Adopted by Heathers Cast

How I Wish You Were Home...

"Sunshine...wake up..." I heard. Elle was standing next to my bed, stroking my hair.

"It's too early..." I said. Elle kissed my head and said, "I know. But I have bad news."

"What?" I said, shooting up.

"We have to go to the hospital today. You have to get a blood test." Elle said. "I'm so sorry, Sunshine."

"What? No, no, no!" I started to cry, and I felt Elle wrap me in a hug. "Hey, baby, it's gonna be okay. Where's your blankie? We can bring it with us." I looked around my room then realized.

My blanket was gone.

"It's...gone." I said, sobbing. "It's gone!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Sunshine. Shh...it's going to be okay. You're okay, I'm okay, everything's okay." Elle said, hugging me.

"It's not okay! I lost my blankie!" I said. In that moment, I felt stupid. I was thirteen years old, way too old to have a security blanket. But having that blanket helped me with my anxiety, and it made me feel safe when Jess wasn't around.

"Can Jess at least come with us?" I asked.

"No. I'm sorry, Sunshine. She has to rest so her foot gets better. We can call her while you're having the test, though." Elle said.

"No Jess...and no blankie..." I said.

"I'll be right here, the whole time." Elle said. "It'll be okay, Sunshine." I started to sob, and said, "You know I hate needles..."

"I know, and I'm so sorry. It'll be over quickly, though. It won't take more than an half hour." Elle said. "They just want to make sure you're healthy, Sunshine. This is important."

"I have literally nothing to comfort me anymore..." I said.

"Listen. You can hug me, hold my hand, whatever you need. It's okay. I know what calms you." Elle said. "I know, blood tests hurt, but it's so quick. Just one little pinch, and it's over. Here, let me show you." Elle said. She took my arm and pinched the skin of my elbow. It hurt a little, but I knew the pain would be worse than that. And it was a needle, not Elle's fingers.

"The pain might be a little sharper than that, but it's gonna be just like that. A little pinch in your elbow. We might be able to get numbing cream, but they might say you're too old." Elle said. I nodded, and Elle said, "Do you want to get ice cream after?" I lit up, and Elle said, "You have to be brave first. Can you do that for me?" I nodded, and Elle said, "Good girl, Sunshine. We can FaceTime Jess when we get to the hospital, okay? Go say goodbye to her."

I ran to the living room and threw myself into Jessica's arms. She held me tight and said, "You're going to be okay. It's going to be okay. I'll call you when you get to the hospital, I promise." Jessica kissed me on the head and said, "Good luck, Sunshine. I love you."

"I love you too. I'm scared though. I lost my blankie and I don't know where it is." I said.

"We'll find it, don't worry. Elle's gonna be there." Jessica said.

"Sunshine? Time to go." Elle said. I looked at Jess, who kissed my cheek. "Good luck, Sunshine. I love you."

__________

"Catlynn McLemore?" the nurse said.

"Hi..." I said. Elle kissed my hair and said, "You got this, Sunshine. I'll be right here. Come here." Elle picked me up and I grabbed onto her and buried my face in her chest, not looking at my surroundings. When she put me down, I was in a little office, sitting on Elle's lap. I looked around, and saw a nurse preparing the needle.

"I can't do this." I yelled, and jumped off of Elle's lap. I ran to the bathroom and shakily pulled out my phone.

"Call Jessica Keenan Wynn..." I said into Siri. The phone rang for a few seconds, then I heard, "Sunshine?"

"Hi...I'm terrified. I don't have you, I don't have my blankie...I'm too scared to do this..." I said, sobbing.

"Hey. Sunshine, let me talk to Elle. We'll work something out. I'm so proud of how brave you're being, okay?" Jessica said soothingly.

"I'm not with her. I'm in the bathroom." I said.

"Okay, you're okay, Sunshine. Keep me on the phone, okay? Go back to where you're supposed to be. How about this, I'll try to find your blanket, and if I do, I'll have Evan or Ryan bring it to you." Jessica said. "I know it's not the same, and I know you must have a zillion thoughts running in your head right now. I got an idea, tell me about a nice memory you had."

"Um...the two best ones were the Renaissance Faire and Spelling Bee." I said.

"Tell me about the Renaissance Faire. I wasn't there." Jessica said.

"Well, um, me, Alice, Barrett, and Katie got matching flower crowns, they're purple and white. Evan was the judge for the Mud Show and they called him Stephen, that was funny. We tried to climb that impossible ladder thing and we had so much fun falling over, we watched the joust, we ate fried dough and turkey legs, and Ryan declared me the princess." I said.

"That sounds like fun. Now, tell me about Spelling Bee. I saw the show, but did anything fun happen in rehearsals?" Jessica asked.

"Well, Lachlan and I used to play hide and seek before rehearsals started, we were usually the first people there. Drew and I used to always make up conspiracy theories about the characters, like whatever happened to Olive's mom. We had a tradition of eating Pockys backstage, and we also sung Christmas songs despite the show being in the middle of June." I giggled, finally feeling more relaxed.

"Are you ready?" Jessica asked. I said, "Finally," and got up.

_______

"Sunshine!" Elle said as I walked in. She hugged me and said, "Are you okay?"

The nerves came back. I shook my head, feeling tears form in my eyes. "No..." I said.

"Hey, come here. You got this." Elle took her ponytail out and handed me her scrunchie. "Fidget with this. It might distract you. Do you want to sit on my lap?" Elle asked, and I lit up and nodded. Elle sat in the chair and I snuggled into Elle, my head on her chest. Elle wrapped her arms around my waist and kept me safe.

"Hey, Sunshine. Shh...it's okay, don't cry. Listen to my heartbeat and just focus on that." Elle said. Elle started to hum Kindergarten Boyfriend, and the vibrations on her chest combined with the steady rhythm of her heartbeat calmed me down a little.

"You got this, Sunshine...deep breaths..." Elle said. I started to feel the pinch, and I shut my eyes tight, squeezing Elle's wrist.

"It's over." Elle said, and I opened my eyes. I looked down, and there was an IV in my elbow, and my blood was traveling to a collecting tube.

"Just a few more seconds, and we're done." Elle said. The nurse took the IV out of my arm and handed me a cloth to stop the blood. Elle held the cloth tightly on my elbow for a few seconds, then a Band-Aid was placed over the spot.

"You did amazing, Sunshine. Want ice cream?" Elle asked, and I smiled.

"Then let's go! You deserve a treat for being so brave." Elle said, and I hugged her.

"I love you, Elle. Thanks for being there." I said.

"I love you too, my Sunshine." Elle said.

AN: No one sue me for sending Cat back to the hospital. Please. I'm begging you. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!