21.

The doctor did so many tests that I almost bit his head off. He shined a light in Joe's eyes and then made him drink some water to moisten his throat so that he could talk. Then, he asked him simple questions like his birthday and simple math problems and the street he'd been born on. They did a CT scan next and then made him sit up and move his arms and legs so that they could be sure his muscles hadn't deteriorated any. Then they asked him what he remembered and an agent was brought in so that they could take him through a preliminary debriefing of the events leading up to the explosion.

The whole time, I felt like I was going to explode in anticipation and joy. I almost refused to leave when they had to debrief him, but I knew that they would force me out anyway, so I left and picked up Josie, careful not to give anything away to Zach, as I had been instructed. I hated it, but orders had to be followed.

I waited in Rachel's office, since she was organizing some kind of trip for Cammie. Zach was planning on going, too, which was why he hadn't pressed me for more details when I'd picked up Josie. No one was allowed to know anything about Joe yet. Not until we were sure what was going on.

Josie fell asleep in my arms while I was pacing and I finally set her down on the couch only to continue pacing. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and so on until I was nearly dizzy.

Joe's awake. He's really awake. I watched him talk and he looked at me. He's alive. Everything's going to be okay now. What's taking so long with the debriefing?

It had been hours since I'd been asked to leave the room.

Rachel had come into her office briefly to grab some files and had left to go meet an agent somewhere nearby.

Zach was gone, off to Rome to help Cammie try to regain her memories.

The world was still spinning, people were going through their daily routines, but my entire world had been rocked.

Joe was awake.

There was a soft knock on the door and then the doctor stepped in. "Mrs. Solomon?"

I rushed to her. "How is he? Is he still awake?"

"Yes." She smiled. "We recommended rest but he refused to sleep until he'd seen you again."

I smiled back at her. "Oh, thank God." I rushed to the couch and picked up Josie, rousing her from her sleep. She didn't put up too much of a fuss, though, and was good to go after a quick diaper change.

"He's in very good condition, considering the circumstances," the doctor told me as we made our way down the hall. "His memories seem to be intact and he's given us much information about the Circle. He's very weak, as is to be expected, but he should recover quickly. His vitals are good. Anything else that I tell you would just be medical jargon, but he's going to make a full recovery, Mrs. Solomon. It's a true miracle."

We paused right outside of the door to his room.

She patted my arm. "You can go in and get some alone time with him."

"Thank you so much," I told her, my eyes filled with tears.

She nodded and inclined her head towards Josie. "I'll go and find her a bottle. Or does she only eat solid food now?"

"She still drinks some formula. She'll be wanting some soon," I said. "But she really likes Cheerios."

"I'll find some of both."

"Thank you."

The doctor disappeared and I took a deep breath before I entered Joe's room.

He was sitting up in bed, a few pillows supporting his back. His skin was pale and he was obviously tired, but he looked absolutely perfect to me.

"Joe," I breathed.

"Katelyn."

I began to cry when I heard him say my name. It had been so long and it felt so good to hear his voice again.

Joe's green eyes had fallen on the squirming five-month-old in my arms. "Is… is that…?"

I nodded and stepped closer to him. "Joe, this is your daughter. Our daughter."

He was mesmerized. Slowly, he held out his arms, almost tentatively, looking at me for permission. "Can I… can I hold her? Please?"

I nodded frantically as I walked towards the bed. "Of course you can. She's been waiting for this."

After carefully placing Josie in his arms (and after many assurances that he was holding her correctly), I sat down in the chair by the bed and watched as Joe cried softly while our daughter played with the edges of the hospital gown he wore and then his fingers, when he offered her his hand.

"What's her name?" he asked after nearly fifteen minutes of silent adoration.

"Josephine Catherine Solomon," I answered him. "Josephine for Joe and Catherine for Katelyn. But I just call her-"

"Josie," he whispered and raised one eyebrow. "Right? I remember you saying that… in something like a dream…"

I nodded, wiping away my tears. "That's right. I call her Josie."

"When was she born? I mean, exactly."

So I gave him all of the details that he wanted. The date, time, and every other detail of her birth. I told him of her love of Cheerios and about the color that I'd painted her room. On and on and on we talked, because he had so many questions.

When the doctor came in with some formula and Cheerios, Joe shyly asked if he could feed her.

"Of course," I said and quickly demonstrated the correct way to let her drink out of the bottle.

And then I watched him as he watched our daughter with all of the love in the world.

"I missed you," I whispered.

He smiled at me tenderly. "I'm so sorry."

I kissed him once, softly, sweetly. "All is forgiven."