He felt her grab his hand back, that simple motion comforting even given that his mind was such a jumble he could barely think through it. He realized his lungs were burning - he didn't know the last time his body had unlocked enough to take a breath - and tried to get some air, gasping for breath a little as his heart pounded in his ears, loud, but not loud enough to drown out the sounds - or the soothing whispers of Summer's voice, telling him he was okay, that she would be there, telling him exactly what he needed to hear. His eyes were squeezed shut so tightly they almost prickled with tears at the pain, but he nodded again, it was all he could do - nod and try to breathe and try to keep swimming upstream against the current of memories in his head.

And finally - finally - after a small eternity, the flood of memories, images, and sounds finally seemed to be starting to slow, even if the bombs - no, fireworks, he tried to tell himself, but he still couldn't quite believe it - were still going off. His body was still locked up, curled up against Summer's, but he could feel it more - the present was starting to overshadow the past, just a little, hard through it was with all the noise overhead. He tried to blink his eyes open, but another explosion overhead made him shut them tightly; but he was trying to respond, trying to fight his way back to the present, squeezing Summer's hand again, trying to take deeper breaths, more even breaths, trying once or twice to gasp her name.