Sparks Fly

Ellie felt the color drain from her face. She was in complete shock – just staring at Erin with her mouth hanging open.

“Ellie?” Carlos tested; Ellie could hear panic in the undertones of his voice, though she knew he'd try to hide it from her. “Babe, are you okay?” He moved from her side to face her, cupping her face gently with his hands. “I'm sure Sophie is fine, don't worry, okay?” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, then took her hand, saying “You need to take us to the hospital, now” to Erin.

They ran from the set to the parking garage to Erin's car, despite protests from the director. “This is an emergency!” Carlos shouted back, yanking his phone out to text the director what happened. “Go, drive!” he yelled, putting Ellie's seatbelt on for her as Erin peeled out of the parking garage. Erin weaved in and out of traffic with ease, thankfully. Carlos turned his warm eyes on Ellie, using every effort to try to calm her.

“But what if she's not okay, Carlos?” Ellie rasped, finally. He shook his head, shushing her and pulling her into his arms. “What if it's my fault? I should've been with her, I knew it, I should've never let her out of my sight” Ellie choked out, tears falling fast.

“Ellie, this isn't your fault” Carlos reassured. “Sophie will be fine, you'll see.” He stroked her hair, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple every so often. Ellie knew she wasn't meant to, but she saw the panicked look Carlos and Erin exchanged. She tried to pretend that she didn't see it.

They arrived at the hospital and Erin dropped Carlos and Ellie out front, shouting the room number to them. Ellie sprinted inside, forgoing the elevator when it took too long and charging up the stairs. She found Sophie's room and burst through the door, out of breath and red-faced.

“Ellie! Carlos!” Sophie exclaimed, her small arms reaching out to us. Ellie rushed over to Sophie's bedside. She embraced her little sister as tightly as she felt she could without damaging her, Carlos' strong arms surrounded both of them. “Ellie were you crying?” Sophie frowned and reached for a tissue box by her bed, pulling one out with some difficulty. It was then that Ellie noticed things were all wrong. A slight hoarseness in Sophie's voice. Her already pale skin ghostlike. Tubes and monitors hooked up to her little body. Ellie let out a short, strangled sob, then composed herself, knowing she had to be strong for Sophie. Her fit earlier was all she was allowed from this point on.

“I was sweetie, I did a scene on set and I had to cry for it” Ellie replied, earning a nudge from Carlos. Sophie just gasped, eyes wide.

“You got to be on the set AND be on the show?” Sophie crossed her arms, giving Ellie a pout. “Well next time we go, I want to be on the show.” Carlos laughed gently, brushing Sophie's hair from her face.

“You will Soph – I promise.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead, causing Sophie to giggle at him. Erin came through the door just then, followed by James, Logan, and Kendall. Sophie squealed with delight; Ellie swore there were stars in her eyes.

“Big Time Rush came to visit me!” Sophie cried. Ellie noticed the heart rate monitor by Sophie's bed pick up considerably. Ellie pressed the back of her hand to Sophie's forehead – she was burning up. Ellie moved away from her bedside to let the other guys visit with Sophie, pulling Carlos with her.

“Carlos, I think this might be very serious” Ellie said, as calmly as she could. Carlos bit his lip, surveying the scene. Sophie was giggling again, James having just kissed her hand.

“I don't know, maybe they're just monitoring her. She'll be fine, you'll see.” Carlos smiled and held Ellie close to him, but it wasn't helping. Ellie got Erin's attention and motioned for her to come over.

“Erin – what got Sophie put in the hospital in the first place?” Ellie asked, keeping her voice steady.

“Um” she began looking at Carlos, then back to Ellie. “She had a high fever, and she wasn't eating anything. I gave her some medicine, but she couldn't sleep and she just kept crying. After that, I had her drink some water, but then she threw up and passed out. So I took her to the hospital, and here we are now.” Ellie drew a deep breath, Carlos rubbed her back. “I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't want you to get freaked out in case it was nothing. The doctors say that she should be fine...” she trailed off, looking at her hands.

“Should be?” Ellie asked, looking around the room in a slight panic. “Or what?”

“I don't know, they wouldn't tell me. They're running some tests right now, to see what's going on.” Ellie nodded, clasping her hands together. Erin gave her a weak smile, then went back to Sophie's bedside, trying to coax her into eating some apple sauce.

“Babe, your knuckles are turning white” Carlos murmured, taking both Ellie's hands to preoccupy them.

“How are you staying so calm?” Ellie asked shakily, burying her head in his chest.

“Because I have to be, for you. Just like you need to be for Sophie. If she sees us freaking out, then she'll know there's something wrong. You've been there for her always – and now is the most important time.” Ellie nodded, Carlos kissed her cheek as the doctor walked in. Carlos and Ellie stood, and the doctor looked over at the two of them.

“So are you two her parents then?” Ellie flushed dark red, Carlos stifled a laugh.

“Uh, no” Ellie responded. “I'm her older sister, this is my boyfriend.” The doctor raised an eyebrow, sliding his glasses down his nose and eyeing the pair.

“Alright. Do you, or your parents, have insurance?” Ellie nodded, fishing her insurance card out of her wallet and handing it over. Her parents weren't there 24/7, but at least they had damn good insurance. “Excellent. We're almost done running tests, I just wanted to check on Sophie.” The doctor bustled over to Sophie's bed, shooing away the guys, who had been playing go fish with her. They shuffled over next to Carlos and Ellie, worried looks on their faces.

“Is she gonna be okay?” James asked, keeping his voice low while he waved at Sophie.

“I hope so, but we just don't know yet” Ellie replied, earning anxious looks from all three of them. The doctor returned, his face still unchanged from when he'd entered the room. But Ellie figured doctors sort of have to be stoic – otherwise, they'd get too attached and just cry all the time. Or at least, Ellie would. “How is she?”

“Still has a fever, and she doesn't seem any better, to be honest. If anything, she may be getting a little worse.” Ellie groaned, slouching back into her chair. “If it's any consolation, she's in high spirits and she has a strong constitution. So she'll be able to fight the-” he stopped short, making a face and consulting his notes. “Well we're not sure yet, but whatever it is. We'll let you know within the hour.” Ellie nodded, watching as he walked away. Kendall, James, and Logan returned to Sophie, resuming their card game.

“They're great” Ellie said softly, watching with a slight smile as they let her win. “She's so lucky to have you guys in her life.” Carlos smiled, squeezing Ellie's hand. “I guess I'm lucky too.”

“Nope, we're the lucky ones – not every boy band gets two gorgeous girls to hang out with all the time.” Ellie laughed, feeling a little better.

“No indeed, most boy bands get thousands of gorgeous girls.” Carlos rolled his eyes, pulling Ellie in to him to tickle her. “Stop!” Ellie cried, in fits of giggles. Carlos just shook his head, blowing a raspberry into Ellie's neck. “Carlos!” she squealed, falling onto the floor with him on top of her, both of them sighing. Maybe they were all lucky to have each other – maybe everything would be okay.

“Miss? Can I see you out in the hallway for a minute?” Ellie glanced towards the door, where the doctor was motioning to her. Carlos went to follow her, but the doctor shook his head. “Just her, if you don't mind.” Ellie shrugged at Carlos, he pressed a kiss to her cheek then nudged her forwards. Ellie stepped out into the hall and shut the door. “We have results from Sophie's tests” he declared, holding his clipboard to his chest. It was impossible to read his expression.

“Go on...” Ellie said cautiously, folding her arms.

“We ran tests multiple times, just to be sure, that's why it's taken a little longer, but we are positive. Sophie has leukemia.”