Back for another chapter! Although this is almost a week late, happy 4/13 everyone. 7 years running and it's over, huh? It was good while it lasted.

I know you're probably thinking things are going slow, or that it's too much drama. These next few chapters are going to be a little less intense. Minor dramas, but a lot more fluff than anything. Just as a heads up. This also means a few of these next chapters may be shorter than usual. I just don't want to bore you with the details.

Now, without further ado, here's chapter 16.

DISCLAIMER: Homestuck may be over, but I still don't own it. The great and powerful Hussie does.

Chapter 16

"Really? Oh man you can't be serious. Don't mess with me Rose." Dave conversed excitedly with his step-sister over the phone while sitting on his couch.

"It's true!" Rose exclaimed. "Mom really did wake up. I was getting ready to leave and I had told mom that I miss her, not thinking she would hear me, and she opened her eyes and said 'I miss you too'. Of course after that she went back to sleep, but I don't care. Mom's awake Dave."

The boy jumped up and punched the air, extremely happy to hear the news. "This is great! Thank's for letting me know, sis. I'll tell Dirk now. Talk to you soon. Love you. Bye." He hung up the phone and sprinted to his brother's room, violently knocking on the door. "Dirk open up. I've got something amazing to tell you."

A muffled response could be heard through the door. "Not now little man. I'm really not in the mood for anything."

"Dude, you're gonna want to hear this, trust me." Dave reassured his brother.

"And I can guarantee you I don't care. Go away." Dirk retorted.

Dave sighed. "Bro, dude. Just listen to me. Mom's awake."

There was a brief moment of stillness, then footsteps on the other side of the door. Dirk opened his bedroom door, his expression very straight. "You serious?"

The younger of the two nodded. "Uh-huh. Just got off the phone with Rose. She was only awake for a few minutes, but bro," he grabbed his brother's arms. "She's awake. She's gonna be okay."

After taking a second to process this information, Dirk beamed and hugged his brother. "This is great. Oh man, we should drive to the hospital now. We should go visit her."

Dave untangled himself from his sibling's embrace. "Slow down man. As much as I would love to do that, she's probably asleep again. But, I'll make sure Rose tells me the next time she goes to visit, then we can go with her, alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah you're right. We'll go next time." Dirk said. He reached over and gave his brother a light tap on the shoulder. "Thanks little man. Now how about dinner?"

For the next few weeks, Rose, Dave and Dirk watched their mother slowly get better. She stayed awake long enough for them all to have a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner. A week later she stayed awake for most of the day. Another week passed and she almost never blacked out anymore. Rose couldn't have been happier.

"So you think they will let you go by Christmas break?" Rose asked her mother hopefully.

Roxy let out a small chuckle. "Yep that's the aim. It will be so nice to get out of this place. I miss you guys." She sat up and the two girls embraced for a minute. "Well, It's getting late, and I'm sure you have homework to do. I'll talk with you soon okay?"

"Aw, yeah, I suppose I should get going. Okay, I'll come by again within the next couple days." Rose stood up. "I love you mom."

"I love you too sweetie. Never forget that." Roxy responded before waving goodbye to her daughter.

Rose walked out of the room and to her car. She quickly drove home, eager to tell Kanaya the progress her mom had made. Once she got home, she practically bounded from the car to the front door, but immediately regretted it when she heard all the shouting.

"I'm so sick of you treating me like this Porrim! I'm sixteen, I'm not a little kid anymore!" Kanaya shouted at her sister.

"I understand that Kanaya, but that doesn't give you the right to do things like this! I mean, failing three classes? You know better than that! What's gotten into you?" Porrim said, gesturing to the report card in her hand.

Rose creeped forward, standing next to the wall of the dining room, just out of sight of the other two.

"So I had a bad grading period. Everyone has those! I'll just make it up next time. Get off my back about it." The younger one responded.

The older sibling shook her head. "No. This isn't a 'bad grading period'. This is because you can't focus on your school work with all the galavanting you've done with Rose over the past few weeks! You can't see straight anymore because of her!"

Kanaya looked like she'd gotten a slap in the face. "Don't you dare talk about Rose like that. This is not her fault. You know, you've been like this for awhile."

"What do you mean 'like this'?" Porrim asked angrily.

"Ever since mom and dad died, you haven't been able to act like a caring sister to me! Just like an overprotective guardian. I hate it!" Kanaya yelled at her sister.

Porrim seemed taken aback by what her sibling just said. She just looked calmly at her sister. "Allez dans votre chambre maintenant."

Rose thought back to what Kanaya had told her about Porrim. She only speaks to her in french if she's really upset with Kanaya. Oh man, this must be bad.

Kanaya didn't move from her spot, just shook slightly.

"Maintenant!" Porrim yelled, pointing her finger upstairs.

The younger sibling jumped, and immediately turn around and ran to her room with tears in her eyes. She didn't seem to notice Rose as she ran past. A door slammed a few moments later.

Fed up with all the shouting, Rose stepped out into the kitchen where Porrim could see her. She was getting ready to tell her off, until she and Porrim locked eyes, and the older of the two started to weep. Rose's expression softened.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said about you, Rose. I just don't know what to do with Kanaya anymore." She sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, putting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.

The blond walked up to her temporary guardian and gave her a small hug. "Do you want me to go talk to her? I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding."

Porrim nodded, and Rose immediately walked to her friend's bedroom. She knocked on the door. "Kanaya? It's Rose, can I come in?" After hearing no response, Rose decided it was okay to step in. She carefully opened the door and saw Kanaya sitting in the middle of the floor, crying. "Hey…" She walked over to her friend and sat down next to her. "How're you doing?"

Immediately, Kanaya started to sob, and Rose embraced her friend, shushing her for awhile. Eventually, the sobbing calmed down, and the two detangled from each other. "Thanks." Kanaya said, then promptly sniffed.

"Don't mention it. Just… be a little nicer to your sister okay? She really is trying her best to take care of you. It's not easy." Rose said.

"Yeah, I know. I understand she's trying. Thank you." The raven smiled and gave her friend a kiss on the cheek.

The blond blushed. "So, I was actually meaning to talk to you anyway, so in a weird way this works. My mom is really starting to get better. It sounds like she'll definitely be out of the hospital by the end of this week. Just in time for Christmas."

Kanaya grinned. "That's fantastic, Rose! I'm so happy for you." She leaned in for another quick hug.

"Thanks. It will be so good to have her home again. I've loved being able to live here, but it would be nice to be at home with my mom like it use to be." Rose responded.

"I bet. Well, I suppose we should get to homework now, huh?" The raven asked, reluctantly.

The blond nodded. "Yes, but first I think you should go apologize to your sister."

"Yeah…" Kanaya said, getting up. "I'll be back in a minute." She left the room, and Rose smiled, knowing that things will be alright.

Translations

Allez dans votre chambre maintenant: Go to your room now.

Well, that signals pretty much the end of the hospital era… or is it only the beginning of something else? I'll see you in two weeks, when you'll hopefully find out. :)

~Jane