"Water I can most certainly do.  It's the least I can do." Elijah reluctantly released Maddi's hand.  It was strange, the feeling of coolness on his palm seemed amplified.  Emotionally, he had put himself through the wringer in the past several hours and the simple act of releasing human contact seemed far more intense.  Elijah stood and went to his..well trunk would be an inappropriate description since he pieced it together out of driftwood, but it served the same function.  Carefully opening the rickety structure, he took out a bottle of rainwater, one of several he had stashed there and brought it back to Maddi.  "I'm afraid it's not cold, but since we haven't paid the rent, they've turned the electricity off to the ice box."  Elijah tried to lighten the mood.<br/><br/>As Maddi reached for it, Elijah stopped her.  "Wait, let's get you into a sitting position."  Reaching down he took Maddi's hand again, reveling in the renewed contact, and he helped Maddi sit up, but when she seemed a little wobbly he slid in behind her on the bedding and allowed her to lean back against him while she drank her water.  This innocent contact of her body to his made him realize how much he truly craved the touch of another human being, and it was all he could do in the moment not to encompass her in his arms and hold her like he'd never let her go.