Nosedive cradled his sister in his arms and held her close. No! he thought in anguish. No, no, don’t leave me! “Hang on, sis,” he pleaded aloud. “Keep fighting, hang on. I’m right here.”

The driver exited his truck and jogged over to them. “I just called 9-1-1 on my cell phone,” he said. “Gosh, I’m sorry, kid. Who is she? Is she a friend of yours?”

“My sister,” Nosedive said.

“Oh, man. I’m really, really sorry, kid.”

Nosedive kept his gaze on Wildwing, monitoring every weakened, shallow breath. “It’s not your fault,” he told the man.

The swirling red lights of an ambulance soon came into peripheral view, the blaring siren rang in the night. “You hear that, sis?” Nosedive said softly. “Help’s on the way. You’re going to be alright.” But she was unconscious and couldn’t hear anything.

The ambulance truck pulled over right next to them, and suddenly someone was taking Wildwing from his arms. He stared for a few moments at the amount of blood on the street, then at that which had stained his hands and shirt. He watched numbly as they laid her on a stretcher and carried her to the truck, then he stood and started to follow. One of the orderlies tried to hold him back. “Sir, I’m afraid...”

“Please,” Nosedive interrupted. “I’m her brother. She’s all the family I have.”

The orderly hesitated, then nodded. “Alright, get in.”

The ride to the hospital seemed long and tedious to Nosedive, although he knew they must have been going well over seventy miles an hour. “Is she going to be alright?” he asked no one in particular.

“I hope so, kid,” said the orderly he’d spoken to earlier. “I hope so.”

Nosedive could not begin to express his relief when at long last the hospital came into view. They pulled up to the emergency entrance, and again his sister was taken from him. The kind orderly put his arm around Nosedive’s shoulders.

“Come on,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do for her right now.”

Nosedive trembled because he knew the man was right. Absorbed in his own thoughts, he allowed himself to be led to a waiting room just adjacent to the emergency room his sister had disappeared into. He then lowered himself into one of the chairs and proceeded to study the floor, apparently neither seeing nor hearing anything else.

Oh, Wildwing, he thought. You idiot. You stupid, brainless, loyal, brave, courageous idiot. What on earth made you do a thing like that? You’re about a million times more important to the team than I am; it’d be better for us all if I’d been the one who got hit. You were right to say you should have left me on Puckworld. Then I wouldn’t be able to get you into these things. What kind of a brother am I, anyway?

The room was empty except for him, which he supposed was a good thing; it meant no one else was waiting to see if a loved one was going to live or... he didn’t want to think about that. But the eerie quiet was getting on his nerves, and he found himself longing for a voice to speak.

But the voice he had in mind was indisposed, so he’d have to settle. Getting up, he went out into the hall--where his voice carried at least somewhat normally--and called Mallory on his comlink. Not surprisingly, she took her time answering.

“Nosedive?” she said, half in surprise, half in annoyance. “Where the heck are you? It’s nearly midnight!”

“I’m at the hospital,” he replied. Then, in response to her alarmed questions: “No, I’m alright... It’s Wildwing. Well, she... Mal, just get over here. I need someone.”

“Alright,” she promised. “It’s about a four minute drive from here; I’ll see if I can make it in two.”

“No,” Nosedive said, tired but vehement. “For heaven’s sake, Mal, drive safely. I’ll explain when you get here.”

He reentered the waiting room to find a young doctor gazing around the empty room. When he caught sight of Nosedive he asked, “Are you the victim’s brother?”

“Yes,” Nosedive said impatiently. “My given name is Brakiss Jason Flashblade, my older sister’s name is Alanna, we’re both employed by the National Hockey League. That should cover the preliminaries. Now, how is she? And please, no bedside manner, just give it to me straight.”

The doctor looked impressed by Nosedive’s self-control, given the situation, but he could not hide the fact that he had bad news. Nosedive had seen it in the human’s face at a single glance. “The truth is, I already know you both from your games on television. I know neither of you is human, despite the resemblance. What I don’t know is how far the difference of anatomy goes. Your sister is showing all the external signs of having lost a fatal amount of blood, but I don’t know how much that might be in your case--”

“Two point five-three pints,” Nosedive interrupted. “High school stuff.”

The doctor looked grim. “Then my suspicions were correct. From my limited analysis, I know that human blood is not an acceptable substitute or I would have suggested a transfusion.”

“What are you saying?” Nosedive asked, suddenly feeling his self-control slip from his already weakened grasp. “You’re not going to just let her die, are you?”

The pain in the young human’s face--pain, not pity--was unmistakable. “I’ve gone through every solution I can think of. Her general wounds are healing at an unbelievable rate; the broken bones were already knitting by the time she got here. But unless we can somehow replace or regenerate the blood she lost, I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do. If we had a blood donor of her type, we might--”

Nosedive slapped his forehead with his hand. Why hadn’t he thought of that sooner? “Drake, I’m getting slow. You can use me! My sister and I are matched almost perfectly. In fact, she once gave blood to save my life after a similar accident.”

Hope lit up the human doctor’s face. He grabbed Nosedive’s arm and needlessly pulled him to another adjoining room. “Come on then,” he said. “I’ll handle the red tape later, right now there’s not a second to spare.”

At two in the morning, Nosedive was sitting beside Wildwing’s hospital bed, watching her chest rise and fall, listening to the steady beep-beep of the monitor beside him. These were all the scary things he’d only associated with movies and television, not with his beloved older sister. He took her hand between his; it was cold. Never once had he known her touch to be physically cold. Suddenly he felt as though his blood had turned to ice water. He tried desperately to shut out the image of her bleeding to death on the hard, black street, but that image was irrevocably burned in his mind.

Plus that, he was as dizzy as all get out. Wildwing had lost over three pints of blood, broken her right shoulder, cracked two ribs and who-knew-what else just to get him to safety. Her case had been ruled hopeless before Nosedive told them that their blood type was the same, and that he was willing to give anything to save Wildwing’s life: He didn’t care how much they needed.

While a pint and a half was not a fatal amount of blood to give, it still made him dizzy. That was the excuse he’d used not to leave Wildwing’s side. He had no intention of leaving until she awoke. Again and again the events that had taken them here--Wing lying inches from death and Dive helpless to do anything but watch--played in his mind. He envisioned with frightening clarity Wildwing collapsing on the dark, unyielding ground. He felt again the harsh pain within him that he’d felt then, hearing her bones crack under the stress of the collision. He trembled again at the recollection of the expression of deep agony mixed with great sorrow and love that had been etched on her features just before she’d lost consciousness. “Please be alright,” he whispered to her, unable to manage any more words through his pain and his guilt.

She didn’t count on my being able to get help in time, he thought. Because I couldn’t. She knew that. It was just dumb luck she’s lasted as long as she has. But she wasn’t thinking about herself; she rarely does. She was thinking of me. She knew she was looking at death; she knew it and accepted it for my sake. Nosedive blinked back painful tears and forced himself not to cry out in despair and grief. She would have died right there in the street to save me, in spite of everything I said and did. And now I may never have the chance to apologize.

Two soft hands pressed against his weary shoulders, and Mallory’s voice spoke from somewhere over his head. “Dive, come on. You need to come home and rest. There’s nothing else to be done.”

“I don’t like the idea of leaving her here alone,” he said honestly.

“She’ll be perfectly safe, Nosedive,” Mallory replied. “You’ve done all you can for her. No one could expect more.”

“Than I’ll give more,” he snapped, turning to face her. “Mal, you know Wildwing as well as I do. She always gives more than we expect from her, no matter how painful it may be sometimes. She can’t help it: It’s in her blood and mine. Both our parents died saving us when the Saurians attacked. No one in our family ever acts selfishly when there’s a crisis, and I’m proud of that.

“Besides, Wildwing is all I have left now, and if our positions were reversed the thought of leaving my side wouldn’t so much as cross her mind.” He turned stubbornly away, keeping his gaze tenaciously on his sister.

Mallory sighed, seeing that there was no winning. “I’m going home,” she said at length. “Someone’s going to have to tell the rest of the team tomorrow morning, might as well be me.”

“Good idea,” Nosedive said, still not turning around. “Thanks for staying.”

She responded with a single touch, a slight brush of her hand on his shoulder, then she left, and Nosedive was left alone.

Eventually, his exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he laid his head down in his arms beside Wildwing. After a few moments he fell asleep, still clutching her hand.

Wildwing awoke, feeling as though she was pushing herself through very thick water. Finally, she managed to open her eyes and become aware of her surroundings. She blinked twice and attempted to pull her thoughts together. I’m still alive. Wonder what miracle I owe that to. Where’s Nosedive?

She glanced to her left and smiled at the mess of tangled blond hair that was all that was visible of her younger brother. She gently pried her left hand free: The only part of her that had escaped unscathed. Good thing I’m left-handed, she thought wryly. Then she shook Nosedive awake. “Hey, buddy,” she whispered.

Nosedive groaned and looked up at her. He looked overjoyed, but tired; and he also seemed a little sad.

“Go home,” she told him. “You look awful.”

“And you look beautiful,” he retorted weakly. “I’m not going anywhere. I should never have left you in the first place. This whole mess is my fault.”

“No it’s not,” Wildwing said, shaking her head. “At least half is my fault. I know you didn’t mean what you said. I should have accepted your apology when I had the chance instead of driving you away.”

Nosedive looked down and was silent for a long while. Finally, he spoke. “I’m so sorry, Wildwing... what I said to you...”

“Shhh...” Wildwing said gently. “It’s alright, I know you are. You don’t have to say anymore.”

“No... no, I want to.” Nosedive was on the verge of tears. “After what I said... after what I did to you... I was sure you hated me.” Wildwing stared at him in shock. “I... I know I gave you more than enough reason to...”

Wildwing sat up with all the strength she had and threw her arms around her brother. “No, Nosedive! Never!” she said, rocking him gently. “I could never, ever hate you, no matter what you said or did. You’re my brother; I love you. Nothing could ever take that away.”

Nosedive hugged his sister back. “I love you too. I’m sorry for everything.”

“I know, I know,” Wildwing whispered. “So am I. I never should have yelled or snapped at you. My behavior was unforgivable.”

“Not as much as mine,” Nosedive said, his voice heavy with regret.

“I forgive you anyway,” Wildwing said, ruffling Nosedive’s hair. “I always do. I always will.”

Nosedive’s arms tightened around his sister’s waist. She continued to stroke his hair with a gentleness she rarely had time to display. He remained quiet for long moments, enjoying the peace that he’d found in someone he loved. Then he spoke. “Wing?”

“Yes?”

“I think I understand now. How you feel, I mean. All the responsibilities you have to deal with, all the worries you have, all the pain you feel. I got a taste of it while I was waiting to see if you were going to be alright. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it full-time. Not as well as you do, anyway.”

“It’s a hard job,” Wildwing admitted. “And sometimes I’m tempted to give up. That’s why I worry about you so much. I need your help.” Nosedive pulled back, and Wildwing smiled at his astounded expression. “I really can’t afford to lose you.”

“Really?” Nosedive said. “All this time I thought I was the one who needed you.”

“You do,” Wildwing told him. “Desperately. But that’s the great thing about being brother and sister: We need and help each other. Just taking care of you tells me everything I need to know about being a good leader. And whenever I mess up and wonder if the team would be better off without me, I just look at you and I remember why I joined the team in the first place.”

“You never told me that,” Nosedive said in awe.

“That was probably my biggest mistake.”

Nosedive thought for a moment. “I guess mine was forgetting that even though you have to pretend you’re fearless and indestructible, you’re still the same old Wildwing I knew back on Puckworld.”

Wildwing smiled. “Well... I’m hardly indestructible. We proved that today.” Nosedive laughed, releasing the remainder of his contained relief, and reached out for Wildwing’s hand. As he did, she noticed the tell-tale piece of cotton taped onto his arm. She motioned towards it with her eyes. “Did they have to...”

“Yeah,” Nosedive said, nodding. “We’re even now.”

Wildwing ruffled her brother’s hair. “No, no,” she said, laughing a little. “We’re siblings. Siblings don’t need to get even. They’re always equal.”

At that moment, a dark-haired human poked his head in. “Alright, kid. Visitor time’s up. And this time I mean it.”

Nosedive rolled his eyes. “You doctors have the worst timing.”

“Sorry, kiddo,” the doctor said, grinning. “Rules are rules.”

“Yes,” said Wildwing. “And we’re going to have a little talk on that subject when I get home.”

Nosedive sighed and stood up. “Big sisters,” he muttered, “you can’t live with ‘em, you can’t live without ‘em.”

“They sound like little brothers,” Wildwing said. Nosedive winked at her.

“Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll swing by this afternoon with that book you were reading earlier.”

Wildwing widened her eyes in surprise. “Do you know which one it is?”

“Sure,” said Nosedive, shrugging. “I always know what you’re reading. What, you think I don’t care?”

Left alone in her room, Wildwing settled back onto the surprisingly comfortable hospital bed and fell into what promised to be one of the most peaceful sleeps she’d enjoyed in a long time. “I guess everything’s going to be alright after all,” she said to herself.