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"Mmhmm. I'd see you talking to your guests, not always about food, and I'd watch how you always remembered them. It was like watching a meal between old friends. I admired that. And of course, your passion for food is unmistakable. I fell for both of those things. And your laugh. It's like music to my ears and always makes me want to smile along with you, even if I'm at the other end of the restaurant. I also adored how every time you smiled at me when I'd walk in…"

I slowly set her back down on one of the sun loungers.

"You always made me feel like that smile was just for me. Now, I know that was partly because I was crushing on you, but I loved it. I still do."

Sabina wipes away some of the water clinging to her face. "Why… why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Honestly?" I sit beside her and place my hand on her knee, caressing slowly. "I was too afraid of losing you as a friend. A world where I could be your friend and enjoy your company was infinitely better than one where I would make you uncomfortable and lose you."

"Wow." Sabina sniffles and she gathers all of her hair into one hand, then squeezes slowly to drain the water. "Maybe it's fate then that you came halfway around the world to save me and are now technically kidnapping my daughter with me."

"Fate?" I can't help but smile.

"Mmhmm. How else would you have grown bold enough to tell me the truth? And how else would I be bold enough" —she slides forward, and my hand shifts up her wet thigh as Sabina moves into my lap— "to do this?"

Her water-chilled lips close over mine, and she caresses my cheek with one hand, pressing herself into me as deeply as she can. We linger for a good few minutes and when she breaks away, she rests her forehead against mine.

"Wait," I murmur softly. "Does this mean you like me too?"

Sabina's laughter carries through the night air, taking my heart with it.

The next day, we stand outside the medical room set up for Illyana with one of the doctors brought by Valentina. They're the best of the best, but it's alarming to stand in front of them while they detail everything about Illyana's kidney failure. A lot of it is beyond my understanding once they start with the medical terms, but the basics are easy. Her first kidney failed rapidly, and her second is failing at a slower rate, but there's not a lot of life left in it. They can set her up on dialysis here and when we reach New York, but ultimately, there isn't a lot of time.

"Can you…" Sabina's voice cracks and she clears her throat. "Can you tell me how much time she does have?"

"I won't sugarcoat it," the doctor says. "All of this exhaustive travel and more is detrimental to her health. I'll be able to give a stronger estimate once we have her settled back in New York, but until then, we are monitoring her closely."

Sabina gazes through the window into the room with one arm across her body and the other raised as she nibbles on her thumbnail. "What if something happens now?"

"We have options. In the event that her kidney gives out, we can place Illyana into a medically induced coma and keep her stable until New York. From there, we can then set her up with a temporary artificial kidney, but don't worry." The doctor smiles. "This is a worst-case scenario."

"Everything about this feels worst-case," she murmurs.

"Is Sabina definitely a match?" I ask quietly. "Valentina sent you our records, didn't she? In case any of us were a match?"

"She did. Unfortunately, neither you nor Valentina are a match, but we are running our own tests to verify Sabina's validity. As her mother," the doctor says, turning back to Sabina, "there is a very strong chance."

"Thank you." Sabina finally turns away from the door. Her frown is deep and her thumb blooms red from how frantically her teeth nibble at the skin. "Is it safe for me to see her?"

"Yes, of course."

"Thanks." She watches the doctor leave the room, giving us some privacy, and then she turns to me. "I don't know what to do."

"With what?" I ask.

"I agreed to the test. I did. I know what it means. But what if… what if I don't want to give my kidney?" Sabina begins to pace back and forth. "I'm not saying that's what's going to happen. It's just all very sudden, y'know? My daughter is suddenly there and she needs a kidney, which I might be able to give her, but I've never thought about giving up my organs before. Maybe once or twice if I died, I wouldn't mind saving people, then but this is intense. But I also feel this…" She moves one hand up to her chest. "This weight. Like it's my responsibility and this horrible guilt that I'll basically be killing her if I say no."

"Sabina—"

"Because I would, wouldn't I? I would be letting her die, and then it's kind of like, was any of this even worth it? Maybe it would have been better to leave her where she was because she knew that place and those people and I'm the stranger. Oh, God…"

"Sabina, stop." I close the gap between us. The moment my hands land on her shoulder, she takes a very deep breath and looks up at me.

"What do I do?"

"I can't tell you what to do," I say gently. "But I think before any of that even becomes a possibility, because we still don't know for sure that you are a match, you should go in there and talk to her. That's what you wanted to do, right?"

Sabina nods slowly and looks over her shoulder. Illyana has pulled several pens from a small bag and is coloring in one of the books Valentina left by her bedside. Despite everything, she looks like a very normal little girl.