He grinned when he saw Amy come into the sun-room. She moved across the room without a sound, her bare feet sinking into the dark blue carpeting. She sat down beside him and sighed.

"I thought I just might find you here," she said. "I was going to look in the psychiatric ward but I checked here first." Amy smiled at him.

Kirk gave his half-smile back. "I was there for a while this morning, but they kicked me out. Crazy as a fruitcake, they said, and asked me to leave. You aren't looking so good today," he said.

"I didn't sleep much," Amy said. "I've got the weakies and the achies this morning."

"I know what you mean."

"Brent seems like an all-right guy."

"Yeah. He'll do. Seems like kind of a loner. But better than the Toad any day."

"Nurse Rush is really pushing herself around here this morning. That woman's going to drive me up a wall one of these days. She was at me again about putting shoes on."

"Yeah, I know. The bitch must have wolfed down too many vitamins this morning at breakfast."

"Do you suppose she might cut off visiting privileges again? I'm not sure what I'd do if I couldn't wander around and drop in on people," Amy said.

"She won't. How'd you like to stir her up a little?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, give her a little of her own medicine, just to keep her on her toes."

"She'll probably call in the Inquisition if anything out of the ordinary happens, but I don't care. I need a little excitement. Just as long as we don't harm anything. What do you have in mind?"

"I thought we might stage a small medical emergency. I could have my hip slip out again."

"You mean slip that old epiphysis again, pins and all?"

"You guessed it. You game?"

"I don't think so. We shouldn't rock the boat."