This time it was Joseph who laughed, and he slid the paperwork across the desk. "Here. It's just permission for the surgery to happen, seeing as we don't need your financial details. We'll probably have more for you when we know what kind of rehabilitation she'll need, but let's take this step-by-step for the moment."

Then he broke into a smile, a gentle, understanding smile of a type he rarely used, because he only rarely had such wonderful news or felt so directly affected. It was hard not to be, in the face of such a devoted father and such a mature little girl. "Congratulations, Barney. I just need your signature here and here, and I can fill in the rest. Allie's waiting for you in the recovery room."

And so she was. She was still drowsy, but she didn't mind falling asleep during the tests because they were annoying. She just didn't want to sleep through Daddy's being there. So she asked Mrs Sheldon to wake her up if she fell asleep, and had to argue for it because she had almost got fired.

Allie as sorry to hear that. It wasn't Mrs Sheldon's fault. It was just that she didn't know about Rafe.

Either way, she was still sleepy when Mrs Sheldon shook her awake again, mumbling, "Daddy?"