Rebecca's sharing of photos on her phone had inspired Laura, and she asked the girls to charge hers up. It sat on the counter gleefully siphoning electrons from a wallet-sized USB battery pack while they cleaned up the kitchen, taking close to fifteen minutes to come out of deep discharge and power up. Once it did, she set to leaning around Sam and Rebecca's shoulders to show them pictures. Eventually that turned into mostly Sam, since beyond the first several, it was all familiar subject matter for Rebecca.

Sam thought that Rebecca seemed prepared enough for the baby pictures and even the braces. But the humiliation of prom photos must have been too much, because she let out a weary, plaintive sigh from the sink when she realized what was transpiring. "Oh Jesus, Mom, come on..."

From where they leaned against the island, Sam smiled reassuringly and tried to strike a balance between that and teasing. "Don't worry, I think you look cute. Plus, you don't need to be embarrassed over a little teenage awkwardness — I've seen you drooling on your pillow, so in the grand scale of things..."

Laura looked up from the photo of a well-attired Rebecca in her childhood home's back yard. "You should have seen how much she blushed this morning when I said I'd conclusively realized the two of you are a couple."

"Mom!" The sharpness of Rebecca's tone made Sam glance back at her, surprised. There was a strong "ix-nay on-yay at-thay optic-tay" edge to it, which even made Laura lift one of her hands in a yielding gesture. Rebecca turned back to the sink with another sigh, setting one dish aside and reaching for the next.

Laura grinned at Sam momentarily and resumed swiping through the phone. "She turned pretty red when Paresh kissed her hand putting her corsage on, too." Sam heard an irritated hiss from the direction of the sink, but Rebecca didn't turn and Laura didn't stop. "He was such a sweet boy too. Rebecca had been through a really bad breakup in January, but the two of them had gotten to be friends after they were lab partners. One guess who sat down next to the new kid in eleventh grade Chemistry. It worked out pretty well for her, since his dad was an engineer at Dow in Charleston. They both aced—"

Sam's head snapped up at a sputtering mechanical sound outside and she lunged for the window. "Shit. Patrick, wait!"

It didn't do any good, and maybe Rebecca didn't realize what it was to brace herself in time before the chainsaw coughed to life outside, letting loose a buzzing roar as someone revved it. She startled, dropping a Pyrex baking dish into the sink with a bang, which made her jump again.

Sam was grateful it didn't shatter as she yanked down the two windows she could get her hands on. She couldn't reach the one past the sink without getting close, and Rebecca was already cringing, lifting trembling hands towards her ears. But maybe Laura would see what Sam did and follow s— shit. "No, Laura, don't t—"

Sam's warning was too slow, or too quiet, too something. Laura put her hand on her daughter's shoulder in an instinctive attempt to comfort, and Rebecca twisted away from the sudden touch with a sound somewhere between a whimper and a yelp loud enough Sam could hear it over the background noise as she backpedaled out of the way. Rebecca's elbow clipped the stack of drying dishes, knocking a metal mixing bowl to the floor where it rebounded loudly. The flinch away from that banged her hip into the island, and she collapsed.

Sam pointed frantically towards the window as Laura took a step back in shock, and knelt a few feet in front of Rebecca. She held an upturned hand out tentatively, but Rebecca was coherent enough to shake her head.

Laura finally got the window closed and took a knee at a similar distance behind Rebecca, looking back and forth between her and Sam for guidance.

"Stay with her," Sam said, "but where you are."

Laura nodded, and Sam pivoted, snatching the laser module from the island as she dashed for the front door, pulling it firmly — not slamming it — closed behind her. She followed the noise to the end of the porch and leaned out over the rail to see. Patrick was facing away from her, cutting into a toppled tree blocking a path around the house. Covering one ear with her hand and hunching her head and shoulder together on the other side, she raised the light and flicked the switches to turn on both the laser and strobe.

Patrick didn't see the dot waving around in front of him, but Epstein looked up where he and Chrissie were standing twenty-something feet away with their ears covered. Sam made repeated "cut it" gestures across her neck and ran back inside as soon as she saw understanding on his face.

Laura had circumnavigated the island and was kneeling where Sam had been, in view but at a cautious distance. Rebecca's hair was partially hiding her face, her hands in clawing contortions over her ears while she curled into a fetal position against the drawers. Sam noticed a scrape on her arm that must have been from the handles as she slid down.

The saw finally shut off outside, leaving Sam's ears ringing in its absence, and she could hear Rebecca's rapid breathing. She put a hand on Laura's arm to get her attention. "Hey, where would Sue be hiding after that?"

Laura blinked and focused on Sam. "Uh... I'll go find him, I know his spots."

"Okay. I'll stay with her." As Sam could hear Laura's calls for Sue move through the house, she bent lower towards the floor to try to look up at Rebecca's face. "Remy, hey. We're here, you're safe. Try to breathe." Rebecca's respiration changed, but it still wasn't smooth yet. "Honey, the saw's stopped, and nothing else is going to fall down right now. Can you lower one of your hands to your stomach, feel the pace of your breathing? Try to even it out, slow deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth."

Rebecca complied and moved her hand, and Sam tried to model slow breathing for her until Laura returned carrying Sue.

"Hi sweetheart, maybe some Sudoku might distract you, help keep your mind off things?"

Sam thought she heard a little hitch in Rebecca's breathing that might have been a laugh any other day. It was encouraging to see her reach out, holding her hand a few inches above the ground, half-closed and palm down.

Laura put Sue on the floor and nudged him forward; he paused to sniff at Sam, but she pointedly ignored him, even eventually blowing on his nose, so he finally wandered over to Rebecca, mildly offended and twitching his tail.

He sniffed and nuzzled at her knuckles, and moved closer as she started to pet him. In a minute or two, he got close enough that Rebecca was able to sit cross-legged and pull him into her lap, burying her nose in the back of his neck while she scratched his chin and chest. Sam heard his thrumming purr clearly from nearly a yard away and figured it must be rumbling strongly in Rebecca's arms. Her ragged breathing had slowed, but Sam could tell she'd started — or was still — crying.

Laura sighed and slumped sideways from her kneel, propping herself up at an angle. "Thank you, Sam," she whispered.

Sam nodded, and replied quietly. "She's been... sensitive to sudden noise and touch since a few days ago." How the hell was she going to explain this to her girlfriend's mother? Oh, sorry, I hit your daughter with a coffee table but it wasn't on purpose, I swear I'm not abusive. She had to be careful not to remind Rebecca of it in too much detail too. "Something bad happened while we were trying to save—"

"It's okay, Sam. She told me. She doesn't blame you."

"I know. But I understand now why it's so hard to let go of blaming yourself for something." Sam looked down in surprise when Laura rested a hand on hers. It was unexpectedly warm, soft, and Sam had to bite back the feelings it dug up.

While Sam was quiet, Laura did a better job of taking the lead this time around. "Rebecca, sweetheart, we're here, and you're safe. Can you hear me?"

Rebecca nodded, but still clung to Sue.

"Okay, good. You don't have to reply out loud if it's hard, but I want you to at least think of the answers in your head, alright? What're five things you can see right now?"

Sam saw Rebecca's eyebrows furrow behind Sue's head, then relax. She was a little puzzled by the question herself, but pleased when Rebecca lifted her head enough she could see her reddened eyes. Rebecca surprised her by speaking, quiet and raspy, but audible. "You. Sam. Sue." She paused. "Dining table. Stupid loud bowl."

Sam's lip quirked in what might have turned into a grin if she wasn't so worried, and Laura kept going. "Good, first in class. What about four things you can feel?"

Rebecca took several breaths to answer. That was fine as far as Sam was concerned, slowing things down was good. "Sue. Floor. My clothes. My arm hurts."

Sam winced and made a mental note to grab a first aid kit as soon as Rebecca could be touched again.

"Perfect. What about three things you can hear?"

She answered faster this time. "Sue, your voice, my breathing."

"Two you can smell?"

"Soap on my hands and Sue."

"One thing you can taste? Please don't say Sue."

Rebecca made another quiet coughing sound that could have been the seed of a laugh. "Tears."

Sam rose on her knees and grabbed Rebecca's fabric napkin from the top of the island, and held it out at arm's length. "Here, sugar. We love you." She smiled when Rebecca took the cloth and seemingly extended two fingers to brush hers before withdrawing.

She couldn't make out something Rebecca mumbled, and shook her head at Laura when they looked at each other. "What's that, hon? We couldn't hear."

Rebecca took a deeper breath and turned her face aside from Sue. "Mom, do you still have your Xanax?"

Laura sighed. "A little, honey. It's expired though."

"Can I have one?"

Laura took a moment to reply. "You know I want to do anything to help, but there's not much left, which especially makes me worry about getting you dependent on a benzo. They're sneaky." She thought for a moment, then went on. "Tell you what... give us ten minutes, and if things are still bad, we'll talk about it again, okay? Sometimes just having an out available helps you not need it — I should know."

Rebecca nodded and let out a shaky sigh as Sue wriggled to get free. She put him down but kept petting him, so he was content to flop on his side next to her. They all sat quietly for a few minutes, with Rebecca dabbing at her eyes occasionally. Laura eventually asked if Rebecca wanted her to wet the napkin, and reached for it when she nodded. She took it to the hallway bathroom, bringing it back folded and damp.

Rebecca pressed it to her eyes, then started blotting her cheeks and forehead, pushing her hair back. The next time her face was unobstructed, Sam ducked her head a little again in an attempt to hold her gaze.

"Hey, sugar. I know you probably feel stuck right now, but remember what you told me a few days ago... how you could think ahead to future points in time. What you're feeling now will pass, and you'll be on the other side of it looking back."

Laura nodded next to her. "That's good, Sam." Then, looking to Rebecca she said, "She's right sweetheart, we're with you until you're through this, and after too. If going outside doesn't sound scary, we could go for that walk after you catch your breath? Get some quiet time in the fresh air, maybe dip your toes in the pond. You've never really been here in the spring, everything's starting to bloom."

"Yeah, there you go, Mrs. C. She can laugh at me sneezing, it'll help us find the flowers."

Rebecca leaned her head against the cabinets and chuckled faintly as she closed her eyes. After several breaths, without opening them, she asked, "Sam, can I have your phone, and my headphones?"

"Of course, I'll be right back. Your mom'll still be here."

Sam saw Rebecca nod before heading to the bedroom, where she dug Rebecca's earbuds out and grabbed her own phone from the table. On the way back, she opened one of the multiple music apps — the one with the largest portion of their collection in it. She knelt a little closer this time, and was touched when Rebecca took the phone in her hand, but rolled her head closer.

Sam tucked Rebecca's hair back, hooked the wire over her right ear, and eased the headphone in as gently as she could — slow and smooth just like she was working on a precision circuit. There was a little flutter of warmth in her chest as Rebecca's cheek pressed into her palm, and she repeated the process on the other side now that there was space alongside the island. Rebecca made lingering, apologetic, thankful eye contact as she tilted her head to rest on the wood again, so Sam took the moment for what it was and settled back to the floor next to Laura.

Could they have just one calm day this week?