The children adapted further.
The youngest now treated visits as routine.
No emotional spikes.
No hesitation.
The middle child stabilized in interaction.
Balanced engagement.
No visible discomfort.
The oldest remained unchanged.
Observation continued.
Distance preserved.
This created a layered response system.
Not uniform.
Not identical.
Which reduced risk.
No single point of influence.
The next shift came internally.
Not from Derek.
From her.
Fatigue.
Not physical.
Cognitive.
Sustained vigilance requires energy.
Monitoring patterns.
Tracking variables.
Maintaining structure.
Over time, that creates load.
She identified it immediately.
Load must be managed.
Not ignored.
She adjusted.
Reduced unnecessary monitoring.
Focused only on critical variables:
