It was hard but it was progress. It was better than nothing. And at this point, she was desperate, would take what she could get, honestly. And if all she got for a while were little glimmers of hope, small fractured memories while he sat near her, she'd take it. Because after years of waiting for him, why couldn't she wait longer?

As he went on to explain that no one had been helping him as much as she did, she glanced back at him with a sad expression because that was just wrong. How could they not see the amazing man that she saw, even if he couldn't remember all the things that made him amazing. How could they not be patient or kind when he was so kind even to a girl that now meant nothing to him. And as he continued to talk, she blinked a few times, fighting back tears that kept trying to find their way down her cheeks. God, she'd been crying so much, how did she even have tears left? "It's not your fault, Leckie..." Her mouth twisted a little as she tried to figure out what to say as he moved closer, her heart starting to race because all she could think about were the fantasies of them being married, of him kissing her in the kitchen or them being together. She looked up at him with a soft, sad smile. "I do know that being away from you hurts more than this. And I know it has to be hard and strange for you but... I'd rather spend more time with you than have you slip away."