"Dad!"

Wil took up a swift jog to catch up to his father in the Retreat's hall, calling to him repeatedly. But Horatio hadn't slowed in the slightest. Wil had been through this before.

"Dad, please, just listen for a second."

Though coming to an abrupt stop at Wil's request, Horatio kept his back to him as he silently seethed in place. Wil swallowed weakly, mustering his courage; he knew he had to proceed delicately.

Stepping around to face him, Wil gripped Horatio's shoulder, surprised to feel his father's trembling under his hand. "Look... I know you want to do this alone. You think you have to. But you don't. I want to help you help Max. Liaa wants to help you. And Ethan and Cordira want to support you, too."

Horatio hardly even seemed to breathe, staring intently beyond Wil without responding. Was he even listening?

"Corellia's no...paradise," Wil ceded with a weak laugh, "there's no denying that. But you and I both know that Cordira is just as powerful as her mother, and maybe even more so. So when you and I go to find this repair tech for Bex, Cordira will keep Liaa and the others safe." He paused briefly, waiting for Horatio's gaze to lift to meet his. "...you don't have to be the only one protecting everyone all the time. That's too much for one person. Sometimes you have to trust that others can do it, too."

Horatio's fury was slowly beginning to fade, replaced by pain that appeared to be the true source of his anger. "...Max doesn't trust me to help him."

"Of course he does," Wil countered with care. "He sent Bex directly to you, no one else - "

"You saw how badly he'd been hurt," Horatio snapped, his voice strained. "In the past, he never told me his exact plans, but I at least had some idea if he was going to be in any serious danger. He would warn me. But this...he told me nothing. He shut out his closest family. He's sitting out there, somewhere, burned and bleeding, injured for protecting...someone, but all I get to do is run his errands for him?"

Understanding his father's turmoil and feeling his own heart wrench into a knot, Wil released a slow breath, preparing his words. "Bex was the only family Max had for a long time. He was the last connection Max had to his mother before he found you again, and they've been through a lot together. I know you know this. Max asking for your help this way, although indirect, isn't a slight. You know he trusts you more than anyone. If he thinks that getting Bex fixed will help him the most...then that's what we should do."

Horatio cast his gaze to the floor as his trembling only worsened. Wil could hardly hear him.

"...I can't fail him, too. I can't. I can't lose them both."

Reaching up with his other hand to steady Horatio as he wavered with uncharacteristic emotion, Wil inclined his head to find his father's eyes, lifting them with his. "You won't." He allowed the silence to settle just a moment longer before continuing carefully. "...and you didn't fail Aalon, Dad. He made his choice. That wasn't your fault."

Horatio's eyes closed tightly, seemingly intent on blocking out painful memories of the last time the Sheridan men had all been together. Outnumbered and faced with a potentially deadly fight on Azira's Rishi station, Aalon had elected to turn on his brother and his uncle to save himself, Wil had been told, and Aalon had paid for that choice with his life. Wil thought it monstrously unfair that his father had blamed himself for Aalon's death, but how was he to change Horatio's mind? How could he convince a man so furiously dedicated to finding and protecting his family that he hadn't allowed himself to properly rest in decades? Their trip to Corellia would hopefully afford them time to relax...and time to talk further.

"You're too hard on yourself, Dad. I've told you that a hundred times. I wish I knew how to make you let go of that blame and guilt... You don't deserve it." Hesitating a moment, Wil softened his voice as he dropped his hands to his side. "...do you trust me?"

Horatio met Wil's gaze once more, studying his own green-brown eyes in his son for a long silence before finally nodding. Wil nodded, too.

"Then trust me when I say, we will find Max. Together. All of us. After we take care of Bex, I'll help you put everything we have into finding him."

Agreeing with another faint nod, Horatio let go of a tense breath he had been holding, but Wil wasn't finished.

"And I want you to promise me something. Look me in the eyes and tell me...that you won't leave without us."

The expression on Horatio's face was difficult to decipher. A mix of disbelief and frustration filtered through as his posture changed, drawing himself up to his full height in defiance. Wil held his ground, though, much in the way he would stand against his young twin daughters' disobedience. It wasn't the first time he'd had a battle of wills with them or with his father.

"Promise me," Wil repeated with gentle emphasis, "right now. Or I'll have my brother lock down the Retreat entirely. No one in or out the second I give the word."

Horatio blinked. "You're threatening me."

Wil internally winced, only just realizing how harshly his well-meaning demand had come across although he had quite clearly predicted his father's plan. "I'm...encouraging you to do the right thing. I know what you're going to try to do, because you've done it before. And I'm not going to let you. Not this time."

Sensing the subtle emotion in Wil's words, Horatio's shoulders sagged under the weight of another memory, echoes of the same promise Wil had made to him once before. Although his old habits were proving nearly impossible to break, hopefully he was finally beginning to accept that his pride wasn't worth his son's turmoil and worry.

"I promise," Horatio began softly, meeting Wil's gaze once more, "...I won't leave without you."

Although somewhat surprised at the sudden change in Horatio's attitude, Wil couldn't help a faint smile as he nodded to accept his father's pledge. "We stay together, we help each other, and we can make anything happen. Maybe someday you'll believe me."

The day's length and stress had very clearly taken its toll on Horatio, slowing his response dramatically, and Wil could appreciate his anxiety.

"You should get some rest. I'll take care of all the preparations. You don't have to worry about anything. The Shadow Nova will be packed, fueled, and stocked tonight, and we'll leave in the morning. Alright?"

The elder Sheridan nodded weakly without protest, his eyes drooping heavily as he turned to leave.

"I do believe you, Wil," Horatio finally answered as he walked away, his voice faint. "But I still can't let any of you get hurt."

"We won't, as long as we stay together."

A brief, noticeable pause in his steps was Horatio's only reaction, continuing on through the Retreat's halls alone. Wil heaved a weary sigh as soon as his father was out of sight, mentally preparing himself for the busy, sleepless night he was about to endure.