"Hey, Sean," Lucia smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, Babe," Sean smiled.

"What are your plans for today?"

"I don't know. Maybe go look around the city. See if I like it."

"Awesome," Lucia smiled. "I'm going over to Denny's. I have to help him with an experiment. He can't be trusted to do it alone."

"From your letters, I trust that that statement is true," Sean laughed.

"I've gotta run." Lucia kissed him briefly. "See you later, Babe."

Sean waved.

Lucia smiled back at him before leaving and getting into her car. Soon, she arrived at Denny's apartment and went up. "Hey, Denny," she called as she opened the door.

Denny was in the kitchen making a sandwich. He looked up, waving with the butter knife in his hand. "Hey."

"Put that thing down," Lucia chuckled. "You're going to hurt yourself."

Denny scoffed and kept adding more mayonnaise to his sandwich. "I'm just making lunch, Luci."

Lucia cringed slightly. "That's one disgusting sandwich."

"What? It's potato chips, mayonnaise, bologna, and pickles."

"Yuck," Lucia gagged. "Please tell me this isn't the experiment."

"Maybe. Want a taste?" Denny held the plate out.

"Um, let me think about that for a- no," Lucia chuckled. "I'm good, thanks."

Denny shrugged and took a bite. "Your loss."

"Beg to differ," Lucia laughed. "So, what's the real experiment?"

"Not exactly sure. Thought maybe we could do sun and fire experiments."

Lucia's eyes grew wide. "No. Absolutely not. We are keeping you away from fire at all costs!"

"It's controlled."

"Nope. Fire bad. Next idea."

Denny nodded and rubbed his side, itching it but massaging it afterwards while he ate.

Lucia watched as his face contorted in pain for a brief second. "Are you alright?" She frowned.

"Yeah."

"Okay," Lucia shrugged. "So, what's option number two for the experiment?"

"I was hoping you'd go along with the fire thing," Denny mumbled.

"Fine," Lucia sighed. "We'll do the fire thing."

Denny smiled. "Awesome. Knew you'd join me, Lucia."

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'll call the ambulance now and tell them to wait downstairs," Lucia chuckled.

"They don't take reservations."

"You'd be surprised what a crisp Benjamin can do."

Denny laughed before wincing.

"Are you okay, Hon?"

Denny nodded. "My stomach hurts."

"Yeah? Probably's that sandwich," Lucia chuckled.

Denny smiled.

"So, what's the experiment exactly?"

"I think figuring out how to light a camp fire quickest using sunlight."

"Alright. Sounds fun."

Denny smiled and finished off the sandwich.

"Why would you finish that if it's giving you a stomachache?" Lucia chuckled.

"Because it's tasty," Denny replied, making a face, as though it was completely obvious and what she was asking had no foundation. "Duh."

"Right...but you're going to make yourself sick."

"I'll be fine."

Lucia sighed. "Whatever. Let's get to experimenting."

Denny nodded and they went outside.

"How do we start this thing?" Lucia smiled.

Denny bent down and fell onto his hands. "Ah."

"Woah. Are you sure you're okay?"

Denny nodded and waved it off.

Lucia shrugged and knelt down beside him. "Maybe a mirror would help with lighting the fire?"

"Yeah...can you go find one?"

"Sure. I'll check the greenhouse." Lucia jogged inside and searched the cabinets.

Denny was trying to take deep breaths. His side was really hurting.

Lucia came back with a mirror. "Found one," she grinned. "Hey, is something wrong?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Denny winced, a burning pain in his side.

"I believe you," Lucia frowned. "You seem like your in pain."

Denny nodded. "I need help. It's really hurting. And it just feels like it's spreading."

"What's hurting, Honey?" Lucia asked softly, kneeling down beside him.

"Right here." Denny rubbed his abdomen.

"Okay," Lucia nodded. "I'm going to take you to the hospital. Can you stand up?"

Denny nodded, holding onto her tightly as he made himself get up and go to the car, though pain rocketed through him with every step.

"Gosh, what do you think is wrong?" Lucia frowned as she helped him into the car.

"I don't know. I wasn't experimenting before you came over."

"Are you sick?"

"Maybe...it really hurts."

Lucia thought for a moment and felt his forehead. "Oh gosh, you're really warm, Sweetie."

Denny rolled his head from side to side against the head rest in distress and gave a whimper.

"Okay, okay, don't worry. I'm going to get you to the hospital," Lucia nodded. She quickly got into the car and drove off. "On a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?"

"Thirteen."

"Oh dear. Just hang in there, Honey, okay?" Lucia stroked his arm gently. "Just try to take deep breaths."

Denny nodded and followed orders.

Ten minutes later, Lucia pulled into a parking space at the hospital and helped Denny inside. "How are you doing?"

"Just get some pain killers in me," Denny moaned.

Lucia kissed his cheek. "Shh. It's okay. It's going to be fine."

They got him inside and Denny told the woman at the front desk what was going on. She lead the two of them to a room.

The doctor came into the room fairly quickly. "Hello, Mr. Joseph. What seems to be the problem?"

"I have sharp pains in my abdomen, apparently a fever, and I have no idea why. It just came on today."

The doctor nodded before performing a thorough examination. "Well, I'm afraid you have appendicitis."

"Is it fatal?"

"No, but we'll have to remove your appendix."

Denny nearly fainted.

"Don't worry, Honey. It's going to be fine," Lucia said softly.

Denny sighed. "Fine. Go ahead. Will I have to stay here?"

"Just until tomorrow," the doctor nodded. "We'll just want to make sure that you're doing okay after the surgery."

Denny nodded and looked at Lucia. "You should go back to Sean."

"No, no, it's okay. I should be here with you. Sean won't mind," Lucia assured.

Denny sighed and grasped her hand. "Thank you."

"Of course, Honey," Lucia nodded, kissing his forehead.

Denny smiled weakly.

"Alright," the doctor nodded. "We're going to have to have you change into a hospital gown and then I'll have a nurse give you an IV. From there, we'll finishing preparing you for surgery."

Denny nodded, his face clearly betraying his pain.

Lucia stroked his arm gently. "Do you need my help getting dressed or should I step out for a moment while you change?"

"I'll manage. You can go call Sean."

"Alright," Lucia nodded, kissing his cheek before leaving the room.

Denny got dressed and laid back down in his bed to wait.

Meanwhile, Lucia quickly called Sean and told him everything that had happened.

"Oh dear. Don't even worry about me. Just stay with him, alright? I'll tell Monica and Jonah and we'll be by after the surgery," Sean said softly.

"Okay, thank you," Lucia smiled. She quickly hung up the call and returned to Denny. "How are you feeling, Hon?"

Denny sighed. "I just want it to be over."

"I know, Sweetheart," Lucia nodded, kissing his forehead.

There was a soft knock on the door before it was opened by a young, pretty nurse. "Hi," she said softly. "I'm going to set up the IV now, if you're ready."

Denny nodded. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Oh, come on. Don't make me feel old," the nurse chuckled. "Call me Paisley."

Denny smiled. "My name's Denny."

"Nice to meet you, Denny," Paisley smiled. "Is this your girlfriend?"

"No. My older sister figure." Denny winced in pain.

"Well, I'm going to put in the IV. The general anesthetic will be administered through it. You'll be out in no time and feeling no pain," Paisley nodded, getting her supplies ready.

Deny nodded and closed his eyes.

Paisley began to insert the IV needle into the back of his hand. "Doing okay?"

Denny nodded again.

Paisley smiled slightly and finished setting up the IV. "Okay, perfect. We're going to finish prepping you for surgery now, kay?"

Denny opened his eyes. "Okay." He looked at Lucia. "If I don't make it out alive, tell my mother I love her."

Lucia smiled. "You'll be fine," she assured, kissing his cheek. "I'll be here waiting for you, alright?"

"Okay."

—————

"Monica," Sean called. "Mon, you home?"

Monica came out of her room. "Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"

"I got a call from Lucia," Sean sighed. "She's at the hospital with Denny."

"What happened now?" Monica sighed. "Gosh, he should just move there."

"Might be easier," Sean chuckled. "This time, it wasn't his fault, though. He has appendicitis."

Monica covered her mouth. "That's awful."

Sean nodded. "He's in surgery now. Lucia is going to let us know when he's out so that we can go see him."

"Okay. Oh, that's terrible."

"Yeah, it is," Sean sighed.

—————

"Hi, Honey," Lucia said softly as Denny began to stir. "How do you feel?"

Denny whimpered. "Sore...and weak."

"Aw," Lucia frowned. "Was it scary?"

Denny nodded.

Lucia kissed his forehead. "You're still sleepy, aren't you?"

Denny nodded again.

"Gosh, Honey, you're so brave," Lucia said softly.

Denny sighed. "I'm really not."

"Yeah, you are," Lucia nodded.

Denny glanced at her, and by the look on his face, it was obvious he wanted to sleep the medication off.

Lucia kissed his forehead. "Go to sleep, Honey. I'll stay here."