He could have pointed out that it hadn't been for her sake. She had been a destructive force at that point, and saving her - if he even had - was really the last thing he could do towards protecting Gilead. And protecting Bert, too.

But he wasn't Roland, so he didn't say that. Instead, he looked down at his hands for a moment, then said with wry humour, "Well, I could hardly unleash Bert on this world without someone to box his ears once in a while, could I?" Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back, taking another deep breath in through his nose. "It wasn't your fight. You shouldn't have been there. That you survived it is the only thing just and right about this whole mess."