Tasha promised Peter and then went to hug Stephie and Thomas again. "Absolutely," she assured them. "Taking care of Dad- It's actually helped my own situation a lot. I'll be back soon, Dad. If you need me call me okay?"
Peter nodded, and for a second he looked dwarfed by the bed, until Deirdre immediately crawled up there to lie beside him. "Is this okay?" she whispered, seeming so unsure of everything right now.
Peter turned to Deirdre and he wrapped an arm around her, "of course it's okay, Deirdre. Kind of...going to need the support myself, to be honest."
Thomas stepped forward slowly, letting Stephie come with him if she wanted to. He sat on the edge of the bed as well, but left the cuddling to Deirdre. "Are you really in a stated to talk to us about this stuff, Peter?"
"I don't know that I ever will be," Peter admitted. "Better now while I can't get away, hmmm?"