It was so hard for her to let those things go, for her to be happy and warm. Right now the intensity in her kisses made it either all or nothing, hot or cold. She burned like molten metal, but the metal was brittle when it cooled. She curled close to him, her hands on his chest.

"I didn't want this for them. That's why I did this, why I fought so hard," she whispered.

"I wanted our sons to have a better life, one that wasn't about fear, and there are monsters outside." And inside, she thought - and for once, she wasn't thinking of him, but of herself.