Léan nodded, then frowned. "I'm just not...I'm afraid. I'm terrified to talk about it..."

"Why are you so afraid?" Glory asked, genuinely confused. She wasn't that scary, was she?

Léan sighed. "99% of everyone I have cared for has either died...or hurt me. It's still hard for me to do this, with that lingering in the back of my mind."

"You know I wouldn't do that to you," Glory said. "And I'm still here, aren't I?"

Léan nodded, eyes fixed on the small shark still swimming around nearby. "I'm aware of that..."

"So what are you so worried about?" Glory asked.

"It's just my fear, deep down. It's difficult to extinguish. I apologize..." Léan trailed off.

"You don't have to apologize," Glory replied, hugging him again.

Léan seemed to have no problem returning the hug this time. "All right, if you say so...I just feel bad. I'm making you worry. I don't even know what I want to talk about anymore..."

"We could figure out what to do with ourselves over the winter," Glory suggested. "I can't exactly spend hours out on the beach when it's in the single digits."

"...A way to keep me on land might work. Selena did offer us a wheelchair to use, did she not?" Léan asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Would you want that, though?" Glory asked. "Pretend I'm not in the picture for a minute and think about it."

Léan frowned, and then thought for a moment. "...Actually...I think I would prefer to stay on land, as much as possible," he replied, finally.

"Really?" Glory asked. "Why?"

"Um..." Léan coughed, and glanced away. "...Because it will give me a chance to stay away from my brother, and..." He trailed off, letting the last part of his statement hang in the air. It was sort of obvious what it was, however...

"Keep in mind, that aside from one week in December, I'm in school five days a week," Glory pointed out.

Léan nodded, quietly. "I will still be away from my brother. I don't want to be anywhere near him while Damon is...how he is. Parents get very protective...and overbearing, sometimes..."

"You mean he isn't overbearing normally?" Glory replied dryly, teasing.

"He is. But he'll be worse," Léan warned, grinning. "And that...well...that is something I'd be better off not dealing with."

"I can understand that," Glory said. "You would have to stay in the house, though... But the wheelchair would make it easier to move around the house. It's a one-story house, after all, so there are no stairs."

"I wouldn't have to stay in the house if we could find a way to cover up my tail in public..." Léan reminded her. "I think it is possible, but we will have to be creative."

"True..." Glory mused. "We would have to think of something."

"I was thinking a blanket would work...but I would also need something to contain my tail...make it look like legs under the blanket..." Léan added, thinking.

"We can figure it out when we get home," Glory said. "That way, we can actually see how well different ideas will work."

"Yes, that's true," Léan murmured, nodding. He glanced up at the sky, as if he was trying to check what time it was.