Not long after Lillian admits to him that Phillip is dying, Buzz is called back into Company, reluctantly leaving Lilian with a tender kiss and squeeze to her shoulder.
She smiles as he leaves, fighting to put on a strong appearance. As soon as he's out of sight, she sighs and slumps back down, trying to wipe fresh tears from her eyes. Finally, she calms down bit by bit and sighs, looking out in the distance. Her thoughts are disrupted when she hears footsteps nearby so she looks up and over, gaping as Cyrus hovers behind her.
"Um, hello," he says awkwardly, eyes downcast.
Her eyes are still red rimmed but she's not feeling as tightly stretched as she did before, the cry exactly what she needed, so she focuses her attentions on him. "Cyrus? Is there something wrong?"
He clears his throat awkwardly and runs his fingers through his hair, an almost ashamed look on his face. She's reminded again how much like Coop he looks but before she can ask or say anything further, he speaks. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" she wonders, almost worried as she wonders what's happened now. Her hands tense instinctively. "Did-- someone call for me?"
"Oh!" he shakes his head. "No, no. I just-- I heard a little of what you and Buzz were saying earlier. I didn't mean to, I was cleaning up a little and taking some trash out and just happened to overhear."
She frowns. "Ok. It's no big deal." If he knows about Philip's secret, that's fine-- everyone'll know soon enough. "Cyrus..."
"I was apologizing because I feel like it's my fault." At her confused look, he clarifies, "If Buzz hadn't been chasing me around, if... if I hadn't encouraged his mission to find out about Jenna-- you wouldn't have been alone through all of this."
She's startled by the consideration from this man-- he barely knows her but he still cares about such a small thing that's not his fault to begin with. "It's not your fault," she says, shaking her head. "And I'm ok, really. Buzz is back now, that's the important thing."
He still looks unhappy. "Still, I'm sorry. No'un should be alone through something like that."
She smiles at him. "Buzz needed to find you-- I understood that."
"It could've waited--" he's arguing further and she stands up suddenly, startling him as she touches his cheek, staring deeply into his eyes.
"I think you'd waited long enough, don't you?" she says, patting him gently. "And Jenna, too."
His mouth going dry suddenly, he nods against her hand, closing his eyes. If he allows it, he can almost pretend that it's Jenna's hand grazing his skin in a motherly touch. "Thank you."
She smiles, knowing that probably even he doesn't know how much he means to cover with that simple, honest thank you. "Don't regret for a second that Buzz had to leave to find you, I understood and he's here now, that's all that matters."
"If you're sure," he says hesitantly, lips pursed thoughtfully as he gazes down at her. She looks at him quietly until he raises his hands and steps back. "Ok, I get it," he laughs a little awkwardly, finally accepting her words as truth. "I should get back to work. I- I wish the best for you and your family." This is weird for him so she lets him off the hook with a quick nod and wavery smile.
He's back in the restuarant when she says, "He's a good guy."
"Yeah, he is..." Buzz says, not even stressed that he was discovered listening in from the corner of the porch. They smile before settling back down on the steps, a soft sigh blowing from Lilian's lips as he hugs her.