His hands covered his face.
Nobody teased him.
Later, when Emily woke, the world came back in broken pieces.
Light.
A machine humming.
A dry throat.
Weight around her knee.
Then faces.
Cole in the chair closest to the bed.
Reese by the window.
Cody asleep with his head tilted back against the wall.
Marcus near the door, arms folded like he was guarding it.
Emily blinked slowly.
"You stayed."
Cole leaned forward. "Of course we stayed."
She looked around again as if she needed proof.
"All of you?"
"Unfortunately," Reese said. "Cody snores."
Cody woke. "I do not."
Emily smiled weakly, but the smile dissolved before it fully formed.
Anesthesia had stripped away the strength she usually used to keep things contained. Her eyes filled almost instantly.
"People don't stay," she said.
Cole's expression changed.
Emily was not entirely awake now. Her words came from a place beneath caution.
"You do the thing. You get everybody out. Then it's over. Everybody goes home. Nobody stays for the one who stayed."
The room went quiet.
Cole took her hand.
"We stayed."
Her eyes found his.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Say it like you mean it."
Cole's voice broke slightly. "I'm not going anywhere, Emily. Neither are they."
Reese nodded.
Marcus looked away, blinking hard.
Cody whispered, "We're here."
Emily let out a slow breath.
Her eyes closed again.
Cole held her hand until she fell back asleep.
He did not let go for a long time after.
Recovery was harder than surgery.
Emily hated admitting that because surgery sounded like the difficult part. Surgery had anesthesia, bright lights, doctors, and a clean beginning and end. Recovery was messier. It was six o'clock exercises when her knee felt swollen. It was asking someone to carry laundry. It was discovering that a hallway she had crossed without thinking could become a project when every step required attention.
Dr. Porter had arranged physical therapy with a clinic nearby. The therapist, Maya Sanchez, was younger than Emily expected and entirely unimpressed by her ability to endure pain.
On the second week, Emily performed twice the assigned repetitions while Maya was helping another patient.