[ That hangs in the air between them, the silence unbroken. Carver rubs his thumb along the rim of his glass, thinking about his sister, thinking about Bossie, about Mancea and Wash and Fisher and all the others he swore to protect. And he thinks about Delaney, who never got to see her child, and Matthew, who died before his time. None of them were prepared to be parents, but then Shaw pressed a red, screaming infant into his arms. Take him, Carve, she'd whispered. Just for a minute. And he hadn't known what to do, not really, none of them had, but he held Matthew and swore to protect him as much as they all loved him.
It wasn't enough in the end. Maybe it never is. ]
I failed her, [ Carver explains softly. ] I heard her get shot, but I didn't see her fall. And if I didn't see her fall, then she's not dead.
cw: death of a child
[ That hangs in the air between them, the silence unbroken. Carver rubs his thumb along the rim of his glass, thinking about his sister, thinking about Bossie, about Mancea and Wash and Fisher and all the others he swore to protect. And he thinks about Delaney, who never got to see her child, and Matthew, who died before his time. None of them were prepared to be parents, but then Shaw pressed a red, screaming infant into his arms. Take him, Carve, she'd whispered. Just for a minute. And he hadn't known what to do, not really, none of them had, but he held Matthew and swore to protect him as much as they all loved him.
It wasn't enough in the end. Maybe it never is. ]
I failed her, [ Carver explains softly. ] I heard her get shot, but I didn't see her fall. And if I didn't see her fall, then she's not dead.