It felt like a lifetime as he stood there and waited for her to give an answer to say anything at all. Then her eyes, he felt then as she appraised him and knew he must have looked a sight. A stubble of a beard had just begun to form on his face and he knew the clothes that he wore were far too small for him. It almost felt hopeless, almost felt as if she would once again deny him. Turn him away and leave him to be alone once again.<br/><br/>Then their eyes met.<br/><br/>It was in that instant that he knew she recognized him.  The slight shift in her eyes went from the look one gives a stranger, to the look that is only ever shared with a loved one. There was his E, his…well she was not his sister by blood, but that information was for another time. There was a more pressing wolf in the room, as it was that needed the attention.  All of that could wait, however, for what they both needed the most.<br/><br/>There were no words and he did not even try to form them. Instead he merely did as her arms beckoned and closed the distance between the two of them and hugged her.  It felt so right to hold her and be held. Five long years were indeed a lifetime that he would not have wished on anyone else.  “When you are better you are free to pummel me for leaving you behind, “he teased.