She smiled, though it was sad at the edges. It was his hope, but it was not a promise that he could make and keep. Neither of them could hold to such a thing.

Hild squeezed his hand gently, then tilted her head in thought.

"I think it must be easier for you, to have Barry," she said. Barry had been taken. A threat to him was a threat to Derek, an injury to one was an injury to the other. But he was back. "To have someone to show all that love to."