Keller flipped the page and began.

""Poppy!" Poppy could hear her mother's voice, but she couldn't see anything. The kitchen floor was obscured by dancing black dots."

James's grip on Poppy's hand intensified. She didn't mind it, though. She just snuggled closer to him. He instinctively put a protective arm around her. His eyes were shit and leaning against Poppy's shoulder as he listened. She knew that he was watching the scene play out in his head. This was one of the worst, most memorable days for both of them. She couldn't believe that they were sitting here, reading about all of it with people she didn't know very well.

""Poppy, are you alright?" Now Poppy felt her mother's hands grasping her upper arms, holding her anxiously. The pain was easing and her vision was coming back.

"As she straightened up, she saw James in front of her. His face was almost expressionless, but Poppy knew him well enough to recognize the worry in his eyes. He was holding the milk carton, she realized. He must have caught it on the fly as she dropped it - amazing reflexes, Poppy thought vaguely. Really amazing."

"You could say that," Morgead chimed in.

"Phillip was on his feet. "Are you okay? What happened?

""I- don't know." Poppy looked around, then shrugged, embarrassed. Now that she felt better she wished they weren't all staring at her so hard. The way to deal with pain was to ignore it, to not think about it.

""It's just this stupid pain - I think it's gastrowhatchamacallit. You know, something I ate."

"Poppy's mother gave her daughter the barest fraction of a shake. "Poppy, this is not gastroenteritis. You were having some pain before - nearly a month ago, wasn't it? Is this the same kind of pain?"

"Poppy squirmed uncomfortably. As a matter of fat, the pain had never really gone away Somehow, in the excitement of end-of-the-year activities, she'd managed to disregard it, and by now she was used to working around it.

""Sort of," she temporized. "But-"

"That was enough for Poppy's mother. She gave Poppy a little squeeze and headed for the kitchen telephone. "I know you don't like doctors, but I'm calling Dr. Franklin. I want him to take a look at you. This isn't something we can ignore."

"Oh, Mom, it's vacation..."

"Oh Goddess," Thea broke the silence. Everyone had been so wrapped up in the story that no one had been speaking. Finally, with the little comic relief, the Daybreakers began to feel comfortable talking once more.

"That was what you were worried about?" Eric said. As an up-and-coming vet student, he was accustomed to pain and whatnot. But he very rarely had complaints like Poppy's from his patients - they couldn't speak.

"That's my Poppy," James said, lightly ruffling her hair. Underneath his lopsided grin, he saw that same worry in his eyes. He knew how the story ended and a few people probably would not like how they came out looking.

"Her mother covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "Poppy, this is nonnegotiable. Go get dressed."

"Poppy groaned, but she could see it was no use. She beckoned to James, who was looking thoughtfully into a middle distance.

""Let's at least listen to the CD before I have to go."

"He glanced at the CD as if he'd forgotten it, and put down the milk carton. Phillip followed them into the hallway.

""Hey, buddy, you wait out here while she gets dressed.""

Many people burst out laughing.

"Oh, James," said Ash.

"If you call me a dog one more time..." James warned.

"James barely turned. "Get a life, Phil," he said almost absently.

""Just keep your hands off my sister, you deve.""

"Look how well that turned out," Delos said.

"Poppy just shook her head as she went into her room. As if James cared about seeing her undressed. If only, she thought grimly, pulling a pair of shorts out of a drawer."

"I'm sure he does now, Poppy," Jez said with a mischievous wink. Poppy turned red. To have her innermost thoughts out to these Daybreakers was very embarrassing.

"She stepped into them, still shaking her head. James was her best friend, her very best friend, and she was his. But he'd never shown even the slightest desire to get his hands on her."

"Believe me," James whispered in her ear. "Every minute of every day."

"Sometimes she wondered if he realized she was a girl.

"Someday I'm going to make him see, she thought, and shouted out the door for him.

"James came in and smiled at her. It was a smile other people rarely saw, not a taunting or ironic grin, but a nice little smile, slightly crooked."

"That's your smile," James whispered again. "The smile just for you." This made Poppy light up. She slid closer to him, practically in his lap.

""Sorry about the doctor thing," Poppy said.

""No. You should go." James gave her a keen glance. "Your mom's right, you know. This has been going on way too long. You've lost weight; it's keeping you up at night-"

"Poppy looked at him, startled. She hadn't told anybody about how the pain was worse at night, not even James. But- sometimes James just knew things. As if he could read her mind."

"Yeah, something like that," Hannah said, a teasing smile on her lips.

""I just know you, that's all," he said, and then gave her a mischievous sideways glance as she stared at him. He unwrapped the CD.

"Poppy shrugged and flopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Anyway, I wish Mom would let me have one day of vacation," she said. She craned her neck to look at James speculatively. "I wish I had a mom like yours. Mine's always worrying and trying to fix me."

""And mine doesn't really care if I come or go. So which is worse?" James said wryly.

""Your parents let you have your own apartment."

"In a building they own. Because it's cheaper than hiring a manager." James shook his head, his eyes on the CD he was putting in the player. "Don't knock your parents, kid. You're luckier than you know."

"Poppy thought about that as the CD started. She and James both liked trance - the underground electronic sound that had come from Europe. James liked the techno beat. Poppy loved it because it was real music, raw and unpasteurized, made by people who believed in it. People who had the passion, not people who had the money."

"I prefer people who have the money," Jez said.

"At least it doesn't sound like witch-chanting when there's money involved," Thea said, all too familiar with witch chanting.

"Besides, world music made her feel a part or other places. She loved the differentness of it, the alienness.

"Come to think of it, maybe that was what she liked about James, too. His differentness. She tilted her head to look at him as the strange rhythms of Burundi drumming filled the air.

"She knew James better than anyone, but there was always something, something about him that was closed off to her. Something about him that nobody could reach.

"Other people took it for arrogance, or coldness, or aloofness, but it wasn't really any of those things. It was just- differentness. He was more different than any of the exchange student at school. Time after time, Poppy felt she had almost put her finger on the difference, but it always slipped away. And, more than once, especially late at night when they were listening to music or watching the ocean she'd felt he was about to tell her.

"And she'd always felt that if he did tell her, it would be something important, something as shocking and lovely as having a stray cat speak to her."

"Wow," Mary-Lynette said. She hadn't spoken the entire time. "That is exactly the feeling. Completely. I...can't even put into words how exactly she had put those feelings."

"Except you found out faster than me," Poppy said. "I had to wait 10 years to find out."

"Just now she looked at James, at his clean, carven profile and at the brown waves of hair on his forehead, and thought, He looks sad.

""Jamie, nothing's wrong, is it? I mean, at home, or anything?" She was the only person on the planet allowed to call him Jamie. Not even Jacklyn or Michaela had ever tried that.

""What could be wrong at home?" he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. The he shook his head dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Poppy. It's nothing important - just a relative threatening to visit. An unwanted relative."

Everyone glared up at Ash.

"Little ol' me?" he asked innocently.

"Then the smile did reach his eye, glinting there. "Or maybe I'm just worried about you," he said.

"Poppy started to say, "Oh, as if," but instead she found herself saying, oddly, "Are you really?"

"Her seriousness seemed to strike some chord. His smile disappeared, and Poppy found that they were simply looking at each other, without any insulating humor between them. Just gazing into each other's eyes. James looked uncertain, almost vulenrable.

""Poppy-"

"Poppy swallowed. "Yes?"

"He opened his mouth - and then he got up abruptly and went to adjust her 170-watt Tall-boy speakers."

"Ugh!" several people moaned. Poppy could feel their frustration just as she had felt it a year before. He had gotten so close. Eventually, she reminded herself, he was mine.

"When he turned back, his gray eyes were dark and fathomless.

""Sure, if you were really sick, I'd be worried," he said lightly. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"Poppy deflated. "Right," she said wistfully, and then gave him a determined smile.

""But you're not sick," he said. "It's just something that you need to get taken care of. The doctor'll probably give you some antibiotics or something - with a big needle," he added wickedly.

""Oh, shut up," Poppy said. He knew she was terrified of injections. Just the thought of a needle entering her skin...

""Here comes your mom," James said, glancing at the door, which was ajar. Poppy couldn't see how he could hear anybody coming - the music was loud and the hallway was carpeted. But an instant later her mother pushed the door open.

""All right, sweetheart," she said briskly. "Dr. Franklin says come right in. I'm sorry James, but I'm going to have to take Poppy away."

""That's okay. I can come back this afternoon."

"Poppy knew when she was defeated. she allowed her mother to tow her to the garage, ignoring James's miming of someone receiving a large injection.

"Wow, James," Rashel said. "You're kind of an ass."

"And not very good at hiding your vampire abilities," Galen chimed in with a laugh.

James rolled his eyes at them and nuzzled Poppy on the nose. Poppy could still sense his anxiety, but she knew better than to bring it up now. Later, she would make it all better.

"An hour later she was lying on Dr. Franklin's examining table, eyes politely averted as his gentle finger probed her abdomen. Dr. Franklin was tall, lean, and graying, with the air of a country doctor. Somebody you could trust absolutely.

""The pain is here?" he said.

""Yeah - but it sort of goes into my back. Or maybe I just pulled a muscle back there or something..."

"The gentle, probing fingers moved, the stopped. Dr. Franklin's faced changed. And somehow, in that moment, Poppy knew it wasn't a pulled muscle. It wasn't an upset stomach; it wasn't anything simple; and things were about to change forever."

"Ominous," Morgead said. "What was it, Pops?"

Poppy shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't give out spoilers," she said with a grin.

"All Dr. Franklin said was, "You know, I'd like to arrange for a test on this."

"His voice was dry and thoughtful, but panic circled Poppy anyway. She couldn't explain what was happening inside her - some sort of dreadful premonition, like a black pit opening in the ground in front of her.

""Why?" her mother was asking the doctor.

""Well." Dr. Franklin smiled and pushed his glasses up. He tapped two fingers on the examining table. "Just as part of a process of elimination, really. Poppy says she's been having pain in the upper abdomen, pain that radiates to her back, pain that's worse at night. She's lost her appetite recently, and she's lost a lot of weight. And her gallbladder is palpable - that means I can feel that it's enlarged. Now those are symptoms of a lot of things, and a sonogram will help rule out some of them."

"Poppy calmed down. She couldn't remember what a gallbladder did but she was pretty sure she didn't need it. Anything involving an organ with such a silly name couldn't be serious. Dr. Franklin was going on, talking about the pancreas and pancreatitis and palpable livers, and Poppy's mother was nodding as if she understood, but the panic was gone. It was as if a cover had been whisked neatly over a black pit, leaving no sign that it had ever been there.

""You can get the sonogram done at the Children's Hospital across the street," Dr. Franklin was saying. "Come back here after it's finished."

"Was it serious, Poppy?" asked Eric.

Poppy shushed him.

"Poppy's mother was nodding, calm, serious, and efficient. Like Phil. Or Cliff. Okay, we'll get this taken care of.

"Poppy felt just slightly important. Nobody she knew had been to a hospital for tests.

"Her mother ruffled her hair as they walked out of Dr. Franklin's office. "Well, Poppet. What have you done to yourself now?"

"Poppy smiled impishly. She was fully recovered from her earlier worry. "Maybe I'll have an operation and I'll have an interesting scar," she said, to amuse her mother.

"Let's hope not," her mother said, unamused.

James looked unamused as well. "There's no reason to worry," Poppy told him. She smiled and he just closed his eyes again, leaning against her.

"The Suzanne G. Monteforte Children's Hospital was a handsome gray building with sinuous curves and giant picture windows. Poppy looked thoughtfully into the gift shop as they passed. It was clearly a kid's gift shop, full of rainbow Slinkys and stuffed animals that a visiting adult could buy as a last-minute present.

"A girl came out of the gift shop. She was a little older than Poppy, maybe seventeen or eighteen. She was pretty, with an expertly made-up face - and a cute bandana which didn't quite conceal the fact that she had no hair. She looked happy, round-cheeked, with earrings dangling jauntily beneath the bandana - and Poppy felt a stab of sympathy.

"Sympathy...and fear. That girl was really sick. Which was what hospitals were for, of course - for really sick people. Suddenly Poppy wanted to get her own tests over with and get out of here.

"The sonogram wasn't painful, but it was vaguely disturbing. A technician smeared some kind of jelly over Poppy's middle, then ran a cold scanner over it, shooting sound waves into her, taking pictures of her insides. Poppy found her mind returning to the pretty girl with no hair.

"To distract herself, she thought about James. And for some reason what came to mind was the first time she'd seen James, the day when he came to kindergarten. He'd been a pale, slight boy with big gray eyes and something subtly weird about him that made bigger boys start picking on him immediately."

"Which is why I never went to school," Morgead said triumphantly. Jez just swatted his head and the two erupted into giggles.

"On the playground they ganged up on him like hounds around a fox - until Poppy saw what was happening.

"Even at five she'd had a great right hook. She'd burst into the group, slapping faces and kicking shins until the big boys went running."

"Sounds like someone I know," Ash said quietly in Mary-Lynette's ear. She caressed his cheek with the back of her hand and smiled, not taking her eyes off Keller reading the story.

"Then she'd turned to James.

""Wanna be friends?""

"So that's how it happened then? The story of James and Poppy. Poppy and James," Quinn said. He gave a low whistle. "James, you come out of that story sounding a bit wussy."

James rolled his eyes and Rashel pinched Quinn's arm.

"After a brief hesitation he'd nodded shyly. There had been something oddly sweet in his smile.

"But Poppy had soon found that her new friend was strange in small ways. When the class lizard died, he'd picked up the corpse without revulsion and asked Poppy if she wanted to hold it. The teacher had been horrified.

"When he got older, the big kids stopped picking on him. He grew up to be as tall as any of them, and surprisingly strong and quick - and he developed a reputation for being tough and dangerous. When he got angry, something almost frightening shone in his gray eyes.

"He never got angry with Poppy, though. They'd remained best friends all these years. When they'd reached junior high, he'd started having girlfriends - all the girls at school wanted him - but he never kept any of them long. And he never confided in them; to them he was a mysterious, secretive bad boy. Only Poppy saw the other side of him, the vulnerable, caring side.

""Okay," the technician said, bringing Poppy back to the present with a jerk. "You're done; let's wipe this jelly off you."

""So what did it show?" Poppy asked, glancing up at the monitor.

""Oh, your own doctor will tell you that. The radiologist will read the results and call them over to your doctor's office." The technician's voice was absolutely neutral - so neutral that Poppy looked at her sharply."

"I gotta say, Poppy," Hannah began, "you seem to have a lot of weird feelings that end up to be true. Why is that?"

"Spoilers," was all Poppy said.

"Back in Dr. Franklin's office, Poppy fidgeted while her mother paged through out-of-date magazines. When the nurse said "Mrs. Hilgard," they both stood up.

""Uh - no," the nurse said, looking flustered. "Mrs. Hilgard, the doctor just wants to see you for a minute - alone."

"Poppy and her mother looked at each other. Then, slowly, Poppy's mother put down her People magazine and followed the nurse.

"Poppy stared after her.

"Now, what on earth... Dr. Franklin had never done that before.

"Poppy realized that her heart was beating hard. Not fast, just hard. Bang...bang...bang, in the middle of her chest, shaking her insides. Making her feel unreal and giddy.

"This doesn't seem to be good..." Maggie said, holding Delos closer.

"No," he replied. "It doesn't."

"Don't think about it. It's probably nothing. Read a magazine.

"But her fingers didn't seem to work properly. When she finally got the magazine open, hey eyes ran over the words without delivering them to her brain.

"What are they talking about in there? What's going on? It's been so long...

"It kept getting longer. As Poppy waited, she found herself vacillating between two modes of thought. 1) Nothing serious was wrong with her and her mother was going to come out and laugh at her for even imagining there was, and 2) Something awful was wrong with her and she was going to have to go through some dreadful treatment to get well. The covered pit and the open pit. When the pit was covered, it seemed laughable, and she felt embarrassed for having such melodramatic thoughts. But when it was open, she felt as if all her life before this had been a dream, and now she was hitting hard reality at last.

"I wish I could tell James, she thought.

"At last the nurse said, "Poppy? Come on in."

"Dr. Franklin's office was wood-paneled, with certificates and diplomas hanging on the walls. Poppy sat down in a leather chair and tried not to be too obvious about scanning her mother's face.

"Her mother looked...too calm. Calm with strain underneath. She was smiling, but it was an odd, slightly unsteady smile.

"Oh, god, Poppy thought. Something is going on.

""Now, there's no cause for alarm, the doctor said, and immediately Poppy became more alarmed. Her palms stuck to the leather of the chair arms."

Everyone was quiet to figure out Poppy's verdict. They knew something was wrong - they knew that she was on the verge of death before James brought her back. They didn't know what, though.

James did. He gently stroked Poppy copper hair and grimaced. He had never heard the story this way before. It was...gripping. He knew the outcome, but it was impossible to pull himself from those feelings of yesteryear. The worry, the doubt, the hatred he felt for himself. He couldn't even bare to look at Poppy's sad eyes. Instead, he buried his face in her hair, smelling her shampoo. He held tighter to her hand.

""Something showed up in your sonogram that's a little unusual, and I'd like to do a couple of other tests," Dr. Franklin said, his voice slow and measured, soothing. "One of the tests requires that you fast from midnight the day before you take it. But your mom says you didn't eat breakfast today."

"Poppy said mechanically, "I ate one Frosted Flake."

"One Frosted Flake? Well, I think we can count that as fasting. We'll do the tests today, and I think it's best to admit you to the hospital for them. Now, the tests are called a CAT scan and an ERCP - that's short for something even I can't pronounce." He smiled. Poppy just stared at him.

""There's nothing frightening about either of these tests," he said gently. "The CAT scan is like an X-ray. The ERCP involves passing a tube down the throat, through the stomach, and into the pancreas. The we inject into the tube a liquid that will show up on X rays..."

"His mouth kept moving, but Poppy had stopped hearing the words. She was more frightened than she could remember being in a long time.

"I was just joking about the interesting scar, she thought. I don't want a real disease. I don't want to go to the hospital, and I don't want to see any tubes down my throat.

"She looked at her mother in mute appeal. Her mother took her hand.

""It's no big deal, sweetheart. We'll just go home and pack a few things for you; then we'll come back."

""I have to go into the hospital today?"

""I think that would be best," Dr. Franklin said.

"Poppy's hand tightened on her mother's. Her mind was a humming blank.

"When they left the office, her mother said, "Thank you, Owen." Poppy had never heard her call Dr. Franklin by his first name before.

"Poppy didn't ask why. She didn't say anything as they walked out of the building and got in the car. As they drove home, her mother began to chat about ordinary things in a light, calm voice, and Poppy made herself answer. Pretending that everything was normal, while all the time the terrible sick feeling raged inside her.

"It was only when they were in her bedroom, packing mystery books and cotton pajamas into a small suitcase, that she asked almost casually, "So what exactly does he think it wrong with me?"

"Her mother didn't answer immediately. She was looking down at the suitcase. Finally she said, Well, he's not sure anything is wrong."

""But what does he think? He must think something. And he was talking about my pancreas - I mean it sounds like he thinks there's something wrong with my pancreas. I thought he was looking at my gallbladder or whatever. I didn't even know that my pancreas was involved in this..."

""Sweetheart." Her mother took her by the shoulders, and Poppy realized that she was getting a little overwrought. She took a deep breath.

""I just want to know the truth, okay? I just want to have some idea of what's going on. It's my body, and I've got a right to know what they're looking for - don't I?"

"It was a brave speech and she didn't mean any of it."

Keller had began to read quickly now. No longer did she stumble over words. She said them clearly and everyone was leaned in toward her.

What was happening to Poppy?

"What she really wanted was reassurance, a promise that Dr. Franklin was looking for something trivial. That the worst that could happen wouldn't be so bad. She didn't get it.

""Yes, you do have a right to know." Her mother let a long breath out, then spoke slowly. "Poppy, Dr. Franklin was concerned about your pancreas all along. Apparently things can happen in your pancreas that cause changes in other organs, like the gallbladder and liver. When Dr. Franklin felt those changes, he decided to check things out with a sonogram."

"Poppy swallowed. "And he said the sonogram was - unusual. How unusual?"

""Poppy, this is all preliminary..." Her mother saw her face and sighed. She went on reluctantly. "The sonogram showed that there might be something in your pancreas. Something that shouldn't be there. That's why Dr. Franklin wants the other tests; they'll tell us for sure. But-"

""Something that shouldn't be there? You mean...like a tumor? Like...cancer?" Strange, it was hard to say the words.

"Her mother nodded once. "Yes. Like cancer.""

No one said anything for a while. Mary-Lynette reached down to pat Poppy's shoulder. Poppy herself was slumped next to James, curled up to his chest. She didn't like living through this the first time.

"Please keep going," David said, holding Gillian closer.

Keller handed to book to Galen. Galen closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and turned the page.