The way his mouth opens slightly.
The way his eyes sharpen.
But before he can ask it...
“Mr. Bellandi?”
The doctor’s voice cuts through the moment.
We all turn.
“I need to speak with you for a moment.”
Elijah moves immediately.
“Okay.”
Mark steps back, giving space, his attention lingering for a second longer before he nods.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he says.
And then he’s gone.
Just like that.
Like that entire world just stepped out of the hallway again.
We follow the doctor a short distance down, not far, just enough to give space from the room but not enough that I lose track of it completely.
“I wanted to update you,” he says, his tone calm, steady in a way that makes me focus immediately.
“She’s doing very well,” he continues. “Her recovery is progressing exactly how we hoped.”
Something in my chest loosens.
Not fully.
But enough.
“If everything continues as it is,” he adds, “we should be able to discharge her within the next couple of days.”
Zach exhales beside me, his head tipping back briefly like he’s been holding that in longer than I realized.
“Home,” he mutters.
The word hits harder than I expect.
“Is there anything we need to watch for?” I ask, my voice tighter now. “With… everything. The pregnancy.”
The doctor shakes his head.
“No,” he says. “At this stage, everything is progressing normally. There are no complications we’re concerned about. You can treat this like a standard early pregnancy.”
Relief hits differently this time.
Sharper.
Cleaner.
