"And this is why you're the best," Karen says when she flips the packet over and sees what it says. There's a split second's worth of hesitation before she tears it open — Does she really need something so precious? — but the throb in her wrist wins out.

Cradling the pills in her hand, she blinks. "God, all this time and I never thought about it like that," she admits. "And it's not just the military aspect, although that's definitely part of it. I think we both know what he can be like when he's got a bone to pick. He wouldn't have just given up. Maybe that's the difference. I've talked to so many people who finally just stopped trying."