Quig couldn't speak or cry out as the medics carried his stretcher to the ambulance. For a split second, he envisioned a specter in the driveway, but she appeared wet and translucent. Fog covered her face and wings, and garbage stuck to her before she vanished.

His sister, Dot, drove up in her flower delivery van. She shouted at Grew-Ella. "I got here as soon as I could!"

Medics loaded Quig into the ambulance, and he opened his eyes. Grew-Ella and Dot forced themselves inside.

"We're not leaving you," Grew-Ella said.

Quig's thoughts faded in and out. Dreams abandoned him as his mind awoke, and his once-fragmented thoughts no longer hovered between life and death. He remembered a flash of hospital lights, a nurse, and a surgeon.

Voices surrounded him, but he couldn't speak or move.

Avery-Joy always came alone. The gorgeous elf in her late-40s clutched Quig's hand. Her perfect skin glistened under even the harshest hospital lights. Lavender colored hair fell on her shoulders and her eyes sparkled with tears. Avery-Joy was a woman of distinction, a woman of glory, and a woman of royalty. "I'll love you forever, my baby boy."

His foster mother always left when Dot and his father came.

Quig attempted to cry out to them dozens of times.

*

Hospital:

Time passed and Quig heard everything but couldn't interact or see.

"Grew-Ella is returning. Don't call me Dad in front of her," his father said.

Dot spoke. "She's safe, and I'm positive she already knows you're our father."

"Just because Trent broke his word doesn't mean I will, and we must protect all of Quig's foster siblings."

"I love you, Quig," Dot said.

'Sis, I love you as well,' Quig thought. He heard footsteps, and Grew-Ella had to have returned.

"I bought hot chocolate," Grew-Ella said softly.

Dot's voice broke into an unfinished sob. "Thank you for being here when I can't. I have to finalize the adoption for my nephew. Why can't my brothers raise their kids? It's unfair. Why do they keep dying? I don't want to be alone. Quig was my greatest support because he had raised Betsy since she was a baby. I can't do this without his support."

"You're strong, and I'll help you like I helped Quig," Grew-Ella said. "But he can't and won't die. When he wakes, he'll have a job waiting for him. I'm looking for a new co-professor who is a published author. Dean Flint will hire him in a heartbeat."

Another voice filled the room. "Grew-Ella, you're my gorgeous pet, not Quig's. You're shady. Why do you choose to be the primary caretaker for a half-dead reject instead of attending movie premieres with me? I'm a broken elite and the best you'll ever do."

"My brother isn't a reject." Dot pointed at the door. "Chase, only four people are allowed in the room, and my brother needs Grew-Ella."

"The guard can leave then," Chase said.

Quig's bed was raised at an angle. Dot's image came into focus, and he could see his sister. Claws extended from her fingers, and fangs formed. She transformed into a wolf.

Chase squeezed Dot's paw pads. "Grew-Ella comes with me." He possessed an uncanny valley quality because of his perfection. Stumps from his surgically removed pixie wings could not be seen through his dress shirt.

Dot yanked herself away and pressed the security button.

"Quig is my best friend, and I'm staying!" Grew-Ella grasped Quig's hand.

He felt the softness of her fingers, but he couldn't grasp them back.

"Whoever attacked Quig should have killed him and saved us from his pretentious writing." Chase dragged Grew-Ella towards him but tossed her back into the chair.

Quig tried to scream at him, but he couldn't move.

Dot spoke. "Planet Earth 23 owns the hospital, and you have to follow their laws."

"Celebrity princes are never banned," Chase said.

Dot pointed to the door. "They are when I carry pruning shears."

"But you love me." Chase wrapped his arms around Dot.

"What has gotten into you?" Dot asked.

"Your brother should die. He'll join your other one. How many brothers do you have left?"

"Noel and Quig were the ones closest to me, but I wouldn't even want the brothers I can't stand to die," Dot said with a hint of sadness. "Why do you have to be so cruel?"

"Rodrick, you were supposed to drag Grew-Ella out, and you're sipping hot chocolate," Chase said.

Dot and Quig's father started speaking. "Let Grew-Ella mourn the life of her best friend."

Another nurse came in and gave Quig a sedative. He struggled to stay awake, and he fell asleep.

*

Ten Minutes Later:

"I guess I'll allow it if he is going to die." Chase hugged Grew-Ella and pretended to kiss her. "Darling, I'm sorry. You forgive me, right?" He pretended to snuggle against her ear to disguise what he was telling her. "You have to behave, or Stanton will leave you in a workhouse or force you into a local beauty contest. Not that you'd win. You can end up dead underneath a bouquet of roses."

Grew-Ella stared at him. "Chase, I stabbed Quig's attacker. I never thought I had it in me, but anything can be a self-defense weapon."

He backed off. "I'm sorry." Chase sat on the floor and started to sob. "The way you care for Quig is beautiful. I hope he wakes; I really do." He sniffled.

"Do you mean that?" Grew-Ella asked.

Chase sobbed harder. "Yes, and if it was my choice, I'd break the engagement contract. I should've asked the story editor at the radio station before I became a broken elite, but no, she's too fat and buck tooth for my former status. She's just ten pounds heavier than you. It's ridiculous. Bet she wouldn't have cheated on me."

Dot sat next to him. "Are you okay? Did Grew-Ella's sister cheat on you?"

"Maybe, but I'm still not allowed to break the engagement contract because I have to pretend to be engaged to Grew-Ella and I don't want to be." Chase bawled on her shoulder. "Can you lie that I'm with Grew-Ella all the time? It's for Quig's and Grew-Ella's safety, but I can't tell you why."

"I hate fibbing, but if you're here as well, it isn't a lie." Dot handed him a tissue.