He turned his nose into her hand and kissed her palm, then shook his head a little. "No, it's okay. Doing something else will help get my mind off of it. It's enough that you promised." He lifted his hand to cup her cheek, smiling faintly, but the smile faded when she spoke again.<i>Don't abandon the world.</i>How could she ask that of him? Didn't she know that she was his world? He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, taking a slow, deep breath.<br/><br/>"Neither of us can give up on everyone else for the sake of just one other person. I promise, Malia... I know you do, too. I won't make you say it." He opened his eyes and kissed her forehead, then leaned back a little to look her squarely in the eye. "But it won't come to that. Not if either of us can help it, right? And since we're not gonna leave one another, we'll be able to help it. Everything's going to be okay." He leaned back a little more and looked down at his damaged hand, slowly turning it and inspecting the gauze. "Everything will be," he murmured, more to himself than her, and stood. "Okay, though. Let's get moving. We'll tell the council what we need then get moving back down the mountain. Descent should go much quicker."