The next day. 

INT. GREY SLOAN MEMORIAL – PRIVATE ROOM – DAY

The room is fuller than usual.

The kids are settled on the armchair with books, quietly absorbed in their own world.

Link sits upright on the couch, dressed, steadier than before — still healing, but more himself. Jo sits close beside him, legs crossed on the couch. Hand on his.
Maureen and Eric sit in the armchairs across from them.

MAUREEN
So they said… what, a few more days?

LINK
That’s the plan.

ERIC
And then you go straight home?

LINK
(smiles)
Yeah. Where else would I go?

JO
There’ll be a follow-up schedule.
PT, check-ins.
Nothing unexpected.

Maureen nods, absorbing it, but she doesn’t relax. Her worry has already moved ahead of the answers.

MAUREEN
I keep thinking about the stairs at your place.

Link shifts slightly.

MAUREEN (CONT’D)
With your arm still healing… and the babies coming…
I don’t know. It just feels like a lot.

JO
(soft, reassuring)
We still have some time before they come.

MAUREEN
I know. I just—
(choosing her words)
Maybe you should look at another place, easier.
While you can.

LINK
Mom—

MAUREEN
Or even rent somewhere temporary. Just at first.

ERIC
Maureen—

MAUREEN
Just until everything settles.

Jo steps in smoothly, instinctively.

JO
We’ll adjust things at home.

MAUREEN
Of course. I just worry about you both.

She gestures vaguely — the apartment, the future, the weight of it all.

MAUREEN (CONT’D)
You’re going to need help.

Jo nods, reassuring.

LINK
Mom—

He doesn’t interrupt sharply.
Just… enters the space.

LINK (CONT’D)
We’ll be okay. 
 
The room stills.

MAUREEN
I didn’t say—

LINK
I know.
I just mean… we’ll be okay.

He searches for the right words.

LINK (CONT’D)
I don’t want you rearranging your whole life around me.

What he means stays unsaid:
He needs to feel like himself again.
He can’t do that if everyone else stops moving.

Maureen nods once.
Too quickly.

MAUREEN
Of course.

A small smile. Tight. Carefully held.

MAUREEN (CONT’D)
I wasn’t trying to take over.
Or overstep.
I just thought… we could stay a bit longer.
At your place.
Help.

Eric clocks it immediately.
Says nothing.
Jo senses the shift, but doesn’t step in this time.

LINK
I really appreciate everything you’ve done.

MAUREEN
It's nothing!

LINK
But I need my kids to see me standing on my own two feet.

A beat.

In the background, Scout laughs at something Luna says. 
Life continues, unaware.

Maureen stands, smoothing her jacket.

MAUREEN (CONT’D)
I’m going to get them some water.
They haven’t had any in a while.

She heads toward the door.

Eric stays seated, looking at Link — steady, thoughtful.

ERIC
I hear you, son.
We both do.

Link nods.
But the air hasn’t fully settled.
Not broken.
Just… changed.

FADE OUT.