We walked into the hospital room and I squeezed Alex's hand. I was still scared.

"It's OK, Maxie," he said, "You're gonna be OK."

I sniffled. "OK."

I squeezed Chuck as well walked inside. The nice nurse told me to sit down, and he did a basic checkup.

"OK, no concussion. That's good. Hmm."

I didn't like the sound of that "hmm."

"What's wrong," Alex asked. The nurse sighed.

"Max needs a blood test."

I whimpered. "I don't like needles," I whispered.

Alex took my hand. "It's gonna be OK, Maxie. Take my hand."

I squeezed it. The nurse pulled out a needle and I yelled.

"I don't want it! I don't want it!"

I squeezed Alex's hand and said, "Papa, please tell him to stop. Please."

Alex gave me a hug. "It's gonna be OK, Maxie. Come here."

I sat on his lap and he started singing Home. It made me feel better, and then I felt a prick on my arm.

"Ow!"

Alex gave me another hug. "You did it, Maxie! Look!"

I looked at the small little dot of blood from my arm. "I did it?"

Alex laughed. "You did it!"

I gave Alex a hug. "I did it! Can we go home now?"

The nurse turned to face me. "Max? When was the last time you went to the hospital?"

I thought about it. "I was supposed to go before my parents died, but the last time I went was about a year ago? Why?"

The nurse looked at me and I felt scared. "Something's come up. I've got to check in with the doctor, and she'll explain if it's true or not. Please stay here."

He left, and I squeezed Alex's hand. "Papa," I whispered, "Am I gonna die?"

Alex kissed my head and said, "Of course not, Maxie. Sometimes people have little inconveniences. It isn't deadly, it's just there."

I nodded. "OK, Papa."

I put my head on Alex's lap and played around with Chuck. Alex squeezed my hand.

"So, how was the show," he asked. I grinned.

"I loved it! You guys were awesome!"

Alex smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. Sophia said you would."

I smiled as the doctor came in. She smiled warmly, but she held some papers in her hands that made me nervous.

"Hey there, Max," she said kindly, "I'm just gonna do a review check up and then we'll talk about your blood test? OK?"

I nodded, but I was really scared. Alex took my hand. "Don't worry, Maxie," he said, "I'm here."

The doctor re-examined me and then she sighed.

"You're a wonderfully healthy kid, Max. It's just you have a chronic condition.."

"What's that?"

"In short," the doctor said, "It's a disease that doesn't go away. It won't hurt you or anything, it's like that one itch on your back that you wanna scratch but can't. You get it?"

I nodded, but still felt nervous. Alex smiled.

"If it isn't that bad, we can monitor it, right?"

The doctor nodded. "Right. But Max also has another condition."

I blinked. "What is it? How bad is it?"

The doc sighed. "Sorry, Max, but you have diabetes. Type 2."