He carefully lifted her off the ground and placed her in his lap, tears running down his face. He caressed her face and said softly, "Cassie, open you eyes. Please, Cassie. just open your eyes."
Her eyes slowly opened and she drew in fitful breath. he sighed so hard, he thought he might faint. she said weakly, "Carl, you scared me. With the killing and the screaming. I was scared of you. "
"No, Cass. You're the one person in the whole world I would never hurt. "
"Then what happened to you today? You never enjoy killing people. Not once on our missions have I seen you like this."
"I thought you were dead. I couldn't process the idea of something happening to you, Cass. It broke me. Am I making sense? Do you think I'm going mad?"
"I don't know what I think but I do know this. I was scared of you because I realized that that was what would have happened to me if something ever happened to you. I wouldn't be able to think straight. i would turn into a big ball of rage raining down chaos upon everyone around me. And I would enjoy it. I would enjoy it because then I wouldn't be the only one hurting."
Tears were streaking down her face before she even stopped speaking. He pressed her close to his chest and closed his eyes, just trying to savor this moment.
