Emma wakes from a dehydrated, feverish haze to find Justin in her cottage with Jacob and Briana, two emergency medicine physicians. Jacob starts an IV and gives Emma Zofran while Briana examines her and says the illness is probably norovirus. After two bags of saline and medication, Emma begins to recover. Before leaving, Briana tells Emma to stay hydrated and warns her that Neil, Emma’s landlord, is untrustworthy.

Justin refuses to leave even after Emma says she is better and worries about contagion. While Emma sleeps, Justin orders food and groceries, then returns with soup, Gatorade, crackers, applesauce, bananas, tea, and over-the-counter stomach medicine. He also explains that the children are staying elsewhere, which frees him to remain with Emma. Emma is moved by how attentive and worried Justin is, especially because being cared for is unfamiliar to her.

Later, Emma wakes and finds Justin still there, working quietly in the living room. He has cleaned up the cottage, and when Emma showers, he remakes her bed with fresh sheets, opens the window, and leaves more Gatorade by the bed. Seeing how thoroughly Justin has taken care of her forces Emma to reflect on the distance she created after their earlier intimacy. Emma realizes she reduced their connection because she did not know how to handle deeper feelings, and she now regrets the cost of that choice.

When Emma asks why Justin came, Justin answers simply that Emma needed him and that he will always come when she calls. Emma falls asleep again and dreams of an ordinary life with Justin, which reveals how much she wants his presence in everyday ways, not just in moments of crisis. When she wakes at 3:00 a.m. and initially thinks Justin has gone home, Emma feels a sharp sense of loss and recognizes that she has been missing him constantly.

Emma then discovers that Justin never left; he is sleeping awkwardly on the small bench beneath her window so he can stay close without presuming on her space. The sight of his quiet, careful devotion breaks through Emma’s defenses, and she realizes that Justin has reached the most protected part of her heart. Emma wakes him and asks him to come to bed. Wrapped in Justin’s arms, Emma feels safe, wanted, and, for the first time in a long time, like she truly belongs somewhere.