"My flight got pushed back until tomorrow," Nomura didn't move, arms still raised above her head, "I figured you wouldn't mind me crashing here for tonight. Your turn. Explain."

"I couldn't find Loraine a room for tonight so I offered to let her stay here vviz me. We decided zat it vvould be easier to just keep it zis vvay until it's time to got home," Otto went over and put the food away.

Nomura sat on the back of the sofa, "Alright. And how long are you staying?"

"As long as needed."
Loraine watched the exchange from her spot by the door, suitcase held tightly in front of her. Nomura quirked an eyebrow at her older brother before turning.

"So, you're Loraine?"
She nodded stiffly.

"Relax a bit. I don't bite, you know."

"VVhy don't you go put your zings in ze bedroom? I'll finish getting dinner ready."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Loraine picked up the rest of her bags.

"Yes. Now go. Before Nomura eats all the fortune cookies."

"Hey!"

Loraine chuckled and went into the room. Otto suitcases were settled neatly on one side of the room. She sighed and leaned back against the door. She slid to the floor and pulled her hands over her ears. She was shaking. Her heart was racing.

"Wrong…" She whimpered, "It's wrong…He-He shouldn't be-"

The creaked open slowly and Nomura stepped in. She quickly closed the door behind her and knelt in front of Loraine.

"Hey. Look at me."

Loraine forced herself to look up and into the other woman's green eyes.

"Good. Now, deep breath. Hold it," She held up one finger, "Blow out the candle."

Loraine blew on the finger until Nomura pulled it back.

"Better?"

Loraine nodded. Her heart was still pounding and her stomach was still churning but she could think more clearly.

"H-How did you do that?"

Nomura sat against the wall beside her, "My brothers and I all have training for how to deal with anxiety attacks and panic attacks. Mama insisted when we each turned sixteen. It's come in handy a lot since we started Janis Initiative."

They were silent for a moment.

"I don't like that I can't be with him. He's there and I'm here and it just feels wrong."

"I know. I can't say I know what you're going through. But I do understand being separated from your family, somewhere strange, and scared shitless...It's not easy at first. But it gets easier. Especially once you realize that you're not alone."

Loraine gave her a shaky smile and took another deep breath.

Nomura got to her feet, "Come on. Let's get you unpacked so we can eat. Otto's got everything ready and I don't know about you, but I don't like cold take out."

Loraine nodded and took the offered hand. They got her sparse clothes organized into one drawer of the hotel dresser and the supplies for Eli by 'her side' of the bed. Only then did they return to the main room. Otto grinned at them.

"Zere you are! Do you vvant chopsticks or a fork?"

"Um, fork."

Otto nodded and handed her a plate and fork. Then, he took his own plate and sat at the small table in the corner. Loraine and Nomura joined him. They ate in a strange silence. Not entirely uncomfortable, but not a calm or comfortable silence either. Nomura looked between the other two.

"So, you hear from Walt today?"

Otto didn't look up, "Not yet. He'll probably call vvhen it's time to put Toby to bed."
Loraine lowered her fork and looked at her watch, "Eight o'clock in Arcadia is four in the morning here."

"Ja," Otto smiled and nodded, "But Toby vvon't sleep ozervvize. He's only zree monts old. He doesn't understand 'time zones'. Or sleep zrough ze night yet for zat matter. It vvill keep me in practice for vvhen I get back."

Loraine felt an odd twisting in her stomach. Just moments ago she had broken down after being away from Eli for a couple hours. Otto had been away from Toby for weeks. Had he broken down at any point? Had he worried that his baby would be ok without him?

A large, warm hand grabbed her own dragging her from her thoughts. Otto had stopped eating and had fixed her with a concerned look.

"Are you ok? You zoned out a bit zere."
"Y-Yeah. I was just thinking."

Otto nodded, "VVhy don't you go to bed? It's late und vve have to be up early tomorrow."

She nodded mutley and got up. After dumping what was left of her food into the trash, she went to the bedroom and grabbed her pajamas out of her suitcase. She had every intention of taking a very hot shower. To try and wash her worries down the drain.

At first, she didn't care how hot the water was. But as time passed, she found herself turning it down. This was the first proper shower she had had in nearly a month. Why waste it?

She used the good shampoo and conditioner they had bought and scrubbed herself down with the hotel soap and washcloth. If you had told her a year ago that she would miss shaving; she would have called you a liar. She relished it, even though she had to sit down to shave her legs.

Only once she decided she was sufficiently clean did she turn off the water. The hotel towel was rough against her reddened skin as she dried off. She wrapped her hair before pulling the nightdress over her head. Like the rest of her clothes, it was a size or two to large, considering it was a maternity dress.

Letting down her hair, Lorain turned to the mirror.

"Ugh. I am looking rough," She mumbled to herself.

Shaking her head, she reached for the leave in conditioner. She combed out her hair with a wide toothed comb and carded in her conditioner, scrunching to encourage the curls. Having finished her routine, she took a deep breath and hung up her towel.

Otto and Nomura were still awake and talking quietly. Loraine crept back to the bedroom as quietly as possible.

"I promise, Otto. You haven't missed anything. Except for a few hundred diapers."

Loraine stopped. She turned to try and see who they were talking to. The siblings were seated side by side on the sofa, Otto's laptop open in front of them.

"I just can't wait to meet the little trolls!" Nomura practically squealed.

"Well, Toby will probably be asleep but Jim should be awake."

Their brother. That had to be who they were talking to.

"I have to be getting these two to bed," The brother said, "Otherwise Barbara and I will never get to sleep tonight."

"Alright. Zanks again," Otto sounded sad.

Loraine turned and went back into the bedroom. Her heart was pounding again. She took a deep, shaking breath before going to bed. She wouldn't be able to take care of Eli if she was falling asleep.

Otto and Loraine arrived at the hospital before visiting hours officially started.

"I guess I was a little eager to get back to Eli," Loraine hung her head.

She had gotten up early and, more or less, roped Otto into going with her.

"Zat's alright," Otto was way too cheerful for this early in the morning, "VVe can look in the gift shop und get somezing to eat vvhile vve vait. Und zere are some zings vve still need to talk about."

Loraine nodded and followed him into the gift shop. She mostly just puttered around, not really looking at anything. She did look at the preme onesies available there but wrinkled her nose. Every single one of them said some variation of 'early bird' on it.

She found Otto at the sunglasses rack, a bright blue pair over his round glasses. He must have heard her chuckle because he turned and tilted his head like a confused puppy. That made her laugh outright. He grinned, gold tooth catching the light.

"Find anyzing you wanted?" He asked.

Loraine shook her head, "Not really. There's no variety in the preme onesies and everyth-"

She trailed off, looking at a row of disposable cameras. Otto lifted the sunglasses and balanced them on top of his head.

"Do you vvant to get a camera?"

She bit her lip and nodded. Otto put the sunglasses back on the rack. He grabbed one of the cameras and took Loraine's hand. She looked down at their hands. It didn't feel wrong but...she didn't quite have words for it. Otto didn't hesitate to pay for the camera and open it for her.

"Zere vve go," He handed it to her, "All ready. Visiting hours still aren't for a vvhile. Is zere anyzing else you would like to do vvhile vve vvait?"

Loraine fiddled with the camera, "We should probably eat. We didn't at the hotel and I don't think I'm going to want to leave him much today."

Otto nodded and, taking her hand once more, lead her over to a small cafe down the hall. As much as she hated to admit it, the warm belgan waffle felt really good after the light meals she had become used to. Still, she ate quickly. She didn't want to still be eating when visiting hours started.

"You can slow down just a little," Otto assured her, "Zere's still fifteen minutes."

Loraine felt her cheeks warm.

"Und, I vvasn't joking vvhen I said zere vvere some zings vve still need to talk about. Just a few questions for now."

She sat back. It was probably important for Janis Initiative to know about her situation but her stomach churned at the thought of telling anyone anything more.

"You don't have to answer all of the right now, "Otto assured her, "But I need to know for ze papervvork how much vve need to change."

Loraine sat back and nodded slowly, her voice failing her.

"Does he know about Eli?"

Fear gripped her heart. She shook her head.

"N-No. I don't think so. I-I left the day I found out I was pregnant. So, unless he found out after I left, he shouldn't know."
Otto nodded slowly, "Ok. If he did, vve vould have had to change his name as vvell and I know zat you're very attached to it. How did you manage to decide? I assume you chose your father's name?"

He was trying to distract her, she could tell. To put her more at ease about the questions. With a small smile, she pulled the handkerchief from her pocket.

"You left this behind. Otto E. Scaarbach."

Otto took the handkerchief and looked down at his initials embroidered into it.

"It was between Elijah, after my father, and Antonio, after my mother Antonia."

Otto looked more distracted now. Still looking at the cloth in his hands.

"Zat's funny. Ze-Ze 'E' stands for Elias. It vvas my Vater's name."

"What a coincidence…"

"Ja…" Otto shook his head and handed her back the handkerchief, "Ok. Just vvone more for now. Do you vvant to tell your sister?"

Her mind went blank. She hadn't even thought about Maranda since Eli was born.

"Can I get back to you on that one? I haven't really had time to think about it. I mean, if you say I could live in Arcadia then I would have to tell her something. Right?"

"Zat is completely up to you. Perhaps we can talk about it more later. Now, visiting hours start in two minutes. Just enough time to get to the NICU."

Loraine shoved the last of her waffle in her mouth, grabbed his hand, and all but dragged him down the hall. A couple other parents were waiting as well.

"Good morning, Loraine, Otto," Yavaine waved as they approached.

"Good morning, Yavaine. No Tristan this morning?"

"He had to go back to work and Will had school. Tristan will bring him and Anna when he gets off work."

Loraine nodded slowly. She had forgotten that it was Monday. Before she had too much time to think about it, though, a nurse opened the door and waved everyone in. She forced herself to walk slowly.

It shouldn't have surprised her that Eli was still sleeping. She slipped her hands into the unit and stroked his head. Otto stepped up to her side.

"Guten Morgen, Eli."

The baby kicked slightly in his sleep. Loraine chuckled. She pulled out her hands and lifted her camera. Putting a finger over the flash, she snapped a picture of Eli. She wound the film and set the camera on her chair before turning back to her son. The dark haired woman reached into her son's unit and gave him a hand hug. One of the nurses was headed their way.

"How was he last night?"

The nurse smiled, "He was up twice for diaper and again not long ago simply because he wanted to be awake. He was dry and with the feeding tube, he shouldn't be hungry."

Loraine nodded.

"And how were you last night? It was your first night away from him, correct?"

She nodded, "Yes. I-I was a wreck, I'll be honest. I would have been much worse if it wasn't for Otto and his sister."

It was the nurse's turn to nod, "Yeah, friends and loved ones can be a real help with all of this."

SHe finished checking Eli's monitors and smiled, making notes on his clipboard before continuing to the next unit. Otto looked at the clipboard and smiled up at Loraine.

"He's doing really vvell," he said, turning his gaze to the baby, "Really vvell. Und he's gaining vveight fast."

Loraine smiled proudly at her son. He cooed and grabbed onto her finger.

Loraine was antsy as she made dinner. Otto was sitting at the table, typing away on his laptop.

"Loraine?" He looked up, "I do have some more questions for you. VVe have plenty of time so vve can do zis later. But ze sooner vve do it ze sooner it's out of ze vvay."

Loraine stood at the counter for a moment. She pressed her hands against the cheap veneered wood, willing herself to stop shaking. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright. W-What do you want to know?"

Otto took out a pen and pulled up a notebook, "Just some information for your cover. VVe don't have everyzing for Janis Initiative set up in Arcadia yet but vve can at least get started."

Lorraine nodded and sat next to him, "Alright. Let's do this."

Otto smiled and pat her hand, "First of all, do you vvant any say in your new name? VVe could make it 'Lorin' like vvhen vve first met."

"No! No. I used Lorin a lot while I was...traveling."

"Ah. Ok. A completely new name, zen. Perhaps somzing similar to your current name? But different enough zat no vvone vvill question it."

Silence hung over them for a moment as they thought.

"What about 'Lenora'? Different enough that no one will question but similar enough that I'll still look when I hear it."

Otto grinned and wrote down the name, "Lenora. Very pretty! Now, vvhat about a last name?"

Lorraine looked around the room. With a small smile she went over to the guest book and ran her finger down the list of names.

"Janeth. Lenora and Eli Janeth."

Otto wrote it down as well, "Zat vvorks. At leat vve know it's a real name. Any degrees you vvould like to keep?"

"My teaching license," For once she didn't hesitate, "I would like to go back to teaching when Eli's ready."

Otto nodded, "Are you opposed to being born in New Jersey? VVe can say you did a lot of traveling to explain vvhy you don't have an accent."

"That's fine. And you said that you can make it say Eli was born in Arcadia?"

"Yes. I've already begun vvorking on his documents. He vvas born full term on ze day he vvas really born but he vvas sick und spent ze same amount of time in Arcadia hospital's NICU. My sister-in-law is doing her residency zere und vvill vouch as a vvitness."

Lorraine nodded and took a deep breath. She was still antsy. Still nervous. But, somehow, talking about it made it all feel a little better.

"I'm only going to ask you vvone more question tonight. I know zis may be hard to answer but vve do need to know."

She felt unese settle back into her stomach as she sat back down. Otto made a note on his paper and licked his lips.

"Loraine, vve need to know his name und vvhat he looks like. Und...und vvhy you are hiding from him. Just so vve know vvhat he is capable of."

Lorraine suddenly felt very cold. She knew she was shaking again. She looked down at her hands. Otto took them gently in one of her own.

"Just like earlier, you don't have to answer right now. VVe just need to know so vve know vvhat to look out for. How best to protect you."

She nodded slightly. Otto squeezed her hands before getting up and going to the counter. He finished making dinner and set a plate in front of Loraine.

"VVhy don't you eat und get some sleep. VVe can talk about zis anozer day."

He closed his laptop and set his plate down. They ate in silence for a bit. Lorraine finished her food quickly and went to get ready for bed. Otto watched her go before picking up his plate and moving to do the dishes. He noticed his notebook had been flipped over.

Casting a glance toward the bedroom, he flipped it back.

"Roland," Was written in elegant, curling writing.

He sighed, put the notebook back, and continued with the dishes. Lorraine stepped up to his side, now dressed in her pajamas. She took the cheap dishes and a hotel towel and dried while Otto washed. He watched her out the corner of his eye.

"VVhat did you teach?"

"What?"

"You said you vvere a teacher. VVhat did you teach?"

"I thought you said no more questions tonight."

"I'm not asking as Janis Initiative. I'm asking as Otto. As a friend."

Lorraine looked at him and nodded, "Math. Math and Theater at Arcadia Oaks High School. I had only been there a couple of years."

Otto turned so fast, they both heard his neck crack.

"You. You vvere ze zeater director. Zen...I arrived just after you left."

It was her turn to turn, "What?"

"I am ze new music teacher at Arcadia Oaks High School. VValt,,,He mentioned zat ze zeater director vvas excited to know zat zere-"

"Would be someone teaching the orchestra and who could actually play the piano. Y-Your Walter Strickler's brother?"

Otto nodded, jaw hanging open, "Mein Gott...He...Zey vvere so vvorried."

She hung her head in shame. She hadn't intended to stay away as long as she had. But things had quickly gotten out of hand.

"VValt's going to be ecstatic zat vve found you!" Otto's entire demeanor shifted from shock to elation, "I don't zink he's realized zat you are you!"

Lorraine could only nod. If her coworkers were this worried about her, what was her sister doing?