Roseanne pushed the hospital room door open and smiled at the conversation she'd walked in on.
"Would you quit fussing at me?" Jisoo swatted at Jennie's hand as she tried to fix the blankets around her. "I'm not four."
"I swear, you are the worst patient ever. I don't know how these nurses put up with you." Jennie shot her an annoyed look.
Roseanne eased into the room. Afternoon sunlight slanted through the window. "Grumpy?"
"A royal pain in my ass," Jennie grumbled.
"You're a real peach, too, sweetheart," Jisoo muttered.
Laughing, Roseanne stepped up to the bed and squeezed Jisoo's toes under the blankets. "A knock on the head will do that to a person. Trust me, I know."
After two days, Jisoo's energy was slowly returning. Her head was still bandaged, but she was gradually inching back to her old sarcastic self.
"I need caffeine." Jennie dropped her arms and headed for the door.
"Why don't you go pick up that red leather number while you're out," Jisoo called. When she looked back with a shocked expression, she said, "Yeah, I heard you. And I sure as hell am not forgetting that promise."
Jennie huffed and left the room. When she was gone, Roseanne smiled at her sister. "Congratulations, by the way."
"On what?" Jisoo reached for her hand and scooted over so she could sit on the side of her bed.
"On finding your penguin. Aurora told me about the book she read."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not marrying her. We're just dating"
"I know." Roseanne brushed a lock of hair back from her face. "You should be nicer to her, though. She was really worried. You looked like death warmed over in my kitchen. I think she had flashbacks of Kai."
"Shit." Her eyes slid closed. "I hadn't thought of that."
"I'm sure not. You are a Jisoo, after all."
"Let's not go there, smartass." Her face sobered. "How are you?"
Roseanne drew in a long breath. Aside from the press hounding her since the story broke, and the agony still coursing through her every time she thought of Lisa, she was surviving. Barely.
"I'm fine." She mustered up a smile she knew didn't reach her eyes. "I'll be glad when things quiet down. Jisoo, I—"
"If you even think about thanking me, I'll kick you out of here."
A real smile curled her lips. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Good." She frowned. "'It's enough that I got my ass kicked by this psycho girl"
"And you weren't the only one."
Jisoo's eyes softened. "How's the other one?"
The other one was the security detail Lisa had posted outside her house. The one Roseanne hadn't even known about. The one Yongsun had shot in the chest before going after Jisoo. "He's going to live. Paramedics got to him in time."
"Thank God," Jisoo muttered. She squeezed her hand. "Did you talk to Lisa?"
Tears stung the backs of her eyes, and she swallowed to keep the flood from breaking again. "No."
"Roseanne—"
"Jisoo, don't start. You have other things to think of now."
The door opened, and she and Jisoo both glanced over as Lisa stuck her head into the room. A smile split her face, sending butterflies straight through Roseanne's belly. "Hey. Is Nurse Nitpick gone?"
