I think you look very...sufficient.""You can do better than that Ford." She frowned.I squeezed my fists and on a whoosh of breath said, "You take my breath away every time I look at you." I gently shut the door and jogged around to the driver's side. I started the car and pulled into the street without a glance in her direction. After a few minutes, she relaxed back against the seat. "You don't look so bad yourself.

To both of our surprises, I gripped her closer and squeezed her until she relaxed back into my arms. "Don't apologize for feeling things freely. Just because I'm bad at it, doesn't mean I don't envy it." She sniffled and looked up at me. She shook her head and frowned. "Your issue is not that you don't feel, Ford. Your issue is that you feel too much." She smiled and put her head back on my racing heart.

Every step brought me closer to a line I never thought I'd cross. But this was my life. My choices had all led me to this point. There was no changing those facts without doing what Occum asked. I had to live this role a little longer if I wanted to be someone new. But it didn't change the fact that with every step toward that room, I felt like I was giving something of myself away I could never get back.

It's okay you know," she said without looking up. "What is?""To have a little fire in you.