The eight weeks had a cost.
He had known they would.
He had agreed to them knowing they would.
What he had not fully accounted for was the specific shape of the cost — not the work itself, which was significant but manageable, but the weight of carrying two things at full capacity simultaneously. The documentation. The testimony preparation. The consultation meetings with the Commissioner's team. The floor. The twins. Eli's new phase of having opinions about the specific texture of certain surfaces. Cara's habit of watching everything with the focused attention of someone building a case.
He was managing.
He was always managing.
The difference was that he was noticing the managing now, which he hadn't always done, which was either progress or exhaustion presenting as self-awareness. He couldn't tell which.
Week three, Caelan came home to find Seren asleep at the study desk.
He did not wake him.
He moved the lamp so it wasn't in Seren's eyes.
