He gave her shoulder what he hoped was a comforting squeeze. He felt incredibly guilty over leaving her here all alone for months - no matter that it wasn't his fault, they hadn't been apart for any significant length of time since - well, pretty much since Boston.

He'd almost left her behind in Jackson, but he hadn't been able to do it then, and now? After all they'd been through? He wouldn't even consider the idea. And he knew how frantic with worry he would've been, if the situations had been reversed.

"Sorry, kiddo," he said after a moment. "At least nobody was tryin' to kill you? Out there, I mean."