6:30 A.M.: BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Val felt around in the dark for the alarm clock. Finding it, she brought her fist down on the SNOOZE button, which promptly silenced it. She got out bed, gloomily realizing what today was: operation day. Rubbing her eyes, she looked out the window. It was a perfect day. The sky was streaked with pink and orange, dotted by a few scattered white clouds. The clouds provoked thoughts of double chocolate pancakes topped with powdered sugar. This morning, that wasn't to be, at least not right away.

Can't eat after midnight, Val remembered bitterly.

She got dressed and stuffed a change of clothes into her backpack. Upon reflection, she added a stuffed animal Aunt Danielle had given her years before. Val remembered the day vividly. It had been at a professional rodeo. They had watched a bull called Bodacious all but total three riders. As they left, Danni had purchased a stuffed replica of Bodacious for her niece.

Val pulled the necklace Twister had given her yesterday out from under her shirt. Unsure about whether she could wear it, Val decided to do the next best thing: put it around Bodacious's neck like a collar. Before taking the necklace off, Val gave it a quick kiss. Less than a minute later, Bodacious was ready to go...too bad Val couldn't say the same.

"Val, are you up yet?" Ray called softly through the door.

"Uh-huh."

Val carefully tucked Bodacious in her backpack and swung it over her shoulder. She headed downstairs, trying to walk in her usual haughty way, though she was scared out of her mind. Downstairs, Otto was whining because Ray had just gotten through telling him there was no time for breakfast.

"Ready?" Ray asked her.

"As I'll ever be," she sighed.

"Did you remember to feed my fish?" asked Otto.

Val sighed tiredly, placing her hands on her hips. "One: I think you could show a little more concern about me. I mean, I may have skin cancer, y'know. Two: Yes, but don't expect me to do it again."

"Why not?" Otto said, an edge to his voice.

"Because they're your fish, braniac,"Reggie supplied.

Ray herded the kids out to the station wagon, hoping they would cool off.

Ray drove her out to the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. In the same-day surgery waiting room, Val leafed morosely through an old copy of a parenting magazine. Suddenly, something caught her eye: a backwards baseball cap with the Dodgers logo on it.
For a moment, she didn't know why it caused it her to jump; Dodgers caps were common around the area. She quickly took in the boy wearing the cap: short and skinny with dark brown hair, wearing a white shirt patterned with thin vertical blue stripes and a pair of dark blue jeans.

"Rod?" she called in the direction of the boy.

He turned, confirming Val's hunch. The boy was indeed Roderick Vandenack from her karate class. The two black belts shared a love of baseball. They had a good-natured rivalry, seeing as Val was an avid Atlanta Braves fan.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Roderick, her voice flooded with concern. She knew Roderick had had a hard time these past few years, what with getting cancer and all. Seeing him here at the hospital just made her think the worst.

Roderick sat on the couch next to her. "Don't get excited. I've never felt better."

Val let out a soft sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that."

"I just came here to see you off," he continued.

Roderick noticed a cloud of gloom seemed to have settled over his usually chipper friend. Soon, tears were glistening on her face.

"I don't blame you," said Roderick in a soothing tone. "It's a hard thing to deal with. But come what may, I'm here for you, Val."

A nurse appeared, addressing the room at large: "Valencia Lightning."

"I'll let you know how this works out," Val said through her tears.

She got off the couch and started to follow the nurse, backpack in tow. Ray asked if she'd like to have company while she waited for the surgeon. Bravely, Val shook her head.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The fog that had been enclosing Val for the past couple of hours lifted. She opened her eyes. Roderick was standing at her bedside with Reggie, both giving her supportive smiles. Otto was leaning against a wall, arms crossed over his chest. Ray stood at the foot of the bed.

"How are you feeling, Princess?" asked Ray gently.

"A little tired," said Val.

"Listen, I'm going to take Reggie and Otto out for a bit, since it's going to be a while before you can go home with us," said Ray in a clear voice. "Do you care?"

Val slowly shook her head. Roderick settled onto the vistor's chair as the others departed.

"I'll hang out up here with you," he said.

A/N: The operation is over, but the test results are still to come. Are Val's troubles over or will they get worse? Find out soon!

P.S.(I hope my description of Roderick was correct).