His energy faded as he watched her move and listened to her talk. Not long ago he might have wondered if he was overthinking things, if she were just waking up and not actually upset. Now he knew better. He walked up behind her as she got ready and gently but firmly wrapped his arms around her, making her stop what she was doing for a moment. "Malia," he murmured, his voice soft and gentle, "it's okay." He kissed into her hair and gave her a careful squeeze. "I'm here, we're both here. It's okay. I love you."<br/><br/>He kept his arms around her for another few minutes before he slowly let go, hands trailing to her shoulders. Carson stepped around her to cup her cheeks and kissed her softly, thumbs smoothing beneath her eyes. "It's gonna be okay. You know that, right?" He kissed her nose and gave it another moment or two before he let her go. "As for your idea--yeah, I like it. You're better with food than I am. I'll end up getting jerky and beans... you don't want to sit around eating jerky and beans with me and Letto."