the best day [taylor swift's sister]

eight; lots of sickness

Five year-old Quinn coughed as she sat up in her bed, her throat starting to itch and making it unbearable for her to breathe without being in pain. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she coughed even louder, her chest starting to tighten. Quinn slid off her bed, pulling the covers down with her as she dragged herself to the dark hallway. Losing the small amount of light from the nightlight placed in her room, Quinn was surrounded by darkness.

"Taytay!" Quinn yelled out, scared.

After a minute, she heard shuffling footsteps and the door opened and Andrea came out to her daughter and picked her up. Andrea rocked the girl back and forth, hoping she'd fall asleep, but with her cough and fever, Andrea knew it would be a long night.

"I want Tay!" Quinn cried.

"She's sleeping, baby, let her rest," Andrea told her daughter.

"Tay! Tay! Tay!" the girl called out.

Taylor groaned from the other side of the door as she heard her name being screamed, trying to block out the sound. After a minute, she realized that it was her little sister who called for her, so she got up and opened the door. Quinn squirmed out of her mom's arms and ran over to Taylor, hugging her legs.

"I'm sorry, Taylor, go back to sleep, I've got her," Andrea said, trying to pry off Quinn.

"It's okay, I'll take care of her, you stayed up really late yesterday, go get some rest," Taylor says, picking up the girl.

After reassuring her mom a couple times, Andrea went back into her room to get some well needed sleep. Taylor rocked her sister in her arms but the girl wouldn't stop crying. Quinn gripped onto Taylor's hair, pulling at the older woman's curls.

"How about we get you some warm milk," Taylor said, walking downstairs with Quinn resting on her chest.

Taylor balanced Quinn on her hip as she heated up some milk and tried to get some medicine for the crying child. After she gave Quinn the milk, the girl stopped thrashing around in Taylor's arms and drank the milk. Luckily Quinn liked the taste of cherry Tyelnol so Taylor had no problem giving it to her to get rid of the fever and the sore throat.

"Do you wanna sleep with me, darling?" Taylor asked.

Quinn nuzzled her head deeper into Taylor's neck which the woman took as a "yes" to her question. Taylor walked up the stairs and back into her room to find her sister already half-way asleep. As she got in the covers and started patting her sister's back in a rhythmic pattern, Quinn gripped her hair again and Taylor heard light snores from Quinn. Taylor smiled as she closed her eyes, hoping her sister would feel better tomorrow, but happy she was able to be there for her little sister.

"Hi, sweetheart," Taylor said, as she laid down next to Quinn.

"Tay, when I die, please don't forget me," Quinn said, earning a gasp from everyone in the room.

"No, honey, you're so strong and you're gonna be fine and live for many many years," Taylor stated.

"I feel like I'm gonna die, I feel weak and my body's giving out," Quinn admits, laying her head on Taylor's chest.

"It always feels like that but you're gonna be okay, I promise, I know how you feel but it will get better, I promise," Andrea said, feeling her daughter's pain.

Quinn moves closer to Taylor, practically laying on top of the woman who was rubbing her back and using the other hand to hold up the tubes so they don't get all twisted up. Taylor feels Quinn's hand loosely tangled into her, smiling at the progress she had made.

"She's asleep," Taylor whispered, as she could hear Quinn's soft breathing.

"I'm scared," Andrea admitted, on the verge of tears.

Before anyone could respond, the doctor came in and walked over to the monitor that connected to Quinn's tubes. He looked at the monitors and noted stuff down in a notebook before talking to them.

"Hey, guys, it is almost ten pm, we gave you an extra hour but only two people can stay overnight. Also, Ms. Swift, I need you to turn her because we need to change one of the tubes. I'll be back in five minutes with all the supplies" the doctor said, before walking out.

"I think it's best for Taylor to stay because it seems like Quinn likes using her as a pillow and then Andrea because she's the mother. And tomorrow we can talk about who can stay the next night," Scott said.

Everyone agrees with him so they all quickly and quietly say their goodbyes to make sure they don't wake up Quinn. As they headed out, two different doctors came in with a tray which contained a tube, scissors, needles, and other things Taylor couldn't recognize.

"Don't worry, we won't need anything sharp except the needle for Quinn, the other tools are for cutting the tube before using them," the female doctor explained as she saw Taylor's worried look.

As Taylor tried to pull Quinn up to turn her around, Quinn's grip on Taylor's shirt became tighter, not letting Taylor move her. Taylor tried to pry Quinn's hand off her shirt but that just made her grip Taylor's blonde locks tighter.

"Babe, wake up," Taylor said, shaking Quinn.

After several attempts of waking up the sleeping girl, Quinn finally opened her eyes in annoyance. As soon as she saw the tubes her eyes widened as she shook her head no. The first time they inserted the tubes in her, it felt uncomfortable and rubbed against her throat.

"Hey it's okay, I'm right here, so is mom," Taylor said.

"I'm right here, baby," Andrea added.

"No no no," Quinn muttered as she got the doctor's hand which was too close to her face.

"Baby, you need to let them," Andrea sighed.

As the doctor tried to move the tube, Quinn bit down on the tube not realizing the consequence as she tried to get off the bed. As soon as she bit it, Quinn fell to the ground as her energy completely depleted. Luckily Taylor caught her and pulled her back before she could hit the ground. As soon as the doctor came close, Quinn started pushing his hand away in fear.

Taylor took a hold of the girl's hands and wrapped her in a hug, leaving no space for the girl to escape but not tight enough to lose her breath. As the doctor removed the previous tube, Quinn squirmed and shook her head when the familiar feeling of itchiness became unbearable in her throat.

"Ma'am, we need you to hold her still, we don't want to injure her," the assistant doctor said.

Andrea firmly but gently held Quinn's head in place as they pulled out the rest of the tube. As soon as they took it out, Quinn vomited to the side, luckily into a trash can, but most of it was blood. The doctors helped clean her up and threw the trash can away.

"The tube helps keep the blood in her body by sending liquids into there. Once we get the needle that we sent to be analyzed and the results, we can put Quinn on medication to make her better, but until then, she needs the tube," the doctor explained.

But Quinn, who was absolutely not having it, thrashed around, not listening to a word. If she was gonna die, why not just let her die now? Taylor tightened her grip on Quinn as she wrapped her legs around Quinn's to keep her in place. After both women secured her, they started to insert another tube which they connected to the monitor. After an agonizing thirty minutes, they were able to send the liquid through the tube. After the doctors left, Quinn leaned her head back on Taylor and sighed in defeat, she felt too weak to fight.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," Andrea said, kissing Quinn's forehead.