Rose drove over to Daniella's place. On the way, she stopped at a coffee shop, where the barista recognized her and gave her a fertility doll to give to Daniella. She had gotten the directions from Will and none of the streets or the area seemed remotely familiar. Perhaps she didn't visit Daniella so much? Because she was so busy. Busy, busy, busy.

They lived in a red-brick cottage with a neatly mowed lawn. It was a family neighborhood. There was a children's swing set in the front lawn of the house next door, and a woman across the road was leaning into her car and strapping her baby into the car seat. She could hear the clamor of the television as soon as Will opened the door. "She wants it up really loud," said Will. "Be ready. If you try and turn it off, she sounds like a trapped animal. It's freaking me out. I had to sleep in the guest room last night. I don't know if she got any sleep last night."

"So what do you think is going on?" asked Rose.

Will shrugged his shoulders. "I guess she's scared she's going to lose it again. So am I. I mean, in a way, I was almost relieved when I thought the test was negative."

Rose followed Will through the house (very clean, neat, and bare; no clutter) into the bedroom, where Daniella was sitting up in bed. She was still wearing the same outfit she wore at the seminar for the butchers on Wednesday, except her hair was a tangled mess and her mascara had smudged so she had thick black shadows under her eyes.

Rose didn't say anything. She just kicked off her shoes and hopped into bed beside Daniella, pulling the covers up and putting a pillow behind her back.

Will hovered uncertainly at the door. "Okay," he said, "I'll be working on the car."

"Okay," Rose smiled at him.

Rose glanced at Daniella's profile. Her face was set, her eyes fixed on the television. Rose stayed silent. She couldn't think of the right thing to say. Maybe just being there would be enough.

Rose watched TV, and her mind began to drift. She thought about this strange little period of time when she woke up in the hospital last week. It was like this past week and a half had been a vacation in an exotic destination that required the learning of unusual new skills. So many things had happened. Seeing Jack and Emma again. Meeting the children. The trip to the dance contest.

Finally, she felt Daniella stir next to her. Rose held her breath.

Daniella said irritably, "Don't you have things to do?"

"Nothing more important than this."

Daniella grimaced and pulled at the blanket so it came away from Rose's legs. Rose pulled it back over her.

The movie finished and Daniella changed the channel to another movie. Rose felt like another coffee. She wondered if it would break the moment, whatever this moment was, if she went to the kitchen to get a cup to bring back to bed. And what she would do for a coffee from that place from before.

The coffee place.

Rose dived for her hand back, which she'd left on the floor next to the bed and rummaged through it. She'd pulled out the fertility doll and carefully placed it on the sheets between herself and Daniella. More time passed and Daniella said, "Okay, what is that thing?"

"It's a fertility doll," said Rose. "The guy from the coffee place gave it to me to give to you."

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"I don't know, you could bring it sacrificial offerings?" Daniella rolled her eyes. There was a glimmer of a smile.

"It would be born in January," she said. "If it…"

"Well, that seems like a good time to have a baby," said Rose. "It wouldn't be too cold when you got up in the night to feed."

"There won't be any baby," Daniella said viciously.

"We could ask my dad to put in a good word for you," said Rose. "He was like your father too. He must be able to pull some strings up there."

"Do you think I didn't ask your dad with the other pregnancies?" said Daniella. "I prayed to the lot of them. Jesus. Mary. Saint Gerard. He's meant to be the patron saint of fertility. None of them listened. They're ignoring me."

"Dad wouldn't be ignoring you," said Rose, and her father's face was suddenly clear in her mind. So often she could only remember the face that appeared in photos, not the face from her own memory. "Maybe he's got to deal with a lot of bureaucrats in Heaven."

"I don't think I believe in life after death anyway," said Daniella. "I used to have these romantic ideas about your dad taking care of my lost babies, but then it got out of hand. he'd be running a whole bloody day care center."

"At least it would take his mind off of the fact that my mother tortured us."

This time, Daniella definitely smiled. She let a few minutes pass, and she spoke again. "I feel really angry. I can't tell you how angry I feel."

"Okay," said Rose.

More silence.

"We've wasted the last ten years trying to create a life for ourselves, just a standard suburban life with kids. That's all we've been doing - we haven't been actually living - and now this will put everything on hold for a few months longer until I lose it, ad then I'll have to get over that, and then Will will be at me to fill the adoption papers out, and everyone will be all enthusiastic and supportive. 'Oh, yes, adoption, how lovely!' And they'll expect me to forget this baby."

"You might not lose it," said Rose. "You might actually have this baby."

"Of course I'm going to lose it. All I need to do is pretend I'm not pregnant, so that if I lose it, it won't hurt as much. And then I think, Okay, just be hopeful! Assume it will work. But then every moment I'm scared. Every time I go to the bathroom I'm scared of seeing blood. Every time I go to the doctor I'm scared of seeing their faces change. You're not meant to worry, because stress is bad for the baby. But how can I not worry?"

"Maybe you could delegate the worrying to me," said Rose. "I could worry all day long for you! I'm an excellent worrier, you know that."

Daniella smiled and looked back at the television. "I'm sorry I cut you off after you forgot about my miscarriage. I shouldn't have. It's really my fault we drifted."

Rose moved closer to Daniella so their thighs were touching. "Well, let's drift back."

"I'm going to lose this baby," said Daniella.

Rose put a hand over Daniella's belly.

"I'm going to lose this baby," said Daniella again, her voice quivering.

Rose put her face down close. She said, "Come on, little godson or daughter. Why don't you stick around this time? Your mom has been through so much for you."

Daniella stood up and turned off the television. She sat back down, and began to cry.