery butterfly hair clip in her hair, Sofia turned to face her sister.

"Amber, this is your favorite clip…" her voice trailed off in amazement.

"I know. But you need it more than I do," Amber declared.

"Thanks," Sofia softly replied.

Amber nodded just as Dr. Hartfield returned. She smiled when she saw what Amber had done.

"Great job, sweetie."

"Is it okay?" Amber asked.

"That's perfect," Emily confirmed. She turned her attention to Sofia. "Sofia, you need to lay down now."

Sofia shook her head. She resumed her earlier position and grabbed onto Amber's shoulder.

Amber winced at the grip, but didn't comment.

"Sofia, it's okay. I'm not leaving just yet. You need to do this. Do it for me?" she bargained.

Sofia reluctantly obeyed.

"That's it," Amber soothed. She reached out and pushed a few stray loose hairs out of her sister's face. Moving her hand down to her shoulder, she started rubbing it.

Emily came alongside Sofia on her left where her IV was.

"Sweetie, I'm going to give you the medicine to make you sleepy. Don't be afraid when you start feeling tired. You need to let yourself fall asleep," she gently explained.

"Amber!" Sofia sat up suddenly as her stomach twisted. She swallowed hard.

"What's wrong?" Amber's voice and eyes were full of concern.

"I'm gonna throw…" Sofia's voice trailed off as the feeling grew. She felt someone slip a bucket underneath of her chin. She could feel Amber's arm around her, steadying her. Once her stomach calmed down, she was about to lie back down with her sister's help when she stopped. Trying to lean towards the bucket again, she braced herself for what she thought was going to happen.

"Sofia, come here," Amber gently ordered.

"Amber, I…I'm gonna throw up again!" Sofia cried desperately.

"I know you don't feel good, but you need to listen to me. its okay, come here," this time, Amber was successful in her task. She gently pulled Sofia into her arms. Staying as still as she could, she started stroking Sofia's hair.

"Amber, I really feel…" Sofia let out a whimper as her stomach twisted.

"Shh, don't talk," her sister gently, but firmly ordered. "We're just going to sit here. Close your eyes."

"Amber, I…" Sofia tried again.

"Shh, shh…" Amber insisted. She continued stroking her sister's hair, hoping it would calm her down. "That's it…I'm right here," a few minutes later, Sofia's stomach relaxed and she was able to lie back down. "You need to listen to Dr. Hartfield. You'll feel better soon. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Ya-you promise?" Sofia asked just as her arm started to burn. She let out a cry of pain that almost brought tears to Amber's eyes.

"I promise," Amber softly assured her.

"It burns!" Sofia whimpered.

"It'll stop soon," Amber tried to comfort. She prayed she was right.

Sofia's grip on Amber's hand grew tighter as the burning continued. As she started feeling tired, she fought it.

"Close your eyes for me," Amber gently ordered.

Sofia shook her head.

Not knowing what else to do, Amber started to hum. She ran her free hand through her little sister's hair, hoping it would work.

The day's events, along with Sofia's emotions started catching up with her. Coupled with the medicine, her eyes started to close even as she struggled to stay awake. The motion of Amber's hand running through her hair and the sound of her humming was having a calming effect on her.

Amber sighed with relief when she saw her sister starting to relax.

"That's it…shh, shh…" she soothed. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed before saying the three words she had never spoken to Sofia in the whole two years they had known one another. Praying her sister was too tired to hear her, she whispered, "I…I…I love you."

"She knows," Emily assured the older girl. "You did a good job. I'm going to take you back out to the rest of your family. I'll come and get you when Sofia's in recovery."

"Okay," Amber shakily replied. She steeled herself as she broke contact with Sofia. She allowed Emily to guide her out of the room. Arriving back in the waiting room, Amber couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Letting out a whimper of fear, she ran straight for her mother.

Miranda caught her and picked her up.

"Shh, shh, Amber, it's okay, its okay…Sofia's going to be fine. I promise. Your father and I are so proud of you," she kissed Amber's head and held her close. Glancing up at Dr. Hartfield, she asked her a question with her eyes.

"Amber did a fantastic job. I told her I'd come and get her when Sofia's done," with that, she was gone.

"Oh, Mom, it was awful!" Amber tearfully confessed. "Sofia…she was so scared! I did my best, but I'm not sure it did any good!" her last words came out in a wail that Miranda couldn't understand. Rather than having her daughter repeat herself, she encouraged her eleven-year-old to just cry it out. Once Amber was calm enough to listen, Miranda gave her a few sips of water. Sitting down in a chair, she secured her elder daughter in her lap.

"Amber, I'm sure it meant a lot to Sofia. In fact, I know it did. You really did help her."

Amber nodded as the remaining tears fell.

"I…I ta-told her I…I should have said it before! I shouldn't have waited…I…what if…" her voice trailed off as a new set of tears fell. She let out a sob as she gulped for air.

"Amber, sweetheart, I need you to take a deep breath for me," her mother instructed.

Amber did so after a minute.

"That's my girl. Again?"

Amber obeyed. She took a few more sips of water. As she rested her head against her mother's chest, she felt her eyes start to close. She heard her mother encouraging her to sleep. Before Amber knew it, she was heading towards dreamland.

Amber's eyes slowly opened a little while later. She found herself still in her mother's arms.

"Mama?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"Shh, it's okay, Amber, it's okay. I still have you," she assured her. "Sofia's out. She's in recovery now."

"May I see her?" Amber was fully awake at her mother's words.

"Of course you can," another female voice answered.

Amber glanced up to see Dr. Hartfield standing in front of them.

"So she's going to be okay?" Amber asked.

"Sofia's going to be fine," Emily assured her.

"Thank you," Amber softly replied.

"You're welcome," Emily accepted Amber's hug and hugged back. "Now would you like to see her? I'm sure she's going to be very happy to see you."

"Please?"

"Come on," before she lead Amber to recovery, Dr. Hartfield turned to the rest of the royal family. "I'll come and get you once Sofia drinks something and can keep it down. I want to keep her here for a few days. She can go home on Saturday."

"Okay," Miranda said.

"Thank you," Rolland echoed his eldest daughter's words.

"You're all very welcome," with that, Dr. Hartfield led Amber towards the recovery ward. Halfway there, Amber stopped.

"What's up, sweetie?" Emily asked.

"Is there a bathroom I can use?" the eleven-year-old asked.

"Sure. It's right around the corner actually. Do you need me to wait outside for you?" Emily asked.

"That would be great," Amber replied, "thanks." She entered the room and did her business. As she was washing her hands, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her normally bright eyes had lost a little shine due to her being up so late. She could also see circles underneath of them from lack of sleep. But for the first time, Amber didn't care. All she wanted was for Sofia to be okay. As her mind floated back to the last thing she said to her, she shook her head as sudden tears welled up.

Just then, Dr. Hartfield's voice floated in from the other side of the door.

"Amber? I need to go check on a patient. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay!" Amber called back, making her voice as steady as possible. As she brought her hands up to her face, which was now streaked with tears, she felt her arm come in contact with something small and hard. Bringing a hand down to investigate further, she discovered it was Sofia's amulet. The reminder that her younger sister had entrusted her with it after everything she had done just made more tears fall. "I can't be trusted…not after what I did…I'm so sorry! Why didn't I tell her sooner? Why did I…and now I might…I'm so afraid! Please, I know I don't deserve it, but I need help…" she let out a shaky breath as heart wrenching sobs filled the space. She was so upset, she didn't notice the amulet around her neck had started to glow. Hearing a knock at the door, she tried her best to stop crying. Thinking it was Dr. Hartfield, Amber said in a tearful, but clear voice, "Come in."

"That's the first time in my whole life someone's ever said that to me," a strange female voice declared in amazement.

Amber glanced up at the stranger's words and gasped. She stood up and backed away, unsure of what was going on. Standing in front of her was a young woman with strawberry blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was wearing a fuscia gown with a jacket to match.

"Wha-who are you? What's going on!" Amber demanded in fear. More tears fell as she gasped out, "Na-no, no, no, no…not again. This can't be happening again! Whoever you are, just leave me alone!" with that, she ran forward, pushed past the stranger and was gone…