It'll Come Naturally

Meanwhile, Rain was still on the road. He kept one hand on the wheel while he dialed Tom on his phone with the other. He put it on loud speaker and put it down on the passenger seat. It rang numerous times before Tom finally picked up.

"You brat! Do you know what time it is right now? You better have a good reason or else you're a dead man!" Tom roared. He had just fallen asleep, pissed at Rain's late night call. Rain frowned.

"Dude, relax. I'm driving. This is important. Joyce has a high fever and needs to be treated now. Can I bring her to your hospital or should I just bring her directly to your house?" Rain asked, his eyes glued on the road.

"Oh, damn. I'm sorry. I don't have a lot of medicines here. Send her to the hospital. I'll be there soon. Don't worry," he replied, his tone changing dramatically. Tom rubbed his eyes off from sleep and rolled off the bed. He knew there were a lot of well-equipped doctors at the hospital. A fever was rarely a cause for alarm. But Rain was one of his best friends -- he wasn't going to let him down.

"All right. Thank you, Tom. See you later." Rain stepped down on the gas a bit harder, swerving sharply from left to right. Every second he wasn't there was a second wasted, he thought.

When he arrived at Annie's house, he pulled over and ran to ring the doorbell. It was Huey who opened the door for him, which made Rain frown. He believed he had to talk with Annie on the security problem, as it was very dangerous to allow a kid to open the door. What if it was a bad guy outside the door? But now was not the right time, and he decided to talk to her later. The most important thing right now was to send Joyce to the hospital.

"Daddy, you're here so soon!" Huey was thrilled to see Rain stand outside the house.

"Huey, where's Joyce? Is she okay?" Rain entered the house, shut the door and held onto Huey's hand.

"She's in her bedroom. Mommy is wiping her body with cool towels." Huey raised his head to look at Rain. He couldn't keep his eyes off his father.

Rain came into Annie's view. She opened her mouth to talk, but no words came out.

"Pack some of Joyce's stuff. Clothes, and a couple of toys maybe. I'll drive her to the hospital." Rain had no time to study Annie's feelings right now. He walked up to Joyce and touched her forehead to feel her body temperature, furrowing his frown. Then he wrapped her with a blanket and picked up her.

Annie blinked, finally coming to her senses. "Okay, hold up," she said. She grabbed Joyce's thermos mug and coat. She also got a couple of pajamas and Joyce's favorite stuffed toy.

"Okay. Let's go. Huey, are you coming with us? Or do you want to stay?" Rain said in a soft voice.

"I'll stay here with nanny," he replied. Huey had already thought that he would be more of a hindrance if he came along.

"All right. It's very late. You need to go to bed now. Don't worry. Joyce will be fine." Rain gave Huey a reassuring smile.

"I'll be waiting here until Joyce can come home. See you, daddy." Huey hugged Rain tightly around his legs.

"Let's go," Annie urged. Huey let go of Rain and went up to Annie to give her a hug. She bent down and kissed Huey on the cheek before following after Rain.

Shortly after, they arrived at Renxin Hospital. Tom was already there waiting for them. He went to work at once. He pressed his stethoscope against Joyce's chest. After that he examined her mouth and placed a thermometer under her arm. "How's Joyce? Is she okay?" Rain asked worriedly.

"It's not a big deal. She's caught a cold, and her throat is inflamed. I guess she was out in cold wind earlier today, huh? I'll ask a nurse to give her an injection to bring down the fever. It's a bit high -- 39.2 degrees." Tom put aside the thermometer and began to jot down prescriptions for Joyce on a piece of paper.

"Cold wind?" Rain turned to Annie with a questioning look on his face. She lowered her gaze, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Yeah. Well that's my guess at least. She was probably sweating then, which would explain the fever," Tom replied, unaware that the question was not intended for him. He didn't realize the weird atmosphere between the other two. Annie's heart dropped to her stomach; she felt so ashamed of herself because she hadn't paid close enough attention. The twins were playing on outside in the countryside all day. It was lucky that Huey didn't catch a cold himself.

Joyce had fallen asleep when the nurse finally came in with the antibiotics for her fever. But as soon as the needle went beneath her skin, Joyce screamed and wailed, struggling against the needle. Rain held her arms down, all the while trying to give her words of comfort. "Shhh! Joyce, don't be afraid. This will help you get better, okay? Don't worry. Daddy's here to protect you." Rain consoled his daughter in a soft voice. His heart ached as he saw tears rolling down his daughter's cheeks. At that moment, he wished so hard that he could suffer instead of Joyce.

"Okay, it's done. She needs to stay here for observation. When the fever comes down, you can go home." Tom looked at Rain with awe. He didn't expect a playboy like Rain to look so... father-like.

"Thank you so much, Tom." Annie sighed in relief. She had met Tom before, but never knew that he worked as a doctor.

"Don't be so formal with me. Rain's my best buddy. I'm going to my office now. Feel free to find me if there's an emergency or if you need anything else." Tom left with a knowing smile. He looked at Rain suggestively, as if to say to him that now was his opportunity with Annie.

Rain cradled Joyce in his arms. Soon enough, she was fast asleep once again. He carefully laid her on the hospital bed, and pulled up a chair to sit beside Annie. Silence stretched between Rain and Annie.

"Belinda said you were on a business trip. When did you come back?" Annie started. She slowly glanced at Rain, feeling that he was not really in a good mood.00000000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐