Lara walked into the room with her head bowed. She opened the door, stepped in, and stood there, waiting for... for anything.
Nate and the twins stared at her, confused. The pups wanted to run in her arms, hug her tightly and wag their tails as they used to when they were alone, but... Nate had told them not to. So, they clenched their teeth and resisted the urge to comfort their mommy.
Lara saw them from afar, and she felt even worse. She was expecting some love, at least from them.
Jaden pulled Nate's sleeve, his eyes watery because of the pain he could feel from there. His mommy wasn't well, yet Nate was doing nothing. At the same time, Scarlet did the same from the other side, trying to pinch him through his trousers to wake him up.
Seeing the unresting pups do their best not to traumatise their mommy, Nate patted their heads and got up. They were asking him to comfort their mommy: how could he refuse?