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He tries to push himself up, but manages only a few inches before sinking back. I unscrew the cap from the bottle, the plastic crackling in the quiet room, and slide a straw through the opening.

Kamden’s mouth curves into a faint, sleepy smile. “You really like straws.”

“They make things easier,” I answer.

He accepts the straw without a word, lips parting around it as I hold the bottle for him. He drinks slowly this time, no reminder needed, lashes lowered against his cheeks, his hand occupied by his stuffed animal.

When he stops sipping, I pull the bottle away and ask, “More?”

He shakes his head.

“Alright. Food then.”

“But I’m not hungry.”

“You need a little.”

He makes a faint unhappy noise, low in his chest.

“Just three bites,” I tell him.

“Of what?”

“Your choice.”

I show him the plate, and Kamden considers it with the gravity of somebody choosing a last meal.

After a moment, he says, “Strawberry.”

I pick one up between my thumb and forefinger and feed it to him. He chews, juice darkening his lower lip, and swallows before he speaks again.

“Cheese, please.”

I unwrap a square, fold the foil back without tearing it, and hold it to his mouth. He takes that too, teeth grazing my fingertip by accident, warm and brief.

“That’s two. Do you want a cracker?”

“Okay.”

As he swallows the last bite, he watches me quietly, expectantly.

“You did good,” I say.

A tiny contented exhale escapes him through his nose, barely there at all.

I lean down and kiss his forehead before I can think better of it. My mouth is against his skin for one second, maybe less. He smells like soap and strawberry and sweet innocence.

Kamden goes very still beneath it, then melts back into the pillows, his eyelids fluttering shut.

I tuck the comforter around him, barely holding back my smile when he silently asks for his rabbit to be tucked in too.

“Get some rest,” I murmur softly.

“Mm.”

I brush damp hair away from his forehead. “Sleep, Kammie.”

I leave him with the door locked, the click of it leaving me feeling comforted by the fact that he can’t escape me.