The first morning back at home, I slept in a little bit.  Lin got up with the twins and I could smell pancakes and bacon.  I turned over in bed as I heard little feet in the hallway and the sound of their hushed whispers.

The door opened and Lin came in carrying a tray.  The twins both carried something else - silverwear and napkins.  They had grins on their faces.

"Good morning, Mommy!" they said mischievously.  They launched themselves on the bed and crawled to either side of me.  I sat up, smiling, as Lin set a tray in my lap.  A pancake with a bacon smiley face on it.

"Look, Mommy!" Raina exclaimed.  "It has a bacon face!"

"I see!" I looked down at her.  "Was that your idea?"

"Uh-huh," she said proudly.  "Taste it, Mommy!"

I picked up my fork and poured on some syrup.  It was delicious, of course.  Lin made the best pancakes.

"Mmmm," I said loudly.  "So good.  It was so sweet of you to bring me breakfast in bed."

"Daddy said you're probably tired," Felix reported and Lin chuckled.

"I was, but now I think I'm awake," I said as I cut another piece of pancake.  We sat around in bed together as I ate, talking about all sorts of things.  The kids were still in their PJs, so when I finished, Lin told them to go change.

They raced out of the room and Lin sat on the edge of the bed.  "Want any more?"

"Pancakes?  Or you?" I smirked.

"Either," he said, leaning forward to kiss me.  We kissed deeply for several long moments.  "You taste like syrup."

I chuckled as he kissed me once more.  "Take your time," he said.  "I've got the kids."

He stood up and winked at me, taking the tray away.  I decided to indulge in being a bit lazy.  I laid back down and just lounged for another twenty minutes or so.

Molly was up by that time I wandered out in my robe.  Lin was making a second batch for the girls.  Maybe the smell would entice Cam to get up.  Probably not.

We had a relaxing morning together.  It was our first day back, so we didn't have any plans other than to get settled and just enjoy being together.  In the afternoon, we took the twins to the park.  Raina was keeping up very well.  I had her sit down to rest a couple times, which she didn't like, but I could tell she was getting winded.  In time, she'd be back to her rambunctious self.

At meal times, she ate and ate and ate, which we needed her to do.  She'd lost weight during her illness and looked thin.  That night, we tucked the kids into bed.  When we walked down the hall to go to bed ourselves, I pushed the door open to check on the twins like I usually did.  I found Felix curled up in Raina's bed, his arm around his sister.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I just leaned against the doorway and watched them.  Lin followed me, putting his hand on my hip as he paused behind me.  He saw the twins and pressed a kiss to my shoulder.

"They're so sweet," he said quietly.

"They are," I agreed, taking his hand.  "We're lucky parents."

Lin tugged me along with his hand and I closed the door.  We cuddled in bed, still reveling in the fact we were back together.

___

Monday morning rolled around and Raina was excited to be able to go back to school.  We decided to have her go half days the first week so she could ease back into it.  After she'd eaten her breakfast, she found her backpack and was urging her siblings to hurry up.

"Come on!  Let's go!" she said, pulling on Cam's arm.

"Okay, okay!" she laughed, taking one last bite of cereal.  I kissed Raina and Felix goodbye and they all went off together.  I'd had a long conversation with Raina's teacher about her coming back.  She promised she'd watch Raina closely for any signs she was tired, and send her to the nurse.  The school nurse, of course, was aware of the situation.

We needn't have worried.  When I went to Hunter around noon, Raina was beaming and enjoying herself.  She begged me to let her stay the whole day, but I said we needed to go.  Reluctantly, she said goodbye to her classmates and I took her home.  I had her lay down on the couch for some quiet time so she didn't overdo it.  She ended up falling asleep for a little while.

After a week of half days, Lin and I decided it was okay for her to go back full time.  Raina was thrilled.  Afternoons was when they had specials classes - art, music, P.E.  I was worried about her participating in P.E., but apparently she'd done okay.  She was slowly regaining her strength.

On Saturday, Lin and I took the twins to the park to play.  After half an hour, I called Raina over to take a break.

"But, Mommy, I feel fine!" she protested, sitting on the bench.

"I know, but we need to be careful," I told her.  "Sit for ten minutes."

She whimpered and pouted the whole time as she had to watch her brother play.  When I told her her time was up, she bounded off to the swings.

"You know, I think it's okay to let up a little," Lin told me as we watched them play.

"How so?" I asked, looking at him.

"She's pretty much fully recovered," he pointed out.  "She can make it through a full day of school.  Maybe we should let her decide when she needs a break."

"Lin, she's five," I pointed out.  "She doesn't know when to stop."

"I'm just saying, I don't think she needs to take as many breaks as you make her," he told me.  I shrugged.  Maybe I was being a little overprotective, but after watching my baby battle cancer, I didn't want to take any chances.  I wanted my daughter healthy.

The next week, one of her kindergarten friends was having a birthday party at a trampoline park.  It pained me, but I had to tell her no.  It would be way too much exertion for her.  She cried and cried when I told her my answer.  It was back to tantrum-throwing as she threw herself on the floor and screamed.

Lin watched from the kitchen, his arms crossed.

"A little help, please?" I asked him.  He looked at me and I wasn't sure I could read his expression.  He scooped Raina up and took her to her room so she could cry out her tantrum.  After he'd closed the door, muffling the sound, he returned to the kitchen.

"Pip, I think we should let her go," he told me.

"Lin, there's absolutely no way," I told him, rummaging through our mail.  "She'll exhaust herself and I don't want her getting sick again."

"Getting tired is not going to make her sick again," he told me.  "Pip, you have to let her live her life."

"Lin, I just watched my daughter come halfway to dying.  I am taking every precaution to make sure she stays healthy.  I'm sorry if you think I'm being overprotective, but that's what I think."

Lin sighed and paced the kitchen a little.  "Fine.  How long are you gonna keep this up?"

"Until I feel like I can relax again!" I snapped a little at him.  Why did I have to explain this to him?  Lin raised his eyebrows a little and went down the hall to our bedroom.  I sighed and rubbed at my forehead.  I decided I needed to busy myself, so I cleaned up around the kitchen.  The trash was full, so I tied it up and walked it down the hallway to the chute.  Another woman was there, tossing a couple bags down.  She also had a stack of boxes.

"Hi," she greeted me, smiling.  She was a pretty woman, Latina, probably in her late 30's.  I'd never seen her before.  "I don't know if we've met.  I'm Sofia.  I just moved in with my kids a few weeks ago."

She held out her hand and I shook it.  "Nice to meet you.  I'm Pippa.  I live with my husband, Lin, and our four kids."

"Oh, you're Lin's wife!" she said.  "He helped me with some handy jobs when I first moved in.  What a great guy."

I furrowed my eyebrows a little bit, studying her.  "Oh.  Well I'm glad he was able to help."

"Me too," she smiled.  "Hey, do you know if there's recycling nearby?  I've got all these boxes."

"Right out back," I told her.  "Big green bin.  Can't miss it."

"Thanks, Pippa," she said, picking up her load of boxes.  I watched her walk towards the elevator as I threw the bag down the chute.  I walked back to our apartment and poured myself a glass of wine.

Molly wandered out a while later.  "Mom, will you take me to the skating rink?" she asked me.

I sighed, really not in the mood to go anywhere.  "Honey, can't you just hang around here today?"

"Mom, I'm so bored!  Kelsey and Anna are going.  I told them I'd meet them there," she said with a bit of whine in her voice.

"You didn't ask me first?"

"Mom, I'm eleven.  I can make my own plans, you know."

"I don't like your attitude right now," I told her.  "Now drop it."

She scoffed and stomped down the hallway.  I heard her go into our bedroom, probably to ask Lin.  They emerged a few minutes later.

"I'm gonna take Molly to the rink," he told me.  "Need anything while I'm out?"

"No," I told him, sipping my wine.  Maybe a little air would do him good.