Sabrina folded her arms, staring at the now-empty corner of her counseling room. Sighing, she rolled her stiff shoulders – the furniture that Adrien and Marinette had picked out for her was nice, but it was very heavy. "Are you sure I should be doing this?" she asked Nooroo, quirking an eyebrow at the Kwami floating beside her. "It could cause problems, don't you think?"

"It is up to you," Nooroo squeaked. "But you may find that you need something here to watch the baby, even with all the options you have available."

Sabrina nodded in acknowledgment, looking back down at the small playpen crib that now took up one corner of the room. The warm color scheme matched that of the office, at least, but it did leave her chair and desk a little more cramped than they had been before. The other side of the room might have given a little more space… but that was where the window was, and where the counselees would sit. According to all the books she had read, this was the best setup to help her clients feel comfortable and at home, without feeling squeezed into a corner. She frowned. "Maybe I need it," she allowed, pursing her lips. "But at the same time, I would feel nervous having my baby in the room while I'm trying to counsel someone. What if the baby starts to cry or needs to be fed? What if the person isn't comfortable with the baby in the room?" She stifled a humorless laugh. "None of the books said what to do in this particular situation…"

Nooroo hummed, inclining his head toward her. "You still have time to decide what to do," he reminded her. "And this is only a backup plan."

Sabrina let out a breath. "I know. Between Mom, Emilie, Claudie, Chloe, Marinette, Alya, Mylène…" She shook her head in amusement, thinking back on the lunch with Ivan and Mylène over the weekend, after the wedding. Nooroo had been almost vibrating when he confirmed Sabrina's suspicions. "Even Amelie and Bri and Anne. I know we won't be lacking for babysitters. I hope."

Nooroo raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you volunteering?" Sabrina asked him, suppressing a smile. "I'm sure you and Kaalki could keep an eye on her!"

Nooroo huffed and folded his arms. "I would watch him… but Kaalki refuses to help."

"I would have thought that she could just phase her tail out of the baby's grasp," Sabrina pointed out.

Nooroo sighed. "I will watch her while you are busy, of course, Mistress," he promised. "And the baby," he added.

Sabrina giggled, one hand on her stomach, and opened her mouth to respond. Before she could say anything, however, she felt two familiar sets of emotions suddenly appear in the hallway outside her counseling room, as if from nowhere. With a faint whoosh, the portal closed behind them, though Sabrina could still hear soft conversation in the background. Sighing, she glanced up at the clock and turned toward the door. "I suppose we ought to see how they are doing," she called over her shoulder. Flitting quickly after her, Nooroo alit on Sabrina's shoulder and nodded.

The door to the hall closet shut with a soft click, as the lock activated. "So where do we go from here?" Philippe was asking, just as Sabrina stepped out into the hallway.

"Right down here!" she called, smiling brightly and beckoning them. "Although if you would like a drink, you can help yourself to water, tea, coffee, or even some sodas, all in the kitchen at the other end of the hall, opposite the waiting room." Freezing in place, Philippe's emotions shifted through surprise into worry and finally to embarrassment. Beside him, Nadine half-jumped as she turned in Sabrina's direction, but her lips parted in a smile the moment she saw her. Sabrina held out a hand, giving Nadine a quick hug. "How are you both doing today?"

Nadine grinned, though Sabrina could still sense the tension and anxiety buried just below the surface of her emotions. "I'm doing fantastic!" Nadine assured her, nodding a little too eagerly. "Super. Perfect."

Philippe folded his arms, a troubled look in his eyes, and gave Nadine a worried look.

Sabrina sighed. "You know I can tell that's not entirely the case," she told her gently. "I can feel how anxious you are." She raised an eyebrow at Nadine meaningfully. "Is this anxiety what brought you here today?"

Philippe let out a breath and nodded, rubbing circles on Nadine's shoulder blade with his thumb. "There's… a lot of stress coming up," he explained, looking down at the floor. His shoulders slumped. "I'm…" He turned his gaze on Nadine for a moment and pulled her into a closer hug. "I'm worried it might be too much for Nadine to deal with on her own. Especially so soon after… well…"

"Lila?" Sabrina supplied.

Nadine flinched.

Sabrina drew in a slow, deep breath, focusing on the anxiety pouring off of Nadine – so much stronger than the last time she had seen her, at the wedding. Inhaling, Sabrina pulled the emotions away from Nadine; exhaling, she released them into the atmosphere around her. Nadine's breathing hitched, her eyes widening. Sabrina sighed. "It's okay," she assured Nadine, keeping her voice low and soothing. "Lila is not going to hurt you again. You are safe now." She furrowed her brows, observing Nadine carefully. "You know," she began slowly, "I saw you at the wedding." Nadine cocked her head to one side. Sabrina smiled. "I wanted to go and say hi, but there was just so much else happening. Your dress looked really pretty, though."

Nadine perked up, smiling. "Thanks! And I loved your dress, too – especially the way that it moved when you and Max were dancing."

Sabrina waved a hand dismissively. "What I did hardly qualified as 'dancing,'" she told her. "I was just swaying a little in time with the music; you were far more graceful than I was."

Nadine shrugged. "If I were, well, like you…"

"Pregnant?" Sabrina arched an eyebrow at her.

Nadine nodded. "If I were in your situation, I don't know if I would have been able to dance any better than you did."

"Oh, I'm sure you would be," Sabrina told her. "I haven't been doing gymnastics for a decade!" Nadine's smile froze, her anxiety spiking. Sabrina's eyes widened, and her stomach clenched with guilt. "Nadine?" she asked hesitantly. Nadine looked up at her, rousing herself slowly. "Does talking about gymnastics bring up bad memories?" Sabrina asked gently.

Nadine sighed. "Not as bad as it was," she admitted. "But it does some." Her shoulders relaxed the slightest bit. "Being able to be la Gymnaste again, as a hero this time, has really helped with it, though."

Sabrina put a hand on her shoulder. "You absolutely are a hero," she assured her. "Lila did not define you."

Nadine smiled. "I know!"

Taking in Nadine's infectious enthusiasm, Sabrina smiled in response. "So, tell me about what brought you here today," she instructed her.

Nadine's emotions shifted to guilt and embarrassment.

Sensing the change in her emotions, Sabrina gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay to be afraid when changes happen," she assured her. "Especially unexpected changes coming so quickly on the heels of more change. Things have been happening quickly this summer, haven't they?" Nadine nodded, sniffling. "And they've all been good changes, I think," Sabrina continued. "At least since you got away from Lila. But it's still change, and it will take some getting used to. But that's why I'm here. Why don't you both come in here and we can discuss it together?"

Nervously, Nadine followed Sabrina into the office, with Philippe close behind them. Sitting in her accustomed chair and adjusting her posture slightly to be more comfortable, Sabrina focused her gaze on Nadine, taking in the way that she and Philippe sat together on the couch, Nadine leaning into him as he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and gently squeezed her hands. Philippe's emotions betrayed worry, fear, anxiety; Nadine's were filled with the same, along with a hint of guilt.

Sabrina nodded to herself and leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. "Let's start with what's going on," she instructed them. "I sense a lot of worry; you said that there's a lot of stress coming up. Can you tell me that that's about?"

Nadine tensed. Rubbing her back, Philippe grimaced. "Ivan and Mylène said that we would have to move out and find our own apartment after Christmas," he explained. Sabrina nodded in understanding. "I think that's the biggest thing. Nadine had been doing so well while we were staying with them, but now it's another change, coming so quickly after we rescued her and got her into this safe place to begin with."

"I don't want to go," Nadine murmured, looking down at the floor. "I – I thought that Mylène wanted us there, that we could stay as long as we wanted." She blinked several times. "Did–did I do something wrong?"

Sabrina cocked her head to one side in surprise. "Why do you think you might have done something wrong?"

Nadine shrugged. "I–I thought Mylène liked me, that she was my friend. But now she's saying I have to leave."

"And because you are friends, you had hoped that you would be able to stay there as long as you needed?" Sabrina finished, humming. Nadine nodded. Sabrina tapped her chin. "Do you have to be living with someone for them to be your friend?"

Nadine shook her head. "No."

"That means you don't have to be living with Ivan and Mylène for them to be your friends," Sabrina pointed out.

"I know…" Nadine's shoulders slumped. "It's just – it's a change. And I don't think I'm ready for more change."

Sabrina sighed. "Sometimes, change is necessary for us to grow. You could stay with Ivan and Mylène while you were recovering from what had happened. But now you can move out with Philippe, find your own apartment, and try to have some more independence." Sabrina smiled. "You are going to change. You are going to grow. You are going to get even better. This is just one step of that process."