Perry the Platypus winced as Apollo applied an antiseptic wipe to the large cut on his shin. Apollo gave Perry a sympathetic look and took the wipe away, but the platypus took in a deep breath and said, "Sorry. Please keep going."

Apollo resumed cleaning the cut. Only a suppressed wince came from the platypus at the sting of pain.

After Apollo finished bandaging Perry's wound, he straightened up and smiled. "Well done, Perry. All done now."

Perry breathed out in relief and stood up, testing his leg. "Thanks, Apollo. I just wish it hadn't hurt so much."

Apollo chuckled. "You know, you CAN show emotion in here. I never tell anyone about agents who cry during treatment."

"CRY?!" Perry blinked and shook his head. "No way. It didn't hurt THAT much." At Apollo's raised eyebrow, he snapped, "It didn't!"

Apollo shrugged. "Sorry. Anyway, you should be able to see Pinky now."

Perry's face paled. "Pinky! Is he okay?!"

"The bear did get him worse than you," admitted Apollo. "So he did get some extensive injuries. But the wounds are not fatal and there's no chance of them ever becoming fatal."

Perry exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness."

Apollo hesitated. "Just…if you visit him, please try not to be frightened away by his injuries."

"Pinky's my best friend," Perry said firmly. "I'm staying no matter what."

"I'm really glad to hear that, Perry." Apollo pointed down the other end of the infirmary. "He's in Ward 1."

"Thanks so much, Apollo." Perry smiled at the doctor. "Will you tell me when we're okay to go?"

"You're okay to go," Apollo told him. "But Pinky will probably have to stay for another day at least."

"Okay. Thanks!" Perry bounded off towards the wards.

Apollo turned and began stripping Perry's bed to wash the sheets. Then he heard someone come up behind him, but before he could turn, he felt two arms wrap around his neck and a pair of lips kiss him on the back of the neck. He grinned. "I wonder who that could be."

"Yeah, I wonder," came Mavis's voice.

Apollo smirked and turned round to look into the smiling face of his girlfriend. "Hey, Mavie." He kissed her quickly.

"Hi, Apollo. I don't have long; I'm going out on a mission in half an hour. I just wanted to ask you if you're ready for tonight."

The doctor tried not to let his smile drop. "O-Of course, Mavie."

Mavis chuckled. "Your face paled."

"N-No it didn't."

"Yeah it did. Are you okay?"

Apollo grimaced. "It's not that I don't want to spend time with your family. It's just…you have seven siblings. And I know for a fact that at least three of them don't like me."

"How could anyone not like you?" Mavis grinned. "You're cute, funny, intellectual."

"Malcom."

Mavis sighed, her grin dropping. "I know. Malcom is particularly difficult. HE'S happily married so he thinks he's in a position to judge his siblings' boyfriends or girlfriends. Trust me, his opinion doesn't matter for much."

Apollo hesitated. "Melissa and Miles?"

"They're just stubborn kids."

"They're nineteen; technically, they're legal adults."

"Not until they hit twenty-one, they're not."

Apollo smirked. "You're really willing to defend me from your family?"

"Of course. Even if every single one of them was against you. I love who I love, and my family shouldn't influence that. They DON'T influence that. So no matter how this dinner goes, I'm staying with you. I'm never going to leave you for anything, especially not for the opinions of any members of my family who "sort of" dislike you."

Apollo smiled weakly. "Thank you, Mavis. It makes me feel better to hear you say that."

Mavis smiled back and brought him into a hug. "As long as you promise not to leave me either."

Apollo's eyes widened. "Of course not! I wouldn't leave you for ANYTHING!"

Mavis giggled softly. "I didn't think you would, but it did make me feel better to hear you say it."

Eventually, they pulled apart, smiling at each other. "Are you absolutely sure you're ready?" asked Mavis softly. "We've only been going out for two months; we can wait for-."

"No, no." Apollo shook his head. "Better sooner than later. Besides, at least Monty's on my side."

Mavis laughed. "And Millie. Meredith, Marius. They like you too."

"So that's…four out of seven siblings who like me?"

"Yup."

"I guess that's something."

Mavis smirked and stroked his cheek with her finger. "Am I not enough?"

"Most of the time," Apollo replied, smirking back.

"Ouch. Okay." Mavis snorted and took a step back. "I'm going to assume you're kidding and take off."

"Of course I'm kidding, Mavis. Even if it was just you and me for the rest of our lives, I'd never get bored."

Mavis blushed a little. "I… Thank you, Apollo. Same for you."

Apollo smiled. "You should probably go now. Don't want to miss that mission."

"Yeah, you're right." Mavis reached up and kissed Apollo. "I'll be back soon. But Dad wants me to help set up for the dinner, so you'll have to make your own way to the house. Okay?"

"That's okay, I'll be fine. Good luck on your mission."

"Thanks."

With one last smile back at Apollo, Mavis left the room.

Apollo's face was flushed as he resumed stripping the bed. He loved Mavis so much, and if having dinner with her family made her happy, he would do it a hundred times.

He was just a little worried about Mavis's seven siblings, all of whom were very protective of her. Especially Malcom, who was four years older than her and Apollo and a lot stronger. He was also worried about Melissa and Miles, who hadn't hidden their dislike of him. He didn't think they disliked HIM, per se; he suspected that they had gone off him now that he was dating their sister. The real worrying thing was that Melissa and Miles were twins with a telepathic link between them. He had been on the receiving end of one of the twins suddenly bursting out laughing and giving him a fright several times. They spoke and acted in unison sometimes, freaking Apollo out.

He hoped they'd all go easy on him.