Ask Noah before answering for him.

When he came back from the bathroom, I asked whether he wanted anything.

He shook his head.

Victor said, “He’s exhausted.”

I didn’t agree or argue.

I let Noah’s own answer stand.

Dana arrived that evening to review the immediate concerns with us.

She worked with the clinical team and the hospital’s child safety process; she was not there to diagnose an exposure herself or decide a custody case from a notebook.