Marta was doing her best to forget for a moment. To forget what just happened, to forget the pain in her arm, to forget the two dead bodies lying in the other building, to forget everything except the feeling of being near Ezra once more. She smiled sadly as he cuddled closer to her, Marta continued to stroke his hair. There was a mere second of bliss, a fleeting moment of sanity, a chance to just love the man lying on her. And then the second ended and reality shattered around them.

She watched with sad eyes as Ezra sat up, the look in his eyes told her everything. He was processing everything he had done, he was starting to understand he killed two people. When he crawled off the bed and vomited, what little there was in his stomach, Marta simply followed him. She crawled onto the floor, kneeling beside him and rubbing his back with her good arm, keeping her injured arm tucked into her chest to try and keep it stable. She needed to get him food and soon, but the priority was making sure not to lose Ezra. Not physically lose, but let his mind get lost to the point of no return. When he finally finished heaving and sat up, she saw him look at her arm and began to blame himself for it, that he didn't get to her fast enough. But she shook her head, wanting to reach for him, but stopped herself. She needed Ezra to want her touch, because if she forced it, it would only make him push her away.

When he crawled away from her, she let him go. She watched him with sad eyes as he quoted Shakespeare. He was searching for validation, something that made what he did justified. Ultimately, it was a question of whether Marta had been worth it or not. In her eyes, she didn't believe so. Is she grateful to live another day with Ezra by her side? Of course. Will the knowledge that Ezra will now always have this darkness within him, even if he learns to accept it, haunt her everyday? Without a doubt. Marta and Ezra could run from these demons the rest of their lives, but Marta knew they needed to face them head on, or they would never be able to live in peace together. 

Hearing him ask her to come to him, Marta felt a wave of relief. She carefully crawled over to him, kneeling in front of him and reached up with her good hand and held onto his shirt and pulled him towards her, resting their foreheads together. She didn't speak for a moment, making sure she had her words prepared. One wrong statement and it could push Ezra over the edge. "I am alive Ezra. I will survive these wounds, just like you will survive yours. We will survive together. And everyday you will find a new reason why you had to do this. You had to do this for me. I need and want you by my side until I am old and wrinkly. You did this for me so I can wake up another day in your arms, feel your touch, to bring me life. You did this for our future children, who will have a loving father and mother as they grow up. You did this for Isiah and Atalia, they will be able to be together and get married. You did this in memory of your mother. You did this for your father, who is trapped in a world that has gone dark. You did this for your people. But most importantly Ezra, you did this for yourself."

She sat up, looking into his eyes. She held onto his hand tightly. "Jeremiah and that man were not your people anymore. You may have shared a religion and a history with them, but they aren't your people. Isiah and Atalia are your people. All your neighbors in Frankfurt are your people. You father and all the men here are your people. Jeremiah had lost his way, he had become the opposite of what your morals have always stood for Ezra. You are the kindest, most compassionate, loving man I have ever known. Jeremiah was pulling you into his darkness, he was no better than Hitler. There is a reason people say don't stoop to their level, rise above. Because at the end of the day, being the better person is what is important. If you didn't do what you did, Jeremiah would have killed the man I love. Maybe not physically, but I would have lost you forever. Ezra, Daniel's right, you need to lead these men, but not in the way Jeremiah wanted. You need to show them that this war is not going to be won by blood being drawn, but rather love. You will never survive if you keep fighting one another."

She felt dizzy after speaking, the words flowed from her mouth, the thoughts she has been having ever since her birthday. She waited to see how Ezra would react.