INT. ICU ROOM - MORNING

The door opens softly.
Link steps in, bag over his shoulder.

LINK
Hi—

He stops short.
Jo is crying.

Not loud. Not unravelling.
Just steady tears. Like they’ve been there for a while.

Her face is turned slightly away.
One hand keeps wiping at her cheek.

Iris stands nearby, calm.
She’s already said what she could.
But it doesn’t reach her.

LINK (CONT’D)
Hey, hey.

He crosses the room, sits on the edge of the bed. 
His hand settles gently on her arm.
Warm and steady.

LINK (CONT’D)
What’s going on?

Jo exhales, shaky.
She can't speak. 
He turns toward Iris.

IRIS
(soft)
She tried pumping a couple of times overnight.

A beat. 

IRIS (CONT’D)
Not much output yet. 
Her heart rate started climbing each time, so we didn't push it.

Silence.

His face softens. 
His thumb starts brushing slowly along her arm. 
Grounding.

LINK
Hey…

Jo swallows.
She shakes her head.

JO
(raw)
It's not working. 

That’s it.
She looks away.

Her jaw tightens, holding it together, barely.

Iris glances at Link, then back to Jo.

IRIS
You just started overnight. 

Jo nods faintly.
It doesn’t land.

A breath trembles out of her.

She stops.
Swallows hard.

Eyes fill again.
She tries—

JO
I just—

Nothing.
She can’t get it out.

A long, fragile silence.
Then, smaller.

JO (CONT’D)
(low, raw)
I needed this part to work.

There it is.
It lands harder than anything before.

Silence.

LINK
Let’s give it a little more time. 
 
Link reaches for reassurance in Iris’s eyes.
 
IRIS
It’s still early.

Jo closes her eyes.
The words land, but only intellectually.

Tears still slipping out, but quieter now.
The sadness sits heavy.

LINK
Seeing them today might help.

Jo nods faintly, trying to steady her breathing.

IRIS
I’ll give you two a minute.

Iris gives Link a small look, then exits.

Silence settles.
Link shifts a little closer.

His hand moves from her arm to her shoulder, then gently to the side of her neck.

Jo’s breathing starts to slow.
Just steady.

She wipes her cheeks again.

JO
(quiet, almost ashamed)
I just…

She exhales.
Shakes her head.

JO (CONT’D)
I can’t even do this right.

That lands heavier than before.

LINK
You are. 

Soft. Certain.

He leans in.
Kisses her forehead. Gentle.
His hand never leaves her.

LINK (CONT’D)
Let's give it a bit more time.
 
Not a promise.
A decision.

Jo nods. She leans into him. 

A breath passes between them.
Something shifts.
Small. But real.

They stay like that a while.
Jo settles against him.
 
LINK (CONT’D)
Did you get any sleep?

JO
Some. 

JO (CONT’D)
(low)
I woke up at four.
Couldn’t shut my brain off.

LINK
You must be exhausted.

He brushes her arm again, slow.

JO
How was Luna?

LINK
Better once I got home. 
(a beat)
She settled.

Jo absorbs that.
Grounding.

LINK (CONT’D)
My mom’s going to try to get Scout and Luna together today.

Jo nods.

JO
Good.

LINK
Yeah.

A quiet pause.

Link reaches into the bag and pulls out a stack of drawings. Edges bent.

He hands them to her.

LINK (CONT’D)
I brought something.
(a beat)
Someone wanted to help decorate your room.

Jo takes them.
Looks at them. Really looks.

And suddenly, her face crumples.
Again. 

Tears spill again. Messy.
Link freezes for a split second.
Then softens.

LINK (CONT’D)
Hey…

A beat.

LINK (CONT’D)
You don’t like them?

A small attempt at humour.
Jo lets out a wet laugh through the tears.

JO
(shaking her head)
No… It’s not that.

More tears come anyway.

JO (CONT’D)
They’re beautiful.

A breath breaks in her chest.

JO (CONT’D)
I love them.

She looks at the drawings again, overwhelmed.

A shaky, helpless breath. Almost a laugh, almost a sob.

JO (CONT’D)
My hormones are all over the place.

That’s the truth.
Raw. Unfiltered.

Link exhales softly.
He understands now.

He slides closer.
Wraps an arm gently around her shoulders.
Pulls her in.

LINK
Come here. 

No fixing.
No reframing.
Just presence.

Jo lets herself fall into him.
Tears still coming.
But slower.
Not gone.
Just… softer.

Her face presses into his shoulder.
Her breathing stutters.
Then eases.

They stay like that.
Drawings between them.

Morning light creeping in.
Nothing resolved.
Nothing fixed.
But held.

Jo doesn’t pull away.

FADE OUT.