Wow, lots of emotions all rolled into one here. Like a super concentrated form of everything. Pam's worry comes across so clearly here. Loved the moment with Micheal. For all his bluster, Micheal has a heart of gold and that shines through.

The moment where Pam puts Cece in Jim's bed? Well let me tell you that brought back a whole host of memories. I had major surger about a month after my daughter was born and remember a few moments like that. Powerful feelings to be sure.

The rest of the chapter feels like the slow dawning of hope. Like there's still a lot of clouds on the horizon and it's been a long, cold, blustery night full of fear. But minute by minute, the sky starts to brighten. The clouds start to glow. The first sliver of the sun appears. The night may be fighting to stay, but little by little the light beats back the dark and warmth starts to come back into the world.

Well done.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wasn’t quite sure if I communicated well enough with this chapter, but you seemed to have grasped what I was trying to say very well. Thank you for being an active reader. 

You continue to do a really good job in this one exploring the ways in which time stretches and bends and loses its normal shape during these times of crisis, and putting us in their heads as they experience that. And you've done a good job making us feel Pam's fear here.

(And the Michael-Cece bit was very cute.)