When I was sitting in Taylor's hospital room I couldn't help but think of how small she looked. Since Taylor had about two years on me she was usually a few inches taller than I was. Granted she was tall for a girl but I was finally catching up now that she seemed to be finished growing.

But today I was watching her laying in her bed and wondering when she would wake up ("Was it this bad when I was in the hospital after the accident?" "It's hard to compare, last time was an accident but this time someone did this to Taylor."). She was thankfully not going to die but that was only a mild comfort as we watched her still form hooked up to an IV.

When me and dad had arrived we were grateful beyond words to learn Taylor had received Panaceas treatment. But the miracle only went so far. It turned out Taylor needed to be put in a medically induced coma by Panacea for her to recover. The details were over my head medically but she also needed to use a lot of Taylor's fat to make repairs to her body. So she went from an average looking girl to almost skeletal.

Now we waited. Dad was emotionally exhausted as well. We had made a trip home for the night after we confirmed she would live so we could sleep. Also the hospital had gotten stricter about overnight visitors lately so we needed to get some paperwork worked out to stay past visiting hours. Before we returned we grabbed some things for our upcoming vigil such as clean clothes for both us and for Taylor when she woke up.

As we waited there were long stretches of silence between me and dad. Spending so much time apart had kind of suffocated our relationship. Growing up hadn't helped either. Taylor sort of had to step up from where mom left off in terms of explaining the different things a girl had to deal with growing up ("No Sam you are not dying, it's natural." "What do you mean waking up with bloody sheets is natural!?"). But dad was way out of his depth. Even if you ignored me growing up I wasn't as easy to deal with when mom was alive.

For one we still argued sometimes about me being a ward. My membership had an awkward start since I enrolled earlier than he would have liked. He was especially paranoid about me getting into dangerous situations. The next few months he was constantly badgering me about what I was doing. I had gotten very good at lying around then just to get him to calm down.

It was only after I got sidelined that he eased off. As far as he knows the upcoming merchant raid is just something I'm tagging along on for experience. Opsec is very useful for helping wards keep their nosy parents from realizing what exactly we get up too. I'm not proud of that but if he had his way I'd be reading training manuals until I retired.

We had been in Taylor's room for a few hours now waiting. Dad was nodding off a bit. Apparently he wasn't able to sleep any more than I did. It was getting close to lunchtime so I decided to excuse myself to grab some for us.

"Hey dad, I'm going to the hospital cafeteria. Do you want anything?"

"I'll just have one of those pre-made ham and cheese sandwiches they always have."

"You know the hospital menu that well?"

"Sam, we've been here about half a dozen times since you were born. Most of which was from accidents you were involved in. Over the last decade I've found that somehow that sandwich has always been on the menu here."

"Okay if you say so."

Once I got to the hospital cafeteria I was amazed to find he was right on the money. I bought one for him, a wrap for me, and some bottled water. It was on my way back that I ran into Rory Christner, AKA Triumph, in his civilian clothes. It was a rare sight for sure. Given how tall and muscular he was it was a wonder he was able to keep his identity under wraps.

"Rory, I didn't think I'd see you here."

"Sam, I heard about what happened to your sister from Missy." He then looked around and then looked back at me. "We should probably find somewhere private to discuss this."

"Alright, let's take it to my sister's room. My dad might want to hear about this. Also I have our lunch." I held up the bag with the food I had bought. "You don't mind him seeing you without the costume right?

"Sounds as good a place as any. I'm fine with him seeing my face. I actually decided that ahead of time since it's better not to attract attention."

"Yeah that makes sense. Vicky told me that she had to stop wearing her costume when she visited the hospital to keep a low profile herself."

"That would probably make this hospital one of the few places she actually keeps a low profile in the whole bay."

So we returned to Taylor's room to find my dad had nodded off while I was gone. I shook him awake to introduce him to Rory.

"Hey dad, we have a guest."

"Hu-what?" He adjusted his glasses to look at Rory and then narrowed his eyes. "Are you one of Taylor's friends?"

Rory responded "No, I'm a friend of Sam's. I believe we met once the day your daughter got her first tour of the ward's quarters."

"Wait, aren't you the one who got Sam confoamed because of some mistake with the anti-master security?"

"Yep." I answered "Though to be fair after that they did phase out the shock armbands."

"Yeah for what it's worth I'm still sorry about that." Rory followed up. "But I'm mostly here to follow up on what Vista reported to the PRT last night. We take the security of the ward's families very seriously. We've already talked to the BBPD about the evidence they've gathered and it is pretty clear that Taylor was deliberately targeted. Sam, Taylor is a pretty frequent patron of the library right?"

"Yes she is, why?"

"Because the alleyway is a block away from the library, on the route between your house and the library if you were using the bus line. She was attacked a little after 7 pm on the way back from the library. So once she was sighted at the library whoever attacked Taylor must have been ready to attack her on her way back home."

"What do you mean whoever? The officer said it was probably the Empire 88 on the phone."

"That was based on a swastika that was cut into her jacket. But we've learned not to jump to conclusions just based on that. Gangs love shifting the blame whenever they can."

"But they're the only ones who make sense."

"What do you mean by that?"

"They're the only ones who Taylor has crossed at all."

Then my dad asked a followup question. "Sam what do you mean Taylor crossed the Empire 88? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Nuts, I really hate having to tell other people's secrets. Especially after lying about them already. "Well that's kind of Taylor's story to tell. I only heard it second hand."

"Sam, I care more that whoever hurt Taylor is brought to justice. If you or Taylor lied to me I'm willing to overlook it."

"Okay then." If he put it like that then hopefully Taylor would forgive me for spilling the secret. So I told dad and Rory the story of how Taylor earned a bruise from a skinhead over a week ago. While dad took it better than I expected he was miffed we had covered up the whole thing. It looks like he might just tell the school to change their contact number to his dockworkers office number instead. But Rory seemed contemplative and made a comment.

"While that is evidence they don't like Taylor, I'm not sure that would be enough to put her on their radar. If there were other incidents there might be something but I don't know. It could have been part of an initiation ritual but those are usually targeted at minorities." He started rubbing the back of his head. "And even if it was them it doesn't make things easier. The Empire 88 is unfortunately a relatively big gang, with around a thousand members and associates. This could easily just be a cell or faction acting on their own so we wouldn't be able to tie it to their leadership."

"So what are you saying?" I asked.

"Just that there's a strong chance that whoever targeted Taylor had no clue she was the sister of a ward. On the upside this means your identity is secure. On the downside if we catch whoever did this we might not be able to tack on charges of knowingly targeting a ward's family. They'll probably still get enough charges to go away for a long time though."

Dad responded next. "I think we'll worry about how much jail time they get after we catch them. Do you think that's likely?"

"It depends on what descriptions Taylor can give when she wakes up. They might have disguised themselves. But until Taylor can do that we'll have to work from what we have."

"Thanks for trying. It's good to know we're not dealing with this ourselves." I said.

"Glad to help. But there was another matter I needed to address. The operation is still happening in two days. We do have another ward who can fill your roll on standby. But it would be ideal if you could still go as planned since your replacement would need to be transported over here by Strider from the west coast. You don't have to decide now but we do need to know if you're dropping out by tomorrow to make the arrangements."

Oh right, I had been pushing that out of my mind since I heard Taylor had gotten hurt. Now I had the dilemma of whether to back out and stay with Taylor or go and put myself at risk when Taylor had already had a near death experience. Before Taylor had gotten attacked I hadn't worried at all about getting hurt. But now I had started to worry how it would affect dad if I somehow got hurt or died so soon after Taylor was assaulted like this.

"I think I need a few hours to think it over. A lot has happened and this isn't exactly something I can change my mind about later."

My dad raised his eyes at that, and I could tell that was not the answer he wanted to hear. But he seemed to decide not to make an issue of it quite yet, at least until we were alone.

"Understandable. I can come back tomorrow to get your decision. My cousin Dinah has been getting some bad headaches ever since exams so she has an appointment here tomorrow I can tag along with."

"Oh, your cousin is getting headaches? The one who's in the year below me and Missy?"

"Yep, that's the one"

"Tell her I said hello and to get better."

"Will do, and I hope Taylor gets better soon."

With that we said our goodbyes and Rory was on his way. But apparently dad was on the ball and immediately started grilling me the minute Rory was out of the room.

"Sam, I know you take your ward's career very seriously but your family should take precedence for a bit. Why are you still considering going on that operation?"

"Dad I know but it's really important. I can't just drop out at the second it gets inconvenient. There's a lot of other people who are expecting me to be there."

"And Taylor needs you here. I need you here. It's already bad enough that Taylor almost died. I've had to worry every single day you've been a ward that something bad would happen to you."

"Dad, I'm not your little girl anymore. I made promises that I would be there."

"Sam, I've talked to Ms. Houlihan. I know you insisted on being on the mission. Nobody was pressuring you."

"Wait what? You've been talking to Ms. Houlihan?"

"Yes Sam. She is your caseworker for the youth guard. She keeps me updated on what you're doing, which is her job."

In retrospect I probably should have realized she would have clued him in. Guess after so long with nothing happening I had forgotten she still talked to dad.

"How much did she tell you about the operation?"

"She might have mentioned you were selected for PR reasons. I wasn't happy about you participating when I heard about it. But I know you've been trying to make up for the mugging incident for a while now. So I decided it was better you did it with some support instead of trying some stunt. But that was before Taylor was hurt."

"So is that it? I have to give up a once in a lifetime chance to redeem myself? My chance to prove I'm not a screw-up anymore?"

"Nobody thinks you're a screw-up Sam. You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for."

"But this is my only chance. They need me!"

"Sam, missing one mission isn't going to be the end of the world. You heard from Triumph they have someone who can fill in for you. Taylor needs you here."

"Dad, she doesn't need me. She needs doctors and capes like Panacea to heal her. Every time I've tried to help her she tells me she doesn't want or need it."

"Sam I get that. I heard her say that every time I went down to the school to complain about them not doing anything. But I did it anyway because I'd rather help her too much than too little. And you're selling yourself short. Tell me do you remember how Taylor acted when you were in the hospital after the accident?"

"Well… I remember that she was pretty sad at first but she got better after a few days."

"Actually Sam, it took her a bit longer than that. I heard her crying for a few weeks after your mother died at least. Seeing you at the hospital was one of the few things that cheered her up around then. That was something I couldn't do for her then. When she wakes up she's going to need your support again."

He had some valid points. Taylor had probably gone through one of the worst days of her life. The only reason I didn't think she triggered was that Panacea hadn't mentioned anything about it, and I trusted that she would tell me. I remembered that when I woke up from the accident that Taylor was there for me, and it was only fair I try to do the same for her.

"...Alright. I'll tell them I won't be going."

"Thank you Sam. I know this is a big sacrifice and Taylor will appreciate that when she wakes up."

"I can only hope so."

It was excruciating to tell Triumph the next day that I wouldn't be able to go. He seemed a little disappointed but he understood. My small consolation was getting to properly introduce myself to his cousin Dinah while she was visiting the hospital. She wasn't up for much conversation due to her headaches but we did swap numbers to text each other later, so that was neat ("Feel free to ask for stories about the wards, I think my best one was my first day when Rory gave me my tour."). However it was even more difficult when Panacea stopped by right after that to give us an update about Taylor's condition.

"I'm sorry to say she's not going to be ready to leave her coma for a few more days."

I was speechless at this news so dad asked the followup question. "Why isn't she ready?"

"Her brain is experiencing some strange activity. If she woke up from her coma now she wouldn't be very cognizant. She has shown improvement from the last time I checked but I'm guessing a few days of rest are needed to let her brain normalize."

"But she's not going to have brain damage?"

"There's no physical problems that would result in memory loss or any mental impairment. This is just a precaution. As useful as my power is, it's usually better to let the body heal what it can. Especially if it's related to brains."

"So she's going to be fine?"

"I can't make too many promises but her prognosis looks relatively good."

"I understand, thank you so much."

While dad is thankful, I was deeply frustrated knowing that I could have gone on the mission and returned without Taylor being aware I had even been gone. Even worse was that the longer it took to get Taylor's account of the attack the harder it would be to nail her attackers. I wasn't much of a believer but I was starting to think there was a god and he was toying with me now. But I guess sacrifices like this were the price of being a good sister. I can only hope it will be enough to let me patch up my relationship with Taylor at least.

From what Rory had told me my replacement was a ward named Mesmerize, who could put someone into a temporary hypnotic trance when they looked into his eyes. His power was disconcertingly close to Heartbreaker's to me but Rory assured me that he had a good record so far. I would hope so since he'd get to be the golden boy once this mission was over. I doubt they're ever going to give me another chance after I had to bail.

By New Years Eve we had gotten permission to stay in the room from the hospital after visiting hours. We had been keeping vigil for two days now, only returning home to sleep, shower, and change clothes. We were planning on staying until the New Year came in at midnight before we went home again. My ward's phone had a police scanner app so dad was letting me listen in so I could know how the raid was going.

"Dispatch controller Brockton Bay PD6651 on duty. Radio check all vehicles to commence."

"Car Mike Bravo 471, are you receiving?"

"Mike Bravo 471 receiving loud and clear Dispatch, PC Tuttle and PC Murdock on duty."

"Receiving you 471."

"Sam, do you need to listen to that all night?"

"Well I don't know the exact timetable for when it starts and the PRT isn't going to be broadcasting their radio traffic during the operation. So this is the next best thing."

It was then that things on the radio suddenly took a turn. The dispatcher seemed to have a mild tone of panic.

"All available to the Docks. All available to the Docks. PRT is requesting a full police cordon to be implemented. Multiple parahumans from Empire 88 and the ABB sighted. We have a code Papa Bravo, I repeat a code Papa Bravo."

I was suddenly very confused and worried. "Wait, what the heck are they doing there? This was just supposed to involve the Merchants."

Before I could continue wondering what was going on my ward phone suddenly started to ring. I silenced the police scanner and answered it on speakerphone.

"Manes this is Deputy Director Renick. I know you had to withdraw from the operation but we have a situation. It seems the Empire 88 and ABB both heard about the Merchant's party and decided to take advantage of it to eliminate them. We need you and every other cape available on the scene to help get the situation under control."

Well looks like fate was taking a different turn than I expected. Of course there was a small problem.

"I would like to help out Deputy Director, but I'm at the hospital now. Even the fastest van wouldn't get me there in time."

"That will not be a problem. We've already asked New Wave to help and Glory Girl should be there momentarily to transport you to our staging point."

At this point dad tried to interject. "Sam, I know you want to help but this might be too dangerous."

"Dad, I can't just sit around and let my friends get hurt out there." I turned to the phone. "You can expect me there, Director."

"I can only hope so."

Something tells me he wasn't as understanding as Triumph about my withdrawal from the operation. That could wait for another time however as I suddenly heard something knocking on the window. When I turned I saw Victoria Dallon flying right next to the window. I ran to open it up.

"Thank god I found your room. I had to try a couple other windows where the lights were on and they were really annoyed. I hope Amy isn't too peeved about me coming to the hospital in costume."

"Well I'm sure she'll understand it's an emergency." I turned to dad. "I'm sorry dad but they need me out there. If all the gangs are there then we're going to need every cape we have."

He looked sad realizing I wasn't going to compromise on this. Then his expression became resigned. "Alright Sam, all I can ask is that you don't take any risks you don't have to take, okay? And… I just want you to know whatever happens I still love you."

He then walked towards me and embraced me in a hug. Even though I was in a rush I couldn't help but return it. I was a sucker for a good hug.

"Aaawww, this is so sweet." I heard Vicky say.

I was released from the hug and I faced Vicky.

"Do you know where to go?"

"Yep, hopefully they didn't have to move the staging point though. I heard Lung was getting ready to rampage and it can be hard to tell which way he'll go."

"Then there's no time to lose." After that Vicky picked me up and we were flying into the night.

A/N

-Part of the reason I put Taylor's time in the hospital during the big operation was to force Sam to make some difficult choices. And over the chapter she has to make two choices. The first choice is when she chooses between prioritizing Taylor and the Wards. The second one is a simpler one between staying safe and helping her friends. Hopefully I was able to justify them well enough to your satisfaction.

-Panacea does know Taylor triggered but I figured she probably has a personal policy of not revealing that info without the parahuman's permission. It's just a precaution to avoid getting on a new parahuman's bad side by outing them when they're unable to consent. She does go out of her way to reassure her family but dances around directly saying her issues are power related.

-Gee, I wonder who tipped off the gangs that the Merchants were having a New Years party? He must have been real clever not to mention that the PRT or any other gangs might be there.

-Please leave feedback. I'm always open to it.