"Dancing bears, painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December~"

He could hear the voice clearly, even though it seemed dreamy –like it came from a dream. It was pretty and light, airy almost. For a second, he glimpsed a small angel smiling brightly at him, her brown hair surrounding her face.

And she was gone, and when Mal woke up, he was in a room with machines and on a strange bed.

"Mal?"

He turned his head slowly (his head felt stuffed and it ached) and found a man in sharp business clothes looking at him worriedly. He had red hair that was parted sideways, and warm blue eyes that reminded him of the skies he once remembered he saw outside. It was hard to recall anything. He couldn't remember much actually.

"W-who are you?" he asked tiredly.

The man smiled slightly. "I'm Gabriel. Do you remember anything from last night? Leaf tried to tell me as much as she could."

Mal was confused. "...Leaf?"

Gabriel's smile faltered, and he looked at him in even more worry. "Mal, do you remember much of last night?"

Mal tried to remember, but nothing came up much. Just a blur of images that were too indistinct for him to see clearly.

"M'sorry," he looked down. "I can't remember."

"Anything?"

When he shook his head, he heard the sharp inhale from the man.

"I-I see. Mal, I'll be back. I need to go get the doctor," Gabriel gave him one last warm smile before he left.

Once alone in the room, Mal looked around and understood he must've been in some kind of hospital then. He was attached to a lot of machines, not that he knew what they were or were for. Instead, he just continued to look around, pass the time, and hope Gabriel came back soon.

Thankfully, his hopes were answered and he came back with the doctor, who checked on him. Mal stayed quiet through it, allowing the doctor to touch him and check his pulse and whatever else he had to check.

"He seems alright now," the doctor directed towards Gabriel. He turned to Mal then. "We'll still have to keep you though. You suffered from a very extreme case of pneumonia, which clearly went out of control and wasn't taken cared of immediately and properly. We'll keep you under watch, and help you continue to heal through the illness."

Mal was still silent, but gave a nod to show he heard and had understood the doctor.

"While alright, I do seem to detect a slight wheezing inside his chest," the doctor tacked on. "We'll have to check on that, see if it's anything serious. Hopefully, it's nothing bad and Malcolm will just need to take something to clear his airway. We'll have the respiratory doctor come in and talk you two through that, and then give him the medication. He'll probably have to have some x-rays, just in case. We can go look and see what's wrong through that as well as a CAT scan."

Mal wasn't sure he understood all that, but he thought he at least got the gist of it. Soon enough, a male nurse came in, wheeling a huge contraption.

"Hey there, I'm just going to take some x-rays of your lungs, alright buddy?"

When Mal showed it was okay, the man started to set things up, though he did ask Gabriel to step outside for a second. Then Mal had to sit up a little as a pillow was placed behind his back to straighten him up, and then a somewhat large and heavy apron-like thing was put onto his front. It wasn't long before the nurse took the x-rays, and then was finished and gone. Another nurse came in, introducing herself as his main nurse and that she was going to change the "IV" bag attached to him that would also be attached to a bag containing a muscle relaxant medicine. She was quick and efficient, finally drawing attention to the needle that was in Mal's arm and that he hadn't noticed before. When she was done, Gabriel took his chair and brought it closer to him.

But before they were to talk and Mal could get answers, they were interrupted by the respiratory doctor.

"Hello," he greeted Mal. "I'm just going to give you some medication that's hopefully going to clear your airway and help you to breathe easier, okay? Let me just set it up," and when he was done, he was putting a mask over Mal's mouth and nose, where once it was on securely, the doctor did something and then the medication began flowing into the tubes and into the mask, leading to Mal's inhaling it in.

"That's right. Breathe in deeply. Try to keep doing that and focus on your breathing. It'll help you."

Afterwards, the doctor gave another kind smile and then left him and Gabriel alone. Gabriel cleared his throat, stealing Mal's attention again. The man awkwardly smiled.

"There's a lot of things that need to be said, but the first thing I need to tell you is that if you don't remember, Mal...then I should at least tell you I'm your father. I hope you can remember that, but if not, it's fine. I'll always be your father regardless."

Mal felt himself warm up from that and smiled at Gabriel through the mask.

"You had a bad case of pneumonia, which none of us knew," Gabriel explained in remorse. "We thought it was just a cold or a flu, and that maybe we could help you normally. We were stupidly stubborn, and I'm sorry, son."

"I understand," Mal told him, feeling like he did. He would be stubborn about trying to cure it himself actually. He didn't much like the thought of doctors, although the way he was being treated and cared for now didn't seem so bad.

Gabriel reached over and took a hand, the one that had the arm that was attached to the IV.

"You're such a good kid, Mal."

And Mal was glad, and strangely felt like he finally received the words he craved for, for some reason.

~*~*~

Mal had to stay awhile at the hospital. Apparently, his pneumonia had been really bad and the sickness was just now going away. Afterwards, he had to recover and get better, but that took time, everyone kept telling him.

He also occasionally kept having trouble breathing. When they found out what was wrong, Mal didn't quite understand, but they told him he had something called 'asthma.'

"Some people, after a really bad lung infection, can develop this," his doctor told him. "You had some really bad damage to your lungs, kiddo. It's healing now, but you'll have to deal with having asthma through your life. It's not too bad. Just remember to keep your inhaler with you at all times, so if you have an attack, it's on you and can help."

He nodded obediently, but he wasn't fully understanding. Maybe he can ask his father about it later...

But when Gabriel stepped into the room, his attention was more drawn to the stuffed teddy bear in his arms. Gabriel headed over to him and smiled widely.

"I have a gift for you," he announced dramatically. Then his smile tinged a bit sadly. "Someone wanted to give you something. Someone really important."

Mal wanted to ask, but had a feeling it would upset his father. Something sad must've happened...

Gabriel handed the teddy bear to him, but it wasn't a stuffed toy at all. When it came closer, it blinked and Mal yelped. The 'teddy bear' giggled while his father chuckled.

"This is a pokémon, Mal. He's a Teddiursa. Don't you like bears? You told me you did the other day. And now this one's all yours."

"Dancing bears..."

"I like bears," Mal murmured, the echo of a voice lingering in his head. He held out his hands with arms wide open, and the Teddiursa came and jumped into his small arms, nuzzling his chest. He smiled happily.

"Teddi...Can I call you Teddi?" he asked him.

When she smiled and gently butted his chin with her head, Mal laughed and felt happier than he remembered ever being.

"I also wanted you to meet someone. Two people actually. Laylah, come in!" Gabriel spoke towards the door to his hospital room.

In came a woman with beautiful curls of brown hair, pinned back behind her head in an elegant twist. Her hazel eyes were caring towards Mal, which made him feel safe and warm. Held against her soft, lavender blouse, was a kid even younger than Mal. When the kid, brown-haired and chubby-faced, saw him –he hid his face against the woman's neck.

"Don't be shy, Cassiel," her voice was lyrical. "Mal, dear, I'm your mother," she smiled lovingly at him. "And this is your little brother. Cassiel, say hi to Mal."

When Cassiel peeked out from behind their mother, he said a quick, quiet hello, and then went back to hiding his face.

Mal looked at the three of them and felt content. This was his family. They loved him and cared.

Somehow, he felt and didn't understand the pit in his stomach or the feeling something was missing.

~*~*~

He was held in the hospital for another two weeks, and by then he had completely recovered. Afterwards, he was brought home to a large building that wasn't like the normal houses. It was too large and fancy, and his father explained that it was more of a 'manor' than just a house. And when Mal went inside, it was even bigger and finer than he could have ever imagined.

His little brother excitedly held onto his arm, dragging him further into the manor. Cassiel was so excited, that he was talking speedily with his limited grasps of words and sentences, which had Mal trying to catch up and understand what he was saying.

"Now, now, Cassiel. Your brother's just recovered, so be patient and take it easy on him," their mother laughed lightly, patting both boys' heads. "Lita, would you help the boys wash up and then take them to the dining room so we can have dinner? I'd appreciate that so much."

An older woman than Laylah had suddenly appeared, startling Mal, but her kind smile lit up her wrinkled face.

"Come along, you two. Let's get you two ready. I'm sure Master Gabriel and Madame Laylah will even include some hot chocolate for you boys, as a good treat!" She swept Cassiel into her surprising strong arms, and held out a hand for Mal to take.

After a quick wash up, grooming, and change of clothes, Lita brought them to the dining room where their parents were already waiting. A whole array of food was waiting for them, and Mal took a deep breath, smelling all the delicious smells and feeling his stomach growl.

"Time to eat, sweetheart," Laylah told him lovingly.

Mal was eager to do as she said, so helped himself to a bit of everything. Even though the room and the table was large, it didn't feel like it as he and his family sat close together on one end. He was content with everything, that when it was time to go to bed, he was practically asleep by the time his head hit the pillow.

But he did end up waking bright and early, and had to get ready for something. He was cleaned and dressed, wearing rather formal, body-fitted clothes. When he was taken to the rest of his family, Gabriel was on the phone, and Laylah was adjusting Cassiel's bowtie.

"Mom, where are we going?" he dared to ask.

Not that he needed to be hesitant, because his mother was as kind and loving as ever as she turned towards him.

"We'll be meeting a friend of the family, Aileena d'Alcott. She just recently adopted a young boy, around your age, though I think you're a year older. We thought it would be nice to introduce you two, while getting together."

Mal was hesitant about meeting others. He didn't feel ready somehow, and a feeling of being lacking filled him. But then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked to see the owner of it being his father, who smiled warmly at him like always.

"Ready, Mal?"

And just like that, Mal felt better and ready to go.

~*~*~

Ashford Academy was obviously larger than his family's manor, towering well over him, and it wasn't hard to picture so many students coming there. Not that it was hard to be bigger than Mal either. Mal was small and short, and could barely reach up to his father's knees. His father was tall too though...

In fact, it seemed that the only one he was taller than was poor, cute and little Cassiel, who had decided to cling to him again.

They were met somewhere in the hallways of the academy by a friendly man with sand-colored kind of hair. Sand just like in the beaches. Mmhm. And the man's eyes were green like the emeralds in his mother's earrings.

He was named 'Richard' (at least Mal thought so, since that's what his father cheerfully greeted him as), and he was very kind and seemed like he was going to accompany them along the way. He greeted Mal's mother with a kiss on either of her cheeks, which she reciprocated, and then Richard turned to him.

"Why hello there. Don't be shy. My name is Richard. I'm a good friend of your parents and I work here in the school."

Mal gave a small smile and wave, to which Richard grinned and ruffled his hair. He then brought a person over.

"Could you bring Mal outside? Raphael's outside near the west playstructure at the stables, and the two boys can introduce themselves and play awhile at the playstructure. Aileena's outside with Raphael as well, so just let her know she has guests. Then just watch the boys as they play, to make sure they stay safe."

Laylah came and took Cassiel away from Mal's side, but the little boy protested.

"Cassiel, you're much too young. You can play with the two of them later, alright? Right now, you stay here with your mother."

Mal wasn't too sure about going on his own to meet Raphael either, but he was kind of excited to meet another boy his age and who wasn't his little brother. As he was brought outside, he caused sight of a little boy who had red hair that was much brighter than Mal's own, and who seemed like he was struggling to hold onto the Ponyta he was riding on. He looked a little bit scared, but also really determined. Beside him, a beautiful woman was patiently watching, but Mal could see she was ready to help the other boy if he needed.

"Headmistress d'Alcott," the woman beside him called out. "Master Malcolm has arrived, as has the Thrones family. I've brought Master Malcolm as Mr. Destra requested."

And when the two's attention was brought onto Mal, Mal tentatively copied the more formal motions he remembered his father making to his mother the other day.

He bowed deeply, nearly toppling over (though he was glad that it hadn't been obvious).