Mom and Oliver were staying for awhile. It made sense to me, what with Olivia gone and Daniel so sick. He'd gone back into the hospital the day after Olivia's trial and the prognosis wasn't good.

"He has pleurisy, infection of the bronchioles and inner lung sacs, and he's in respitory failure." Kerry faced us with the grim news.

Maggie stood at the door of Daniel's isolation room, her fingertips on the glass, peering in at her beloved brother. "Go in?" she asked.

"No, you can't go in, Maggie," I answered. "Daniel has to be alone."

"No one should have to be alone," she countered.

Jacob took her hand. "I won't let you be alone, Maggie."

"Thank you, Jacob."

And thank you, Barry Manilow, for Maggie's comment.

Luka and I retreated with Jacob into the waiting room. Maggie refused to leave Daniel's door. I don't know why. Perhaps because she thought he would die without her.

The hours stretched on as we waited for some change. Luka began his rounds; he was on at 2:30. Jacob went up to the geriatric ward and played some ragtime for the old folks. Mom and Oliver came, and tried to console me. But I knew the truth. Olivia was gone, Daniel was dying, Maggie was crazy, and Jacob was… well, he was Jacob.

"Abby," Lydia said.

I sat up. "Yeah?"

I followed her out into the hallway where the isolation room was. Maggie was lying on the bed next to Daniel. "Oh," I breathed, getting angry. Maggie never deliberately disobeys an adult unless she feels it's absolutely necessary.

"Shh, it's okay," Lydia said. "Don't wake them." Both were fast asleep.

Daniel was moved to the pulmonary unit. Since no one could get Maggie to wake up and leave him, she went with him. I took Jacob home, and Mom and Oliver stayed with Maggie and Daniel.

"Danny's not coming home, is he?" Jacob asked.

"No," I said without even thinking. "No, I don't think he is." And then I gasped at what I had said.

"It's okay, Mom," Jacob said, and hugged me.

I started to cry.

Daniel Xavier Alexander Kovac drew his last, labored breath on January 7th, at 10:21 am. His sister, Maggie, was with him at the very end. So was Jacob. Olivia was not there. According to Alanna Madison, however, she could come to the funeral.

"Bye, Danny," Maggie said quietly, and kissed his forehead. She was very calm… too calm.

"Bye, Danny," Jacob repeated, crying into my skirt.

All those years I watched children dying had never prepared me for this: the death of my own child. And someday, maybe, I would watch Maggie, Jacob, and Olivia die.

Luka held me, and let me cry. Jacob cried with us. Maggie ran out of the room as soon as the nurses came in.

We had hit rock bottom.

The only way to go was up.