Besca was stunned. She stood there frozen stiff while Quinn held onto her like a life raft in a hurricane. The girl spoke a hundred words at once, so fast and so garbled that she only really heard them in retrospect, and even then, the raw panic made it impossible to focus on them. 

She’d counseled [i]pilots[/i] whose Saviors had left them shriveled, calcified wrecks who had more composure than Quinn did. Who were less afraid to die. God, it was like she was being stabbed, or dragged underwater. 

The last, violent shriek snapped her out of it, and Besca finally put arms around her. She held Quinn close, tight, like she meant to force her steady. She breathed quietly onto the top of her head, “[color=gray]Shhh….shh shh shh…[/color]” and stroked fingers through her hair. Her own hands shook, but she realized it was Quinn’s hypothermic shivering resonating through her. 

“[color=gray]I…I’m not. I won’t. Quinn, listen to me, I’m not leaving you. I’m not…taking you anywhere.[/color]” Where could she even take her? Put her back? Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t. Hovvi was gone. But the way she said it made it sound like going home would have been a threat. 

Then again, there were reasons now to think it might have been. 

“[color=gray]Quinn, it’s over. It’s over. Look at me,[/color]” She pulled back, angled herself to look down at her. Quinn’s face was a teary ruin, Besca gently wiped it with her sleeve. “[color=gray]All of that…stuff, that happened. It’s done. I’m here, it’s just me. You made it. Breathe for me, okay? Just like before—do you remember? Breathe.[/color]”

Besca demonstrated again. One, two, and three long, deep breaths. 

“[color=gray]Don’t think about anything else right now. Just think about you. How do you feel? I know you’re scared, I’m not gonna go anywhere, alright? But how do you [i]feel[/i]? Do you feel sick? Not tired, I mean sick. Your feet got a little cut up, but they’re healing just fine. Do you hurt anywhere else? Anywhere inside?[/color]” Besca moved, trying to get her propped up right in the bed without yanking any of the IV lines. “[color=gray]There’s no wrong answer, alright? I’m not mad, no matter what, I just want to make sure you’re okay.[/color]”