“Hey darling,” Sarah gave me a one-handed hug as I entered the house, carefully balancing a basin of lukewarm water in the other hand.

“Has something happened? Is one of the kids feeling sick again?"

“Guess what!” she winked. “We have a new member.”

And sure enough, the wail of a baby floated from the other room.

“Wow, that’s great.  Can I see it?” I began hopping from foot to foot with excitement. A new baby was always a thrill.

“Of course you can.  He’s called Gabriel, Gaby for short, not that he’s exactly being an angel today.  He’s irritable and refusing his feed. Fortunately, he’s got one of the milder forms of EB so there’s no tube but I can’t coax him to drink.  Do you want to see if you can help?”

“Sure, I’m happy to try.”

I followed Sarah into the small garden room. A cot stood close to the window and I could hear the gurgling sounds he was making as soon as we walked in.

“Hello there Gaby,” I said smiling down.

He was tiny. His body and limbs were wrapped in spotless white bandages, the typical clothing of a butterfly child.

“He’s not going to be happy, I’m about to do his dressings," Sarah said. “You distract him while I do the deed.”

It was like trying to wash and clean a struggling eel. I did my best to distract him but Sarah had her hands full applying ointment, redressing the few blisters then covering everything with bandages again.

“There Gabriel, you are done,” Sarah said and placed him into my arms. He’d stopped crying and looked up at me with these big wide eyes. I immediately fell in love of course, but I always did.

He took his milk with only a little coaxing. It took a while for him to drink what he needed but finally, full and content he fell asleep.  I didn’t want to, but I gently put him back in his cot.

“I think you’ll need to go and make your peace with young Jacob,” Sarah said as I closed the door softly behind us. “He’s sulking in the library.”

“Why, what’s happened,” I asked.

“He reckons none of us love him any more now that Gaby’s here.”

“Seriously, how do you cope with all this Sarah?”

“Day by day, Phoebe... or more like hour by hour, we get through. Go see if you can talk some sense into him, will you?”

Jacob had pulled one of the chairs up to the side of the fire, his back was toward me.

“Hi Jake, Daniel said sorry he couldn’t come today but he’s not very well...”

Nothing.

I knelt beside his chair so he could see my face. “Don’t you want to play a game with me today?  I came all the way here to see you and everyone... Maybe you’re ill?”

He looked at me as if I was dirt then twisted so I couldn’t see his face.

“So I guess you’re angry at me. Do you want to tell me why?”

“You don’t want to play with me, you just came to see Gabriel...”

“No, Jacob, I didn’t even know Gaby had arrived here, though he’s very cute. He’s just like you were, really tiny. I used to spend hours playing with you when you were a baby.”

“But now you will want to play with him all the time...you won’t want me!” he jumped down from the chair and slumped down in the corner on the opposite side of the room.

“That just isn’t true. He’s your brother Jacob... And I love lots of people. It doesn’t mean I can’t love lots more as well...”

He looked at me as if I was totally mad.

“It’s like that song we sing,” I explained.

I liked singing though it made my throat sore and my voice got hoarse but he was worth it...

“Everybody is born to care,

It’s something we were meant to share.

Not to keep to ourselves all alone."

His smile brightened.

"If you make room for someone new,

Doesn’t me that there’s less for you.

Only means that our circle has grown."

I sung on.

Love knows, love grows,

Bigger than before.

In your heart, there’s always room for more.

It’s magic the more you give it away,

The more love comes back to you every day.”

And then I twitched the last lines too, one with our names.

“You’re my Jake, I’m you, Phoebe,
Always forever, wherever we may be.”

“You’re sure you still love me?” he made a cute pout.

“Hans auf Hertz.”

I made a great show of putting my hand on my heart, explaining to him that it was a German phrase meaning, ‘Hands on my heart’.

The hug I got was all the reward I needed. 

“Happy?” I asked.

“Yep – can we play with my trucks now?” he pleaded.

It was hours later when I heard Sarah calling.

“Phoebe it’s 7.30. Your Mom will be worried.

“Oh shit! I didn’t realise,” I groaned.

“If you wait another hour John will be back. He’ll be happy to give you a ride home?”

“It’s no big deal, Sarah. I’ll go to the station and Dad can pick me up from the other end.”

I waved goodbye to the kids who were still up and pulled the door closed behind me.

It was dark, though that didn’t usually bother me.  The footpath around the side of the house was uneven and I had to concentrate but my sense of unease was growing with every step. The whole neighbourhood felt oddly deserted...

A sharp crack of a stone under a boot was the only warning, before a strong hand grabbed me, pressing a stinking cloth to my face.

My head was reeling, I couldn’t breathe... couldn’t move. My last conscious thought was of Daniel — he was never going to forgive me for this.

Edited by lindajonesAuthor

A/N So Daniel was right after all? What will happen now?

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