A small sound woke me up. My eyes opened, and soft morning light was streaming into our bedroom window through our pale pink curtains. The bed was shaking slightly, and my mind immediately went to earthquake. 

I shot up in bed. Where was Sana? I looked over to his side of the bed, the left, and-

I gasped, my hand going halfway to my mouth, the other one went to his side. He was on his side, facing away from me, shaking. Making small sounds. I was on my knees, my hands on him. I rolled him over on his back, and his arms were pressed tightly to his chest, his hands together. His head was curled towards them, and his eyes were closed tightly. His legs were bent, making him be in a tight fetal position. His whole body was so tight. Shaking. Shaking so bad.

He was making little gasps, whimpering. 

"Sana? Sana?!" I called to him, getting close to his face. He wasn't responding to me. His sounds... He sounded like he was in pain. 

I jumped out of bed. I had to help him. Somehow. I threw the door open.

"Mo-o-om!" I screamed out. "Mo-o-om!" 

She'd know what to do. She had to. She was a nurse. She had to help us. I ran back to the bed, back to him. I got on the bed, turned him on his side, towards me. It's what she'd told me to do before, in case he started vomiting. Like last time. For his safety. His body was so tight. He looked like-

I heard pounding on the stairs. Heavy pounding. These were not the sounds of my mom. I was momentarily scared, until my papa's face appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. His tie wasn't tied on his neck, hanging there. He was wearing suit pants and a dress shirt. His face was one of alarm. One I'd never seen on his face.

"Did you call for your mom?!" He asked loudly. He ran to the bed, on the other side. "What's wrong with Sana?!"

"He's sh- shaking- he's-!" I found I couldn't speak, my breaths catching in my throat. Freezing up, now that my papa was here. No, no, I had to help Sana! 

"He must be having a seizure! Wrap him in the blanket, we're going to the emergency room!"

"Bl- blanket?"

"To keep him warm! You have to keep people who are seizing warm! Your mom says!" 

"Yes, okay!" Of course he'd know. He'd been married to my mom for so long. She must have taught him a lot. 

We wrapped Sana in the top blanket of our bed the best we could. My papa picked up Sana's body. He looked so small compared to my papa's six foot and thick build. It gave me a swirling, pinching feeling in my stomach, of fear. My papa held him tightly. Sana was shaking so much, like he was freezing.

"Where's mom?" I asked hurriedly, as we quickly made our way down the hallway. 

"Asleep. We won't wake her. We don't have time. We don't have time for an ambulance. We need to go."

We reached the kitchen, and I threw the door open. My papa carried Sana through, and I forgot to close the door behind us. 

"Dammit, the keys," my papa said, stopping at the car. 

"I've got it," I said. 

I ran back to the house, and grabbed the keys out of the basket next to the door. I ran back to the car as quickly as I could, and opened the passenger door. My papa laid Sana in there, and I got in after him. I held on to him. He was still shaking. He wasn't stopping. Don't people who are having a seizure stop seizing? His sounds were causing tears to jump to my eyes. I wanted to hold him tight, wish so hard for it to stop. Hoping so much that wishing would help.

My papa got in the driver's seat, and he put the car in reverse so fast that the car squealed. 

My papa was usually a very attentive and respectful driver. But, this time it was the opposite. He drove so fast. I'd never seen him drive so recklessly. I held on to Sana tightly. He couldn't be belted in. He maintained his fetal position the whole time. What was making him keep that position? The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't control myself.

By the time we reached the emergency room, I was in tears. I couldn't compose myself. But, my papa was in control. He gathered Sana into his arms again, and I ran behind him as he ran with Sana into the emergency room. 

And what he said to the receptionist made me cry even worse.

"My son's boyfriend is having a seizure! He must be seen right away! It won't stop! We don't know how long he's been seizing! He has a heart condition!"

My son's boyfriend. I dissolved into my tears. His words filled me with a pride, a strange happiness in the middle of all of this. But I could only think about it for a moment.

The receptionist was alarmed. She allowed us back to the emergency room right away, and we were met with nursing staff. My papa laid Sana down on a bed, and he was wheeled into a room. I was never so glad that I grew up in a small town and that's where we ended up. The emergency room was practically empty of other patients. Sana was able to get a bed so quickly like this. If this had been Tokyo, I don't know what would have happened.

A nurse started asking me about Sana's medical history, his medications, everything. I began telling her, and my papa interrupted me. He began speaking to the nurse, and I was filled with even more pride. "He's been here before. You have a lot of the information already. His name is Morita Hiroki. He has a long medical history. Look it up, but help him now."

The nurse nodded. She asked what had been bothering him lately, looking for clues. I remembered that yesterday, he'd had a bout of hyperglycemia after eating a chocolate strawberry. 

"Does he have hypoglycemia, too?" The nurse asked. 

I nodded quickly. "It's a recent problem. His brain isn't telling his liver to release enough gly... gly..." I couldn't remember the word! I covered my mouth, so mad at myself. 

"I know what you're referring to," the nurse said, bowing her head hurriedly. 

A doctor came into the room, a young one this time. The nurse relayed the information to him, that Sana had a long medical history, an endocrine disorder as I'd told her, and that he was having a problem with his liver and low blood sugar. 

The doctor asked the nurse to bring a blood glucose testing kit. The nurse nodded and ran out of the room. 

"He'll be okay right now, as long as he's seizing safely," the doctor said, "as long as he can't hurt himself." 

I wanted them to do more. Move faster! I found myself getting angry. But this wasn't a good time to get angry. I tried to control myself. But, my papa spoke for me. Maybe we were more similar than I realized.

"Do something for him!" My papa shouted, his voice booming. "Do something! Give him medicine to make him stop seizing! My wife is a nurse! There are medications for this! Don't you see he's suffering?! Do something!"

I felt hot, new tears rolling down my face. 

"I don't think it's a seizure," the doctor said plainly, maintaining his calm appearance. "I think it could be low blood sugar. In that case, this shaking isn't hurting him. Please gain your composure."

"Right, right," my papa said, clearly trying to control himself now. 

I let out a shaky breath. I sniffled. My papa turned to me. Without words, he came over to me and embraced me. I lost myself at that. Felt my knees bending. It was a weird feeling. 

"Whoa, whoa," my papa said, as I half collapsed in his arms. He sat me down in the chair in the room. 

"I feel light headed," I said, quietly. "Dizzy."

"It's going to be okay." My papa turned back to the doctor. "Can my son have some water? Should I get it myself?"

As I breathed deeply, I realized my papa was in boss mode. This must be how he acted at the office. Commanding everyone around. Absolutely in control. Somehow, that was the most comforting thing in the world right now. I didn't have to be in control. He had it.

A nurse bowed quickly to him, an apology, and ran out of the room. It was only us and the doctor now. I coughed a little bit, as my heavy tears rolled down my throat. My papa's hand was on my shoulder. I hadn't noticed.

"It's going to be okay," he said to me. "Breathe. The doctor knows what he's doing."

I nodded. I couldn't say anything.