She leaned her head against him, letting out a breath. The embrace pressed a little against the wound in her side, but seemed worth it to be against him like this.

"When Joe left, I saw Webster packing his things on the boat and we had a shouting match." She sighed. With both men gone, it didn't seem to matter about their relationship-well, not to him anyway. She knew he could keep a secret. "They were very close, and Joe leaving just reminded me of how far away I was, from everything and everyone I'd known."

She looked up at him. "Now, you're here, but then it seems like..like I can just wake up one morning and you're suddenly gone. I know it's inevitable, but just because you know a war's coming doesn't mean you're looking any less foreward to it."