"Permission for the surgery?" Barney nearly laughed again, barely glancing at the paperwork before signing it. What was he going to say? No? Oh, he understood about hospital liability and the things that could go wrong during surgery, but it was still a laughable concept that he had to agree to save Allie's life before they could do it. Besides, what was going to go wrong? What could go wrong? Rafe and the sorcerers and God Himself wouldn't have gone to so much trouble if Allie was going to stumble right before the end.

Barney caught himself just before he signed the last line. No. No, he couldn't rely on nothing going wrong. He couldn't build up hope that didn't have a solid foundation. As the doctor pointed out, it was still open-heart surgery, and it still carried risks.

He was still grinning when he walked into the recovery room.

With a quick mumble of thanks and a nod towards Nurse Sheldon, Barney went straight for Allie's bedside, pulling up a stool as he went to kneel on it in Allie's line of sight. "I'm here, sweetie. Right here." Even his voice sounded different while he was smiling so broadly. "How are you feeling?"