“So you kind of know what it’s like.”

“Kind of. Except I didn’t get shot. Are you okay?”

“Painkillers make the pain very fuzzy more than they kill it, and they make time seem to pass very inconsistently. Mostly I’m bored.”

“I brought stuff. Presents,” Aiden said. He got his bag, “Can I?”

“Yes,” Lookout said. She looked stricken more than happy, though.

He put the bag at the end of the bed, and he began digging through. He’d folded one of the covers when dumping the stuff back in the bag, and did what he could to smooth it before pulling it out. Two books. He handed them to her.

“Oh wow. That’s so nice of you. I haven’t read these.”

“There’s more. One second.”

He almost didn’t pull the junky stuff out. Two disposable cameras, and a small pocket kit of tools.

Her eyes lit up.

“I thought maybe if you were bored, you could build something. I know this isn’t anything major or expensive, but—”

“I would hug you if I wasn’t tied down with tubes,” she said, touching her IV and the tube at her stomach.

“Better not, then,” Darlene said.

“This is great,” Kenzie said.

“It’s not too lame? It’s basic.”

“You can build a pretty awesome looking house out of kid bricks instead of real bricks and wood and nails and stuff. It might be a toy or very simple but it’s still fun. My dad worked in real estate and I know they used model buildings before building the full scale. This is really nice and thoughtful,” Kenzie said.

Aiden smiled. “And I remember you liked these when I showed you, and I was doing something for myself. I had to file at the edges…”

He got out the necklace. It wasn’t anything fancy—a rawhide string threaded with some feathers, beads, and at the center was a trio of little metal decorations. Two were the bullets that Shamrock had fired at a target, each one splitting apart into bird shapes. At the center was a button he’d got from the tailor who handled the team’s costume—a metal disc with an eye in the center.

He held it out and Lookout took it, immediately holding it to her chest, expression very neutral.

“It’s a ‘sorry you got shot’ present, or a ‘get well soon’ present,” he said, feeling like the biggest dork. “I made one for myself but the feathers fell off, so if yours do the same, don’t worry about it.”

He felt the emotions running through Darlene’s body, and looked back, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She didn’t feel fine, but—

The connection cut. He blinked a few times, adjusting as the fizzling stopped. His body felt numb and yet far more comfortable like this. It also felt a bit lonely.

“Why?” Kenzie interrupted his thought.

“Why what?”