I look at her for a moment, search her shadowed eyes for a clue as to what she's asking. I almost laugh when it hits me, mouth curling into an involuntary smile. I don't want to tell her that she could have just been there and done nothing and it would have been good for me. It's not that simple, but it is, too. It doesn't take a hell of a lot on my end. I should be asking her, I realize. It's not something I think about as much as I probably should.

"Yeah." When I close my eyes for a moment, it's Callie's palm against my cheek, the soft weight of her arm across me. So far from home, she doesn't feel real anymore. She's insubstantial, haunting me like the rest of my stupid memories, and I think, I never knew her. I knew her soul, better than I wanted, I knew something inside her, but I never really knew who she was. Now I'm here, I don't know if I ever will. My fingers close on her hip, tugging her toward me.

She's Ellen, though. The fact I keep my grasp is proof of that. Her curves are mesmerizing, and I try to memorize the feel of her skin under my hand as I lean in close, forehead touching hers in a show of misplaced tenderness, an answer to hers. "Yeah. Definitely. Was it... I mean, for you..." I don't know if I really want to know unless the answer's yes, but the question's already sort of out.