Author's Note: I know I haven't updated my other fics in quite a while now, so I guess this fic is to let you guys know that I'm still alive and planning to update. It's also a Christmas gift and dedication to all my readers, especially to those who asked me to write a Michael/Carly fic. It's been in my head for quite a while now, the idea of Michael/Carly and I think they go together pretty well. Feedback, friendly or not, is welcome. P It's quite a long chapter for a story, but I'll be updating on Christmas (tomorrow) as well and it's a triple chapter fic. So enjoy, review, and happy holidays everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, it is purely coincidental if there is any similarities to anyone's else fic. Beyblade and its characters are copyright of HUDSON SOFT/TAKARA · BEYBLADE PROJECT · TV TOKYO © Carly Helka and Aquana Nenuvar belong to me.
The song "Fall to Pieces" is © Avril Lavigne.
Story Synopsis: Due for a community service project, Michael volunteers at a local orphanage and works alongside Carly and sparks, both good and bad, soon fly between them. Haunted by her past and resentful of Michael's careless attitude towards the orphanage, Carly tries her hardest to keep things at a distance between them, but can Michael show her a different side to him than the arrogant jerk she thinks he is? Angels have sung their song and on Christmas, a happy ending is foretold for everyone.
Johnny and Carly are not related by blood, she's his foster sister (unofficially) so they live in the same house. There is absolutely no romantic relationship between them.
Rating: PG – mild reference to child abuse and very slight sexual innuendo.
Genre: Romance (Michael/Carly pairing with slight Enrique/Aquana)
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Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
Star and angels gave the sign.
Christina Rossetti
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Chapter 1: To Give More Than Expected
Snow sprinkled lightly on the sidewalk one fresh morning, covering the wet concrete with a thin film of snowflakes. The weather was pleasantly cool and filled with light breezes and flurries of snow – it was everyone's favourite time of the year: a couple of weeks away until the much anticipated Christmas.
A footstep landed softly in the snow, creating the pattern of the snow boot in the layer of white powder. A young teenage girl whipped her braided hair in the wind, her cheeks flushed, "Hurry up Johnny!"
Tugging the black scarf angrily around his neck, Johnny hurried to catch up with his energetic companion, "Slow down Carly! It's slippery everywhere, you could fall and break your neck. Wait for me!"
"Oh Johnny!" Carly laughed, bounding back to him, "Look at your scarf, it's supposed to go around your neck, silly – not around your whole body. Here, let me." She grabbed his scarf and unwound it, looping it neatly around his neck and tying it snugly.
"Thanks," Johnny said gruffly, "This weather is killing me, there's snow everywhere and it's really starting to get on my nerves!"
Carly shook her head, "When it's winter, you complain about the snow. When it's spring you complain about the rain. When it's summer, you complain about the heat. When it's autumn, you complain about the rain again. You might as well stay indoors all day! Come on, we're going to be late for school."
"I should've drove," Johnny shivered, "It's freezing."
"You'll so get stuck in traffic if you do," Carly pointed out, gesturing to the slow-moving line of cars on the street up ahead, "Look at that. We'll be even later."
"At least we'll be warm."
"A little fresh air doesn't hurt anyone –" Carly started as a car swerved around the corner, splattering snow all over her and Johnny. "Ack!"
"See what I mean?" Johnny grumbled, quickly wiping the snow off his water-proof coat.
"Sorry guys, slippery turn," a familiar voice called out from the blue convertible. The window rolled down and a blond boy leaned out with his arm propped against the side of the car, his turquoise eyes were sparkling roguishly and a confident smile lit his face.
"How did you get your license?" Johnny wondered aloud with a smirk, "Morning Parker."
"Simple," the blond haired boy flipped his hair casually out of his eyes, "You wing it the first time round and forget everything after the test is done."
Carly took a deep breath and shot him her best death glare before shaking the rest of the snow from her chestnut brown hair. Michael Parker. Resident jock and complete flirt. She couldn't understand how inflated a single person's ego could be.
"Hey, you guys want a ride?" Michael offered, "It's awful cold outside."
"That would nice –" Johnny started.
"No thanks, we'll walk," Carly interrupted shortly, "It's not that far. Goodbye." She whirled on her heel and headed towards the school before Michael could protest.
Michael raised his eyebrows and looked at Johnny, "She got off on the wrong side of her bed this morning?"
Johnny shrugged, "Or maybe it's just the tiny fact that you sprayed snow all over her. Thanks Michael, I'll go walk with her, I'll catch you later."
"Suit yourself McGregor. Later." Michael gestured briefly and disappeared down the road.
"What was that all about?" Johnny demanded, after catching up to Carly, "You had to turn down a warm ride – instead you want us to turn into frozen human icicles!"
"No one's stopping you Johnny," Carly retorted, "You ride in with him – I sure ain't."
"Michael's a nice guy –"
"Easy for you to say, he hasn't asked you out four times."
"So he's a bit rough around the edges –"
"Oh right – he's just about asked every other girl out in the school as well. Probably slept with them too –"
"Carly Helka!" Johnny's shocked voice exclaimed.
"All right," Carly grumbled, tugging at her braid with a scowl, "So that's a bit of an exaggeration."
"I'll say," Johnny snorted, "Not just a bit!"
"Don't get me wrong Johnny, I don't hate him. I just…don't like him. He's a nice guy when you get him away from all the fame and fortune works."
"Then how come you always bash him in public?"
Carly sighed patiently, "Just because. Someone has to injure that ego of his sometimes before it inflates to the size of a hot-air balloon. Besides, I'm not one of his little groupies – discussion closed McGregor."
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"You're kidding!" Michael groaned, "Over the winter holidays??? What are holidays for if you're going to give us work?"
"May I remind you, Mr. Parker," the teacher said patiently, viewing him pointedly over her rimmed spectacles, "that you had a month to finish this assignment? It is a requirement for passing this class."
"But…it's the holidays…" Michael argued.
"Nonsense. The spirit of Christmas is for giving and sharing. What better way to do that than to offer your services to the community," the teacher explained.
"But –"
"That is quite enough Mr. Parker. I expect that all of you will complete fifteen hours of volunteer community service by the end of winter break. I also expect a five-page response to your experience when you return and a letter from your supervisor confirming that you have indeed done the work to an acceptable manner," the teacher stared hard at Michael who groaned and sank deep into his seat, "Remember, this part of the curriculum is compulsory to your passing of this class – some of you may want to keep that in mind. If this report isn't on my desk first thing after winter holidays, I will grant you an automatic fail. Class dismissed. Happy holidays."
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"Happy holidays!" Michael mimicked in a high-pitched voice after school to Johnny, "Who is she kidding?? She just totally ruined my holidays because of this stupid volunteer junk! To hell with it all!"
"Well, you did have a month to do it," Johnny pointed out, putting his binders in his locker.
"I know, man," Michael complained, closing his locker with a bang, "But why would I do it then when it wasn't due? Argh…I'm not going to do it – where am I going to get a volunteer job now? No way am I going to go serve some food bank collecting, money begging charity."
"Don't look at me," Johnny yawned, "I've already done my volunteer stuff at a local foundation weeks ago – all I have is my report."
"Aww…don't tell me that Michael's fretting about homework!" a teasing voice giggled from behind. A shapely blond haired female was hugging her books to her chest, her cerulean eyes dancing.
"Get lost Aquana," Michael groaned, running his hand through his messy blond hair.
Aquana gave a pretend gasp, "You are thinking about homework – and during the holidays too! I supposed it's going to start raining pink snow too!"
Johnny was grinning from ear to ear as Michael covered his ears, "Procrastinating pays off, huh Parker?"
"Go away," Michael ordered Aquana, "Go make out with Enrique or something –"
Aquana huffed, tossing her golden hair back, "That was just rude Michael! Good luck with your homework, and I'll see you later at the party. Happy holidays." She turned on her heel and stormed away.
Michael chuckled, leaning against his locker with his hands folded behind his head and staring after Aquana, "She's always cute when she's mad."
"Would you please stop?" Johnny moaned, shaking his head.
"Never mind Johnny, I'm just not going to do this stupid project –"
"You want to fail?" Johnny asked incredulously, "You know if you fail, you won't make the baseball team in the spring."
"Way to cheer me up McGregor," Michael said sourly. He straightened up and waved briefly at a couple of giggling girls passing by.
"Hey, you have all your pretty ladies to do that."
"Taking a page out of Carly's book now, are you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Johnny laughed, closing his locker.
"It's means that –" Michael suddenly stopped and his eyes lit up, "I've got it! Carly works at the orphanage, doesn't she?"
"Well…yeah," Johnny said slowly, "But how do you know?"
Michael winked mischievously, "I know a lot more about her than you know."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"That's not important," Michael said impatiently, "The point is, if she'll let me work there for a few days to work off this junk service thing, I'll be done and I can go partying off for the rest of the holidays."
Johnny stared, his amethyst eyes sceptical.
"What? What?" Michael turned around in a full circle, "Did someone tape something on my back again?"
"You do realize what you're saying right?" Johnny asked slowly, "You just said you'll work at an orphanage."
"Yeah," Michael shrugged, "So what? How hard can it be? Babysitting a bunch of silly, parentless kids –"
"Michael," Johnny said sharply, "With that tone, Carly will definitely not agree. If you really want to work there, even for a short while, you'll have to simmer down that cocky tone of yours and be a little more sensitive."
"Aw, get a life Johnny," Michael waved his hand dismissively, "I'll just ask her later today. Don't worry, it'll be fine."
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"Hello?" Carly picked up the phone, shaking her loosely braided hair back hastily, "Carly speaking."
"Hey Carly," a smooth male voice replied, "How are you doing?"
Carly plopped down the sofa, holding the cordless receiver at a distance and staring at it in disgust. The voice, for some reason, sent shivers throughout her entire body in a pleasant – yet highly disturbing – way. "Michael," she said curtly, "Hold – I'll get Johnny –"
"No, wait," Michael interrupted, "I want to talk to you."
Carly laughed, "Me? You drunk again, Parker?"
"Very funny. No, I'm in my complete right state of mind –"
"It's not much of an improvement," Carly muttered, loud enough for him to hear.
Michael decided to ignore the comment, "I have something to ask you –"
"If you're planning to ask me out again, my answer's still no," Carly interjected.
"No, I wasn't planning to ask that, but thanks for letting me know anyways," Michael joked, "But are you sure you won't reconsider –"
"Parker, you're digressing," Carly said sharply, "I don't have all day. I can think of many things I'd much rather do than play phone date with you."
"Right, sorry," Michael apologized, "It's about our community service project thing. I kind of haven't gotten around to it yet and I'm in a bit of a jam here with only a couple of weeks left to do it…"
"And what can I do?" Carly demanded, tapping her fingers on the sofa handle with irritation.
"Well…I'm glad you asked," Michael replied brightly, "I was wondering if I could work with you at the orphanage for a few days –"
"You want to WHAT???!!!"
Carly's voice was so loud all of a sudden that Johnny hurried down the stairs to see what the commotion was all about. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was just on the telephone and frowned at her disapprovingly.
Carly took several deep breaths to calm herself and spoke again, "Very funny Parker. Amusing. Hilarious. Hysterical. I'm going to go now if you have nothing left to say –"
"I'm not kidding Carly!"
"You know, how do you expect me to take you seriously?" Carly demanded, "This is ridiculous. You. Orphanage. These two do NOT match – absolutely NOT. The orphanage does need help for its annual Christmas dinner, but you – you – we're not as so desperate as to needing YOU for it."
"Carly, please do me this favour," Michael pleaded, "I need it to pass class –"
"That's your problem," Carly retorted, "I don't owe you any favours, Parker. All you do is goof off and fool around. Looking after the kids are hard enough, I don't need to look after YOU as well. Go find a job where your sole purpose is to stare and gawk at women! Goodbye." She slammed the phone back down furiously, her emerald eyes smouldering like hot coals.
"Well, that went well! I told him so…" Johnny thought to himself, shaking his head.
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"Still healing your wounded pride?" Johnny laughed, stirring his steaming coffee before tossing the stir stick in the nearby trash can, "Have I say 'I told you so'?"
"Only about five times in the past ten minutes," Michael reminded resentfully, "Your sister has definitely broke the record for being the person who says 'no' to me the most. I mean, not even my parents says 'no' to me that often."
"Maybe you ought to find a different service thing to do?" Enrique suggested, taking a big gulp of his hot chocolate and then fanning his tongue hurriedly, "If I know Carly, you'll never get close to that orphanage."
"She's being unfair," Michael complained, "She hasn't even given me a chance and she's already betting the stakes that I'll screw up big time."
"I'm willing to bet that," Johnny said with a wicked grin.
"Get lost," Michael ordered, dumping more sugar into his hot chocolate, "You're not making this easy. Anyone got any idea why she hates me so much? I mean, what did I ever do to her?"
"Oh, let me start," Enrique said, ticking off his fingers, "Well, you've asked her out. Thrice. And –"
"Actually, I asked her out four times. And I guess I sorta tried yesterday on the phone –"
Enrique coughed, tugging at his turtleneck while shaking his head, "And you're still in one piece, I see…"
Johnny looked completely appalled, "You tried asking her out in my house? Are you insane?!"
"Well, I didn't succeed…" Michael pointed out.
"You're darn lucky you didn't!"
"Let me guess…you'll wring my neck if I did."
"You're darn right I would!"
"Geez Johnny," Michael rolled his eyes, "Why don't you just send her to a convent already? It's a fact – girls her age are ready for dating, so give the protective act a rest already!"
"She's my sister," Johnny insisted, "I don't need advice on what's good for her and what's not – I can tell perfectly well myself."
"Back on topic here…" Enrique reminded, "Michael, you have to pass this project. The baseball team doesn't stand a chance without you – and you couldn't go an entire year without playing baseball anyways."
"I know," Michael said thoughtfully, a wicked grin overtaking his handsome features, "I've got an idea…"
"Don't plot, it won't work on Carly," Enrique advised.
"No, nothing like that, I'm not going to try to fool her," Michael smirked at Johnny, "Not when he can just ask for me, why didn't I think of this sooner?"
"Me?" Johnny blinked, "Am I missing something? What makes you think that I want to ask for you?"
"Because we're friends?" Michael replied simply, "But in case that doesn't cut it – you owe me a favour McGregor and if you get this done for me, I won't hold it against you."
"I-I…" Johnny spluttered, "I don't remember owing you any favours…"
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"Michael? At an orphanage?" Aquana giggled, slinging her purse gracefully over her shoulders, "Are you kidding? He'd scare away all the children!"
"No doubt," Carly agreed, "I can't believe he had the nerve to ask me. Seriously, if he had wanted any favours, I should be the absolute last person he would ever resort to."
Aquana laughed again, "I guess he just hasn't gotten the meaning of the word 'no' yet."
"Perhaps," Oliver said softly, his perfectly accented French voice crisp and clear, "But maybe you should give him a chance, Carly? You never know until you try –"
"Oliver, you're too nice," Carly said, nudging him in the side with a grin, "Believe me, I've read him like a book, mon ami. And there wasn't much to read, the orphanage doesn't need someone like him."
"The spirit of Christmas is to share and give," Oliver reminded her gently, "So it doesn't hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt, some people turn around and surprise you greatly."
"I suppose he's right Carly," Aquana said doubtfully, "I suppose you could give the guy a break – I mean, even if the guy's Michael Parker."
Carly sighed, "Oh, you guys…" She blew back stray strands of her chestnut brown hair, "Well…considering that Oliver's right ninety-nine point nine nine nine nine percent of the time…"
Oliver grinned, "Why thank you, ma cherie. It won't hurt to reconsider, Carly. It's very cold out here; let's go get something hot in the café, my treat."
"Good idea," Carly said, rubbing her ski gloves together at rapid speed to generate heat, "My insides are turning into icicles."
"Me too," Aquana concurred, her teeth chattering as she hugged herself tightly.
"We can't have that now, can we?" Oliver smiled warmly, pushing the door to café open and holding it open, "After you." He shut the door quickly afterwards, unzipping his jacket due to the cheerful warmth of the café, "Hey, isn't that Enrique?"
"Where?" Aquana demanded, immediately hiding behind Carly, "Did he see me?"
"No, I don't think so," Oliver said, frowning at her slightly, "Why are you hiding Aquana?"
"She had another fight with Enrique," Carly replied, patting her friend gently on the shoulder, "Don't ask me why, it was over the silliest thing."
"Another fight?" Oliver raised his eyebrows, "Is everything all right between the two of you? You've been fighting an awful lot lately."
"It's not my fault," Aquana said stubbornly, "It's not my problem that he can't keep his eyes off every girl that walks by…"
"Is that Parker?" Carly squinted, "It is Parker. Lovely, my favourite person in the whole wide world…"
"Let's go say hi," Oliver suggested.
"No!" Aquana exclaimed shrilly.
"No!" Carly echoed.
However, Oliver was already heading off in the direction of the three boys, "Hi guys."
"Hey Oliver," Johnny said, stretching lazily, "Small world, huh? You here by yourself?"
"Actually, I've got your sister and Aquana for company."
"Did you say Aquana?" Enrique questioned, his hazel eyes widening.
"What's the deal?" Michael asked, turning around to find Aquana, but only to see Carly stick out her tongue at him. He turned back around, chuckling, "Your sister's charming as always Johnny."
Enrique sank down in his seat, moaning, "Don't let her see me…please…"
"Are you two avoiding each other?" Michael laughed, "That's an effective way to solve the problem."
"Easy for you to say!" Enrique snapped, "Every time we talk, we end up fighting, I don't know what to do anymore."
"Move on?" Michael suggested.
"Michael!" Enrique snarled, "Shut up!"
"Okay, okay," Michael held up his hands in a gesture of peace, "Just trying to lend a hand, man. Johnny, could you talk to your sister now?"
"Do I have to?" Johnny scowled.
"Well, yeah," Michael grinned, holding up his hand and motioning Carly over with a mischievous wink.
"Did you see that? Ugh, I think he just winked at me," Carly whispered to Aquana, "I think he wants me to come over…"
"I saw it – he definitely winked. Don't go over Carly," Aquana begged, clasping her hands together imploringly and tossing her golden hair, "I don't want to talk to Enrique."
"Then don't come over!"
"I don't want to stand her by myself, I'll look like an idiot!"
"Fine, then come over, but don't look at him. You're not putting me in an easy position, Enrique and you are both my really good friends!"
"All right, all right…" Aquana said sulkily, "I'll come…" She slowly followed Carly towards the table, peeking her turquoise eyes out from behind Carly's shoulder to see Enrique. At the exact same time, Enrique's hazel eyes shifted upward and their eyes met for a split second. Aquana turned red and whirled around indignantly, crossing her arms across her chest. Enrique gritted his teeth and turned away as well, staring out the window.
"Fancy meeting you here Parker," Carly said impulsively, giving the table a little kick at the bottom.
Michael scrambled to grab his drink before it spilt over, "Whoa! Careful!" He breathed a sigh of relief when he caught it in the nick of time.
"So sorry," Carly flashed him a wicked smile, "You want something?"
Michael grinned at her and gestured to Johnny casually, "All yours, pal."
Johnny scowled deeply, "Carly…remember what Michael asked you yesterday?"
"Sure I do, he asked me for a favour that I don't owe him. Are you still going about that Parker? You need to judge your own character better and see what you're fit to do and what you're fit to fail at," Carly said carelessly.
Michael just smiled enchantingly, "So beautiful, yet so cruel."
"Oh, shut up Parker, or I shall gladly do it for you!"
"Carly, could you just let him work there for a few days so he can get his hours done?" Johnny asked with a huge sigh, "Please? Just this once."
"Johnny!" Carly cried, "Tell me you're kidding!"
Johnny shook his head, "I'm not kidding. I'm sorry Carly, but please? Just this once."
"But why????!!!!"
"For the sake of it being Christmas."
"For the sake of it being Christmas, I have to throw my reputation as a free spirit out the window?" Carly demanded, her eyes blazing.
Johnny threw his hands up in the air, "Since when did your reputation matter so much to you?"
"Oh, my reputation is set, as long as it doesn't contain me and Parker in the same sentence!"
"Your brother owns me a favour, sweetheart," Michael responded, smiling at her lazily, "It –"
"Don't call me that!" Carly hissed at him, emerald eyes glinting like knives, "Are you telling me that you're blackmailing Johnny?" She hovered over him dangerously, "Because if you are, I'm going to make you regret ever being born…"
"Whoa whoa whoa…" Michael backed away, "No, you've got me all wrong, I just –"
"Carly!" Johnny persisted imploringly.
Carly finally backed away, looking at Oliver who nodded slightly, "All right. Consider yourself lucky, Parker. Don't ever use my brother to threaten me again –"
"But I wasn't…" Michael protested.
"Oh, shut the hell up before I change my mind!"
"Carly…" Johnny said warningly, "People are staring…"
"Let them stare until their eyeballs pop up and roll across the floor," Carly said sarcastically, grabbing a clean white napkin. She took out a blue pen and scribbled down the address of the orphanage and tossed it at Michael, "Here, address. You can start Monday, if you work for three hours per day all of next week until Christmas Eve, you'll have your fifteen hours. Come by at around one in the afternoon, do not be late Parker. Come on Oliver, Aquana – I've got to finish my Christmas shopping. See you later Enrique, Johnny." She whirled around and stormed outside with Aquana hurrying after her.
"See you guys around," Oliver said, nodding before running after his friends.
"I could've sworn she'd bit your head off," Johnny said, glaring at Michael, "She's going to scream at me when I get home now, you had better do a good job there!"
"Geez Johnny, loosen up a bit, will you?" Michael folded the napkin and shoved it in his pocket, "I should've known that she wouldn't refuse if you asked her for me."
"Don't count on any favours any time soon!"
"She's so feisty," Michael said thoughtfully, "Not to mention gorgeous…"
"Stop," Johnny warned, "Before I dump the rest of my coffee over your head. You've got enough girls chasing you, and I won't allow Carly to become an addition to your collection. Enrique, get up already, she's gone!"
"Oh," Enrique straightened up, "Good."
"You can't keep avoiding each other forever," Johnny complained.
"Yeah, either break it off or make it up," Michael added, "You look like a pathetic loser."
"I'll handle it myself," Enrique insisted stubbornly, blowing out a sigh wearily, "I've got my plans…don't worry."
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"Carly, honey, did you say that someone else would be coming today?" a plump woman called, poking her into the infirmary, "Carly? I don't see anyone outside."
The emerald-eyed girl gritted her teeth in an effort to keep her temper under control, "Yeah, but it doesn't matter Mrs. Faraday. He was supposed to be here at one, we can start without him – I just thought that we would give him an orientation thing before he gets started, but if he's going to be late, then forget it." She carefully reached down and picked up the sleeping boy, hugging him tightly.
"We can wait," Mrs. Faraday offered.
"No, don't bother," Carly replied, "I'm not the one who wanted him to come – it doesn't matter if he shows up or not, it's better if he doesn't. Don't worry about it, the kids are getting restless, I want to settle them down so the ones with the flu can have a quiet rest."
"We can use all the help we can get, Carly," Mrs. Faraday reminded, "It's our busiest time of the year and we're still short on donations to buy each of these children a Christmas present."
"Don't you worry about that," Carly said with a smile, "My friends have all promised to bring a couple of toys over in a couple of days."
"That's wonderful Carly!"
"Yeah, well, thank Oliver later," Carly said as the little boy stirred in her arms, "It was his idea and everyone else consented. I'll need every child's wish list by tomorrow though; otherwise we'll run out of time. Even Oliver can't grant miracles."
"Oh, we can make room for that later tomorrow afternoon, before they go out to play," Mrs. Faraday promised, "I don't know what we'd do without you Carly."
"Don't thank me," Carly said, bouncing the little boy up and down teasingly, "I'm only doing what I can. You go get busy in the kitchen; I'll take care of these kids for the next little while."
"All right, honey, call me if you need me," Mrs. Faraday smiled and bustled away.
Carly took a deep breath, "My Lord, Michael Parker, you have got some freakin' nerve…and I just can't believe that I had actually thought that you would show up…"
"Carly…?" the little boy shuffled in her arms, "Carly, you're here!" He threw his short arms around her neck and hugged her tightly, "I missed you!"
"You silly boy," Carly said, patting him on the head, "Ryan, you know that I can only come on Mondays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays – school keeps me real busy. But now that it's winter break, I'll be able to come nearly every day."
"Hooray!" cheered Ryan, before doubling over and coughing weakly.
"Ryan!" Carly scolded, setting him down on the bed and tucking him in, "You had better rest up and get well as soon as possible – you don't want to miss Christmas, do you?"
"No way!" Ryan said, snuggling in beneath his covers, "I'll get better. I promise Carly!"
"That's the spirit, buddy," Carly nodded approvingly, "Make sure you swallow every last drop of the good soup Mrs. Faraday brings you and Violet."
"Blarghhhhh…" Ryan made disgusted face, "Yuck!"
Carly chuckled and pulled up the covers for the sleeping girl nearby, "Now, rest up Ryan – I've gotta go and handle things outside. I'll come and check up on you later, okay?"
"Okay!" Ryan chirped.
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"Come on, come on!" Michael muttered, banging on the door to Johnny's house and pacing outside impatiently. He raised his fist to bang on the door several more times, "Johnny!" Tossing his blond hair quickly out of his turquoise eyes, Michael glanced worriedly at his spluttering blue convertible. "What if he's not home? Oh, for heaven's sake - Johnny!" He raised his hand to bang on the door again when it finally opened.
"What?" Johnny snapped, poking his head outside, "I'm trying to concentrate in here!" His face cleared when he saw who it was, "Michael? I thought you were supposed to be at the orphanage about half an hour ago."
"I know!" Michael insisted hastily, "But I lost the address she gave me earlier. I looked everywhere and I couldn't find it. So I need you to tell me the address right now, please!"
"What would you do without me?" Johnny muttered, disappearing inside and reappearing with a business card in his hand, "Here. It's on here – it's Carly's, so copy it later and give it back when you see her."
"Thanks!" Michael snatched the card and glanced at the address, "Thank Lord it isn't too far from here! She's going to kill me." He spirited down the steps and leaped into his convertible, zooming down the road and spraying snow all over the pedestrians on the sidewalk.
"Oh yeah," Johnny nodded in agreement, watching the blue automobile disappear from view, "She's definitely going to kill you."
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"No no no, Hannah sit down please," Carly said, planting her hands on her hips defiantly, "The next person to get out of their seats will miss their recreation time. Finish your colouring sheets and show me – the one that's the neatest coloured deserves a gingerbread cookie."
The small girl on the right immediately shot her hand up.
"Yes Brianna?" Carly asked patiently.
"With icing and raisons and candy on the top?" the girl chirped excitedly
"Of course," Carly replied, "With a candy cane too." Joyous whispers filled the classroom as the children immediately squatted back down to their pencil crayons and coloring sheets. Carly snapped her fingers twice, "I'm going to check up on Ryan and Violet, please be quiet. Mrs. Faraday will come in if you aren't – those who don't remain quiet as you're told will not be receiving any goodies today."
Carly smiled as the children all nodded and she slipped into the infirmary again. "Violet, you're awake, how do you feel?" She knelt down and felt the little girl's forehead, "Seems like your fever's gone all the way down and you're not coughing anymore. Good for you!" She tugged a warm sweater over Violet's head, "Go join the others now, I think you're well enough to handle it."
"Thank you Carly," the girl said shyly, tugging at her pigtails bashfully, "Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick."
"Don't mention it," Carly replied, patting her head, "Off you go now." She sighed in relief; one less sick was one less to worry about, now only if Ryan would get better…
"Carly…" Ryan's tiny voice whispered, "Carly – I don't feel so good…"
"Ryan?" Carly peered past the covers to the little boy's pale face, "Are you okay? Huh?" She reached down and picked him up worriedly, "Does anything hurt? Be a good little boy and tell me what doesn't feel very good. Head? Throat? Stomach?"
"Head," Ryan moaned, "Head keeps pounding and pounding…Ryan feels dizzy."
Carly hurriedly brushed her hand across Ryan's forehead, "Man…his fever's gone up again…screw it! Why does it have to be now?" She poured a glass of hot water and gently placed it in his hands, "Sip it slowly buddy, I'm going to see if I can get something for that fever of yours. Don't go outside, stay in bed, do I make myself clear?"
Ryan nodded his head solemnly.
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"I though I'd never find it!" Michael exclaimed, backing his car into the parking lot and slamming the door, "It's nearly two! Why does this stupid place have to be hidden in the middle of nowhere? Took me ages to find!" He shoved the door open, shaking snow from his ski jacket.
"May I help you?" the receptionist asked at the desk, "Sir?"
"Yeah," Michael said breathlessly, "Is Carly around here somewhere? I'm volunteering here for a few days and I was supposed to be here at one, but I kind of lost my way."
The receptionist shook her head as if not quite understand what he was blabbering about, "I'll go get Ms. Helka – wait here please."
"Thanks," Michael replied, biting his lower lip nervously while glancing around, "Carly is definitely going to kill me!" A couple of minutes later, a plump woman appeared at the door with the receptionist, "I'm sorry, but Carly has her hands tied for a minute, can I help you?"
"Well, I…" Michael stammered, scratching his head distractedly. He wasn't sure how to explain his lateness without sounding like a total airhead.
"Wait a minute," the woman said, staring hard at Michael, "Are you Michael Parker?"
"Err…yeah…"
"Oh, so you have arrived," the woman said, holding out her hand in a friendly gesture, "Carly told us to expect you about an hour ago, but maybe she got her times mixed up. Pleased to meet you Michael, you may call me Mrs. Faraday."
"Thanks," Michael said, breaking into a grin and shaking the woman's hand firmly.
"I most certainly didn't get my times mixed up," a steely voice said from behind, "It's not my problem if Parker can't follow directions on a map. Surely he doesn't expect me to take him on a leash and led him here like a puppy dog?"
"Now now Carly," Mrs. Faraday soothed, "Let's not get hostile Carly, it's okay if he's a bit late – I have to admit that we are a bit hard to find out here."
"A bit late?" Carly snorted, "Whatever. Now that he's here, I suppose there's no use squabbling about it. Mrs. Faraday, I'm going to mix some herbs in for Ryan – his fever's gone up again."
"All right, honey," Mrs. Faraday agreed with a slight frown, "Oh dear, poor Ryan, his body's just been so weak around this time of the year. Why don't I do it and you can show Michael around?"
"No, that's okay," Carly said, "Ryan's used to taking things from me, and I think I can coax him to drink it easier. You can show him around, I'll join you in a short while." She disappeared back into the kitchen without a second glance at Michael.
"I'm terribly sorry Michael, she's not usually like this," Mrs. Faraday apologized with a rueful smile.
"That's okay. She's always like this around me," Michael said carelessly, "I won't take it personally, I mean, I was an hour late after all."
Mrs. Faraday nodded, "That's good then, you know her then?"
"Yeah, we're classmates," Michael said, "Her brother's my good friend. So…what do you want me to do around here?"
"Carly will tell you that," Mrs. Faraday said with a smile, "I'll give you a quick tour of where everything is around here."
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"Carly, I don't want to," Ryan complained, trying to push away the drink, "It smells yucky."
"Ryan," Carly said wearily, tossing her braid back anxiously, "Please drink it. Otherwise you're going to make me very sad."
Ryan peered at her carefully, "If I drink it, will Carly be very happy?"
"Yes," Carly nodded, speaking in the same coaxing voice, "I promise I'll be very, very happy."
Ryan looked from her to the steaming cup and nodded slowly, "Then Ryan will drink it." He reached out his hands from the cup.
Carly's emerald eyes softened and she handed the cup to him, stroking his hair softly, "That's a good boy. Thank you." She smiled when Ryan gulped down the cup's contents and quickly climbed on her lap. She hugged him tightly as he drifted off to sleep, murmuring, "Try to get soon, okay sweetie? I worry about you every single day…you were so sick last year that I almost didn't think you were going to make it…"
She heard a rustling sound from behind her and turned around to find Michael standing at the doorway, shadows silhouetting his face. She gritted her teeth silently, "Can I help you Parker?"
"Mrs. Faraday told me to find you here; she was needed in the kitchen. What's wrong with him?" Michael asked quietly.
"Why do you care?"
"You look upset."
"Why do you care?"
"Gee…Carly…"
She sighed heavily, standing up with Ryan in her arms, "He's sick, all right? It's just the flu."
"If it's just the flu you wouldn't be so worried," Michael pointed out, entering the room and looking at the sleeping boy in concern.
"It is just the flu," Carly insisted, tucking Ryan back into bed, "It's nothing, let's go into the main room, I'll introduce the kids to you."
"But –" Michael was cut off when Carly swept out of the room. "Oh well…" He followed her out after another quick glance at the sleeping boy.
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Carly clapped her hands loudly, "Children! Can I have your attention please? Look up here, thank you." She opened her mouth to speak when the little girl, Hannah, from before leapt out of her seat and shoved her drawing in Carly's face.
"Look, look Carly! Isn't it beautiful?" Hannah said excitedly.
"No fair!" came a chorus of voices in the room, "We're done too!"
Michael grinned, shoving his hands in his pocket casually, "Cute kids here…they all seem to know her pretty well…"
"Quiet!" Carly said firmly, "Hannah, sit down please. I'll come around to look at your pictures in a minute. This is Michael - he's going to be helping out around here this week so I expect everyone to treat him as well as you treat me."
"Yes Carly!" a chorus of voices replied simultaneously.
"Does that mean you'll treat me just as well too?" Michael whispered teasingly in her ear.
Carly pulled away with a deep scowl, his voice sending tingles throughout her body, "Don't – Michael. I haven't reprimanded you for being so late, so don't push your luck." She turned back to the children, "Starting with Brianna, I want to you to each stand up and tell Michael your name and a bit about yourself."
A little girl with long silky brown hair stood up shyly, "Hi. My name's Brianna and I like dancing and music."
The outspoken girl beside Brianna leaped up, "I'm Hannah! It's spelled H-A-N-A-H. Don't forget it!"
Carly coughed, hiding a smile, "Hannah, you forget the other 'n' in your name again."
The girl tossed her blond hair over her shoulders, pondering carefully, "Oh right! H-A-N-N-A-H. You had better not forget it!"
Michael raised his eyebrows, "Tough customer, aren't you?"
Hannah nodded impetuously, crossing her arms importantly, "And I like to play sports, especially baseball."
Michael laughed, "So do I."
"I'm Greg," another boy said, standing up next, "I love playing with trucks and cars!"
"Looks pretty steady here," Carly whispered to Michael as the next boy stood up, "Just let them keep going, I'll be back in a couple of minutes."
"You going to check on Ryan?" Michael asked.
Carly gave him a strange look, "Yes…and then check on the weather, how did you know about Ryan…?"
"Never mind," Michael said, "You go ahead."
"Right," Carly said, disappearing out the door. She paused at the doorway and slowly glanced back inside the room. Michael had turned his attention back to the children and was laughing at what the boy has declared. Carly watched as he casually brushed his blond hair from his turquoise eyes, feeling her heart skip unexpectedly. "What's wrong with me? Just because he's acting a tad more sensitive than usual doesn't me that I'm supposed to fall to pieces or something. Whatever, gotta go check up on Ryan…"
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"Carly's back!" Hannah called, nearly jumping out of her seat again, but quickly sat down when Michael gave her a stern look. "Carly, guess what? Michael said that he'll play baseball with me!"
Carly hid a smile, biting her lip to keep from bursting into laughter, "That's nice Hannah, I'm glad you found someone who loves baseball as much as you do."
"Carly!" Greg exclaimed, "Can you look at our drawings now? Please???"
"Yes, coming right up," Carly promised, leaning back towards Michael, "Hey, can you help Mrs. Faraday get the drinks and cookies from the kitchen?"
"Sure thing," Michael said, standing up as Carly smiled slightly and stopped by the first desk to check on Greg's drawing. "Sometimes I really don't understand her…she's never been this nice to me before." He watched Carly brushed back as loose strand of her chestnut brown hair, her emerald eyes sparkling like stars. "Maybe I ought to stop treating her like another pretty face on the street…"
About twenty minutes later, Carly finally finished looking through all the drawings and paced around thoughtfully at the front of the room under dozens of watchful eyes.
"Well?" Hannah demanded impatiently.
"Ssssh!" Brianna hissed, "She's thinking!"
"Carly!" Greg wailed, "I can almost taste the cookie…"
Carly smiled, "But your drawings are all so beautiful, how do I choose?"
"Of course all the drawings are beautiful," Hannah said proudly, "But mine surely has the greatest talent of them all."
Does not!" Greg argued.
"Well!" Carly said, snapping her fingers loudly for attention, "I think it's fair to say that you've all done such a magnificent job –"
"Do we all get a gingerbread cookie then???" Greg asked hopefully.
"I want a special one!" Hannah interrupted.
"Hush now!" Carly ordered, "I think you all deserve a frosted cookie and some nice hot chocolate –"
"But no gingerbread?" Greg pouted.
"Greg," Carly said warningly, "No more interruptions, let me finish. We'll save the gingerbread cookies for tomorrow. How about this? Tomorrow, we'll all make gingerbread cookies and you can add whatever you want onto them, raisins, candies, icing, candy canes – you name it! How does that sound?"
"Great!" the children cheered, immediately breaking into excited whispers.
"So what do I do with this?" Michael asked, holding a plate of juice glasses in one hand and cookies in the other.
"Oh!" Carly took the plate of cookies from him, "Just leave in on this table, they'll come up and help themselves. All right guys, come up and get your snacks! No pushing, no shoving. If someone let you go before them yesterday, try to return the favour today. After you eat, you can go outside and play."
"Are you okay?" Michael asked, placing down his plate as the children swarmed around the table for their snack.
"I'm fine," Carly assured him, "Why? Do I look tired?"
"No, just worried," Michael replied, not taking his deep eyes off her.
"Quite observant of you Parker," Carly smirked, tossing her messily braided hair back, "You had better go put on your coat, after these kids eat, they'll be jumping with energy and we have to keep up with them outside." She stood up and reached for her coat with a sigh.
"Wait Carly," Michael reached out, taking her coat from her hands.
"Hey," Carly frowned slightly, "Michael, I can put on my own coat, thanks."
"No," Michael chuckled, "Why don't you stay inside with Ryan for today? I think I can handle those kids myself."
"But…" Carly's voice trailed off in puzzlement, "Michael…?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, he wasn't being the self-centered, self-conceited, self-admiring jerk she as used to. He was actually acting considerate of others…for once.
"I know you're worried about him," Michael said, gazing into her emerald eyes, "I think you should look after him while I'm around, maybe he'll get better faster, okay?"
It took Carly a moment to find her voice again, "Oh – err…thanks then. If you need anything, just give me a shout and I'll be out there in a flash. Don't let the kids wander too far."
"Don't worry," Michael winked, "I've got it covered." He saluted and disappeared outside, leaving Carly staring after him in bewilderment.
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"He's a nice young man, isn't he?" Mrs. Faraday asked from the doorway, watching as Carly changed the cool towel on Ryan's forehead, "You've got a good eye for helpful people."
"I didn't find him," Carly said, shaking her head, "It's more of a favour than anything; I don't even know why he bothers."
"Perhaps, he fancies you?"
"Mrs. Faraday!" Carly exclaimed, her cheeks reddening at the thought, "Spare me!"
"Oh honey, don't condemn him so soon," Mrs. Faraday said with a laugh, "Young people these days, always jumping to conclusions before understanding them and counting first impressions for everything. He seems like a fine young man to me."
"If you would excuse the tone Mrs. Faraday, I know him from school. He's ridiculously –"
"All right, no more bashing," Mrs. Faraday chided gently, "You've got to try to be more open-minded, not all people can be what you want them to be. It's important to look at their good qualities instead of always at their bad."
"How else am I supposed to look at Michael Parker?" Carly wondered. She shook her head and gently brushed Ryan's tousled hair.
"You're really quite fond of him, aren't you?" Mrs. Faraday asked.
Carly smiled wryly, "Presuming that you mean Ryan here, not Michael, yes, I'm very fond of him. He just has to get better – he has to."
"He will, honey, with you looking after him, it would be cruel of Lord not to spare him from anymore suffering," Mrs. Faraday assured, "I hear the kids coming in, I'll go and help Michael put them to their beds for napping – then the two of you can go."
"Sure…" Carly murmured as the matriarch slipped outside towards the loud chatter of the orphans. "Hang on Ryan, I know you'll make it fine, okay? You promised me that you'll get better…I don't want anymore empty promises…not even if you don't mean it. Please get better…I'll get you anything you want for Christmas…"
A few minutes later, Michael appeared in the room, "Carly? Mrs. Faraday said that we could go, you want a ride home?" He frowned when he got no answer, "Carly??"
"Oh!" Carly gave a start, turning around in her chair, "Sorry. Did you say something?"
"Carly, what is wrong with Ryan?" Michael asked in perplexity.
"Nothing," Carly responded shortly, "I'm sorry that you had to go out yourself, hope it wasn't too much trouble."
"Err…I volunteered to go out myself, remember? Of course it wasn't too much trouble, nothing I couldn't handle. It was actually good, it helped me remember all their names…well, most of them anyways."
"Right," Carly said absent-mindedly, not noticing that Michael was staring at her in concern, "I guess, we can go now then…"
Michael gently tugged on her sleeve, guiding her out of the room, "It's okay, he'll probably be much better tomorrow. You can come and see him tomorrow, remember, Johnny freaks when you're not home on time?"
"Right…"
"Carly, don't worry," Mrs. Faraday said encouragingly, "You two should go along, I know you young people have a lot more things to do than to hang around here. I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Bye," Michael and Carly said at once and both of them reached for their coats.
"Oh right, who is my supervisor supposed to be? Mrs. Faraday?" Michael asked blankly, "I still need to get that letter of evidence thing."
Carly laughed lightly and smirked, "You're looking at her, Parker."
"You're kidding," Michael said flatly, "You?"
"Michael, I'm hurt, you sound so disappointed," Carly said sardonically, "Yes, it's me. I've been here long enough to look after new volunteers – so you had better shape up if you want a nice letter. And don't think I'll let you off that easily, I'm expecting that you'll make up the one hour you were late for." She tossed her hair and strode outside.
Michael stared after her, shaking his head and breaking into a grin before chasing after her, "I'll be on time tomorrow, I promise. I kind of got lost – I spent half an hour at home looking for that address that you gave me. Then I sped over to Johnny's and he gave me some card. After that, I screw up with the map reading."
"Michael," Carly said, shaking her head, "You're such a goof."
"Which reminds me, here's your card – Johnny told me to give it back," he held out standard business card expectantly.
"You keep it, Parker. Otherwise you might get lost again," Carly said with a slight smile, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll give you a ride," Michael offered again, "It's really dark out there, and Johnny would kill me if I made you walk home alone."
"Well…" Carly said uncertainly.
"Come on," Michael pressed.
"All right," Carly said reluctantly, "Thanks."
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"Johnny, I'm home!" Carly called, slamming the door behind her and shivering violently, "It's freezing outside! Johnny!"
"Coming, coming," Johnny said, poking his head from the living room, "I told you that I would go pick you up, but you refused."
"Well, I didn't walk anyways," Carly pointed out, "Michael…errr…gave me a ride."
"And you accepted?" Johnny raised his eyebrows.
"Well…yeah…"
"Who are you and what have you done to Carly?" Johnny demanded.
"Oh Johnny!" Carly laughed, hitting her brother playfully on the shoulder, "I'm fine – really. It's not like I like him or something, he was just a little more…a little different today."
"I already told you that he's not a bad guy, even though he was running late," Johnny said, "Go get something hot to drink, your cheeks are as rosy as cherries. It's freezing like hell outside!"
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"On time today, I see," Carly said with a grin the next day, "And even early Parker, guess it's not impossible to have some expectations for you then."
"Well, I try, gorgeous," Michael teased, "Because I'd rather see your pretty smile than get another lecture."
Carly blushed, momentarily speechless, "He's teasing again Carly, pull yourself together already! The last thing I want to do now if fall to pieces."
"There you are!" Mrs. Faraday exclaimed, "Hurry up would you? The children are getting restless and I have to see to Ryan first."
Hearing Ryan's name made her heart skip a few beats, Carly swallowed hard, "Mrs. Faraday…how is Ryan?"
"He's not any better," the plump woman said, a touch of irritably in her voice, "Never mind him, you two just go handle the other kids, Hannah's driving me up the wall."
"But Ryan –"
"Come on Carly," Michael said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Let's best do as we're told, all right?"
Carly opened her mouth to protest, but then thought the better of it. Swallowing back her worry, she forced herself to smile at him, "All right. We've got to let them look through catalogues today and get them to make a wish list of three items. Since most of them can't write, we'll have to write the items down for them – I'm going to go tomorrow afterwards to buy all the items with some of the orphanage funds. Johnny, Enrique, Oliver, and Aquana are all buying a few random toys and bringing them over later so they'll each get the item they want and plus a random item."
"Sounds good to me," Michael said, taking a stack of the catalogues and passing them out.
"Oh Ryan…what's wrong with you?" Carly thought desperately as the children chattered excitedly around her, "Ryan…"
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"Well, Hannah, what would you like for Christmas this year?" Michael asked with a grin, kneeling down beside the pompous little girl.
"That's easy!" Hannah exclaimed, "A real baseball. Not one of the fake balls here, a real baseball made of stitches and leather!"
Michael laughed, "We'll see what we can do about that, huh? You'll grow up to be a real pro with this attitude."
"You think so?" Hannah said, crossing her arms and looking up at the teenage boy expectantly, "Do you really think so? Carly told me that you are a really, really good baseball player!"
"She did, did she?" Michael asked with a smile, "And what else did she say about me?"
"I'm not telling you!" Hannah declared, tugging at her blond pigtails.
"Come on," Michael coaxed, "Was it that bad?"
"No no no," Hannah shook her hair, swinging her pigtails around gracefully, "It's a secret."
"All right," Michael chuckled, "Have it your way. I'm going to go ask Greg over there now, keep reading." He stood up and glanced at Carly who was busy writing down what Brianna was reciting to her. He could tell that she was still upset about Ryan even though she was pretending to smile. "She does a pretty good job of concealing her feelings; I wonder how many times I've seen her smile when she's really broken inside?"
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"Carly…" Small hands reached up weakly to hug her around her neck as Ryan struggled to sit up.
"Now now," Carly coaxed, "Don't try to sit up if you can't." She hugged the small boy tightly as he scrambled on her lap. Tousling his hair, she could tell that he was still feverish. "Ryan sweetie, have you thought about what you want for Christmas?"
"Parents?" Ryan asked innocently, "I want a family for Christmas."
"No, silly," Carly said, swallowing hard to blink back her tears, "A family can't be bought with money Ryan."
"Can I come home with you on Christmas?" Ryan wanted to know.
"I don't know," Carly whispered, stroking his messy hair, "You're not making this easy Ryan…what would you like, a toy of some sort, more than any other toy in the world?"
Ryan thought hard, furrowing his brow in a display of deep thinking, "I know!"
"What is it?"
"Those spaceships that you can control with a remote," Ryan said sleepily, waving his hand in the air, "I'll fly it all the way to the stars and the moon…"
"All right," Carly murmured, holding the boy close to her as he laid his head on her shoulder, "Ryan, do you remember what you promised me?"
"Ryan promised that he would get better before Christmas."
"That's right," Carly said in a slightly choked voice, "Are you going to keep that promise to me?"
"Yes Carly…" Ryan mumbled drowsily before drifting off to sleep again.
"He has to make it! Never mind the fact that he's getting worse every day, he'll make it. He knows that he'll make it. Oh Ryan, I'm so sorry there's nothing else I can do for you… What if he doesn't make it? No, I can't think about that, I just can't!" Carly took a deep, shuddery breath, hugging him even tighter.
"Carly?" Michael stepped quietly into the infirmary, "I thought I'd find you here."
I look away
Then I look back at you
You try to say
The things that you can't undo
If I had my way
I'd never get over you
It ain't the day
I pray that we make it through
"Oh Michael," Carly said lightly, hurriedly wiping her eyes, "I thought you've already gone home." She turned her back to him so he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.
"You disappeared right after you were done, so I tidied up a bit. Mrs. Faraday thought you left, but I guessed you were here," Michael explained, sitting down beside her.
"You can go home," Carly said shortly, "I'm going to be a little while."
"Carly…look at me…"
"There's no need for that – just go home."
"Look at me Carly."
"I don't want to –" Carly started as he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her firmly towards him.
Make it through the fall
Make it through it all
Carly gritted her teeth and looked downwards stubbornly.
Michael gently placed his cool hand beneath her face and tilted her head up slowly to meet his eyes, "You're crying."
"I am not, I'm just tired, that's all!" Carly said crossly, blinking furiously and trying to turn away, "Go away…"
"Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong."
"You expect me to believe that? Carly, I'm not that naïve."
Carly swallowed hard, tears spilling from her eyes even though her emerald eyes remained steely and resolute to silence.
Startled as her tears slowly made contact with his hand, Michael drew his hand back hesitantly, "Carly…"
She stood up abruptly and laid Ryan back in bed, pulling the covers snugly over his small body with her eyes still shiny with tears.
"Carly, please tell me what's wrong?"
And I don't wanna fall to pieces
I just want to sit and stare at you
I don't want to talk about it
And I don't want a conversation
I just want to cry in front of you
I don't want to talk about it
There was a silence so long that it stretched for what seemed like eternity, no sound at all except for the laboured breathing of the sleeping child.
Finally Carly spoke, slowly at first until words came pouring out like a rushing stream, "He's sick, Michael. Just the flu, but his immune system is so weak he can't combat it. It happened last year too, they found him last year – he was in horrible shape. You can't even imagine…I don't know where his mom is, but his dad beat him so badly and neglected him terribly. We were able to heal his physical wounds and there was no emotional damage to his mental system, he's the sweetest kid ever. He became so attached to me; you don't know how much he wants a real family. He pretends that I'm his older sister and he keeps insisting that he wants to come home with me! Because he wasn't properly cared for as a child, his immune system falters – last winter, he caught the flu from one of the children here. It was just a mild flu, the other kid recovered fully within five days. But Ryan…he was sick for two weeks. He just got worse and worse each day: coughing, laryngitis, throat infection… Then he got pneumonia and was hospitalized…he…he almost didn't make it…"
"Carly…" Michael whispered, putting his arm around her and pulling her close to him before he realized what he was doing, "It'll be all right, I promise. He'll make it; he has you taking care of him."
"But what if he doesn't?" Carly cried, tears splashing down her face as she clenched Michael's shirt tightly, scrunching up the cloth, while crying against his chest.
"He will," Michael assured comfortingly, "Have a little faith Carly. Trust me; everything will turn out all right."
Carly stumbled back slightly, looking up at Michael sceptically with tears still glimmering in her emerald eyes, "A-are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Michael confirmed confidently, "Just wait and see."
It took a moment for Carly to regain her composure and realize how close she was standing to Michael and that his arms were loosely around her waist. "Oh my Lord…how did I get this close to him? How…? What if he tries to kiss me?!" She hastily pushed his arms away, ignoring the tingling throughout her whole body and the red blush staining her cheeks, "I'm sorry Michael, I…I just lost control for a second. I – I'm sorry."
Michael was startled back into reality as well and he took a deep breath, "It's getting real late – I'll take you home."
Cuz I'm in Love With you
I'm in love with you
Cuz i'm in love with you
And I'm in love with you
I'm in love with you
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