Meulin stops short. Her wide eyes blink in the smoke, in the fire. They rolled and rolled and there finally they stop. Up goes Derek--Derek, why was Derek here? Had he known, had he just been there or... She waits a breath, waits for Derek to rise and reach for Kurloz.

"I thought..."

Her voice catches, a sob welling up somewhere beneath it all. She stands there, watching her love burned and her best friend just the same. It doesn't seem real. The smoke and soot around them, layered over those two, the fire still catching in the building beside them. She's afraid to reach out and touch him, afraid to feel the damage, afraid his open eyes are just her imagining and it's all over. It's not. It can't be. He moves. It seems unreal, her vision blurs with tears. This could have gone so much worse. It could have been the worst thing that happened to her and her fear of it catches in her throat, makes her voice come out soft and hoarse when it finally escapes her.

"Kurloz?"