I'm slow to wake from a desperately needed nap. As awareness comes to me I realize that I don't know what woke me up. These days it would be the cries of my son that would wake me from such a deep sleep. He'd been up and fussy last night, so I put him down for a nap and then laid down myself on the bed in the corner. But he's not crying now.

I sit upright, shoving hair out of my face. I push myself out of the bed and stumble toward the cradle, reaching for it. Blaze is gone, ...