And then he saw her mouth.
And it was curious, because she was smiling. She was smiling and the shock of seeing that smile opened his eyes wide. The tears coursed down her face, but they ran past a beaming smile, and he took her shoulders and he spoke very clearly and very distinctly and he said, "Steve? Is he all right?"
She read the words on his mouth, and then she nodded, a small nod at first, and then an exaggerated delirious nod, and she threw herself into Byrnes' arms, and Byrnes held her close to him, feeling for all the world as if she were his daughter, surprised to find tears on his own face.
Outside the hospital, the church bells tolled.
It was Christmas day, and all was right with the world.