I'm always the first to wake up in the morning. I saw Liv knocked out and drooling on the couch she'd been sitting on the night before. I'd fallen asleep with my braced hand against my stomach and once my eyes had focused I sat up in bed. Kevin was sleeping with his head in his hands. I rubbed my eyes with my left hand just as Anthony stepped into the room. "Morning sis."
    "Hey Anthony."
    "I swung by your house and fed your dogs."
    "God, thank you."
    He shrugged it off, "How you feeling?"
    "Okay. Really."
    "You can leave in a couple hours. I'll have to bring you some crutches."
    I laughed, "Then I can beat you over the head with them."
    He laughed too, only in a sarcastic way, "There are knives all over this place, you
do know that right?"
    I scowled at him. "Hm, I could use them to give you a second circumcision. Oh,
yeah, I'd Loraine Bobbitt you so fast you'd never know what hit you."
    "Then I'd have to amputate," he joked.
    "Oh, you ass, just get my crutches."
    Anthony left just as Kevin woke up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. When he saw
me it was hard not to notice the way his gorgeous green eyes lit up. I touched some
fingers to the bridge of my nose, thinking it had gotten worse or something. "What's
wrong?"
    "Nothing..." he smirked at me... "nothing... I was just thinking that--" Anthony
walked in and sat my crutches by the door.
    "Happy birthday from me to you, princess."
    "Thank you, brother," I smiled genuinely. That was when Liv sat up straight. Her
hair was still pristinely perfect as if Sleep hadn't even bothered to touch it.
    "Oh, you're up. Nose looks better."
    "Thanks," I squirmed a little in my seat.
    "Hey, Liv, come on down to the lobby with me and sign her out, will you?"
    Liv stood up, stretched out a little and followed Anthony out my hospital room. I
saw her stop right in the big glass window and give me two thumbs up, nodding her head with this really goofy smile on her lips. I snickered and Kevin looked back but Liv had already disappeared. "What's so funny?"
    "Oh, nothing."
    "Well, I'm glad to see you laughing."
    "Me too. I dunno why, but I feel like I never would have been able to get through
this as easily as I have if you hadn't been here." I tucked some hair behind my ear and blushed for saying that. I sounded like the pretty protagonist chick in those sappy love movies. You know, the one that always talks through her teeth in that really annoying way?
    "I was happy to help. I'm really glad you're okay."
    I could only nod at that. "Thank you so much for that. You're my hero, I mean
that." There was a voice in my head laughing at me, and another telling me to tell him that I really wanted to see him again.
    "I...." I stopped myself midway. He had just gotten out of a divorce God knows
how long ago. And he still was broken up about it. Shame on me for even thinking of
taking advantage of his crisis. Smiling and nodding was how I covered for myself.
    "Wow," Kevin said, "I've heard a lot of women tell me a lot of things... but the
hero thing is way over my head. I'm flattered."
    Liv poked her head in the door and told us she had finished signing me out and we could leave (in her car). Kevin stood up.
    "It was... interesting, Samantha."
    "It was," I agreed.
    "I'll be seeing you around."
    I bit my lip, hoping that by chance I would lay eyes on that Greek god again, and
nodded my head. He leaned down we exchanged a nice bear hug. Then he left.

    Liv opened the door and I hobbled through the front door, aided by my new silver
crutches. Roscoe and Bermuda tried to stampede me but I held up my good foot to block them. "Oh, you poor things, you look traumatized... Anthony must have really come by last night. But that’s okay, Momma's here! Forgive me, forgive me..." I plunked down onto my comfy couch. Bermuda jumped up beside me and licked my face Roscoe curled up beside my feet. Liv brought all my things inside and sat them down on the coffee table then stepped into the kitchen. "Hey! There's roses in here from your brother with a little note."
    "What's it say?" I called back, patting Bermuda's shiny black head.
    " 'Dear White Girl, whom I sometimes call Sis, happy birthday, cripple! Love,
Anthony AKA the biggest pimp-of-a-doctor in the big F-L!' " He was cocky like his
Spanish father but had our moms sense of humor so it all worked out. All his patients
loved him, but none like I ever would. Tony's my dog!
    We both laughed hysterically. My brother was such an idiot. I stopped short when I noticed a small note attached to the balloon Kevin had given me. Liv appeared in my dining room archway beside me, sipping a sprite. All the note said was:

To: One girl I've definitely got to see again.
Love Kevin
(310) 555-0386

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