The tears alarmed her, and without thinking she raised her hands to lightly cup his cheeks, gently wiping them away with her thumbs. "Shh," she told him softly, though she wasn't necessarily telling him to stop crying. Just the opposite, really. If he felt the need to cry, she could no more tell him to stop that than she could demand he not laugh or smile.

"It's all right. I'm here, and I won't leave you, not unless you want me to." And not even then, really, considering how stubborn she's been on that whole matter this entire time.