Poppy woke up as the bright light of the sun hit her eyes. She saw her usual blanket on top of her with a familiar jacket right beside her. She saw it and sat up, grabbing the jacket and examining it.

She immediately remembered what happened last night. She slapped her forehead. She felt guilty and embarrassed that she fell asleep right next to Branch as he was talking. But his words muffled in her head. She couldn't quite make them out. If only she could've stayed up to know.

"Good morning, princess!" Ex-King Peppy stood near the open door and smiled at his daughter. She smiled back and got up from her bed to fix herself up.

"Good morning Dad. And I'm a queen, remem-ber?" Poppy said playfully and started brushing her long pink hair. "Is that so?" Her dad chuckled and kept a smile on his face.

"I don't quite remember. But you're still my princess." He said with an even wider smile, his  wrinkles near his eyes appearing. The pink troll smiled back and hugged him gently.

"—And you're still my king." Poppy remembered those days she spent as a child spending time with her father, Peppy. She cherished them as much as she can. Peppy is the only parent she has ever loved and spent with in her entire life.

They pulled away from the hug and went to the kitchen. Poppy grabbed a box of cereal with a carton of milk. She set them on the table with a spoon inside a bowl. "Poppy?" called her father.

"Yeah, Dad?" She said as she poured down the milk onto the cereal in the bowl. Her mind will still going over last night. She was curious to what Branch said. She wanted to know. She needed to know. "Can you get me a bowl of cereal too, please dear?" Peppy said as he was searching through the fridge.

"Of course, Dad!" She quickly set another bowl of cereal. Once she did, she carefully placed the spoon beside it. She smiled at herself. She turned around to tell Peppy but saw him fall onto the floor. "Dad!" She gasped and quickly approached him. She helped him up gently and carefully.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, sounding more of a whimper. She was scared. Peppy nodded and coughed. He covered his mouth with his hand but as he coughed, blood splattered onto his hand. Poppy stares longingly at it, her heart racing fast.

Peppy's vision was starting to blur, his breath-ing was slow and becoming heavy. He passed out. "D-Dad!" Poppy called and held him into her arms.

~~~~~

Poppy sat there, worrying. Her foot was tapping onto the ground, her fingers fumbling onto each other, and her heart continuing to race. The door nearby opened and a doctor walked out. "Queen Poppy?" She saw Poppy and walked towards her.

"Mrs. Daisy? How's my dad doing?" She asked, worrying about her father. She rubbed her hand as if to feel like somebody was holding her hand. She imagined Branch holding her hand and squeezing it gently.

"Your father is alright, but he caught an illness called Sepsis. It could affect his blood and memory as well. So I advise for your father to stay in the hospital for a while until his illness is treated." The doctor said sympathetically. She saw the pain in the queen's eyes.

"Can I visit him?" The Doctor nodded while smiling sadly. Poppy thanked her and rushed to the room. She peeked through the door before finally entering. She saw her father on the bed with a tube near his nose. He was breathing heavily.

"Dad?"

"Poppy." He smiled weakly. Poppy smiled back and hugged him. She wanted to hug him so tightly but she didn't want to hurt him any further. He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her back. He whispered to her. "I'm alright, sweetheart."

Poppy was crying, her colors slowly turning grey. But not entirely. She looked into her father's eyes as he wiped away her tears. "It's okay, dear. It's okay. I'm here."

She tried holding her tears, she tried not to fully break in front of him. She was scared that it might hurt him. "You're not gonna leave me, are you?" She said as a soft whimper followed with another tear drop of sadness.

"Of course I won't leave you, love." He brushed her hair bangs and put it behind her ears to admire her face, to see her beauty clearer. He slowly sat up to lean his head against hers. Once their foreheads gently touched, they cried together with their eyes closed shut.

"You're gonna be okay. I'll stay here with you." Poppy opened her eyes, still watered with tears. Peppy shook his head no.

"No dear, you have to watch over the village. Don't worry about me, worry about the million of citizens out there." A small smile appeared on the old troll's face. Poppy shook her head as well. "No, no. I wanna stay here with you. I don't want to leave you alone..."

"I won't be alone, sweetie. I have doctors and nurses around me. I'll have your mother with me." Peppy chuckled weakly. He coughed softly and smiled at Poppy.

The pink troll sighed and nodded her head. "Okay, dad."

"That's my girl." He kissed her forehead softly before leaning back onto the bed and falling asleep. Poppy wiped away her tears and stood up. She took one last look at him and walked out the door.

She rubbed her arm and sighed shakily.

He never mentions Mom...

"Poppy!" She heard a yell from the halls of the hospital. She looked around and saw the Snack Pack rushing towards her. They jumped onto her and hugged her tightly. They told her words of sympathy. They tried cheering her up. Sadly, she just kept crying. Her tears started flowing down on her cheeks like a river.

"I'm scared."