But there were things he had to do. Dark places he needed to visit. Battles that he must fight.
Secrets he had to protect.
He sighed and held her close, letting himself slide down into the soft comfort of sleep. There was nothing else to be done. Not really, not then.
Instead, all he could do was hold her close and hope that, in fighting to be the man he must, that he wouldn’t lose the one person who had finally made him whole.