He started pacing, slipping his hands in his pockets as he walked, his brows furrowed uncertainly. "I don't really know what he could say that I would understand. If he was injured, perhaps, but... I mean, we lived there for years. He could have come and found us. He knew that was the meeting spot. He told Ellis and I at least once a week, bringing us to it at least once a month. Why wouldn't he have shown up?"
"I don't know what's best," he said agitatedly, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't know, Rory. I don't know if he'd even be willing to tell me. I don't even know if I want to know. We've done well up until this point, you know? We've done well. We've grown, we've managed, we've kept people fed. We've survived. Now he wants to come back because he feels a little guilty?"
She went to him, taking his hands and squeezing them. "It doesn't have to be a big thing," she said, her brows furrowed slightly. "Nothing big has to happen if you decide to speak with him. It's just a talk."
He sighed, looking down at her, his bright eyes unusually dark. His gaze was one of a drowning man looking at a buoy in a storm. "But he's my dad," he said quietly, frowning. "What if he wants to come back? Take over the Empire? Do I just say 'no'?"
He sighed, looking down at her for a moment before reaching up to brush her hair back gently. "I'm really glad you're here."
He laughed lightly, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Would you..." He hesitated, frowning for a moment. "Would you come with me? I'm sorry, I know that's cowardly, but..."
"I do," he said adamantly. "I do want you." He paused before frowning, looking down at her. "You get what I mean, right? I don't need to explain that Freudian Slip?"
He nodded, straightening up. “Good. Should I go now? Or... I don’t know. I feel like I could do it now. If I give myself longer, I won’t want to do it.”
He shook his head slowly, frowning. “I know where I was supposed to meet him now. I’d like to have as few people as possible know about this”
"I want to go," she reassured, shaking her head. "I trust that you'll be able to protect yourself and I."
He frowned before leaning down and kissing her, his hand on her jaw. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he told her. “I promise.”
