Towards the end of the party, I was clinging to Tetsu on the porch swing, trying to resist shaking. I had to pull through. With all of my power, I couldn't get sick. I couldn't let anyone see I wasn't feeling well. Tetsu had already guessed this when we were performing together. I'd so wanted to perform together. When he guessed, my heart descended into my stomach. I wanted to keep going, even though I didn't feel well. He was right, of course. Always looking out for me. I realized when we were on the porch swing again, that he'd been absolutely correct to stop me when he did. I was so grateful.

I began to tremble a little, despite my best efforts. It made no sense. I'd eaten. But, then I remembered. Shaking could be a symptom I had from high blood sugar, too. I analyzed what I was feeling inside now. I didn't feel out of control like I did with low blood sugar. It was different. I was shivering like I was cold, unlike the tight rapid shaking of when I had low blood sugar. This slower shaking made me feel like if I tensed up, I could control it. So, I tried.

"Oh no, are you cold?" Tetsu asked, feeling me shaking on his body. I nodded, playing along. I didn't want to alarm him. Not in front of all of these people, people he loved and who adored him. How could I cut this short? It devastated me. Just the idea of it.

He gently lifted me off of his front, and laid me towards the back of the porch swing. Deftly, he took off his haori jacket and draped it over my shoulders. In one swift movement, he placed me back on him, my head laid on his chest, just as before. His arm went around me, pressing me to him, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he hadn't picked up that my shaking was a medical problem. I tensed up trying to control myself, but he picked up on this, too.

"You're so tense. Are you alright? Are you cold?" He began rubbing my side, sweet concern all over his beautiful facial features.

"I'm okay now. I was cold," I lied.

"Are you sure?" He asked. He peered at his rose colored watch, and jumped a little. I made a noise of wonder. "No wonder I have to go to the bathroom! It's past 10pm! Wow, time flies. Feels like we've only been here two hours, maybe! Do you have to pee? I want you to come with me, anyway. I don't want to leave you alone."

I nodded. "I think it would be a good idea to take a bathroom break."

"Okay," he said, smiling to me. I reached up and touched his face. He pressed my hand to his cheek, closing his eyes, his lips parting in an expression which told me he thought my hand was a dear thing. It made my heart fill with butterflies.

He adjusted us, and soon he'd lifted me up in our carrying pose. At this, several of his relatives and friends came over. "Is he alright?" His cellist asked, deep concern on his face. "Do you need any help?"

A male cousin who's name I didn't know, identifiable due to the same darker skin tone as Tetsu, offered to grab my wheelchair. Tetsu accepted this with a smile. I felt myself drifting as I was in Tetsu's arms. Oh no. Too relaxed, sleepy, or medical problem? I closed my eyes, and leaned my face on his neck as the cousin raced off to get my wheelchair.

"Huh?" Tetsu wondered. I felt him shift. I heard him whisper. "Jun, go get my mom, okay? It's probably not a big deal, but I want to make sure Sana is alright. We'll be right back."

I heard someone walk away among the crowd. We began to move, and went upwards. Warmth spread about me as we must have entered the house. We walked for a while, and I heard a door open. The sound of a toilet lid came down, and I felt it under me as I was sat down. He pushed my chest, and I laid against the back of it. I didn't want to open my eyes. They felt sticky, like I'd have to peel apart my eyelids to open them.

The distinct sounds of Tetsu's mom's footsteps followed by heavier footsteps approached. I heard a knock.

"What's going on?" Haru's voice.

"I knew something was wrong. He looked tired maybe thirty minutes ago, and then he started shaking about five minutes ago. He stopped shaking, but he seems so tired."

"The shaking is concerning. It's not very cold out."

"No, I know. It's not cold out at all. Mom, can you get Sana's purse? I want to check his blood sugar."

"Yes." His mom's footsteps went away.

Tetsu was being surprisingly calm and collected compared to how he was usually in these situations. My hands slipped off my lap, and my shoulders slumped. Oh. I knew what this was. Classic high blood sugar. I was getting weakness.

"It's high blood sugar," I sighed. "I couldn't tell if I was high or low, but it was something. I didn't want to stop the party. I'm sorry. I don't know what I ate, but something had sugar in it."

"Did you eat any of the fruit on the cake?" Haru asked. He took my wrist, and his two fingers pressed.

"No. I don't know what it was. Could there have been sugar in the dipping sauce for the dumplings?"

"At least you're talking to me like normal," he said. "It's possible there was sugar in there, yes. How many dumplings did you eat? The gyoza skins could be a factor."

"Quite a few. I really liked them."

"They could definitely be the culprit, then."

I nodded. He released my wrist. "His heart's beating a bit slow," he told Tetsu. "It's not necessarily a bad sign. I'll check it again after he's had insulin. It's in the refrigerator, right? I'll go get it."

"Thank you so much. Yes, it is in the fridge."

"Okay. I'll get it."

"Thank you."

I heard Haru's footsteps going, and Tetsu's mom's footsteps approaching. Tetsu's warm lips kissed my forehead, and I relaxed. Unfortunately, this made the shaking come back. Gentle trembling, really as if I were cold. Tetsu had been right to guess that. His hand landed on my head, and his thumb began rubbing my forehead. If he wasn't careful, I'd fall asleep right here.

His mom took my hand after I heard the sound of the zipper of my blood testing kit. "Oh, you're shaking, Sana. I'll try to get a good stick." I nodded. She counted down, and the sting of the needle followed. The strip came next, and the beep of my glucose monitor rang out.

"Two-hundred and ninety-two. Yes, he needs insulin."

"Haru went to get it."

"That's good."

As if called, Haru's footsteps came back. "I've got it and prepped it. Uh. Can you prepare his leg?"

Delicately, Tetsu's hands were on my kimono. He separated the material, as if unwrapping me. Colder air was on my legs now. I heard the medicine cabinet open as he did this.

"I've got a band-aid. I don't want his under things to be stained from this," his mom said.

"Oh, thank you," Tetsu breathed.

Haru counted down, and I felt the pain of the needle go in and remain as an intensifying burning as he counted down the seconds it needed to remain in. My face must have shown my discomfort, because Tetsu's hand was on my head again as soon as the needle went in. "It's okay," he said, "twelve more seconds."

The needle came out, and the band-aid was rubbed on, a thumb pressed to my injection site for another thirty seconds. Tetsu folded the material of my kimono back in place.

"Now usually, I would say that I'd want him to rest until he feels better. But, it's your decision. I know how important this party is," Haru said. He paused. "You can't open your eyes, can you?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "I think I'm worse off than I thought. What do I do?"

He sighed. "If it were up to me and it were Natsuko instead of you, I'd tell everyone to go home. It's past ten o'clock, really. We'll all have a chance to come back together for you wedding. Your health comes first."

Tetsu made a fast exhaling noise. "That's right, your health comes first. I was concerned for a while. We've all had fun. We did everything that the party requires. It's so late anyway, Shinji and Aki will need to go to bed."

"But." I knew my voice sounded childish in my tiredness. "We haven't thanked your parents yet. We're supposed to thank your parents in front of everyone, to show how much we appreciate them, right?"

"Ohh." Tetsu's mom let out an adoring noise. "You don't have to do that yet. It's not your wedding reception! No need to be so formal. We know how much you both appreciate us."

"Thank you, mom," Tetsu said, a bit formally.

"No, no! Don't thank me! Ah, I'll let your papa know to wind down the festivities."

"But, I don't want the party to stop because of me." A sudden tightness was in my chest. In a second, I knew it was a lump traveling to my throat, tears. Tetsu detected my tone. I felt his breeze as he moved quickly. His hands were on my cheeks.

"It's not because of you, my darling. Don't think that. It's getting late. I'm pretty tired, too. We should be winding it down, anyway. It's not your fault at all. I promise." His thumbs rubbed just below my chin, on both sides of my face, trying to soothe me.

"I'm just emotional because I feel sick," I sighed, realizing this. Such a level headed realization when I felt like this, for once.

"Yeah, is that what it is?" He asked, taking on a cute tone, trying to make me laugh. I smiled for him. He hands disappeared, and he took my hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "Okay, mom, you can go tell everyone we're winding down the party. Don't tell anyone Sana feels sick. I bet he feels guilty enough as it is."

I nodded in agreement.

He continued. "Yeah, see?"

"Everyone is going to want to say good-bye to you two. What should I tell them?" She asked.

"You can say that we both feel tired. They'll understand. We had a very big day. Anyone would feel exhausted after that."

"That's true. I'll do that."

"Thank you."

"Don't say thank you." Her footsteps went away.

"Do you need help getting him to bed? The kimono looks hard to take off," Haru offered so sweetly. "I can get Natsuko to help."

"No, I should be okay," Tetsu said, clearly smiling from his tone. "I know my way around a kimono. It's not going to be a piece of cake, but it won't be too hard."

"Okay, I trust you."

Very gently, I felt myself being picked up. I kind of flopped in his arms, unable to do much else. "I don't feel good," I moaned, stating the obvious, but I needed to say it.

"I know. I'll get you in bed quickly. It's alright," Tetsu assured me. Haru's steps started going away, and Tetsu followed. The sound of our door opening met me, and Haru's footsteps led us into our bedroom. Our bedcovers rustled, and I was being sat down on the bed. A wave of weakness overcome me, and I found myself flopped over, my head miraculously making contact with a pillow.

"Oops," I said, unsure what happened.

"I'll go get Natsuko, it's okay," Haru said quietly. His footsteps went away.

My cheeks went hot. I had to make a concession with myself. On the one hand, it was embarrassing that Natsuko was coming. On the other, I really could not get myself up. The weakness was like a magnet, drawing me to the bed, no control. My body felt as if it weighed a million pounds, and it was getting heavier. My hands dropped from their tense position in the weakness. My breath was slowing, preparing me for sleep.

Tetsu's lovely hand appeared on my cheek. He lightly tapped it a couple times with his whole palm, maybe thinking I was asleep already. To my surprise, I began to wheeze. What in the world?

"Oh, oh, oh," Tetsu's voice sounded a little panicked. He went to the side of the room and came back. I heard the rustling of my purse, and he slid his finger between my lips. I knew what he was doing with this indication. I opened my mouth, and he slid my asthma inhaler between my lips. He puffed once, and waited for me to breath a few times. Then he puffed it again, and he removed it after I breathed a few times more. My wheezing was going away. I heard my inhaler plop back in my purse. "I wonder if that's why you feel weak. I noticed that happens sometimes when you have a slow asthma attack."

I wanted to hug him so tightly. I wanted to dance with him for this. I loved him so much. Rushing footsteps were coming towards us, and feet found carpet.

"Is Sana okay?!" Natsuko's panicked voice.

"Yes, he's okay," Haru responded to her. I hadn't heard his footsteps behind hers. "I'll check his pulse now."

"Ah, it might be a little elevated. I discovered he was having an asthma attack, as well, so I just gave him his inhaler."

"Oh, smart thinking. Well, I didn't find anything concerning the first time. I was just tucking in my corners by wanting to check a second time."

"Oh, okay. That's good to know."

"Sana-a, are you okay?" Natsuko asked, much closer to my face than I'd expected. "I'm going to help Tetsu undress you. It's okay. We won't remove your under garment."

I found I couldn't respond to her. Too weak. There was a pause in the room.

"Huh? Sana?" Natsuko asked, innocently.

Tetsu's hand was on my upper back. He was rubbing there. I felt his breath on my face. "He may have fallen asleep," he assured her. "It's okay."

"Passed out and asleep are two very different things," Haru warned. "His symptoms appeared to be increasing before. I'd be more comfortable doing another finger stick to make sure the insulin is doing its job. If not, we may need to stick him again."

There was a pause. "Insulin doesn't work sometimes?!" Tetsu responded, panic rising in his voice.

"It does work. Just sometimes the initial dose is too low to combat what's happening in the body. If symptoms appear to worsen after the initial dose, he can be stuck again. However, we need to wait a bit to see if this is the case. We can see if his numbers improve, and if not or they get higher, I will stick him again." Haru changed his tone of voice, addressing Natsuko now. "We might be here for a bit, but I don't mind. I'm sure you don't, either."

"I absolutely don't mind," she said. "I'll go help mom break down the party stuff outside. I don't want her doing it all herself anyway. You know she'll try. She doesn't know her age sometimes."

"Okay, that's a good idea," Tetsu responded, calmer now.

While they were speaking, I'd noticed I'd stopped shaking. A very good sign. Maybe Haru wasn't going to have to stick me twice after all.

"I'll go get some chairs," Haru said. "We can sit and wait. It might be a while."

"Thank you. I'm so glad you're here," Tetsu sighed. I heard Haru clap him on the back a couple of times.

"You're doing a good job. I wouldn't have detected that asthma attack."

"Oh, thank you." Tetsu sounded a bit ashamed. I would do anything to make that go away. Haru's footsteps went away, and Tetsu's breath was on my face again, this time directly in front of it. His hand found my bangs, brushing them to the side over and over, dearly. "It's going to be okay," he said to me, even though he thought I was asleep. My heart pinched in this realization. "I'll protect you. Even if we have to go to the hospital, it's okay now, because we're married."

Tears were filling my eyes. One fell down, rolling down my cheek.

He gasped. "You're awake!" He wiped the tear away. He paused. "But why won't you respond?" He wondered to himself. Haru's footsteps were coming back. His breath went away. "Haru, Sana is awake! He's crying! But, he won't respond to me. Why is that? I've never seen this before with high blood sugar." There was cautious fear in his voice.

"He is? I'm not sure if that's good. He won't respond? Here, let me try something." Haru lifted my hand off the bed. It flopped at the wrist. Pain radiated up my arm as he pinched the inside of my forearm. I twitched involuntarily at this. "He is responsive. Maybe he can't talk to us. That is concerning. I will check his blood sugar now, even though we only checked a short time ago. Blood sugar has a way of sky rocketing in a short time."

"Okay."

Arguing rang out in the hallway. So loud. Rushing footsteps were barreling up the hallway. The door burst open. Tetsu and Haru made loud startled noises.

"I'm so sorry! Oh my god, Tetsu, I used sugar in the cake! I used sugar! Holy shit, I used sugar! I used sugar!" Naoko's voice was panicked and high. "I must have misread the package- I don't know- Oh my god- I just looked at it-!" Her breath was going so fast.

"How much of it did he eat?!" Their mom asked loudly, almost a yell.

"Two pieces!" Tetsu cried out.

"Call an ambulance!" Haru demanded, his normally calm and gentle tone sounding harassed. "This makes total sense now! Did the dumpling sauce have sugar in it, too? He said he ate a lot of dumplings and he had the sauce with them. What about the lemonade, too?"

Naoko gasped. She broke down in tears. "Yes! Yes, I misread the package, there was sugar in them! I don't know what to do-o..." She was crumpling in her tears.

"Naoko!" Their mom yelled so harshly. "How can you be so careless?!" Her volume was increasing.

"It's best to stay calm," Haru said. "No need to bring emotion into it. We can settle the argument later, but right now we need to get Sana some help. He had a lot of sugar, it sounds like. His symptoms match that assumption. I'm very glad to know the source. It's very good that you told us, Naoko. Someone else might not have admitted their mistake, but I know you to be a very honest person. That's a very good thing."

I heard Tetsu's voice on the line with emergency services. Everyone got quiet, except for Naoko's tiny whimpers. My hands started to shake again.