Sophie grabbed Gabe’s hand and pulled it up to her lips, kissing it repeatedly. As she replaced his hand to his side, a moment later Gabe heard the sound of water being wrung from a cloth. Sophie carefully folded the moistened cool towel and placed it across his forehead. She then scooped his hand back into hers, holding it tightly as she rested next to him on her knees. Her tenderness made his chest ache with regret. He tried to sit up but the ache in his head caused him to collapse back onto the bed, depleted. “Don’t try to move,” she explained. “Transporting is hard on even the most experienced of Guardians.” “Sophie, I’m so sorry. The things I said, I was…” Once Gabe heard her voice, all he could think about was how terribly he had treated her before he left. “Gabe, stop, please” Sophie insisted placing a finger on his lips to hush him. “We don’t have to talk about any of that.” The tension between Sophie and Gabe over their relationship had completely disappeared. Gabe thought about how a near death experience makes you realize what is important in life. He assumed Sophie was feeling the same way.
