Mom touched Nova’s forehead with her palm, and she whined, trying to turn away and bury her face in my neck. “No, no, no,” she whimpered.

“It’s okay, l’vitsa,” Mom soothed. “I won’t take you away from Ryan.” Crouching down, she examined the ear that was red and still draining. Pressing her lips together, she quickly straightened and looked at Papa. “Could you wake Felicity and Jet while I get dressed, moye zolto? I think we will be paying a visit to the emergency room.”

My body began to shake at the realization that Nova was so sick she needed to go to the hospital, but I knew if I panicked, it would only scare Nova and make her cry. Instead, I just held on to her tighter, refusing to release her even when her mom came rushing into the room before either her dad or my own did.

“It’s another ear infection,” Felicity murmured. “She gets them so frequently. We’ve been discussing tubes to help.” She bit her bottom lip. “Maybe we should cut this trip short and set that up when we get home, Jet.”

“No!” I couldn’t help but shout, making Nova whimper. I rubbed one of my hands up her back, trying to let her know she didn’t have to be scared. No one would ever hurt her as long as I was alive. “No,” I repeated, trying to keep my voice quiet. “We have doctors. Ciana has tubes in her ears. So does Bennie. He got them last year. They can give Nova tubes here. Please don’t take her away yet.”

“I don’t wanna go home!” Nova whined, lifting her head to pout at her mom. “I wanna stay with Ryan.”

Mom came out of her closet, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a jacket on over it. It was summertime, so I knew she was only wearing the jacket to hide the gun she liked to carry in case someone tried to hurt any of us. “I don’t think anyone is going anywhere right away,” she said as she came over to stand beside Felicity. “Nova can’t fly with an ear infection. It will cause her more pain and possibly ear damage.”

“She’s right,” Nova’s dad agreed. “Flying with an ear infection could lead to a burst eardrum. And honestly, the boy is right. I would be more comfortable with a Vitucci doctor doing the tubes than anyone back home. Let’s just get her to the ER, and then we can speak to an ENT tomorrow.”

“We don’t have to go to the actual emergency room,” Mom told them. “Just the hospital. We have…a special entrance and top priority.”

“All right, let’s go,” Felicity said as she straightened, but when she tried to take Nova from me, I quickly stepped out of her reach, tightening my hold on the small angel who was clinging to me like a spider monkey.

“I can carry her,” I offered. “She’s not heavy. It’s as easy as carrying one of Ciana’s dolls.”