Paige's old vacuum had had a sensor on it that was red when the carpet underneath was still being cleaned, and it turned green when it went over a spot where there was nothing to pick up. She had had this new one for almost a year and for some reason hadn't realized until this afternoon that it didn't have that feature. She'd been working on the living room carpet for over ten minutes now – and she didn't have the sensor to tell her if it was clean or not; logic told her that it should have been fine minutes ago, but she was convinced that it was still dirty.

The same applied to the book case and the coffee table. She dusted almost daily, and yet looking around the living room now, she could have sworn it looked like she hadn't touched anything since Walter left.

"How am I supposed to clean this whole place by tomorrow?" She muttered to herself. She should have started yesterday. But Linda had wanted to go to lunch, and then she had to get some paperwork in to Homeland, which was due before the New Year. Logically, she wouldn't have had the time to spend a relaxing Christmas with her son, get everything else she had to get done finished with, and cleaned the condo before this afternoon.

Logically, the place didn't really need much cleaning anyway, but Paige wasn't going to claim that she was thinking logically, with the period of Walter's absence being over, less one day.

She switched off the vacuum and grabbed a can of Old English from the windowsill, spraying it onto a damp rag and beginning to shine the coffee table.

She stopped after a few seconds. She'd done this already. That's why the rag had been damp when she'd picked it up, and why the can was already out.

She let out a deep breath, directing the air upward to puff at her bangs, forgetting for a moment that she hadn't had bangs in years. She stood up, looking down. The coffee table looked fine. Pretty damn good, actually. She still couldn't say the same about the carpet. Maybe it just required fresh eyes.

"Mom?"

Just who she wanted to see. "Yeah, Ralph? Hey, can you tell me if this carpet still looks dirty? I feel like it is, but I vacuumed over it pretty…" Paige trailed off. Something was wrong. There was conflict all over his face. Her motherly instincts kicked in hard, and she felt a rush of concern. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Um, so…" He cleared his throat. "Daniel texted me, and his mom is in the hospital."

"Oh no!" Paige dropped into the chair next to her son. "Do they know what's the matter?"

"They think it's her appendix."

"Oh no," she said again. "I had mine out when you were four. Do you remember that?"

"I remember you crying a lot because we didn't have health insurance."

Paige bit her lip. "Yeah, you're right. I did do that." She fell silent a moment. "Is Daniel at the hospital?"

Ralph nodded. "Yeah. So…here's my conflict."

"Okay. Yes. Tell me."

"I think Daniel needs me. He has a former sitter of his at the hospital with them, but she and him never really got along as well as either of them would have liked."

"Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?" Paige asked. "I can. We can go right now."

"Yeah, but here's the thing. His mom is going to still be in the hospital tomorrow. She's high risk for peritonitis, he said. He's scared, and if I go there, he's going to get upset and anxious when I leave."

It only took Paige a moment to realize what her son was getting at. "And so if you go to be with Daniel, you won't be able to come with me to the airport."

Ralph nodded solemnly.

"I see what you're saying."

"I've been imagining seeing Walter again the entire time he's been gone," Ralph said. "And now he's going to be my dad, I might be…actively choosing to not be there when he comes home, and like…am I a bad son if I'm not there at the airport with you?"

"Oh, Ralphie," Paige said, reaching out and touching his face. "You're not a bad son. You could never be a bad son."

Ralph looked down. Paige wished she knew what to say to him. She'd also imagined tomorrow's reunion ever since that painful July morning when Walter had walked out of their sight. And she'd never pictured that reunion without Ralph.

But Paige knew how badly Ralph wanted to be there to welcome Walter home. And if he was willing to give that up to spend time with a friend in need, well…her son was far less selfish than his mother. And wasn't that what every parent wanted – to bring their child up to be better than they were?

She laid her hand on Ralph's leg, and waited until he lifted his head to look at her before speaking. "I'm very proud of you, Ralph. And so is Walter. You're exactly the kind of son anyone would want." She patted his knee, rising to her feet. "Pack your overnight bag. Let's go to the hospital."

One chapter left – it should be up tomorrow.