Lost Creek Hollow you listen to me you muscle-bound handsome adonis.

"I love you too," Liffey murmured as she sank into him. Being with him like this often made it feel as though all of her fears and insecurities were growing mute. He made them fade away and make her feel like she actually fit in this world. Today, though, it didn't quite work the way it usually did. That was how Liffey knew that she really did need this trip, perhaps more than she ever had.

"Soon," she answered, "Maybe in another week. Before we bring the kids out to the rendezvous site." She paused, considering. "They'll probably be livid over being left behind. Moving them will be a nice way to make up for it once we get back," Liffey said, another small smile quirking the corners of her lips.

Liffey didn't feel particularly good as Rannoch agreed and they began to head back home. She still felt suffocated by the blackness in her head and in her heart, but at least there was some hope of a little light poking through sometime soon. That would just have to be enough for now.