It took an entire week for Sammy to get her doctor’s approval to go home. Spencer had spent every hour at the hospital, making use of the showers there and having her family run home to pick up new clothes. This was one of Sammy’s longest stays so far, but Spencer could see the benefit of it. The swelling in Sammy’s joints had all but vanished; she no longer complained of any pain; she was even begging to go home to play Mario Kart.

Spencer was in the middle of filling out the paperwork needed to check Sammy out when her own mother rushed up to her.

“I can’t believe it,” Paula said, taking a seat beside Spencer in the waiting room.

Her mother wasn’t looking directly at her, just shaking her head with a dazed expression. But since they were the only two people in the room, Spencer assumed the comment must be directed at her. She waited a long moment, before setting her pen and tablet down.

“Is this like twenty questions or something?” Spencer asked.

“What?” Paula turned as if realizing Spencer was there for the first time.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to guess?”

“Oh, you’d never guess this,” Paula grinned.

“Okay…” Spencer shot her a curious glance. Her mother was rarely this happy unless she’d just performed some life-saving surgery. Considering she wasn’t on duty today, Spencer was at a loss for an explanation.

“I just got finished meeting with the chief of staff. He told me…” Paula trailed off, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Mom, you know, you’re really starting to freak me out,” Spencer said.

“Sorry, sorry.” Her mother shook away the dazed look and continued. “Spencer, he told me that an anonymous donor paid off all of Sammy’s medical bills.”

“He said–” Spencer stopped, then started, “He said what?”

“All of Sammy’s bills are paid off. Plus, a trust fund has been set up for any future expenses. It’s all been taken care of.”

Spencer stared at her mother baffled, before asking, “Who would do that?”

“An anonymous donor.”

“But do you know who it is?”

Paula turned a puzzled look on her daughter and answered seriously, “Spencer, you do know what ‘anonymous’ means don’t you?”