He shifted, starting to sit up. “I’ll walk you.”
The offer was casual, but she could see the concern in his eyes. The question he wasn't asking—Are you okay?
“I can manage the stroll by myself,” she said. This wasn't her running away. This was her finally running toward something.
He settled back against the pillows. "I'll be here when you get back."
The simple promise hit her harder than any declaration of love ever could.I'll be here.Not just this morning, but always. Through whatever came next.
“See you soon,” she whispered, and slipped out into the morning.
The air outside was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and sage. The sky was painted in soft pastels—rose, violet, and the palest blue. Everything felt suspended—like the world was holding its breath. Lark walked the familiar path toward the building that held Henley’s office, her boots grinding softly on the gravel.
She found her waiting on the wide front porch, two steaming mugs in front of her and a gentle smile on her face. She was dressed simply in jeans and a light sweater, her hair pulled back in a loose bun. No notebook, no official therapist persona. Just a woman offering understanding and coffee at dawn.
“I’m glad you wanted another session,” Henley said, offering one of the mugs.
“Like I tell Kawan, don’t let it go to your head.” Lark gratefully accepted the coffee, wrapping her fingers around the warm ceramic.
Henley smiled. It was sweet, and genuine, and made it impossible for Lark to remain closed off. “Let’s walk it out.”
They set off down one of the trails that wound through the property. For several minutes, they walked in comfortable silence, the only sounds their footsteps and the distant call of a hawk circling overhead.
“My husband told me about some of the plans,” Henley said eventually.
“I’m sorry we’re taking him away from you.” Lark took a sip of coffee, letting the warmth ground her.
“Don’t be,” Henley said. “He’d do anything to help Kawan and the rest of the team. They’re like brothers. Therefore, you matter to him—to us—as well.”
Lark chewed on that for a minute. “It’s strange to be going back under these circumstances, knowing that after all these years, Lorre not only betrayed me but also his country.”
"And how do you feel about that?"
"Scared," Lark admitted, the word coming out in a rush of honesty that seemed to surprise them both. "Terrified, actually."
"Of the mission? Because honestly, that doesn’t feel like you.”
“It’s not the mission as much as it’s…” Lark stopped walking, staring out at the horizon where the sun climbed higher, painting the landscape in a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors. “I’m afraid of losing him.” She didn't need to specify who. They both knew.
“I see.”
"I've never..." Lark's hands clenched around the mug. "I've never had anything worth losing before. Not really. The militarygave me purpose, structure, a place to belong. My team became my family. But Kawan... he's different."
"How so?"
Lark started walking again, needing the movement to help organize her thoughts. "He sees me. Not the detached person the system created. Not the soldier, or the weapon, the government trained. Me. The scared little girl who learned too early that people leave. The woman who's so afraid of being abandoned that she abandons first." She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "He sees all of that, and he stays anyway."
"That sounds like love."
The word hung in the air between them, simple and terrifying and true.
“He loves me, and he’s said it so many times,” Lark admitted quietly, testing the words. They felt foreign on her tongue, but not wrong. Never wrong. "I love him, too. So much it makes me want to run screaming in the opposite direction."
"But you're not running."
"No." Lark stopped again, this time turning to face Henley fully. "For the first time in my life, I'm not running. I'm staying, and fighting, and trying to figure out how to be brave enough to not only tell him I love him but to show him and be with him in the ways that count.”
Henley's smile was warm and proud. "You're already there, Lark. You just don’t believe it yet."
