Counting To Fifteen [Grey's Anatomy]

chapter forty six - fifteens

Daisy quickly learned that her and August weren't very different, certain aspects of their lives were very much the same.

August was in foster care, just like Daisy. His mother was dead, just like Daisy's mother was. Though his father was still alive somewhere, he was completely out of the picture just as Daisy's father was. August had a social worker, just like Daisy.

Yet despite the startling similarities, there were still a few subtle differences between the two.

August had cancer, while Daisy didn't. August's cells had developed mutations and were dividing at an uncontrollable pace while Daisy's cells remained healthy and evenly-split. August was completely alone, and—even though some days it felt like it—Daisy wasn't alone. Daisy had people that cared about her, while August didn't.

"What do you mean?" Daisy had frowned upon hearing the information that nobody came to visit August. He didn't have any parents that visited him, no foster family or friends to come see how he was doing.

"I don't know. I just don't get that many visitors, I guess."

The information made Daisy upset, the thought that August always sat alone in his hospital room, waiting for his impending death as he shuffled chess pieces back and forth in a never-ending game against himself.

"But you said you have a social worker." Daisy pointed out. "Isn't his whole job to watch after you and keep you safe?"

"He has that same job description for a billion other kids. He can't sit in a hospital room with me all day." August laughed lightly. "It really doesn't upset me, Daisy. I think you're more offended than I am."

Daisy couldn't help it. She didn't like that nobody came and visited the boy—not even his own social worker.

Daisy liked to think that if she were confined to live in the hospital, Octavia would visit her often. At least once a week.

"But...nobody? Nobody comes to see you?

"You come to see me." August pointed out. "And I like that you come to see me. It gives me somebody to ruthlessly beat at chess."

Daisy would've smiled if she hadn't remembered her conversation the night prior with Mark.

"I can't come as much anymore, though. Mark said he doesn't want me hanging out down here."

August frowned, slightly tilting his head to the right. "Who's Mark?"

"Legal babysitter." Daisy spoke, expecting August to understand her terminology seeing as he too was a foster kid. When the confusion on August's face deepened, Daisy let out a quiet sigh as she further explained. "Foster dad. He's a doctor here."

"Your foster dad is a doctor? Here?" August's eyes widened, the boy staring at Daisy in awe as the girl slowly nodded. "That's so cool. That sort of makes him a genius."

"Not really. 'Cause he's really bad at math. He yells at my homework, it makes him mad that they changed math."

"They changed math?" August's brows furrowed, his frown deepening.

"It's an old person thing." Daisy explained, still able to hear Mark's constant comments over Daisy's riddling math homework and the grief he expressed over why they would stick letters in equations.

"You're lucky." August spoke up quietly, organizing his medication into the appropriate containers. "I think if I had a foster dad, I'd learn how to play baseball. And I'd get a glove and everything, and he'd teach me how to catch."

Daisy smiled at the nice thought August already had mapped out for himself. "You don't need a foster dad to play baseball, though. You can still do that."