He rested his chin on my head and rubbed my back as he kept staring out over the snow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen things, too,\u201d he murmured in my ear.\u00a0 \u201cI know you fade and we have to leave and he\u2019s still just a kid but you\u2019ve still alive<\/em> and I\u2019d give anything to take care of you.\u00a0 I have to hope that he\u2019ll understand that when he\u2019s older.\u00a0 I know that you live and we make it back somehow.\u00a0 Everything else between then and now…we have to make the best, Mar.\u00a0 We have to do the best we can with what we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sound like me,\u201d I muttered into his jacket.\u00a0 Thom laughed quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I guess maybe I\u2019ve listened and learned something.\u201d\u00a0 He kissed my temple, then released me, giving me a long, hard look.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you feeling right now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTired,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cWorried.\u00a0 A little scared. \u00a0I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening to me, Thom.\u00a0 I know it scares Phelan\u2014probably would scare him worse if he knew the actual extent of what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is<\/em> going on?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust what I said.\u00a0 More blackouts, feeling sick or woozy or passing out after I\u2019ve been working on the wards.\u00a0 Nothing\u2019s right, everything\u2019s wrong, but I don\u2019t know how to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded, expression grim.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll have to say something eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJ.T. knows,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cNeve knows.\u00a0 They\u2019ll probably help, but even they don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you ask Thordin?\u201d<\/p>\n My nose wrinkled.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s got enough going on right now and I\u2019m not sure how helpful he\u2019d be anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t know until we say something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d rather ask the ghost,\u201d I said, meaning Eriu.\u00a0 \u201cEven Leinth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hadn\u2019t thought of her,\u201d Thom said softly.\u00a0 He rested his chin on top of my head again and gathered me to his chest.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll figure it out.\u00a0 We always do.\u201d<\/p>\n We do.\u00a0 Somehow…<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He rested his chin on my head and rubbed my back as he kept staring out over the snow. \u201cI\u2019ve seen things, too,\u201d he murmured in my ear.\u00a0 \u201cI know you fade and we have to leave and he\u2019s still … Continue reading