"Fix?" He shakes his head sadly. "No. There's no fixing. Atone, maybe. Up to Arthur if he ever wants to forgive me, but we'll never have what we had again." Crichton's sure of that, no matter how much it hurts. It isn't fair to Arthur to expect any different.

"Fair enough. If Harvey tries something, I deserve to get bitten."

Crichton curls his fingers around Ash's hand, moving to place his other one over the top to fold him better while looking right into the man's eyes. "Ash, it is going to be okay. Valdis is strong. She's wise. She's lived through more than you or I could ever begin to imagine. That was before she had people to help her in the fight. She's going to win this. Keep the faith."