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You would have gotten killed trying. Or worse, captured.

[ It was why she had never tried to resurface, not until Freelancer was in total shambles. Any sooner and they still would have had the resources to give her trouble. And even on his last legs, the Director and his little army of Tex had nearly beaten her. She tentatively reaches over and puts her hand on his arm, squeezing gently. ]

They would have taken Delta away and trust me, York, having your AI ripped out of your head by force... it isn't good.

[ Eta and Iota hadn't been with her long but Carolina had gotten used to their soft voices the back of her mind. The silence those first few months had been nearly unbearable. ]

[ The little squeeze helps, York reaches over and puts his hand over hers, keeping it there, stroking his thumb over the backs of her fingers. He's so tired. ]

I know that, and it's why I didn't try. But I wanted to, and he needed us and... having a good reason doesn't make me feel any better when he's obviously in so much pain right in front of me.

At least you thought about it, I didn't think about anyone but myself.

[ She leaves her hand there, taking that little bit of comfort he's offering. Absently she toes her shoes off since they're going to have a stay-in brunch. ]

I wish you could meet the version of him from back on Chorus. He's... [ She smiles slightly, thinking of how good he is with the reds and blues. How leading blue team ended up helping him more than anything else. Better than he ever was in Freelancer because no one picks on him for being the rookie who kept screwing up. ] ...I guess the best word is dependable.

I wasn't kidding when I called him my best friend. [ And now he doesn't want anything to do with her. It hurts more than a little. ]

I wish I could, too. [ But he can't, and probably never will so this is what they have to deal with. A broken friend, who he doesn't know how to put back together. ] I don't know how to help him here. I got him back to sleep, at least, kept him company, but...

He seems determined not to trust us. Not to get close again. I really hope he doesn't stick to his guns when he doesn't have to be alone here.

[ He looks up at Carolina, squeezing her hand a little. ] I'm sorry. Epsilon and now Wash... we can talk about something else.

It's alright, I'm not going to fall apart even if I miss them.

[ It feels strange to miss Wash when he's here but this isn't the Wash she knows. The Wash who called her on her obsession and stood up for the reds and blues when she wanted to use them as canon fodder. Right now she's not sure that he wouldn't do exactly that. ]

I think if we give him time, keep proving that we're not going anywhere, he'll come around. If there's anything we're good at it's being stubborn.

Nah, I know you're not. It just sucks missing people.

[ He smiles a little at the stubborn comment, stroking his thumb fondly over the back of her hand. Because he is stubborn, he waited for her for years. Never giving up, never backing down. Wash has to come around in the face of that. ]

I'm determined, that's for sure. He'll cave. And I'm finding loopholes already.

You've always been good at loopholes. Though... I feel like like if the reds and blues were here they'd be making more progress than us.

[ And then they helped her, too. They were a ragtag bunch of idiots but between them and Epsilon they helped her come back from the dark place she'd been buried in for years. Not really thinking about it, she settles against his side as he keeps his hand on hers. It's soothing. ]

They have a way of getting under your skin.

He's not... I mean, you just have to read between the lines. Sometimes what he says he doesn't want is sort of exactly what he needs.

[ Carolina might not be thinking about the leaning, but York's super aware of it. And kind of wishes he could reclaim his arm to drape it around her, but he doesn't want to let go of her hand. Maybe after breakfast he can talk her into proper cuddles. ]

Do you know what they did for him?

I'm pretty sure all they really did was befriend him. It's... oddly effective.

[ It's hard to explain the effect they have. A ragtag team of idiots who could best Freelancers by virtue of being so weird that no one could ever predict them. They saved her life, gave her a new family to watch out for when she had spent years expecting to never have that again. ]

He took over leading the Blues and it worked for him. Caboose and Tucker managed to wear off a lot of his rough edges. Then I came back and made everything worse.

That's all I'm trying to do...

[ He can't really understand without meeting them, but he's trying. He wants to help Wash. And know these people who saved Carolina. ]

Hey. It worked out, didn't it? You're friends again, I just... hope it won't take that much here. We can't just expect that they show up and do it all over again.

Hopefully it doesn't take him threatening to shoot me again.

[ She doesn't even think about how that might sound. It happened, he had been in the right about the whole thing and it had worked out. And he'd even come to save her ass even though she didn't deserve it. ]

Uh. I hope so too. Obviously.

[ This Wash does seem hostile, but. ]

Do I want to know why he was threatening to shoot you?

In his defense, I would have deserved it. I was still really angry about... everything. I wanted to use the sim troopers as cannon fodder.

[ She looks ashamed of it now. They saved her and she nearly destroyed all of them. ]

Wash chose the right side. I went off on my own and nearly got myself killed. They came after me even after that.

[ York's expression softens, and he finds he's grateful -- so grateful -- to these people he's never met for giving her another chance. Coming to save her. Because it means she's with him now, after they helped her to heal. ]

I really hope I get to meet them someday.

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