"Can I explain something to you? Is that okay?" My cellphone was pressed to my ear, and I was speaking quietly. Early in the morning, Yokohara-sensei had called me. She'd woken me up, and I wasn't upset about that. I knew it had to be important for her to do that. However, our conversation wasn't going well. I'd even call it combative. It constantly amazed me, learning more about the relationship between her and Sana. They really were like mother and son sometimes, except Sana was like an angry teenager. I was seeing more of this now, just by the words she was saying.

"Yes. I really don't know where his behavior is coming from. It's worrying me. You probably know better than I do."

"Mm-hm. That's understandable. But, you're right. I know where it's coming from. The thing is, he's been crying a lot. He's not really mad at anyone. He's depressed."

She sighed deeply. "That makes sense. I really should have thought more about my words yesterday. It's just so hard sometimes. I try to help him, but he fights back. It used to be a lot worse, though. A while ago, it seemed to be that no matter what I said, he'd tell me no. No medications, no more advice about his diet, no more precautions. Then I heard that you were saying no to what I'd ordered for him, too, and I thought, 'oh no, now I've lost them'. It's frightening, that's the truth."

"I'm sorry. I'll try to think about the words I choose, too. I really didn't mean to offend."

"It's okay. Well, speaking of which, are you ready to help me get him weighed today? There's a scale in the hallway a ways away from you. I'll come, no nurses. I want him to be as comfortable as possible."

"Yes. How are we going to do it, though? He's got so much tubing. He's connected to so many things."

"It won't be easy, but we'll do it. I'll see what he's hooked up to, and we'll figure it out from there."

"Okay. When do you want to do it?"

"He has to be weighed before he eats breakfast. That's why I'm calling so early. I wanted to catch you before your nurse comes in this morning."

"Makes sense. I'll help the best that I can."

"Thank you. Once again, I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm sure yesterday he would have had a big freak out at me if you hadn't been there. I've seen it before. It gets nasty."

"Hmm." I adjusted the phone on my ear. "That's something I wanted to ask about, if you have the time."

"Of course. What is it?"

"Hmm." I gazed at Sana's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful, but yesterday... I'd never seen him lash out like that. I didn't think he was capable. He was usually so gentle and...innocent, for lack of better words. He'd shown me something I never thought was inside of him. That fierceness. It occurred to me that maybe he was only that gentle and innocent with me. There was evidence that he wasn't like that with others. It was strange to think about. "Does he get nasty sometimes? Yelling, things like that?"

She made a pleased noise. "No. Not lately, anyway. He did some years ago. He was depressed, as you said. It honestly all makes sense, his behavior now. Sometimes, when you're overwhelmed you can do things that you wouldn't normally do. He's usually very sweet to me. But sometimes, when he loses hope, a snake comes out and strikes. Has he never yelled at you?"

I shook my head quickly. "He's never shown any kind of aggression to me. He's very thoughtful and kind all the time."

She sighed, even more pleased. It made me smile. "That's where you're different. I can see why you're good for him. You seem to have the ability to calm him down. You make him see things another way. I'd give anything for that power. Sometimes trying to convince him of things is like pulling teeth. He's so stubborn."

"Ahh, I see. Thank you. And stubborn? Sana, stubborn? In what universe?"

She started laughing. "Are you kidding? He's the most stubborn, strong-headed person I've ever met. His eyes narrow, and his lips set in place, so rigid, and I know I'm not going to get anywhere. He's like a donkey who's decided he doesn't want to walk anymore. You know you're not going to move that animal, and you have to give up for the day and try again tomorrow."

I started laughing a little at this. "I can't imagine it. Whenever I ask him something, he bends like a willow tree."

"I'm surprised. See, that's what I'm talking about. I'm so glad you're here. I feel like things might be easier from now on. It's really for his benefit, too. If he's easier to treat, then we get things done quicker, and he can feel better sooner. And it's okay if you have questions. You can ask me any time. Don't think you can't call me immediately and ask. Such as with the scale. Just call me next time, okay? I'd have told you right away. No feelings need to be hurt."

"Okay. That all sounds so good. I'm glad."

"Yeah. I'll come up soon. I've got a few things I need to finish. If you could do me a favor and wake Sana up and tell him what's going on? I don't want a repeat. I figure he'll be calmer if you do it."

"I can do that. Thank you. This was a good talk."

"It sure was. See you later."

"See you later."

I hung up, still smiling. It really had been a good talk. I felt like we were on the same page now. I slipped my phone into my pocket, and observed Sana. He looked so innocent like that. He didn't seem capable of what she'd been talking about at all, but I'd seen an example of that yesterday. A warm feeling spread inside of me, though. My smile spread, too. As my hand went to his side, landing there, I realized what it meant.

I liked learning new things about him all the time. The more I learned, the more I fell in love. The many facets of him, shining bright.

About thirty minutes later, he was sitting up with me. I knew mornings could be hard for him. That was okay. He was waking up slowly, kind of staring blankly, blinking blearily. The blankets were gathered around us, and I was holding his side, pressing him to me.

"How are you feeling? Any change?" I asked.

All of a sudden, he yawned so big. Helpless, I caught it and yawned, too. This caused a small smile on his face. I giggled, seeing this. How happy it made me feel. He seemed to be moving a lot better today. More ease of movement. It made my heart so glad.

His head descended to my shoulder, laying there. "My head hurts," he said. "Probably because I slept too much."

"Oh no. We can get you some pain medication when Yokohara-sensei comes in. That shouldn't be too hard, I think." I wanted to rest my cheek on his head, but I didn't want to hurt him. It sent a twinge in my belly, this want. I gathered his hand up instead, holding it like a flower.

"That would be nice," he exhaled.

"Yeah. She'll come soon."

"Hmm." He began to rock our hands back and forth slightly, and this movement made the twinge in my belly grow. "Are you hungry? I wish I could make you some breakfast. What would you want?"

"Aww." I rose our hands up to my mouth, and kissed the back of his. He made a tiny swaying movement with his body, an excited little thing. It made me giggle. "You wouldn't have to make me anything."

"Mm. I want to."

I kissed the top of his head. He was always so sweet. How could the donkey Yokohara-sensei was explaining to me exist in that body? Seemed impossible.

"Hmm. I suppose I'd want an egg and tofu scramble. That sounds nice right now."

"That does sound nice. I'd make it."

"Aww, my sweetheart." I kissed the top of his head again. He made a couple of jump-like movements, so happy. I chuckled, kissing the top of his head even more.

There was a knock on the door. I looked toward it. "That must be Yokohara-sensei. Don't worry, we talked about how you're going to be weighed. It's not difficult."

"Okay."

The door opened, and there Yokohara-sensei was with a wheelchair. "By the way," she said as a greeting, "why don't you have his own wheelchair? I'd have thought you would have brought it. I was thinking that the whole way up."

"We never bring it. I usually just carry him." I began to get up, adjusting the blankets around myself.

"Must be nice. I wish my husband would carry me."

I laughed. "You sound like my sister now."

She laughed back. She brought the wheelchair to the bottom edge of the bed and set the brakes. I made sure Sana was stable on the bed after I got up, and seeing him, I remembered what we'd been talking about. "Oh, by the way. Can we have some pain medication? Sana's head hurts."

"It does? Let me check his blood pressure. Headaches can be caused by that."

I froze. Something else I didn't know. Suddenly, I wished I knew everything she knew, but that was impossible. "They can?"

"Yes. Hi, Sana. How are you feeling?" She leaned down, trying to look him in the face. His head was still down a little, turned to the side on the bed. Maybe he wasn't doing as well as I thought. My worry level was going up rapidly.

His head straightened up, and he looked her in the face. I sighed with relief inside. For a second there, he looked like... Ah. "My head hurts, but otherwise I feel good. Hungry."

"Okay. It's not good for you to be hungry. We'll get done as soon as possible, alright?"

"Okay."

She went around to the other side of him, and started to take the tape off the bed which secured his catheter and made sure it was harder to knock out of place. It made me nervous. "You know what?" She said, taking the last piece of tape off. "I bet we could just take your catheter out. Would that be okay? You seem a lot stronger, moving better. I bet we could have you using a commode if you wanted. It would be a lot easier on you. What do you think?"

"Okay," he said again. He seemed tired. That wasn't good.

"Alright. I'm going to put your bed down. Just relax."

Sana nodded. She did this, and went over to the cabinets. After fiddling around in them for about a minute, she looked at me. "I'll be back. There's no syringes. I was hoping there would be, but... I'll be back. I'll order the pain medication, too." She turned around to Sana. "I'll be back. I'm going to get supplies."

"Okay." That's all he said again.

As soon as she left, I went to his bedside. I leaned over him. My hand went to his forehead, and started sweeping back over and over. His eyes closed.

"Are you okay?" I asked, getting closer to him, studying him. He looked calm.

"My head hurts worse. I don't feel good."

"She didn't check your blood pressure." My eyebrows creased at this realization.

"She was preoccupied. Maybe she forgot."

"Maybe." I eyed his blood pressure cuff. Was there a way to make it turn on? "Wait a minute, okay? I'm going to see if I can make your blood pressure cuff turn on." I straightened up and went to his monitor, checking all around it. I flicked it with my fingers a few times, in the futile hope that would start it.

He chuckled. I looked back at him, smiling at this.

"You can't make it come on. It kind of just does. You're so cute," he said.

"Yeah?" I went back over to him, sitting near his head. He turned his face to me, smiling. "I want to know what your blood pressure is, though."

"If we buy a blood pressure cuff thing and stethoscope, I can teach you how to check it."

I gasped. "Really? That would be perfect!"

He chuckled again. "You're really so cute. I love you."

My hand went through his hair, and his eyes closed in pleasure, the corners upturned. "I love you, too." I continued to stroke his hair, and he sighed in love.

In the afternoon, Yokohara-sensei visited us again. She looked like the news wasn't good, and I braced myself. It had been an eventful morning, a good one, despite this now. I'd helped Sana to the actual toilet in our room a few times, no commode needed. Like times before, it was hard for him to start being able to go. We had a couple of false starts, but he was finally going. He explained that when he had the catheter in for so long, it was hard for him to go on his own for a bit. I'd been patient, though. I knew he could do it, and we'd had success. I was so proud of him.

She had a clipboard with her, and gently she let us see it. In big red pen marks, I could see where the trouble was. I held it in my hands, letting Sana see. His face immediately took on that indifferent look that he'd had yesterday. I took his hand and kissed it, and his expression softened. We weren't going to have a repeat. I was determined.

She started speaking quickly, seeing his face, too. "You can see it. He's forty-two kilograms now. He was forty-five just a month and a half ago, thereabouts. That's not good at all. That's a seventeen point four BMI. As soon as I saw the numbers, I was trying to figure out a solution, and I did. Are you up for going to Costco again? At this point, Costco is your best friend. America really does have a lot of diabetic and sodium friendly foods. They sell something called a Kind bar. It's a protein bar, but I see that this brand often doesn't have a lot of added sugar and the sodium count can be pretty low at the same time. You definitely have to read the backs of the packs before you buy, because some aren't great, but you might find a combination you like."

"Sounds reasonable," Sana said. Yokohara-sensei's face relaxed, and her entire body did, too.

"Yeah. You can eat them whenever you feel hungry, and it shouldn't affect your blood sugar counts. I think that way, you could be able to gain back some weight. You really need to. I'd even go so far as to suggest you over eat them. I'll try to think of more foods like this that you can have like that. I want you to increase your portion sizes at meals, too. Of course don't eat until you feel sick, but I want you to be conscious of it, okay? I know we've been having a lot of problems lately with food, and that's what led to this. I know for a while you were being fed with a feeding tube, too, and that can cause weight loss. That's not your fault at all."

"I was? That's strange. I don't remember that at all."

She smiled kindly. "You were asleep a lot. I'm not surprised."

"Ah," I sat up straighter on the bed, remembering suddenly. "We found a kind of cake that has zero sugar in it a little bit before all of this happened. Would that help? Should we find more of it?"

"Oh! Yes, absolutely! I think I know what you mean. I think the same brand makes zero sugar chocolates, if you can find them. That would be excellent."

"Chocolates?" Sana was smiling now, perking up.

"Yeah! You like chocolates, I remember. It's been a while since you've had those, hasn't it?" Yokohara-sensei was absolutely beaming now. I was overjoyed.

"We'll find them. I'll ask the fans. I bet they know where to get them." I was determined absolutely. "I'll ask them today."

"Yay," Sana said, so content. It made me chuckle, and he giggled with me. I sighed, so happy.

I was on a high already, when Yokohara-sensei said the most wonderful thing. The thing I wanted more than anything.

"Well, I'm going to consult with Harada-sensei, but I think that's everything. You're even off your catheter now, and you haven't received saline in a few days. There's no real reason to keep your IV in. I don't see any reason why you can't be released. We've come up with excellent solutions. I want to follow up with you in a couple of weeks to see how your weight is doing and how you're tolerating the new foods. Other than that, I think we're good."

"Really?!" I gasped, grinning so much, my whole body excited beyond measure. "Oh, Sana! You're getting out!"

He was shocked, his mouth open. "I can really go home?" He asked, in disbelief.

"Yeah. Maybe even later today. I don't want to keep you for longer than we have to. You can go home. Plan your wedding. Don't forget I want to come." She was smiling so much, clearly so happy to give us this news.

I found small tears at the edge of my eyes. Yokohara-sensei's head tilted a little, her bottom lip poking out just a bit as I wiped them away.

"Don't cry," she said, laughing a little. "Oh no."

"It's just," I breathed in hard. "It's my birthday tomorrow. This is the best present ever."

"Oh wow, I didn't know that. Oh, that's wonderful. I'm so glad this worked out."

"Thank you so much for everything. I don't know what we'd do without you." I bowed as deeply as I could to her from my seated position.

"And the same to you." She bowed back to me.

Sniffling sounds made me squeeze Sana's hand. I turned to him, and he was crying, too. My arms wrapped around him, and his face pressed against the side of my neck. I rubbed his back as he cried, and my own tears fell.

"We're going home," I soothed him. "We're finally going home. It's going to be okay."