So little about this place has anything to do with what anybody here chooses. This certainly wasn't a choice — No one who ended up in the water today was there because they felt like a swim. But the gesture is still a potent one, still punches me right in my soft spot, and my face crumples a moment before I give in and pull Major into a fierce hug.

I've had way too many people I care about die, and something like this— There's no possibility of predicting it, preventing it. All you can do is react and hope for the best, and I really don't do well with that.

"I love you, okay?" I wrench out. Things are complicated, but that's nothing new between Major and me. You have to be able to tell someone you love them in a moment like this.