AUTHOR'S NOTES: This takes place when Luna is about 3 and a half years old and ends up with a really nasty cold. Needless to say, Bruno understandably freaks out.

And just to add a slightly lighter tone at the end, Julieta becomes a mother!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 6: Darkest Before Dawn

The sound of hard coughing mingled with cries of discomfort brought Bruno out of a sound sleep and he staggered over to Luna's bed, rubbing his face with one hand. "What's wrong, moonbeam?" he muttered, picking his daughter up and frowning as he felt her cough once more. Feeling her face, he swore and hurried as best he could towards his bedroom door, shouting, "Casita, get Julieta! Luna's burning up!"

By the time Bruno made his way to the hallway, Julieta was already there, her stethoscope around her neck. "It's okay, Luna," she soothed, listening to her sobrina breathing before feeling her forehead. "Oh, you poor thing," she murmured, frowning. "Bruno, let's get her to the hospital. I think-"

"The hospital?!" Bruno exclaimed, panic rising as he held Luna close. "B-But you can fix her, right? What's wrong with her?"

"Bruno, calm down," Julieta instructed, pressing her free hand to her swollen belly as she felt her unborn daughter kick hard. "I think Luna just has a cold, but I want a chest x-ray to make sure she doesn't have pneumonia." She didn't add what she was really thinking which was 'I don't like how raspy her breathing is and her fever is way too high.'

X

Luna lost consciousness as Agustin pulled up to the emergency entrance of the hospital and Bruno could only stand, helpless as Julieta got his daughter on a stretcher, taking her into the nearest trauma room.

Frantically pacing the floor of the waiting room, Bruno wondered if his little girl would be okay.

"This is why I shouldn't be her father," Bruno lamented as he finally sat down. "If I could see, I would have known Luna was sick and I could have gotten Juli's help sooner. B-But she was quiet and I-I didn't check on her... I'm a horrible parent and now she's-she's-"

Agustin sat next to Bruno, patting his shoulder as he spoke. "It's probably just a bad cold. Juli will give her some of the quick-dissolve tablets and she'll be perfectly alright in a few days."

"But what if it is pneumonia?" Bruno asked, remembering when he was younger and he'd developed a severe respiratory infection. He'd been in the hospital for over a week on antibiotics and oxygen and his mother and sisters had worried he might not make it.

"Then Juli will see that she's treated as best as possible," Agustin replied, simply. Looking up as a nurse pushed Julieta out of the room in a wheelchair, he jumped to his feet as he saw the pained look on his wife's face.

"Her water broke," the nurse said, hurrying towards the elevator. "She needs to get up to the maternity wing immediately!"

Before Bruno could utter a word, his sister and brother-in-law had left, leaving him alone in the silent waiting area. His mind began racing with too many thoughts as he began to pace again. He needed the presence of his mother or sisters to help him keep his composure. What if Luna didn't pull through? He would be to blame. The entire town would gossip about how his negligence had led to his daughter's death.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" he muttered quietly to himself as he moved restlessly around the waiting room. "You don't know anything for sure yet. Just focus. Focus, focus..."

"Bruno?"

He paused and turned to the voice, extending his hand as he inquired, "Yes? How's Luna? Can I...?" He nearly posed the question 'Can I see her?' but caught himself, realizing that not only was he unable to see his daughter, but that was a significant reason for his presence in the hospital to begin with.

Feeling one of the nurses take his hand, Bruno tried to take a deep breath as he said, "I need to be with Luna."

"We're moving her to the Pediatric ICU," the nurse said as she assisted Bruno in sitting down again. "She has a severe upper respiratory infection and pneumonia in both lungs."

Bruno's heartbeat quickened, and before he could contain himself, he began to cry uncontrollably.

"It's alright, Bruno. Just take deep breaths," the nurse said softly, patting his back. "Luna is very sick, but we're providing her with antibiotics and oxygen, and we'll use some of the baby formula your sister keeps on hand. One of the doctors will be putting Luna on a nasogastric feeding tube so we can administer her regular doses of the formula which should help."

"This is all my fault," Bruno wept, shaking his head. "If I had been able to see her... I-I wasn't paying attention and I-I didn't..."

"Bruno, you're doing an excellent job as a father. I've seen many perfectly healthy parents who were unaware of their children's illnesses. Luna did not become this sick because you're blind. It just happened this way, and we will do everything possible to help her recover, okay?"

It took some time for him to settle down, but once Bruno managed to take a deep breath, the nurse stood him up and led him to the elevators to the pediatric ICU.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Shortly after dawn, Alma entered the PICU and discovered Bruno slumped in a chair next to Luna's bed, passed out. A single-pronged nasal cannula was placed in one of the little girl's nostrils, while a nasogastric tube was inserted into the other. An IV was connected to Luna's right arm, and the monitor displayed her heart rate and breathing.

"Buenos dias, Senora," Dr. Belinda Gutierrez whispered as she walked into the room and noticed that both Luna and Bruno were still unconscious.

Observing the doctor administer another dose of formula to Luna before examining her heart and lungs, Alma anxiously asked, "How is she doing?"

"No change yet," Belinda answered, standing upright. "But it's only been about four hours. Luna's stable, so for now, all we can do is give her the antibiotics and allow your daughter's magic time to take effect." Glancing at Bruno, she added, "He believes this is his fault-because he's blind and didn't realize how ill Luna was becoming."

Sitting down in a chair on the other side of the bed, Alma reached over the side rail and took her granddaughter's hand. "We've been so focused on preparing for Julieta to give birth we all overlooked Luna's illness."

Before either woman could say anything else, they turned to the monitor as they heard Luna's heart rate increase. Watching the stats on the screen, Belinda let out a sigh of relief as she watched Luna's oxygen saturation increase slightly. "There's a good sign. The meds and formula are starting to work." Taking Luna's temperature, she added, "And her fever is starting to come down."

Hearing Luna cough as she started to regain consciousness, Belinda quickly helped the little girl sit up so she could breathe better.

"Papi..." Luna rasped, weakly, looking around for her father. Seeing her grandmother, tears filled her eyes and she said, "'wanna go home."

Alma caressed Luna's cheek, being mindful of the oxygen tube up her granddaughter's nose. Seeing the child reach for the tube to pull on it, she pushed her hand down, giving her a stern look. "You must leave that alone, Luna. Those tubes are helping you get better. If you pull them out, the doctors will have to give you something to make you sleep."

"I want Papi," Luna cried. "Don't want stuff up my nose." Looking down at the IV, she felt the tube and sniffled, "My arm hurts."

"Your Papi is right over there," Belinda assured Luna, giving her a warm look. "He's sleeping because you scared him pretty badly last night." Leaning against the bed rail, she took Luna's hand and let her feel the two tubes going up her nose. "This tube is helping you breathe and the other is giving you some formula your Tia Julieta made. It's going to help make you better. And this tube," she went on, pointing to the IV. "-is giving you medicine to keep you from getting sicker."

"Don't like being sick," Luna murmured, feeling tired. Looking over at her father she added, "'m sorry I made Papi scared."

"Oh, corazon," Alma soothed, helping Belinda get Luna settled down. "It's not your fault. Your Papi was worried because he loves you so much and he didn't like seeing you so sick. So just rest and let the medicine and formula heal you and you'll be able to come home. Okay?"

"Si, Abuela," Luna muttered, closing her eyes and falling asleep once more.

X

It was just past noon when Bruno stirred awake, groaning as he sat up and tried to ease the tension in his back, shoulders, and neck.

"Bruno?"

When he felt a hand on his arm, Bruno nodded and inquired, "How is she? How's Luna?"

"Papi?"

As Bruno made his way to the bed, he reached for his daughter's hand and felt immense relief when he felt her grab his wrist. "Oh, moonbeam... I was so scared I was going to lose you."

"Her breathing is getting better and her fever is going down," Belinda cheerfully told him. "It will take a few days for her to completely recover, but she is definitely on the mend."

"Papi, you look sleepy," Luna pointed out, frowning.

Bruno chuckled dryly while he toyed with Luna's curls. "Staying up all night worrying about how sick you were really drained me. Next time, mi vida, you have to let me know when you're not feeling well. That way we can give you some of your tia's food, and you won't end up in the hospital."

Nodding as she grasped her father's hand, she vowed, "Okay, Papi. I promise."

"Good girl," Bruno said softly, kissing her forehead.

X

In her room in the maternity ward, Julieta was exhausted, but she couldn't stop smiling at her new baby girl.

Isabela Roslyn Madrigal came into the world quickly and before Juli had had a chance to really register how painful childbirth was, her daughter's loud cries filled the room.

Once the nurses had gotten her cleaned up and taken care of Isabela, Julieta had allowed herself to fall asleep for a few hours before Agustin had woken her up so she could nurse Isa for the first time.

Looking over at the little girl now sleeping in the crib next to her bed, Julieta's thoughts turned to her brother and sobrina. She hadn't heard anything about Luna's status and while she tried to remind herself that no news could be good news... it could also mean that Bruno was facing the worst nightmare a parent could face.

Catching sight of her mother coming from down the hall, Julieta sat up as Alma gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "How's Bruno? Is Luna-?"

"Luna is getting better, Juli," Alma assured her, sitting next to the bed and taking her daughter's hand. "Bruno is resting. He had a hard night. How are you doing, corazon?"

Smiling at Isabela, Julieta murmured, "I can't believe Agustin and I made something so beautiful." Leaning back, she laughed, "Oh, Mama, she came so quickly!"

"Pepa was the same way," Alma mused, thinking of when she had become a mother. "Pedro said that the two of you must have been fighting over who came out first. Pepita was right behind you, screaming her little lungs out."

Nodding as she imagined how competitive her sister had been, even from birth, Julieta looked at her mother and wondered, "And Bruno?"

"Bruno didn't want to come out. The doctors had to go after him. He was so quiet when he was born, but his eyes were wide, trying to look at everything." Turning to her new nieta, Alma asked, "Does she have a name?"

"Isabela Roslyn," Julieta replied, smiling as she reached for her mother's hand. "After you... and mi Abuela."

Thinking of her own mother who had died before meeting her grandchildren, Alma's eyes filled with tears as she embraced her daughter.