I dond dog. (If you know you know)

Victoria Dallon POV

Getting to Brockton Bay General, I flew through one of the open windows as per usual. Coming here so often, there were few people on staff that truly minded my behavior around here, especially with Amy doing so much good work for the sick and wounded. Making my way through the halls until I found a manned desk, I was surprised to see that it was Nurse Veder manning it.

The older blonde smiled at me, though I could see the pity in her hazel orbs. This wasn't the first time that a member of New Wave had been injured, and it wouldn't be the last. They might not have the most dangerous patrol routes, and Aunt Sarah did her best to keep us away from the more intense fights, but this was still Brockton Bay. We might all have strong powers, but there was always a bigger fish.

None of that made it any easier when someone got hurt though. Yeah, Amy might be able to fix just about anything, but there were some things that no one could fix. My thoughts began drifting back to Aunt Sarah, the smell of antiseptic, the EKG monitors beeping, the doctors and nurses rushing her to the OR. No, it wouldn't be like that, not again. Amy was here, she would have Sam back up on his feet in no time, and then I could kick his ass for being so reckless.

"-ER room 119. From what I heard, he lost a lot of blood, but he should be fine. Laserdream is already there."

I barely caught the tail end of whatever Nurse Veder was trying to tell me. I got the important bits, though, so I just tried to give her a smile. "Thanks Nurse Veder, see you around." Judging by the look on her face, my smile wasn't as convincing as I had hoped.

Walking down to the ER, I tried to keep up the cheery façade, waving to some of the doctors and nurses I recognized from Amy's shifts. When I finally got to the ER, I found Crystal sitting in one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs outside of room 119. You know, those chairs that bend when you sit in them, but somehow still manage to dig into your back in the most annoying way possible.

My favorite cousin was sitting there, hunched over, staring listlessly at the blank wall in front of her. Crystal was still in her suit, the normally white fabric stained with dust, dirt and some blood. Judging by the lack of cuts, it was probably not hers. She had a candy bar in hand, but it had somehow gone untouched. With Crystal's sweet tooth, that Twix would normally have vanished in 20 seconds flat. She didn't even notice when I stopped walking right in front of her.

"You okay Cuz?" I asked. All I got in return was a shrug. Sitting down in the chair next to

her, I put a hand on her back, gently rubbing it in circles. "Come on, he's fine right? Ames fixed him up. He's going to be back in the kitchen before you know it!" I told her, making her laugh. A short, barking laugh, missing the usual good cheer my cousin seemed to always have. And I couldn't blame her, I was just as worried, and she could tell that my heart wasn't in it, no matter how much I pretended otherwise.

Just this morning, I had been so worried about that kiss. I had been angry and hurt. I knew it was a mistake, but was I really so repulsive that Sam would push me away while I was basically throwing myself at him? I had spent most of the day avoiding him, even dropping him with Dennis to show him around the school instead of doing it myself. And now, it all seemed so stupid!

Sure, Sam was fine now. Amy did good work, and the boy would be no worse for wear by tomorrow, but what about the next time he went out on patrol? The Empire would be gunning for him now, Hookwolf was a big player, and they wouldn't forget who put him behind bars any time soon. What if he got hurt worse, or we couldn't get him to the hospital in time? What then? Would he go out just like Aunt Jess?

"I was supposed to take care of him today." Crystal spoke up, forcing me from my thoughts. "It was my job to show him the ropes, to teach him how to be a hero. And now, he's hurt. Sure, Amy can fix him, but what if he gets hurt worse next time?" She said, unknowingly echoing my own thoughts.

Looking over, I couldn't help but notice the red, puffy skin around Crystal's eyes. She'd been crying. "We'll do better next time, and so will he." I told her. "When he wakes up, we're going to put him through the wringer. Make sure that next time, he doesn't get hurt again."

"Yeah, who else is going to cook our meals if he's gone?" Looking up, a smile broke out over my face as I saw Amy walk out of the room we'd been waiting next to.

"How is he?" I blurted out.

"He's going to be fine. He lost a lot of blood, but the damage was pretty easy to heal. He's on an IV right now to recover some fluids, but he'll be out of here by tomorrow." She told us, before plucking the Twix out of Crystal's hand.

"Hey! That's mine!"

Amy just turned to keep the snack away from Crystal's outstretched hand as she opened it. "You snooze you lose." She said before taking a bite, handing the other half of the treat to me. As Crystal tried, and failed, to take her candy back from us, I couldn't help but laugh. We'd be fine, we all would be. I'd make sure of it.

Mark Dallon POV

"This is great! Look at all the exposure we're getting, this exactly what New Wave needed to get the movement rolling again." Carol spoke, more excited than I had seen her in years. It was good to see her like this again, the fire that had driven her to become a hero in the first place being kindled again. I couldn't bring up that same passion, though. Don't get me wrong, the movement was important to me, but Sam had gotten hurt.

Sure, it was expected for heroes to get a little roughed up every once in a while, but the boy could have died. Had the cuts been a little deeper, or had the fight taken a little more out of him, he could very well be in a coffin right now, instead of in a hospital bed. And ultimately, that was what tempered my excitement.

I was feeling better now than I had in months, maybe even years. Taking my meds was a lot easier when there was something for me to do, the fact that there was a meal to go along with the pills helped a ton too. Sam was a good kid, a good friend to my own daughters and a genuinely honest and caring person. It wasn't right for him to get hurt like this, to almost die like this.

As much as I had improved lately, I don't think I could take another teammate dying.

"Yeah, but Sam got hurt, he could have died." And it would seem that Sarah agreed with me. "Look at those cuts, the one on his leg could have hit an artery! This was anything but good!" She thundered, almost completely red in the face.

"Let's not fight." Neil, ever the peacekeeper, spoke up. "What's done is done. Crystal just texted me that he'll be on his feet by tomorrow. I can't say that I'm comfortable with how much danger the kids were in today, but Hookwolf being behind bars is a good thing in my books."

"Yes, but at what cost? What happens the next time that he's out there. What if he picks a fight with someone like Lung instead. We've all seen the way he is about heroics, if he thinks it will save even one person, he'd be willing to fight anyone." Sarah argued back.

"Then we make sure that he's safe." I broke in. "All of them really. I never was comfortable with Vicky or Crystal going out on patrols alone, no matter how strong their powers are. One of us goes with the kids every time they're out. No solo patrols, even for us, it can't hurt to team up again like in the old days." I could see the gears turning in their heads at my words.

"I don't have time for that! With work and the PR, I barely have time to patrol on my own, usually way later than the kids do." Carol pointed out.

"Then make time damnit!" I slammed a hand down on the table. I closed my eyes, struggling to get my breathing back under control. When I opened them, I was met with worried looks all around.

"Mark…" I interrupted Neil before he even started.

"No, I will not compromise on this. We haven't been the same since Jess… Since the incident. I will not have it happen again. Especially to one of the kids." I could see the wa they all tensed up at the mention of the event that had lost us two of our members and took the wind out of New Wave's sails. "I – I haven't been the best friend, or father, or husband lately. Hell, I've barely been a hero either." I told them, and the pity in their eyes almost made me lose it again.

"The last few weeks have made that clear to me, and it's helped a lot. But I don't think I can take it if we lose someone else." I spoke.

"Mark, we're not going to lose anyone. Sam is fine, he's okay." Carol tried to soothe me, but I wasn't having it.

"He might be fine now, but he could have died. I get that you're excited about getting the movement back on track, I really do. But I won't, I can't lose someone else for New Wave. If that means going on more patrols, or teaching them how to fight better, then so be it. And so help me God, you will be doing your part. Even if you can't join on patrols with the kids, you will be teaching Sam how to fight with his weapons. And if you can only patrol late at night, one of us can come with you, but you are helping." I finished. I could see that Carol wanted to argue with me, her blue eyes blazing, but she must have seen something in me that made her back down. And I was glad for it.

I was exhausted. I hadn't gotten so worked up in ages, and it had drained me. I almost deflated in my seat on the Pelham's couch as the bone deep weariness set in. The exhaustion couldn't keep me down, though. As much as I saw Carol's fire return, I too felt like myself again for the first time in a long time. A small smile crossed my face as we began working out exactly what changes we were going to be making.

A/N: Why hello there. This one was particularly hard for me to write. Lots of dialogue along with figuring out how to write from some wildly different perspectives, but I think I did okay. Feel free to give me feedback in the reviews though, as I can always improve. (Thanks Crywolf178 for the tips on separating the dialogue lines. It did make it a bit clearer.)

This is also the end of the 'Chick' or introduction Arc. Next chapter will be the first chapter of 'Fledgling' where stuff gets a little more serious and where Sam starts to really get into the Hero life.

If you guys are interested, my HP fic is also up now, so go check it out. The premise is as follows: Leo Pollux Black (Sirius' twin brother) is writing his memoirs at the behest of his wife. In them he tells us the story of his life starting with his time at Hogwarts. I'm having a lot of fun playing around with the magic system and the general setting, so if you guys are interested, go give it a look. It also earned me my first hate comment which was pretty funny.

Anyways, thanks again for reading and all the kind reviews, and I'll see you guys all soon!