It's not his fault -- even Julie doesn't always know what topics will have buried landmines to watch out for. There's no guide to living through what she has, and she's only learning as she goes. And it's not a normal time, either, not with everything that's happened recently. Anything could set her off right now. This is really not that bad in the grand scheme of it all.

Jesper takes her hand and she laces their fingers without thinking, looks at him with her big, blacked-out eyes. Every word he says pulls on her heartstrings, without his knowledge, and she nods, blinking a few times quickly. The music changes as they move toward the stairs.

Yeah, this she can do.