[It's the emotional Heimlich maneuver he needs, a tight squeeze that presses all the dense emotion caught in his throat up and out again as Nate lets out a quaking breath. Cheek pressed to her hair he sucks in the smell of her greedily, grounding himself in something a little more stable than his thus far paltry attempts at leadership.]
no subject
I wouldn't have brought them here.
[He says hoarsely, swallowing hard.]
I didn't think-