Chapter 19 - The Door at the End of the Hall
Willa came home eleven weeks after her birth.
She left the NICU with follow-up appointments, feeding instructions, and a carefully written plan for emergencies.
Khloe carried her through the hospital lobby in a car seat so small it seemed made for a doll.
Marcus walked beside her with the diaper bag.
He did not touch her without asking.
At the entrance, Dr. Nair met them for a brief goodbye.
"You both have a lot to learn," she said, smiling. "That's what new parents do. Call if anything worries you."
Khloe thanked the staff by name.
She thanked the respiratory therapist who had sat with her during Willa's infection, and the nurse who had taught her to tell ordinary monitor sounds from urgent ones.
She even thanked the housekeeper who had quietly brought extra tissues on difficult nights.
Outside, the sky was pale blue.
Khloe paused before stepping into the car.
"I thought I would never get to do this," she said.
Marcus looked at Willa.
"Me too."
They had continued counseling separately.
Khloe had not promised a reconciliation, and Marcus had stopped asking for one.
He lived in an apartment fifteen minutes away and followed the parenting schedule they had made with help from their attorneys.
His consistency had begun to matter more than his apologies.
"I'm going to sleep at Mom's tonight," Khloe told him. "She wants to help with the first week."
"I'll bring the groceries tomorrow, if that's still okay."
"It is."
As she settled Willa into the car, her phone rang.
Avery was calling from the foundation.
The independent review had recommended a permanent halt to the Rossi monitoring contract and new patient-safety oversight requirements.
"There's one more thing," Avery said.
"What?"
"They want to ask whether you'll help design the replacement program."
May you like
Khloe looked down at her sleeping daughter.
For the first time since the assault, someone was asking what she wanted to build instead of what she wanted to survive.
