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"It's about showing up after."

Her eyes shine.

"You really believe that?"

"I know that."

She smiles faintly.

"You're surprisingly good at this."

"At what?"

"Knowing what to say."

I shrug.

"Occupational hazard."

"Firefighter?"

"Father."

The word hangs there. New. Important. Real. I don't take it back. Neither does she. After a moment, she reaches for my hand.

"Father."

She smiles.

"That sounds right."

It does. More than anything else. We go back inside. Sayer is sitting on the couch watching a Halloween movie. A ridiculous one. A classic. A normal October night. He looks up.

"You two done being dramatic outside?"

Carys laughs.

"Apparently we're dramatic."

"You are."

I sit beside him.

"What's the movie?"

"The one with the haunted house."

I glance around our damaged cottage.

"Appropriate."

He smiles. The sound feels like home.

Later, when everyone is asleep, I walk through the house one final time. Not checking for threats. Checking for peace. Carys is asleep in her room. Sayer is asleep down the hall. Safe.

Together.

I stand in the quiet hallway. Once, I would have believed protecting people meant standing between them and danger. Now I understand something else. Sometimes protection means building something worth protecting.