"Now, now, a Fitbit is not a medical device. But, yes, it does track bpm, and even oxygen saturation levels. It even analyzes the body for responses to stress." Yokohara-sensei raised her finger in the air as Tetsu's mouth opened, warning him. "Don't put all your hopes into it. It should be more of a guide, and it isn't perfect. It's meant to help people optimize their workouts. Not track health."

"I want to try it," he said, rolling my hand back and forth as he held it. I was laying against the raised back of her examination table, and he sat beside me. My head hurt so bad that it was ludicrous, but I didn't want to stop their conversation.

Tetsu crying last night. Telling me he thought I'd passed away. It made my throat close up so much that I wanted to cough, and my nose twitch, just thinking about it. His desperate voice, telling me terrible things.

If a Fitbit would fix it, make his fears calm down, I'd wear a million of them.

"I'll wear it," I echoed him. I squeezed his hand a little, all I could muster. My body was still weaker, not recovered much. I let my face show how I was really feeling for a split second, my eyes going more than half lidded, my jaw opening behind my closed mouth, my head went to the side. I straightened and brightened up before anyone could notice. Too much pain.

Yokohara-sensei was thinking, her eyes off in the distance. She looked back at us. "You know what, we'll try it. I don't think it can hurt anything. Just take whatever it says with a grain of salt. If it tells you something off, report it to me. I have heard some incredible stories, such as it detecting afib in some people, and disorders. It isn't a medical device, but it can do some incredible things."

Tetsu nodded exuberantly.

"Sana, you're not feeling well, are you?" His mom asked in the corner. I blinked at her. Oh, she'd noticed me. I was caught.

Almost with permission, I let my eyes go half lidded. "I didn't want to make a big deal," I tried to explain to her. "It's a little headache."

She was going for my purse which was set on the rolling chair near her. "You've been ill. Even a little headache is something to be concerned about."

I shrank a bit. Tetsu squeezed my hand. Yokohara-sensei rounded me, and stood in front of us. "We got a bit distracted, didn't we? I'm going to examine you now."

I breathed in, not looking at her. On my knee, Tetsu's hand was clasped in mine. I focused on that instead. But...

"Look at me. Let me check your eyes. Lean forward."

I submitted to this without a word, trying to obey, so that I wouldn't worry Tetsu anymore.

Yokohara-sensei was sitting in front of me now, on the rolling chair. "I suspect your headache is left over from your blood sugar episode, but your blood pressure is raised a little bit. Take it easy. I want you to rest. I'll give you a dose of pain medicine. Everything else looks good. Your blood sugar is back to normal."

Tetsu seemed relieved. He wasted no time, though. "Why did his blood sugar raise? I thought his liver wouldn't release glucose anymore like that, because of his hyper thyroid medication?"

Yokohara-sensei smiled gently at him. "It's happening a lot less. That's a good sign. Maybe some day, that symptom may go away completely. It takes time." He was quieted by this. She leaned forward, putting her hand on his forearm, emphasizing. "I know it was scary. It's okay to have those feelings. We have to take it one day at a time."

She knew about what had happened at Tetsu's parents' house. My medical report was sent over to her by the hospital before we got here, and she'd been called by Yami yesterday and he'd told her his concerns. We'd told her a little about how we'd felt about everything when we arrived. Tetsu talked for a while, confirming the things I'd feared. He was scared, really scared now. I wanted him to get support, too. This wasn't only about me.

"There are things we can do to cope," she went on, still holding on to him. "Sana knows all about that." She looked over at me, and I nodded a little. I really did. The enormity of mechanisms I knew, how to cope with things like this. It seemed normal to me, putting little barriers in place, telling myself things, knowing when to ignore it. But, he didn't have any of these things. It took a long time to learn and see what worked. The same things might not work for him.

He swallowed, and let out an audible sound afterward. Clearly distressed. Disturbed.

I wanted to help him, but my headache was getting worse. Rolling into the back of my neck, like a thunder storm. Making my jaw hurt. My upper back spasmed a little in succession of this. I needed Tramadol.

One eye closed, and then the other. I wanted to help Tetsu, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to hold him, that's what I could do when I felt like this. Still useful. If we were at home, I would.

"Huh?" Tetsu asked. His chair moved, and so did his hand in mine.

"Sana, you lied. Here, I'll give you some pain medication." Yokohara-sensei sounded serious, almost a scold. "You need to stop downplaying these things. I'm going to check your blood pressure again."

In a few minutes, some pills had gone down my throat, and she was using the blood pressure cuff again. I felt it inflate, and Tetsu was holding my opposite shoulder, standing next to the examination table next to my head. We waited, and then she sighed.

"It's definitely elevated in a consistent way. Not alarmingly, but I'd choose to monitor it. Let's see how the pain pill does its job, and I'll check it again. Now, here's why I wanted to see you in the first place." Her rolling chair rolled away, then came back. Some papers fluttered. "I want to check your weight. It's been a while. Let's see where you are."

"I can't get up."

She made a scoffing noise with her nose. "Oh, yes you can. If you're speaking to me like that, you can. You can stand on a scale."

Always challenging me. I kind of wanted her to leave me alone. Strangely, my anger level wasn't rising at her this time. Weird patience. "Okay."

I opened my eyes a little, and she was studying her clipboard. She stood up, putting the clipboard next to the sink. "Let's go. We'll get you in the wheelchair. And, please, next time bring your own. You have to get in the habit of traveling with it. I know in an emergency you're not thinking about it, but it's a priority." That last part had to be for Tetsu and his mom. Or was it meant for me? Did she really think I could think about my wheelchair in an emergency? It was just another challenge. Something that seemed impossible.

Tetsu helped me swing my legs over the side of the examination table, and my head felt like a bowl of spinning Jello. "Oh wow. Wait a minute," I said, breathing a little harder. It was like I'd had a blow to the head or something.

"Take your time," Yokohara-sensei said, pausing at the door.

"It feels like someone punched me in the face. What is this?" I asked. My head was spinning harder. Tetsu's hand went to my forehead, pushing my bangs out of my face. Was he trying to help it?

"High blood pressure is what it is," Yokohara-sensei answered. Oh, of course it was.

We waited together, my hand on my forehead now. I really wanted Tetsu to massage my neck and shoulders, where the pain was. I let my forehead fall against his chest, and I breathed forcefully for a bit, riding the pain.

"Okay, come on," Yokohara-sensei said, that gently demanding, challenging voice that I hated. So sure of herself. But, she knew better than I did. That was the irritating part. She was always telling me I could do things when I told her I knew I couldn't, and she was always right.

Tetsu eased me off the table, using his hands in mine to drag me forward at first. When I was almost off the table, my feet almost touching the floor, his arm went behind the small of my back and he pressed himself to me. Holding me securely so I wouldn't fall, especially when I felt like this. His mom brought over the wheelchair, putting its brakes in place. They lowered me slowly into it, until I was fully seated. Tetsu lowered down, picking up my foot. Like the Prince about to place the glass slipper on Cinderella, he placed my feet in the attachments connected to the wheelchair.

I closed my knees demurely, trying to keep modest. I was fully aware that I was wearing a nightgown. But, being here, in this office, I wasn't embarrassed. It was almost like home to me. Everyone knew me, so why would I be embarrassed?

Like this, his mom started to wheel me towards the door. Tetsu followed, and I wanted to look back at him. His footsteps on the tile were a comfort to me.

We went out of her examination room, and into the hallway. I knew where the scale was. We'd turn two corners and we'd be there. My wheelchair made clicking sounds on the floor as we went. We followed her, because Tetsu's mom didn't know where to go. I remembered always walking ahead of Yokohara-sensei, to show her I knew where I was going. That I knew better than she did. But, it was all a trick, to get me to try harder. She was clever, and I always fell for it. By getting me angry, I'd have to show her, and this made her smile and smile.

I wanted to walk in front of her now, a challenge of my own. My chin went down a little at this, making a small sadness fall over me.

We got to the scale, and she inspected it first, making sure it was ready for use. She accepted it, and gestured for me to get on. Tetsu helped me stand up, and he held me from behind by the waist, just like when we were on the airplane and I had to walk off of it. He'd be there to catch me, already having me secure.

Yokohara-sensei watched us as we made our slow progress. It was literally a few steps, but it was excruciating. I threw my hand out, trying to catch my balance and I lifted my foot onto the scale, this small height difference.

"I've got you," Tetsu said, so close to my ear. "Don't worry. You're not going to fall."

I was breathing hard, nervous. Yokohara-sensei took my wildly reaching out hand, gripping it hard, surprising me. She was physically helping me? When had she ever done that?

"Go slow," she said quietly. "You've got it. That's it."

Why was she saying these words? They weren't like her. Why wasn't she challenging me? Telling me I was going too slow, that I better hurry up, that I could do better?

My other foot lifted onto the scale, and the digital numbers started jumping. I breathed hard, and Tetsu's hands went away from my waist. Yokohara-sensei let go of me, too. I was standing completely on my own.

"I knew you could do it," she said, that confident tone back, almost a hint of mocking in her voice. That familiar voice, such a comfort to me.

The numbers jumped around, and then they stopped, the last one going up and down until it settled.

"Would you look at that?" She asked. I looked up, obeying. "Do you remember what you weighed last time? You gained five ounces. Whatever it is, keep eating it."

Tetsu gave a small chuckle. "He's been eating a lot of sugar free ice cream. He ate all the ice cream our hotel had in Okinawa, he had it for almost every meal."

"Ice cream?!" She laughed.

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to sit down. I wiggled my arms at them, trying to show them I'd had enough. My head was throbbing, my forehead joining in now. My legs were buckling. "Oh- I- I'm going to fall!" I gasped, my toes curling, trying to keep myself up.

Tetsu grabbed me around my waist, and before I knew it, I was in the air. His face was close to mine, and my head swam. "I've got you," he said, holding me tight in our customary pose. He wasn't lowering me into my wheelchair.

"We bought more ice cream," his mom offered. "Lot's of it. A small health food store in the next town over had some. It looks like it's going to be a helpful place for us. Their friend, Shizue-san, found it for us."

"Ahh, yes. I'm so glad. Eat all the ice cream you can. If you do, you'll gain your weight back in no time, and maybe more."

Tetsu smiled down at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. "I want you to look as plump as a plum," he grinned. Ah, his smile. Compared to last night, it was like seeing a dream. Was he feeling better?

"Don't get too round," Yokohara-sensei warned.

Tetsu started swaying me back and forth gently, definitely happier. I closed my eyes, smiling with him. "I want my Sana to be as round as a watermelon, and as fat as a baby. Chubby cheeks," he declared. I started giggling.

Yokohara-sensei snorted. "Don't get too carried away. But yes, gaining a little more weight than you had is acceptable. You were on the borderline of being too skinny as it is."

"Okay," I smiled.

"I still support you eating more nuts and beans, wheat bread, brown rice, whole wheat crackers, things of that nature. Those are the best ways to fill out your diet. But, eating whatever you can to bring up your weight for now is good."

"Okay," I said again, dreamily, enjoying his swaying me.

"Alright. Let's get you to the blood lab. I want them to take a couple of vials. I know you're not feeling well, so we won't take as much as we usually do. I want to run a few tests, including your thyroid levels. You can come see me in two weeks. We'll check your weight then, too."

"Okay."

Without returning me to my wheelchair, we traveled down the hallway. We made a stop at her examination room to retrieve my purse and his mom's. We went on our way, feeling a lot better about things than when we came in for sure. Tetsu seemed a lot happier, which was such a relief. I wanted to kiss him. He wouldn't stop smiling.

We exited the office, going down the hall. Tetsu knew the way to the blood lab, so his mom followed. In the waiting room, Sawai-san stood up. She couldn't come into the examination space with us, because it would have been too crowded.

"So, what did you find out?" She asked, worriedly.

Tetsu's mom fell into pace with her as they walked behind us. The clicking of the wheelchair was following us, just in case, his mom holding onto it dearly for us. "Lots of things. I'll tell you on the way. All good news."

Sawai-san sighed. "Ahh. That's a relief."

I closed my eyes, enjoying feeling Tetsu's movements. His steady pace. I sighed myself, so happy that we were in a better place.