Under The Surface

A 'Miraculous' Awakening

When Marinette collapsed, Adrien's whole world shook. She was in his arms before she even touched the ground, but he was gentle about laying her down the rest of the way. Gabriel was down on the ground with him as well, trying to figure out what was wrong. Adrien was worried. She was barely breathing.

"Marinette!!!"

Tom Dupain-Cheng cried as he rushed to his fallen daughter.

"Nononononononono. No"

Sabine mumbled to herself as she checked the girl's pulse and eyes.

"What's wrong with her?!"

Adrien spoke softly. No one answered him.

"We need to get her to a hospital now!"

Sabine said to her husband. A little while later, an ambulance arrived, and paramedics loaded her up while Tom and Sabine sat beside her. Adrien watched them leave, feeling numb with worry.

~

Gabriel stood beside his son, watching the ambulance drive away. He could sense his son's growing distress and, for lack of better words, gave his shoulder a firm squeeze. The kind that says, 'I'm here for you'. Adrien turned to him with the threat of tears in his eyes, and Gabriel's heart broke.

"She'll be alright."

He assured, pulling his son in tight for a hug. But Gabriel knew it was a lie. He had seen those symptoms before, the coughing, the loss of energy, the dizziness. Emilie had been the same way right before her comma. And there was no cure. He could only hope that he was wrong, for both their sakes.

~

A few hours later, Adrien and Gabriel made their way to the hospital, anxious to see how Marinette was doing. In the waiting room, he found Alya and Nino already waiting. Alya had been crying, no doubt, because she was worried about Marinette. They all were. Ichigo was also there, standing stoically at the door till the nurses could let him in. Adrien had to admire his tenacity. Another hour passed before the nurses let them in to see her, and they found the Dupain-Cheng's faithfully by their daughter's bedside, both extremely worried as she was still unconscious and on oxygen. Adrien slowly approached her bed and took her limp hand in his. It was as cold as ice. He stared down as her sleeping form and a feeling of worry, no...guilt, came over him.

"This is all my fault. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn't say or do anything about it!"

Sabine looked at him with a sad, sweet smile and shook her head.

"No, Adrien. This is not your fault. We knew it was only a matter of time before it came back."

"Came back? What are you talking about?"

Ever the reporter, Alya was on the edge of her seat, hoping to get the new scoop on her best friend. So, Sabine and Tom explained the sickness that had surfaced when she was eleven years old and how she had miraculously beaten it after two long years. It was a remarkable story, but the more he learned the more Adrien realized just how amazing this girl truly was. She had been going through all this and still managed to listen to his problems for three whole years without judging, would show so much kindness to all of her friends, and did all these amazing things as Ladybug and the Guardian. Not to mention working for his father which he knew from experience was not an easy feat. The doctor came in shortly after Sabine had finished to give a report and was quite surprised to see so many people in the one room, but after an all clear from the parents, he continued to speak.

"She's stable for now, but we still have no leads as to what may be causing it. There's nothing wrong with her heart, brain, or lungs. All of her bloodwork came back fine. I just don't understand what is causing this kind of reaction."