Dann Silverman's Arc

Chapter 4 of 5

Thorne closed the door behind him. The entryway smelled of cedar and warm milk. Thorne did not speak. He only placed a hand on Dann's back and guided him down the hall to the nursery. The two-seater rocker waited by the window. Its wood was warm and worn smooth. Pale cushions sank under Dann's weight when he sat. Thorne sat beside him. The chair rocked. Dann's shoulders dropped for the first time in days. Across the room, a blue teddy bear sat propped against the crib. Its small smile met Dann's eyes. Something in his chest loosened. He should have felt foolish. He did not. He felt, against all sense, like he had come home. "Lay down for me," Thorne said, nodding to the broad changing table. Dann stood without deciding to. The wood was sturdy under his back. A folded towel rested near his hip. Thorne worked with calm hands. Dann did not stop him. Thorne slid Dann's pants away and lifted a thick white diaper from the shelf. The plastic crinkled. Tabs snapped at Dann's hips. The padding was soft and strange and warm. Dann stared at the ceiling and felt his old life go quiet. Thorne helped him sit up. Dann's face burned, but his hands were steady. He had come here looking for someone to sit beside him in silence. He had found that. He had also found this. He did not yet know if the trade was one he could live with.