"I don't know why I let you talk me into this," Wren grumbled to her friend, Iceas. The two young women were part of a group who'd volunteered to visit a rehabilitation center where injured veterans were receiving physical therapy.

"What's wrong?" asked Iceas.

"This is just so depressing," Wren replied. "It's not like I want to do this as a career or anything."

"Just think about how depressing it is for the people who have to stay here all the time," Iceas pointed out. "I'm happy for the chance to help bring a little joy into their lives. Aren't you?"

"I guess so." Wren looked around balefully at the stainless steel equipment, the bars, wheelchairs, and other devices, the young men with various disabilities who were using them. Suddenly her eyes fell on a dark-haired young man of about twenty-five. His face had been severely burned, and one of his eyes was obviously a prosthetic. Both his legs had been amputated above the knee. A wave of revulsion mixed with pity swept over her, but in the next moment, the young man smiled at her; the warmest, friendliest smile she'd ever seen.

"Hi! I'm Trey," he told her.

"I'm Wren." Somehow she found her feet moving in his direction. He held out a hand to her, and she shook it. It was warm and firm.

"It's very nice to meet you," he told her. "I don't see very many pretty faces around here."

Ordinarily Wren would have been offended by his comment, but for some reason, she found that it charmed her instead. "I'm a student at the university," she told him.

"That so? I was a soldier in Afghanistan. Until a few months ago," he added wryly, glancing down at his stumps.

"How did it happen?" she asked.

"An explosive device detonated below me while I was on foot patrol," he told her. "The army doc told me I was lucky to be alive, but I don't feel so lucky."

"That must have been very painful."

"I don't remember a bit of it," he replied. "One minute I was walking around doing my usual thing, and the next, I was lying in the hospital with bandages all over me."

"I'm awfully sorry." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yeah. Well." He gave a weak smile. "I suppose I'll get out of here eventually. Say, you got a boyfriend?"

"Not anymore." She wrinkled her nose. "He just dumped me after three years of being together."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," said Trey.

"What about you? Are you married or in a relationship?"

"I was engaged," Trey replied. "We were gonna get married after I got back from Afghanistan. I never heard a word from her after my accident. My sister wrote and told me she's involved with my best friend back home now."

"I'm sorry." Wren felt terribly awkward.

"It's all right," Trey said bravely. "It just wasn't meant to be, I guess. Say, can you stay for awhile? I was thinking maybe we could have lunch together or something."

As Thanksgiving approached, Robin's thoughts turned to her mother. Every year at this time, it had been her, Wren, Helen, and sometimes Aunt Mari. What would it be this year? Her, Bailey, Paul, and Susan? Although she'd grown to care for them all very much, she had, after all, known them for less than a year. She'd known Wren, Helen, and Aunt Mari for her entire life.

"Why don't you give her a call?" asked Danny. The two of them were strolling hand in hand at the park.

"She never wants to see me again!" Robin objected. "She hates me and blames me for Bruce's death."

"It's been a couple of months," Danny reminded her. "She's had some time to think it over. Maybe she's had a change of heart."

Robin shook her head. "There would be no use in going back to her. She'd only throw me out again."

"You don't know that for sure," Danny replied. "Would you like for me to go with you?"

"She always liked you,' said Robin. "But of course she doesn't know you're back."

Danny grinned. "So there will be that as an ice breaker."

"An ice breaker?" Suddenly Robin was giggling uncontrollably, and Danny joined in.

"Let's go," he said, taking her hand again.

Helen threw the door open as soon as they knocked. "Oh, Robin!" she cried, immediately grasping her daughter in a warm embrace. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Robin was too startled to say anything for a moment.

"It turned out that he wasn't what I thought he was after all," Helen continued. "After he killed himself, I was going through his things and found stacks and stacks of child pornography magazines. Stacks of them, Robin. Pictures of girls who couldn't have been any older than twelve or thirteen doing disgusting things." She took a deep breath. "I thought he was so perfect at first, so loving and caring and sweet. He had me completely fooled. When it came out what he'd done to you, I simply refused to believe it. I can't believe I listened to him over my own child. I can't begin to describe how I felt when I was forced to confront the evidence of who he really was. I wanted so badly to find you and tell you how sorry I was, but I was afraid you'd really hate me after what I'd done."

"I was afraid you still hated me," Robin finally managed to say.

"Of course not, sweetheart," Helen replied. "I love both you and Wren with all my heart. You two are all I have left. I'd love to have you come back home...if you're willing."

"I live with this really nice family now, Mom. The Andersons. Their own daughter died almost two years ago. They've been really good to me. I'd hate to just leave them."

"Could you at least come for Thanksgiving? Wren and Mari both said they'd be here."

"Of course I will, Mom."

It was then that Helen noticed Danny for the first time. "Who's your friend? He looks just like Danny Greer!"

"He is Danny Greer, Mom. He came back."

"But that's impossible! This is a joke, right?"

"It's no joke, Mrs. Cartwright." Danny smiled. "I came back for Robin because she needed me."

"So there really is an afterlife, then."

"Of course there is. How could you ever doubt it?"

"And you knew what was going on with Robin."

"Of course I did."

"Then you must really hate me for what I did to her."

"Of course I don't. You love Bruce and so you couldn't accept that he'd really done what he did, so you blamed Robin for what happened, because at the time, there was no other alternative."

Helen slowly nodded. "You sound so mature, Danny. Nothing at all like the boy you used to be."

Danny laughed. "The things I've been through tend to do that to a person."

To Robin's surprise, Helen laughed as well. "I'm sure they do. Please say you can stay awhile. The three of us just have so much to talk about.'