Gen Two- Chapter Fifteen

Dead silence rang throughout the house. Time stood suffocatingly still, and the lingering echoes of Uncle Blaze's words rang in my ears. They lost? We lost? Some judge had seriously thought taking Rosemary away by forcing her to live with people she didn't want to live with was the best thing for her? The fact that Rosemary was happier than ever and had soared in school rankings to be the number one student in her class wasn't proof enough of how much Uncle Eden and Aunt Deny had helped her? Shipping her off to the other side of the country during the last third of the school year didn't seem absolutely absurd to the court?

I had no idea what to say. I had no idea of what to do. Uncle Blaze and I just stood there in the silence. He still wore that strange expression I couldn't read, and there was something off about the whole aura he emanated. I could have sworn it was almost as if he was holding back a smile. I stared up at him with eyes unblinking- until those eyes swarmed with tears once more. The tears of heartbreak, not the wet eyes caused by a cold that I had been dealing with all day. My tolerance levels completely shot thanks to the exhaustion of my illness, I was about to utterly lose it. I wouldn't be surprised if my legs collapsed on me again as I turned into that blubbering mess. Seconds away from that happening was when Uncle Blaze's attitude rapidly changed.

     "Coal, wait, please don't cry. I'm so sorry. I'm just an asshole. Phrasing it like that on purpose like that to see your reaction was such a dick move. I don't know what I was thinking." he apologized for whatever reason.

Confusion putting a possible block on my tears, I frowned as I awaited clarification.

     "Eden and Deny technically lost the case, but Mary will be staying with us."

I didn't believe him right away. I thought my fever-struck mind was playing tricks on me. Uncle Blaze gently wiped off the one tear that managed to slide down my cheek as he went on to explain his words even further.

     "Eden said that even the judge admitted he personally believed Mary belonged with us, but that his hands were tied by the law. As long as there was one biological family member proven capable of taking care of her who wanted her, he had no choice but to award them custody."

     "But what about Mary's birth parents purposely sending her into the system the first time around? They rejected her then, so why should they get a second chance?" my weak, cracking, dry voice was able to eke out.

     "Apparently, Mary's birth mother lied to everyone. She told Social Services she didn't know who Mary's father was, and she told Mary's birth father that Mary loved living with her step-father. That that was where Mary wanted to be, and also that she didn't want her birth father coming around as she wanted to see only her step-father as her father-type figure. So, he purposely stayed away to fulfill those wishes...until after he married Mary's birth father and the truth came to light. Seeing as how he had been conned as much as everyone else had, he was still given an honest claim to Mary."

     "That just feels like another big lie." I mumbled suspiciously.

     "Well, they were both under oath, so we don't have much choice but to believe that they were telling the truth. If it makes you feel better, the court did decide that Mary's birth mother, thanks to her deviant lies and behavior, wouldn't get custody of her even as her step-mother. Only her birth father could take her as his charge."

     "So, if he won, how did things change around? Is he only just letting Mary stay until the school year is over or something?"

     "Mary firmly rejected the court's decision and took matters into her own hands- by making an absolute ruckus when they tried to lead her to her birth father," Uncle Blaze began with a tilted grin, "Eden said it got to the point where she was seriously holding onto a railing and having the poor security officers getting kicked and screamed at trying to pry her off. The tantrum lasted about fifteen minutes before her birth father stepped in. Basically, he realized that all the laws in the world couldn't just earn him a place in his daughter's heart. He said it was obvious he would have to work for that place honestly, and he started by working with the judge right then and there to give up his rights to her. That means that there is no legal way for Mary to be taken away anymore, and his choice also granted him Mary's promise that she would get to know him and spend time with him...on her own terms."

A long stretch of silence was repeated, but it was severely more bearable this time around. The tight lock in my chest unwound itself, and I heaved out a sigh of relief. Then I punched Uncle Blaze as hard as I could in the arm. Given my exhausted state, it probably felt like I merely poked him.

     "You are a jerk! Don't toy around with me like that!" I rebuked.

     "I'm sorry. I really am. You didn't need that, and I should have known that." he apologized again, although his own relief at the situation had him smiling while he said it.

I chastised him further with a dramatic exhale, roll of my eyes, and fold of my arms. I returned Uncle Blaze's smile when I glanced at him though, and he laughed before pulling me into a hug.

     "We got one thing to go right." he said gratefully.

     "Hopefully it's a sign that everything else will fall into place too." I added.

     "I hope so too, kid."

The words barely left my lips before I sniffled up a big helping of snot before barely avoiding blasting a massive sneeze into my uncle's chest.

     "Uh, and let's not undo that hope right away by getting me sick," he joked as he quickly stepped away, "I think it's time for your next dose of medicine."

     "Blegh." I complained, sticking out my tongue.

Two days later, I was feeling almost back to normal. My fever was low, I barely sniffled, and my eyes weren't producing constant waterworks. However, I remained extremely exhausted, so I hadn't moved once from my bed that day. The majority of my time was spent sleeping, playing video games on our handheld console, and doing homework as I had missed a few days of school at this point. It was when I was waking up from one of my naps when I heard the door open and the lights were suddenly flicked on. The obtrusive blinding light got a cry of pain out of me, and I pouted at the amused giggle that came.

     "Mary!" I complained, pulling my covers over my head.

Rosemary simply stood over with me with a merry expression. She didn't look the least bit guilty. The two of us had talked on the phone quite a bit since the trial, but I assumed Uncle Blaze finally felt like it was safe to let her see me now that she was randomly here.

     "Not sorry!" she joked, "Besides, Blaze told me it was about time you got up. He said you're not sick enough to get to stay in bed all day and do nothing. You have to get up and at least walk around a little or something."

     "I'll do what I want." I grumbled in protest.

Rosemary laughed again.

     "Well, I don't really care what you do. I just want to be able to say what I came over here to say." she revealed brightly.

My eyes adjusting to the light now, I peeked out from under the covers. We had already talked in depth about the outcome of the trial and her actions at the end of it. I wondered what else was left to discuss.

     "And, all I want to say...is thanks. Thanks for wishing on that star for me. I hope you've earned enough good karma for the star I wished on to make my wish for you come true too." she spoke kindly.
     "You're welcome, and thank you as well," I accepted, "How are things working out with your birth dad, by the way?"
     "Alright, I suppose. It's still super awkward though. I've promised that I'll call him at least once a week. I'll be visiting him during the summer too with mom and dad coming along for that. They've said they're alright with me having a friendship with him, although they're naturally still rather protective of me and a bit defensive at the moment."
     "I can understand that."

I was going to say more, but one of my last coughing fits had me sounding like an old wood chipper. Rosemary was smart to back away, and she was quick to find her way out.

     "I hope you don't mind, Coal, but I'm not going to overstay my welcome," she said light-heartedly, "I've been one of the few people to avoid this cold so far, so I'm just going to have to keep talking to you on the phone until you get better."
     "I can understand that." I repeated with a laugh when I could breathe.
     "Mal is here too though. He wants to talk to you as well." Rosemary then revealed.
     "Mal does?"

She nodded before rushing off to get him. Actually beginning to feel quite sore and wanting to move, I was in the middle of sitting up when Malachite walked in. However, I swore he was a different person. There was something about the way he walked that made him seem lighter, and there was life in his expression unlike I had ever seen. One could almost say he was...happy.

     "Something I can do for you?" I asked when, after he looked my way for several seconds, he had a bit of trouble saying anything.
     "I came here for the same reason Mary did. I never thanked you for helping me that day. You might have made things worse, but it was good to know you had my back. You were willing to risk everything when you thought my life was in danger...even though I just stood there and watched before running away when I put your life in danger," Malachite spoke dismally and guiltily, "I never apologized properly about that, so I want to do that as well."
     "It's all good," I admitted, liking this genuine Malachite, "Just, please, don't get into drugs."
     "I won't," he laughed, "I haven't ever actually done any, and I was already realizing I wanted to back out of the whole mess even before I got in that conflict with those boys."
     "Glad to hear it." I said proudly.
     "I am going to try and take your advice as best as I can, although I think being a complete goody-two-shoes will be too boring," he joked mischievously, "Mary has said she will give me a second chance as long as I stick to that. She's got me on some sort of extra probation at the moment, but she's taken back what she said about me being worthless and all that."
     "Keep it up. I'm looking forward to the five of you finally being a proper family." I encouraged.
     "Me too." Malachite added with a soft smile.

And so, things were looking up considerably. A roll of good news and good events was giving us a break from the constant lows, and I once again dared to have some faith. We had gone through enough, and now we would be rewarded. Right?

Nope. Apparently, there wasn't some sort of cosmic switch that got flipped to only good things happening when the universe felt like we deserved them. The excitement off us winning the custody case in a roundabout manner was wearing off when Uncle Eden randomly showed up one day a few weeks later. It was clear even before he and Uncle Blaze sat all us kids down that something was going on. Their more serious expression showed that we were in for another blow. It didn't take too much rationalizing to figure out what it was.

     "This is about mom and the baby, isn't it?" Prism deduced knowingly the second we sat down.
     "It is. Ethereal's doctor gave her, Eden, and me the lowdown yesterday of the few choices we had left, and Ethereal chose this morning to go with the option the doctor recommended." Uncle Blaze started to explain.
     "What did she choose?" Desire wondered with a hint of dread.

Uncle Blaze opened his mouth to answer, but the words appeared to get caught in his throat. No amount of quiet coughing cleared them, so Uncle Eden answered instead.

     "They're going to force an early labor through a C-Section."

All of our expressions fell when we heard that.

      "Won't that be risky for the baby though?" I asked, "If they do it soon, that's a whole month early."
     "Thankfully, it's not as risky as it seems. It's also less dangerous than Ethereal carrying the baby to term under her current condition," Uncle Eden comforted, "The baby might have a bit of trouble breathing, eating, and gaining weight at the beginning, but it shouldn't be long before it's able to catch up to its full term peers. The probability of any real problems occurring is quite low."
     "That's good then." I said softly.
     "When are they going to do the surgery?" Desire questioned.
     "The doctor didn't want to wait long, so they'll be doing it tomorrow." Uncle Blaze answered.
     "Tomorrow!?" I exclaimed in surprise, for a different reason that what you might think.
     "But tomorrow is Valentine's Day." Desire continued along my same train of thought.

Her gaze, mine, and Prism's turned to Wisp.

     "Haha, you have to share your birthday!" Prism teased our brother, giving him a friendly punch on the arm.
     "Hey, if it means there's two cakes, then I'm not going to complain." Wisp bantered back, returning the hit.

The goofing off helped to make the situation not so bad. The news that was worse than the baby having to come early was the fact that the real threat of loss fell on mom. Her already incredibly weakened condition and still violent case of pneumonia meant a surgery like a C-Section could send things spiraling down the wrong path in an instant. Her risk of infection was high, the medicines she was on could mean she could lose too much blood, and her her lungs could fail on her among a myriad of other catastrophes. Mom had actually wanted the surgery to be today specifically so Wisp and the baby could have their own birthdays, but the doctors needed to push the C-Section back an extra day to plan for all the small details that couldn't be overlooked. Choosing to have faith in the medical staff that hadn't let our family down yet, I went over to Cerise, who puttered about sadly after the family meeting was over.

     "Everything is going to be fine." I reassured, burying her in a big hug.
     "Promise?" Cerise questioned doubtfully.
     "Promise."

Cerise didn't look convinced.

     "Mommy and Blaze promised me daddy would come back, and he hasn't come back. Now everyone's promising that mommy will come back, but what if she doesn't?" she mumbled with a sniffle, tears looming.
     "They're both going to come back. You'll see," I refused to show my hesitations again, "You're going to become a big sister tomorrow, so you gotta stay positive. I know the baby's going to be happy to meet you."
     "I want to meet the baby too." Cerise nodded in agreement, clinging onto my shirt to return my hug and put her faith in me.

I could only hope her faith wasn't misplaced.

I wanted to wait at the hospital during the surgery, but none of us were going to be able to see the baby or mom that day anyway. The doctors were going to only allow Uncle Eden and grandma and grandpa to see either, and the doctors were barely willing to risk exposing either patient to them as it was. Mom needing their support was the lone reason they were being given the privilege. The rest of us simply had to wait. Attending Wisp's birthday party helped to ease the anxiousness though. However, it wasn't so much of an organized party as it was a silent agreement of ours to head to the seasonal festival held down the street to enjoy ourselves. Wisp, Hunter, Malachite, and Cyclone took over the small ice skating rink. Aunt Purity joined them for a while as well. I took to watching. Hunter and Malachite hadn't made up as well as Rosemary and Malachite had, but it was nice to see Hunter was also being more receptive to the improved Malachite too. I wondered if they would ever foster a true brotherly relationship, but I was satisfied knowing they could at least get along.

Watching the snowboarding ramp was the much more interesting activity though. Uncle Sap and Azure, the spoiled guy, were going at it. Azure had taken trips to all the famous ski and winter resorts at least once, so he was quite adept at handling the slopes. He preferred boarding over skiing, and the preference showed. Mimosa and I stood on one side of the ramp while Holly and Midas watched from the other.

     "You should give it a try." Mimosa suggested after a few minutes of watching Azure and his father dash back and forth.
     "I should not give it a try," I denied instantly, "I don't want to put another Vivid in the hospital today."
     "You're really athletic though. I'm sure you'd be good." Mimosa gushed.
     "I'm okay at sports," I clarified, "Maybe I could be good at snowboarding, but I'm not getting on this monster ramp when I've never boarded once before."

Even the thought of trying terrified me, and Azure didn't help. He was going faster and faster, and on one particular speed by us he called out.

     "Watch this!"

Our attention centered on him, and he didn't disappoint. Azure went flying high off the ramp, spinning twice at the minimum. It happened so fast I couldn't count properly. It felt as if he was going to launch himself right into the sky and out of orbit. Or he was going to crash horribly and break a million bones when he came down. One or the other. Thankfully, the second option didn't happen. Azure naturally did drop back down, but he did it with grace and poise and a whole heap of expert balance I certainly didn't have. He continued shredding back and forth as if it was as simple as breathing. I glanced Uncle Sap's way, who was taking a break and watching at the top of the ramp, to see if he had any concerns over his son's safety, but he was clearly more confident in Azure's abilities than I was given the content look on his face.

Half an hour later and Azure was wiped. He, Uncle Sap, Midas, and Holly went off to get some hot chocolate. The second I said I didn't want any was when Mimosa grabbed me for her own. Her wanting to monopolize me wasn't unexpected. I hadn't been able to see her for a while because she had been sick, and then she hadn't been able to see me because I had been sick. We had both been hard at work catching up on missed schoolwork. It was only now when we were regaining enough free time to hang out together.

There was also another reason why I knew Mimosa wouldn't want to leave my side today. It was indeed Valentine's Day, after all. For Mimosa, it was her favorite holiday. For me, it was actually one I disliked. The idea of cherishing your romantic other wasn't a bad sentiment exactly, but I hated how the idea had become commercialized. Though I thought that, I had gone ahead and bought some simple chocolates from the drugstore for my friends. Celebrating platonic relationships wasn't as bothersome for me. However, I knew the gift Mimosa got for me was a bit different than that. She made me wait in a quiet section of the park by myself when she rushed off to get it from where I assume she left it in her parents' car.

     "I made them all myself." she beamed proudly after handing me the box.

I was left speechless when I what was inside. The were cookies, little tarts, hard sugar candies, marshmallows, chocolates, and a few other things I didn't know what to call. It was an explosion of pink, white, red, and chocolate brown in that box, and I swore my mouth began to water.

     "You seriously made these all from scratch?" I asked in amazement.
     "Yup!"
     "Incredible." I gushed, popping one of the marshmallows into my mouth before holding one out to Mimosa, "Here."
     "No, that's okay. I made them for you onl-"
     "I'll feed it to you." I offered with a hint of flair, knowing Mimosa loved mushy, sappy stuff like that.

I suppressed a laugh when her eyes lit up and she instantly opened her mouth. I fed her the marshmallow, and she looked like the happiest person alive.

With Azure's energy restored, the six of us decided to have a friendly competition. A snowman building competition to be exact. We would factor in design, speed, roundness, and creativity. Mimosa naturally stuck with me to be my partner. Holly and Rosemary always picked the other as a partner whenever they could, so that meant Midas and Azure were the other set of two. The day and the snow quality were absolutely perfect for such a competition. It wasn't too warm or too cold, and, while it was relatively sunny, the sunlight didn't glare blindingly on the snow. The snow itself was sticky and wet, meaning it was perfect for packing. There was plenty of it as well. Our teams were able to build right next to each other and not run out of material to work with.

Mine and Mimosa's snowman won for plump roundness of its spheres while Midas and Azure won for speed, and Holly and Rosemary definitely won for creativity. Me and the other three almost disqualified them for abandoning the challenge when they ran off to some nearby store for eternity, but they returned just in time with snow dye and decorations for their grim reaper man. I did admire their out-of-the-box thinking, but I wasn't quite sure if I liked the design of death given the challenge my mom had set for herself that day.

It was a challenge where she would prove just what she was made of. About two hours after our competition was when the call came. We were just about to start eating when Wisp randomly dashed away to answer his phone. He was trying to hide the conversation, which meant that we knew exactly what was going on. Mom had called Wisp the day before to tell him that his birthday present from her would have to be him getting the news of the baby's birth first. Wisp ended up being surrounded by us instead of getting to listen on his own. He did manage to keep some open space by swatting us away to arms length, but we weren't going anywhere. Wisp also couldn't keep it hidden what was the nature of the news he received. It was hardy half a minute after the call started when his neutral expression changed to one of relief and glee. My brother gave up his act after that. His cheerfulness at the information he was getting was infectious.

     "So, what is it?" Mimosa demanded to know eagerly the second the call was ended, "How did things go?"

Wisp stared at her before staring at the rest of us with a smirking grin.

     "You all knew I was going to be called to be told the information. I never said anything about sharing it with any of you." he teased.

That was met with a chorus of exasperated and annoyed grunts and cries.

     "C'mon! Don't be like that, Unc!" Azure's cry was one of the loudest.

A few of us laughed at that. Azure had taken to occasionally calling Wisp 'Unc' or 'Uncle' to tease him since back when it was revealed that, as Grandpa Glacier's biological son, Wisp was Aunt Purity's younger brother and indeed Azure's uncle by extension.

     "I suppose I can share a few details. First though, any guesses as to the gender?" Wisp continued to string us along.

A chorus of voices rang out. Both were equal in volume. I went with a girl, only because I really really wanted a brother. My intuition worked in my favor.

     "It's a girl. All green like mom wanted," Wisp revealed with a sparkle in his eye, getting some giggly squeals of excitement from the girls here, "Her name is Glade. Glade Meadow Vivid."

None of that surprised me at all. Obviously I had figured out the girl part, I didn't care one way or the other about the color, and mom had mentioned many times that 'Glade Meadow' would have been Desire's name had she come out with more green.

Wisp had some less than pleasant news to share too. Little Glade had come out with the expected problems. She was small with not a lot of chub on her, they had had trouble getting her breathing, and she would need a few weeks in the NICU before she could be brought home. Mom was the one facing the more critical problems though. Her lungs had basically given up on her during the surgery. There had been no in-between with her heart rate. It either raced like crazy or dipped down so low it terrified the doctors. Getting the bleeding to stop after the surgery had been a massive hurdle. In short, it was a big mess. Hearing all of that certainly put a damper on the party and Wisp's birthday. I know I was certainly grateful when at the end of the day a second call came from grandma and grandpa, who had given Uncle Eden relief of duty, at the hospital to let us know mom's condition had stabilized enough. She had an even longer way to go than Glade before she could come home, but she would eventually be coming home.

We were initially told we wouldn't be able to see mom for a few days, but this time it was mom who made a big fuss until she got her way. The nurses told us when we went to go sneak a peek at Glade the following afternoon that we would each be allowed to see mom in turn. One at a time and not for more than a minute, but after pretty much not being able to see her entirely for weeks on end my siblings and I would take anything we could get. I was obviously the second to last to go, and I was all sanitized and wiped clean before I was allowed to go into the isolated room mom was in. She looked fragile and weak, and the smile she tried to show me turned into a grimace as some intense pain clearly shot through her body.

     "Sorry." she spoke in a soft breath when I reached her to give her the one quick hug I was permitted to give her.
     "No, no. It's just nice to get to see you." I reassured her.
     "I'm glad to see you too," mom agreed, placing her hand against my cheek, "It feels like an eternity since I have. I hope it hasn't been hard on you."
     "I'm tough!" I boasted, only wishing how I could tell I had helped fight off three delinquents if it wouldn't have gotten me grounded for life.
     "Indeed," mom nodded, managing a smile now, "Are you upset you didn't get a baby brother?"
     "Not really. I would like one, but I'm fine with a sister. Now the boys and girls are even in number."
     "Definitely going to stay that way as well. Even if...Amaranth was here and we somehow for some reason decided we still had time for another...after this labor...hell no. No more." Mom laughed out in an exhausted breath.
     "This all makes me glad I'm not a girl." I laughed too.

The two of us exchanged a few more words, but that was it. The knock on the door came to tell me my minute was up. I snuck in an extra hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before I begrudgingly left the room.

The visit to the NICU nursery was just as unsatisfyingly satisfying as visiting with mom was. It was a relief to see mom, but seeing her only made me want to stay with her even more than I had before. Thusly, getting nothing but a long look at my new sister made me want to break through the window and cuddle her until my arms fell off. Glade, like our mom, was a trooper. The fact that she could be in the nursery and not at her own station under constant watch was proof of that. My heart skipped a bit each time I caught a glance of green on one of the babies. All of those infants were Mixed though, so we kept on going until that familiar Yonder green came into sight.

Closer to the left and in the second row. That was where Glade was. She was definitely one of the smallest babies I had ever seen in my life. Wisp had said she had cried nonstop once they got her breathing, but now she laid peacefully in her crib. I think she might have been sleeping, but it was difficult to tell. I cursed that she hadn't been placed in the front row.

     "I wanna see more!" Cerise demanded, breaking the awed silence that overcame me and the rest of my siblings.

The four of us shifted so Uncle Blaze could bring her right up to the glass. Cerise literally smushed her face as hard against the window as possible so her eyes, wide like saucers, could take everything in.

     "Was I that tiny?" she wondered.
     "No, you were nice and plump just like Coal was." Uncle Blaze said.
     "We were about this big though, right?" Prism asked.
     "Hmm, you two were a bit bigger, but not by all that much, I suppose."
     "Aww, she's seriously so adorable," Desire gushed, "I wish we could hold her. It is a nice change that she's all green too."
     "Makes me wonder what we should have been." Wisp pondered with great interest at Prism.
     "Yeah, if only Uncle Eden had saved more of that injection." Prism chuckled.

I ignored most of what they were saying. Like Cerise, I pressed myself up against that glass to get the closest look at Glade that I could. She was truly the last present dad had left us, and you can bet that meant something special to us all. I resisted the strong urge to gently tap on the glass to see if Glade was indeed sleeping. I didn't think the hospital staff would like me very much if I made all the babies in the nursery cry. I would probably get some angry parents on my case as well. So, I had to be content to get a very limited look at my sister. I was mostly just getting blanket. Cerise at least had the advantage of being higher up in Uncle Blaze's arms.

There was no doubt that I would be trailing behind whoever carried her like a shadow on the monumental day a few weeks later when she finally came home. Luckily, it wouldn't be more than a few more days when mom could come home too. I snatched up every opportunity to spend time with my new sister until then. I liked to let her grasp my finger, I would hold her whenever I could, and there was something incredibly satisfying about watching her sleep calmly.

However, it was during one of those times when the sad truth hit me once again. The puzzle mom gave dad about her pregnancy was much easier than the one mom gave me about Glade's gender, a riddle I had still not figured out even knowing the answer, but I still doubted he had figured it out in the short space of time he had before he was taken. Dad would never know he had a sixth child. A third daughter. A little girl who Uncle Eden swore was an exact copy of mom. Glade would never know dad either. Cerise most likely wouldn't remember much of dad if he wasn't meant to come home, but she would have photos and videos and stories of the two of them together. Glade had none of that. Not one memory. Not one connection.

     "It'll be alright." I whispered to her softly, reaching out but not touching her so as not to wake her.

I spoke those words because I needed the reassurance of them as much as she would someday.

     "I'm sorry you won't get to know dad, but I'll tell you lots about him, okay? Everyone tells me I'm so much like him. You can imagine me as him if you want sometimes. I don't know what you'll need when you get older, but you can come to me anytime. We've gotten through these past seven months, so we can get through anything."

My voice faltered speaking that last sentence. Seven months. Only seven months had gone by since dad disappeared and our lives changed drastically. It felt like an eternity instead, and I began to fear that would never change. The constant questioning, the constant yearning- I didn't want it. In a way, I wished Glade and I could change places. Surely it would be easier for her to not feel the pain of loss because she had never known the deep love of having that person in the first place, right? I sighed heavily.

     "It'll be alright," I repeated, going ahead and daring to rest my fingers lightly against Glade's tiny hand, "You and me, and everyone else, we'll be alright..."