Xenudah groaned weakly as he curled into a ball next to the wall he was sitting near. His father sat beside him, holding him so close.

"F-Father, I have to get them back…" Xenu murmured, still wrestling out of his father's grasp, desperation laced in his voice. "I can't lose them again!" He sounded so miserable. "I-It's too much!"

"Oh Xenu…" Yakunan drew his son closer, brushing fingers gently through his soft hair. "I know you're broken, but I'm here for you now, and I only want to help…"

Xenudah shook his head miserably, his voice breaking as he spoke. "No, father! I can't leave them behind! I'm the only one who can help them! I have to bring them home!" He buried his face into his hands and let out a piercing shriek, his emotions building to the surface. "I can't take it anymore!"

"It's going to be alright, my son." Yakunan assured, pressing a soft kiss on his son's forehead, before laying his head atop Xenudah's own. "We'll find them together and we'll get your family back. I promise."

Xenudah shuddered out a breath, trying to calm himself down. But it was just so difficult. Nearly losing his family once already broke him. He couldn't begin to imagine how he'd fare if he lost them again.

"Xenu…" his father whispered. "I know you're feeling scared, but just remember, I'll always be here for you… I'll never leave your side..."

"I can't lose them! Not again! Please, father! Do something! I CAAAAAAAN'T!" Xenudah's sobs grew more intense and his body started to tremble from the growing emotions building once again.

"Shhhhhhh… I'm here, Xenudah… I'm right here…" Yakunan continued to rock his son back and forth, holding him like he was a small child again. Xenudah had lost so much of his childhood from being without him, and he couldn't help but empathize. He just wanted to give his son every last piece of him and hope that would be enough.

"I don't know what to do…" Xenudah's voice fell to a fragile whisper. "I feel so alone, so helpless… If I lost them…"

"It's all right… I'm right here…" Yakunan tried to soothe, rubbing his son's back in what he hoped was a comforting way. Then he spoke to his son once more. "Xenu, you have to remember that I am always here for you, and am always going to be."

"Not when I lost them again…"

"You've been through so much, Xenu… I know you might feel like you lost everything, but you still have me."

"But I don't have them…"

"That's not true, Xenu… We will find them and bring them home."

"How? It's impossible."

"It's not… I know it..." Yakunan said that with such confidence that it was hard for Xenudah to deny. He continued. "We won't give up, and while I might not always know what to say to you, you're always going to be my son, and I will always be there for you..."

Xenudah could only nod, though he looked doubtful.

"Look at me, Xenu…" Yakunan asked kindly, his hand turning Xenudah's face towards his. "You're still afraid, but there's a reason you haven't lost hope, even when it seems like there's nothing else to reach for. That reason is because you know we can make it. We are not hopeless, because no matter how bad things get, we still have each other, and I will be there to save you at the end of all this... I will always be the one to bring you back, because I am your father."

Xenudah stared at his father, trembling, and Yakunan continued.

"Xenudah, you were always so drawn to emotion, and I love that about you. I want to give you whatever you need because I know you're scared, and you're so willing to give me everything… We're going to get your family back, son. I promise."

Xenudah burst into sobs once more, but he managed a weak nod.

"That's my boy…" Yakunan smiled as he kissed his son's forehead once more.

Xenudah looked up at his father and tried to smile through his tears. "I do love you, father… I almost lost you…"

"I know… But I'm here. And I'm never leaving..." He wanted to reassure his son.

"I don't want you to..." Xenudah murmured, trying to smile back.

Both hugged, feeling as though they had grown closer as a family in the last hours and days that they had been together. Xenudah had been so broken from not having his family around. But now, more than ever, he needed them. Xenudah's heart was overwhelmed, and so he held onto his father as though never to let go. Despite being afraid, Yakunan still had to give his son what he needed. Because he was his father. And that was what he would do.

And so Yakunan let his son cry. He would be there for the long haul. And that was going to make everything better.

Neither one could know how everything would turn out. But they knew, together, they would make it. And that was all that mattered.