INT. NICU — MORNING

The NICU hums.

Link stands between the two incubators.
 
Baby A sleeps under phototherapy.
Tiny eye shields. Blue light washing over her skin. 

Baby B rests under CPAP.
Prongs in place.
Breathing uneven but working. 

Dr. Kasliwal joins him, chart open, glancing between the monitors and her notes before speaking.

KASLIWAL
So yesterday was a big step for both of them.
(a beat)
Today is where we see how it holds. 

They move to Baby A.
 
KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
We paused phototherapy again this morning.

Link looks up, already bracing.

LINK
And?

KASLIWAL
Her bilirubin climbed back up.

She lets that land.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
Not dangerously.
But it's consistent.
(a beat)
It rebounds every time we pause.

Link exhales slowly.

LINK
So we keep her under.

KASLIWAL
For now, yes. 
(softer)
But I’m not worried yet.
(a beat)
Sometimes it just takes a little more time for the liver to catch up.
 
Link absorbs that. Still worried.
His medical training doesn’t help him make sense of this.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
Her weight is starting to come up.

That shifts something.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
Slow.
But the curve finally reversed.

Link looks back at Baby A.
The light.
The eye shields. 

Progress that doesn’t look like it. 

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
If we look at the big picture, 
I'd say it's encouraging. 

Link holds onto that. 

Kasliwal moves to Baby B.

Different energy. 

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
Baby B had a couple of brief apnea spells overnight.
With some desaturations.

Link stiffens.

LINK
I thought she was doing better.

Kasliwal doesn’t contradict.
She reframes.

KASLIWAL
She is.
(a beat)
But “better” at this stage still includes moments like that.

Link watches Baby B more closely.
He can't read this like a case.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
She’s also working against a little more than her sister.

LINK
Because of the PDA.

KASLIWAL
And the ASD.
(a beat)
Her circulation isn't as efficient.
Her lungs still carry more of the load.

Link tracks every breath.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
That’s what you’re seeing in the dips.
(a beat)
She pauses. Desaturates.
Then she brings herself back.
The support is helping her through those moments.

LINK
I thought the meds would help more by now. 

KASLIWAL
They are.
(a beat)
Just not all at once.

LINK
Was it too soon to move her to CPAP?

KASLIWAL
No. 

Firm. Clear.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
We’re seeing longer stretches where she does the work herself.
(a beat)
That’s the direction we want. 

Silence settles.
Machines. Breath. Light.

LINK
So why does it feel like a step back?

KASLIWAL
It’s not.
(a beat)
It’s what progress looks like here.

That lands.
She shifts slightly.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
(softer)
Her weight is coming up too.
(a beat)
We like seeing that.
 
Link nods.
Adjusting.

KASLIWAL (CONT’D)
Nothing today changes our course.
(a beat)
We’ll keep a closer eye on her. 

That stays.

Link exhales.

Not relief.
Not fear.
Something steadier.

A quiet beat.

He reaches into the incubator.
Baby B’s fingers curl around his.
He holds that.

His phone vibrates in his pocket.
He checks it.

TEXT — MAUREEN:
Can we call now?
We’re about to head out.

Link hesitates for half a second.
He glances between the two incubators.

Two different rhythms.
Two different trajectories.
Same direction. 

LINK
Would you excuse me?
I promised I’d call my kids.

KASLIWAL
Of course.

Link lingers one beat longer.
Then he steps away.

FADE OUT.