"I hurt you." Remorse and regret shroud the small voice.
"It hurts me more to see you like this."
"Then I hurt you twice. Don't stick around for the third."
"If it were one of my patients, I'd tell them to leave. To never look back. To never accept this in their lives. I'd quote cliches and tell them that love shouldn't hurt..."
"You'd be right."
"But I'm not one of my patients."
Lost muted eyes flicker...they betray defeat with a glimmer of hope, a peek of sun amidst storm clouds.
"My head and my heart debated over this. Agonised, actually. They've reached an agreement of sorts."
The pause was suffocating, the heavy silence hung still and dead.
"Franky, Baby, it cannot happen again."
The dark clouds return, effectively obscuring the light. She nods, giving up.
"We seem to have taken quite the detour and have tumbled off a cliff in the middle of only God knows where. But we did it together, and together we will journey home. I will not leave you."
No response.
"Franky?"
Her head fitfully shakes in denial. "No. Don't do this to yourself. If I lose control... I can't... I can't guarantee your safety."
"And I can't guarantee yours. I know the power I have over you. I know how much destruction I could cause if I walk away, if I pretend that I don't love you. And I'd gravely harm myself in the process. We are both wielding double-edged swords, Franky."
"Tell me what to do."
I reach out toward her and turn my hand, palm up. "Take my hand."
Gingerly, tenderly, softly, trembling fingers moved toward it and settled. "Now what?"
I interlock our fingers and strengthen the grasp. "Now we work hard and fight like hell to get back to where we want to be."
Doubt floods her voice. "How do we know if we're going the right way?"
The images of what happened threaten to sabotage our carefully mended bond. I shake my head and draw a deep breath to erase them. "All roads lead home, love. It's not going to be easy. Honestly, I'm fucking petrified over what lies ahead. I don't know what waits for us down the path. What traps and setbacks are going to pop out of the brush. What evil entities lurk in the shadows of dark forests, how many disasters and dead ends..."
"Gidge?"
"Yeah?"
"Your pep talks need work."
I allow myself the chuckle. This is a side of Franky I may not get to see for a while.
"I suppose they do. ... I don't know, darling. I won't lie to you and tell you it'll all be okay when I'm not certain it will. We'll figure it out."
Lips twitch and eyes twinkle. "What, so, we're a bloody comic strip?" She mimics a stereotypical announcer's voice: "Tune in next week for 'The Excitingly Psychotic Adventures of Scared and Hopeful'?"