Slowly her eyes came back from horrific infinity. Slowly they focused on his. And then, comprehension returned, she pressed tightly against him, clung to him, sobbing with the remnant fear of fear remembered.
He talked to her for an hour, caressing, reassuring, until her responses were normal beyond any doubt. Then he told her he loved her.
She raised her head from where it was burrowed against his chest. "Love me, Ken? Love me?"
He blinked in astonishment. "Of course I love you. It seems like I've always loved you. I tried to tell you. I—"
But she was crying again, shaking her head a little, saying, "Ken, Ken," over and over.
This time he continued to hold her intimately close. "What's the matter? Anything wrong with love?"
"But Ken—you could have any girl in the world!"
"Me? Where'd you get that idea?"
"Why, everyone knows the story of your training, and what it was for. The swoon clubs must have sent you tons of letters!"
"I never got any."