[ he presses his cheek up against her forehead briefly. up the stairs they go; he avoids the elevator.

her protectiveness is sweet. it melts away from of that tension in him. ]

I know. I wish I was there for ya' then too, when you were goin' through what you did.

[ gives her a little squeeze. ]

The real you is here now, yeah? That's better than anythin' I could've hoped for. I was ready to claw my way back to ya', but who knows what would've happened till then.