An hour later, Tally was in a hospital bed, on some morphine (which she totally appreciated), eating some pudding and watching some bad Spanish soap operas that she couldn't understand.

She put down her spoon when a lab coat came in. Tally noted the doctor was very pretty. She was tall and willowy, with dark black hair swirled into a bun on her head. Her face was round, and her eyes were slanted and beautifully brown. She couldn't have been more than thirty, but obviously the stress of her job had gotten to her, as she was showing signs of small wrinkles in her forehead, and on the corners of her mouth. She smiled at Tally and adjusted her glasses as she looked at her chart.

"Tally?" she asked, glancing at the fifteen year old. Tally nodded, picking up her water.

"That's me." She affirmed. The doctor nodded and came over, checking the machines.

"My name is Dr. Yan," she said, scribbling something down on her chart. "Your vitals look good Tally."

Tally shrugged. "I try."

Dr. Yan nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "So." She started.

"So," Tally responded.

"How exactly did you wind up with a bullet in your stomach?"

Tally shrugged. "Wrong place, wrong time."

"Care to share any details?"

Tally shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "It was dark, I was on my way home. I got caught in a gang dealing or something." She said, conveniently leaving out the parts where she broke into a crime boss's warehouse, got shot, then saved by four crime fighting turtles in masks.

"And you sewed yourself up before you came here?" Dr. Yan asked suspiciously. Again, Tally shrugged.

"I'm good at first aid." She said. Another scribbled. "What are you writing?" she asked, craning her neck to see the charts. Dr. Yan pulled back slightly with a smile.

"Just some notes." She said. "Do you know your parent's phone numbers? We need to call them."

This is where the plan came in. Tally bent her head, letting her bangs fall on her face and letting her hands settle into her lap. She sniffed.

"They're…gone." She said quietly, looking distractedly at her fingers. Dr. Yan's brow furrowed.

"Gone?" she asked carefully. "Gone where?"

"They're dead." She whispered. Dr. Yan exhaled a breath, reaching over to touch Tally's shoulder. Tally looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.

"We're going to get you fixed up okay?" she promised. Tally nodded and wiped at her face. "But I need to know how you got yourself stitched up so well after being shot so we know if we need to do surgery."

"I just knew…" Tally murmured. "I just knew that the bullet had to come out." She said hoarsely. "I managed to get away from the guy who shot me and dig it out. I had a small sewing kit and I…" she trailed off.

Dr. Yan shook her head in amazement. "That was a very brave thing you did Tally." She said softly. "But the bullet is out?" Tally nodded. "That'll make your recovery a lot quicker." She said, before standing up. She reached to the top of the T.V and handed Tally the remote. "I'll be back in a little bit to come get you for X-rays, okay?"

Tally nodded, leaning back. "Okay," she said. Dr. Yan nodded and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Tally rolled her eyes and pulled her hair up, wincing slightly as a pain shot up her abdomen. She did it slowly, and managed a very messy bun. She grimaced and swung her legs off the bed, using the wall to haul herself out of it. She shivered slightly as her feet touched the cold tile floor and as a draft blew up her hospital gown. She felt her way along the wall slowly until she reached the window and peered out.

It was early morning, near six, she assumed. And New York was already bustling with the morning traffic. But that's not what Tally was interested in. She was interested in how to get out of this damn hospital when the time was right. Her initial plan worked like a charm. Dr. Yan was totally on her side. Now she just needed to get well enough to get out before the social workers came to collect her. She peered down and grinned. It was only two stories. She could make that jump easy if she tuck and rolled. This was going better than expected.

She jumped when the door opened.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Another woman said. Tally turned around and smiled shyly. "Why are you out of bed?"

"Heh." Tally said. "I uh…needed to stretch."

"Come here, back in bed." The woman walked over and helped Tally back into the bed.

"Who are you?" Tally asked.

"My name is Macey," the blonde said. "I'm from social services."

That was fast. Tally thought idly.

"Are you here to talk to me about my parents?" She asked, suddenly getting quiet. Macey nodded in sympathy and sat on the corner of the bed, where Dr. Yan was seated not fifteen minutes before.

"I am."

"Well, what do you want to know?" she asked, looking at the social worker.

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Macey asked gently. Tally shook her head.

"They died in a fire about five years ago." She explained. Macey nodded.

"And do you currently have a foster family?"

Tally shook her head. "No. I mean…I did."

"What happened?"

Tally looked up desperately at her. "I couldn't…I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to be another one of those kids just shoved through the system. To disappear when I was eighteen. I didn't want that." She sniffed. "I don't' want that. So I ran away when I was thirteen."

"And that was better than having a roof over your head? And food? How'd you get food?"

Tally shrugged. "I managed." She said softly.

"Honey, if you're not in the system, we can't help you."

"Well maybe I'm fine on my own." Tally said defensively. Macey spread her hands.

"I'm sure you are fine. But we want to make sure you're safe and protected."

"Is that what you tell all the kids who run away?"

Macey paused, considering what to say. Finally she sighed and stood.

"I want to help you Tally. But you have to let me."

Tally was silent for a while, before looking up at Macey with big eyes. "I just…I don't want to get lost." She whispered.

Macey smiled softly, squeezing Tally's hand.

"You won't. I promise." She said, before leaving. After the door clicked, Tally rolled her eyes again and leaned back, turning up her Spanish soap operas.

"Suckers." She muttered under her breath.