The most terrifying part is that she wants to keep him in hers, and there are no guarantees that either of them will be able to stay. But after all that, he's feeling almost confident enough to articulate what he wants and that really should be enough. Valdis steps into his space, gently wrapping her arms around him, aware that he might have more injuries that he's not telling her about.

She'll be asking questions about this 'Erik' later. She assumes it's the name of his master, in which case she needs to know everything. Just in case he ever shows up. But this moment is for Max, not her.