Then another.
And then something I hadn’t expected to hear at all.
The sound of the lock disengaging.
For a second, I didn’t move, not because I didn’t understand what had happened, but because I didn’t trust it, because the shift from “not allowed” to “go ahead” felt too sudden, too fragile, like it might be taken back if I moved too quickly.
“Go,” Whitaker said quietly.
That was all it took.
I stepped forward, my movements slower than they would have been in any other situation, as if I needed to confirm with each step that nothing was going to stop me, that the space between us was truly open now. The door gave way easily, and just like that, the barrier that had defined everything a moment ago was no longer there.
Lila was right in front of me now, close enough that I could see the details I had missed before, the faint shadows under her eyes, the way her hands adjusted instinctively around the girls, the quiet strength in her posture that hadn’t wavered despite everything.
“Careful,” she said softly, though there was a hint of a smile in her voice.
“I will,” I replied, and I meant it more than I had meant anything in a long time.
She placed one of the girls into my arms, guiding my hands slightly, and then the other, and the moment they settled against me, everything shifted in a way I can’t fully explain even now. They were lighter than I expected, warmer, their small bodies fitting against my chest in a way that felt both unfamiliar and completely right, and for a second, the rest of the world disappeared.
I closed my eyes briefly, not to block anything out, but to take it in more fully, to let the reality of it settle into something real and lasting.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered, though the words felt just as much for myself as they did for them.
One of them stirred slightly, her tiny hand brushing against my shirt, and the simplicity of that contact, something so small and ordinary, felt like everything I had been waiting for without even realizing it.
Across the room, I could feel Whitaker’s presence, still there, still watching, but no longer imposing in the same way, his usual rigidity softened by something quieter, something that suggested this moment mattered more than the rules he was supposed to enforce.
“Time,” he said eventually, though his voice lacked the firmness it had before.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and carefully handed the girls back to Lila, the separation already feeling heavier now that I knew what it was like to hold them.
The door closed again.
The lock clicked back into place.
The glass returned to its role.
