There was a time when Cora would have known that. They would have commiserated over coffee about their timetables—about anything, really. Then they would have shared a look, and Cora would have tried to stay late in the hospital when she knew Frazer would be there. And even after that, they would have disappeared somewhere not entirely appropriate and walked away not too long after, sated and flushed.

Room three loomed ahead of Cora, and she stood outside it, teeth worrying her lip and rocking on her heels. Frazer was on the other side of the door; she had to be. When Cora entered, Frazer’s eyes would probably flash with an anger that froze Cora’s insides.

She knocked and slipped in when she heard Jack’s voice call out to her.

Jack was standing opposite the bed, leaning over its edge, his elbows digging into the mattress. He faced the door as he took deep breaths, his eyes now on her, glassy and a little distant. He swayed back and forth, even as a dazed smile graced his lips. “Hey.”

Cora smiled back at him. “Hi.”

Behind him, her hands massaging the small of his back, Frazer didn’t look up. “Hi, Cora.”

“Hi.”

Their greetings were neutral, bordering on friendly. Jack, his gaze now back on the bed, was probably none the wiser to the lack of eye contact and the flush creeping up Frazer’s neck.

For a moment, Cora willed Frazer to look up. Even if the look was cold, it would be better than nothing.

Frazer’s eyes stayed fixed, intent on her hands. No hope, Cora thought. Not the time for that.

There was a chair near the bed, and Cora placed it on the side opposite Jack. She gripped his hands at the centre of the bed sheets, and he looked up, their heads barely a foot apart.

“Thanks for coming.” He swallowed hard, his throat moving.

The mentors weren’t expected to be this involved, unless the parent had no other support. But there wasn’t much that would stop Cora being there for Jack, seeing as he had no one else.

“I had nothing better to do.” She kept her gaze on him, trying to block out Frazer’s presence behind him, and he huffed a laugh at her words. “Didn’t you want an epidural?”

His hands didn’t stop gripping hers tightly. “I did. But then Frazer said I wouldn’t be able to stand up or walk, so I want to wait until I’m more, uh, dilated.” He stared at her. “I don’t like the idea of not being able to move much off the bed.”

“That would suck.”

“Totally.”

“How dilated are you?”

He blinked heavily. “I don’t remember. Frazer?”