The panic eases when the feedback loop between them does, settles into guilt and worry. When she says his name, though -- for the first time in two years -- his breaks off in his attempts to call her back, words stalling in his throat. His heart throbs; he can't tell if with pleasure or pain. The hand holding hers trembles.

"You idiot," he forces out past the verbal roadblock. "Why would you do something like that?"