I'm still undecided on whether or not I like hospitals, on the one hand they remind me of my mother and the pain she suffered before succumbing to her illness. On the other hand, I spent majority of my childhood playing with mismatched toys in waiting rooms and eating vending machine snacks. Right now I'm tuning out the sound of my father discussing dental work and treatments I don't need with my doctor, in favor of listening to a little boy in a purple arm cast read to himself from a book that has missing pages and scribbles on the pages that are still intact.

He's speaking quietly but even from my seat across the room I can hear that he has the lisp that comes with missing teeth. He reads well, without faltering over words that should be difficult to say let alone read for someone his age.

After a while he spots me watching him and brings the book up higher to hide his face. When he tips it to peek over the top, I smile and poke my tongue out. He hides behind the book again for a moment before dropping it completely and poking his tongue out at me in return. Feeling competitive I suck in my cheeks and cross my eyes which earns me a laugh before he pulls the same face back at me. Next I blow up my cheeks and wrinkle my nose to which he blows me a raspberry and turns up his nose like a pig.

"Vick!" Someone bellows and we both nearly fall off our seats

"She started it" the boy uses his cast to point my way and I smile up at Hawthorne sheepishly

"Hi" I squeak

"Madge? What are you doing here? How's your jaw? It looks bad" he trips over his words upon realizing who it is 'Vick' is pointing at

"I'm fine, my dad wanted me to get checked out when he saw the swelling"

"You know I wanted to call, to check on you but I didn't have a number and Fin didn't want to pass it along without asking you" I look at the little boy clinging to Gale's leg rather than stare awkwardly at him and grin

"Vick was it?" I say offering my hand to him, he nods "sorry I got you in trouble"

"That's okay, Gale can't cross his eyes" he whispers conspiratorially, giving me a wide smile that reveals the missing teeth I'd suspected "he's jealous"

"A prominent trait" I mumble, loud enough Hawthorne can hear me

"Vick, why don't you go back to your book for a minute while I talk to Madge" Hawthorne ushers the little boy back to the kids section and I swallow nervously "I'm sorry about the way I behaved, I guess I did get a little jealous"

"A little?"

"Okay so he's been pissing me off for months and my temper got the better of me. I was still reeling from that guy knocking you out, it was mostly adrenaline"

"Those excuses were all great but what I saw is you punch a stranger then treat Cato horribly because you were a 'reeling"

"That guy had just knocked you out and swung for me first and your golden boy isn't innocent in all this. He plays dirty every time he catches me looking at you"

"He's protective, from what I've seen so are you"

"Look Blondie are you gonna let me see you again or not?" he raises an eyebrow expectantly

"You can have another chance but if you punch anyone, badmouth Cato or insinuate I'm the type of girl to make out with one guy while dating another who happens to be in the same party" I emphasize his oversight "then I'm out and the next time you see me I'll smack you with a pom pom"

"Deal" he grins at me and plants a kiss on my cheek

"Now where's your little brother, he's way cuter than you".