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two men in black
uniforms arrived. In a few minutes, they escorted the camera crew
off the floor. When the camera crew got close to them, He-Man told
them to turn away. The camera crew didn’t notice them. When they
turned back, they saw Annette screaming at Kareen at the nurses’
desk.
    “ This way,” He-Man
said.
    He put one arm around Yvonne’s shoulder and
the other around Tanesha.
    “ How . . .?” Tanesha asked.
    “ I’ve been here with the
boy since he got here,” He-Man said. “You don’t think Trece’d leave
him here all alone, do you?”
    “ But . . .”
Tanesha started.
    “ We have a soft spot for
little sick kids,” He-Man said.
    “ Of course you do,” Yvonne
said.
    He-Man directed them down a hallway. They
reached a door with a glass window in it.
    “ They don’t usually keep
kids in these rooms,” He-Man said. “But they didn’t want him
exposed to the cameras.”
    He-Man pressed the door open. Tanesha
blinked. For a split second, she could have sworn that she saw a
giant elephant dancing around the room with a pink rider on its
back. Jabari was laughing and cheering. When she blinked, Jabari
was quietly sitting in his bed. Tanesha squinted to see if she
could find Abi, who had to be here.
    “ Mommy?” Jabari
asked.
    Tanesha’s heart melted. All thoughts of
finding Abi, and figuring out what was going on, fled her mind. She
rushed to the bed. He threw his arms around her neck and Tanesha
pulled Jabari onto her lap.
    “ I just love it when
things work out,” Yvonne said. “Don’t you, He-Man?”
    “ I do, Miss Yvonne,”
He-Man said. “I really do.”
    ~~~~~~~~
    Tuesday afternoon — 3:17 p.m. MT
    Denver, Colorado
     
    “ How is Mr. Chesterfield?”
Blane asked after Heather finished catching him up.
    She was standing with Akeem, Jill, and Sandy
on the other side of the glass. Jill was still wearing her twin
sandwich. Blane was sitting in a vinyl-covered chair.
    “ He’s lost an eye,”
Heather said. “Broke some ribs and . . .”
    Rather than finish, Heather gave a grim
nod.
    “ How awful,” Blane
said.
    “ It’s pretty awful,”
Heather said.
    “ And there was
nothing . . .” Blane gestured to Jill. Jill shook
her head.
    “ We can only help him heal
now,” Jill said.
    “ But they think he will
heal?” Blane asked.
    “ They’re pretty sure,”
Jill said.
    “ And Jabari?” Blane
asked.
    Heather, Jill, and Sandy looked at each
other. Akeem looked at the ground.
    “ What?” Blane
asked.
    “ Just a lot of drama,”
Sandy said. “The doctor told Yvonne that Jabari is doing really
well. He’s in good spirits, especially now that Yvonne and Tanesha
are with him.”
    “ Annette’s being an
asshole?” Blane asked.
    They nodded. Blane looked so ill that they’d
agreed not to burden him with the awful details of Annette’s
behavior.
    “ So today’s the day!” Jill
said. “We wanted to be here to help you celebrate.”
    “ And Akeem?” Blane
asked.
    “ Yeah, I know, right?”
Akeem asked. “They’re teaching me how to be a lover.”
    Blane raised his eyebrows and laughed. Akeem
gave a cocky grin.
    “ He wants to learn how to
heal things,” Heather said.
    “ I bet.” Blane
smiled.
    “ You think this stuff
works?” Akeem asked.
    “ It’s the only reason I’m
alive,” Blane said.
    “ Fair enough.” Akeem
nodded.
    They waited in an awkward silence for a
moment. The nurse and doctor came in behind them. They helped
Heather dress in scrubs and asked everyone else to step back.
Heather went into the room with the doctor and nurse while Jill,
Sandy, and Akeem waited outside. They had just closed the door when
Tanner, the twin on Jill’s back, woke up. Sandy picked him up out
of the holder and Akeem helped Jill get Bladen. With a little
soothing the babies settled into being held.
    Inside the room, Blane was back in bed, and
the nurse hooked up the cord blood to Blane’s IV. The doctor was
talking a mile a minute, but they couldn’t hear