AN: Not much to say. Hope you're enjoying if you got this far. :)
They were lying in the grass, on the tiny hillock in the backyard where some previous owner had dumped soil for some project, then abandoned it. At least, Michael was assuming that was how the hill came to be. Regardless of its original intended purpose, it was excellent for stargazing.
Stella had taken her medication some time ago without complaint. She had gotten used to the colorful spreadsheet schedule her father had made to keep track of them. Wednesday—two days from now—was circled three times in red ink, with dozens of stars and exclamation points scattered around it on the spreadsheet. They both had looked at it with anticipation for months.
"How was your day?" He asked.
Stella shrugged. "Mrs. Calloway's okay. Not nice, but not bad."
"Fair enough. She's been alone for a bit, so she's not as used to children anymore as she used to be. But I knew she'd take care of you."
"I guess."
There was a beat of silence.
"I can see Cancer up there, the crab one."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep, right…there."
"Very good. Anything else?"
"Leo…Hydra, oh! Is that Virgo up there?"
"You've got sharp eyes there, Stella-Star."
More silence, but a happy silence. It shifted, turning hesitant.
"Are you ready, you think?"
"I'm not sure."
"That's okay, you know."
"Okay." Stella fidgeted, tearing at the grass near her sides. "It's going to work, right?"
"Well…yeah, it's going to work. It won't do anything bad, but the doctors are kinda just waiting to see how much good it'll do."
"Well, any good is…good, right?"
The sudden truth of the statement struck him, with a distinct flavor of hilarity to it, and he laughed.
Stella, of course, was indignant. "What are you laughing about?"
"Nothing, Stella-Star. You're just a funny girl."
Stella pouted a little, but it was a weak attempt at displeasure. A smile cracked the frown, and soon the two of them were laughing together.