Here's a memory that I alluded to in You Are My Sunshine, but didn't include in the story. Enjoy!

…

"Poppy?"

Poppy slowly sat up in bed and saw Sunshine standing in the doorway of her bedroom, her teddy bear under the crook of one arm and her blanket being dragged behind her with the other. "Sunshine," she asked groggily. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was just after four in the morning. "What are you doing up so late?"

The little troll wiped some of the sleep from her eyes as she whined, "My tummy hurts."

Poppy looked at her sympathetically, a little more awake now that she knew Sunny wasn't feeling well. "Aw, come here, sweetie," she beckoned. Sunshine climbed up onto the bed, letting Poppy hold her comfortingly. The pink troll gently rested the back of her hand on the child's forehead, noticing that she felt a bit warm.

"Ooh, yep," she said, wincing, "You've got a fever." Carefully, she rose out of bed, pulling her covers over the child. She knew this would increase her chances of getting sick as well, but she didn't care. Her only priority at the moment was making sure Sunshine was comfortable.

"You rest here for a bit," she said, stroking Sunshine's hair, "And I'm going to make you some Flavorberry tea. That always makes me feel better when I'm not feeling well."

Poppy tried to ignore the slight worry that was creeping up on her. Don't get her wrong, she was worried; even when she was a baby, Sunny had never gotten sick before now. But she also knew that sicknesses happened, and she doubted there was anything too severe going on.

"Here you go, Sunny," Poppy said, handing her a cup of tea. Sunshine weakly took a sip, letting the warmth and flavor soothe her aching insides. "Is it helping," Poppy asked.

"A little," Sunny replied, "not a lot."

Poppy assured her that as soon as the sun came up, they would go to Dr. Plum and get whatever medicine she needed to get better. She could skip the morning song for one day.

Morning came and went, and Poppy's suspicions were confirmed—Sunny just had a little bout of stomach flu. All she had to do was get plenty of bedrest and drink plenty of fluids, and she should be right as rain in a day or two. She knew it wasn't anything to worry too much about.

Branch, on the other strand…

Word about Sunny's illness hadn't reached him as quickly as Poppy had hoped, but it was obvious he was concerned when she saw him sprinting towards her after leaving the clinic.

"Poppy, I've been looking all over the village for you," he said frantically, taking note of the sick child she was holding. Sunshine wasn't asleep, but she had her eyes half closed, and her head rested gently on Poppy's shoulder. "Is she shivering? Has she always been that pale? What did you feed her yester—"

"Branch!" Poppy interrupted, "Sunny is fine. She just has a little stomach bug. Dr. Plum said so."

Branch placed a comforting hand on Sunshine's back as he internally (and externally) panicked. "T-that doesn't mean she can't get worse, Poppy."

"I won't let that happen," Poppy did her best to reassure him, "I know she trusts me." Her face fell as she added, "Don't you trust me, Branch?"

"No, no, of course I do, Poppy," he said, taken aback that she would even suggest that. They had both taken care of her as well as they could for the past five years, and they knew that neither one of them planned on slacking off on that anytime soon. "I didn't mean to get so worked up about her. I just can't help it." He cursed his own mind for always going to the worst case scenario.

Sunshine suddenly started whimpering loudly, eyes wide and her hand clamped tightly over her mouth. Poppy looked around, bracing herself for what was about to happen. "Um, uh, there," she shouted, setting the trolling down, "Go to that bush over there! Don't worry, I'm right behind you!"

Branch followed the girls and cringed as Sunshine began to cough and retch, the contents of her stomach making an unwelcome reappearance in the bushes. He hated seeing her suffer like this, but he didn't know how to make it better. One thing he could do, he knew, was just be there for her.

"Easy, kiddo," he said, rubbing her back, "it's going to be okay." When it looked like she was finished, he scooped her up into his arms and held her protectively. "Come on," he said to Poppy, "Let's get her to my place."

…

Heating pad? Check.

Soup ingredients? Check.

A comfy place to rest? Check.

Sunshine was lying on the couch, her snores sounding a bit labored, but not to a point that was concerning. Branch had wanted to put her in her bed, but he also wanted to make sure he and Poppy could both keep an eye on her.

The only item on his list that hadn't yet been crossed out?

"A healthy Sunshine."

He knew it would probably take a while before she started feeling better, but he hoped her recovery would happen sooner rather than later.

"Branch, please," Poppy begged from the kitchen, "Just let the poor girl sleep." He was kneeling by the edge of the sofa, stroking the back of Sunshine's hand with his thumb. He had never seen her so sick before. It may have just been a small flu, but he was treating her like she was made of the most delicate porcelain.

"I am," he protested; she was still sound asleep, "I just…" He trailed off, embarrassed to say what he was thinking out loud. He was worried that if he left her side or took his eyes off of her for even a second, something bad would happen.

Ridiculous, huh?

"Not at all."

Branch hadn't realized that he had been vocalizing his thoughts until he heard his girlfriend's voice. He turned to see her approaching the far end of the couch, placing a fresh bowl of glowmato soup on the coffee table as she sat. "While I do think you're overreacting just a bit," she said, scooting closer to him, "I understand how you're feeling."

Did she really understand, though? Did she understand that Branch cared about that little girl more than he had any right to? Did she understand that ever since the day she came into their lives, he'd been plagued with nightmares about losing her in increasingly horrifying ways? Did she understand that part of him, deep down, hoped that they never found her parents?

That last one he definitely didn't dare mention out loud.

"Branch?"

Branch looked down and saw Sunshine begin to stir awake, weakly moaning but smiling faintly as she looked up at her caretakers.

"Hey there, Sunny," he said, reaching to stroke her hair, "How are you feeling?"

"Yucky," she said, trying and failing to sit up.

Poor thing, both adults thought. Branch reached for the soup, but Poppy stopped him. "Why don't you tag me in and go take a break," she said, quickly pressing a finger to his lips when he tried to protest. "You can't keep going on like this. You're going to worry yourself sick." Finally urging him to switch places with her, she told him, "She's going to be okay without you for a bit. And it's not like you're leaving her completely alone."

"Y-you're right, Poppy," Branch sighed. Of course she was right; he couldn't keep hovering over Sunny forever. She wasn't going to crumble to pieces as soon as his back was turned. Besides, he had to sleep eventually.

His Hug-Time bracelet went off as he knelt down beside her again. "You feeling up for Hug-Time, sweetie," he asked. Sunny allowed him to pull her into a gentle hug; it already felt like her fever was going down.

"Poppy's got some soup for you baby girl," he said, letting her lie back down, "She's going to take care of you now, while I…try to take my mind off things." He wasn't sure how he would do that, but he'd figure something out.

Poppy hugged him again before he left, once again reassuring him that everything would be okay. Branch headed towards his bedroom (maybe he'd read a book or something), glancing back at the girls one more time. He noticed the light in Sunshine's eyes was getting brighter, Poppy keeping her relaxed and safe as she fed her.

That light seemed almost blinding to him when she made eye contact with him, mouthing the words, "I'm okay."

Branch smiled warmly at the child, nodding and responding, "Feel better, sweetie."

He was still worried—honestly, he was never not worried—but that one little gesture was enough to make his fears dissipate just a little.

Sunshine would be okay.

…

"Good morning!"

The sun had barely crested over the horizon when Branch was woken up by the sensation of something bouncing on his bed. He opened his eyes to see Sunshine jumping up and down excitedly, shouting "Get up! Get up," in rhythm with each jump.

Eat your heart out, every alarm clock ever.

Branch sat up and grabbed her in mid-air, chuckling as he embraced the child. "Looks like someone's feeling better," he said.

"Yep," Sunny responded, "You and Poppy made my tummy ache go away!"

There was nothing Branch could do to mask his relief. He was glad that it had only taken one day for her to be back up and around, almost as if the last twenty four hours had never even happened.

Poppy laughed as she walked in after Sunny, joining her and Branch in a group hug. "Told you so," she whispered in his ear, kissing him on the cheek. "Come on, let's go get ready for the morning song."

"Yay," Sunshine cheered, following the queen as they both giggled cheerfully. Branch didn't follow them right away, instead pausing to pull his list out of his hair and finally cross out the last item.

A healthy Sunshine?

Check.