Rosa

by awf

Chapter 43: Scare

Apparently Rosa's miserable expression was the real ticket to wealth on the street. Sky Light simply couldn't shut up about it, even when Rose would have liked her to. "Man, that one guy actually had tears in his eyes! You're a natural, Rosa!" she praised.

Rosa just sighed sadly. Of course she was happy for her friend - she was one good mooch away from paying off her debt, after all - but Rosa couldn't stop thinking of precious little Lillian. Giving up their search felt like betraying her all over again. However much Rosa had tried explaining it to Sky Light, she just shot the idea down. She had said it wasn't Rosa's fault, but even her assurance wasn't enough to convince the mare. Lillian had run away because she missed her new pony friend, the timing was just too perfect.

That was the long and the short of it. Rosa still knew her street-wise friend was right and there was almost zero chance they could find the missing girl. Sky Light had done what she could and Rosa wouldn't help the girl any if she went out and got herself killed through stupidity. The best thing was just to move on and hope for the best, even if it was a hard thing to do.

Sky Light had gotten Rosa a salad from the fast food joint. It wasn't very good, but Rosa was grateful for it anyway. It had been a long time since the vegetables were fresh, but Rosa kept eating anyway. Sad or not, tasty or not, she couldn't ignore her body's needs for much longer. Besides, there was still Maribelle. If Rosa ever found her, it would take all her wits and strength to get her out of wherever she was, and that meant she needed to keep herself healthy and fit. Knowing that didn't make it easy, but Rosa kept repeating the reasoning in her mind and forced herself to eat and drink.

"Tell you what," Sky Light said, nudging Rosa with a wing to get her attention, "I know a Net Cafe where they allow ponies. Well, actually I know the guy that works night shift. Let's go and see if we can get some news about your girl, okay?"

Rosa's ears perked up and she looked at her friend incredulously. "Really?!"

"Sure!" Sky Light affirmed, wrapped her wing around Rosa's withers, and smooshed the hapless mare against her side. "I'm your bud, Rosa. We gotta stick together, right?"

All Rosa could do was nod.

"Incidentally, you gonna finish that?" Sky Light asked, pointing a hoof at Rosa's fizzy soda drink.

She grinned and slid it over. Sky Light would always be Sky Light. She loved her junk food and sugar drinks. Apparently she loved other things, too, but Rosa quickly pushed that thought away. Sky Light was uncannily good at reading her blushes.

This time she hadn't noticed anything because she was busy with the treat. She took the straw in her muzzle and sucked greedily. In moments she had emptied the cup, which she followed with a huge belch. It just made her giggle. "Man, I love the feel of bubbles on my tongue."

"It's a good thing you have any teeth left..." Rosa muttered.

Sky Light just shrugged. "My teeth are fine."

Rosa didn't comment. As long as Sky Light wasn't stopping her from brushing every night - well, nearly every night lately - Rosa didn't mind what the mare did.

"Whatever." Sky Light reached over and pulled Rosa's muzzle to face hers. "You seem distracted, Rosa. What's on your mind?"

She decided to tell the truth: "I was thinking about Maribelle..."

After a moment's thought to remember the name, Sky Light brightened up. "Good point. We can look around the Internet for that, too. Maybe we'll find something other than what Bluegrass came up with." The pegasus rubbed her muzzle a little and then rummaged through her burger wrapper for any bits of cheese stuck to the paper. "That colt is a nice guy, but he's too gullible by half. Did you know he sometimes gets his humans to buy groceries for the gang?"

Rosa hadn't. "He does?"

"Yep. This one time, he got Velvet a pack of aspirin for her headache when her heat was really bad."

That raised some questions and Rosa didn't really know which to ask first. Maybe the most troubling one. "How come Velvet doesn't have foals? You said heat and stallions... well- she's living with Pepper and Butch, no?"

Sky Light grinned knowingly and tapped the side of her head. "That's because Velvet is a smart mare. She knows what to expect, so she comes to stay with me when it happens. Nothing like a wing-pony to keep those pesky colts at bay!"

That actually sounded quite useful. "Oh. Okay. Um, does heat make your head hurt?" Rosa didn't remembers hers doing that. Maybe it took each mare differently?

"Not usually. That year it was bad because she had a cold at about the same time. Usually, all you get is some cramps, but they aren't too bad."

That was also something Rosa hadn't experienced. She tried to think back to the time she had spent in that comfortable, padded room. "How often does it happen?"

Maybe Mr. Greiner in Biology had told her, but Rosa didn't remember. That was what came from learning for a particular exam and then forgetting it all, she guessed.

"About once a year, usually," Sky Light answered. She seemed to think the same thing as Rosa and her ears stood up as she gave her friend a shocked look. "Are you- soon? When was your last time?"

It took a bit of mental calculation and the result made Rosa feel uneasy. "Um... about two and a half years ago..."

The other mare gasped through her teeth and her ears instantly folded down. "Oh. Yikes. That's- um..."

"W-What?" Rosa's voice was trembling in fear. Was there something wrong with her? She had never really talked about these things with her roommates or with Instructor Martha. She didn't know what was normal, but Sky Light had sounded so sure when she had said 'once a year'.

"It's... unusual," the mare said, trying to put Rosa at her ease.

It didn't work and Rosa gulped in fear. Had the humans at the School done something to her? Almost without conscious control her forelegs wrapped around her midriff. "I'm w-worried, Sky Light. What if-" Rosa swallowed a lump and tried again: "What if I won't have heat anymore? M-Maybe they did something to me..." It wasn't a welcome thought. Rosa might not have known much about feelings or urges, but she knew what heat meant. Childbirth. She had never really considered it, but Rosa had always known there was a possibility, some day.

Had it been taken from her?

Humans sometimes... The word now made Rosa shiver and whimper when she thought it: spay.

Humans sometimes spayed their pets.

"I'm sure you're fine," Sky Light said, once again reading Rosa like an open book. "Tell you what, we'll go see a friend of mine. She's a vet and she'll take a look at you. How many times have you gone into heat?"

"On-Once."

"Well, maybe you're just a late bloomer. It can be a bit irregular the first couple of times. Maybe you've had it, but it was so mild you didn't really notice?"

Rosa grasped the hope and clung to it as if to a life line. "M-Maybe..."

"You only got your cutie mark just now. You were supposed to get one a lot sooner. Don't worry, you're just a late bloomer," Sky Light repeated. "We should still keep an eye out for when it happens." The mare chuckled a bit. "Terry can help you out. I'm sure he wouldn't mind some cute, young flank."

Rosa was already shaking her head and her friend laughed heartily, mostly to dispel the tension. "Okay, in that case I'll help you out. I know my way around a mare, don't worry!" She gave her the kind of wink Rosa feared might set fire to her mane.

Almost without thinking she went to shake her head, but then paused. Between the two of her current friends, Sky Light might be the better choice. Rosa nodded, instead. "We'll- I'll see... maybe."

Sky Light's suggestion had worked, though. Rosa was not paralyzed with fear anymore, but rather slightly optimistic. Sky Light's explanation with her cutie mark made sense. Rosa had learned about puberty in Biology, and then once again from Instructor Martha. If her cutie mark had come in that late, maybe her heat would, too. That first one had probably been just a fluke.

Rosa relaxed and nibbled some more on her salad. "Thanks, Sky Light," she murmured, leaning against the warm, fluffy pegasus.

"Don't mention it. You're my little girl and I'll look after you, deal?"

She had gotten over her anger, but Rosa still felt like she should mention it. "Sorry about- running away."

The other mare laughed a little. "Don't worry. The haul we had today more than makes up for it. Thanks."

Rosa couldn't help feeling optimistic about the future. With Sky Light, anything was possible. "If we find where they take ponies with cutie marks, we'll go look for Maribelle, right?"

Sky Light nodded, which Rosa felt against her head rather than saw. "Sure. We'll go look for her," she confirmed and it made Rosa smile. "Now, how about some ice cream? My treat!"

Rosa smacked her lips appreciatively. "Mmmm, yes please!"

"Okay, finish your salad while I go get it. A growing mare like you needs all the food she can get."

She was laughing when she trotted off and Rosa stuck her tongue out at her, even though Sky Light wasn't looking back.

Maybe everything was going to be alright.

---

"Hey Mario!" Sky Light greeted the lanky, acne-ridden young man at the counter.

He jerked upright, as if he had just been dozing, then smiled at the mare. "Oh, it's you," he commented, feigning annoyance. "What is it this time?"

"C'mere, you goof," Sky said and the young man obediently stepped out from behind his desk and leaned down so she could give him a hug. "Mario, this is Rosa," she introduced. "Well, 'Mario' is just what I call him. His actual name is Taylor."

"Um, hi." Rosa offered a hoof and Taylor shook it politely, before focusing his attention on Sky Light again.

"What do you need?"

Sky lifted a foreleg to her chest and folded down her ears, as if hurt. "Need? Aw, can't a mare come around to say hi to an old friend every once in a while?" Unfortunately she couldn't keep her face straight, though, and giggled a little.

Luckily Taylor - 'Mario' - didn't mind. "Okay, what's up?" he asked.

"We're looking for secrets. I thought you could help us out - an Internet wiz like yourself."

The man looked doubtful for a moment, but the flattery made him grin proudly. "Okay, what are you looking for?"

Sky Light turned to Rosa and held up a hoof, as if giving her younger friend the stage.

Rosa hadn't been expecting that and swallowed nervously. "Um- I'm looking for my friend, Maribelle. She was... uh-" She looked around the shop, but there were no other humans in there. The cashier could probably be trusted, given that Sky Light had led Rosa to him. "She was taken because she got her cutie mark. I think the government has her in some secret lab or something."

Now the young man could no longer hide his excited grin. "Ooh, a conspiracy! Love me some of that kooky stuff every once in a while." He went to the nearest table with a computer on it and sat down.

Sky Light started to follow him, then looked back and gave Rosa an encouraging smile. "Come on."

Rosa took a step, but used the opportunity when they were away from the man to ask the question: "Why do you call him 'Mario'?"

The mare chuckled at the question and even Mario looked back, making Rosa blush in embarrassment. Neither commented and Sky Light just answered loudly enough for both of them to hear. "Oh, that's easy. I call him 'Mario' because it's his favourite video game. First time we met - man, that's funny story!"

It looked like the young man was blushing! Rosa stared at him, then looked back to the pegasus, who was sitting on her haunches and rubbing her hooves together in giddy anticipation. "Take a load of this," she told her, "I was mooching outside the shop one day and this doofus comes out with a doughnut and coffee for me."

That actually sounded kinda sweet and Rosa smiled at them both. "How nice!"

"Well, you'll never guess what he did next!" Sky Light went on. Rosa saw that Mario was hurriedly busying himself with the computer and pretending he wasn't paying the mares any attention. Too bad for him that they could see his ears turning red.

"What?" Rosa asked in a whisper, suddenly insanely curious.

"He asked me out on a date!" Sky Light laughed. "Can you imagine? Not just that - it was at his place!"

That would have sounded creepy, even to Rosa's inexperienced ears, but Sky Light saw her expression and waved a dismissive hoof before the air could become uncomfortable. "Don't worry, I saw he was harmless. Just really, really bad with girls. That's why he thought he might have better luck with a homeless pony."

Rosa shook her head. On the one hand she wanted Sky Light to stop - it was making Taylor obviously uncomfortable - but on the other hand she wanted to know more. Feeling guilty, Rosa kept her mouth shut and let the other mare continue.

"Anyway, we get there and - check this - he shows me his video games. Talk about a mood killer! We ended up playing something called 'Super Mario 64' until like three in the morning. That's why I call him 'Mario'."

Rosa rolled her eyes. Sky could have just told her that last bit, without embarrassing the man like she had. Rosa wondered why he hadn't said anything or gotten angry. Maybe she should have interrupted? She could have told him it was okay and Sky Light was just an asshole sometimes, but the mare in question spoke up first.

"I promised I'd teach him how to talk to girls and in return he'll let me surf the Internet every once in a while. How's Alison doing?"

At that the young man stirred. "She's fine. You should come over for lunch sometime."

"Alison? Who's Alison?"

Sky Light answered so Taylor didn't have to. "His girlfriend. What can I say? I'm good. I had to kick him over and then stomp on his foot to get a sound out of him, but he did great. They've been dating for what - four months now?"

"Five," Taylor corrected.

Sky Light nodded to that. "Yeah, five. Sounds about right. I could see she thought he was cute the moment I saw her. All he needed was to make a move." She nudged Taylor with a friendly hoof. "She's no pony tail, but that rump looked cute, even for a human."

Just like that his blush was back. Rosa gave her friend an annoyed look, but Sky Light just laughed. A thought occurred, but Rosa wisely decided not to ask. She was wondering if he and Sky Light had ever done anything. Maybe it was best she don't know. That mare was too promiscuous by half as it was. Rosa didn't need to meet all her ex-boyfriends. Besides, they were on a mission and they didn't have time to gossip.

A glance at the screen showed that Taylor had been busily searching while Sky Light was talking. It was a good thing that he took their quest a little more seriously. "Anything?" Rosa asked to change the topic.

He was glad of the distraction and pointed out a picture on the screen. It looked flat and gray, with some tiny, white smudges in the middle. "This says it's in Death Valley," he pointed out.

Sky Light nodded. "Yeah, that's what we heard, too."

Taylor was shaking his head. "It's fake. Just a kook with a conspiracy theory. He says they do experiments on ponies and crap like that."

The statement made Rosa swallow in fear, worried it might be true, but Taylor spotted her expression and put his hand in her mane. "Don't worry, I'm positive it's full of shit. Tell you what - I'll do some digging around on the message boards. Come by tomorrow and I'll tell you what I find out."

Sky Light slid her head under his arm as well and the man smoothly brought his other hand to take care of her ears, too.

The feeling made Rosa close her eyes and sigh in comfort.

"Cute," Sky Light said and Rosa blinked as she looked at her. She was smiling.

"What?"

"Don't move. Mario, get your phone, take a photo of this," the pegasus urged.

Rosa obediently froze, making sure she didn't move a muscle on her face. She wondered what Sky Light was seeing.

They waited while Taylor rummaged in his pocket and hurriedly aimed the camera at Rosa. Aside from turning her eyes to look at it, she was trying to stay absolutely still.

"Priceless," Taylor said at last.

He showed the picture to Sky Light, who chuckled. "Aww, you gotta print that out for me!" she demanded.

"What?! Lemme see! Lemme see!"

He turned the phone toward Rosa.

"Aww!" She couldn't help it. The picture was adorable, even if it was Rosa's own mug on it. Her ears were at half-mast, her nose was scrunched up in pleasant surprise, and her tongue was poking out. The weird thing was that Rosa didn't even remember doing any of those things. There was magic power in human fingers, it seemed.

"Yeah, sure. I'll make a couple of prints tomorrow," Taylor promised.

Rosa realized she wouldn't mind having one. If she ever saw Lillian again, she could give her it to remember her by.

While the young man was putting his phone away, Sky Light rummaged in her saddle bag and brought out a bank note. "Here, get us three coffees."

Taylor started shaking his head and pushed the money back toward the pegasus, but she glared a little and placed her hoof over his hand.

"God dammit, I can pay for coffee every now and then. Just take it and go do your job, you goof!"

Taylor grinned at the jab, but he still took the money and walked over to the bar.

"Thanks. I'll get the next one," Rosa promised her friend.

"Don't worry about it," she replied. "We earned this together, right?"

"How much more?"

Her eyes unfocused as she silently calculated. "I think we got about eighty bucks now. I'll have to count it at the van. I guess one more mooch tomorrow and we should be good."

"Do we need any money for- um... the vet?" Saying it made Rosa's ears lower. She felt too much like a pet when she thought about seeing a veterinarian about her problems.

"Dunno. Maybe if she has to run some tests. Rachelle is a friend, she won't charge for her time. We'll see when we see her, okay?"

There was hardly any shame as Rosa nodded to that. The life of handouts and favors was getting easier, at least when Sky Light was with her. Maybe it wouldn't be an absolutely horrible way to live, she thought.

Taylor came back with a tray and three coffees on it. One of them was a cup, but the other two were mugs. Rosa was grateful for that - it was much easier to grasp with hooves. She guessed Sky Light had taught him that.

"Thanks," the pegasus said, chose one and slurped it a little. Her muzzle came away white and Rosa had to a double take.

"Huh?"

Sky Light grinned. "Cream on top. It's a special recipe I came up."

The man sighed a little. "I told you, it's called 'mochaccino'. It's been invented before."

Sky Light just stuck her tongue out at him, which made Rosa laugh. She finally reached for her own cup and saw that it was the same as Sky Light's. It did look tasty, so Rosa carefully sipped a little. The cream really worked well with that coffee. Rosa let out a pleasurable sigh.

"See who about what?" Taylor asked, apparently having heard the tail end of their discussion.

"Oh, Rosa thinks they might have snipped her, so we're going to see Rachelle tomorrow." The way Sky Light had put it stung a little and Rosa looked down into her drink to hide her frown.

"Snipped?" Taylor asked, confused.

Sky Light sighed at having to explain it. "Spayed. Her tubes tied. Neutered."

That made the young man gasp and he quickly puts a hand in Rosa's mane. For a moment she wanted to shake him off, but his fingers around her ear were at least a small comfort. "Shit, I'm sorry Rosa. I hope it's not that, for what it's worth."

She just nodded sadly. The stupid insensitive pegasus had made her think about it again, just when Rosa had been doing so well!

Sky Light seemed to recognize her mistake and slid closer along the floor so she could hug her friend with a wing. "Sorry," she said sadly. "I didn't mean to put it like that. I'm sure you're fine."

All Rosa could do was just nod. Sky Light was just being Sky Light. She was very... direct. Rosa guessed that was what living on the streets did to you. The coffee was good, though, so she took comfort in that. Not to mention that the young man knew his way around a mare's ears. Rosa couldn't help leaning against his touch.

Tomorrow she would know for sure.

"Okay, now here's another thing we need you to look up," Sky Light said. "Remember that senator's daughter who went missing?"

---

"Say aaah!" the graying, but very friendly woman in the white lab coat commanded.

"Aaah!"

She pressed Rosa's tongue down with a stick of wood and looked at her throat. "Hmm," she said to herself. "Good."

Rosa was a bit nervous, but that was completely normal. Physical examinations have always made her feel uneasy, even back at the School. The good thing was that this Rachelle didn't seem to care about her cutie mark, nor the fact that she was homeless. The doctor seemed friendly enough and she obviously cared about Sky Light.

"I'd say you're in perfect health," came the verdict. "And such a good girl!"

Rosa blushed a little, while Rachelle pointed an accusing finger at the other mare. "I wish you came in for a physical every once in a while. The clinic has a free program for ownerless ponies, you know?"

Sky Light just shrugged. "I'm fine, doc."

"Fine like that time you got stung by a bee?" the woman asked. She looked over to Rosa and mimicked with her hands near her face. "Her neck was out to here before she came to see me."

Sky Light just groaned and looked pointedly away, but Rosa couldn't help chuckling. It absolutely did sound like Sky Light, alright.

"Okay, let's see about your problem now," Rachelle said and Rosa's laughter died in her throat. Up until now it had just been a regular examination. Now came the serious part.

The reason they were there.

To find out if the humans at the School had spayed her.

The mere thought left a foul taste in her mouth. Up until now Rosa had thought they were mostly good people, working on educating the ponies under their care and giving them nice, productive jobs. If they- if they had done this to her, that would make them evil. There was no other way to put it.

"Lie down for me, please," Rachelle said, pushing at her flank. Rosa obediently flopped to her side. "Lift," she ordered and tugged her hind leg up.

Again Rosa complied, but she kept looking straight ahead at a wall with a poster. Anatomy of a dog, it looked like. A bit gruesome, even if it was nice and colorful. Rosa still focused on it so she didn't have to think about her own inner parts. Rachelle's fingers prodded along her belly, making Rosa gasp and shiver as the doctor hit sensitive spots. A few times she nearly closed her legs, but Rachelle was keeping a firm hold on your hoof.

"Hmm," the vet said thoughtfully.

Rosa's blood ran cold. "W-What?"

"No scarring that I can see," the woman murmured. I'll have to do an ultrasound. Hold still."

Rosa kept her leg obediently in the air and caught Sky Light's sympathetic gaze. Now that they were in the clinic, she was not joking anymore. In fact, Rosa could see how the mare was biting her lip in worry.

A squeak of wheels made Rosa look over to where Rachelle was dragging a big, blocky machine over to the examination table. She detached a probe on a long cable and grabbed a bottle from the side. The blocky thing started to hum and whir.

"This will feel a bit cold, but it'll be fine in a minute," she warned Rosa and waited for the mare to nod before she applied some clear liquid to the device and pressed it against the sensitive skin on the belly. There was very little fur there and the touch of the goo-soaked metal made Rosa gasp and squirm. Luckily Rachelle had been ready for that and grabbed her hind leg in time. "Hush, it's fine," she said gently.

In a few moments it really was okay and Rosa relaxed again. She tried to look at the screen. She knew vaguely what ultrasound was, but she had never thought it would be used for something like this. She decided to ask; if nothing else, it would help break the tension a little. "Isn't ultrasound just for looking at babies before they are born?"

Rachelle chuckled and released her leg so she could give her belly a pat. "Normally yes, but it also allows us to see if there's any internal damage. Hold still now."

Again Rosa froze, hardly even daring to breathe. She had never thought about it before, but so much depended on this test. It could completely change the way her life went. The probe moved against her belly as Rachelle pushed it this way and that, inspecting the screen closely all the time. Rosa couldn't really read anything from it; there were just bright and dark shapes with absolutely no meaning to her untrained eye.

At long last the doctor took the device away and flipped the machine off. She handed Rosa a couple of paper towels to wipe herself dry while she sprayed another bottle on the handheld thing. She caught Rosa's inquisitive look and explained: "Disinfectant."

While she was finishing that, Rosa did her best to wipe down her goo-covered fur. It didn't stick too much, so it was not a big problem and Rosa didn't mind if she missed a few spots.

"Well, the good news is everything is fine down there," Rachelle said, thankfully without any ado.

Rosa breathed a huge sigh of relief and immediately smiled. "Thank you!" Before the doctor could continue, she sat up and threw her hooves around her. Already Rosa had tears in her eyes.

"However," the vet said pointedly and Rosa let her go, worry slamming back like a truck and her ears instantly pressed back down.

Rachelle repeated: "However, I don't know why you're not going into heat regularly. I'd like to do some more tests. I'll need a blood sample."

Almost before she had finished talking Rosa had already lifted up her head and presented her neck. It had been a standard thing at School so she knew what it entailed.

The doctor went to find a needle, and brought back a syringe, wipes and a disinfectant bottle. Then she reached around for an electric shaver. "I'll have to trim a bit from your neck - that okay?"

It didn't matter, not if Rosa would get some answers. She nodded quickly and lifted her muzzle again to give the woman easier access. The whirring only lasted a few seconds, then she sprayed the newly exposed skin with the disinfectant. It was decidedly cold, but Rosa didn't move. After Rachelle had wiped it off, she grabbed the needle.

"Ready?"

"Y-Yes."

Rosa barely felt the prick, but still stood perfectly still while the metal was in her vein. It only took a few seconds before the vet pulled it away and pressed gauze against the puncture. "Hold this," she ordered and Rosa placed her hoof over it. "Keep it there for at least ten minutes."

She held the vial up, then took a pen and labelled it. "I'll get the results in a couple of days - swing back whenever you can and we'll take a look, okay? It might just be a hormonal thing."

"Okay. Thank you, doctor."

She smiled and ruffles Rosa's mane. "Good girl. Now off with you two and stay out of trouble."

Sky Light was already rummaging in her bag. "How much do we owe you, doc?"

Rachelle waved it away. "Free clinic, remember? Hmm, maybe I should take your sample, too, while you're here. It's not often that you-"

Before Rosa knew what was going on Sky Light was already pushing her forward with her head. "Okay, thank you, doc! We'll get out of your hair now! Bye!"

They heard the woman chuckling as the pair left and Rosa made an educated guess based on Sky Light's expression. "You're afraid of the doctor, aren't you?"

"NO!" she replied, much too quickly for it to be anything but a lie. "I'm not afraid of the doctor! I'm fine! I just don't want her to spend time on me when there's ponies who really need her, you know?"

"My, how altruistic!"

Sky Light blew a raspberry and started walking back towards the van. Rosa just laughed as she followed. The news that she hadn't been operated on - spayed - was very welcome indeed. It made her very happy to know that, if she ever wanted it, she would have a chance to have a foal someday. Rosa hadn't even realized how important that was to her. How important it was for her to have a choice in the matter.

Funny enough, she had never really thought about it in the school. The right to breed was a coveted honor, earned only by the best and the brightest. Rosa had always assumed she would have that choice someday, especially since she had some of the best grades in her class, after all, and she was in the Assistant Pony program - the elite of the elite.

This thought, that she might not get to have children, had gotten her really scared. Now she felt okay again. It was a huge relief and there was fresh bounce in Rosa's step - well, in her hobble. She was still holding the gauze against her neck. In fact, she was falling behind!

"Hey, wait up!"

"Not my fault you let the doc butcher you!" came the snarky reply.

Rosa rolled her eyes but couldn't help chuckling at the joke. "Ass!"

All she got back was a raspberry. It seemed her joy was infectious.

As Rosa was making her slow way after Sky Light, she began to hum her happy tune again. She was still a bit sad about Lillian, and there had been no news the previous day, but Rosa chose to remain hopeful. The girl was smart and resourceful and tough. She would find her way back.

Rosa had to believe that.