Alain's smile was something heartbreaking to see. He looked, just for a moment, as if he might cry. Instead, unbuckling his gunbelts and setting them aside, he only said quietly, "I'm not uncared-for. But if you'd stay with me..." He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'd be glad of it."

Because the alternative was to be alone, and just at the moment, that was the last thing Alain wanted. Bert and Roland might deal best with their grief in silence and loneliness, but Alain was of different stock, and if he was left alone too long, he feared it would consume him. He wouldn't have asked her to stay if she hadn't offered. But there was a deep, powerful relief in him, that she had.