He's feared for his sanity before – being tortured to the brink on consciousness more than once can make a person wonder from time to time – even considered checking himself into a psychiatric hospital – it wouldn't work; he'd simply outlive all the caretakers – but never has he feared himself going mad as much as he did now.

"Abigail, please," he begs, voice raw and more than a little choked up. He doesn't want to have this conversation – has been avoiding it both actively and subconsciously for years – and now that it's here he's not sure what to do with himself.

Abby is sitting on the desk in front of him, biting her lip and staring hard at the floor, eyes stubbornly blinking back tears as she repeated, "I know you don't want to talk about this, but it's time we did something; Henry, I'm not getting any younger. You know that, I know that, the world knows that; I'm getting old."

"Of course, but that doesn't matter!" he interrupted quickly, taking her hands in his and gripping them tightly, desperately trying to catch her eye. "I don't care how old or young you are, Abigail! I love you for who you are!"

"I know that!" she snapped suddenly, crystal blue fastening on his and startlingly him slightly. "I know you love me, and that's the problem!"

Her calm façade was cracking apart. She pulled her hands away from his and leaned forward, glaring at him even as tears seeped down her wrinkled cheeks. "I know you, Henry! I know you love me more than life itself! I know you care about me, and Abe, and our little lives here in New York, but the reality is, we are not immortal! You are! And if you stick around any longer-" her voice cracked, but she kept going "-if you don't leave while you have the chance, you're never going to be able to move on!"

It was with a chill of sudden realization that he realized he wasn't the only one being driven mad by the situation; and he kind of hated himself a little more when he realized there was little he could to change that.

A/N: Part 2 of 3. Worry not; the conversation shall be resolved tomorrow!
~Persephone