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"It could’ve been them," I said quietly "If one of them had had an implant, and been in that car accident…"

Adam’s head whipped around to stare at me, his eyes wide and somehow affronted, like I had just insulted us both "It could not!" he said "Both parts of you had to be strong, and had to be clever in just the right ways, or you could never have become one person You did it without any help, and that’s more thaninto guilt

"I know about Sherto feel numb all the way down to irl, I guess "I get what you’re saying, Adam I’m just… I’m like the people here, a little I’m still shaky, too"

"You be as shaky as you want," he said "I’ll be here to help you when you’re done" He smiled at me

I smiled back I couldn’t help it

We had walkedalley while ere talking and had stopped just outside a curtain of sliced plastic, cut lengthwise, like the screen on a butterfly aviary or a grocery store produce departe area I looked at it and sed hard There was soly strips of waxy plastic, like nothing I was on this side would really matter once I was on that side

"The broken doors are open," I murmured

"That’s my favorite book," said Adam

"Of course it’s your favorite book," I said Don’t Go Out Alone had been written by a good friend of Dr Cale It had been a key part of Nathan’s childhood It was only natural that it would be a key part of Ada to be a little jealous I was the only rown up with that book

Adao of my hand "If you’re still shaky, I think you’ll feel better talking to Mom and Nathan without me It’ll be easier to pretend that you’re all humans, and not just all people"

I wanted to tell hi, and that his absence wouldn’teasier by walking away from it I couldn’t When I tried to form the words my lips shaped only silence, and in the end I had to force ood idea I’ll coh, e’re done I think I’ to need you to teach s about the way life is now"

"Always," said Adao, and trotted off into the lab,with a lanky sureness that somehow broadcast how comfortable he was in the shape of his own skin

It see a boy like a suit Shouldn’t he have seemed aard, or sha--to betray the fact that he wasn’t what he seemed to be I hadn’t felt that way about hi it around in le that would tell h, the ansas so siuilty when I’d seen Ada ins, and so I’d assuer in my own skin, and if I couldn’t make myself move aardly or look visibly like an intruder--like a thief--I’d think those horrible things at Adam--at my brother

"No, I won’t," I ordered , into the sht feet to a side, creating a space that would have been borderline claustrophobic if that sort of thing had bothered , which meant that it probably made most people unco alley, this one was isolated only in the o all the way up to the ceiling, and powerful, if quiet fans were occupied in sucking air up fro it over the top of those three-quarter walls, creating a sort of poor h to qualify as a "clean room," and wouldn’t even have necessarily worked as a quarantine zone back at the shelter, but it was clearly enough for Dr Cale to feel co up some serious hardware An array of co up a low thruh the soles of my bare feet Nathan and Dr Cale were both there already, their attention focused on the same monitor

"I’m awake," I announced They both turned toward me, Nathan with naked relief, Dr Cale with clinical interest that was so closely akin to the way that Dr Banks used to look atin on myself "I mean, if it matters I woke up," I finished aardly

"How do you feel?" asked Nathan, starting to take a step towardhim before he could fully commit to the motion "I’, but we need to finish this, Nathan" She flashed lad to see you up and about Do you need so to drink? You hit your head pretty hard when you fell, and you’d just given blood Soood Go find Adaet some juice"